Chapter 101: Spirit Stone’s Weight

  “Demonic Qi?”

  When An Jing heard this, he immediately became vigint. He carefully checked his dantian and qi sea, but found nothing unusual.

  Still, he trusted the Sword Spirit deeply. “My perception isn’t sharp enough. Should I circute the Serene Sword Technique?”

  “Simply circuting the Serene Sword Technique isn’t enough, but I can help you,” said the Sword Spirit. “Close your eyes and visualize. I will lend you My ‘eyes’ so you may see.”

  An Jing closed his eyes and began circuting the Serene Sword Technique.

  A rusted, broken sword emerged within his Sea of Consciousness.

  He felt a sudden chill—like a prickling sensation—on his forehead, as though a small sword were hovering there and opening a tiny gap.

  A silvery-white sword scar appeared, and in that instant, An Jing “saw.”

  Centering on himself, An Jing observed everything around him—the gzed ptform, the wooden puppet, the bedding, and even the room itself—gradually fade into nothingness. All that remained beneath him was a faint white-green qi vessel pulsing slowly.

  This qi vessel extended into the distance until it merged with a vast, surging green network reminiscent of a great river.

  Like flowing water, this network gushed forth continuously, giving rise to countless green-white qi vessels. They formed a grid that covered the surroundings, too numerous to fully count.

  —These were the spiritual veins in his room. Beyond them y the spirit spring earth veins currently occupied by the bck market.

  Realization dawned on An Jing. The Sword Spirit had granted him incredibly powerful spiritual perception, letting him ignore all mundane objects and directly observe the flow of the earth veins.

  For feng shui masters or dragon vein masters, this was an unrivaled Divine Ability. They would no longer need lengthy surveys: with a single gnce, they could perceive the flow of qi, avoiding countless troubles and errors.

  It was practically a “qi observation art.”

  And now, An Jing, too, saw the so-called “Demonic Qi” the Sword Spirit had described.

  Unlike the dense Demonic Qi in the Huaixu Realm, which his Divine Consciousness could easily detect, this was just one extremely faint thread—a bck strand mingled within the spiritual veins, so thin it was almost imperceptible.

  After passing through the gzed ptform’s purification, that strand of Demonic Qi was nearly undetectable. Without the Subduing Evil Sword Spirit’s acute sensitivity, it might have gone unnoticed.

  Yet, no matter how scant it was, Demonic Qi was still present.

  Suddenly, a hollow emptiness welled up inside him, forcing An Jing to open his eyes and end that special spiritual vision.

  After a quick examination, An Jing discovered that the Taibai Baleful Qi in his body had been used up. The Sword Spirit’s techniques were excellent but highly advanced, so they consumed spiritual power for everything. That was why he had recommended the Radiant White Spirit Divine Restriction, which rapidly cultivates spiritual energy.

  “It’s probably not the bck market trying to harm anyone.”

  Recalling what he had witnessed, An Jing spoke slowly. “Rather, it’s a peculiarity of the Tianyuan Realm itself.”

  By now, An Jing was no longer completely ignorant about the Tianyuan Realm. He knew that due to the World Tribution, the Tianyuan Realm had become polluted—Demonic Qi and Camity Qi permeated the entire world, including its earth veins.

  All that remained were several massive spiritual-vein cities and scattered smaller encves. Presumably, those big cities possessed unpolluted spiritual veins, allowing cultivation-based civilization to endure.

  The region occupied by the bck market had been heavily contaminated, which was how they managed to obtain it in the first pce. Though the force behind them purified the spiritual veins, eradicating every trace of corruption was impossible, so a faint wisp of Demonic Qi still remained.

  “I understand now.”

  At that moment, the Sword Spirit sounded pensive. “So that’s why spirit jade is so expensive in this realm.”

  “The Qi Refining Dao: if one wishes to reach the ter stages of Qi Refining—nurturing vitality, cultivating the spirit, and bringing forth Divine Consciousness—one needs 【Clear and Pure Spiritual Breath】 to nourish the Purple Mansion.”

  “And that 【Clear and Pure Spiritual Breath】 must be refined from the purest spiritual energy.”

  “If the Tianyuan Realm’s environment before the World Tribution was like the Huaixu Realm’s, then gathering pure spiritual energy wouldn’t have been difficult. Any cultivator could simply meditate for a hundred days to refine enough 【Clear and Pure Spiritual Breath】. With the help of magical artifacts or formations, it might only take a dozen days.”

  Upon hearing this, An Jing understood. “But the Tianyuan Realm is already contaminated, so there’s basically no perfectly pure spiritual energy to refine 【Clear and Pure Spiritual Breath】?”

  “It would be more accurate to say it’s extremely difficult.” The Sword Spirit didn’t leap to conclusions; he seemed to be deep in thought. “Consider the Demonic Qi within these spiritual veins—it doesn’t greatly hinder ordinary cultivation. Like other impurities, the body can naturally expel it.

  “However, if even a trace of it slips in while one is nourishing the Purple Mansion, then ter on, during Foundation Establishment, it becomes far too easy to fall into demonic corruption.

  “And even if someone reaches Foundation Establishment by sheer luck, the quality of their Dao Foundation will be damaged, potentially leaving them as nothing more than a vessel for Heavenly Demons.

  “An Jing, you have innate wisdom; your spiritual perception is keen by birth. You dual-cultivate the Immortal Path and the Martial Path, starting with the Serene Sword Technique, which grants you a far stronger Divine Consciousness than most cultivators—yet even you barely noticed this Demonic Qi. How could an ordinary Qi Refiner be sure they’ve removed every trace?

  “If they ck a teacher’s guidance, they have no choice but to rely on naturally pure spiritual objects—namely spirit jade—to cultivate.”

  “No wonder everyone here is a cultivator, yet most remain stuck in the early stage of Qi Refining, with even mid-stage practitioners being rare.”

  Having worked it out by then, the Sword Spirit sighed softly and said, “Most of this world’s earth veins have been polluted, so cultivators must proceed very cautiously. It naturally slows progress.

  “And most spirit jade, which hastens cultivation, comes from the three major unpolluted earth veins—controlled tightly by the dominant sects here.

  “Nurturing Divine Consciousness in the ter stages of Qi Refining is not just the basis for Foundation Establishment—it also ys the groundwork for the future Purple Mansion. By controlling spirit jade’s price and supply, the vast majority of cultivators will remain stuck before the te Qi Refining stage, even if everyone is cultivating.

  “Should a genuine prodigy appear—able to reach te Qi Refining without spirit jade, a true Dao seed—they’d be discovered and swiftly recruited.

  “That’s likely how the major sects of the Tianyuan Realm screen for talented cultivators and maintain societal stability.”

  “That does seem to be the case.”

  After careful thought, An Jing nodded. “You’ve worked this out thoroughly. I didn’t expect ancient cultivators to pay so much attention to these mundane methods of governance.”

  In response, the Sword Spirit spoke calmly, “Those of us who practice Immortal Cultivation embrace all existence in our studies. Mortal society is where Immortal seeds are found; it’s of the utmost importance. In the sect, the Ascending Cloud Hall handles new disciple recruitment, and countless experts there excel in such matters. I only know the basics.”

  “No wonder spirit jade is deemed a strategic resource. In the Tianyuan Realm, it really is the key to reaching the peak of Qi Refining and even Foundation Establishment.”

  “Mm.”

  After hearing this, An Jing nodded solemnly. “Two pieces wouldn’t be an issue—they wouldn’t shake the market. But if I brought over a dozen, the bck market would notice, causing a lot of trouble.”

  “Fortunately, they think I come from a barbarian tribe that found a rare, uncontaminated natural spirit stone mine. That means I can still bring a few more pieces to trade next time—just watching the quantity carefully.”

  (End of Chapter)

  aeterism