"Clang~" The gates of the Martial Hall swung open. Outside, the night was still hazy, with only a little light in the distance.
It was already the dead of night.
"Young master, what is it?" Gu Ji opened his eyes. He had been sitting cross-legged in the pavilion nearby.
"How long has it been since I went in?" Wu Yuan asked softly.
"Half an hour," Gu Ji replied.
"Mm." Wu Yuan nodded, turned around, and shut the door. The heavy gates of the Martial Hall closed once more.
"What is the young master doing?" A trace of confusion crossed even Gu Ji's usually unruffled eyes.
In theory, Martial Masters had a fairly clear sense of time passing.
Gu Ji didn't dwell on it.
As long as Wu Yuan was safe, he didn't care about anything else.
The Martial Hall was still dark.
"I clearly felt like I'd slept for ages, yet only half an hour has passed?" Wu Yuan murmured as he sat cross-legged.
It was beyond his expectations.
He had estimated that at least two or three hours had passed.
"Gao Yu said that I can only take two Spirit Condensing Pills at a time, and that there has to be at least half a month between doses?" Wu Yuan turned the jade bottle over in his palm.
Normally, Wu Yuan shouldn't take any more right now.
But he also remembered Gao Yu saying that after taking a Spirit Condensing Pill, he would need several days of quiet cultivation to recover.
"Right now, my spirit feels stronger than ever, and there's nothing wrong with me." Wu Yuan muttered, "It's only been half an hour, and I seem to have fully absorbed both Spirit Condensing Pills. That's not what Gao Yu said would happen."
Could Gao Yu have been wrong? Surely not. This must have been based on the Hengyun Sect's accumulated experience.
But Wu Yuan's situation clearly didn't fit that experience.
"People have different constitutions. Most martial artists probably have trouble absorbing Spirit Condensing Pills, while I'm exceptionally suited to them?" Wu Yuan speculated.
With ordinary Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Wu Yuan would have proceeded cautiously.
For instance, when he'd used Spirit Liquid before, he'd been very patient.
But Spirit Condensing Pills were different.
Their wondrous effects had given him hope of opening the Upper Dantian Palace in one fell swoop.
If he followed Gao Yu's instructions, it would take two or three months to finish taking them!
Wu Yuan couldn't wait that long.
"What if I could open the Upper Dantian Palace several months earlier?" Wu Yuan murmured. "The benefits are obvious."
Every day of the body's golden period of growth was precious!
"I'll try!"
After weighing it over and over, Wu Yuan decided to keep going. This time, though, he didn't swallow two pills. He chose just one Spirit Condensing Pill.
Just as before.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into streams of strange energy that surged into his brain. Even though Wu Yuan had been prepared this time, he still couldn't stop it.
As expected, Wu Yuan quickly felt tired.
But this time, his powerful will let him hold on a little longer before he finally lost consciousness and fell asleep.
The same thing happened again.
Unbeknownst to Wu Yuan, streams of mysterious, blood-colored energy poured out of the Upper Dantian Palace and gradually seeped into his entire body.
Only, there seemed to be far less of it than in the previous wave!
"Phew!" Wu Yuan came to again and opened his eyes. The first thing he did was sense the area of his brain.
It was clearer!
In his perception, the Upper Dantian Palace had become much clearer.
His spirit had indeed grown noticeably stronger.
Without hesitation, he pushed open the Martial Hall's gates.
"Uncle Ji, how long has it been since I last opened the door to ask you the time?" Wu Yuan asked outright.
"About fifteen minutes," Gu Ji replied crisply.
"Mm."
"Clang~" The gates shut at once.
"Has the young master... gone daft from cultivating?" Gu Ji frowned.
Even someone as reserved and composed as he was could tell that Wu Yuan was acting strangely.
He shook his head and closed his eyes to resume his quiet cultivation.
The method he practiced required his heart to become utterly still!
"So, one Spirit Condensing Pill puts me to sleep for about half an hour?" Wu Yuan sat in the middle of the training grounds.
"And it seems I can keep refining Spirit Condensing Pills, letting my 'spirit' grow stronger and stronger. At least, nothing's wrong with me so far."
Wu Yuan poured out another Spirit Condensing Pill.
He thought it over.
"Gulp!" Wu Yuan swallowed it.
This time, he stayed awake longer, but in the end, he still fell asleep.
It felt as if ages passed.
Wu Yuan came to again. The moment he opened his eyes, he tested his spirit. It had grown stronger, just as before.
And he still felt perfectly fine.
By now, his doubts and worries had largely faded.
"Though I don't know why, it's obvious my talent in the area of 'spirit' is beyond ordinary people." Wu Yuan's eyes shone.
Ten Spirit Condensing Pills? They really were a splendid gift from the Hengyun Sect.
"Keep going!" Wu Yuan continued without hesitation.
The fifth pill...
The sixth...
The seventh...
At last!
When Wu Yuan swallowed the eighth Spirit Condensing Pill, his 'spirit' had grown incredibly strong—far beyond what it had been before he took any pills.
This time, he finally resisted the wave of fatigue. His consciousness grew extremely hazy, but he never completely lost it.
As streams of strange energy surged into his mind, Wu Yuan finally felt his 'spirit' rapidly growing stronger. Without realizing it, his perception of the entire world became different—sharper, more acute.
On another front—
"What is this? This energy?" Wu Yuan clearly sensed wisps of strange, blood-colored energy. They seemed to be reshaping his flesh, bones, and sinews at a deeper level.
He hadn't noticed or known about this before.
The strange energy came and went quickly, vanishing in an instant.
After a long while, Wu Yuan finally emerged completely from that dazed state, recalling everything that had just happened.
"That strange, blood-colored energy... did it come from the Upper Dantian Palace?" Wu Yuan was utterly perplexed and astonished.
The Upper Dantian Palace was far too mysterious!
Wu Yuan knew far too little about it.
Yet he had a vague feeling that, though his body hadn't grown stronger, it seemed more vigorous than before!
Wu Yuan didn't rashly take the ninth Spirit Condensing Pill. Instead, he began to use 'Internal Vision' on himself, sensing his bones and sinews one step at a time.
His spirit was far stronger than before, and his perception during Internal Vision was much clearer.
He could probe deeper, down to a more microscopic level.
"Hmm? Some tiny internal injuries that were difficult to heal before have all vanished without a trace?" As Wu Yuan sensed further, he quickly noticed more unusual changes. "And it's not just those tiny injuries that have healed."
"Before, I clearly felt that my muscles, bones, and sinews had been strengthened to their limit. I had to slowly 'nourish' them for a while, building a stronger foundation before I could practice the Tiger Leopard Bone Refining Technique again and temper my body."
"But now, why does it feel like there's still room to improve? And as if doing so wouldn't damage my potential?" Wu Yuan reached that conclusion.
He was stunned!
How was that possible?
It was hard to believe, but Wu Yuan began to understand.
That mysterious force that had just surged from the Upper Dantian Palace seemed to have reshaped his body from its very source, increasing its potential!
The improvement wasn't great, but its implications were profound...
"Is this... evolution toward a flawless body?" Wu Yuan murmured.
A perfect body meant starting from the time one was a tiny child, cultivating every step to its utmost and forging the most perfect body bit by bit.
But that had always existed only in theory.
Now, thinking of that mysterious energy, Wu Yuan could see a faint possibility of achieving it himself.
The prerequisite was that there be enough of that mysterious blood-colored energy!
"I'll try again." Wu Yuan took the ninth Spirit Condensing Pill. This time, resisting the wave of fatigue was easier.
His consciousness was clearer, too.
But to Wu Yuan's surprise, that mysterious blood-colored energy didn't pour out of the Upper Dantian Palace again.
"Has it been used up?" A trace of disappointment welled in Wu Yuan's heart.
"My spirit?"
Wu Yuan also noticed that this time the Spirit Condensing Pill had strengthened his spirit much less, as if it were nearing its limit.
But on the other hand—
"The Upper Dantian Palace." Wu Yuan focused his spiritual awareness in his brain, straining to sense that hazy, indistinct place.
He pushed himself to the utmost, trying to perceive it clearly once and for all!
At last—
"Boom!"
Wu Yuan felt an odd explosion ring through his mind, as if the shackles of life had been broken. Waves of joy surged through his heart, beyond his control.
Then, Wu Yuan's 'spirit' sensed a wondrous place!
Hazy and boundless! Vast beyond measure!
There was no up or down.
No left or right.
In the center of that boundless expanse floated a towering, ancient black tower, radiating an aura of age and immensity!
Wisps of thin, blood-colored mist coiled around the black tower.
"This black tower... it's that!" Wu Yuan sensed the towering black tower, utterly shocked.
Its familiar shape flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning, and a host of guesses sprang up at once.
"Could it be the reason I descended into the Central Land World?"
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