Tempering the Soul with Water and Fire
"Light the furnace and begin refining the elixir!" Lin Xu commanded, sitting cross-legged before the cauldron.
"Hey~" The black tiger demon laboriously lifted the lid of the cauldron, and the Ghost Bride led her ghost followers to scoop up a large pile of spirit rice and pour it into the cauldron, filling it to a full thousand catties before stopping.
The spirit lamp in Lin Xu's hand flickered, and his spiritual sense had already probed into the cauldron, activating the formation.
"Buzz~"
The giant cauldron hummed slightly, and a massive amount of Spiritual Qi and magical power transformed into spiritual water, which swept up the spiritual rice inside the cauldron. The rushing water broke up the rice grains and formed a thick paste, exuding a colorful spiritual charm.
As the formation changed, the spiritual water suddenly transformed into spiritual fire, precisely removing impurities from the rice paste, leaving behind a pure liquid.
As the spiritual elixir continued to purify, the originally somewhat mixed spiritual essence gradually solidified, eventually turning into a pure white liquid, just like milk.
Flames rise, interacting and refining with the moisture contained in the spiritual liquid, purifying and refining it again and again. Quietly, the Spiritual Qi within the cauldron, in the interplay of water and fire, quietly merges into the spiritual liquid, gradually increasing its spiritual essence.
Once the water vapor has evaporated, the elixir naturally takes shape, and the cauldron is filled with pure white light, with a faint fragrance of grain lingering in the air, its aroma wafting for miles on the wind.
Lin Xu was immersed in a meditative state, absorbing the massive amount of Spiritual Qi transmitted from the Spirit Gathering Formation under the futon, refining it into mana to replenish his consumption.
Refining 1,000 catties of spirit rice at once was his current limit. After refining it, eight or nine tenths of his magical power was depleted, and it took him a long time to recover.
Item: Spirit Grain Pill
Grade: Rare Cyan
Type: Elixir
Effect: Restores 150 mana points and increases cultivation efficiency by 10% for 3 hours after consumption.
Description: The essence of spiritual grains has a mild and lasting medicinal effect. Long-term use can increase magical power and accelerate cultivation.
"One thousand catties of spirit rice yielded 1200 spirit pills, with 200 left over..." Lin Xu calculated for a moment, and a thought struck him.
Rare quality Spirit Grain Pill provide 50 more points of mana recovery and a 3-hour training bonus compared to Excellent quality ones.
A rare, cyan-colored Spirit Grain Pill is worth 350 Dharma Coin, equivalent to 700 merit points!
These 1200 pills are worth 840,000 merit points, which is 4.1 times more valuable than the previous mid-grade Spirit Grain Pill, and 42 times more valuable than the 1000 jin of spirit rice used as raw materials!
"This is real profit!" Lin Xu exclaimed, but without hesitation, he gave each of his protectors and Daoist priests ten Spirit Grain Pills.
With a major battle imminent, keeping resources in hand is meaningless; using them to enhance strength is the best way to make the most of them.
After spending some time and opening two more furnaces, Lin Xu finally stopped.
Spirit rice has many uses, and it cannot be used entirely for alchemy.
He glanced at the Ghost Bride standing guard beside him. "Jingshu, protect me."
Yan Jingshu bowed and said, "Yes, Master!"
With a thought, Lin Xu's Soul Leaving the Body his body, and sunlight pierced through the translucent soul, leaving a faint shadow.
The spirit turned and passed straight through the green wall, entering the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron.
The Black Tiger Demon lifted the lid of the cauldron a crack, and the Glazed Spirit Lamp passed through from outside the cauldron and fell into Lin Xu's soul's hand. He floated in the very center of the cauldron, and with a thought, the spirit array inside the cauldron flickered, and spirit fire and spirit water appeared simultaneously.
Water and fire complement each other yet remain distinct, with spiritual water and spiritual fire circulating endlessly around Lin Xu's soul.
Water and Fire Refinement and Deliverance!
This is the true function of the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron. Whether it's alchemy or weapon crafting, these are secondary. Its true function is Soul Refining!
"If the Soul Refining through the radiance of the sun and moon, and even wind and thunder in nature, then can the water, fire, wind, and thunder generated by a spirit array also be refined?"
He gazed at the spiritual water and fire generated by the formation, closed his eyes, and resolutely entered a meditative state.
"Hiss~"
The spiritual fire scorched the soul, and the soul, which had been Water and Fire Refinement and Deliverance, now felt excruciating pain once again.
If he hadn't already entered a state of Thought Overclocking, the pain at the soul level would have been enough to pull him out of his meditative state.
Wisps of smoke rose, carrying away the fine impurities, and Lin Xu's soul rapidly faded at a visible speed.
The spiritual fire quickly receded, and spiritual water covered the soul that had been tormented by the flames. Wisps of water vapor, beneficial to the soul, repaired the damage. After a dozen or so breaths, the damaged soul was restored.
At this moment, the spiritual water receded and the spiritual fire attacked, and the excruciating pain of being burned by the flames struck again. Even though he maintained his state of concentration by Thought Overclocking, Lin Xu's soul still trembled uncontrollably.
A second later, the spiritual fire receded again, and the spiritual water covered the soul, nourishing its damage, until the soul recovered and began the next round of Soul Refining.
After seven rounds, Lin Xu stopped the operation of the spirit array. The strange phenomena of water and fire immediately dissipated, and darkness returned to the furnace.
"I've reached my limit..." He felt the exhaustion deep in his soul and longed to just sleep it off.
Even with the nourishment of spiritual water, the damage and recovery of the soul will increase the burden on the soul. Enduring seven Water and Fire Refinement and Deliverance in a short period of time has already reached the limit of what the soul can bear.
He fought off his sleepiness and adjusted the magic array inside the furnace again. The Glazed Spirit Lamp shone brightly, its candlelight illuminating his soul. His consciousness cleared, dispelling the heavy drowsiness.
Suddenly, a soft glow appeared inside the furnace, echoing the soul. The interplay of light and shadow was as natural as breathing, carrying a mysterious rhythm.
A ray of sunlight quietly appeared inside the furnace, and a beam of light descended from the sky in the darkness, enveloping the tranquil soul.
The pure sunlight shone on my soul, seeping into my body in strands, instantly dispelling my drowsiness.
At this moment, outside the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron, an invisible array unfolded, condensing the sunlight within a radius of several miles.
The sky suddenly darkened, but at this moment, a bright radiance gathered on the giant cauldron, like the morning sun, carrying a gentle warmth, like a veil of rosy clouds.
This is the Yang Gathering Formation, which can concentrate sunlight within a certain range.
Originally, this formation was rather useless; aside from providing ample sunlight for sun-loving spiritual plants, it had no other significant purpose.
Lin Xu disassembled and reconstructed the formation, which allowed him to further compress and refine sunlight, combining it with Spiritual Qi to form a low-powered version of the Sun Essence, used to accelerate the cultivation of the soul body.
Night Wandering Realm allows one to absorb the essence of the moon, Day Wandering Realm allows one to absorb the essence of the sun.
As Lin Xu cultivated, strands of sunlight seeped into his soul like golden threads, quietly merging with the dormant Lamp Kindling Magic Power within him.
In the blink of an eye, the scattered golden light melted away like spring snow, all merging into the magical power.
Inside the Precious Radiance Spirit-Tempering Cauldron, endless sunlight converged in one corner, causing the temperature to rise rapidly until it coalesced into blazing golden flames that scorched Lin Xu's soul.
"Crackling sound~"
A faint crackling sound emanated from the soul, as if dry tinder had been thrown into a raging fire, burning away any hidden impurities.
Large gusts of sunlight essence surged into the depths of the soul, transforming into a sweet spring that nourished the soul, continuously converting into magical power, and lighting a phantom of a green lamp in the sea of consciousness, expanding the boundaries of consciousness.
Lin Xu's soul was immersed in an endless sea of fire, as if he were in a clear and pure realm. Endless pain assaulted his sanity wave after wave. Even in a state of Thought Overclocking, he could not resist the torment of burning his soul and refining his spirit.