Chapter 117 - 93: The Inner Domain and the Spirit
Translator: 549690339
“If there are no pills in the Inner Domain, then I’ll create a pill refining method. If successful, it will definitely be a delicacy for martial artists.”
Li Xuan was incredibly intrigued.
“Grandmasters and above martial artists also cultivate by directly consuming spiritual medicines, but ordinary spiritual medicines have limited effects on grandmaster-level martial artists. They mainly rely on their own bodies for cultivation.
“Alternatively, they cultivate with spirit crystals to increase the speed of condensing and refining inner Qi, but spirit crystals are rare and can only temporarily boost the condensing of martial inner Qi. They’re usually not extravagantly used for cultivation.
In most cases, spirit crystals are used after battles, when the consumption is great, to enhance the recovery speed of inner Qi.”
Xie Lingfeng spoke about the cultivation of grandmaster martial artists.
“Spirit crystals?”
Xu Yan was full of curiosity.
“This is what a spirit crystal looks like!”
Xie Lingfeng took out five spirit crystals and explained.
Xu Yan picked up a spirit crystal, and he could sense that the spiritual energy contained within was much gentler compared to the nature’s spiritual energy he was accustomed to sensing.
The amount of spiritual energy contained within a single spirit crystal was not very significant.
“Spirit crystals are naturally formed by nature and are relatively scarce in the Inner Domain. They are the currency of martial arts, used to trade for spiritual medicines, treasures, and other items. Only spirit crystals can be used in these transactions.”
Xie Lingfeng knew Xu Yan was unfamiliar with the origin of spirit crystals, so he explained: “The formation of spirit crystals is similar to the jade mines in the Border Wilderness. However, the difference is that the spirit crystal mines in the Inner Domain evolve from jade mines. The jade mines nurture the spiritual energy of Tian Di, and over time, they transform into spirit crystals.
“Big spirit crystal mines are composed entirely of spirit crystals, but most spirit crystals are mixed within jade mines because only part of the jade has transformed into spirit crystals.
“Jade mines in the Inner Domain are very valuable because most jade mines contain at least some spirit crystals.”
Xu Yan and Meng Chong, looked like country bumpkins who had never seen the world. At that moment, they had an epiphany.
They couldn’t help but yearn for the Inner Domain.
The Inner Domain was bustling with martial arts activity!
Much more interesting than the Border Wilderness.
“I’ll give these spirit crystals to Brother Xu as a gift.”
Xie Lingfeng said with a smile.
“Then I won’t be polite.”
Xu Yan gleefully accepted them.
Hu Shan, seeing this, also took out five spirit crystals and handed them to Meng Chong.
“Thank you, thanks a lot!”
Meng Chong was overjoyed.
“One spirit crystal is worth ten thousand taels of gold in the Inner Domain, but while spirit crystals can be exchanged for gold, gold is not readily exchanged for spirit crystals. Normally, no one would really use spirit crystals to exchange for gold.
“There are things that can be bought with spirit crystals that gold cannot necessarily purchase.”
Xie Lingfeng continued to introduce the uses of spirit crystals.
Li Xuan watched with a sigh, realizing that his disciple had suddenly become wealthier than himself.
Not true!
His disciple had always been wealthier than him.
“The Inner Domain is interesting. The Border Wilderness is like a backward, desolate town, while the Inner Domain is like a bustling big city. Once you go to the Inner Domain, you probably won’t want to return to the Border Wilderness, right?”
Li Xuan thought to himself.
He was definitely going to the Inner Domain, but there was no rush as to when.
Xie Lingfeng and his companion settled down in Yunshan County. Every day, they sparred with Xu Yan and Meng Chong, while also contemplating the True Qi cultivation technique. Xu Yan also provided guidance for them.
After all, he was an Innate Realm martial artist who was already extremely familiar with condensing blood and Qi into True Qi.
The cultivation technique of condensing True Qi given to Xie Lingfeng and his companion by Li Xuan was naturally something they were intimately familiar with, allowing them to fully comprehend the true essence of the technique.
However, Xie Lingfeng and his companion were still unable to condense True Qi.
For a moment, they were quite dispirited.
“Let’s ask the master,” Xu Yan suggested thoughtfully.
Xie Lingfeng and his companion nodded; their only option was to seek advice from a more experienced senior.
After listening to their story, Li Xuan instantly understood where the problem lay.
Heavenly Earth Lingji!
Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan were Inner Realm martial artists. To practice, they needed the Heavenly Earth Lingji, and to refine their martial inner Qi into True Qi, they naturally needed nature’s spiritual energy.
They practiced Inner Realm Martial Arts and lacked the spiritual mechanism of Tian Di. Unable to sense nature’s spiritual energy in the Border Wilderness, which lacks the Heavenly Earth Lingji, they naturally could not cultivate.
Without the capability to refine their martial inner Qi into True Qi.
The technique given to Xie Lingfeng and his companion had no issues at all.
Understanding the reason, Li Xuan spoke: “Inner Realm Martial Arts require the Heavenly Earth Lingji, and the refining of True Qi requires spiritual energy. It’s natural that you two can’t condense True Qi.”
With this realization, Xie Lingfeng and his companion finally had peace of mind.
“Thank you for the guidance, Senior!”
Since they couldn’t cultivate in the Border Wilderness, it was time for them to return to the Inner Domain.
Their purpose for coming to the Border Wilderness was to kill Xue Wuxin.
“Brother Xie, when are you going back?”
Xu Yan naturally understood this principle.
Xie Lingfeng’s eyes were firm as he said, “In the cultivation of martial arts, one must not slacken for a single day. Brother Xu, I will return to the Inner Domain tomorrow.”
“Good! One day, I will go to the Inner Domain to find Brother Xie!
Xu Yan nodded.
“Brother Xu, if you come to the Inner Domain and encounter any troubles, just use my name and it will serve some purpose; my name, Xie Lingfeng, still carries weight in the Inner Domain!”
Xie Lingfeng earnestly said.
Xu Yan’s eyes lit up with joy as he asked, “Really?”
“Of course!”
Xie Lingfeng, patting his chest, proudly said, “I, Xie Lingfeng of Sword Venerate Cliff, indeed have a certain renown in the Inner Domain.”
“Great!
H
Xu Yan, delighted, then asked, “Can I use your name for anything?”
Xie Lingfeng nodded and said, “Of course, anything at all. Whenever you encounter difficulties or find yourself in a troublesome situation, Brother Xu, you can just mention my name!”
“Understood! I got it!”
Xu Yan nodded solemnly.
“What about me?”
Meng Chong leaned in to ask.
“Brother Meng, it’s the same for you as well; you can use my name!”
Xie Lingfeng said, patting his chest.
“Is your name really that influential in the Inner Domain?”
Meng Chong asked in surprise.
“Naturally!”
Xie Lingfeng finally regained a bit of the pride that was uniquely his own.
“I, Xie Lingfeng, am a renowned prodigy in the Inner Domain, possessing a certain prestige,” he asserted.
Meng Chong nodded and said, “If I run into any trouble, I won’t hesitate to use your name.”
Hu Shan thought for a moment and then spoke up, “Ahem, actually, you could mention my name as well. My fame in the Inner Domain isn’t inferior to the young master’s.”
Hu Shan, a grandmaster of Sword Venerate Cliff, also had a lofty reputation as a martial artist in the Inner Domain.
“No problem!”
Meng Chong nodded.
Li Xuan looked at Xie Lingfeng, then at Hu Shan, and felt a strange sensation in his heart. Once they reached the Inner Domain, could they really use the names of these two when facing issues?
He had an intuition that these two would be put in a bind!
His own disciple’s thought processes were sometimes quite different from those of ordinary people.
Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan bid their farewells and left. Before returning to the Inner Domain, the two planned to visit the Capital City of Qi Country one more time.
According to Xie Lingfeng, Emperor Qi was a decent man, allowing him to borrow his concubines to temper his heart before leaving. It was only proper to give thanks.
Xu Yan expressed his agreement, stating that Emperor Qi was indeed a rather good person; it was because he had tempered his mind in the emperor’s harem in the past that he laid the foundation for a clear sword heart.
After seeing off Xie Lingfeng and the other, Xu Yan and Meng Chong continued to contemplate The Eight Diagrams.
Life returned to its previous routine.
Every day, Li Xuan would review the ancient leather-bound book and, using the Cultivation Technique of the Inner Domain Martial Arts as a reference, he further perfected the techniques for the realms above the Innate Realm.
Meng Chong had already made his entry into blood qi and belonged to the Physical Body Martial Path of the Innate Realm, so it was time to perfect that method as well.
Xu Yan had already broken through to the Innate Realm, albeit just getting started, but he could also be taught the techniques of higher realms.
If Xu Yan could gain understanding ahead of time, then the feedback from the Golden Finger would arrive sooner, enabling him to break through to the next level.
Shi’er had reached the late stage of Viscera Refinement and was not far from the threshold of entering the path of martial arts.
“Shi’er is now a servant. What kind of feedback will I get when he enters the path of martial arts?”
Li Xuan pondered in his heart.
Shi’er was a servant, not a disciple, and the cultivation technique he practiced was already perfected, not newly created. Whether it would generate feedback was an unknown.
Even if there was feedback, it was likely to be minimal at best.
Outside the Cloud Mountain County Town, Xu Yan was practicing The Eight Diagrams when his footsteps paused, coming to a stop on the Zhen Trigram.
The Zhen Trigram represents thunder!
In his mind, the technique of changing position, along with the light crane movement technique and the profound principles of The Eight Diagrams he had comprehended, suddenly surfaced.
In that instant, he seemed to have an epiphany.
“As swift as thunder, the body without shadow… Thunderclap, merely a flicker, then leaving no trace.”
A flash of inspiration struck Xu Yan’s mind, and in that moment, he understood!
A brand new movement technique emerged in his mind.
Whoosh!
His figure instantly disappeared from where he stood, leaving no trace.
Meng Chong’s eyes widened as he looked around, unable to see his senior brother anywhere, as though in the blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight!