Spiritual Power Cultivation, the Art of Returning Light

"Come on, Junior Brother. I'll take you to find Ghost Bishop."

At the entrance to the Archive, Bibi Dong beckoned to Gu Han, who was walking behind her with his head lowered in thought.

"Senior Sister, let's leave it at that for today. It's getting late, and I'm a little tired. We should both head back and rest first."

"But what about your parents?" Bibi Dong hesitated.

"Senior Sister, this isn't something that can be figured out in a day or two. I've already troubled you too much today. You should head back and rest as soon as possible too."

Gu Han smiled and waved his hand. Bibi Dong had been quite warmhearted when she was young.

"Oh, then... all right, Junior Brother. I'll be going first."

Bibi Dong hesitantly glanced at Gu Han. Only after seeing that he truly did not seem upset did she wave and leave.

Gu Han smiled and waved, watching Bibi Dong depart.

Gu Han glanced at the library beside him and walked inside.

The library was extremely spacious, with neat rows of bookshelves filled with all kinds of books.

There were not many people in the library. Gu Han looked carefully and found only a dozen or so.

His gaze swept across the titles on the shelves one by one. Most introduced the traits of a particular Spirit Beast, the characteristics of its age, and whether it possessed any special skills.

They were also remarkably comprehensive. A single Spirit Beast's introduction could fill an entire book, including its habits, living patterns, habitats, various skills, mutated variants, and the Soul Skill traits produced at each age range. Everything was explained clearly.

Gu Han picked up a book about the Titan Giant Ape and began reading. It contained over a hundred thousand words, introducing the creature in great detail.

In short, it told Spirit Masters one thing: this Spirit Beast was powerful and suitable for Power Attack System Spirit Masters to hunt. But it was very powerful—even a hundred-year-old one could contend with a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. Ordinary Spirit Masters had to be extremely careful and think twice before attempting to hunt it.

"No wonder there aren't many people researching theory. It's so long-winded. Most young people are impatient, and they still have to cultivate. Who has time to read all this rambling material?"

Gu Han Shook Head and returned the book to its original place.

His gaze searched again, landing on a book titled "On the Direction of Obtaining Spirit Rings for Plant System Spirit Masters."

Seeing this book reminded Gu Han of what Yu Xiaogang had told Tang San: there had never been a precedent for a Plant System Spirit Master absorbing the Spirit Ring of a Beast Martial Soul.

At the time, Yu Xiaogang had completely treated Tang San as an experimental tool.

The first page opened with a question that struck at the soul.

Discussion: Do Plant System Spirit Masters possess the conditions necessary to absorb the Spirit Rings of Beast Soul Beasts?

The arguments listed many examples. It was not as though no one on the continent had ever tried it, but mismatched attributes prevented the Martial Soul from receiving the proper evolution. When facing Power Attack System Spirit Masters, the restrictive effect would also be greatly weakened.

There was also a certain risk of causing a reverse mutation in the Martial Soul.

Conclusion: Plant System Spirit Masters could absorb the Spirit Rings of Beast Soul Beasts, but the results were inferior to absorbing the Spirit Rings of Plant Soul Beasts. Therefore, it was not recommended for Plant System Spirit Masters to absorb the Spirit Rings of Beast Soul Beasts.

Flipping further through the book, he found mostly side effects and cases encountered by Plant System Spirit Masters who had absorbed the Spirit Rings of Beast Soul Beasts.

He did not know whether Yu Xiaogang in the original story had ever read this book tucked away in a corner, but judging by Yu Xiaogang's performance in the original story, he most likely had not.

Most of Yu Xiaogang's theories concerned Spirit Beast habits and traits. With so many books here, even if Yu Xiaogang had spent a long time reading in this place during his youth, it would have been impossible for him to finish them all.

Being able to gain a general understanding of books on the traits and attributes of all kinds of Spirit Beasts was already quite impressive.

Gu Han casually found a few more books that interested him and skimmed through them. Only when night fell did he close his book, rise to his feet, and stretch lazily.

The night was like a painting, stars scattered across the sky, while moonlight fell over the earth like snow.

Spirit Hall was still brightly lit at this time. Gu Han had no mind to observe the scenery along the road and returned to his lodgings.

Naturally, it could not compare to the accommodations of the hidden Saintess, Bibi Dong, but Gu Han did not care about such things.

As far as he was concerned, any house that did not leak wind and rain was acceptable.

Gu Han took a bath, went to the dining hall for a simple meal, and then dropped onto his bed.

With the help of the Nameless Technique, his cultivation speed could be said to be extremely fast.

If he had not chosen to compress the Soul Power of every level to its limit before breaking through, he might already have been above Level 30.

Gu Han sat in the five-hearts-facing-heaven posture and looked inward at his Dantian.

At this moment, a ball of white qi floated within his Dantian. Beneath it, his Soul Power had liquefied, giving off a misty aura while also carrying a chilling sensation.

Although he was only Level 23 now, his actual combat strength was likely no weaker than that of an ordinary Soul Ancestor.

Back at the Great Soul Arena, he had once defeated a Level 38 Power Attack System Soul Elder.

He did not merely cultivate Soul Power; he also cultivated Spiritual Power.

The method of cultivating Spiritual Power recorded in the Nameless Technique differed from Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes.

According to the Nameless Technique, a person's spirit lay in a point of Spiritual Light within the Spirit Platform. This light would inadvertently leak out through a person's eyes.

The light that leaked out was lost Spiritual Power. To prevent this light from leaking through one's gaze, one had to learn Returning Light.

Gu Han could not achieve complete Returning Light, but he could at least slow the rate at which the light leaked away.

Once Returning Light was successfully achieved, the spirit would form on its own, and all energy within the body would transform into Spiritual Power. It was a method of spiritual cultivation that sought inward.

Naturally, if one could return the light, one could also release it. However, Gu Han rarely used such a thing unless he encountered a tremendous crisis and needed to concentrate with his entire mind.

This Returning Light Method reminded Gu Han of a Daoist term from an anime he had watched in his previous life.

Spirit Radiance Concealment!!

Perhaps there were some slight differences, but they were seventy or eighty percent alike. Both were methods of keeping the Light of Spirit within the body.

Gu Han closed his eyes and cultivated his Spiritual Power. Previously, he might still have needed sleep, but cultivating Spiritual Power could now replace sleep for him.

The next morning, sunlight gradually pierced into the room through the window. Feeling the warmth on his skin, Gu Han slowly opened his eyes.

A flash of brilliance passed through his eyes, but Gu Han quickly restrained it.

"Alas, Spirit Radiance Concealment truly isn't something that can be completed so easily."

Gu Han sighed. Just now, without realizing it, he had still accidentally allowed a wisp of Light of Spirit to leak out.

But he was not discouraged. The greatest taboos in cultivation were impatience and aiming too high. One had to proceed step by step, leaving solid footprints along the way.

Only by consolidating every minor level could Gu Han possess the foundation to face every unexpected change that might occur in the future.