Chapter Thirty-One: Tempering the Spiritual Sense

The immense medicinal power of the Living Dead Immortal Pill surged through Zhou Qi’s body. He felt a tingling itch spreading everywhere—a sign that his flesh and blood were regenerating. Soon, the charred portions fell away, and Zhou Qi was reborn, his skin tender and white as jade. The Living Dead Immortal Pill truly lived up to its reputation; as long as there was a breath left, restoration was instantaneous.

He had no idea where Han Qiaoman had obtained such a precious pill. She had given it to him without hesitation, a debt he could never repay.

Quietly, Zhou Qi admired the white flame within his soul sea. Shaped like a lotus, he could clearly sense its emotions; a familiar aura emanated from it. At a thought, the Divine Yang Flame appeared in his palm—a white lotus spinning ceaselessly. “From today on, you are my flame. ‘Divine Yang Flame’ sounds too dull. I’ll rename you. How about ‘Zhou Qi’s Flame’? Isn’t that impressive? Haha…” Zhou Qi laughed triumphantly.

Divine Yang Flame: …

True Lord Tianxuan: …

If he struck Long Feiyu with this, he wondered what effect it would have.

Sensing Zhou Qi’s thoughts, True Lord Tianxuan spoke, “There’s a fragment of my soul in Long Feiyu’s soul sea. I can deal with this Divine Yang Flame, and so can he. If you use it against him, it won’t be very effective.”

Zhou Qi could only sigh and put away the Divine Yang Flame. Then, information came from his token: Divine Yang Flame subdued, 10 points awarded. Total score: 18 points.

Just as Zhou Qi was about to leave, a flash of light appeared before him, and a charming young woman materialized. She was beautiful, with twin ponytails, large eyes, a rosy oval face, and lips that gleamed with alluring brilliance. She wore a green short dress, her fair legs drawing every gaze.

Zhou Qi was delighted. Since entering the Immortal’s mansion, this was the first person he’d encountered. Clearly, she was also a candidate here to collect the flame.

“Greetings, fellow cultivator,” Zhou Qi cupped his hands in salute.

The girl was still disoriented from the teleportation, not expecting anyone to be present. Upon focusing, she saw a naked youth saluting her.

“Pervert!” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment; she’d seen what she shouldn’t. She hurriedly stepped back.

Zhou Qi finally realized that his clothes had been destroyed when he collected the flame. Fortunately, it wasn’t an old man this time. He quickly took out clothes and dressed himself.

“Let me explain, fellow cultivator!” Zhou Qi called out as he dressed.

“I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it! I’ll get a stye from this!” She covered her eyes, but peered through her fingers, missing nothing.

Flustered, Zhou Qi finished dressing and patiently explained he wasn’t an exhibitionist—his clothes had simply been burnt by the flame. The girl composed herself, realizing his innocence.

Her name was Gao Shiyu, from Tianxuan Domain, and also one of the candidates of the Immortal Medicine Holy Palace.

Zhou Qi was shocked. The Immortal Medicine Holy Palace was in Huangxuan Domain—how could someone from Tianxuan Domain appear here? Gao Shiyu explained that she’d arrived via teleportation from a dilapidated mansion, only to discover the existence of this immortal inheritance.

“How many points did you get in the first trial?” Zhou Qi asked.

“Nine. What about you?” Gao Shiyu answered casually.

“Nine as well,” Zhou Qi replied, a bit disgruntled. But he consoled himself—he’d gotten full marks this round, so others wouldn’t find it so easy. He hadn’t expected that the Immortal Medicine Holy Palace in Tianxuan Domain also had a teleportation array. No wonder there were nine candidates ahead of him. He only hoped the Foundation Establishment Pill he sought hadn’t been taken.

A sense of crisis crept over Zhou Qi. If someone else obtained the inheritance, his journey would be for nothing. He wondered how many inheritors the Immortal Medicine would choose.

“Are you staying to see my clothes burnt off?” Gao Shiyu teased, seeing Zhou Qi linger and affecting her progress.

Embarrassed, Zhou Qi took his leave.

Meanwhile, Long Feiyu, Han Qiaoman, and others were still identifying herbs in the first trial. The fragment of True Lord Tianxuan’s soul in Long Feiyu was ruthless, urging him to refine hundreds of herbs to restore soul strength, confidently assuring him that the Immortal Medicine Holy Palace wouldn’t notice.

Upon leaving the sea of fire, information appeared on his token: this trial required refining spiritual consciousness. A pill master must not only memorize herbs but also possess mastery over fire and strong spiritual awareness—the keys to success. Before the Divine Transformation stage, cultivators could only use spiritual sense; afterward, the nascent soul transformed, and spiritual sense evolved into divine sense. Thus, low-level cultivators couldn’t craft high-grade pills, largely due to the lack of divine sense. And pills refined by Divine Transformation cultivators were far beyond what low-level cultivators could afford.

Before Zhou Qi lay a massive stone chamber divided into three levels: Wind Refinement, Fire Refinement, and Thunder Refinement. The longer one endured, the higher the score.

Zhou Qi entered the Wind Refinement chamber. A tremendous gale assaulted him. He released his spiritual sense, which was buffeted and scattered—a sensation distinct from physical resistance. This wind seemed tailored to challenge spiritual sense. One lapse, and the gale would disperse it. Zhou Qi focused, wielding his spiritual sense to withstand the gale and quietly grasped its nuances during lulls.

As time passed, the wind intensified, transforming into wind blades that sliced at his spiritual sense. Zhou Qi endured, maintaining clarity within. When his spiritual sense was shattered, he hurriedly reassembled it. This cycle repeated, forging his spiritual sense ever tougher. Zhou Qi persevered for a full day, until the wind blades could no longer affect his spiritual sense, then exited the chamber.

Next, he entered the Fire Refinement chamber. With previous experience from Zhou Qi’s Flame, this trial was comparatively easy. He released his spiritual sense, letting it roast in the flames, even inciting the fire to burn it. Through constant tempering, his spiritual sense metamorphosed. He spent two days in the chamber before withdrawing.

He hadn’t even entered the Thunder Refinement chamber when thunder rumbled threateningly within. Zhou Qi stepped inside; as soon as he released his spiritual sense, a bolt of lightning struck it, causing a violent tremor. Thunderbolts rained down, each targeting his spiritual sense. The sensation was unlike physical resistance to lightning; each strike exploded in his mind, leaving him dazed and exhausted.

“Wake up, boy!” True Lord Tianxuan shouted in his mind.

Zhou Qi snapped out of his stupor, quickly gathering his spiritual sense to face the next wave. Without the timely reminders, he might have been struck into idiocy.

He spent ten days in the Thunder Refinement chamber, nearly losing himself to the lightning many times. Fortunately, True Lord Tianxuan always intervened at the critical moments. Eventually, Zhou Qi endured until the thunder could not shake his spiritual sense.

Upon exiting, his token displayed the results: another 10 points for refining spiritual sense. Total score: 28 points.