The stone door before the Spirit Disk didn't budge.
"Why hasn't the door opened?" Chu Huai Xu frowned.
Han Shuangjiang stared at the stone door, then turned to look at Chu Huai Xu, still soaking in the pool. They stared at each other.
"That doesn't make sense." He looked up at the towering stone door.
"This person clearly discriminated against certain Spiritual Embryos. Otherwise, why put a Spirit Disk here?"
"You have a Profound Yin Physique, a Super Grade Spiritual Embryo rarely seen in a century. It's as renowned as the Dao Ancestor's Pure Yang Physique!" Chu Huai Xu's frown deepened.
Could the Spirit Disk be broken?
"Wait here a moment," he told Han Shuangjiang. "I'll be done absorbing this in a minute."
There was hardly any Body Tempering Potion left in the pool, and the Water Blades that had been honing his body had vanished, too. The rate at which his Cultivation Technique Experience Points increased had slowed considerably.
About five minutes later, his Experience Points stopped increasing altogether.
Chu Huai Xu checked his Character Panel. The Cultivation Technique Experience Points for the Sword Refining Art had reached 2,131!
Another 200 points would be enough to level up twice.
A little regretfully, he climbed out of the pool. Before doing so, he'd taken a thoughtful look at the four holes at the bottom.
Chu Huai Xu was certain that there was still Body Tempering elixir inside.
After all, this dungeon is meant for ten people, and only the two of us have entered this area so far, he thought.
But there were more important things to deal with now. This wasn't the time to investigate those holes.
Splash! Chu Huai Xu emerged from the pool like a handsome man fresh from his bath.
Han Shuangjiang glanced at him, then immediately looked away.
His clothes were in an absolutely tattered state.
Fortunately, the cuts left by the Water Blades weren't very long, so his robe was barely holding together.
But from the looks of it, if Han Shuangjiang walked over and gave it a hard tug, it would fall apart completely. All the flimsy points holding it together would snap.
Even so, quite a lot of what should and shouldn't have been covered was now on full display.
After seeing Han Shuangjiang quickly glance at him and turn away, Chu Huai Xu grumbled inwardly, Well, well. She got a good look at my great physique.
Fine. Now we're even.
No one's gotten a free look.
With that thought, Chu Huai Xu took a spare robe from his Storage Token and put it on.
He walked up to the Spirit Disk and looked down at it.
"I was planning to trade this thing for Contribution Points. It can't break," he said.
In the Dao Sect, disciples could obtain Cultivation Methods for the Aperture Opening Stage and the First Realm for free.
Techniques, however, were another matter.
And Cultivation Methods for higher realms also had to be exchanged for Contribution Points.
At his words, Han Shuangjiang stepped closer. "It shouldn't be broken."
"The pointer stopped at the tenth mark, which proves you have a Super Grade Spiritual Embryo. That's right, isn't it?" Chu Huai Xu glanced at the stone door. "Could opening the door have nothing to do with the Spirit Disk?"
By then, the flush had completely faded from the cold-faced girl's face, and she had returned to her usual icy demeanor.
She turned to Chu Huai Xu and suggested, "Why don't you try?"
Chu Huai Xu: "?"
You want me to show you my embarrassing Low Grade Spiritual Embryo?
He had thick skin anyway. He didn't care.
I'm on the Waste Path!
Smack! Chu Huai Xu slapped his large hand onto the Spirit Disk.
A mysterious aura spread out. The pointer returned to its starting point, then struggled forward by a single mark.
But in the next instant—
The door opened!
Rumble!
Amid a deep rumble, the stone door slowly swung open.
Chu Huai Xu looked at the Spirit Disk again and realized he might have jumped to the wrong conclusion.
He'd gone through too many dungeons, and sometimes he fell into the habit of thinking along familiar lines.
Many inheritance dungeons tested a person's aptitude.
That was one reason players were so keen to improve their Spiritual Embryo Attributes.
But he hadn't expected this slightly eccentric senior to discriminate against Spiritual Embryos after all.
No, that can't be right. A Super Grade Spiritual Embryo can't open the door, but a Low Grade one can?
Chu Huai Xu's gaze sharpened as a suspicion took shape in his mind.
Excitement began to rise within him. He looked forward to whatever treasure might be waiting inside.
Chu Huai Xu turned to look at Han Shuangjiang. She was still staring at the Spirit Disk, at the first mark.
"What are you looking at?" he said, annoyed.
He picked up the Spirit Disk and put it into his Storage Token.
Han Shuangjiang was a little surprised. She hadn't expected their Spiritual Embryos to be polar opposites.
Thinking back, she realized she'd never learned the exact details of Chu Huai Xu's Spiritual Embryo.
So that's why his cultivation speed... The cold-faced girl was secretly shocked.
She began to reflect on herself. Was she not working hard enough?
Once she returned, she would definitely train even harder!
"Let's go in and take a look." Chu Huai Xu pointed ahead. "There shouldn't be any more tests."
"All right."
The two walked forward side by side and entered through the stone door.
Rumble. The stone door immediately closed behind them on its own.
It was a secret chamber with nothing but a stone table and a stone stool.
A wooden box sat on the table, with a scroll placed in front of it.
Chu Huai Xu looked at the wooden box first.
It was rectangular, about thirty centimeters long, twenty wide, and roughly twenty centimeters tall.
Complex patterns were carved into its blackish-red wood.
"A Spirit Pill Treasure Box?" He recognized it at a glance.
Spirit Pills were usually kept in porcelain or jade bottles.
The Qi Gathering Pill Liu Tianfeng had given him, for example, had come in one.
High-grade Spirit Pills, however, were usually stored in Spirit Pill Treasure Boxes.
Formations were carved inside to keep the medicine from losing its potency. Pills could be stored for years or even decades without being affected.
Spirit Pill Treasure Boxes weren't cheap. Using one to store ordinary pills would be a complete waste.
Seeing the box, Chu Huai Xu's heart began to beat a little faster.
It further confirmed his earlier suspicion.
He looked up at Han Shuangjiang and said, "There might be a High-Grade Spirit Pill inside. Are you sure everything in this Secret Realm is mine, and that we're not sharing?"
Big Ice Block's face remained cold. Her eyes were earnest as she nodded firmly.
"All right. Then I'll take this, and we'll split the Contribution Points from the Spirit Disk." He made the arrangements at once.
Chu Huai Xu opened the Spirit Pill Treasure Box. For such a large box, it held only a single pill, about the size of a longan.
A line of small characters was carved inside the wooden box.
—Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill!
Chu Huai Xu's breath caught. Everything had gone exactly as he'd expected. There really was a High-Grade Spirit Pill inside: the Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill!
A Level 7 Spirit Pill, it could heal a damaged Spiritual Embryo. For someone with a Low Grade Spiritual Embryo, it even had a very high chance of raising its grade.
And, if nothing unexpected had happened, this Spirit Pill had been personally refined by the Pill King!
After creating its Pill Recipe, he had refined one for each of his formal disciples.
"Even before passing away, this senior never took it?"
Did he never get the chance to use it? Chu Huai Xu wondered.
He immediately closed the Spirit Pill Treasure Box to preserve the pill's potency.
"This is the Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill Steward Niu mentioned the other day," he told Han Shuangjiang.
The cold-faced girl's lovely eyes lit up. "Wouldn't it be incredibly useful to you?"
"Yeah." Chu Huai Xu hadn't expected to gain so much from this dungeon.
He picked up the scroll in front of the box and unrolled it.
There was no inheritance inside, just line after line of small writing:
"First Level: a test of fortune. Those with great fortune may pass within two hours. Anyone who takes longer will be expelled from the Secret Realm."
"Second Level: a test of intelligence. Those with sharp minds may see through it within two hours. Anyone who takes longer will be expelled from the Secret Realm."
"As for the Third Level, it tests one's character and one's Dao Heart."
"Only those whose Dao Heart is as steadfast as rock may pass the trial."
"My name is Lei Wenyen. With nothing but a mere Level 3 Low Grade Spiritual Embryo, I attained the realm of a Great Cultivator."
"Only I know the hardships and trials I endured."
"I was fortunate enough to meet my master, the Pill King, who created the Pill Recipe for the Xuantian Fetal Breath Pill. It can change the grade of a Spiritual Embryo."
"Yet my time is nearly up, and my lifespan is coming to an end."
"Junior, you possess both fortune and intelligence, and your Dao Heart is firm. Even with a Low Grade Spiritual Embryo, you can still achieve great things."
"But the road is long and arduous, and I have learned much from walking it."
"Thus I leave a Spirit Disk here, and have not taken this pill."
"Junior of a later generation, the Great Dao lies beneath your feet. I hope you will not lose the courage to move forward just because your Spiritual Embryo lacks aptitude."
"I grant you a fortuitous opportunity!"
(PS: The second update. Today is the last day of the monthly ticket raffle. Please vote!)
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