Bamboo Mound

At one point, he suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes brimming with joy.

"That's the second stage of Spirit Gathering!"

"It's not that difficult," he clicked his tongue.

The Spirit Gathering Realm is divided into nine levels. You can advance to the next level as long as you have enough spiritual energy in your dantian.

The effects of the pill had worn off, but the spirit stone in his hand had only shrunk slightly.

As he relaxed, a stench suddenly assaulted his nose.

"Ugh~" He retched a few times, but thankfully there was nothing to vomit.

Only then did I realize that my body was covered in a layer of black grime, which was emitting a foul stench.

"There really is such a thing!" Although it's reasonable for impurities to be expelled from the body, Ning Chang was unwilling for such a thing to happen to him.

"Xiao Li!" he shouted, indicating that this situation should be handled by a servant.

Upon hearing the shout, Xiao Li arrived at the door in just a few breaths.

Upon seeing Ning Chang, he already knew what had happened; he had witnessed this situation many times during his years working at the Qingyun Sect.

In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, two bathtubs and warm water were ready.

He dismissed Xiao Li, took off his clothes and threw them outside, then soaked himself in the tub.

After rubbing off all the impurities from his body, he got up and went into another bucket to cleanse himself.

Before long, he had finished bathing, dried himself off, and stood in front of the bronze mirror.

Looking at her slender self in the mirror: fair and flawless skin, as smooth as jade, barely managing to maintain a figure that doesn't reveal her bones.

"I thought they'd just give me abs, but what good are abs now, haha..." Ning Chang said self-deprecatingly.

Beside her were new clothes that Xiao Li had prepared in advance. After changing into them, they were exactly the same as the previous ones.

Pushing open the door, Xiao Li, who was waiting outside, bowed to Ning Chang and then went inside to tidy up.

After walking around the yard, he discovered that the bamboo he had asked Xiao Li to plant had already sprouted!

Looking at the white powder mixed in the soil, Ning Chang called over the busy Xiao Li Han and asked:

"How come this bamboo sprouted so quickly? Is it because of this powder?"

Xiao Li replied solicitously, "Young Master, this bamboo is an improved spiritual plant that grows rapidly. In addition, this spiritual fertilizer can accelerate the growth of the crop."

It can grow to half a person's height in a day, and reach its maximum height in five days!

Ning Chang was surprised, as his understanding of spiritual energy was once again refreshed.

"It can even change the growth pattern!" But then he thought:

"No, if there are wood-attribute spiritual roots, then there must be many methods to accelerate plant growth!"

Having lost interest in the spirit fertilizer, Ning Chang returned to bed. This time, he had already reached the second level of the Spirit Gathering stage and could try the Fire Flame Heart Technique again!

After sitting cross-legged and reviewing the steps of the Fire Flame Heart Sutra once more, Ning Chang began his third attempt.

"What's going on?" After the spiritual energy finally returned to his dantian, Ning Chang felt that there was no change in the spiritual energy. If the issue of realm was also ruled out, Ning Chang really couldn't think of any other reason for the error.

"Let's go ask Master." Ning Chang glanced at the sky; it was just past noon, around 1-3 PM.

Following the path down the mountain yesterday, Ning Chang arrived at his master's courtyard gate.

After knocking on the door, the master's voice answered from inside the courtyard.

He then pushed open the door and went inside.

Master was seen lying on a recliner, taking a nap under a peach tree. He slowly opened his eyes when Ning Chang approached.

He first sensed Ning Chang's cultivation level and found that he was only at the second level of the Spirit Gathering stage, which was far from what he had predicted.

He believed that his disciple Ning Changzai would advance to at least the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering stage after a day of cultivation, and even if he studied the Fire Flame Heart Method, he would reach the fourth level, after all, his talent was there.

However, Ning Chang's cultivation level of barely reaching the second rank disappointed him somewhat.

"What is it?" the master asked slowly.

Ning Chang then explained the problem he had with the Fire Flame Heart Technique.

Upon hearing this, the master looked incredulous and instructed Ning Chang to activate the power again so he could see where the problem lay.

Upon hearing his master's command, Ning Chang sat down cross-legged and, after feeling the spiritual power his master had injected into his body, began to circulate the Fire Flame Heart Technique once again.

...When the spiritual energy flowed back to his dantian, the master, sensing that the spiritual energy had not changed, also fell into deep thought.

In his perception, Ning Chang's circuit was flawless, even somewhat skillful, but the spiritual energy remained unchanged.

He had only seen this situation when other attribute-based spiritual root practitioners cultivated the Fire Heart Technique.

Ke Ning's tests clearly showed that she had a top-grade fire spirit root, and she had never made a mistake when testing spirit stones!

The master stood up and paced back and forth in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Ning Chang watched his master's figure, feeling somewhat anxious.

Suddenly, the master stopped, as if he had thought of something, and turned to Ning Chang, saying, "Have you taken any other pills or spiritual items?"

Ning Chang thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "I took a pill this morning, and thanks to that pill, my cultivation level increased by two levels."

Upon hearing this, the master's expression changed drastically: "You mean you took the Spirit Gathering Pill before you even reached a certain cultivation level?!"

He rushed to Ning Chang's side and injected a wisp of spiritual energy into Ning Chang's body.

As spiritual energy circulated within Ning Chang's body, his anxious expression relaxed for a moment, then gradually turned into shock.

"Fortunately, your meridians weren't damaged... which means you withstood the effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill even without cultivation! And your meridians weren't even injured?!"

He then realized that it wasn't that Ning Chang's talent was inferior, but that Ning Chang hadn't cultivated last night and only started this morning. He had refined a Spirit Gathering Pill in just one morning and advanced to the second level of Spirit Gathering!

"What an astonishing talent!"

Seeing her master's blank expression, Ning Chang asked timidly, "Master... is it a problem with this Spirit Gathering Pill?"

Upon hearing Ning Chang's voice, the master snapped out of his daze and shook his head, saying, "That's impossible. The Spirit Gathering Pill is merely an auxiliary medicine for cultivation. It's my fault for forgetting to tell you before."

This Spirit Gathering Pill should only be taken after reaching the third stage of Spirit Gathering, when the meridians are sufficiently resilient; otherwise, it can easily damage the meridians and even the foundation of one's being!

"However, since you have the ability to take the Spirit Gathering Pill even before you reach the third level, you don't need to wait until the third level. Just be more careful next time."

Ning Chang nodded after hearing this, and then said, "Master, I tried the Fire Flame Heart Technique before taking the Spirit Gathering Pill, but I failed as well."

The master was equally puzzled. After pondering for a while, he comforted Ning Chang, saying:

"I have never encountered this situation before, but don't be discouraged. Spiritual power is just icing on the cake. I believe that with your talent, you can ignore these differences!"

"Just continue your normal cultivation. Once you reach the seventh level of Spirit Gathering, come back to me, and I'll take you to choose a martial art."

Ning Chang listened and stopped worrying about the Flame Heart Technique, as increasing his attack power was of no use to him at the moment.

He bowed to his master, then got up and walked out of the courtyard.

The moment he closed the courtyard gate, his master took a step out and disappeared into the courtyard.