"One more thing," Chen Hao continued. "Professor Li was right. Flame Spirit Stones act directly on the body, which really is more efficient than storing spiritual energy before using it."
"These are two completely different systems. The age of spiritual energy was about storing and releasing energy. The age of Flame Spirit Stones is about immediate enhancement."
He set down his teacup, his voice softening a little.
"It wasn't as if nobody considered body refinement in the primordial era. But they didn't have anything like Flame Spirit Stones back then."
"The spiritual energy in the air was too thin, so using it directly to refine the body was extremely inefficient. That was why most cultivators chose to gather spiritual energy in their dantian and follow the path of storing and releasing energy. If they'd had Flame Spirit Stones back then..."
He left the thought unfinished.
Yang Wanqing listened intently, so impatient that she nearly bit through the inside of her cheek.
"What if they had?"
"Then most people probably would have chosen body refinement."
He said it very casually.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, all she asked was, "Brother, have you finished reading that copy of In Search of the Gods?"
"Almost."
Chen Hao bent down, picked up the book beside his feet, and turned to the dog-eared page.
Beyond the balcony, the sky had gone completely dark. The city lights came on one by one, densely scattered across the entire view.
Yang Wanqing's phone rang again.
She took it out and checked. It was a news notification.
"Master, Siyao, look at this—"
She held up her phone, her smile fading a little, and the two women's discussion drifted out from the living room.
The buzz around Penglai really had died down.
It