Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

Fueled by an ample supply of Resonance Potions, Pei Ze’s Spiritual Power finally increased to a level of 32.

At this moment, deep within his mind, the magnificent Spirit Crystal was filled to the brim with a hazy mist of Spiritual Power.

’I’ve finally reached the gaseous limit.’

Pei Ze let out a long sigh of relief, an irrepressible joy flashing in his eyes.

’Next, I just need to condense my Spiritual Power.’

The technique for refining Faith Crystals had long been calculated, and Pei Ze had already sent Su Ya and Peng Yan to purchase the necessary materials.

Besides the exchange in Red Maple City, there were many shops that sold magical materials.

These shops accepted Magic Stone Coins for trade.

Of course, they didn’t refuse merit points either.

Naturally, he couldn’t choose his stone house as the refining location. Pei Ze directly rented a Magic Laboratory near the exchange, closed the door, and began to set up the array.

Once the array was set up, he took out the statue of Lady Frost and placed it in the center.

After a moment’s thought, he also took out the remaining small statue and the five Eyes of Cold Winter and placed them in the array as well.

With all preparations complete, Pei Ze placed his hand on the runes at the edge of the array, began to inject his Spiritual Power, and chanted under his breath.

BUZZ!

The array slowly lit up with a crimson glow that grew brighter and brighter, eventually becoming a blinding, magma-like vermilion light.

At the same time, the statues and emblems within the array spontaneously ignited in a raging inferno.

The scorching flames quickly engulfed everything, and in an instant, the entire array transformed into a pillar of fire that shot toward the sky.

The blaze lasted for nearly half an hour before the flames slowly dissipated.

The array on the floor had vanished, along with the statues and emblems.

All that remained was a small, dusty pile of ash.

Pei Ze walked over, sifted through the ashes, and found three silver beads inside.

They were Faith Crystals!

’A Divine Statue and Sacred Artifacts worth one thousand three hundred merit points refined into three Faith Crystals. This deal was a bargain!’

A smile appeared on Pei Ze’s face.

On average, the cost of one Faith Crystal was just a little over four hundred merit points.

But at the exchange, a single Faith Crystal cost a thousand merit points—more than double the price.

’It’s much more cost-effective to refine them myself.’

Pei Ze decided on the spot that from now on, he would collect Divine Statues and Sacred Artifacts to refine his own Faith Crystals, and use his merit points to exchange for Sacred Spirit Buds or other resources.

’Time to start condensing my Spiritual Power.’

Pei Ze sat down cross-legged, holding a Faith Crystal in his palm. He took a deep breath and immersed his consciousness deep into his mind.

An invisible tendril of Spiritual Power extended out and entered the Faith Crystal.

In an instant, his mind buzzed. Pei Ze’s thoughts grew hazy as fleeting, familiar scenes flashed before his eyes.

It was the same vast, magnificent hall, with a majestic statue of a deity towering above as countless devout believers knelt in worship.

Countless whispers and praises seemed to echo in his ears, recounting the greatness and omnipotence of the Divine Spirit.

At the same time, countless golden specks of light appeared deep in his mind, scrambling to converge on the Spirit Crystal, trying to contaminate it.

Pei Ze had already memorized the method for condensing Spiritual Power, so he immediately mobilized his own Spiritual Power to resist this Power of Faith.

As time passed, the golden specks were constantly annihilated, only to be replaced by new ones that continuously formed.

Annihilation, generation, annihilation... over and over again.

During this process, the gaseous Spiritual Power within the Spirit Crystal became more and more condensed, gradually showing signs of liquefaction as specks of silver liquid began to appear on its inner walls.

After an unknown amount of time, the number of golden specks noticeably decreased, eventually disappearing completely.

The whispers in his ears faded away, and Pei Ze returned from his trance-like state, opening his eyes.

He looked down at his palm. The Faith Crystal had turned into a pile of gray powder, and he could no longer feel the slightest trace of the Power of Faith from it.

"All-Knowing, quantify the current progress of my Spiritual Power condensation."

[20.57%]

"That’s it?"

Pei Ze frowned slightly, but his expression soon relaxed.

As far as he knew, an ordinary Level 1 Gaseous Wizard usually needed one or two Faith Crystals to condense their Spiritual Power and break through to the liquefaction stage.

By that logic, a Wizard with a 24-sided Spirit Crystal would probably need three or four Faith Crystals.

So for someone like him, with a 32-sided Spirit Crystal, needing five Faith Crystals was perfectly normal.

’Looks like I won’t be able to break through right away.’

Pei Ze felt a slight sense of regret, but he quickly pulled himself together.

He was just two Faith Crystals short. Attacking one more of the Turin People’s defensive fortifications should be enough.

After resting for over half an hour, Pei Ze continued to condense his Spiritual Power.

By the time all three Faith Crystals were consumed, it was already the next day.

"All-Knowing, check my current status."

[Spirit 32 (Liquefaction Progress 61.64%)]

[Physique 21.93]

"Not bad."

Pei Ze nodded in satisfaction.

His current Spirit level was already higher than most Level 1 Crystallized Wizards.

Moreover, as long as he refined two more Faith Crystals, he could break through to the liquefaction stage at any time.

It was worth mentioning that during this period of cultivation, his All-Knowing Breathing Technique had also successfully broken through to the fourth layer.

Pei Ze estimated that once he broke through to the fifth layer and advanced to a Tier Three Legendary Knight, his physique attribute would likely exceed a level of 30.

Everything was progressing steadily.

Leaving the Magic Laboratory, Pei Ze didn’t return to his stone house immediately but instead headed for the mission hall.

Standing before the battlefield map again, Pei Ze noticed significant changes. Many of the previous defensive fortifications were gone—on both his side and the enemy’s—and at the same time, many new ones had appeared.