Ten Herbs Temper the Body · The Azure Lotus Opens the Third Level
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The abandoned Soul Hunting Hunter Ksitigarbha between two low hills, with a narrow opening to the south facing the setting sun.
Nan Feng used the Tower Realm to create a layer of light membrane around the camp, a bluish-gold color. Soul Beast within a hundred paces dared not approach.
He sat down cross-legged on the bluestone.
Ten Immortal Herb floated around the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus. The Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma was purple-gold, the Snow Silkworm was silver-white, the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid was pale blue, the Fragrant Silk Beauty was pinkish-purple, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was crimson-gold, the Aromatic Silk Beauty was orange-yellow, the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was vermilion, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass was frosty white, the Infernal Delicate Apricot red, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew silver-blue.
The Old Huai locust tree swayed in the corner, emitting its hoarse voice.
"Let's proceed in order. The Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma expands the meridians, the Snow Silkworm tempers the Divine Power, and the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid solidifies the foundation."
"Fragrant Silk Beauty Purifies Soul Power, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Strengthens Physique, Aromatic Silk Beauty Purification Impurities, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower Enhances Fire Resistance."
"Take the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot together to counteract the ice and fire. Use the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew' last. Use the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus as the final touch, fusing the Tower Soul with the Primordial World. Don't be greedy."
"Knew."
Nan Feng closed his eyes. The Primordial World Imprint lit up. He reached out and gestured, and the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma transformed into a stream of purple-gold light that entered his palm.
The liquid entered his body like molten lava flowing into his meridians. Nan Feng groaned and clenched his fists.
The purple-gold Spiritual Power flowed along the walls of the meridians, opening up, repairing, and thickening hidden injuries, cracks, and blockages.
The Old Huai inside the tower said, "The medicine's effects last for six hours. Your meridians will expand and contract seven times, each time more resilient than the last. Bear with it, don't faint."
Nan Feng didn't faint. He gritted his teeth, his back soaked with cold sweat.
Six hours later, the light faded. The meridians within his body, like reforged iron pipes, had thickened by thirty percent.
The second one is the Snow Silkworm.
The silvery-white silkworm body transformed into icy, fine threads that burrowed into the center of the brow, reaching the depths of the soul. Nan Feng shuddered. His spiritual sea felt as if a block of ice had been thrown into it.
Under the tempering of Divine Power, it contracts, condenses, and contracts again, condensing from mist into water droplets, and then into ice crystals.
The range of perception was reduced from 300 steps to 100 steps, then 50 steps, and finally stopped at 30 steps.
Old Huai nodded. "Snow Silkworm Soul Tempering. Your accuracy at thirty steps now is better than it was at three hundred steps before."
The third plant, Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid. The pale blue orchid sank into the dantian. The Primordial World Power was stirred, compressed, and settled, and the foundation was solidified.
The fourth plant, the Fragrant Silk Beauty, had its pink and purple petals transform into a delicate fragrance that seeped into the core of the Soul Power. Impurities were enveloped and expelled through the pores. Nan Feng was enveloped in a grayish-black turbid aura, which was kept outside by the light membrane. The purity of his Soul Power increased from 90% to 95%.
The fifth plant, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Its crimson-gold stamens penetrated his body and went straight into his bones. His bone density increased layer by layer. His physique went from being able to withstand an attack from Thousand-Year Soul Beast to being able to withstand an attack from a three-thousand-year-old Soul Beast.
The sixth plant, the Aromatic Silk Beauty. Its orange-yellow petals transformed into a warm current that flowed through the meridians, Purification the blockages that the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma had not yet cleared.
The seventh plant, the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower. Its crimson sunflower flowers transformed into fiery threads that wrapped around the meridians. Its fire resistance increased from 30% to 70%.
"Now comes the real challenge," Old Huai's voice deepened, "Two herbs entering the body simultaneously. The pain of the clash between ice and fire is three times the combined pain of all the previous Immortal Herb. Shout if you can't take it."
The Nan Feng did not shout.
He simultaneously activated two Immortal Herb. The frost-white Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the crimson Infernal Delicate Apricot transformed into two streams of light that entered his palms, one cold and one hot, converging along his meridians from both sides toward his dantian.
Wherever the Ice Spirit power passes, the meridians freeze and blood circulation stagnates. Wherever the fire Spiritual Power passes, the meridians burn and the Soul Power boils.
The two Spiritual Power met in Nanfeng's dantian, colliding and exploding at his core. Nan Feng's whole body trembled violently, and blood oozed from his seven orifices. His meridians were repeatedly frozen, cracked, burned, and healed.
The clash between ice and fire lasted for three days and three nights. At dawn on the third day, the ice and fire Spiritual Power reached a balance. The Ice Spirit energy sank into the depths, turning into a frosty white base color, while the fire Spiritual Power floated on the surface, turning into a crimson glow.
He has acquired immunity to both ice and fire attributes. His body can withstand both ice and fire attacks simultaneously without injury.
"Immunity to ice and fire is complete," Old Huai said. "There are two elders with ice and fire attributes in the Spirit Hall's Worship Hall. This immunity will be a lifesaver when facing them in the future."
The eighth plant, Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew silvery-blue flowers transforming into fine threads that seep into the center of the forehead. Nan Feng's Divine Power breaks through once again, his perception range expanding dramatically from thirty steps to five hundred steps.
The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light has evolved from a single-color spot to a multi-color spectrum. Different types of treasures display different colors, and the older the item, the brighter the aura.
"The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light has been upgraded," Old Huai said. "For items within five hundred paces that possess spiritual energy, its age, attributes, location, and purity are all readily apparent."
The nine Immortal Herb were refined. Nan Feng's Soul Power increased from level thirty-seven to level forty-two.
In the center of the Tower Spirit Space, the Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus floats. Its nine azure-gold petals open and close, and the nine lotus seeds in its heart pulsate in sync with the Primordial World Imprint and the heartbeat.
He reached out and gestured, Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus descended, disappearing into his brow.
As the blue lotus entered his body, an ancient roar erupted from the depths of his soul. His consciousness was pulled into the deepest recesses of his soul, where he saw a nine-story giant tower standing in the chaos. At the base of the tower, a ball of azure-gold light pulsed, its rhythm synchronized with the lotus seed.
The Primordial World Imprint trembled. The Spiritual Power of the Azure Lotus flowed into the soul from between the eyebrows, rushing towards the mark. The two met and exploded into a burst of light.
Nan Feng's consciousness went blank for a moment.
All nine levels of the tower simultaneously emitted azure-gold light. The first level's door opened, unleashing a torrent of Power of Mountain Suppression. The second level's door followed suit, its Power of Devouring absorbing all the remaining Spiritual Power of heaven and earth from the immortal Immortal Herb, transforming it into tower energy.
The third-level tower door originally had only a crack. At this moment, the Spiritual Power of the Azure Lotus poured into the crack, pushing the door all the way open. The Power of Creation transformed into azure-gold light that flowed into the meridians throughout the body, repairing every unhealed hidden injury.
Lapis lazuli patterns spread upwards from the base of the tower, intertwining with dark gold patterns. The third evolution is complete.
"The third level is fully open." Old Huai's voice was choked with excitement. "The Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus is Primordial World Fragment. Its Spiritual Power bypassed the accumulation of Soul Power and forcefully pushed the door open to the very end. The threshold is level forty, and you are level forty-two. The Azure Lotus pushed it open even more thoroughly than relying solely on level."
The boundaries of the Tower Spirit Space expanded in all directions, from fifty cubic meters to eighty cubic meters. The flow rate remained at 1.2 to 1.
Nan Feng opened her eyes.
He sensed his own Soul Power. Level 42. From level 37 to level 42, level 5.
The walls of his meridians thickened by 30%. His Divine Power range expanded nearly twenty times. His bone density doubled. His Soul Power purity reached 95%.
The Old Huai emerged from the immortal wood, half of its face clearly visible in the azure-gold light.
"Your level 42 is more than three times stronger than that of an ordinary Soul Master. But I must remind you—"
His tone became serious.
"You jumped from thirty-seven to forty-two, gaining five levels. Your Soul Power increased too quickly. Although your meridians have been broadened by the Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma, your foundation still needs to solidify. Don't absorb any more Soul Ring or Soul Bone for at least six months."
"Six months from now, your Soul Power will stabilize at around level 44. Then you can go to the Star Dou Great Forest to find the Shadow Leopard Emperor."
Nan Feng nodded. He sensed that the newly opened channels in his meridians were still somewhat unstable, and his Soul Power occasionally stagnates when flowing.
He stood up and stretched his limbs.
It was already dark when they left the camp. The night wind carried the scent of pine resin and humus. Nan Feng stood on the low hill, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light unfolding, and spiritual objects within five hundred paces appeared as points of light of various colors.
The glowing specks of light from a few centuries-old medicinal herbs deep in the dense forest, the aura of a spiritual vein underground, and the radiant Soul Power of a certain Soul Beast in the distance.
"Old Huai," Nan Feng suddenly asked, "Where is Tang San now?"
Old Huai paused for a moment, then said, "At Shrek, he should have already absorbed his Fourth Soul Ring. He's still following the path of an ordinary Soul Master, hunting ordinary Soul Beast and absorbing ordinary Soul Ring. His strength is top-tier among his peers, putting him far ahead of you."
Nan Feng remained silent. He recalled the question Tang San had asked him while leaning against a tree at the Nuoding Academy: "Are you afraid that if you get too close to us, someone will be changed?"
He didn't answer then. Now, the path beneath his feet is the answer. What he feared was being changed. Tang San couldn't walk this path.
"Let's go." Nan Feng turned and walked in a south-southwest direction. "The Shadow Leopard Emperor is deep in the Star Dou Great Forest. Go find it in six months."
The Soul-Suppressing Azure Lotus rotated within the Tower Spirit Space. Three of the tower's nine floors were fully open, while the remaining six were tightly closed.
His Soul Power is stuck at level 42, which is not a multiple of 10. He cannot absorb the Fifth Soul Ring until he reaches level 50.
The red ribbon on her left wrist fluttered in the night breeze. Nan Feng stepped out of the low hills and took her first step towards the Star Dou Great Forest.
The residual Spiritual Power of the ten Immortal Herb nourished the tower. The lapis lazuli patterns shone in the darkness, like stars adorning it.