Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Stepping into the Spirit Sea, Heavenly Water Primordial Lotus!
Time ticked by, second by second.
Unknowingly, five hours had passed.
Luo Mu remained seated cross-legged,
his eyes tightly shut.
At this moment, there were significant changes taking place inside his dantian.
What had once been a dried-up dantian had now transformed into a bright, glistening ‘lake.’
“It’s done!”
Luo Mu opened his eyes,
a trace of relief flashing across his face.
He had nearly failed—just a little more, and as he was about to succeed, his dantian suddenly became unstable.
Thankfully, it ended without danger.
“Ding!”
“You concentrated deeply, staying focused on your breakthrough, and triggered a critical hit, receiving a thirtyfold reward!”
In his mind, images of breaking through appeared thirty times in succession.
Some were successes, while others were failures.
Most of them were failures.
“It seems that starting from the Spirit Sea realm, the failure rate of breakthroughs far exceeds the success rate.”
Luo Mu’s gaze flickered slightly.
This was the effect of his average aptitude.
In this world, one’s aptitude wouldn’t completely limit their potential, but it would affect the speed of cultivation and the chances of successfully breaking through.
Strictly speaking, as long as one had infinite lifespan and sufficient resources, anyone could theoretically reach the peak.
But unfortunately, humans aren’t immortal beings.
For an ordinary person, living past seventy was already considered a long life.
Even Spirit Sea realm cultivators only lived a little over a hundred years.
Only those who step into the Earth-Opening realm,
where their body is remolded and their essence transformed, could greatly extend their lifespan.
Shaking his head slightly,
Luo Mu cleared his thoughts.
For him, average aptitude didn’t matter. After thirty attempts, as long as one succeeded, it was enough.
However, if he had the chance to improve his aptitude, he wouldn’t pass it up. After all, the better one’s aptitude, the more cultivation rewards they could receive on a daily basis, making it very important.
Taking a deep breath,
Luo Mu slowly stood up.
He gazed at the sky, a smile spreading across his face.
Finally… the Spirit Sea realm!
This was the realm he had once yearned for. He never thought he would reach it in less than two months.
Now, there was no longer any obvious gap between him and the prodigies of the Inner Academy.
“Let’s test the power of my true qi.”
With just a thought,
the calm spirit sea within him suddenly stirred.
He assumed a stance as if preparing to draw his blade.
Without using his blade momentum, he relied solely on his true qi and blade technique.
Slash!
A hundred-meter-long blade light swept across, striking a nearby small mountain peak.
Boom!
The mountain trembled.
The entire peak exploded into countless fragments that tumbled down the slopes.
“Not bad.”
Luo Mu sheathed his blade, nodding in satisfaction.
As expected of true qi.
The power of a blade technique performed with true qi was far beyond what blood energy could achieve.
“There are twelve days left until the Academy Grand Ceremony. Time to continue training.”
Luo Mu withdrew his gaze.
The spirit stones he had obtained from the demonic sect elder would be enough to support his Spirit Sea realm cultivation for the time being.
Buzz!
Just as Luo Mu was about to sit back down,
a rainbow light shot into the sky from a distance, then quickly dissipated into glowing dots.
“Rainbow mist?”
Luo Mu was startled, and the term suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He remembered from a miscellaneous studies class that his teacher once mentioned when a high-grade spiritual herb was nearing maturity, a rainbow mist phenomenon would appear.
This was due to the herb’s internal medicinal power being so immense that it became difficult to contain.
“I didn’t expect to encounter such a fortuitous event.”
A smile appeared on Luo Mu’s face.
Up until now, he had never come across any heavenly treasures or the like.
This was his first time.
“Let’s go check it out.”
Although he wasn’t sure what kind of spiritual herb it was or what its effects were,
since a rainbow mist had appeared, it was undoubtedly something valuable.
After dressing properly, Luo Mu quickly dashed toward the location where the rainbow mist had emerged.
After a short while,
Luo Mu arrived at his destination.
It was an ancient, medium-sized pool.
The water was icy cold, radiating a chilling aura.
In the center of the pool,
a white lotus bud was on the verge of blooming.
“Heavenly Water Primordial Lotus?”
Luo Mu searched his memory, and related information soon surfaced.
The Heavenly Water Primordial Lotus was a third-grade spiritual herb, typically feeding on the vital energies of heaven and earth. On the day it matured, it would produce at least six lotus seeds.
Each lotus seed was pure essence of vital energy.
The effects of cultivating with them far surpassed that of spirit stones.
“Not bad.”
Luo Mu’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
It seemed his luck was turning lately.
To stumble upon such a rare spiritual treasure…
With this, his Spirit Sea realm cultivation would have a steady supply of resources.
However, from the looks of it, the Heavenly Water Primordial Lotus wasn’t fully mature yet.
It would likely take another seven to eight days.
During that time,
the rainbow mist phenomenon would continue each day, making it impossible to hide. It might even attract others.
However, this area was fairly deep in the back mountain of the academy.
Not many people would venture here.
Roar~
Just as Luo Mu was contemplating, a deep roar sounded behind him.
Luo Mu raised an eyebrow.
He had almost forgotten—aside from humans, the back mountain was filled with demonic beasts.
Heavenly treasures were just as irresistible to them as they were to humans.
Swish!
Without hesitation, Luo Mu drew his blade and slashed.
The demonic beast approaching him was instantly cleaved in half.
Having now stepped into the Spirit Sea realm,
dealing with a second-level demonic beast was a trivial matter.
“A Flame Lion.”
Luo Mu approached and identified the beast.
The blood of a Flame Lion was quite valuable, rich in fire-elemental energy, making it highly desirable to cultivators who practiced fire-element cultivation methods.
“Perhaps I could use this as bait and wait for more to come.”
A smile played at the corners of Luo Mu’s lips.
Most people wouldn’t dare attempt such a thing,
since the back mountain was considered the ‘territory’ of the demonic beasts, and their numbers were vast.
If one were to be surrounded, it could easily result in death.
But Luo Mu was unafraid. With his current strength, he could easily handle whatever came his way.