Leaf of Spacetime!

Back at the Secluded Cool Abode.

Qin Ming closed the door, his heart brimming with excitement.

He had never expected the Mastery-level Blood Ignition Saber Technique to be so overwhelmingly powerful!

Qin Ming now had a clear understanding of his own strength.

His mindset had changed as well.

He no longer feared Late Qi Refining cultivators. Unless he faced exceptionally powerful Qi Refining Stage perfection cultivators, he had more than enough strength to protect himself.

At last, he no longer had to live as he had in the beginning—only at the second level of Qi Refining, weak and trembling with fear all day long.

Choosing the path of body cultivation back then had truly been a wise decision.

Qin Ming entered the meditation chamber.

He took out all four Storage Bags.

Soon, a dazzling array of artifacts, Spirit Stones, talismans, pills, and other items lay scattered across the floor.

Qin Ming took stock of his gains.

Chen Zi'ang was undoubtedly the fattest catch. That fellow was probably used to taking things by force; aside from that high-grade golden greatsword artifact, his Storage Bag contained quite a few other treasures.

Two mid-grade artifacts, one bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills, several other low-grade pills, and two high-grade offensive talismans.

Most eye-catching of all, there were actually ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones inside!

As well as over two thousand Lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Chen Zi'ang alone possessed more than three thousand Spirit Stones. He truly was a wealthy young master, fat enough to drip oil.

Qin Ming then inspected the other three Storage Bags one after another. All the Spirit Stones inside them combined did not even amount to half of Chen Zi'ang's.

There were just over twelve hundred in total.

The rest consisted of spell manuals, cultivation techniques, pills, and such.

Qin Ming happily stuffed everything into his own Storage Bag.

His once-deflated bag of Spirit Stones instantly bulged again. Including those ten Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, he now had the equivalent of more than four thousand three hundred Spirit Stones!

One wave, four kills—he had taken off directly.

Of course, the two stalks of Demon Flame Grass and Seven-Leaf Huangling he had accelerated in the Spirit Field were also worth a fortune.

However, he intended to keep those two Spirit Plants for now and use them later when refining high-grade spirit pills.

After putting everything away,

Qin Ming's gaze fell upon the three Blood Orbs that had formed after the Thorn Art was cast.

He frowned and pondered for a moment.

This thing seemed usable only as food for that Withered Blood Poison Vine.

Qin Ming picked up the Blood Orbs and went into the courtyard.

He tossed them toward the Withered Blood Poison Vine in the corner.

The instant the Blood Orbs landed, the black vines lunged at them in a frenzy, like sharks catching the scent of blood, ravenous beyond measure.

A moment later,

the Withered Blood Poison Vine slowly began undergoing some unbelievable changes!

First, its vines grew a little taller and became sturdier.

Second, cracks appeared across the surface of the vines, while three more bewitching purple flower buds bloomed along the main vine.

Then, a gleaming golden Affix appeared before Qin Ming's eyes:

Name: Withered Blood Poison Vine
Affix: Leaf of Spacetime x5 (Maturity 1%)

Leaf of Spacetime: Upon use, can accelerate a high-tier Spirit Plant to one hundred years of growth in an extremely short time. This effect can stack!

"Damn! It evolved! An advanced version of the Accelerated Growth Affix!"

"Hahaha!"

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you truly died for a worthy cause!"

Qin Ming stared at the Affix, his heart surging with excitement.

What did a hundred-year Spirit Plant represent?

The moment one appeared in the Immortal Cultivation World, cultivators would nearly fight over it until none remained. Such precious spirit materials and spirit medicines were generally controlled by great sects and powerful factions.

For instance, Jade Marrow Mushroom, one of the three main ingredients needed to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill, had to possess at least three hundred years of Medicinal Power. Otherwise, it could not be made into a pill.

Such Jade Marrow Mushrooms over three hundred years old naturally could not be planted and cultivated by human hands. They grew only within several secret realms jointly controlled by sect factions.

With this main ingredient monopolized by great sects and powerful factions, even if independent cultivators possessed the formula for a Foundation Establishment Pill, they would have no way to refine one.

Of course, aside from those three main ingredients, refining a Foundation Establishment Pill also required over thirty other supplementary Spirit Herbs, each one exceedingly rare.

It was simply that their required years of Medicinal Power were not as high.

Qin Ming suppressed his delight.

"It seems this Withered Blood Poison Vine is anything but ordinary. It can actually produce such a heaven-defying Affix as the Leaf of Spacetime."

"Still, to fully accelerate these two purple demon flowers to maturity, I'll probably need no fewer than five Accelerated Growth Affixes."

"And I only have two Accelerated Growth Affixes left in my Sea of Consciousness. It all depends on whether the next season of Golden Spirit Rice delivers."

Qin Ming looked at the Withered Blood Poison Vine before him and found it increasingly mysterious.

It could actually devour cultivators' blood essence and souls, turning them into nourishment for its own rapid growth.

Its growth rate was even nearly as fast as using an Accelerated Growth Affix.

"Could it be that I'll have to gather other people's souls to feed this Spirit Plant in the future?" Such a bizarre thought instinctively rose in Qin Ming's mind.

Then he shook his head.

He cast the thought aside.

Afterward,

he cast the Greater Spirit Rain Technique on the Withered Blood Poison Vine once.

Returning to the room,

Qin Ming took a Jade Talisman from his Storage Bag. The seal-script character "Zhuang" was inscribed upon it.

He looked at the Jade Talisman and frowned slightly.

"According to Chen Zi'ang, to advance to a Tier 2 Spirit Planter, one must enter the Flora Mirage Realm and complete its trial."

"And these critically important recommendation slots are all controlled by the sect elders."

"Ah, I wonder if I can attend Elder Zhuang's public lecture with only this Jade Talisman."

Qin Ming immediately extended his spiritual sense into the Jade Talisman.

After a long while,

Qin Ming withdrew his spiritual sense from the Jade Talisman.

A strange expression appeared on his face.

Inside the Jade Talisman was a message left behind by Elder Zhuang Xiran using his Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual power.

Its general meaning was that he would be giving a public Spirit Plant lecture within the Spirit Feather Sect in half a month.

Any cultivator holding this Jade Talisman, regardless of background, could enter and attend. The talisman would be recognized, not the person.

Those who obtained this talisman were considered fated.

"What a fine 'fated'!"

"I like someone with this kind of character!"

Qin Ming broke into a smile. He had been worrying whether attending the public lecture with this Jade Talisman would risk exposing himself.

If the Jade Talismans had been distributed at random, then there was nothing to worry about.

"In that case, half a month from now, I'll go and broaden my horizons with the Spirit Feather Sect's high-tier Spirit Planters."

The setting sun slanted westward.

Qin Ming cooked a pot of Supreme-Grade Blood Locust Rice, ate it, and began cultivating the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture."

Three hours later,

Qin Ming finished cultivating and silently pondered for a while.

He immersed his mind and prepared to use the five Abundant Soul Force Affixes to elevate the power of his soul once more.

After all, the last time he had used ten strands of Faint Soul Force, his soul had grown by more than double.

This time, it was the even stronger Abundant Soul Force.

With a thought, Qin Ming used one Affix leaf.

Boom!

Qin Ming's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

The power of his soul within his mind instantly turned violent!

He felt a force deep within his soul expanding rapidly, while agonizing tearing pain flooded his mind.

Crack!

A sound like shattering glass came from the depths of his mind.

Immediately afterward,

Qin Ming's eyes widened, and beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

Huff, huff—

His chest rose and fell sharply as he gasped for air.

Qin Ming could clearly feel that his soul had grown by a great deal in an instant.

Next,

he repeated the process and used the remaining four Abundant Soul Force Affixes.

Late at night,

after using all five Abundant Soul Force Affixes,

Qin Ming's soul had been raised to an unprecedented height.

Compared to before, it had become four or five times stronger.

Even his spiritual sense had been strengthened to an inconceivable degree.

Qin Ming's current spiritual sense was already comparable to that of a Qi Refining Stage perfection cultivator. He was only one step away from transforming it into the divine sense possessed only by Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

"Elder Zhuang's lecture won't begin for another half month."

"How about..."

"Once I fully comprehend the Mastery-level Blood Ignition Saber Technique over the next ten days..."

"I go to Su Yuqing's place and try refining some mid-grade spirit pills?"

Qin Ming sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion and muttered to himself.