Chapter 152: Core of the Grade Three Spiritual Vein, Breakthrough in Realm (7,000 words)

The twelve-colored flower had come back to life.

Transformed from its original yellow leaves and white flowers, it once again dazzled with brilliant radiance, resembling a phoenix spreading its wings—stunning and breathtakingly beautiful.

At this point, there was no need for Zhou Changwang to explain anything further; everyone could see it clearly.

This wager had been won by Zhou Changwang.

Not only had he diagnosed the root cause of the twelve-colored flower's ailment at a single glance, but he had also swiftly resolved it.

None of them had expected the remedy for this third-grade spiritual plant, the twelve-colored flower, to be so astonishingly simple.

The Tree-Ring Technique?

Just by casting the Tree-Ring Technique, this Foundation Establishment spiritual material, which was on the verge of ruin, could be directly cured?

One had to remember, who among them didn't know the Tree-Ring Technique?

As spirit planters, which one of present cultivators hadn't mastered this spell to absolute perfection?

Nearby, Jiang Yu's expression turned ashen and exceedingly ugly, almost unable to believe his own eyes.

He never imagined that the knotty affliction of the twelve spiritual flowers, which had given him such massive headaches, could be solved with such ease.

"Is it really fixed?"

Tang Yuyan's face also bloomed with an expression of supreme joy and surprise.

She had been plagued by endless headaches regarding the growth of this twelve-colored flower and had actually grown somewhat resigned in her heart, planning at worst to delay her breakthrough by a few years and seek another opportunity to acquire a different Foundation Establishment spiritual material.

Never had she expected that a simple move by Zhou Changwang would resolve her major predicament and successfully heal her twelve spiritual flowers.

"Not quite yet."

Zhou Changwang waved his hand and then said, "Next, I must trouble the pavilion master to continue casting the Tree-Ring Technique yourself, while I coax those silk-thread spiritual worms out."

"Very well!"

Tang Yuyan nodded repeatedly and quickly resumed casting the Tree-Ring Technique to nourish the twelve-colored flower.

Reminded by Zhou Changwang, she now understood where the problem lay: she had previously feared the twelve-colored flower lacked sufficient spiritual energy, so she had desperately pumped it full of essence without caring whether it could absorb it or not.

After the ailment manifested, due to her misjudgment, she naturally dared not use the Tree-Ring Technique to assist growth and consumption; instead, she poured in even more vital spiritual liquid, which led to over-nutrition and worsened the condition day by day...

Seeing this, Zhou Changwang breathed a silent sigh of relief and smoothly executed the Insect-Luring Technique.

As soon as the Insect-Luring Technique was cast, Zhou Changwang used his Spiritual Eye Technique again to look inside the twelve-colored flower. He discovered that the silk-thread spiritual worms within were stirring restlessly, yet they showed no signs of being lured out.

Clearly, compared to the external attraction outside the spiritual plant, the spiritual energy inside the twelve-colored flower was far too abundant and extremely comfortable for them; naturally, they were unwilling to leave easily.

And this, in truth, was the reason why that insect-taming cultivator Huang You had previously failed to successfully exterminate the pests.

With a thought, Zhou Changwang cast yet another spell.

The Pest-Repelling Technique!

He targeted a specific location within the spiritual plant where a certain spiritual worm was entrenched.

In an instant, that spiritual worm seemed to sense a massive threat, finally wriggling its body and successfully crawling outward from the interior of the spiritual plant.

Following the first, Zhou Changwang cast the spell once more.

This time, it aimed at the hiding place of another spiritual worm.

He cast spells continuously, driving out one spiritual worm after another.

Until a spell landed directly on the root system of the twelve-colored flower.

At last, white, thread-like spiritual worms were driven out from the spiritual plant one by one.

"They really are silk-thread spiritual worms.

And so many of them?"

Around them, Zhang Shaohan, Fang Zhiqing, Lu Yun, Li Pengfei, and the others all stared wide-eyed, watching with their own eyes as the silk-thread spiritual worms were driven out one by one.

Then, these silk-thread spiritual worms seemed to be drawn by some mysterious force, all gathering together in an open patch of ground.

"These silk-thread spiritual worms possess the function of absorbing stagnant spiritual energy within spiritual plants and regulating their growth. A few are harmless, but too many heavily impact a spiritual plant's development.

However, proficient spirit planters will deliberately capture these spiritual worms to cultivate 'over-nourished' spiritual plants in their own spirit fields.

This twelve-colored flower truly deserves to be a third-grade spiritual flower.

It actually possesses a certain degree of self-regulatory ability and can save itself.

Had it not lured these silk-thread spiritual worms into its body on its own, it probably would have been burned to death by that overwhelmingly abundant spiritual energy long ago."

Explaining this, Zhou Changwang smoothly took out a jade bottle and scooped all the silk-thread spiritual worms inside.

At that very moment.

As Tang Yuyan continuously cast her spells,

Slashes of the Tree-Ring Technique fell, and the twelve-colored flower grew rapidly until, at a certain moment, the very last petal among the twelve suddenly changed color.

It transformed into a patch of dazzling gold.

The instant this golden hue took form,

all twelve petals suddenly burst forth with spiritual light.

Immediately, a special force of creation abruptly manifested.

Then, like a tidal wave of spiritual energy, it rapidly dispersed in all directions.

Virtually all the cultivators present came into contact with this tidal wave of creation at the very first moment, and then, almost instinctively, began absorbing it rapidly.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

The spiritual consciousness of every single cultivator experienced a rapid surge the moment the tidal wave of creation descended.

Even the spiritual power within their bodies began to boil furiously.

Zhou Changwang was no exception.

The Pure Yang Five Elements Technique, which had been circulating sluggishly within his body, burst forth at this moment like an untamed horse, revolving rapidly—one cycle, two cycles, three cycles...

Cultivation +1

Cultivation +1

Until this force of creation completely dissipated.

Only then did Zhou Changwang slowly open his eyes.

He immediately glanced at his attribute panel.

Qi Refining Level 6 (100/100)

He had reached the perfection of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

At this very moment, should he so desire, he could immediately begin his breakthrough, formally advancing to become a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator.

However, casting a glance at the surrounding environment, as well as Tang Yuyan, Jiang Yu, Zhang Shaohan, and the others,

he knew that if he were to begin his breakthrough now, Tang Yuyan would undoubtedly protect him, but human hearts were unpredictable.

Jiang Yu, who had just clashed with him, was still present on the scene. If the man disregarded his pride and intervened to sabotage him, his losses would be massive.

Therefore, although his cultivation aura was at perfection, he did not reveal the slightest hint of it on his face.

Meanwhile, the others also regained their senses one after another, evident traces of joy showing on their faces.

When a third-grade spiritual plant matured, it almost always gave birth to the force of creation.

The higher the grade of the spiritual plant, the stronger the force of creation.

Just like Zhou Changwang's century-old spirit tea tree, when it advanced to a third-grade spiritual plant, the force of creation had also been born to nourish itself.

At this moment, the exact moment this twelve-colored flower reached perfection and fully formed, the force of creation similarly manifested.

Thus, by a stroke of fate, this group of them all received its blessing.

"This time has truly been an unexpected windfall.

Not only did I witness the maturation of the twelve-colored flower, but I was also cleansed by the force of creation as a result.

Even my cultivation has advanced quite a bit."

Zhang Shaohan spoke, unable to hold back a sigh of emotion.

"Indeed.

We must thank the pavilion master for this; had the pavilion master not invited us, we would never have had such an opportunity."

Fang Zhiqing also chimed in.

The baptism of the force of creation did not merely increase one's cultivation and spiritual consciousness; it even imperceptibly nourished a cultivator's body and mind. It was said that when attempting a Foundation Establishment breakthrough—specifically passing the three hurdles of the physical body, spiritual power, and divine sense—the difficulty would be reduced significantly.

Truly, it was something to be met by chance rather than sought by force.

And this was precisely why heavenly treasures and rare materials were guarded by fierce beasts.

Because once a heavenly treasure matured and the force of creation manifested, the feedback and benefits reaped by the beasts were likewise immensely huge.

"You flatter me too much.

If thanks are due, they should go to Fellow Daoist Zhou.

Had Fellow Daoist Zhou not stepped in to cure this twelve-colored flower, I would still be agonizing over how to find a third Foundation Establishment spiritual material."

At this moment, Tang Yuyan's face also bloomed with an excited and delighted smile.

Today was, without a doubt, an immensely lucky day for her.

Not only was her longstanding trouble resolved, but she had also acquired a Foundation Establishment spiritual material in the process.

Currently, alongside the seven-colored fairy lotus she had cultivated previously and the ten-thousand-year spiritual marrow she won at the auction, she now had this twelve-colored flower.

In other words, she had already gathered three Foundation Establishment spiritual materials and could seek her sect to exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

With the Foundation Establishment Pill, she would have a three-to-five-tenths chance of successfully passing the three Foundation Establishment hurdles. Coupled with her own methods, she should be able to raise this probability to over six-tenths.

For a disciple of the Water Cloud Immortal Sect like her, this probability was already exceedingly high.

Many ordinary rogue cultivators, even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, at most had a thirty percent chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

A sixty percent chance was enough for even the most cowardly cultivator to dare a desperate gamble.

After all, the Foundation Establishment Pill possessed life-preserving protective properties.

Even if the attempt failed, it would not damage a cultivator's cultivation base nor cause too much lasting harm.

As long as they recuperated for about half a year, they could launch another assault on the Foundation Establishment realm.

"Master Jiang, how about it?

Did I win this wager?"

While the others were sighing with emotion and gratitude, Zhou Changwang turned his gaze toward Jiang Yu.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu's expression flickered uncertainly between light and shadow.

Yet with the facts laid bare before him, and being a man who valued his face, he could only let out a cold snort and say, "I am naturally a man of my word."

With a flip of his hand, a jade box appeared and he casually tossed it toward Zhou Changwang, before turning to Tang Yuyan and saying, "Pavilion Master, since your matters here are resolved, I have other business to attend to and will take my leave."

With that, he whirled around and strode straight out of the estate.

Zhou Changwang paid no mind to the other's attitude; he casually caught the jade box and, without standing on ceremony, opened it directly.

Instantly, a bead the size of an infant's fist, crystalline and translucent throughout, appeared before his eyes.

The moment this bead emerged, he could distinctly feel an intense water-spiritual aura diffusing into the surroundings, rapidly gathering together under the influence of the water spirit bead.

It was none other than the rare treasure, the Water Spirit Bead.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou.

I said before that whoever helped me resolve the crisis of the twelve-colored flower would be met with generous rewards.

Now that you already possess this Water Spirit Bead in your hands, I shall give you another push."

At this moment, Tang Yuyan's expression turned solemn as she looked at Zhou Changwang. With a flip of her hand, she produced an item and said, "This is a fragment of a spiritual vein core.

Do not look down upon it just because it is unassuming; it is an authentic, premium item capable of upgrading the quality of a spiritual vein.

Once buried in spiritual soil, it will automatically seek out the corresponding spiritual vein and fuse with it.

Because it was originally a core fragment of a third-grade spiritual vein—and your spiritual vein is presumably second-grade primary—if they fuse, there is an extremely high probability that your spiritual vein grade will be elevated to the second-grade advanced tier.

Coupled with the Water Spirit Bead in your hand, it can undoubtedly and steadily elevate the spiritual vein of your spirit land to the second-grade advanced tier. As for the third-grade tier..."

Saying this, she shook her head.

Clearly, elevating it to the third-grade tier was not going to be simple.

After all, the spiritual vein core fragment in her hand was not particularly large.

It was merely a portion of a former third-grade spiritual vein core, making it naturally extremely difficult to elevate another second-grade spiritual vein all the way to the third grade.

Even so, everyone present was utterly shocked.

The utility of a second-grade advanced spiritual vein was unquestionable.

Especially for spirit planters like them, the higher the grade of the spirit land, the higher the grade of the spirit fields they could open up.

A second-grade advanced spiritual vein was fully capable of supporting third-grade spirit fields.

Take the Water Cloud Pavilion here, for instance: situated on a branch of the entire Divine Wind Valley spiritual vein, its grade was essentially no higher than the second-grade advanced tier.

Yet it had still managed to carve out an acre or three of third-grade spirit fields here.

In other words, Zhou Changwang, now armed with this third-grade spiritual vein core and the Water Spirit Bead, had a very high probability of acquiring at least one acre of third-grade spirit fields.

"Many thanks, Pavilion Master!"

Naturally understanding this, Zhou Changwang immediately cupped his fists in salute and spoke.

Then, with an expression of unconcealed joy, he took the spiritual vein core into his hands.

The spiritual vein core possessed a glazed texture throughout, and one could faintly discern a dense white radiance embedded within it like a white stone.

Though it looked small, it felt quite heavy in the hand, weighing easily several hundred catties.

Without inspecting it further, Zhou Changwang packed it away into his storage bag alongside the Water Spirit Bead.

"Very well, I must now make proper preparations myself, so I will not keep you all any longer."

Following that, Tang Yuyan spoke once more, issuing a polite dismissal.

Understanding this completely, Zhou Changwang and the others bid their farewells and departed.

Among them, Zhang Shaohan and Fang Zhiqing did not share deep ties with Zhou Changwang; they merely nodded and scattered on their separate ways.

Lu Yun looked at Zhou Changwang with a trace of surprise and said, "I never expected Fellow Daoist Zhou's proficiency in the planting arts to be so extraordinary. It completely exceeded my expectations."

"Senior Lu flatters me. I merely read widely across miscellaneous texts, and happened to stumble upon a record of identical symptoms. It amounts to nothing at all," Zhou Changwang replied with a modest smile.

"I see."

Lu Yun nodded—whether she believed him or not was unclear—and continued with a serious expression, "That old fogey Jiang Yu... I don't interact with him much, but after all, he is a second-grade primary spirit planter and a junior fellow apprentice to Spirit Planting Master Xu Nian.

This time, Fellow Daoist Zhou has made him swallow such a bitter pill; he will by no means let the matter rest.

You should still exercise caution, Fellow Daoist."

"I will!" Zhou Changwang's expression turned solemn as he replied.

Seeing this, Lu Yun did not linger and soon departed as well.

At that moment, Zhou Changwang turned to Li Pengfei and said, "This time, I truly must thank Fellow Daoist Li for the tip, otherwise I would never have acquired such a rare treasure as the Water Spirit Bead."

"Fellow Daoist Zhou is too polite.

If not for your assistance some time ago, my spirit land would likely have been ruined.

Besides, the reason you were able to obtain the Water Spirit Bead this time relies entirely on your own capability; it has very little to do with me.

I merely offered a bit of information—at most, it's just a small repayment."

Li Pengfei waved his hands repeatedly and spoke.

Hearing this, Zhou Changwang felt somewhat surprised by the other's attitude.

For the first time, he felt that this neighbor of his was actually quite agreeable.

Henceforth, the two journeyed back together, taking a little under an hour to return to their respective spirit lands.

Entering his Little Peak Mountain spirit land, Zhou Changwang felt a wave of relief upon seeing that the entire defensive formation remained unchanged from when he left.

Without a moment of hesitation, he resealed the grand array almost immediately and plunged headlong into his cultivation chamber.

Sitting cross-legged, Zhou Changwang summoned the Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp without delay.

Then, with a wave of his hand,

in an instant, spirit stones were paved densely all across his cultivation chamber, virtually emptying his storage bag of all its reserves.

Following that, with a flick of his finger, he activated the gathering spirit array deployed around the courtyard.

Hum~!

Wisps of spiritual energy from all over the spirit land rapidly converged toward his cultivation chamber.

This time, Zhou Changwang intended to go into closed-door seclusion for a breakthrough.

Earlier, when Tang Yuyan's twelve-colored flower matured, advanced into a Foundation Establishment spiritual material, and radiated the force of creation, Zhou Changwang's cultivation had instantly made up for the final two missing points, reaching the perfection of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

It was purely due to the external environment that he had suppressed himself and chosen not to break through on the spot.

Now, having returned to his Little Peak Mountain spirit land, within his familiar environment and personal cultivation chamber, he naturally had no need to suppress it any longer.

He directly commenced his breakthrough.

The Pure Yang Five Elements Technique within his body was driven to its absolute limit at this moment.

Surging spiritual power transformed into a roaring torrent, continuously accumulating and surging forward as it aggressively charged toward the newly blocked meridian path.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once, twice, thrice...

With every single charge, the blockage grew weaker, while the spiritual power within him acted like sharp blades, rampaging forward and smashing through all obstacles.

Boom!

Until, after countless iterations, his spiritual power swept forward like a broken bamboo, rapidly breaching the final layer of resistance.

Instantly, it poured into a vast new realm.

Simultaneously,

Zhou Changwang felt his mind and spirit grow light.

In a short span of time, his spiritual consciousness underwent a massive enhancement, becoming sharper, stronger, and far more solid.

The range of his spiritual consciousness expanded rapidly as well.

Ten zhang, twenty zhang, thirty zhang...

"I've broken through!"

"Finally.

From the sixth level of Qi Refining, I've broken through to the seventh level."

An epiphany bloomed within Zhou Changwang's heart.

He knew that at this moment, he had finally broken through, truly advancing to become a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator.

He had officially stepped out of the mid-Qi Refining stage and into the ranks of the late Qi Refining stage.

Strength, realm, methods, spiritual power tier, spiritual consciousness strength... every single aspect had undergone a tremendous elevation.

Yet simultaneously, he also felt a sense of depletion.

An instinctive craving for power.

This was the aftermath of his cultivation realm breakthrough, where his original spiritual power had been heavily consumed during the process, the newly generated spiritual power was still too thin, and his dantian, post-breakthrough, had expanded immensely... combining to instill an instinctive sense of unease.

Without daring to hesitate,

he continued to fuel his heart lamp and rapidly circulated the Pure Yang Five Elements Technique.

With a slight stir of his spiritual consciousness—

Hum!

A massive pile of spirit stones surrounding him was crushed into fine powder in a split second.

Massive amounts of ambient spiritual energy surged upward, instantly absorbed by him to be refined as nourishment. Scorched and purified by the Five Elements Glazed Heart Lamp, it converted into his own spiritual power.

These threads of spiritual power were dense, thick, and seemed to have undergone relentless compression, faintly manifesting a liquid state.

Their quality and resilience far surpassed anything before.

This was a strand of spiritual power uniquely belonging to Zhou Changwang at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...

Zhou Changwang circulated the Pure Yang Five Elements Technique endlessly.

He also continuously refined the ambient spiritual energy.

At this moment, he resembled a whale swallowing the ocean, devouring and absorbing any and all spiritual energy in sight.

Whenever spiritual energy fell short, he would use his spiritual consciousness to crush a fresh batch of spirit stones to absorb and replenish.

Finally, at a certain moment,

Zhou Changwang sensed a feeling of fullness.

The spiritual power within his body finally managed to reach saturation.

However, this saturation did not mean filling his dantian to the absolute brim once more; rather, it meant thoroughly refining and transforming the spiritual power that once belonged to the sixth level of Qi Refining, converting it entirely into the exclusive spiritual power of his seventh level of Qi Refining.

This spiritual power was both pure and formidable.

He was confident that if he were to cast the exact same spells with his current cultivation, their power would likewise experience a massive boost.

Only then did he cast his gaze upon his attribute panel.

Name: Zhou Changwang

Lifespan: 18/120

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 7 (1/100)

Technique: Pure Yang Five Elements Technique (Great Accomplishment 278/800)

...

"My cultivation really has broken through.

Qi Refining Level 7.

I have truly stepped into the late Qi Refining tier.

And most importantly, my lifespan.

It has actually increased from '108' to '120'.

I have genuinely attained a lifespan of two Jiazi."

Looking at the introduction on the attribute panel, even with mental preparation beforehand, Zhou Changwang felt immensely joyful and excited.

One had to know, Zhou Changwang's starting lifespan had been a mere seventy-five years. Among mortals in this world, that might count as long life, but among cultivators, it could only be described by the word "short-lived."

Now, a lifespan of two Jiazi (one hundred and twenty years).

Though still not considered long-lived, it had gradually caught up with other cultivators of the same realm.

To achieve another qualitative breakthrough and raise it to three Jiazi—a lifespan of one hundred and eighty years—was practically impossible.

Only Foundation Establishment!

Advancing to a Foundation Establishment True Master.

Could one leap forward in lifespan by another Jiazi, reaching a maximum lifespan of one hundred and eighty years, or even up to two hundred and forty years, equivalent to four Jiazi.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Changwang pacified his racing thoughts.

Then, he cast his gaze down at the floor, which was littered entirely with the spirit stone powder he had crushed with his spiritual consciousness.

After a brief calculation, he arrived at a conclusion.

"This breakthrough actually consumed a full three thousand lower-grade spirit stones?

My original stockpile of over eleven thousand lower-grade spirit stones is now down to just over eight thousand."

Zhou Changwang sighed inwardly, yet he knew clearly that if faced with the same choice again, he would still make the exact same decision.

Certainly, there was a fair amount of waste involved.

Yet if he had relied solely on the spiritual energy of the spirit vein to break through without using the spirit stones, even though he could still have achieved the breakthrough, the time required to stabilize his realm would have exceeded five days.

Achieving this result for a mere three thousand lower-grade spirit stones was, in his view, entirely worth it.

Only then did he step out of his cultivation chamber.

Standing at the threshold of the courtyard,

with a slight shift of his gaze,

he immediately noticed the difference.

The world seemed far clearer in his eyes.

The spiritual energy that he could previously perceive only vaguely could now be seen with a focused gaze: the colorful, wandering wisps of various elemental energies dancing endlessly between heaven and earth.

"Once the realm breaks through, things truly are different."

Zhou Changwang sighed with emotion.

Then, as if recalling something, he hurriedly retrieved two treasures from his storage bag.

One of them was the Water Spirit Bead.

According to Li Pengfei, it could elevate the grade of the spirit spring and drastically increase the spiritual energy contained within the spring water.

The other was the third-grade spiritual vein core.

According to Tang Yuyan, it was a fragment extracted from the core of a third-grade spiritual vein.

Although not a complete third-grade spiritual vein core, it possessed the exact same capacity to elevate spiritual vein quality and promote the advancement of first- and second-grade spiritual veins.

"The Little Peak Mountain spirit land is my foundation.

At least for the short term, I have no intention of leaving.

Elevating the grade of the spiritual vein and forging superior spirit fields is a thoroughly necessary task."

With a flick of his gaze and relying on his expertise in array formations, Zhou Changwang walked through the spirit fields step by step.

Moving steadily, he soon arrived at the uppermost acre of second-grade advanced spirit field.

Through his probing, he had already confirmed that this was where the core of the spiritual vein within his spirit land was located.

Naturally, its precise location was deep underground, hundreds of meters below the spirit field.

Without hesitation, he casually dug a pit nearby and buried the third-grade spiritual vein core directly within it.

Hum~!

Almost instantly,

a special spiritual radiance diffused from the third-grade spiritual vein core.

Following that, Zhou Changwang felt as though it had established some inexplicable gravitational pull with the core of the spiritual vein deep underground, as it was swiftly tugged and drawn deeper and deeper into the earth.

One zhang, two zhang, three zhang...

Unable to resist, Zhou Changwang dug open the spiritual soil he had just covered.

Sure enough, he discovered that the spiritual vein core had already vanished.

Clearly, it had been drawn in by the spiritual vein within Little Peak Mountain, rapidly approaching and fusing with it.

"Truly wondrous.

This spiritual vein core is itself a rare treasure, and its value is undoubtedly immeasurable.

At the very least, it is no less valuable than a Foundation Establishment spiritual material."

Zhou Changwang sighed with emotion, noting down this human favor in his heart.

Then, leaping forward, he soon arrived at the site of the spirit spring's eye.

With a flip of his hand, the jade box sealing the Water Spirit Bead appeared in his palm.

"This spirit spring is naturally complementary to my spiritual vein.

The elevation of the spiritual vein's grade will naturally drive an upgrade in the spirit spring's grade as well.

However, if this spirit spring is blessed by the Water Spirit Bead, its grade will elevate at an even faster pace.

I just wonder what the effect of this spirit spring's enhancement will be."

Thinking thus, Zhou Changwang did not hesitate. He opened the jade box directly and casually tossed the Water Spirit Bead into the mouth of the spirit spring.

Instantly, the Water Spirit Bead glided down the spring's mouth, plunging deeper into the heart of the spiritual spring.

...