In a residence on Moon-Sand Island in the Northsky Archipelago.
Deep within a secluded chamber, Li Ling sat cross-legged before a jade sculpture roughly ten feet across, shaped like a lotus in bloom.
White mist wreathed the lotus's center, where slender streams of clear spring water trickled out. A pearl-like mass of milky-white radiance rested quietly in a stone basin shaped like a lotus seedpod.
It was an as-yet unformed condensation of a blessed land's spring vein, a Spirit Spring Pearl that could enhance cultivation and Dharma Power.
Above Li Ling's head, a Child Celestial Aspect with three heads and six arms floated gracefully in the air, its robes and sashes fluttering, ethereal as an immortal.
As its six arms brushed lightly through the air, its blades, spears, swords, halberds, and Magic Treasures were already nowhere to be seen. In their place were lumps kneaded into pills, spiritual energy circulating within them. His Divine Sense divided into multiple streams, ceaselessly converting his mental energy and infusing incense essence into them.
Only after quite some time, when his mental strength had been greatly depleted, did Li Ling reluctantly pause to rest, still wishing he could continue.
"Heh, this innate divine ability of mine is convenient for everything, whether refining and making incense, reading and studying cultivation methods, or doing anything else.
"Unfortunately, to make the most of it, I have to manifest my Dharma Form externally. Now that I've reached Foundation Establishment, without soul departure, I can at most split my attention between two or three tasks and increase my Dharma Power a little more than twofold.
"It's inconvenient to reveal it inside the Snail Shell Sanctuary, so my efficiency there never matches what I can achieve by going all out like this.
"But even so, a lone tree can never