Chapter 123: Chapter 123: The Quintessence of Creation

"Brother Mu..."

"What’s a Spirit Stone?"

Xu Yuan stepped forward curiously, eyeing the Spirit Stone in Chu Mu’s hand.

"It should be a solid form of Spiritual Qi. Cultivators practice by absorbing the Spiritual Energy within it for their Cultivation."

"It’s probably the standard currency in the Cultivation Immortal Realm..."

’Is it formed entirely from condensed Spiritual Energy, or is it stored in some kind of container?’

He had started by explaining to Xu Yuan, but as he spoke, Chu Mu trailed off and became lost in his own thoughts.

Xu Yuan looked at Chu Mu, who was already deep in thought, with a somewhat dazed expression.

Speechless, Xu Yuan walked away. Chu Mu, however, continued to stare intently at the Spirit Stone in his hand, studying it in silence.

’For example, is a Spirit Stone a pure, solidified Energy Body formed from condensed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, or is it a storage device, like the batteries from my previous life?’

’Or perhaps its energy intensity is classified by a unified standard? If so, what would that standard be?’

’According to Elder Li, you can’t perceive Spiritual Qi without a Divine Appearance. So why does my body have this instinctual craving for the Spirit Stone, similar to how it reacts to an Elixir?’

’Is it a physiological instinct to absorb Spiritual Qi? Or does Spiritual Qi itself have a natural tendency to gather toward living beings?’

Holding the fingernail-sized Spirit Stone, Chu Mu was filled with countless questions.

In his past life, the age of technology was built on industry and information, but at its core, energy was what supported the era’s development.

But clearly, comparing the energy sources of his past life to the Spirit Stone before him... no, there was no comparison at all.

The mere fact that Spiritual Qi could create life meant that this Spiritual Energy far surpassed any energy source from his previous life.

His long-cultivated mindset of exploration and truth-seeking made it impossible for Chu Mu to stop thinking.

A night passed. For the next several days, Chu Mu focused all his energy on this small piece of Spirit Stone.

He used every method he could think of to test the stone, accumulating a thick stack of data from his various experiments.

It wasn’t until the sixth day that Chu Mu finally stopped his examination of the small Spirit Stone.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to continue his research, but the nature of the Spirit Stone meant all his studies could only scratch the surface.

First, and most importantly, even with his current Power—strong enough to crush steel—he couldn’t damage the fingernail-sized Spirit Stone in the slightest.

Second, he couldn’t perceive the existence of Spiritual Qi. He could only deduce its properties from his body’s instinctual physiological reactions. While this allowed him to understand the general nature of Spiritual Qi, that was the limit; everything else was just guesswork.

However, his few days of research were not without reward. Chu Mu was now certain that carrying a Spirit Stone on one’s person was highly beneficial to the human body.

Although he didn’t know if Spiritual Qi had a tendency to gather toward living beings or if living beings subconsciously absorbed it, the fact that Spiritual Qi was entering his body was undeniable.

[Name: Chu Mu]

[Skill: Basic Blade Technique (Entering the Hall and the Room) 1598/2000]

[Body Refining Technique (934/1000)]

[Alchemy: Dragon and Snake Soup: Refined Skill (117/2000)]

[Spiritual Radiance Value: 220.9%]

The progress of his Body Refining Technique on the Light Curtain Panel was crystal clear.

For several days, he had deliberately refrained from Cultivation, yet his Qi and Blood Cultivation progress had increased by several dozen points.

If he tried to sense this change himself, it was still vague.

But when he activated the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing," the perception became incredibly sharp.

Chu Mu closed his eyes. The "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" descended, and he silently experienced the Spiritual Qi that was subtly seeping into his body.

Ever since learning of Spiritual Qi’s existence, Chu Mu had tried to experience it many times. This included multiple trips back up Goose-shaped Mountain, where he had first noticed something unusual while gathering herbs in Nanshan Town, in an attempt to perceive the Spiritual Qi.

The result was obvious: without a Divine Appearance, one could not perceive Spiritual Qi. This seemed to be an ironclad rule.

And now, even though the Spirit Stone was on his person and he was certain the Spiritual Qi it contained was slowly seeping into and nourishing his body, he still couldn’t perceive the Spiritual Qi itself.

But... while he couldn’t perceive Spiritual Qi, he could perceive his own body—his organs, his Qi Blood, his Essence Qi. This perception, however, was relatively vague.

After activating the "Spiritual Radiance Blessing," this perception leaped to a new level, allowing him to sense things on an extremely subtle scale.

He couldn’t perceive Spiritual Qi, but he could indirectly perceive its existence by sensing the changes in his body, his Qi Blood, and his Essence Qi.

’For example, after Spiritual Qi enters the body, how does the body react? Where do the reactions begin, and what level do they ultimately affect...’

’From this, I can indirectly deduce the nature and effects of Spiritual Qi.’

He had tried this indirect perception many times. The Spiritual Qi, which had once been beyond his comprehension, was slowly revealing its mysteries through this process.

Spiritual Qi was a wondrous form of energy—so wondrous that Chu Mu wasn’t even sure how to describe it.

Because, based on his current perceptions, Spiritual Qi was simply too perfect. So perfect, in fact, that Chu Mu was at a loss for words.

Elder Li had said that Spiritual Qi was born from the very creation of heaven and earth, and that statement was clearly not wrong at all.

The creative power of heaven and earth is all contained within Spiritual Qi!

The amount of Spiritual Qi subtly seeping into him right now was surely not large.

But even with this small amount, Chu Mu could clearly perceive the various changes within his body.

If he compared these changes to his daily Qi and Blood Cultivation—even the Cultivation supported by Dragon and Snake Soup—the difference between the two was like heaven and earth!

A person’s Cultivation lies in their Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

And Spiritual Qi acts upon Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

The changes to his Essence and Qi were very clear.

In Chu Mu’s perception, it was as if a restorative medicine—one better, purer, and more refined than Dragon and Snake Soup—was constantly releasing its effects inside him.

And this medicinal effect, at least for now, had no side effects that he could find. It required no Refinement and contained no impurities.

Upon entering his body, it rapidly fused with his Essence Qi, nourishing him.

Of course, this was all on the premise that his bodily functions were intact and that he had a foundation in Qi and Blood Cultivation. Otherwise, it would be just like when he fed medicine to Wangcai: despite the divine effects, seven or eight-tenths of its potency would ultimately be wasted.

As for its effect on the "Spirit" part, this was not an indirect effect like in Qi and Blood Cultivation, which relied on the complementary relationship between Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

It seemed to... act directly on the Spirit.

Similarly, Chu Mu could clearly sense a faint, cool sensation swirling in his mind!

It was like a clear spring encircling his intangible Divine Soul, surging time and again to wash away impurities and nourish it.

After a very long time, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes. On the Light Curtain Panel, the progress of his Body Refining Technique had advanced another notch, and this progress was still continuing moment by moment.

Chu Mu looked at the mere fingernail-sized Spirit Stone in his hand, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.

’So...’

’You really can lie your way onto the Immortal Path...’

Although Elder Li’s words had already revealed the marvels of Spiritual Qi.

Experiencing these marvels firsthand left Chu Mu feeling not just excited, but also a little bitter.

He considered himself relatively lucky. After just a few months of struggle, his Qi and Blood Cultivation had entered the fast lane.

An ordinary person might struggle for most of their life and still never achieve the state of Qi and Blood Great Success.

But with just this fingernail-sized Spirit Stone, by carrying it around and doing nothing—even if he just lay around all day!

The subtle influence of the Spiritual Qi contained within was enough to easily nourish and transform his body.

For the descendants of Cultivators, the Qi and Blood Cultivation that countless people struggle with their entire lives is probably a step they can cross just by lifting a foot. It wouldn’t even count as a real bottleneck.

Those people, from the moment they are born, are already standing at a finish line that most people could struggle toward their entire lives and never reach.

"It seems no world is free from this law..."

Chu Mu let out a long breath, suppressing the sense of melancholy and disparity in his heart.

Having lived two lives, he had long understood the cruelty of reality. He could well imagine that even if he stepped into the Cultivation Immortal Realm, this kind of gap would inevitably exist.

In fact, based on what he knew so far, it would be even more obvious and even more blatant!

’In a world where great power is concentrated in the individual, do people at a higher level need to care about the thoughts of those at a lower level? Do they need to put on a facade for the sake of appearances?’

’In the face of absolute violence, the so-called will of the people is nothing but a joke.’

Chu Mu looked up at the somewhat hazy sky, took a deep breath, and turned to walk into the Medicine Hall.

Although it was only morning, and despite Hundred Herbs Pavilion’s remote location, people were still coming and going out front.

A few wanted posters were still pasted by the entrance. Though several days had passed and the city gates were no longer sealed, the strict searches at each gate made it clear that the manhunt was not yet over.

But this seemed to be good news, too. At least it proved that the man and woman from that night hadn’t been found yet.

’That Spirit Stone I’ve been studying for days isn’t something you can just take without consequence.’

Chu Mu sat down behind the consultation desk. An apprentice at his side immediately brought over a pot of tea and handed him the medical book that was on the table.

Chu Mu took a sip of tea and began to flip through the medical book, using the knowledge within its pages to slowly calm his mind.

’A single Spirit Stone.’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’There were gains and losses.’

’In any case, judging from the effects of the Spirit Stone I’ve discovered through my experiments...’

’I don’t need to worry about anything anymore.’

’That final step... there’s basically no chance of being blocked now.’

’The Immortal Path is already within reach.’

...