Orange Spirit Mist Sea

Qingming Peak is located to the north of the Qingyun Mountain Range. Compared to the deserted Qingyou Peak, this place is much better, with many disciples cultivating. However, most of these disciples are middle-aged and elderly, making it seem much more somber than Qingyun Peak. Yet, the other peaks of the Qingyun Sect never dare to underestimate Qingming Peak, because the old men of Qingming Peak study formations and restrictions. They have immersed themselves in the art of formations for a long time, and once they set up a formation, even those a level higher than them would not be their match, being trapped within the great formation and unable to escape.

"Father, are those formations?" Ling Tian looked at the strange objects on Qingming Peak. Stones and trees were arranged according to a certain pattern, faintly resonating with heaven and earth, mysterious and unfathomable. Ling Tian had also read the "Compendium of Formations" and naturally knew a little about formations.

"This is the sect protection formation of Qingyou Peak. It hasn't been activated yet, and it's just some crude stuff, not even worth mentioning." With Lingyun's cultivation and knowledge, he naturally disdained Qingming Peak's formation. However, he changed the subject and said, "But the formations here are no less than the sect protection formation of Qingyun Peak. For their current cultivation, being able to set up such a formation is indeed quite good."

"Father said these formations are very crude, but why can't I understand them? I've also meticulously studied that book, the 'Compendium of Formations,' many times." Ling Tian's expression held a hint of confusion and dejection.

"Haha, you call it the 'Compendium of Formations,' but how could it be? It's just a little bit of an introduction to formations." Hearing Ling Tian's words, Lingyun laughed heartily and added, "Besides, with your mental cultivation, which hasn't even reached Spiritual Sense, how can you understand the formations set up by those on Qingming Peak whose mental cultivation is at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or even Nascent Soul Realm?"

"Oh, so that's how it is. It seems the path of formations is truly vast and profound." Ling Tian's face was full of astonishment, and his sense of dejection vanished. He thought about it; how long had they been cultivating, and how old was he? It was normal that he couldn't understand the formations they set up.

"Every path has its own characteristics, and every path is vast and profound. We have only learned a little bit of the superficial. When you venture out in the future, never underestimate any profession or trade. If you study deeply, you can also comprehend the Great Dao and gain extraordinary abilities," Lingyun said leisurely.

Lingyun's original sect, Lingxiao Pavilion, emphasized embracing all rivers and learning from the strengths of all schools. Naturally, he knew not to underestimate any cultivation path, no matter how seemingly weak.

"Yes, this son has learned his lesson." Ling Tian said respectfully, knowing that his father was giving him advice.

"Senior Lingyun, welcome to our humble peak. Please forgive our lack of proper welcome." At this moment, an old man with a vigorous spirit floated over, bowing from a distance.

"Peak Master Yuan, you are too kind." Lingyun's tone was calm. Listening to Lingyun, that person was actually the Peak Master of Qingming Peak, Yuan Ming.

"May I ask why Senior has come..." Yuan Ming was not bothered by Lingyun's indifference and asked.

"I just wanted to take Tian'er around. You don't need to follow; go about your business." Lingyun waved his hand, still as calm as water.

Yuan Ming looked at Ling Tian beside Lingyun with a look of pity. It seemed he was full of indignation about Ling Tian's Congenital Meridian Blockage, feeling that heaven was too unfair to talented individuals. After a long sigh, he said, "This junior will take his leave."

With that, his figure flashed and disappeared.

"Let's go to the back peak of Qingming Peak." After Yuan Ming left, Lingyun said to Ling Tian, who was looking around.

Ling Tian didn't say anything and followed his father.

There were many disciples cultivating on Qingming Peak, most of them with their eyes closed, contemplating the way of formations. Lingyun and his son walked past without any reaction, as if they hadn't seen them. Cultivators should have such dedication and perseverance to remain unmoved by external factors, otherwise, it would be difficult to reach the true hall of cultivation.

Soon, they arrived at the back peak. Unlike Qingyou Peak, which was lush with trees, this place had artificial waterfalls and flowing springs, secluded paths and small pavilions, strange rocks, and peculiar trees, all of which seemed to blend seamlessly with the entire peak, harmonizing with nature.

"Tian'er, look, that's the 'Orange Spirit Mist Sea.' This mist sea never dissipates year-round. Inside the mist sea, you can't see anything beyond a foot away, and it also has some magical effects, making it very suitable for practicing mental cultivation when you're just starting." After walking for a while longer, Lingyun pointed to a mist sea not far from a small pavilion.

The extent of the mist sea was unknown, covering a large area of Qingming Peak's back peak. Strangely, the mist sea was orange, with swirling Spiritual Energy, quite extraordinary.

"Father, can I just go in?" Ling Tian was a little confused. He didn't believe it was that simple.

"Of course not. After entering, you need to try to 'see' things with your mental power. The more you see, and the clearer it is, the better," Lingyun said with a slight smile, neither confirming nor denying.

"Oh, I understand. I'll go in then." Ling Tian said after thinking for a moment.

"Yes, go ahead. But don't go too deep at first, lest you get lost in there," Lingyun instructed, then went to sit in a nearby pavilion.

Ling Tian slowly walked into the "Orange Spirit Mist Sea." A cool breeze greeted him, feeling very comfortable. Just a few meters in, he realized its uniqueness. He had seen other mist seas before, and the mist on Qingyou Peak was not much smaller than this. However, here, his eyes couldn't even see things a foot away, whereas with Ling Tian's eyesight, he could see at least tens of meters away in other mist seas.

"The Creator is truly magical. The vast world is truly colorful and full of wonders," Ling Tian couldn't help but exclaim.

Walking a few more meters, Ling Tian remembered his father's instructions and didn't go any deeper. After looking around, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. He tried hard to control his mental power to sense the scenery around his body. After a moment, he sensed many small particles of orange energy around him.

"Father said to 'see' with mental power, but why do I only feel these small particles of energy?" Ling Tian murmured to himself, somewhat puzzled.

"'See' is with the eyes. The eyes can only see a small area at a time, while my mental power senses everything around me. I should probably concentrate my mental power in one spot and use it as eyes," Ling Tian thought, experimenting as he thought.

He controlled his mental power, gathering it all together, and only looked at the hand he extended in front of him. After a moment, he felt a difference. He no longer just saw the energy particles around him, but he truly "saw" a hand, although it was just a blurry shadow. Still, he had "seen" it.

"Hey, it really works, hehe." Ling Tian exclaimed, but because of this, his mental power relaxed slightly, and he could no longer see his hand.

"Alas, my mental cultivation is still too low. Father said he can see everything within dozens or even hundreds of miles that he wants to see, and the range and duration are much better than mine. I wonder when I will reach that realm?" Ling Tian couldn't help but yearn for the future, and his admiration for his father grew even greater. He knew that his current mental power could barely see a small area within a foot of himself.

"I shouldn't aim too high. The most important thing right now is to cultivate Spiritual Sense as soon as possible. Once Spiritual Sense is formed, it can be projected outwards, and then I should be able to see farther." Lingyun had told him that cultivation should be done step by step, never being greedy for more, and that building a solid foundation was crucial. Ling Tian naturally wouldn't forget this. With that thought, he began to "see" his hand again.

Time flew by, and a quarter of an hour slowly passed. Ling Tian gradually began to feel overwhelmed. The mental power consumption was immense, far more tiring than using his eyes to see. Gradually, a dense layer of sweat beads emerged from Ling Tian's forehead, growing larger and larger, and then flowing down his face.

"Ugh, I didn't expect the consumption to be so high. It's really tiring," Ling Tian couldn't help but sigh, but he didn't stop "seeing" his hand.

"I can barely hold on after only this short time. No, I can't give up just like this." Ling Tian's stubbornness kicked in, and he gritted his teeth to persevere.

If Ling Yun knew that he could persist for a quarter of an hour on his first try, he would probably be astonished. Most people could barely see things around them after many attempts, and being able to persist for a few seconds was already quite good. Ling Tian naturally didn't know this; he still thought his mental cultivation was too low and that he needed to strengthen his mental cultivation.

After persisting for another half an hour, his mental power was finally exhausted, and he could no longer hold on. He fainted on the ground. Sweat soaked his clothes and flowed onto the ground, wetting a large area.

"Ugh, my head really hurts." After about half an hour, Ling Tian slowly woke up. He immediately felt a splitting headache, his head was groggy, and he had no strength in his body.

"Huh? My mental power is recovering quickly. The recovery speed is more than twice as fast as before." Ling Tian had also experienced complete exhaustion of mental power when he tried to cultivate Spiritual Energy before, and the recovery speed was much slower then.

"My mental power has also strengthened a bit. It seems Father was right; every time mental power is completely exhausted and then fully recovered, it will increase slightly." Ling Tian discovered the changes in himself after a moment and understood, recalling his father's words.

Normal cultivation of Spiritual Energy or mental power only increased slowly. This growth required a long accumulation to be noticeable, and usually, no growth was perceived.

"Huh? The orange energy particles around me are rapidly converging towards me. What's going on?" Since Ling Tian had just awakened and hadn't had time to condense his mental power, he naturally sensed the orange energy particles gathering towards him.

"The energy particles converge at my glabella and disappear. They should be entering my mind. No wonder my mental power recovers so quickly. So this Orange Spirit Mist Sea can replenish mental power. No wonder Father brought me here; it all makes sense now." Ling Tian suddenly realized.

Qingyou Peak also had mist every day, and the dense fog was no less than this. Ling Tian had wondered why his father brought him here, but now he understood.

"I should cultivate quickly and not let Father's painstaking efforts go to waste." Ling Tian's heart stirred, and he began a new round of cultivation.

Thus, Ling Tian began his hellish training. When his mental power was full, he would continue to condense it to "see" his hand. When it was exhausted, he would quickly recover it in the mist sea. His mental power grew slowly through repeated exhaustion and recovery. And the hand Ling Tian could "see" was no longer as blurry as it was at the beginning; he could vaguely distinguish each finger.

"Whew, I'm so tired, and hungry too. But I can clearly feel my mental cultivation has grown. This feeling is good; it's worth being tired and hungry," Ling Tian had been cultivating from morning until now, without a drop of water, and with immense consumption, he was naturally tired and hungry, almost to the point of collapse.

"I should eat something to replenish some fluids first. Otherwise, if I faint again next time, I might not wake up for a long time." Saying this, he took out the dried food, fruits, and a kettle he had prepared earlier from his Storage Ring and wolfed them down.

After eating his fill (there was no alcohol here, so please don't dwell on it), Ling Tian rested for a moment before continuing his cultivation. The cycle of fainting and waking up began once more. Immersed in his cultivation, Ling Tian was unaware of the passage of time. Of course, being within the Orange Spirit Mist Sea, he naturally couldn't see the changes in the sky.

"Squeak squeak!" In the small pavilion outside the mist, Humei suddenly squeaked, a hint of anxiety in her voice. By now, the sky had long since darkened, and stars were scattered across the heavens.

"This child, once he starts cultivating, he forgets all about time. If we don't call him, he'll probably keep cultivating," Lingyun said, looking up at the sky and stretching his body, which ached from sitting for so long.

"Tian'er, it's getting late, time to go back." Lingyun shouted, his voice quickly penetrating the mist sea.

"Why do we have to go back so soon? It hasn't been that long?" Ling Tian was utterly confused. In his perception, only an hour or two had passed. Nevertheless, he stood up and walked out.

"Why did it get dark so quickly?" Ling Tian emerged from the mist sea, the sky full of stars displaying the passage of time to him.

"Tian'er, how was your cultivation?" Lingyun asked with concern.

"It was okay, I can barely see my own hands now." Ling Tian stretched his body, the cracking of his bones echoing far into the silent night.

"Mm, quite good. Let's go back, come on." With his words, a Jade Flute was summoned. Lingyun, carrying Humei and Ling Tian, transformed into a streak of blue light and whistled away, quickly merging into the night sky.