Spirit Treasures

His cultivation began to surge as well.

Eighth Level of Qi Gathering!

Ninth Level of Qi Gathering!

Qi Gathering Perfection!

After taking about three hundred Qi Gathering Pills, Chen Xuan's cultivation had reached Qi Gathering Perfection.

Chen Xuan exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Now that I've reached Qi Gathering Perfection, I need to prepare for my breakthrough."

Chen Xuan began to consider how to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm.

Breaking through to the Spirit Sea Realm wasn't difficult. The hard part was figuring out how to do it.

Qi Gathering cultivators had three ways to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm.

They could take a Spirit Sea Pill or a similar pill to break through directly.

However, when cultivators broke through this way, their gathered spiritual energy would form a sea—but only a blue Spirit Sea.

Those with a Spirit Body could condense a Purple Spirit Sea.

Those with a King Body could condense a Golden Spirit Sea.

Of the three grades of Spirit Sea, the Golden Spirit Sea was the strongest.

The greater one's talent, the stronger the Spirit Sea one could condense.

A Spirit Sea's quality represented not only the foundation, but also the strength of one's spiritual energy.

At the same cultivation level, with all other methods being equal, a cultivator with a Golden Spirit Sea could crush one with a blue Spirit Sea.

A stronger foundation also meant one could go farther.

Chen Xuan certainly didn't want to condense an ordinary blue Spirit Sea.

So... next, he needed to find a way to obtain a spirit treasure.

The Great Dao gave birth to fifty paths, yet Heaven's evolution accounted for only forty-nine; one path escaped.

Insufficient talent didn't necessarily mean one was limited to condensing a blue Spirit Sea.

There were still ways for Mortal Body cultivators to condense a Purple or even Golden Spirit Sea.

They just weren't easy.

They required the help of the spirit treasure mentioned earlier.

Spirit treasures were formed by seizing the creations of Heaven and Earth.

Most took the form of plants.

But they weren't spirit medicines; their effects were far more powerful.

They were simply extremely rare.

If he could find a spirit treasure, Chen Xuan could condense at least a Purple Spirit Sea.

As for whether he could condense a Golden Spirit Sea, that depended on the cultivator.

Chen Xuan didn't have much confidence in himself.

But he had great confidence in the Flowing Cloud Technique after Spirit Awakening.

So if he could obtain a spirit treasure, he could probably condense a Golden Spirit Sea.

He still had no idea how to get his hands on one.

He'd have to ask around.

He wondered if the Cloud Sea Sect had any. As one of the Azure Cloud Realm's top sects, it should have some. He just didn't know whether he could buy one with Contribution Points.

Chen Xuan stood and left his residence.

Chen Xuan soon arrived outside Jiang Qiong's residence.

Ever since arriving at Danxiao Peak, he'd been busy cultivating, so the only person he knew there was Senior Sister Jiang Qiong.

If he wanted to ask about spirit treasures, he could only come to her.

Outside Jiang Qiong's residence.

Chen Xuan cupped his hands and said, "Is Senior Sister Jiang there? Chen Xuan has come to pay you a visit."

A moment later, the formation around the residence opened.

The courtyard gate swung open right afterward, and Jiang Qiong came out to greet him with a smile.

"Junior Brother Chen, come in."

"Thank you, Senior Sister. Sorry to trouble you."

Chen Xuan smiled as he spoke, then walked into the courtyard.

Though Jiang Qiong was an inner sect disciple in the Spirit Sea Realm, her courtyard seemed about the same size as his.

That wasn't because Spirit Sea Realm disciples received poor treatment. It was because the Cloud Sea Nine Heavens had improved the benefits for the outer sect disciples of the Nine Firmaments.

Inside the main hall.

Jiang Qiong looked at Chen Xuan and asked, "Did you come to ask me about cultivation or Alchemy?"

"Something like that... Senior Sister, do you know how I could obtain a spirit treasure?"

Chen Xuan nodded slightly, then asked.

"A spirit treasure? You're preparing to break through, aren't you, Junior Brother?"

The moment Jiang Qiong heard him mention a spirit treasure, she understood his purpose.

She had good talent and a Spirit Body. Back then, she had used a spirit treasure to condense a Golden Spirit Sea.

The Cloud Sea Sect was quite generous when it came to nurturing its disciples. Spirit Body disciples who reached Qi Gathering Perfection could directly claim a spirit treasure.

After all, Spirit Body disciples could condense a Purple Spirit Sea without one. With a spirit treasure, they were certain to condense a Golden Spirit Sea, making them worthy of the sect's gift.

But... given Chen Xuan's circumstances, it wasn't certain the sect would grant him a spirit treasure outright.

By rights, Chen Xuan only had a Mortal Body and didn't qualify for a direct grant.

But Chen Xuan had taken first place in this year's Floating Cloud Trial. He had beaten all three Spirit Body disciples.

Jiang Qiong thought for a moment, explained the situation to Chen Xuan, then said, "Junior Brother, why don't you come with me to ask my master? We can find out whether someone in your situation can claim a spirit treasure."

"Sorry to trouble you, Senior Sister."

"It's no trouble. Let's go."

Jiang Qiong was rather brisk in how she did things. She took Chen Xuan straight to see Elder Xie.

Elder Xie's residence wasn't far away.

The two soon arrived at a mountain near Danxiao Peak.

In the Cloud Sea Sect, core disciples who reached the Dao Foundation Realm could choose a mountain to establish their own grounds. Purple Mansion elders were naturally no exception.

The Cloud Sea Sect's territory was vast, with no shortage of room for its disciples and elders to establish their own peaks.

Jiang Qiong and Chen Xuan arrived outside Elder Xie's cave residence.

Jiang Qiong called out, "This disciple, Jiang Qiong, requests an audience with Master."

"Come in."

A voice came from inside the cave, and the formation surrounding it opened a gap.

Jiang Qiong led Chen Xuan straight inside.

They soon met Elder Xie within the cave.

When Elder Xie saw Chen Xuan, a smile appeared on his face. "You've come to see me. Is something the matter?"

Jiang Qiong immediately explained that Chen Xuan was hoping to obtain a spirit treasure.

"Master, given Junior Brother Chen's situation, can the sect grant him a spirit treasure outright?"

After explaining, Jiang Qiong asked.

Elder Xie shook his head. "No."

"Why not? Junior Brother Chen doesn't have a Spirit Body, but his cultivation speed is no slower than theirs, and his comprehension is exceptional. He even took first place in the Floating Cloud Trial.

"Isn't talent like that worthy of a spirit treasure?"

Jiang Qiong asked, puzzled.

"There's something you don't know. Many years ago, the sect had a disciple with exceptional talent and comprehension, on par with those who possessed special physiques—or even superior to them.

"At the time, the sect made an exception and decided to grant spirit treasures to Mortal Body disciples whose talent and comprehension matched those of Spirit Body disciples.

"But before long, people began looking for ways to exploit the loophole.

"After the sect discovered what was happening, it established a rule: Mortal Body disciples would no longer be granted spirit treasures outright.

"After all, talent and comprehension might be faked, but one's physique couldn't. Either you had it or you didn't.

"Besides, if a Mortal Body disciple truly had talent on par with a Spirit Body disciple—or even surpassed one—then they'd be capable of obtaining a spirit treasure on their own."

Elder Xie looked at the two of them and explained.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly.

So he couldn't get one for free. That was fine, as long as there was a chance to obtain one.

Chen Xuan cupped his hands and asked, "Elder Xie, may I ask how I could obtain a spirit treasure?"

"If you try to find one yourself, it'll be very difficult. You'll need extraordinary luck.

"But there's no need to worry. The sect has left Mortal Body disciples a chance to obtain one.

"That's the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

"It's held once every three years. Only Mortal Body disciples at Qi Gathering Perfection can participate. The top three each receive a spirit treasure. Everyone else can only receive a Spirit Sea Pill."