Soul Sacrifice

Zhong Yue received ten Feather Spirit Pills from Medicine Valley and then found the Upper Court steward, moving into his own courtyard.

"This courtyard is a three-section house. The back courtyard is for resting, the middle courtyard is a hall for receiving guests, and there's also a quiet room for meditation and cultivation. The front courtyard is where the servants live."

The steward led Zhong Yue on a tour of the courtyard and said with a smile, "Some tribal nobles bring more than a dozen servants with them to attend to their needs so they can focus on cultivation. The servants can live in the front courtyard. This Upper Court Token is quite extraordinary. Just place it in the groove on the main gate, and it will activate the totem pillar in the courtyard, forming an invisible barrier that seals off the courtyard. Outsiders will never be able to get in. To remove the barrier, simply take out the token. The token needs to be nourished with your soul and spirit, so others cannot take it out when it's placed in the groove."

Zhong Yue's eyes lit up. This function of the Upper Court Token was indeed thoughtful. Although Upper Court disciples were only introductory disciples, their daily cultivation required undisturbed focus, otherwise, they could easily suffer from qi deviation.

With this token, others couldn't enter, so he wouldn't have to worry about being disturbed at a critical moment in his cultivation.

Moreover, if he kept any important items in the courtyard, he wouldn't have to worry about them being stolen.

"May I ask, how do Upper Court disciples cultivate?" Zhong Yue inquired.

The steward smiled and said, "Every introductory disciple of the Upper Court is reported to the Qi Refiners of Sword Gate. Those Qi Refiners will come to select disciples, teach them techniques, and guide their cultivation. Each Qi Refiner has a dozen or twenty Upper Court disciples under them. In the future, when these Upper Court disciples become Qi Refiners, it will bring them honor. Don't worry, junior brother. As long as you pass the Azure Sky Hall assessment, a Qi Refiner will come to take you under their wing within five to six days at most, or one to two days at least."

"So that's how it is." Zhong Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

After the steward left, Zhong Yue immediately placed the token on the main gate. The totem god pillar in the courtyard vibrated with a hum, sealing off the courtyard. Zhong Yue carefully set down his medicine basket, took out the tattered bronze lamp, its flame flickering intermittently. Xin Huo was still sound asleep.

"How long will Xin Huo sleep?"

He thought for a moment and took out a small jade bottle. Upon opening it, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted out. Inside the bottle were ten bean-sized pills, the Feather Spirit Pills.

In the past, he had to spend months painstakingly collecting medicinal herbs and refining them, and whether he could succeed was uncertain.

Now that he had become an Upper Court disciple, he was given ten pills at once, and ten every month. To Zhong Yue, this was an immeasurable fortune!

A single Feather Spirit Pill could make an ordinary person as light as a swallow and incredibly strong, allowing them to go half a month without eating or drinking. Even an Outer Disciple of Sword Gate could cultivate continuously for two to three days without fatigue after taking one Feather Spirit Pill, replenishing their spirit, nourishing their body, and moistening their soul!

Zhong Yue took one Feather Spirit Pill and immediately felt a surge of potent medicinal energy transform into pure energy, flowing into every part of his body, bringing immense comfort. His body felt like parched land, and the medicinal power of the Feather Spirit Pill flowed like a gentle stream, nourishing it. His previously gaunt muscles slowly began to bulge, a truly wondrous sensation.

Before long, Zhong Yue's body returned to its former symmetrical physique, his muscles firm. The bodily energy depleted from cultivating the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization had been replenished.

He also felt his spirit being nourished, and ripples stirred in his Sea of Consciousness, making a rustling sound.

Not only that, but his soul was also nourished by the medicinal power, feeling incredibly comfortable.

"Feather Spirit Pills are truly miraculous. I heard that some disciples from large tribes can take such spiritual pills every day. No wonder their progress is so rapid! Now's the time to cultivate the Suihuang Visualization Chart and see if I can advance further!"

Zhong Yue immediately visualized Suihuang of the Fire Epoch Palace. The Sea of Consciousness churned with waves as he constructed Suihuang, the Fire Epoch Palace, and the Fire Tree. Simultaneously, his mental power began to be rapidly consumed, but because he had taken the Feather Spirit Pill, his mental power was also constantly regenerating as it was depleted.

After an unknown amount of time, the medicinal power of the Feather Spirit Pill was exhausted. Zhong Yue immediately took another spiritual pill and continued to cultivate. His Sea of Consciousness was constantly expanding. As his old mental power faded, new power arrived, making his Sea of Consciousness larger and his soul stronger!

Unknowingly, the medicinal power of another Feather Spirit Pill was depleted, and Zhong Yue took a third one.

He consumed Feather Spirit Pill after Feather Spirit Pill, immersed in the wonder of visualization. For the first time, he felt that cultivation was no longer tedious but rather interesting and full of anticipation!

"Huh? The Feather Spirit Pills are gone?"

Zhong Yue suddenly awoke, looking at the empty jade bottle with surprise. Ordinary Upper Court disciples could only digest ten Feather Spirit Pills in a month, but he had somehow consumed them all during this cultivation session without even realizing it!

"It's only been about four days. In four days, I've used up ten Feather Spirit Pills..."

Zhong Yue felt a headache coming on. Cultivating the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization Chart was simply a bottomless pit. Without sufficient financial resources, it was impossible to cultivate!

"No wonder Xin Huo said it could only consume spiritual pills and elixirs. If it ate grains, it would surely drain its body and starve to death!"

Zhong Yue took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out of the quiet room into the backyard garden. He gently stretched his limbs, feeling an explosive power surge within him. He thought, "Ten Feather Spirit Pills, four consecutive days of cultivation. I wonder if I can perform Soul Egress now?"

With a slight movement of his mind, his soul left his body and instantly attached itself to a stone pedestal weighing over a hundred pounds in front of him.

Whoosh—

The stone pedestal suddenly flew up, hovering before Zhong Yue. His soul attached to the pedestal, and as his soul flew, it carried the pedestal with it. This was also a method of combat for Upper Court disciples. The stronger the soul, the heavier the object it could move.

Theoretically, if the soul was strong enough, one could even move a mountain, fly through the sky, and even destroy a city!

However, this was only theoretical.

Among Upper Court disciples, being able to move a thousand pounds was already considered outstanding, and using heavy objects as a means of attack was the most rudimentary approach. Upper Court disciples performing Soul Egress often infused their souls into weapons carved with totem patterns. Once activated, these weapons were as fast as lightning, could cut through iron like mud, were indestructible, and possessed immense power!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

In the garden, Zhong Yue manipulated the stone pedestal, making it fly through the air like the wind, up and down. Suddenly, the pedestal lost control and smashed fiercely into a rockery. The rockery, three to four zhang tall, was smashed in half, with half of it falling into the water. It was astonishing!

"In Sword Gate, there are unique techniques for Soul Egress, using it to control swords, with their own profound swordplay. Only by cultivating those techniques can the power of Soul Egress be fully unleashed, rather than just flailing around and losing control like I am."

Zhong Yue pondered for a moment and thought, "To master the profound art of Soul Egress, someone must teach me. That Upper Court steward said that newly admitted Upper Court disciples would be personally taught by Qi Refiners and taken under their wing. Why hasn't anyone come to find me these past few days?"

He didn't dwell on it and immediately let out a low cry, visualizing the Dragon Totem Body Coiling Art. His mental power surged out, transforming into dragon scales and dragon claws. Gradually, a dragon body appeared, becoming clearer and clearer, coiling around his body!

Then, a ferocious dragon head slowly rose from behind him, staring fiercely ahead, its two dragon claws gripping Zhong Yue's shoulders!

Zhong Yue felt as if boundless power was surging into his arms!

The dragon's two hind claws gripped his legs, making him feel as if he possessed the dragon's explosive power and speed!

Zhong Yue looked at his hands and feet in disbelief. A seemingly solid dragon body was coiled around his arms, torso, and legs, and the dragon's body was even slowly moving. The dragon's head behind him had long whiskers that dangled before his face!

He felt as if he was truly entwined with a ferocious dragon, the dragon's power merging with his own, becoming one!

"The Dragon Totem Body Coiling Art has reached this level. It's probably reached its limit, right?" Zhong Yue murmured.

"Not even close."

Suddenly, the voice of the Kindling Child echoed. Zhong Yue's heart leaped with joy. He saw a small flame float out of the quiet room, with disproportionately small arms and legs and a large head, and fiery red hair. It was the Kindling Child from the bronze lamp.

"Your dragon totem is still far from complete. You've only gained the dragon's skin, not its body, nor its spirit."

Xin Huo leaped onto Zhong Yue, entering through the mouth of the dragon he had visualized. It traveled along the dragon's body, saying, "See, your dragon totem only has skin, no bones, no muscles, no blood vessels. It has form but no substance, so it can only unleash a sliver of a true dragon's power. Your dragon totem also lacks the true divine charm of a fierce dragon; it's still far off. To cultivate this body-refining technique to its peak, you need to capture a living fierce dragon and study it slowly, thoroughly understanding its muscles, blood vessels, bone structure, and divine charm before visualizing it."

Zhong Yue chuckled, "If I could capture a living fierce dragon, would I still need to visualize it?"

"That's true."

Xin Huo pondered for a moment and agreed, "However, if you were a pure-blooded Fuxi Divine Clan member, let alone capturing a fierce dragon, just unleashing your aura would be enough to make it submit to you for study. Huh? So many Fuxi Divine Clan auras! Let's go, let's go, hurry and take me out!"

Zhong Yue dispersed his mental energy, and the Kindling Child immediately burrowed into his Sea of Consciousness, urging, "If we don't find a pure-blooded royal soon and complete the Xin Huo inheritance, I'm afraid I'll extinguish. There are so many people here; maybe we can find a pure-blooded Fuxi Divine Clan member!"

Zhong Yue led him out of the courtyard. He saw many Upper Court disciples heading towards the Upper Court Scripture Hall. It seemed a Qi Refiner had descended from the mountain to impart cultivation techniques.

"Why hasn't any Qi Refiner taken me as a disciple yet?" Zhong Yue wondered, seeing several Outer Disciples who had passed the Azure Sky Hall assessment with him also rushing to the Scripture Hall.

The Kindling Child peered out through Zhong Yue's eyes, muttering, "Not pure-blooded, not pure-blooded, not pure-blooded... What happened to the Fuxi Divine Clan? Among over a thousand people, not a single pure-blooded one can be found. You're better than them! Let's go, let's go over there; there are more people, maybe we can find a pure-blooded one!"

Zhong Yue also wanted to go to the Scripture Hall to ask the person in charge why no Qi Refiner had taken him as a disciple to impart cultivation techniques. As he neared the Scripture Hall, two arcs of light suddenly flashed, and with two dull thuds, two totem pillars landed beside Zhong Yue, one after the other!

Instantly, a pressure emanated from the two totem pillars, bearing down on him fiercely and pinning him in place!

"Zhongshan Clan's Zhong Yue? You seem to have gained quite a bit of weight; I almost didn't recognize you."

An Upper Court disciple strode over, sizing up Zhong Yue. He suddenly lifted his leg and swept it towards Zhong Yue's knees, laughing, "Junior Brother Zhong, we have no enmity, and we've never met before. However, you embarrassed my master, so my master told me to teach you a lesson or two. Oh, right, my master's surname is Tian. You'll kneel here outside the Scripture Hall for a few hours!"