Mysterious Soul

Chapter 20: Mysterious Soul

That said, Shi Yue's cultivation was indeed a bit low—only at the third layer of Qi Refining.

After much deliberation, he entered the Mysterious Space, intending to cultivate there for a while and break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

He took out a White Porcelain Bottle, tipped out a Green Pill, and placed it into his mouth.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, it melted instantly, transforming into a stream of pure spiritual energy that coursed through the meridians of Shi Yue's entire body.

He hurriedly circulated the Great Void Art to refine this pure spiritual energy, slowly closing his eyes.

Shi Yue stayed in the space for twenty days, consuming all the Qi Refining Powder he had on him, hoping to use the medicinal power to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Twenty days later, Shi Yue abruptly opened his eyes.

The moment he awoke, he seemed to sense something. His divine sense turned inward, and he was surprised to find that the small vortex in his Dantian had grown a full circle larger. Moreover, his divine sense had become much sharper—this was clearly a sign of entering the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Seeing this, Shi Yue's face lit up with wild joy. After advancing to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, his spiritual power had increased considerably. From now on, whether he cast Rain Summoning or the Wood Grass Art, the duration would be greatly extended.

At the same time, he was astonished to discover that the spiritual energy within the Mysterious Space was even denser than before—at least twice as rich. Additionally, the original three acres of Spirit Field had expanded to six acres.

Shi Yue was momentarily stunned, then his face broke into ecstatic joy, his eyes filled with shock. A single thought surfaced in his mind: the Mysterious Space could advance.

He calmed his excited emotions and checked the growth of the spirit herbs and Spirit Rice. Sure enough, with the spiritual energy doubled, the maturation period of both the spirit herbs and the spirit grain had shortened.

It seemed that the Spirit Rice, which normally took a year to ripen, would be ready in about half a month.

Shi Yue gazed at the newly added three acres of Spirit Field, his eyes burning with fervor.

He could use the extra three acres to plant other spirit herbs.

Qi Refining Powder was refined from five types of ten-year-old spirit herbs. Shi Yue had bought seeds of these five herbs at the market, and now he could plant them in the newly added three acres.

The extra three acres had not yet been tilled, and the spiritual energy contained in the soil was uneven. He had to turn it over with the Hoe Artifact first.

With that thought, Shi Yue took out the Hoe Artifact and strode toward the three acres of vacant Spirit Field.

He spent half a day tilling the three acres of Spirit Field.

Shi Yue divided the newly added three acres into five plots, planted the seeds of the five herbs used to refine Qi Refining Powder, and after casting Rain Summoning, tender sprouts broke through the soil.

Looking at the lush green seedlings, Shi Yue wiped the sweat from his face, a satisfied expression appearing on it.

Counting the Spirit Field at his residence, Shi Yue now had nearly seven acres of Spirit Field. Among the Qi Refining disciples of the Great Void Sect, he was likely the only one with such a holding.

He carefully pondered the events of the day. Early that morning, he had woken to find himself at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, the blue Pearl had turned pale cyan, and the Spirit Field and spiritual energy density in the Mysterious Space had both doubled.

"Could it be... because my cultivation improved?" Shi Yue thought to himself.

But soon, he rejected this idea. Last time, when he advanced to the third layer of Qi Refining, the Spirit Field and spiritual energy density in the Mysterious Space had not increased at all.

"Could it be that room?" Shi Yue's eyes shifted, landing on the Stone House not far away.

A while ago, the Stone House had absorbed the spiritual energy from dozens of spirit stones, and the density of spiritual energy in the Mysterious Space had increased somewhat. Not long after, both the Spirit Field and the spiritual energy density had doubled. Was this related to the Stone House?

Shi Yue's face showed hesitation. After a moment, he gritted his teeth, a flash of determination in his eyes.

He walked into the Stone House, flipped his hand, and placed over a dozen spirit stones on the Stone Bed.

Soon, the dozen or so milky-white spirit stones rapidly turned grayish-white.

Shi Yue stepped out of the Stone House and found that the spiritual energy in the air had indeed grown denser.

He thought for a moment, then returned to the house. Gritting his teeth, he kept twenty spirit stones for himself and placed the rest—seven or eight hundred in total—onto the Stone Bed.

The Stone House could absorb the spiritual energy from spirit stones, thereby increasing the spiritual energy density of the Mysterious Space, which in turn shortened the maturation period of the spirit herbs and Spirit Rice inside.

The shorter the maturation time for the spirit herbs and spirit grain, the more spirit stones Shi Yue could earn. This was an investment with generous returns.

Shi Yue walked out of the Stone House and found that the spiritual energy density had increased significantly.

He nodded in satisfaction and was about to exit the Mysterious Space when, at that moment, an aged voice suddenly rang out:

"How delicious! Little one, do you have any more spirit stones? Give me a bit more!"

Hearing this, Shi Yue was first startled, then alarmed, his face full of wariness.

He swept his gaze around but saw no one.

"Was that an illusion?" Shi Yue muttered to himself, his eyes filled with confusion.

He released his divine sense, scanning the surroundings, but still detected no presence.

Seeing this, Shi Yue's expression relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the voice just now had been an illusion.

But just then, the aged voice spoke again:

"Little one, don't go! Stay and chat with Old Man. It's been tens of thousands of years since Old Man last saw a living person!"

"Who's playing tricks?" Shi Yue's heart tightened, and he asked in a low voice. At the same time, his palm flipped, and a red short sword appeared in his hand.

"Playing tricks? Do you, an ant at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, really warrant Old Man doing that?" A somewhat mocking voice reached Shi Yue's ears.

"Hmph, if you don't intend to play tricks, why not show yourself?" Shi Yue gave a light snort, speaking calmly.

If one looked closely, they would see his right hand gripping the Red Short Sword tightly, while his left hand held two Green Talismans, his expression extremely tense.

This was understandable. Ever since he obtained the blue Pearl, he had never seen a second person inside the Mysterious Space. Now, with someone suddenly appearing out of nowhere, how could he not be nervous?

Shi Yue had already prepared himself to kill this person. The secret of the Pearl was his alone to know; he would never share this monumental secret with anyone else.

"I've been here all along. You just didn't notice. Turn around, and you'll see me." A lazy Male Voice rang out.

Shi Yue frowned and spun around quickly. Behind him was the Stone House, but there wasn't a single figure inside.

"Hmph, I thought you were something special, but it turns out you don't even dare to show yourself." Shi Yue snorted coldly.

"I'm standing right in front of you, and you still can't see me? Hmph. An ant is an ant." A contemptuous Male Voice sounded.

"In front of me is a Stone House. Are you telling me the Stone House is speaking? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?" Shi Yue said with a furrowed brow.

"Hmph, before this Old Man, you are nothing but a three-year-old child. And why can't a Stone House speak? Do you truly believe the Stone House before your eyes is really a Stone House?"