Ancient Tree Spirit Liquid, Divine Soul Power Grows

After reading through everything, he found no opportunities of note.

Lu Qing's Divine Consciousness was immensely vast. Having come here in person, he discovered that there were indeed some opportunities here, but they were only useful to those below Foundation Establishment.

For someone like him, who had already broken through to a higher realm, they were of no use.

The only thing Lu Qing found worthwhile was the concealment formation.

Unfortunately, this formation did not belong to Carefree Master either. He had bought it from somewhere unknown and turned it into the protective formation for his Cultivation Cave.

Lu Qing was about to leave.

All of a sudden, he glanced toward a certain spot. A fleeting trace of aura immediately put him on guard.

"There's something strange here."

Lu Qing followed that wisp of aura.

Beyond the thatched hut, behind the courtyard enclosed by the hut, stood an old tree. Its roots twisted like coiling dragons, and its leaves had withered away.

That wisp of unusual aura Lu Qing had caught earlier came from this old tree.

This old tree...

Lu Qing examined it, probing it thoroughly from top to bottom.

At last, he found what was strange about it.

Golden light shimmered in his eyes as he peered through the dried, withered bark and into the heartwood.

The old tree's trunk had long since hollowed out.

It was obvious that the tree had died long ago and lost all spirituality.

But the thing inside it...

With a thought from Lu Qing, spiritual power in his palm transformed into mist-like Sword Qi and seeped through the bark.

Crack.

The trunk, long deprived of moisture and spiritual nourishment, instantly became as brittle as paper.

After easily piercing through it, Lu Qing wrapped his hand in spiritual power and drew out the object that had caught his attention.

It was transparent, about the size of a palm-sized stone, and felt somewhat hard when held in spiritual power.

At a glance, Lu Qing could vaguely see strands of clear radiance winding around it.

Extraordinary.

That was anyone's first impression upon seeing it.

Lu Qing's first impression was the same.

"Where have I seen something like this before?"

Lu Qing thought back slightly. To make up for his lack of knowledge, he had previously read quite a few strange tales and miscellaneous records concerning cultivation.

It was also to avoid the awkward situation of knowing nothing when traveling outside.

Now that he recalled it, he quickly found that memory.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is Ancient Tree Spirit Liquid. It looks soft in texture, yet holds hardness within softness. It is usually nurtured in the heartwood of spiritual ancient trees at least ten thousand years old."

"It greatly nourishes the Divine Soul."

Even Lu Qing had to admit that this was a fine treasure. Especially for him at present, nothing here could compare with the lump of Spirit Liquid in his hand.

"No rush. I'll look through that jade slip again after I return."

They said books held houses of gold. After leaving the mountain gate, the token's effects were no longer as effective as before because it lacked the support of the sect's formation.

However, the items exchanged from the disciple space itself were unaffected.

It was just a pity that the disciple Mission Hall had been closed.

Lu Qing left the place, and the entire trip took no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Within Spirit Terrace Mountain, it had always been impossible for anyone to know when he went out.

Moreover, the disturbance this time had occurred deep within the mountains. Without some cultivation, no one could have reached that place.

Lu Qing returned to his place of cultivation.

The Spirit Liquid was wrapped in a layer of spiritual power, preventing even the faintest gleam of clear radiance or enticing aura from leaking out.

Anything that concerned the Divine Soul was undoubtedly a treasure. If it attracted unnecessary attention, it would disturb Lu Qing's peaceful life.

After returning, Lu Qing immediately searched through the records again. Only after carefully examining every inch of it with his Divine Consciousness did he begin refining a tiny bit. Once he confirmed there were indeed no harmful consequences and his Calamity Avoidance ability gave no warning of danger, he continued refining it.

Spirit Liquid truly lived up to its name. It was something the Dao Academy had judged to be a top-grade Divine Soul tonic.

After he began refining it, Lu Qing's realm aura did not change, but only he knew that changes had begun to appear within his Purple Mansion Realm.

If his Purple Mansion Realm had previously only begun to take shape, then now the Divine Soul within it had gained a trace of genuine flesh-and-blood presence.

His Divine Soul had previously been ethereal, sitting cross-legged within the Purple Mansion Realm and regulating the various changes in his body. But now, an additional wisp of power had appeared upon Lu Qing's Divine Soul.

Though this wisp of power seemed minuscule, the strength of his Divine Soul was transforming every moment.

Perhaps because he had lived two lives, Lu Qing's Divine Soul power had always been more profound than that of others in the same realm. After refining the Spirit Liquid, he could clearly sense his Divine Soul power rising by another measure.

Time flew by.

Seven days passed. Lu Qing opened his eyes, and an aura immediately spread from his body through the cultivation chamber, sweeping in all directions.

But the instant it touched the clouds and mist around the perimeter, it dissipated.

No one else knew of the disturbance here.

After cultivating for seven days, Lu Qing felt refreshed and invigorated.

The greatest gain from this period of secluded cultivation lay in his Divine Soul. Once the Divine Soul grew stronger, it could greatly counter spells that killed in secret.

Lu Qing did not know whether this world possessed the Nailhead Seven Arrows Book, but since this was the cultivation world, he still had to guard against certain vicious methods. Killing through the Divine Soul could be done without Ghost or deity knowing.

With a movement of Lu Qing's Divine Soul, a figure identical to him soon appeared before him.

Viewed from outside, this was no longer the Divine Soul leaving the body as it had when Lu Qing broke through. Instead, his consciousness had split in two. His Divine Soul had left his body, yet his physical body still retained his own vision.

"If I need my Divine Soul to leave my body in the future, this physical body of mine won't be left without the ability to resist."

Lu Qing pondered this newly developed Divine Soul ability for a while and immediately thought of many uses for it.

However, doing this placed quite a burden on his control over Divine Soul power.

After watching for a while, Lu Qing hurriedly withdrew his Divine Soul back into his body. Only after body and Divine Soul became one again did that sense of stagnation finally disappear.

At the same time, a trace of fatigue came over him.

Fortunately, the effect was slight. Lu Qing's Spirit Platform was clear, and after sweeping away that speck of dust, he felt refreshed once more.

Nothing much ever happened in Spirit Terrace County.

Or rather, earth-shattering events had not appeared here for many years, though sesame-seed-sized trivialities piled up every day.

Just like that, another half month passed in the blink of an eye, and Spirit Terrace County encountered a strange occurrence.

When the Spirit Terrace River entered its high-water season, its waves roiled violently. But as early spring approached, it entered its still-water season. The surface was calm, lively lantern lights floated upon the river, and river lanterns drifted downstream one after another.

The river lanterns spread across the water, illuminating the thing floating up from beneath the surface.