Infusion

Infusion

At this moment, Lu Li officially stepped into the "Spirit Refining Realm," becoming a Spirit Refining Cultivator.

He was still not quite used to it. The world before his eyes felt strangely off.

Just then, Xiao Cha finally regained the ability to speak. Her eyes widened as she cried:

"This... is... im... possible..."

In Lu Li's vision, the young woman spoke extraordinarily slowly.

Her mouth opened and closed at a crawl, her facial muscles gradually twisted, and even her voice stretched out, like a video playing at 0.7 speed.

As he admired the girl's exaggerated "facial performance," Lu Li suddenly realized:

"She hadn't slowed down—I had sped up! My thoughts had sped up!"

When thoughts sped up, the brain perceived time as slowing down.

Ordinary people could experience this sensation when facing life-or-death emergencies, such as car accidents or drowning.

When he had previously faced tank fire, Lu Li had experienced it firsthand.

This slowed perception of time caused by "Thought Overclocking" was the greatest ability of the Spirit Concentration Realm!

At this moment, Xiao Cha still wore an expression of utter disbelief!

She and Wan Qing had struggled for countless years without attaining it, to the point where they had nearly given up.

Yet this man had done it in mere minutes!

"Could it be that you already have cultivation? No, that's not right. I examined you myself—you're definitely an ordinary person..."

Xiao Cha simply could not make sense of it. In extreme shock and suspicion, she suddenly raised her hand and threw a punch at Lu Li.

The force was slight, but the speed was extremely fast. It was clearly meant as a test.

Previously, Lu Li had not been able to see the girl's movements at all. But now, everything before his eyes had slowed by thirty percent, while his mind was in an extraordinarily sharp state.

He saw the fist's trajectory. With only a slight tilt of his head, he let the dainty fist graze past the tip of his nose.

Still unwilling to believe it, Xiao Cha tried several more times, but he dodged every one.

Only then did she slump in defeat. She also recalled what she had just said: the gap between people was greater than the gap between people and dogs.

Meanwhile, Lu Li curiously looked around, only to suddenly feel a heavy dullness in his head...

"This Spirit Concentration State consumes an enormous amount of mental energy. I can't keep it active without limit!"

He hurriedly scattered his thoughts and stopped the ability.

Just then, Wan Qing, who had remained silent all this time, spoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Congratulations, Young Master. Young Master is truly gifted; Wan Qing admires you..."

Her face was full of envy, but she also looked somewhat uneasy as she said, "Could you give me some guidance?"

"Of course." Lu Li replied gently, "Ask whatever you don't understand."

Delight immediately appeared on Wan Qing's face, and she quickly asked:

"Spirit Illumination Meditation Method says, [The head has nine palaces, corresponding above to the nine heavens. The palace in the center is called the Sea of Consciousness.] Where exactly is the Sea of Consciousness?"

"Here—five centimeters down from the center."

Lu Li extended a finger and tapped the girl's forehead, giving her a precise location.

With such a direct explanation, Wan Qing understood at once. "Deep within, below Acupoint Baihui and behind the Yintang Acupoint!"

Xiao Cha also quietly felt around her own head.

Then Wan Qing gathered her courage and asked a difficult question. "Then how does one sense the Sea of Consciousness?"

Xiao Cha immediately pricked up her ears.

Since ancient times, who knew how many people had been stuck at this step? This man before them had broken through so effortlessly—he surely had some secret trick!

But would he reveal it? This was a secret even money could not buy...

Under the slightly solemn gazes of the two women, Lu Li pondered briefly, recalling an article he had once scrolled past on his phone. He answered:

"Close your eyes and slowly bring your fingertip toward the space between your brows. You'll feel a tingling, itchy stimulation. The place where that sensation arises is the Sea of Consciousness."

The two women hurriedly tried it, and it was indeed so!

Wan Qing's face filled with joy. This was far easier than imagining an organ she could not feel out of thin air!

Having finally seen a glimmer of hope for regaining her sight, she suppressed her excitement and said in a trembling voice, "Th-thank you for your guidance, Young Master!"

Xiao Cha could not help shouting, "Such a precious secret... and you just told us like that! Just who are you?"

Lu Li glanced sideways at her and ignored her.

Xiao Cha puffed out her cheeks. "Hmph! What are you so pleased with? Once I use this trick to advance into the Spirit Refining Realm, I'll infuriate you to death~"

~~~~~~~~~~~

After that, the three each went about their own business.

Lu Li continuously tested his new ability, striving to master it as quickly as possible.

After switching it on and off several times, he had a rough understanding of it.

The "Spirit Concentration State" could currently last for one minute.

During that time, not only did everything within his field of vision slow down, but his entire body, including his brain, was completely activated and brought to its optimal state.

"This ability is very much like Bullet Time. It's extremely suited for firearms—the enemy is still moving in slow motion while you've already fired."

Living in a country where tanks opened fire on city streets, Lu Li had been influenced by what he saw and heard. He might not have been proficient with firearms, but he was certainly no stranger to them.

Having immediately thought of the perfect combination of Spirit Concentration and guns, he planned to get himself a few firearms for protection once he returned to Blue Star.

And if he wanted to return to Blue Star, he naturally had to repair the Kunlun Mirror. That was also his main task from here on!

"Miss Wan Qing, may I take a look at your books?" Lu Li asked.

"Of course. They're all in the desk drawers. Please help yourself, Young Master~"

Lu Li sat down at the desk and began leafing through the books in the drawers, searching for clues.

There were ten books in total, all introductory textbooks covering the most basic cultivation knowledge.

They taught Lu Li about the first four realms of Spirit Refinement—Spirit Concentration, Meditative Entry, Sitting in Forgetfulness, and Embryonic Breathing.

Aside from that, he found not a single word about magical artifacts, much less how to repair one.

"Knowledge related to magical artifacts must be advanced knowledge. It won't be easy to obtain. I have no money, and I don't dare gather information openly... This is a bit troublesome."

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the battered Kunlun Mirror remained unconscious. Lu Li rubbed his chin, feeling rather troubled.

At this point, Xiao Cha had sat still for too long and could no longer contain herself. She stood and headed outside.

At the door, she turned back and called out, "Hey, you're not allowed to peek at my picture books~"

With that, she ran into the courtyard to practice her punches.

"Picture books?"

Lu Li lowered his head and saw that the old-fashioned black wooden desk had three drawers.

The middle drawer held a box of silver needles... while the drawer on the far right was stuffed full of "little people books"!

They were somewhat like comic books. Lu Li did not pay them much mind and casually picked up a copy of Legend of Taibai Slaying Demons to flip through.

The opening page was an illustration of a white-robed swordsman controlling a flying sword, slicing an onmyoji-dressed Person of Izumo and the giant spider above his head into two pieces.

There were only a few strokes, yet they were remarkably vivid.

The white-robed swordsman's carefree elegance, the flying sword's razor-sharp ferocity, the onmyoji's shock and fury—all leaped from the page.

"The person in the painting is Li Bai? This already counts as a work of art."

Lu Li put away his contemptuous attitude and looked at the text beneath the illustration. It was precisely an introduction to Li Bai's life.

But one sentence caught Lu Li's attention:

[Longyuan, the Poetry Immortal's sword, was refined through sacrifice with the mind and spirit. Heart and intent became one with it, leaning against the heavens for ten thousand miles.]

"Refined through sacrifice with the mind and spirit!?"

Lu Li's heart stirred. "When the mind and spirit are concentrated in the Sea of Consciousness, they can produce something miraculous! Then if they're concentrated onto a magical artifact, could it..."

The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!

Lu Li hurriedly concentrated—or rather, infused—his mind and spirit into the Kunlun Mirror.

The brainwave intensity of a Spirit Concentration Realm Cultivator was more than three times that of an ordinary person.

Yet the Kunlun Mirror was like a dried sponge, swallowing it all in the blink of an eye!

"It really ate it! There's hope!"

Delight appeared on Lu Li's face as he prepared to continue.

But the Kunlun Mirror was clearly starving. It actually generated a pulling force from thin air and began drawing from him on its own!

With only a light tug, it sucked Lu Li's mind and spirit completely dry!

In an instant, the activity of his brain cells plummeted, and intense dizziness and swelling pain flooded his mind.

Lu Li felt as though he had gone three days and three nights without sleep, nearly wanting to faint on the spot!

Yet an incomparably delighted smile appeared on his face!

After receiving nourishment from his mind and spirit, the Kunlun Mirror's surface flashed with radiance and trembled faintly, like a dormant insect awakened by spring thunder.

Perhaps his small amount of mind and spirit was nothing, but for someone about to die of thirst, even a single drop of water was enough to determine life or death!

At this moment, that familiar sensation of flesh and blood being connected was born anew... the magical artifact had awakened!!