Ow, Senior Sister! Please Spare Me!

Lin Heng looked up at the sky, then sat down cross-legged once more.

The "Azure Emperor Spirit Devouring Art" was both a cultivation technique and a single method. Its few sparse pages covered only three steps: gathering spiritual energy, breaking acupoints, and opening Spirit Wheels.

Clearly, there had originally been more text after the part about opening Spirit Wheels, yet the most crucial core portion was missing.

Once a Spirit Wheel's spring eye had absorbed its fill of spiritual power, it stopped turning.

If it could be kept in some sort of unsaturated state, would it be able to endlessly absorb the spiritual energy of the outside world on its own?

At that thought, two words suddenly came to Lin Heng's mind!

Balance!

If there were two Spirit Wheels, alternating spiritual power between themselves, with the bones and meridians throughout his body serving as bridges to form a grand circulation—

Wouldn't that connect his entire body from top to bottom?

Lin Heng's gaze sharpened. With a sweep of both arms, he cast the Spirit Gathering Art, repeating the same process to draw the dense spiritual energy around him to his side.

After it condensed into crystalline form and then vortex form, he once again entered a state of inhuman agony.

Opening this Spirit Wheel hurt even more than the first one, and it required twice as much spiritual energy.

Time flew by, yet to Lin Heng, every moment felt incomparably long.

In the blink of an eye, evening had nearly arrived. A muffled boom sounded within his body, and the second acupoint bloomed with a dim blue light. Only when a faint sucking sensation followed did he let out a breath.

Heaven did not disappoint those who worked hard—the second Spirit Wheel had opened wide!

It had taken a full half-day longer than the first Spirit Wheel.

That also meant that every additional Spirit Wheel would demand more time and effort, while the process itself would grow increasingly arduous.

Next came the period in which the Spirit Wheels absorbed spiritual power until they gradually became saturated. This process was not painful; on the contrary, it brought a sense of comfort throughout his body.

It was like warm currents irrigating the inside and outside of his skin, flowing slowly along.

Lin Heng sat upright until dawn, when the most crucial moment finally arrived.

He began trying to guide the first Spirit Wheel to release spiritual power outward. Though the pulling sensation was intense, it remained easy for him to control.

After all, it existed to serve Lin Heng. As a storage device, when its boss wanted to move spiritual power, it had no choice but to comply, willing or not.

The second Spirit Wheel was the same. The spiritual power released by the two came from the same source and quickly mixed together.

Buzz!

As the sound of spiritual power merging and colliding rang out, the two Spirit Wheels seemed to fit one another perfectly and actually began rotating slowly in the same rhythm.

What thrilled him was that, even after reaching saturation, they did not stop rotating. Instead, they began absorbing spiritual energy from the outside world.

Lin Heng did not interfere with this process in the slightest, nor did he deliberately guide it.

It was as though floodgates had been thrown open. No external force was needed; the torrent could pour down on its own.

It worked!

It really worked!

An indescribable joy appeared on Lin Heng's face.

Outwardly, he looked no different from an ordinary person, but within his body lay another mystery altogether.

Only he himself knew that the two Spirit Wheels inside him had begun turning without pause, absorbing the heaven and earth's spiritual energy.

Though it was not as fast as their unsaturated state, this meant that even while resting in the future, his body could autonomously absorb and refine spiritual energy.

He seriously suspected that he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.

Autonomously absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate was not some earth-shattering ability. After all, most special cultivation physiques possessed this capability.

Yet the Azure Emperor Spirit Devouring Art could carve out a path through secluded terrain, absorbing spiritual energy by opening Spirit Wheels.

Looking across the entire Cultivation World, few people had attempted such a method.

For cultivation techniques like the Spirit-Devouring Art, the speed and amount of spiritual energy absorbed depended on the cultivator's own strength. As a cultivator's realm rose, their corresponding speed of absorption also increased.

But this technique required one to continuously break through acupoints and open Spirit Wheels, evolving and upgrading without end. The process was not only complicated, but also extremely painful.

It was truly pain and joy intertwined.

The benefit currently in sight was that the more Spirit Wheels he opened, the faster he could absorb spiritual energy, and the faster his cultivation would rise.

Likewise, as his cultivation rose, opening Spirit Wheels would become easier. The two complemented and promoted each other.

Yet the drawback was that the pain could not be avoided. The difficulty of opening Spirit Wheels would increase with their number, and the speed boost brought by rising cultivation would consequently be dragged down.

Overall, the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.

Feeling that his cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, a satisfied smile inadvertently appeared at the corner of Lin Heng's lips.

In two and a half days, going from a complete novice to entering the path of cultivation was already quite good.

In the original story, it had taken him nearly a month to break through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, and that was with the aid of pills.

"The Ten-Zhang Golden Body isn't urgent. The Qi Refining Realm is an introductory stage; I must lay a solid foundation first."

"I wonder how Master is doing... Perhaps she has already been taken by Ye Tian..."

Lin Heng planned to go take a look at Meng Yutong, and while he was there, obtain some cultivation resources.

The single bottle of Foundation Stabilizing Pills on him would not be enough.

Elsewhere, Ye Tian had already awakened from his coma.

After refining the Life Wood, his complexion had improved considerably.

Mu Liuxi let out a breath of relief. "Not bad. Your spirit has recovered well. Take these three Soul Nourishing Pills over three days, and you should be more or less fine."

"Thank you, Senior Sister. I've made you worry these past two days."

"It's nothing."

Mu Liuxi answered indifferently.

"By the way, Senior Sister, how is Master?"

"Master is still in seclusion. Unless there is an urgent matter, we are not allowed to disturb her."

"Oh..."

Ye Tian nodded, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes as though he were pondering something.

Mu Liuxi watched him silently, scrutinizing the junior brother who had accompanied her for five long years.

Ever since the day Lin Heng appeared, Ye Tian had undergone many changes in her eyes.

It was an indescribable feeling. She could no longer quite see through him.

Likewise, she could not see through Lin Heng any more than she could Ye Tian.

"By the way, the sect seems to have issued missions this morning. Your injuries have yet to heal, and I have other matters to attend to, so I'll have Yun Yao symbolically take on two missions and complete them."

The moment Mu Liuxi finished speaking, Ye Tian immediately looked up. "They were issued today? No, Senior Sister, I must participate. Once I complete this round of missions, I'll be able to enter the Star Picking Tower."

With that, Ye Tian did not hesitate further. He leaped out of bed and hurried out.

Sect missions were issued once at the beginning of every month, and disciples from all Seven Peaks would fight over the available slots. Completing missions earned contribution points.

Not only could contribution points be exchanged for generous rewards, but once enough had been accumulated, one could earn an opportunity to enter the Star Picking Tower for training.

He did not want to delay his progress by a month over such a minor injury.

At the same time.

Main Peak · Treasure Pavilion

More than a hundred disciples bustled around a pillar covered in mission plaques.

Mission ranks were divided into four tiers: A, B, C, and D.

The difficulty and contribution point rewards increased in turn.

The simplest A-Class Missions rewarded only thirty to fifty points. They were generally chosen by Qi Refining Realm disciples and usually involved capturing a few vicious criminals.

B-Class Missions and C-Class Missions were available for Foundation Establishment Realm disciples. Their difficulty was higher, and some C-Class Missions could only be completed by Golden Core Realm disciples.

Their point rewards ranged from one hundred to two hundred.

As for D-Class Missions, there was no need to think about it. Only disciples at the Golden Core Realm or above could select them. Anyone below that realm who went would be no different from delivering their own head.

Every year, the sect had a few people whose eyes were higher than their abilities and whose heads were made of iron. Not only did they get themselves killed, they also brought shame upon the sect.

"Ow, Senior Sister! Please spare me! I'm not interested in points. I really don't want to take part in missions."

Lin Heng had originally been heading to Fragrant Cloud Hall to shake Meng Yutong down for loot, only to be caught red-handed by Yun Yao halfway there.

She had dragged him directly to the Main Peak.

"Hmph!" Yun Yao looked him up and down, then gave a soft snort. "It's only been two days since I last saw you, and you're already at the Qi Refining Second Layer... You hid yourself well!"

"Even if you don't want to go, you have to. Senior Sister Liu Xi has matters to attend to, and Junior Brother Ye needs to cultivate in seclusion for a while."

"The minimum requirement for every mission is two people. If you don't go with me, who will?"

Lin Heng narrowed his eyes, his face full of bewilderment.

No way! There's even a minimum number of participants?

Judging by the story's progression, Ye Tian was definitely supposed to participate in this sect mission!

Ye Tian is going to use me as a tool to take you down. If I go, this leg of mine will be ruined!

You may be in a hurry to throw yourself at him, but I don't want to become a cripple!

Just as Lin Heng was about to come up with an excuse to refuse, a figure suddenly appeared outside the door.