Plans (Thanks to Alliance Leader Zhuang Sheng Xiaomeng Mi Hudie a for the reward)

A leaf on the Talent Tree carried a Spiritual Pattern like Sharpness—what about the other leaves? Did they carry different Spiritual Patterns as well?

If he could light up more leaves, wouldn't he gain knowledge of more kinds of Spiritual Patterns?

Thinking of the Talent Tree's enormous crown and countless leaves, Lu Ye's heart burned with excitement.

As for how to light up the other leaves, Lu Ye had some vague guesses, but there was no way to verify them now. He could only wait until he had the chance in the future.

For now, all he could do was open more Spiritual Apertures as quickly as possible and raise his cultivation.

The first Spiritual Aperture a cultivator opened was located at the Dantian. It was the starting point of cultivation and was called the Source Spirit Aperture. As for how the subsequent Spiritual Apertures were opened, that depended on what cultivation art the cultivator practiced.

Different cultivation arts opened Spiritual Apertures in different locations. The more Spiritual Apertures one opened, the higher one's cultivation.

That copy of the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art would finally come in handy!

Lu Ye calmed his excitement slightly, picked up Steward Yang's Storage Bag, and began sorting through his things. Only then did he discover in shock that the palm he had used to imprint Sharpness was riddled with holes, as though countless needles had pierced through it. It had bled quite a bit.

In his excitement just now, he had not felt it at all.

Now that he noticed it, piercing pain continuously stabbed at his nerves.

He secretly reflected on himself. It seemed that if he obtained any Spiritual Patterns in the future, he could not casually use them on his own body.

Before long, he packed away the things he had taken out earlier and moved away from the area covered by the Primordial Magnetic Field.

Two paths lay before him. One was to leave the mine. Steward Yang had come here to avoid disaster because people from the Vast Sky Alliance had attacked. With Evil Moon Valley's strength at the mine, there was no way they could hold this place, which was why he had hidden here in advance.

Otherwise, once the mine fell, as an Evil Moon Valley disciple, he would surely face certain death.

If Lu Ye could get in touch with Vast Sky Alliance cultivators, he could escape this sea of misery and no longer have to remain here, suffering oppression at others' hands.

But that was clearly not a wise choice.

Steward Yang had already received word and entered the mine to take refuge. Other Evil Moon Valley disciples would certainly come in as well. This was precisely the most chaotic time. It would naturally be best if he could leave the mine safely, but if he happened to run into any Evil Moon Valley disciple who had come in to take shelter, Lu Ye's fate would inevitably be the same as those Mine Slaves Steward Yang had casually killed before.

So he chose the second path: to lie low for the time being and remain here.

This place was extremely well hidden. Ordinary people could not find their way in, and it was a place from which he could advance to attack or retreat to defend. If an Evil Moon Valley disciple truly stumbled in by accident, Lu Ye could use the Primordial Magnetic Field to set a trap for them. At the very least, he would not be completely helpless.

Besides, his injuries had not yet healed. It truly was not suitable for him to move around too much.

He recalled what Steward Yang had said to him before. If he remembered correctly, Steward Yang had said this.

The Vast Sky Alliance had attacked, and the mine could not be held for the time being. The Vast Sky Alliance would not stay long, but they would remain for at least a month or two.

The hidden meaning was obvious. Steward Yang believed that even if the Vast Sky Alliance could seize this place, they could not hold the mine for long. Thus, within a month or two, the Vast Sky Alliance would withdraw, and the mine would return to Evil Moon Valley's hands.

Considering all the information he currently possessed, Lu Ye made up his mind.

He would stay here to recover and cultivate, then leave the Mine Tunnel within a month to find people from the Vast Sky Alliance and free himself from this sea of misery!

Having made his decision, Lu Ye felt much more at ease. The bitterest days had already passed. Now that he had successfully opened a Spiritual Aperture and had the Talent Tree at his side, there were still many good days ahead. There was no need to be too anxious now.

Finding a suitable spot, Lu Ye took a set of bedding from Steward Yang's Storage Bag, spread it out, and sat quietly upon it. He took out the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art and studied it carefully.

The Mine Tunnel was pitch-black. Only because Lu Ye had successfully opened an aperture could he see anything at all. Soon, he discovered something interesting: when he concentrated Spiritual Power in his eyes, he could see things more clearly.

Unfortunately, he had only opened the Source Spirit Aperture, and his Spiritual Power was limited. He could not sustain it for long.

He ate when hungry and slept when tired. Aside from the poor surroundings, there was nothing much wrong. Besides, Lu Ye was immersed in the excitement of having just opened a Spiritual Aperture, so he did not have many demands regarding his environment.

There was no way to keep track of time in the darkness. Lu Ye did not know how long had passed, but it was probably several days.

The injuries on his leg and hand had mostly healed. After opening a Spiritual Aperture and becoming a cultivator, his physical constitution seemed to have strengthened considerably. If his thigh had been stabbed by a sword in the past, he would have needed at least ten days to half a month of recuperation before he could walk.

Of course, this was also related to Lu Ye taking Qi and Blood Pills every day.

Through studying the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art, Lu Ye discovered that he could not use this cultivation art for the time being. It was not that there was any problem with the art itself, but because he had only just opened the Source Spirit Aperture, and there were certain conditions he needed to meet before opening the next Spiritual Aperture.

If Spiritual Apertures were compared to lakes within a cultivator's body, then the water in those lakes was the cultivator's Spiritual Power. Therefore, the more Spiritual Apertures a cultivator opened, the more enormous the amount of Spiritual Power stored within their body.

However, the prerequisite for opening the next Spiritual Aperture was for the previous one to reach a state of completion. Put simply, Spiritual Power needed to fill that Spiritual Aperture to the brim.

For Lu Ye, what he needed to do now was cultivate continuously, strengthening and accumulating the Spiritual Power in his Source Spirit Aperture. Only when the Spiritual Power in the Source Spirit Aperture became full could he open the next Spiritual Aperture. At that point, he would need the Golden Cicada Free and Unfettered Art.

There were several ways to strengthen Spiritual Power.

The most common was taking cultivation-type Spiritual Pills. The Spiritual Pills would transform into Spiritual Power and fill the Spiritual Apertures.

The second was to breathe in and out Spiritual Energy. Spiritual Energy existed in every environment; it was merely a matter of how much or how little. After cultivators opened Spiritual Apertures, they could sense the existence of Spiritual Energy. Through breathing it in and out, they could refine that Spiritual Energy into their bodies and strengthen their cultivation.

The third was to rely on Spirit Stones. Lu Ye had only heard of those things; he had never seen one.

There was one final method: Refining Essence into Qi.

First, one strengthened one's own Qi and Blood Power, then refined that Qi and Blood Power into Spiritual Power. This could likewise achieve the purpose of cultivation.

Each of these methods had its own strengths and weaknesses, so none could be judged across the board.

Although Lu Ye had never entered the ranks of cultivators before, he had often heard the other Mine Slaves talk about cultivation. They discussed these matters with longing in their hearts, hoping that one day they could fly onto a branch and transform from black chickens into phoenixes.

Through constant exposure, Lu Ye had also come to understand some basic things.

For now, he could not use the first method. He had no cultivation Spiritual Pills. Although he could be certain that Steward Yang's Storage Bag contained some, there were so many bottles and jars that he had no way to distinguish them. Nor did he dare to try them rashly.

As for the second method, Lu Ye had tried it. He did not know whether it was because this place was close to the Primordial Magnetic Field or for some other reason, but he could not sense any Spiritual Energy at all. Naturally, he could not breathe it in and out.

The only thing he could do was Refining Essence into Qi.

Thanks to Zhuang Sheng Xiaomeng Mi Hudie a for the reward. Alliance Leader Hu Die was an old friend of Martial Refinement, and I am very happy to see an old friend here again. Thanks once more.