Before he finished speaking, his heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and Xun Ji bent over sharply.
“Shizun!” Lu Yun Ting’s tone was anxious, but then he saw vast spiritual power surging from Xun Ji’s body.
No—not from, into!
Vast as a smoky sea, majestic as a river, spiritual power poured into Xun Ji’s body from nowhere, fiercely scouring his withered Spiritual Veins. Xun Ji’s cultivation surged like a breached dam, rapidly rising past Nascent Soul Peak toward Soul Transformation!
“Bathing in golden light, ascending to the peak in one go—this is… Merit Dao!” Lu Yun Ting said joyfully. “Master, someone must be grateful and offering worship to you, allowing your Merit Dao to reach completion and gather as spiritual power. And from the scale, it’s not just one person—hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands offering worship!”
It was Treasure Pearl County. Xun Ji recalled Yulan Zhenren’s words—the people of Treasure Pearl County had sculpted a golden body for him in gratitude for saving an entire city. Now that the golden body was complete and worshipped by the masses, merits rained from the heavens.
Free cultivation was naturally a good thing. But no one had said it would rise this much, even on the verge of breaking through realms!
Yulan Old Man, you’ve really done me in.
Xun Ji gritted his teeth and said to Lu Yun Ting, “Pierce the Xuanji, Qingling, and Taiyi acupoints on my body—quick!”
Lu Yun Ting’s joy froze. “Why? Piercing those three spiritual acupoints won’t just block spiritual energy from entering—it’ll disrupt the spiritual breath inside Shizun. One misstep and it could…”
He suddenly stopped, as if realizing something, his face turning extremely ugly.
“It’s lifespan, right?” Lu Yun Ting asked. “If you keep absorbing spiritual power, Shizun will break through to Soul Transformation. But Shizun’s lifespan hasn’t increased—only a few years left. Advancing a realm now would rapidly drain it, and Master would…”
Die on the spot. Xun Ji silently cursed Yulan Zhenren a few more times in his heart.
[Does Host want to open the System Mall to redeem lifespan-extending pills?] the System asked worriedly.
“It’s fine. As long as we block the spiritual energy, I won’t die for a while. The System Mall can only be opened once, and I feel this Small World is extremely dangerous—better save it for a true emergency.” Xun Ji thought, then added, “We can use Pain Shield now. Piercing the acupoints will definitely hurt.”
But before he could activate Pain Shield, the Zhenliu Sword moved first. In a flash of lightning speed, the longsword carrying icy chill pierced the three spiritual acupoints around Xun Ji’s body.
The little brat strikes hard—doesn’t he know piercing acupoints hurts?! …Huh?
Xun Ji closed his eyes and felt: the acupoints damaged, internal spiritual breath rampaging chaotically. Fortunately, that sudden influx of vast spiritual power was blocked outside and couldn’t enter anymore. His cultivation hovered right at the Soul Transformation threshold—a bit more and it would break through.
But though the internal breath was chaotic, there was no pain.
Xun Ji opened his eyes and saw Lu Yun Ting propping himself on the Zhenliu Sword, his face deathly pale.
“How does Shizun feel? Take some pills to regulate your spiritual breath.” Lu Yun Ting still wasn’t reassured.
“What did you do? My acupoints are damaged, so why are you the one in pain?” Xun Ji asked puzzledly.
Lu Yun Ting’s gaze swept over his collar. “Just a little trinket Wei Luoheng compensated me with.”
Xun Ji looked down and saw a talisman paper hidden in his collar at some point.
“Pain Transfer?” Xun Ji laughed helplessly and reached to tear it off. “No need for this.”
Lu Yun Ting didn’t know he had Pain Shield and had suffered needlessly.
Lu Yun Ting blocked his hand and said seriously, “It’s fine, the pain’s already gone. I originally wanted a damage-transfer talisman from him, but Tian Yan Sect’s skills are too poor—only pain transfer. Biluo Sect is full of oddities everywhere. With this talisman on Shizun, I feel more at ease.”
Xun Ji couldn’t argue with him, so he kept it on for now and would remove it later.
“Shizun’s lifespan must be increased as soon as possible.” Lu Yun Ting said gravely. “It was my oversight before. Let’s go back now and cultivate the Dual Cultivation Secret Technique.”
Xun Ji glanced at the sun high overhead. Daytime indulgence, and on someone else’s turf—no matter what, it felt a bit…
He coughed lightly. “Not the right time. We’ll do it after investigating Biluo Sect.”
“What’s not right?” Lu Yun Ting frowned. “If something like earlier happens again, Shizun will…”
“Look! Isn’t that Li Hanzhao?” Xun Ji spotted something and hurriedly diverted Lu Yun Ting’s attention. “Didn’t he go to the Miaoyin Immortal Assembly for fun? Where’s he headed now?”
At the end of the path, Li Hanzhao was being led by a female cultivator in Biluo Sect robes down a side trail. Xun Ji’s instincts told him something was off, so he pulled Lu Yun Ting and quietly followed.
Faint sounds of music drifted from afar—Li Hanzhao had likely come from the Miaoyin Immortal Assembly.
“He looks strange, like… controlled.” Lu Yun Ting whispered.
The female cultivator leading Li Hanzhao had her face veiled with gauze and pulled him along. Li Hanzhao followed without resistance, like a lifeless puppet.
She led him through a long, secluded path. Ahead opened up suddenly into an isolated hut with a wooden plaque over the door reading:
Cocoon 764.