Gu Mei'er was extremely hesitant. She knew that if this kind-hearted cultivator could help her, she would have a chance to embark on the path of cultivating to Ghost Immortal. However, few cultivators were unmoved by Nascent Soul Spirit Body, especially pure Spirit Body like hers. As long as they refined and absorbed her, cultivators like Li Qiang could immediately leap from the Early Leaving the Body Stage to the Middle Leaving the Body Stage. Therefore, she was very afraid and worried.
Li Qiang smiled and said, " Mei'er, where do you usually cultivate? Take me there, and I'll set up an array for you."
Gu Mei'er didn't know how to answer. She looked at Li Qiang pitifully, and finally made up her mind. "I... I'll go with you, sir... Mei'er will listen to you, sir, please don't bully Mei'er..."
Li Qiang smiled wryly to himself, "I'm not a bully or a bad guy. If others heard what this little girl said, they'd think I was trying to force myself on her." He quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, Mei'er, I won't bully you."
Li Qiang didn't quite understand the cultivation of the Spirit Body, because that was a different level of cultivation. In fact, Mei'er's cultivation was just one step away. Once her Spirit Body solidified, she wouldn't have to fear cultivators anymore. However, without anyone's help, relying solely on her own seclusion for cultivation was extremely difficult, almost hopeless.
Li Qiang said, " Mei'er, don't call me 'sir' anymore. My surname is Li, Li Qiang. Just call me 'big brother,' and I'll help you."
Upon hearing this, Mei'er's Spirit Body began to gather and disperse. She suddenly felt that she had found someone to rely on, a cultivator she could trust. Overwhelmed with emotion, she didn't know what to do. After a while, she said in a sweet voice, "Big brother, Mei'er greets you."
Li Qiang nodded and said, " Mei'er, what kind of Law Treasure do you need to cultivate your Spirit Body? I'll find it for you." He wasn't bragging. When it came to Law Treasure, the collection in his bracelet was extraordinary even in the Cultivation Realm. Any one of them would be a top-grade item, not to mention that he himself was a master of weapon crafting.
Mei'er does indeed need good treasures to help her. Her current cultivation relies almost entirely on her own accumulated cultivation, and her progress is extremely slow. Moreover, she is very timid. Even though she knows that there are many good things in the Buddha Sect ruins above, she never dares to go up.
Fortunately, she was timid and hid in the castle; if she had gone up there, she would certainly have met with dire consequences.
She said, "Thank you, brother. For Spirit Body cultivation, it's best to have a pure Yin Law Treasure or treasure. Mei'er can possess it to cultivate, but pure Yin treasures are very rare. Generally, a Yin-attribute treasure is already very good."
"Pure Yin treasures? Hmm, Mystic Pearl? Mystic Ice Essence? Can these be used?" He first took out a Mystic Pearl and asked, " Mei'er, this is Mystic Pearl condensed from Mystic Qi. It should be a pure Yin treasure. Can you use it?"
Mei'er stared in surprise at the black bead in Li Qiang's hand. She knew all too well what this Mystic Pearl meant to her; it was a top-grade pure Yin treasure. Especially with the other thing Li Qiang had mentioned— the Mystic Ice Essence —its effect was even greater, helping her quickly complete the first step of cultivation.
She said, "Big brother, this is... for Mei'er?" She could hardly believe it.
In fact, the Mystic Pearl is already the best among pure Yin treasures, Mei'er cannot use it for the time being because her Spirit Body is too weak. What she really needs now is the Mystic Ice Essence.
Li Qiang laughed and said, "Of course it's for you. I also have Mystic Ice Essence. Can you use it? Hehe, I don't know anything about what's needed for Spirit Body cultivation. Mei'er, just tell me. Even if I don't have it now, I'll find a way to get it for you later."
Mei'er finally smiled and said sweetly, "It works! It works! As long as there is a drop of Mystic Ice Essence, Mei'er can solidify her Spirit Body."
Li Qiang took out a thermos and laughed, "I have plenty of Mystic Ice Essence. Just tell me how much you need, Mei'er. Hehe, I have a whole bottle of Mystic Ice Essence."
Mei'er's eyes widened in surprise. She said, "If you have a lot, Big Brother, three drops will be enough for Mei'er. Just give it to Mei'er." She was both surprised and delighted. She had been cultivating for so long but hadn't made much progress. She hadn't even mastered the simple transformation of her Spirit Body because there were no treasures she needed in the castle.
Li Qiang opened the bottle, wrapped a drop of Mystic Ice Essence in his True Essence Power, and flicked it out, shouting at the same time, " Mei'er, catch!"
Mei'er suddenly transformed into a cloud of black mist, rapidly spinning while wrapped in Mystic Ice Essence. A faint blue wisp slowly dissipated, and soon, the black mist incorporated wisps of pale blue. Li Qiang, standing nearby, clearly felt a cold wind blowing. Gradually, the black mist thickened, and Li Qiang flicked out another drop of Mystic Ice Essence.
Mei'er obtained the chilling energy of the Mystic Ice Essence, and her Spirit Body quickly condensed. After obtaining the second drop of Mystic Ice Essence, the black mist gradually turned pinkish-blue. The rapidly rotating essence stirred up the dust on the ground, and the entire Qing Shi Fortress was instantly filled with smoke and dust. After the dust on the ground was blown up, the golden sand revealed its golden color.
Li Qiang squinted as he waited. He already had a general idea of how Spirit Body was condensed. He would wait until Mei'er's Spirit Body was fully formed before using the last drop of Mystic Ice Essence to solidify it.
Before long, Mei'er began to solidify her form for the first time. The rapidly spinning mist slowed down, and white light emanated from the pinkish-blue mist, which then began to tremble violently. A blurry figure gradually appeared, the shadow faint and almost transparent.
A wisp of flowing black hair first fell down, and Mei'er's face immediately became clear. It was the delicate face unique to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, with very fair skin. Her eyes were closed, and her long eyelashes were slightly curled, seemingly trembling gently. Her expression was a mixture of anger and joy. Then, her bare shoulders, arms, and entire body gradually became clear.
Because he had to give away the last drop of Mystic Ice Essence, Li Qiang couldn't take his eyes off her. He couldn't help but marvel at the existence of such a beautiful and delicate figure in the world. Although he was already a master cultivator with extraordinary self-control, he still couldn't bear to look at such a naked and beautiful girl.
He flicked away the last drop of Mystic Ice Essence, forced himself to turn around, and took a deep breath, thinking, "Good heavens, isn't this a test of my cultivation level? Damn it, even fighting a master wasn't this strenuous."
"Big brother, I'm all better."
The voice was so sweet that it sent a shiver down Li Qiang's spine. He didn't know that cultivating Spirit Body, especially cultivating Ghost Immortal immortal, was completely different from cultivating in the Cultivation Realm. Once Gu Mei'er's Spirit Body solidified, she would have two extremely powerful abilities: one was ever-changing, and the other was a natural charm. If she wanted to deceive people, even cultivators probably couldn't stop her.
Li Qiang steadied himself and said, "Put on your clothes..."
Mei'er said sweetly, "Big brother, Mei'er is wearing clothes! Hehe, Mei'er is so happy, I can conjure clothes myself now!"
Li Qiang looked back and felt a sense of amazement.
Her appearance was delicate and pitiful, and Li Qiang suddenly thought of a word—"vixen," and a kind that had cultivated for a thousand years. Perhaps only this word could express Li Qiang's feelings about Mei'er's appearance at this moment; she was indeed too tempting.
Li Qiang couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. Was he meddling too much and asking for trouble? With such an extremely charming young woman by his side, there was bound to be a lot of trouble in the future.
Gu Mei'er had no idea what Li Qiang was thinking. She was extremely happy, floating around in the air, giggling incessantly, feeling that she had finally made it through.
Gu Mei'er laughed and suddenly floated to Li Qiang's side, hugged him tightly, and kissed him hard on the cheek, saying sweetly, "Brother, from now on you're Mei'er's real brother, Mei'er will be your real sister, okay?"
Li Qiang was completely bewildered by her and said, "Um, this... okay, let's become sworn brothers..."
Mei'er asked in confusion, "What's this about sworn brotherhood? Mei'er doesn't understand."
"Hehe, sworn brotherhood... that's right, from now on, I recognize you as my sister." He thought to himself, having a sister isn't bad, it'll be good to have a companion on my future cultivation journey. " Mei'er, wait a moment, brother has some gifts for you."
Mei'er smiled sweetly. Li Qiang gave her the feeling of a doting elder, and she felt very comfortable and warm.
Li Qiang grabbed a handful of gold sand from the ground, unleashed his Heavenly Fire to begin refining it, and added several pieces of green Cold Gold Jadeite to the gold sand. This was a type of water-based stone produced on the Tanbang Continent. With the domineering temperature of the Heavenly Fire, he Fusion the two together, and a beautiful necklace slowly took shape.
He then made a hollowed-out spherical pendant to hold the Mystic Pearl inside. He was a master craftsman, so making such a small trinket was incredibly easy for him.
Li Qiang hung the necklace around Mei'er's neck and said with a smile, "From now on, Mei'er can absorb the essence of Mystic Qi anytime, anywhere when cultivating. Also, I'll give you this cold jade hairpin. It was made using the Condensation Refining Method. You can practice cultivating it yourself when you have time."
Mei'er took the jade hairpin with great surprise. "This is truly a wonderful item! Mei'er thinks this Law Treasure is perfect for my cultivation. Brother, how do you have so many treasures?"
Li Qiang said with a grin, "Not many, just enough for you. Mei'er, does this castle have an exit?"
Mei'er's smile vanished instantly. "There's no real exit here. Only this hall is intact; most of the rest has collapsed. I don't understand why. Oh, right, brother, there's a passage I've been too afraid to go Mei'er. I always feel there's danger inside. Maybe we can get up from there."
Ever since Mei'er's Spirit Body solidified, the little Sea Demon had lost interest in her. Mei'er found this strange as well; she discovered that when she faced the little Sea Demon again, the deep-seated fear she once felt had vanished. She asked, "Was this Soul-Devouring Demon tamed by my brother?"
Li Qiang was still thinking about the passage when he heard this and casually said, "Yeah, Mei'er, don't be afraid, it won't hurt people."
Mei'er's figure shrank rapidly, stopping when she was about the same size as the little Sea Demon. She leaped onto Li Qiang's shoulder and laughed, " Mei'er will keep it company."
Li Qiang saw it at a glance and was speechless with surprise. After a long while, he finally said, "What's going on? Mei'er can transform?"
Mei'er laughed smugly, "Yes, Mei'er can transform into anything, because Mei'er's Spirit Body can already conjure forms, hehe, aren't you very surprised, brother?"
Li Qiang was not only surprised, but also somewhat incredulous. Even his master, Qi Junsha, didn't seem to possess such powerful abilities. " Mei'er is truly remarkable. Can... can she transform into the form of a little Sea Demon?"
Mei'er said sweetly, "Brother doesn't believe Mei'er anymore..." Before she finished speaking, Li Qiang noticed two identical little Sea Demon on his shoulder.
Li Qiang was nearly scared to death by her, and the real little Sea Demon was so frightened that it flew into the air, its blue feathers standing on end.
Upon seeing this, Mei'er immediately reverted to her original form, then hugged Li Qiang and giggled incessantly. Li Qiang knew she was just being affectionate, and he couldn't help but laugh as well.
Li Qiang laughed and said, " Mei'er can Ten Million Avatars in the future, so she can't act recklessly."
Mei'er said coquettishly, "Anyway, Mei'er will just follow brother. With brother taking care of Mei'er, Mei'er doesn't care about anything else."
Li Qiang scratched his head and said, "Alright, let's go see if we can get up that passage. If not, we'll think of another way." He quickly changed the subject and put Mei'er down.
The little girl was attracted to Li Qiang's pure yang energy and couldn't help but throw herself into his arms. She didn't mean anything by it, but Li Qiang felt a little overwhelmed. Although she was just a Spirit Body, the bewitching demeanor she exuded was irresistible, so Li Qiang didn't dare to be careless.
"Brother, Mei'er will lead the way."
Both of them were skilled in flying. When they arrived at the side door of the hall, Mei'er smiled and said, " Mei'er 've passed through this door countless times, always squeezing through the cracks. This time, I can open it and go in openly." She pushed open the heavy door.
Li Qiang discovered that the stone door was actually inlaid with large pieces of gold, and thought that if this were on Earth, the door would be incredibly valuable.
The two flew rapidly forward along the path paved with blue bricks. Mei'er explained things from time to time. Li Qiang asked, " Mei'er, is this the path?"
Mei'er smiled and shook her head, "No, there's still a long way to go."
Li Qiang pointed to a small door at the side of the passage and asked, " Mei'er, wait a minute, what's behind this?"
He reached for the door as he spoke, Mei'er giggled, "Brother, there's nothing behind it..."
Li Qiang opened the small door and found the outside covered in mud. He found it very strange and scratched his head, saying, " Mei'er, this Qing Shi Fortress looks like it was suddenly buried underground. It shouldn't have been built underground. Who is so powerful that they could sink such a large ancient fortress underground? I can't figure it out..."
Mei'er was also stunned. She thought about the terrain and passages inside the castle, and it did indeed seem like it had been sunk underground. " Mei'er doesn't know either, maybe it was caused by ancient people fighting with magic."
Soon they arrived at the passage Mei'er had mentioned. It was an upward slope. Li Qiang reached out and touched the wall of the passage. He discovered that the slope had been created by Law Treasure. Because so much time had passed, the neat scratches on the wall had become blurred.
He asked, " Mei'er, was this passage there when you came? Hmm, Mei'er... where are you?"
Li Qiang suddenly realized that Mei'er had disappeared, and he became very anxious. He hurriedly released his Divine Sense to check and found that her Spirit Body was huddled in the corner of the wall, trembling, and her body was completely invisible.
Li Qiang was extremely puzzled. He walked over to her, squatted down, and said gently, " Mei'er, don't be afraid. What did you see?"
Mei'er revealed her true form, tightly hugged Li Qiang's neck, and cried out, " Mei'er is scared... Waaah, every time we come here... Mei'er... Waaah..."
The little girl was Spirit Body; she sobbed loudly but not a single tear could be seen. Her trembling body, however, felt incredibly real. A feeling of utter absurdity welled up in Li Qiang's heart, and he quickly comforted her, " Mei'er, be brave, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Gu Mei'er felt more than just fear; having lived in the castle for so long, she was afraid to face the outside world.
The little Sea Demon suddenly let out a few low moans, Li Qiang couldn't help but laugh, "Hehe, the little Sea Demon wants to keep you company, how interesting."
Mei'er opened her eyes wide, looking at Li Qiang and then at the little Sea Demon. The little Sea Demon tilted its head and chirped a few more times. Mei'er burst into laughter through her tears, let go of Li Qiang, picked up the little Sea Demon, and said, "Can you protect Mei'er?" She could actually understand the little Sea Demon's cries.
The little Sea Demon nodded its head like a chicken pecking at rice, and Li Qiang couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Strange, Mei'er, the little Sea Demon seems to have a special connection with you. This is the first time I've seen it take the initiative to get close to someone."
Mei'er gently stroked the blue feather on the little Sea Demon's head, her mood instantly relaxing. She said sweetly, "Thank you, brother... Does it have a name?"
"I haven't thought about naming it yet. Mei'er, you name it."
Mei'er exclaimed happily, "Great! Great! Hmm... let's call it Blue Light... okay?" The little Sea Demon seemed happy too, her body emitting a bright sapphire blue light.
Once Mei'er's Spirit Body solidified, she entered a higher realm, and the little Sea Demon's Soul-Stabilizing Blue Light no longer had any effect on her.
Li Qiang laughed and said, "Hmm, let's call it Blue Light. It seems quite happy about it."
The Blue Light rapidly contracted on Li Qiang's shoulder, transforming into a fist-sized, sapphire-blue sphere that adhered to his shoulder. Mei'er, her childlike heart bursting with affection, exclaimed in a sweet voice, "Great! Mei'er can do that too!"
She instantly transformed into a tiny girl, no bigger than a finger, and nimbly nestled beside Blue Light, grinning as she said, " Blue Light, look, Mei'er is much smaller than you now, hee hee."
Li Qiang finally felt relieved. He thought to himself that the difference between Spirit Body and cultivators was indeed very large. Among all cultivators, only cultivators were the closest to humans. People like Gu Mei'er and Qi Junsha were already very different from cultivators, and even more different from ordinary people, especially the cultivation of Spirit Body, which was even more miraculous.
The upward spiral climbed for a long time before Li Qiang discovered that the passage ahead had collapsed.
Mei'er whispered in his ear, "Oh dear, this place has collapsed. Let's turn back." There seemed to be a hint of relief in her tone.
Li Qiang knew in his heart that this girl was terrified of the outside world. He smiled slightly and said, " Mei'er, have some faith in your big brother, okay? Hehe."
Ever since Gu Mei'er's original physical body was destroyed by the deadly poison in the ruins, she has been terrified of everything there.
The Star-Absorbing Sword flew out, its Sword Mist both real and illusory. Mei'er, surprisingly, recognized this Swordsmanship and exclaimed, "This is True Illusion Sword Qi! Brother, are you a cultivator from the legendary Great Illusion Star Sword Sect?"
Li Qiang asked curiously, " The Great Illusion Star Sword Sect? I don't know about it. Why did Mei'er say it's legendary? Is it a vanished sword sect?"
Mei'er said, " Mei'er also read about it in the ancient books. It is said that the Great Illusion Star Sword Sect was once a very famous cultivation sword sect. The sect leader's Swordsmanship was the True Illusion Sword Qi. Later, the sect leader suddenly disappeared. Perhaps he had already achieved the Great Dao, or perhaps he was cultivating in seclusion somewhere. In any case, since his disappearance, all the cultivators of the Great Illusion Star Sword Sect have scattered, and no one has ever seen any cultivators of this sword sect again. Brother, how do you know this Swordsmanship? Who taught you? Maybe he was a cultivator from the Great Illusion Star Sword Sect."
Li Qiang laughed, " Mei'er, you guessed wrong. Even I don't know how I learned it. This flying sword suddenly turned into Sword Mist... Hmm, wait... Could it be..."
He realized that the Star-Absorbing Sword was a gift from Mo Huaiyuan. Could Mo Huaiyuan be the sect leader of the Great Illusion Star Sword Sect? If so, then it wouldn't be surprising.
He pondered for a moment, then said, "Perhaps. I learned the sword from this Star-Absorbing Sword. The friend who taught me the sword might be from the Great Illusion Star Sword Sect, but I haven't asked him."
Actually, Li Qiang had forgotten that the Star-Absorbing Sword wasn't forged by Mo Huaiyuan, but rather discovered in the All Is Empty Palace of the Star Palace. Mo Huaiyuan thought the flying sword was special, so he gave it to Li Qiang. At the time, Mo Huaiyuan had given him a whole bunch of Law Treasure, and Li Qiang himself was a little confused about them.
Mei'er said, " Mei'er also knows that this Swordsmanship has three levels. What level have you reached, brother?"
Li Qiang was surprised to find that this little girl seemed to know a lot. He himself did not know what True Illusion Sword Qi was. It was something that Long Qianyue of Heavenly Halberd Peak had shouted out during a battle.
He praised, " Mei'er knows so much, your brother can't compare. Tell me, what are the three major realms?"
Mei'er was overjoyed by Li Qiang's praise and said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Brother, you want to test Mei'er? This won't stump Mei'er. There are three realms of True Illusion Sword Qi. The first is to use the true and the illusory, letting the true and the illusory flow at will; this is the initial realm. The second is to use the sword to represent objects, where things change and people are no longer the same; once mastered, one can transform into countless forms and disappear without a trace; this is the Illusion-to-Truth Realm. Finally, one returns to simplicity and originality, where the great form is formless; this is the Mahayana Sword Realm. Brother, am I right?"
Li Qiang had never heard of any of this. Not only was his cultivation period short, but he had also learned entirely on his own. Since he stepped into the world of cultivation, apart from the solid foundation laid by Fu Shan, everything else he had learned was due to fortuitous opportunity and the help of friends. He had very little exposure to the traditional knowledge of the Cultivation Realm.
Li Qiang was surprised by Mei'er's extensive knowledge. He laughed sheepishly and said, " Mei'er, I'm such an old-fashioned guy, haha, I'm really ignorant. This is the first time I've heard of what you're talking about."
Mei'er mischievously blew a breath into his ear and said sweetly, "Brother is lying to me. These things are recorded in the classics. Doesn't brother ever study them?" Of course she didn't believe it. She knew Li Qiang's current level very well. Surpassing the Nascent Soul Realm stage was already a very high level of cultivation. Who would believe him if he said he was ignorant?
Actually, it wasn't that Li Qiang was unwilling to learn; rather, he simply didn't know where to begin.
Originally, he was going to go to Sealed Fate Planet with Fu Shan, but because of Hua Meiniang's interference, he ended up on Heavenly Court Star, and all his plans were disrupted. However, the gains and losses were too numerous to count.
If he had followed Fu Shan back to Sealed Fate Planet, he might not have been able to reach his current level of cultivation. His current cultivation level is something that even cultivators who have cultivated for hundreds of years might not be able to match. That's why even Loose Immortal like Qi Junsha was surprised to see him, let alone other cultivators.
Li Qiang was very interested in the three realms that Mei'er mentioned. He knew that he had just entered the initial stage of the Realm of Truth, Illusion, and Emptiness, and was still a long way from the Mahayana Sword Realm. However, since he knew that such realms existed, he believed that as long as he cultivated slowly, he would eventually be able to reach that level.
He recalled the first time he practiced the Star Absorbing Star-Absorbing Sword in the Black Prison, when he discovered that the Star-Absorbing Sword did not have an attack array, making it vastly different from ordinary flying swords. Moreover, during the practice, the Star-Absorbing Sword suddenly disappeared. Only then did he realize the special nature of this Star-Absorbing Sword, and he was extremely grateful to Mo Huaiyuan, for almost every Law Treasure he had given him was of the highest quality.
The Sword Mist shimmered, Sword Qi, like morning mist illuminated by sunlight, seemed to have glistening dewdrops sparkling.
Mei'er exclaimed, "How beautiful!" She felt a pang of disappointment. If she had possessed such Swordsmanship when she still had her physical body, the poisonous smoke would never have harmed her.
She had blamed herself a thousand times. It was out of curiosity that she found this Buddha Sect site in the ancient books and went through all the trouble to find it to search for treasure, but in the end, she destroyed her physical body. If Li Qiang hadn't come, her fate would definitely not have been good.
Li Qiang shouted, " Mei'er, let's go up!"
Mei'er calmed herself down, tightly gripped the Buddhist beads around Blue Light's neck, and said, " Mei'er isn't afraid! Not afraid!" Although she said she wasn't afraid, her voice trembled.
The Star-Absorbing Sword surged rapidly into the collapsed passage, and Li Qiang crashed headlong into it, determined to force his way through.