Advancing to Spirit General

"Junior Brother Sanbao, come out for a moment." Amidst his thoughts, the voice of A-Tie drifted in from outside the room. Sanbao hurried out, pulled A-Tie to a secluded spot, and asked about the situation regarding Wang Liang.

Just as Sanbao had anticipated, after A-Tie went to Orchid Creek Ravine, he did not find Wang Liang. He must have already fled Cloud Mountain; otherwise, Zhao Hong would never have tolerated his presence. Not only that, but even Zhao Hong himself had mysteriously disappeared.

"Are you certain that Zhao Hong did not return to Orchid Creek Ravine?" Sanbao asked cautiously.

"I am. I asked several disciples at Orchid Creek Ravine, and they said that after Zhao Hong went out yesterday, he never returned. I even specifically went to Zhao Hong's residence, and the maid said she hadn't seen him either..." A-Tie nodded and said.

"You didn't mention that you were from Fire Cloud Hall, did you?"

"No. Didn't you teach me to say I was a deacon from Cloud Saint Hall? They actually believed it. It was hilarious..."

Sanbao patted A-Tie, offered a few words of praise to show he had done well, and then returned to his room, lost in thought.

What exactly happened back then? Right, that woman called Meier must know the situation. I have to ask her, but if she really is the daughter of the Third Sect Master, I'm afraid she won't be easy to approach. Unless Master steps in... Forget it, I'll focus on healing my injuries first. If worst comes to worst, I'll just leave Cloud Mountain.

Thinking this, Sanbao felt that overthinking was useless, so he focused on his cultivation.

After having his body cleansed by that milky-white pool water, Sanbao could vaguely sense the realm of a Spirit General. However, because he was currently nursing injuries, his spirit power circulation was obstructed, so he did not attempt to break through.

Furthermore, his Spirit Skill, Nine-Turn Golden Body, had unexpectedly broken through to the third level. The harvest was not insignificant. Suppressing the joy in his heart, Sanbao stood tall and unleashed the Nine-Fold Claws on the spot. Combined with the Nine-Turn Golden Body, the room was soon filled with overlapping shadows. Golden claw marks and illusory golden lights intertwined until, in the end, Sanbao's figure completely vanished into a sea of golden phantoms.

Three days later, two major pieces of news emerged from the Cloud Saint Sect.

The first was closely related to Sanbao: Zhao Hong, a core disciple under Zhao Youdao, was found dead at the foot of a Lone Mountain not far from Fire Cloud Peak. It was said that the killer possessed immense strength, shattering Zhao Hong's entire heart meridian with a single strike.

What was even more shocking followed: the Third Sect Master of the Cloud Saint Sect, Xie Donghai, had also been struck down and severely wounded within the sect, nearly losing his life. It was said that the location of the attack was the very same place where Zhao Hong had died.

Suddenly, the entire Cloud Saint Sect was gripped by panic.

Who was the Third Sect Master? He was a super powerhouse at the Spirit Emperor level. Moreover, this happened inside the Cloud Saint Sect, so one could imagine just how powerful the opponent must be.

Hearing this news, Sanbao had some leads in his mind, but he couldn't quite piece them together. He only vaguely felt that both pieces of news were likely related to that pool on the mountaintop.

The news was a heavy blow to the Cloud Saint Sect, but Sanbao was actually safer now, as Zhao Hong was dead.

Sanbao really wanted to investigate that Lone Mountain again, but he was wary of his own low strength and feared losing his life. It was also difficult to discuss this with Jing Yifei, so he had no choice but to stay behind closed doors and cultivate.

More than ten days later, Sanbao's injuries were fully recovered. This was all thanks to the pool water on the mountaintop; otherwise, such a severe chest injury would have taken at least several months to heal, unless he consumed some precious spirit pills.

Under the personal protection of Jing Yifei, Sanbao began to assault the Spirit General realm once again. After the pool water had tempered his body, Sanbao had long been eager to try.

He circulated the Purple Gold Technique with all his might, and spirit power continuously gathered toward his Dantian. This caused his already full Dantian to vibrate incessantly, expanding outward in circles to create more space to accommodate the new spirit power. However, the volume of the Dantian was limited, and the spirit power kept pouring in. In the past, whenever it reached this point, the excess spirit power would backflow through his meridians and eventually discharge through his external blood vessels, causing Sanbao to fall short of success.

Today, it was clearly different. The amplitude and frequency of the Dantian's vibrations were significantly greater, circle by circle, almost reaching its critical point.

"Persist. Just two more cycles, and I will definitely break through..." Sanbao gritted his teeth and persisted. As spirit power was continuously forced into his Dantian, the immense pain made him dizzy.

It was like a human stomach; it felt uncomfortable when overstuffed, let alone these highly destructive spirit powers.

Fortunately, Sanbao's soul was exceptionally strong. No matter how painful it was, his mind remained perfectly clear.

For Sanbao, who was in the midst of pain, time felt exceptionally slow and long.

Bang...

Following a loud sound from within his heart, Sanbao's entire Dantian was finally stretched to its limit by the spirit power, transforming into a thin layer of silk mesh that gathered all the spirit power within his heart meridian.

"Finally, I succeeded..."

After silently regulating his breath for several cycles, Sanbao slowly opened his eyes. His eyes flickered with an unusual luster—he had finally reached the Spirit General realm.

Wiping the sweat from his face, he slowly stood up and walked out of the room.

Outside, Jing Yifei was standing gracefully in the corridor, quietly watching the distant mountains. His gaze seemed hollow, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"Thank you, Master. This disciple has not failed your expectations..." Sanbao bowed and saluted.

"Very good. My mantle has a successor. You have just advanced, so you must stabilize your realm as soon as possible and repair your Dantian completely. I have a Dantian Protection Pill here; take it now for the best effect. Consider it a small reward from me for your advancement." After Jing Yifei finished speaking, he handed Sanbao a white porcelain bottle.

Sanbao gently received it, pulled out the stopper, and a red pill emitting a faint, lingering fragrance appeared. It was indeed a mid-grade spirit pill—the Dantian Protection Pill.

The Dantian Protection Pill, also known as the Dantian Preservation Pill, was a peerless medicine for a newly formed Spirit General to stabilize their Dantian. It was said that a Spirit General who took this pill would not only have an incredibly stable Dantian, but every subsequent advancement would also be much easier than for those who hadn't taken it. Another benefit was that it could greatly shorten the time required to stabilize one's realm.

Just like the Spirit Weapons crafted by Artifact Refiners, the spirit pills refined by Alchemists were also divided into four major grades: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and true-grade.

Like Spirit Weapons, spirit pills were equally rare and precious. Even the simplest low-grade spirit pill would be worth a fortune in the secular world, let alone this mid-grade Dantian Protection Pill.

"Master, this is?" Sanbao asked stammeringly, his heart filled with warmth.

"Don't worry too much about it. When you can stand on your own in the future, these things won't count for much," Jing Yifei patted Sanbao before leaving with peace of mind.

"Safe travels, Master." Sanbao watched Jing Yifei leave before calmly departing. It was time to get a good sleep; the consumption of his mental energy during this period had been truly immense.

He slept for an entire day and night. Upon waking, Sanbao felt refreshed and full of strength. The feeling of being a Spirit General was truly wonderful.

Inside the Earth Fire Hall, everything remained the same.

Sanbao sat cross-legged beside the entrance of the Earth Fire cave, forming simple hand seals with his hands. Pale red spirit power acted like a giant fan, continuously sending the earth fire from the cave into the Bronze Cauldron.

Two hours later, Sanbao finished his technique and stood up.

Compared to the nearly six hours it took before, the efficiency of collecting earth fire had increased by nearly three times. The improvements in all aspects brought about by the advancement in realm were truly significant.

In front of a massive stone wall at the back of Fire Cloud Hall, a giant iron brush moved across the stone wall as easily as flowing water. After the crisscrossing lines were finished, stone dust fell continuously to the ground.

Soon, a lifelike Colored Deer appeared before Sanbao's eyes.

"Hmm, that's not it. Let's try again."

Time slowly passed, and the stone wall was soon covered with over a dozen Colored Deer in various poses, yet no matter what he did, he could not capture the lazy and contented expression of the one he had seen atop Lone Mountain.

"Still not right. Could it be that my skill in Stone Carving Painting has actually declined since advancing to Spirit General?" Sanbao was deeply puzzled; no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not manifest the spirit of the Colored Deer onto the stone.

"Right, the problem lies with that specific Colored Deer. Yes, why didn't I think of that? How could an ordinary Colored Deer be so natural and at ease when it saw me..."

The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt. Sanbao began to recall the Colored Deer from the peak of Lone Mountain, its body segmented into different colors: blue, red, purple...

Right, seven colors in total. Oh, and those antlers seemed to be white, milky white.

That pool of water was also milky white.

Milky white? Could it be?

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Sanbao.

It seemed he would have to visit Lone Mountain to see for himself, though not right now.

Although he had taken a Dantian Protection Pill, his cultivation realm had not yet fully stabilized and would require a few more days.

A few days later, at dusk.

At the foot of Lone Mountain, a man in black with his face covered by a black cloth appeared silently. The man looked cautious, glancing left and right from time to time, yet his movements were as fluid as a loach as he darted rapidly through the mountains. Before long, he vanished into the shrubbery of Lone Mountain.

It was none other than Sanbao.

"Huh, it's actually still here."

Peeking cautiously from behind a rock, Sanbao was too stunned to speak.

That strange Colored Deer was still there, and at this moment, it was soaking in that small pool of water. However, unlike the lazy and natural demeanor he had seen before, the Colored Deer now appeared very strange, constantly spitting out rings of seven-colored light from its mouth. The light rings traced arcs through the air before sinking directly into the two milky white antlers atop its head.

A powerful ripple of spiritual energy instantly reached Sanbao, who was watching from afar.

Sanbao's face turned deathly pale, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.