Oh, 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 method and a single technique. Though it consisted of only a few pages, it covered just three steps: gathering spiritual energy, breaking acupoints, and opening Spirit Wheels.

Clearly, there had originally been more text after the section on opening Spirit Wheels. What was missing happened to be the most crucial core portion.

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 continuously 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, exchanging spiritual power with each other, while the bones and meridians throughout his body served as bridges to form a great circulation through his entire body—

Wouldn't that connect every part of him from head to toe?

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 passing through the stages of condensation into crystalline and vortex states, he entered that utterly inhuman agony once again.

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

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

In the blink of an eye, evening had nearly arrived. Accompanied by a muffled boom from within his body, the second acupoint bloomed with a dim blue light. Only when a faint sucking sensation came did he finally let out a breath.

Heaven did not disappoint those who worked hard. His second Spirit Wheel had opened wide!

It had taken him half an entire day longer than the first Spirit Wheel.

This also meant that every additional Spirit Wheel would require more time and effort to open, and the process would only grow harsher.

Next came the time for the Spirit Wheels to absorb spiritual power until they gradually reached saturation. This process was not painful; instead, it left his entire body feeling incomparably comfortable.

It was like warm currents watering the inside and outside of his skin, flowing slowly through him.

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

He began trying to guide the first Spirit Wheel to release spiritual power outward. Though the pulling sensation was intense, it was still effortlessly under his control.

After all, it existed to serve Lin Heng. As a storage device, when its master needed to circulate spiritual power, even if it was unwilling, there was nothing it could do.

The same was true of the second Spirit Wheel. The spiritual power released by the two shared the same origin and soon mingled together.

Buzz!

As the sound of spiritual power merging and colliding rang out, the two Spirit Wheels seemed to have found their match. They actually began rotating slowly at the same pace.

What excited him was that, after reaching saturation, neither of them stopped turning. Instead, they began absorbing the spiritual energy of the outside world.

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

It was as though the floodgate had been thrown open. No outside force was needed—the raging waters could come pouring down on their own.

It worked!

It really worked!

An indescribable joy surfaced on Lin Heng's face.

Outwardly, he looked no different from an ordinary person, but inside his body lay hidden mysteries.

Only he knew that the two Spirit Wheels within him had begun turning endlessly, absorbing the world's spiritual energy.

Although it was not as fast as an unsaturated state, this meant that even while resting, his body could autonomously absorb and refine spiritual energy from now on.

He seriously suspected he had stumbled upon an incredible treasure.

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

Yet the Azure Emperor Spirit Devouring Art could carve out a path through the wilderness, using the opening of Spirit Wheels to absorb spiritual energy.

Across the entire Cultivation World, few people had ever attempted such a method.

For cultivation methods 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 absorption speed increased as well.

But this cultivation method required one to continuously break through acupoints and open Spirit Wheels, evolving and upgrading without end. Not only was the process complicated, it was also extraordinarily painful.

It truly was pain and joy walking hand in hand.

The benefit he could currently see 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 improved, opening Spirit Wheels would become easier. The two complemented and promoted each other.

But the downside was that the pain could not be avoided. The difficulty of opening Spirit Wheels increased with their number, which in turn would slow the speed boost brought by rising cultivation.

Overall, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

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

Going from complete novice to entering the path of cultivation in two and a half days was already quite good.

In the original storyline, it had taken him nearly a month to break through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, even with medicinal pills assisting him.

There's no rush to cultivate the Ten-Zhang Golden Body. The Qi Refining Realm is only the entry stage; I must lay a solid foundation.

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

Lin Heng planned to go check on Meng Yutong, and while he was there, get some cultivation resources.

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

Meanwhile, 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 spirits have 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 faintly.

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

"Master is still in seclusion. Unless there is something important, 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 quietly stared at him, scrutinizing this junior brother who had accompanied her for five years.

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

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

Likewise, she could not see through Lin Heng either.

"By the way, it seems the sect 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 two missions and complete them."

As soon as Mu Liuxi finished speaking, Ye Tian immediately raised his head. "They were issued today? No, Senior Sister, I have to participate. Once I complete these missions, I'll be able to enter the Star Picking Tower."

With that, Ye Tian stopped hesitating. He leaped out of bed and hurriedly ran outside.

Sect missions were issued once at the start of every month. Disciples from all Seven Peaks competed for the slots, and completing missions earned contribution points.

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

He did not want a minor injury like this to delay his progress by an entire month.

At the same time.

Main Peak · Treasure Pavilion

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

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

Their difficulty and point rewards increased in sequence.

The simplest A-Class Missions awarded only thirty to fifty points. They were generally chosen by Qi Refining Realm disciples and mostly involved capturing certain vicious criminals.

B-Class Missions and C-Class Missions could be selected by 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 choose them. Going below that realm would be no different from delivering one's head on a platter.

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

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

Lin Heng had originally been on his way to Fragrant Cloud Hall to shake Meng Yutong down for cultivation resources, but Yun Yao caught him red-handed midway.

She had directly dragged him to the Main Peak.

"Hmph!" Yun Yao sized him up and down, then snorted softly. "It's only been two days since I last saw you, and you're already at the Qi Refining Second Layer... You've been hiding yourself well!"

"Whether you want to go or not, you have to go. Senior Sister Liu Xi has matters to handle, and Junior Brother Ye needs to cultivate in seclusion for a while."

"Every mission requires at least two people. If you won't go with me, who will?"

Lin Heng narrowed his eyes, his face blank with bewilderment.

No way! There's even a minimum participant requirement?

Going by the story's rhythm, Ye Tian will definitely take part in this sect mission!

Ye Tian is going to use me as a tool to win you over. If I go, this leg of mine will be crippled!

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 think of an excuse to refuse, a figure suddenly appeared outside the door.