Chapter 344: Toxic Spiritual Qi (II)

"I will go get whatever cultivation resources you are lacking from Martial Uncle, or you can use my cultivation resources first," Gu Ye said with a smile.

"Alright then," Lin Zheyu said after pondering for a moment.

It was only a month. Compared to a bit of extra strength, safety was more important. He always felt that those yao martial artists from last time had been targeting him, and he had no idea who was secretly plotting against him.

"I wonder how many Essence and Qi Pills you have, Senior Sister. My Essence and Qi Pills are almost used up," Lin Zheyu asked.

If there were enough Essence and Qi Pills, using them to replace Blazing Flame Blood-Burning Powder was also feasible. It was just somewhat extravagant.

"I don't really carry Essence and Qi Pills either. I only carry spirit liquid. Force Transformation realm martial artists have higher energy requirements than Marrow Refining realm martial artists. If they rely on ordinary medicinal pills or food to replenish it, their true strength recovers very slowly. What we use is spirit liquid.

"However, this kind of energy, known as spirit liquid, is extremely violent and contains chaotic will. Essence and Qi Pills are refined using spirit liquid as the main ingredient. After greatly diluting the spirit liquid, alchemical methods are used to remove the chaotic will within it. Ordinary martial artists can only use Essence and Qi Pills and cannot use spirit liquid directly," Gu Ye said as she shook her head.

She sized up Lin Zheyu and continued, "But you could try it. With your physique's strength and mental resilience, using diluted spirit liquid should not be a problem."

"Could you let me take a look?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously upon hearing this. He had heard of spirit liquid before, but had never come into contact with it.

"Here, this bottle of spirit liquid is for you. I have plenty of spirit liquid on me anyway, so I will give this bottle to you." Gu Ye boldly drew a bottle of spirit liquid from her robe and tossed it over casually, as if it were an ordinary item.

"Many thanks, Senior Sister." Lin Zheyu did not stand on ceremony and accepted the spirit liquid.

He opened the stopper and glanced inside, seeing a crystal clear purple liquid. Lin Zheyu gently waved his hand near it, yet could not smell the slightest scent.

"Do not bother trying to smell it. This spirit liquid has its own unique scent, but ordinary martial artists cannot detect it. Only those with exceptional natural talent can perceive the distinctive smell of spirit liquid. When you get back to your room, boil Yellow Heart Grass and Clear Spirit Flowers into a medicinal decoction, then pour the spirit liquid into it and dilute it into a weakened medicinal solution. One bottle of spirit liquid is enough to refine a thousand Essence and Qi Pills. To be safe, it is best to dilute it into two hundred portions before consuming it," Gu Ye instructed.

Many talented martial artists, when advancing to Force Transformation, would directly consume diluted spirit liquid and use its more violent energy to accelerate the condensation of true strength. Letting Lin Zheyu begin contacting spirit liquid now was not really a problem.

"I am letting Junior Brother Lin adapt early to this violent energy of spirit liquid. If Martial Uncle were to find out, would he blame me?" Gu Ye muttered softly, her gaze toward Lin Zheyu carrying a hint of guilt.

Lin Zheyu put away the spirit liquid and said sincerely, "Yes. Thank you, Senior Sister."

The value of this bottle of spirit liquid was not low, and it could only be exchanged using contribution points. A single bottle required a full one hundred contribution points, and only Force Transformation realm martial artists were qualified to exchange for it.

This spirit liquid really is good stuff. The energy contained in this one bottle of spirit liquid should be enough for me to cultivate the Boundless Azure Sea Body,

Lin Zheyu thought to himself. For now, he could only make a rough estimate. The specifics would be known after using it upon returning.

"Senior Sister, how is this kind of spirit liquid produced?" Lin Zheyu asked. If he knew where spirit liquid came from, he could obtain it himself.

"Of course, it is refined from spirit mines," Gu Ye said matter-of-factly.

"Spirit mines? Are they the spirit stone mines from cultivation legends?" Lin Zheyu exclaimed in surprise.

"I believe so," Gu Ye said with a smile. "Records about cultivators and immortals are hard to find, but if one searches carefully, many traces can still be discovered. I suspect those spirit mines are the spirit stone mines used by cultivators in legend. However, we martial artists cannot use those spirit stone mines directly. Only by refining them into spirit liquid through secret methods can we make use of them." Gu Ye voiced her own speculation.

"Senior Sister, do you know why those immortal cultivators disappeared? When I was young, I once heard my master say that those yaos and demons were people who once sought immortality and practiced immortal cultivation secret arts, only to transform into what they are now. Could it be that those former immortals fell and became the yaos and demons of today?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

He was extremely curious about this martial cultivation world that bore traces of immortal cultivation, wondering why the immortal cultivators had disappeared, why immortal cultivation secret arts had declined, and why martial cultivation had become the mainstream.

"

Oh

, your former master did have some insight. However, the yaos and demons he referred to were not pure yaos and demons, but demon puppets. Most demon puppets are transformed through cultivating former immortal cultivation secret arts. They are living corpses active in deep mountains and wild forests, and many of their ancestors were once from esteemed immortal cultivation families," Gu Ye said leisurely.

She looked at Lin Zheyu, hoping to see shock on his face. Unfortunately, Lin Zheyu remained calm, as if he had long held such suspicions.

"It seems you have had similar guesses as well," Gu Ye said with a smile.

"Yes. I once obtained a copy of the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual, which records methods of cultivating into a living corpse in order to seek immortality. Many of the cultivation secret arts recorded inside bear traces of immortal cultivators found in storybooks," Lin Zheyu said.

Back then, due to insufficient strength and experience, he had failed to notice the problems within the Seven Fiend Ghost Manual. As his strength increased and he revisited it, Lin Zheyu discovered many details he had previously overlooked.

At the mention of half-yaos, demons, and yao martial artists, Gu Ye sneered coldly. "Secret techniques like these are actually all transformed from ancient immortal cultivation techniques. As for those yao martial artists and half yaos, I suspect they also derived something from immortal cultivation techniques, allowing them to cultivate using Baleful Yin force. However, they are still incomplete products and will sooner or later degenerate into puppets of the yaos and demons."

"By the way, Senior Sister, since they are spirit stone mines, why can immortal cultivators use them while we martial artists cannot? Is it because we lack an immortal cultivation aptitude? I have heard storytellers say that cultivating immortality requires aptitude," Lin Zheyu asked.

"That is part of the reason, but it is not the main factor. Do you know where spirit mines are usually found?" Gu Ye asked with a smile.

"Places rich in Baleful Yin force?" Lin Zheyu replied after a moment of thought.

"

Oh!

You are quite something!" Gu Ye said in surprise. Lin Zheyu had actually guessed correctly.

Although Lin Zheyu had guessed as much, Gu Ye still explained it to him in detail. "Spirit mines do indeed all exist in places rich in Baleful Yin force, without exception. Because of the presence of Baleful Yin force, the spirit mines are tainted with demonic properties and contain terrifying chaotic will, making them impossible to use directly. Only by extracting the energy from the spirit mines and purifying it into spirit liquid can martial artists use it.

"I suspect that the disappearance of immortal cultivators back then is closely related to the emergence of Baleful Yin force. Baleful Yin force contaminated spirit power and spirit mines. Anyone who absorbed spirit power risked taking in excessive Baleful Yin force and being assimilated into a demon puppet. Those immortal cultivators most likely disappeared for this reason."

Growing animated, Gu Ye shared everything she had heard from her master, martial uncles, and seniors, along with scattered records from ancient texts and her own conjectures.

So that is how it is,

Lin Zheyu thought inwardly.

From Gu Ye's words, he confirmed his own suspicions. When he first heard of Yao Demon nests and space-time nodes, he had already guessed that the disappearance of immortal cultivators was likely related to yaos and demons. Perhaps it was precisely the emergence of yaos and demons that brought an extremely evil Baleful Yin force, poisoning the spiritual qi of this world. As a result, the spiritual qi became toxic and could not be directly absorbed and used. Spiritual qi was the very foundation of immortal cultivators, and once that foundation was compromised, their disappearance became inevitable.

The Immortal Dao declined, and martial cultivation and the Divine Dao replaced the Immortal Dao as the mainstream of this world. Then what about the Divine Dao? Where did it go?

Such thoughts flashed through Lin Zheyu's mind.

The official divine system of Great Wei was formed by the gods worshipped across the entire nation, composing the Divine Dao of Great Wei. A Divine Dao supported by such a vast population was surely terrifyingly powerful.