Bamboo Mound

Seeing the vortex take shape, I increased the speed of guiding it and slowly established a connection with my palm.

As the vortex spun, the spirit stones dissipated faster and joined the vortex.

As spiritual energy was added to the spirit stone, the vortex grew faster and larger.

Then it was continuously absorbed into the body through the palm of the hand.

He discovered that although the absorption speed of this external vortex was not much faster than the speed of refining spirit stones inside the body, it absorbed more spiritual energy than a single spirit stone because the external spiritual energy was also attracted by the vortex!

As spiritual energy was added, the resulting spiritual energy vortex grew larger and larger. Eventually, Ning Chang changed the absorption point to his dantian, using himself as the center of the vortex.

In this way, the absorption point of spiritual energy became the whole body, and the surging vortex of spiritual energy enveloped Ning Chang completely!

Even if he wanted to stop, it wouldn't be so easy, so he immersed himself in cultivation again, completely forgetting the passage of time.

When he finally stopped, the spirit stone had disappeared, and the first rays of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Ning Chang felt the surging spiritual energy within her body, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

Not long after he placed the spirit stone in front of his dantian, the spirit stone was torn into several pieces by the surging vortex of spiritual energy, which accelerated the absorption speed of the spirit stone several times over!

He learned another cultivation technique: breaking a spirit stone into several pieces to cultivate simultaneously.

If nothing else goes wrong, this method of absorbing spiritual energy will last him a long time.

"But..." Ning Chang asked, somewhat puzzled, "What rank am I now?"

His master had not explained to him how to distinguish the realms of the Spirit Gathering Realm, but only said that he would naturally feel it when advancing.

But that was for the dantian. He has now abandoned the dantian and instead uses all the meridians in his body to store spiritual energy, so he can no longer rely on the dantian to determine his realm.

He controlled the width of the spiritual energy in his dantian to be the same as the width of his meridians, making it appear slightly empty.

At the same time, due to the lack of spiritual energy support, the dantian as a whole also slightly contracted.

Ning Chang decided to go and ask his master for clarification. After packing his things, he headed towards his master's residence.

He didn't use the Azure Cloud Step to travel; after cultivating for so many days, he was no longer willing to touch spiritual energy.

While walking along the mountain road, which was originally deserted, a burly man appeared from the opposite direction.

The burly man was also wearing a fire-patterned tunic, but the neckline of his upper body was wide open, revealing his bronze-colored, powerful muscles.

He also saw Ning Chang, his eyes lit up, and he moved closer.

A gentle voice rang out, which stunned Ning Chang for a moment. He had thought that the strong man's voice would be very rough, but he did not expect such a contrast!

"This junior brother looks unfamiliar. May I ask which elder has recently accepted him as a disciple?" the burly man said with a gentle smile.

Seeing that the burly man's voice was not only different, but his expression and tone were also so incongruous, Ning Chang's eyes immediately lost focus, and he stood there dumbfounded.

The burly man, unfazed, explained to Ning Chang:

"Junior brother, please don't take offense. My muscles are the result of practicing martial arts. I used to be a scholar."

Ning Chang recovered from his daze, realizing that this person was also a disciple of another elder and that they would inevitably meet again in the future, so he replied:

"My name is Ning Chang. I became a disciple of the Grand Elder a month ago." He paused and then asked, "May I ask which elder you studied under, Senior Brother?"

The burly man chuckled awkwardly, "So you're the disciple of the First Elder. I've heard my master mention you before. My master is the Third Elder. According to seniority, I should be calling you Senior Brother."

Ning Chang also declined, saying, "Senior brother, what are you saying? You were the one who joined the sect first, how could I possibly surpass you?"

Seeing that Ning Chang was making excuses, he couldn't refuse again, so he nodded.

“My name is Wang Yan. You can call me senior brother normally, but in front of the elders, I should call you senior brother.”

Ning Chang shook his head again: "Senior brother is overthinking it. I think the elders won't care too much about these formalities."

Wang Yan thought about it and agreed with Ning Chang's statement. He sensed it again and showed a surprised expression.

"Junior Brother Ning Chang, were you really recruited into the sect this year?"

Ning Chang was taken aback, wondering why Wang Yan was so surprised, but he nodded nonetheless.

After receiving Ning Chang's reply, Wang Yan exclaimed, "Junior Brother is truly gifted. He has reached the third level of Spirit Fusion in less than a month. I hope you will help me out when we meet again outside the sect."

Ning Chang smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "I'm not quite sure either, so I wanted to ask Master to confirm. May I ask how Senior Brother distinguishes the specific realm?"

Wang Yan looked puzzled. "It's very simple. Just sense the intensity of spiritual energy. Didn't the Grand Elder teach you that?"

Ning Chang shook his head.

Seeing this, Wang Yan continued, "The strength of spiritual power is not related to the total amount of spiritual power. Even if the spiritual power of a ninth-level Spirit Fusion cultivator is less, it will not be the same as that of a first-level Spirit Fusion cultivator. Basically, the spiritual power strength of each realm will be about 10% higher than that of the previous realm."

Each realm's spiritual energy intensity has a specific range; sensing this range allows one to discern the target's realm.

He paused, then said, "As for anything else, I can't say for sure. When you consult your master this time, you should ask him as well."

Ning Chang roughly understood the principle. "Senior brother, I have another question. What method do you use to sense the intensity of spiritual energy?"

Wang Yan stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "I can't explain it in detail, but it's roughly about projecting your spiritual energy onto the other person's body and comparing the strength of your spiritual energy with theirs."

After hearing Wang Yan's description, Ning Chang immediately tried to draw out a wisp of spiritual energy and attach it to Wang Yan's shoulder.

Thanks to his cultivation of spirit control, he now has a natural ability to project his spiritual energy.

Sensing the intensity of the spiritual energy emanating from Wang Yan's shoulder, he hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Senior brother, are you at the ninth level of Spirit Fusion?"

Wang Yan was surprised to hear Ning Chang's words. "No, I am only at the peak of the seventh level of the Spirit Fusion Realm, but my spiritual power is of the earth attribute, which is stronger than ordinary spiritual energy." He paused and then said.

"However, Junior Brother actually learned this method of probing realms based on just one of my unclear sentences. He will surely be no ordinary person in the future!"

Ning Chang replied modestly, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I just happen to have some experience in releasing spiritual energy."

Wang Yan spoke again, offering guidance: "Junior Brother Ning Chang, when probing a realm, you need to observe not only the intensity of spiritual energy, but also whether the other party's spiritual energy has attributes. Spiritual energy with attributes is slightly stronger, which often leads to an overestimation. You'll understand once you use it more."

Ning Chang cupped his hands in greeting, "Senior brother, I have learned a great deal."

After chatting for a while, the two parted with smiles.

Turning around, Ning Chang used the Azure Cloud Step to arrive at his master's door, having spent some time chatting earlier.

"Knock knock knock..."