Opening the Eighth Spiritual Aperture

The Hundred Aperture Grass he had seen before was emerald green, shaped like a lantern. But this spiritual herb before him was like a golden pearl, shining brightly.

"This is the Hundred Aperture Grass King! Its medicinal efficacy is twice as good as ordinary Hundred Aperture Grass. How about selling it to me for fifty low-grade spirit stones?"

The elder couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not selling it!"

Lu Ren shook his head. He had plenty of time, and he was just short of the Hundred Aperture Grass to open his eighth Spiritual Aperture.

What's more, this was the Grass King!

"Not selling?"

The elder was slightly surprised. Did this Lu Ren know the true value of the Hundred Aperture Grass King?

"Not selling!"

Lu Ren shook his head and took the Hundred Aperture Grass back.

"Lu Ren, how about this? I'll add another fifty low-grade spirit stones. You have a Scrap Bloodline, so even the Grass King is useless!" The elder extended a finger and chuckled.

This Hundred Aperture Grass King could allow him to make a huge profit, so naturally, he was unwilling to give up.

"Elder, since I can't reach the Spirit Stream Realm anyway, I naturally want to try opening my eighth Spiritual Aperture!"

Lu Ren put away the Hundred Aperture Grass and quickly returned to his cultivation courtyard.

Back in the courtyard, Lu Ren entered the Pagoda Space and began his arduous training.

This time, he prepared twenty-five spirit stones, which could allow him to cultivate for fifty years. He planned to use this time to break through his limits, open his eighth Spiritual Aperture, and then perform the Spirit Burst Secret Art to merge the eighth Spiritual Aperture.

Breaking through limits and opening the eighth Spiritual Aperture was extremely difficult. The lower the bloodline talent, the longer it would take.

Many geniuses with fifth or even sixth-grade bloodlines didn't even plan to open their eighth Spiritual Aperture because it took too much time. Spending a year might be acceptable, but spending two or even three years to open the eighth Spiritual Aperture would be a loss.

The path of cultivation was a race against time. In two or three years, many geniuses of the same age would have already entered the Cloud River Realm and cultivated many powerful martial skills.

But Lu Ren was different. He didn't have much of anything, except time.

"To open the eighth Spiritual Aperture, one must first comprehend its exact location. The location of the eighth Spiritual Aperture is different for every martial artist!"

Lu Ren sat down and began to sense the location of his eighth Spiritual Aperture.

This process was the most agonizing. As long as he comprehended it, he could successfully open it by consuming the Hundred Aperture Grass.

One year!

Two years!

Three years!

Ten years!

During these ten years, Lu Ren sensed every cell and every piece of flesh and blood in his body, but he still couldn't pinpoint the location of the eighth Spiritual Aperture.

However, Lu Ren was not impatient. Years of arduous training had already instilled in him a calm and steady disposition.

Finally, in the thirtieth year, Lu Ren sensed a point in the area of his right shoulder blade.

That point seemed to have a special connection, pulling at the other seven Spiritual Apertures within him.

Lu Ren was overjoyed. He chewed up the Hundred Aperture Grass King and swallowed it directly.

The juice of the Hundred Aperture Grass was a bit bitter, and Lu Ren's eyebrows twitched as he swallowed it all.

After a slight taste, Lu Ren closed his eyes, concentrated, and quietly felt.

Initially, there was no change, but soon a warm current surged. This warm current felt like a very peculiar power.

The warm current accumulated in his abdomen and he tried to guide it to the location of the eighth Spiritual Aperture.

No, a burning sensation filled him.

Lu Ren's face lit up. He had finally broken through his limit and opened his eighth Spiritual Aperture.

Thirty years of arduous training had finally paid off in breaking through his limit and opening his eighth Spiritual Aperture.

Lu Ren was extremely excited. He then spent another twenty years cultivating the Spirit Burst Secret Art, integrating the Spiritual Energy of the eighth Spiritual Aperture into his vortex.

At this point, his spiritual energy erupted, and he could unleash a power of sixteen thousand jin.

Lu Ren emerged from the Nameless Treasure Pagoda in his courtyard and unleashed his strength wantonly, feeling incredibly exhilarated.

"Awesome!"

Lu Ren laughed heartily and said, "I need low-grade spirit stones, enough low-grade spirit stones, and opening eighteen Spiritual Apertures will be a piece of cake!"

In the past few days, Lu Ren had been living the life of an outer disciple. He would occasionally go to listen to the elders' lectures, but they were all about knowledge of the Spirit Stream Realm, which made Lu Ren yearn for the Spirit Stream Realm even more, making him eager to break through to it.

"Disciples, do you have any more questions?"

In the square, the lecturing elder asked the dozens of outer disciples seated there.

"Elder!"

Lu Ren stood up and cupped his hands, asking, "How many Spiritual Apertures can a Martial Artist actually open?"

"That..."

The elder was stumped by Lu Ren's question, then smiled and said, "As far as I know, Elder Yun has opened eleven Spiritual Apertures, making her the most powerful in our Jiangyun Kingdom. However, I saw in an ancient text that the limit for a Martial Artist is eighteen Spiritual Apertures!"

"Eighteen Spiritual Apertures!"

"Has anyone really managed to open eighteen Spiritual Apertures? The Saintess has only opened eleven, and the difficulty doubles with each additional aperture. Unless he never breaks through to the Spirit Stream Realm!"

Many outer disciples began to discuss amongst themselves.

"Even if he never breaks through, opening eighteen Spiritual Apertures is almost impossible. Martial Artists have limited lifespans; a hundred years isn't enough to open eighteen Spiritual Apertures!"

The elder smiled and then flew away.

Dong dong dong dong!

Suddenly, the peak of Tianzi Mountain was filled with the sound of bells, their chimes echoing for a hundred miles.

"Four bells! A large number of missions have been posted. Let's hurry over!"

"This time, I hope to get some good missions and earn some contribution!"

The group of disciples who had just been listening to the lecture immediately rushed towards another peak of Tianzi Mountain.

"Missions?"

Lu Ren's eyebrows shot up, and he followed the crowd, rushing over.

Right now, he needed to open more apertures and earn a lot of Spirit Stones. Taking on missions was the most direct way.

At this moment, hundreds of disciples from all directions were heading towards the Contribution Hall.

Stepping into the depths of the Contribution Hall, Lu Ren felt an immense emptiness. Huge green pillars stood within the hall, incredibly thick, requiring four or five people to encircle them. Various Exotic Beasts were carved onto them.

And hanging above these pillars were sheets of parchment.

Currently, many outer disciples were gathered around the pillars, discussing amongst themselves.

"Junior Brother Lu Ren, you've become an outer disciple?"

A woman walked in from outside the main hall. Upon seeing a familiar figure, her face showed surprise.

Hearing a familiar voice, Lu Ren turned around and was also surprised, "Senior Sister Qin Yu, you've become an outer disciple too?"

The person who arrived was none other than Qin Yu, the genius who ranked first in the disciple strength rankings.

At this moment, Qin Yu wore a green cloud robe, which made her look even more heroic.

Qin Yu smiled, "After I opened my eighth Spiritual Aperture, I advanced to the Spirit Stream Realm and directly became an outer disciple!"

Qin Yu herself had a Sixth-grade Bloodline, so her strength was unquestionable, and she didn't need to participate in the outer disciple assessment.

Lu Ren chuckled, "I won against a disciple from the Imperial Dao Sect at the sparring exchange tournament, so the sect made an exception and allowed me to become an outer disciple!"

"I see. You became an outer disciple without even entering the Spirit Stream Realm; this is probably unprecedented!"

Qin Yu smiled slightly, then said, "Junior Brother Lu Ren, you're just a Martial Artist in the Aperture Opening Realm. Isn't it a bit risky for you to take on outer disciple missions?"

Outer disciple missions required a minimum strength of Spirit Stream Realm first-tier.

Even Martial Artists who had opened ten or eleven Spiritual Apertures were no match for a Spirit Stream Realm first-tier Martial Artist.

Lu Ren coming to take on outer disciple missions was tantamount to seeking death!