I will be stronger after the remake

"Oh no, my cleverness has backfired. The trigger condition is the use of spiritual power!"

In an instant, the hidden compartments on the wall opened one after another like a honeycomb, and mechanical beasts of various shapes and sizes filed out.

These mechanical beasts exuded a cold metallic luster. Some were shaped like birds, with the edges of their wings gleaming with a cold light, like sharp blades; others resembled spiders, with flexible leg joints that made a chilling "creaking" sound as they moved.

Leading the group was a massive mechanical Qilin, more than two people tall. Its eyes gleamed with an eerie red light, and its body was engraved with numerous runes. These runes formed a kind of magical circuit, causing a faint energy halo to surround its body.

Yuan Ji remained vigilant throughout. The moment he noticed the anomaly, he struck first, sweeping his halberd horizontally. The halberd blade was wrapped in a high-speed rotating airflow, shredding all the mechanical beasts it touched. After several sweeps, most of them were destroyed, with only a few escaping the attack.

Without wasting time chasing the smaller mechanical beasts, Yuan Ji turned and pounced on the most threatening mechanical Qilin, thrusting his halberd straight into its face.

clang!

With a crisp metallic clang, the Azure Dragon Halberd was deflected by the energy halo, leaving only a mark on its opponent. Yuan Ji, on the other hand, was so shocked that his tiger's mouth went numb.

"so hard!"

The mechanical Qilin seemed to be enraged, raising its head and roaring to the sky with a deafening sound like a booming bell. Then, it spewed out a thick beam of energy from its mouth.

As the ultimate speed in the universe, the speed of light naturally leaves no time for anyone to react. However, Yuan Ji, with his extraordinary martial arts intuition, had already anticipated the direction of his opponent's attack, dodged in advance, and then pressed forward, unleashing a storm of rapid slashes in an attempt to find the opponent's vulnerable joints.

All that was heard was a series of clanging sounds. Apart from leaving a group of spots on the mechanical Qilin, it did not cause any further damage and could not break through the energy shield at all.

What puzzled Yuan Ji slightly was that when he stabbed the other person's buttocks, a rune would dim but would light up again in an instant, without any change.

Meanwhile, the surviving small mechanical beasts also launched an attack.

Several bird-shaped mechanical beasts flew over first, and with the flapping of their wings, countless sharp wind blades attacked Yuan Ji's back. Tang Ping had just finished casting the previous wood-type spiritual spell and hurriedly summoned tree branches and vines to defend himself, but several wind blades still grazed his arm, leaving bloodstains.

Immediately, spider-like mechanical beasts scrambled over, spitting out tough steel wires from their mouths to entangle the two of them.

Yuan Ji, with her eyes and ears open, promptly activated her spiritual energy to manipulate the airflow and create a whirlwind to disperse the steel wires. However, in that moment of distraction, the mechanical Qilin seized the opportunity to rush forward and crash into her. She hurriedly used her halberd to block, using the bent halberd to deflect the impact, but she was still knocked away, her blood surging all over her body.

Tang Ping frowned and said, "Troublesome. We can't use much of our spiritual energy to deal with these mechanical puppets."

His "Campfire Fox Cry" certainly wouldn't work on puppets that lack cognitive consciousness, and Yuan Ji's "Tiger's Gaze" would also be unable to create a mental deterrent on a group of inanimate objects. The same applies to the curse of the Nine Sons' Nether Bell. Based on the defensive capabilities displayed by the enemy, it is estimated that most spiritual arts would be unable to cause any damage.

Of course, the weaknesses of these mechanical beasts are also very obvious: they are slow to react and clumsy in their movements. Moreover, they have been given the order to protect the jade box and will not go too far. As long as the two of them escape the room, they can easily get rid of them.

But their goal was to obtain the treasure, and they couldn't give up easily.

Yuan Ji couldn't help but say, "This kind of thing is too unscientific. Without consciousness, how do they observe and take action? Relying on artificial intelligence? Even if it's based on the impression of collective consciousness, does everyone think that products from the Qin Dynasty could possess artificial intelligence? Is that reasonable?"

Tang Ping said, "Haven't you heard of 'Gongshu Carving the Magpie'? 'Gongshu carved bamboo and wood into a magpie, and when it was finished, it flew for three days without landing.' A wooden bird can fly in the sky for three days, and it is powered entirely by hand-carving. Artificial intelligence is nothing compared to that."

He dodged the attacks while searching for a way to break through.

"Judging from the previous stone gate mechanisms, these mechanical beasts will most likely also have puzzles set up, and they won't be too difficult. We need to find the right approach to solve them, hmm..."

Yuan Ji re-entangled the mechanical Qilin, while Tang Ping was responsible for eliminating the remaining smaller mechanical beasts. Both of them had consumed a great deal of spiritual energy and had to use it sparingly.

During the struggle, Yuan Ji stabbed the mechanical Qilin in the buttocks again, and the rune went dark again, but when she hit other parts of the body, the rune lit up again.

Tang Ping saw this scene and noticed that the rune was exactly the same as the water element pattern on the stone gate. He suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. It's the same solution. No, the puzzle of the stone gate is actually a clue. If we use brute force to destroy the stone gate, we will be helpless against the mechanical beast now."

While dodging the beam attacks, Yuan Ji urged, "Stop analyzing and just give me your conclusion!"

"Actually, it's about lighting up the runes on the Qilin one by one according to the five elements' mutual restraint: water, fire, metal, wood, and earth. If the order is wrong, the whole process will reset, and the lit runes will go dark again. The runes corresponding to the five elements are the patterns on the stone gate. The first rune representing water is on the Qilin's buttocks, the second representing fire is on its right front leg, and the third represents metal..."

Tang Ping tried hard to recall the five elements pattern he had seen before. After advancing to a psionicist, his memory had also improved a lot. Although he hadn't reached the point of photographic memory, he could still recall what he had seen just a few minutes ago.

He searched for the corresponding runes on the mechanical Qilin according to his memory and pointed them out one by one. Yuan Ji attacked the corresponding positions as instructed, lighting up the runes one by one.

Soon, the four runes symbolizing water, fire, metal, and wood were lit up, but the last earth rune could not be found.

Yuan Ji had been fighting for a long time and had exhausted a lot of energy. At this moment, due to the decline in physical strength, his reaction had become sluggish. He was careless and was hit on the arm by the mechanical Qilin with its horn. With a "crack", he was sent flying and crashed into the wall.

When she stood up again, her arm hung down unnaturally, as if it had been broken.

But she neither cried out in pain nor urged Tang Ping to continue wielding her halberd to entangle the mechanical Qilin. Instead, she adjusted her tactics, relying more on intuitive predictions rather than reactions to dodge attacks.

Tang Ping was anxious, but she knew she had to stay calm, suppress her worries about Yuan Ji, and force herself to think hard.

"I can't find the Earth Virtue rune no matter how hard I look. Could it be that I'm wrong, and the Five Elements' mutual restraint isn't the correct solution, but a deliberate trap to mislead me? But if this is the wrong method, what is the correct solution? There doesn't seem to be any more information to suggest?"

"No, no, the image of Qin Shi Huang and the Stone Gate riddle both come from the common understanding of the collective consciousness. Riddles that suit the public's taste should not be too complicated or insidious. They should be like the kind of short stories in 'Story Collection' where you solve the riddle with a flash of inspiration."

"The fifth rune that I can't find... Reverse the thought process, it's not that I can't find it, but that it's hidden somewhere I can't see it, in a place that the other party can hide it in—I understand!"

Following this line of thought, Tang Ping suddenly had an answer and exclaimed, "It's the sole of its foot! The final rune is on its sole!"

Which foot?

Tang Ping didn't know which foot it was either. There might be clues at the scene that hadn't been found yet, but Yuan Ji was in grave danger and didn't have time to search slowly anymore. However, he couldn't just guess. If he guessed wrong, the program would reset, the first four runes would dim, and he would have to click them all over again.

For the two who were exhausted and injured, this was an impossible task.

He thought for a moment, then immediately took out the crimson feather from his pocket and tossed it to Yuan Ji, saying, "Take this feather and trust your intuition to choose one!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ji opened his mouth and bit the flying feather. At the same time, he lowered his body and thrust his Azure Dragon Halberd like a dragon emerging from the sea, aiming at the mechanical Qilin's left forelimb.

At this moment, the mechanical Qilin once again gathered a powerful surge of spiritual energy, about to unleash a beam of light towards Yuan Ji.

Instead of dodging, Yuan Ji thrust his halberd blade close to the ground under the mechanical Qilin's foot, and then forcefully flicked it upwards!

Almost simultaneously, the mechanical Qilin unleashed a beam of light, but because its forelimbs were forced up and its head was tilted upwards involuntarily, the beam grazed Yuan Ji and swept away.

Tang Ping noticed with his sharp eyes that the symbol of the Earth element was clearly engraved on the sole of the mechanical Qilin's left forelimb, and it was rapidly fading.

Once its left forelimbs landed again, the aura surrounding the mechanical Qilin dissipated, and it stood motionless, the oppressive feeling gone, clearly indicating that its energy supply had been cut off.

"That was a close call," Tang Ping said to Yuan Ji with lingering fear. "You took too much risks."

"It just looks dangerous, but my intuition tells me it can't hit me, so it's not really risky," Yuan Ji said dismissively.

"But it scared me half to death."

"You have to believe that I will be in no danger, just as I believe that you will definitely find the answer. We are a match made in heaven. You take care of the thinking, and I will take care of the action."

Faced with the other party's candor, Tang Ping was speechless. He was about to collect the spoils of this decryption when his expression changed as he turned around.

The final beam of light emitted by the mechanical Qilin struck the jade box, creating two gaps in it.

"Hopefully the items weren't destroyed, otherwise it would all have been a waste of time."

Tang Ping hurriedly stepped forward and opened the jade box, where he found a round pill inside. The pill emitted a soft and magical five-colored light, which seemed to correspond to the five elements of energy. He could sense that it contained the spiritual power of the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

Even setting aside its inherent spiritual power, its appearance alone tells you that this thing is extraordinary. The surface of the pill is shrouded in a faint halo, very similar to the halo emanating from the mechanical Qilin. This halo, combined with the multicolored light, makes the pill look even more otherworldly, as if it came from a fairyland, exuding an irresistible mysterious attraction.

The moment Tang Ping saw it, he felt an irresistible urge to swallow it. It was as if a voice in the dark was telling him that this was the elixir of immortality from Chinese mythology, which could grant ascension to heaven in broad daylight.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why Chang'e had to steal Hou Yi's elixir of immortality; she simply couldn't resist!

"what happened?"

Hearing Yuan Ji's concerned inquiry, Tang Ping immediately came to her senses. Just as she was about to explain, she saw the pill begin to melt, and a tangible spiritual energy emanated from it, its fragrance ethereal and intoxicating. Just smelling it made her feel that her cultivation had improved.

"Damn it! Although that energy beam didn't directly hit the elixir, it damaged its protective layer and may have also caused an imbalance of the five elements due to the high temperature. The elixir has started to melt."

"Ah, what should I do?"

Yuan Ji stepped forward, looked down at the pills that were fusing, and instantly felt the deep-rooted allure of them, unable to look away.

After a moment's thought, Tang Ping said, "Before the medicine has completely dissolved, you eat half and I'll eat the other half."

As the pill began to melt, its allure lessened, and Yuan Ji quickly resisted the temptation, asking worriedly, "Is it safe to eat it directly? What if this isn't the Xu Fu elixir the New Realm Alliance spoke of, or what if the effects of the Xu Fu elixir aren't what he described at all? Could there be any danger?"

“The chances are slim, but weighing the pros and cons, it’s worth the gamble.” Tang Ping made a quick decision, grabbing Zhu Honglingyu and saying, “My intuition didn’t warn me that I was in danger, and we also have the blessing of good luck.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ji replied without hesitation, "I trust your judgment."

Without further hesitation, the two picked up the melting pill, including the melted liquid, and each swallowed half of it.

Chapter 130 Promotion to the Third Tier

Just standing next to the jade box, Tang Ping could feel a peculiar energy fluctuation. This fluctuation was like a gentle breeze brushing against her body, causing a slight tingling sensation on her skin. It was as if every pore was cheering and greedily absorbing this mysterious power.

As soon as the pill entered his stomach, he instantly felt his blood and qi become more active. His remaining spiritual power expanded rapidly like an inflated balloon. A strong heat flowed from his abdomen throughout his body. His previously tired body was now full of power, as if he could punch through the wall in front of him.

On the other side, Yuan Ji had a similar feeling, but she regretted it after taking it: "This medicine can increase spiritual power, but it is not very useful to me. I should have left it all for you. Maybe it could have helped you advance on the spot. I was just tempted by the aroma of the medicine and lost my mind. I completely forgot about it."

Tang Ping originally wanted to offer some words of comfort, but a tingling sensation permeated her five senses, nourishing every cell in her body. She let out an excited cry, her consciousness was elevated, and the sensation spread outwards, leaving her speechless for a moment.

It's hard to describe this feeling in words. If I had to, it would be like opening up the Ren and Du meridians in a martial arts novel, or cultivating the Nine Yin Manual or the Marrow Cleansing Manual, which expands and unblocks the meridians and improves one's physical aptitude—although the power system of martial arts has nothing to do with psionicists.

Yuan Ji noticed Tang Ping's unusual behavior and was about to speak to her to express his concern when suddenly a powerful force surged through her body. Her body began to tremble violently, veins bulged on her skin, muscles undulated like waves, and bones made cracking sounds, as if she were undergoing a reshaping process.

She uncontrollably entered a state of spiritual resonance, and it was a deep resonance. Not only did she develop tiger ears, hair, and vertical pupils, but she also grew a tail, an organ that humans do not have. Her body size also increased significantly, and she became a beastman, stretching her clothes so much that they almost tore apart.

In my mind, I saw a vision of a tiger tearing its shackles apart!

In an instant, Yuan Ji's eyes turned a deep gold, gleaming with a majestic light. She opened her mouth and let out a deafening roar. The spiritual energy surrounding her was now drawn to her by a powerful force, rushing towards her.

Tang Ping was jolted back several steps by the roar, enduring the tingling sensation in her body, and exclaimed in surprise, "This is... a spiritual advancement! He Fengsheng was right, Xu Fu's elixir can help break through realms, but can it even break through the theoretical limit?"

As spiritual energy continued to flow in, Yuan Ji's spirit, "Tiger Demon - Tiger Vanguard," underwent a transformation. Originally, its appearance was the same as described in "Journey to the West," with "a blood-stained, skinny body, red and slender curved legs; fiery sideburns, bushy eyebrows; four white steel teeth, and a pair of gleaming golden eyes." It held two copper swords, majestic and menacing, a typical tiger-type beastman.

At this moment, Tiger Vanguard sheathed his twin swords, his imposing aura subdued, and his body radiated a hazy golden light. He donned armor similar to that of a spirit-level "Heavenly General," and the ferocity in his eyes was replaced by an arrogant and superior demeanor, clearly showing that divinity had replaced bestiality.

Tang Ping subconsciously activated the "Three-Eyed Spiritual Radiance".

[Character: Yuan Ji]

[Lingge: Tiger God - Tiger Vanguard]

[Psionic Abilities: Wind Spirit Body, Tiger Eyes and Divine Might, Commanding Ghosts, Tiger God Worship, Tiger-Shaped Substitute]

[Wind Spirit Body: You can manipulate the surrounding airflow at will and transform your body into wind element, but be careful, maintaining elemental form for a long time will gradually cause you to lose your humanity]

[Tiger's Eye Might: You can infuse your vision with mental energy to deliver a mental shock to any target identified as hostile.]

[Commanding Ghosts: Intelligent beings you kill will become ghosts, at your command]

[Tiger God Worship: You have obtained the Tiger God's divine status. All feline creatures will unconsciously develop a sense of worship towards you and be willing to obey your commands.]

[Tiger-shaped Stand: You can make any object of similar size take on your appearance, swap spaces with you, and briefly distort other people's perceptions.]

A moment later, Yuan Ji completed her advancement, and her spiritual energy fluctuations stabilized. She glanced at her hands, clenched them, and looked at them with disbelief. With a casual wave, a wind blade slashed through the air, leaving a hideous crack on the wall.

She could do this in the past, but it required the use of psychic energy to activate spiritual power. Now, as long as she has the corresponding thought, the surrounding air will carry it out on its own.

By this time, Tang Ping had also recovered from the effects of the medicine and was able to move again.

He didn't get promoted. After all, Yuan Ji had been stuck at the second stage for many years and had already accumulated enough experience, while his performance progress was less than halfway done. Half a pill of Xu Fu's magic medicine was obviously not enough to help him make such a big leap.

Tang Ping also felt a significant change. The world in front of him suddenly became incredibly clear, as if it had been processed by a high-definition filter. He could even see the dust particles suspended in the air, and the shape and texture of each dust particle were clearly visible. The ancient murals on the distant wall, with their fine brushstrokes and pigment particles, were also clearly discernible.

In addition to vision, the other five senses were also enhanced.

He could hear the subtle friction sounds produced by the stones in the wall due to the vibrations of the mausoleum. He could accurately capture the force and frequency of each friction. Yuan Ji's light breathing sounded as clear to his ears as a breeze rustling through the trees. He could even distinguish the subtle rhythmic changes caused by the other party's surprise.

He could keenly distinguish the dusty smell in the air, the unique decaying smell of the ancient tomb, and the faint medicinal fragrance of the remaining elixir. He could even perceive the distribution of different substances in the surrounding environment through his sense of smell, as if he had an invisible map of smells.

"I never imagined that one day I would experience the transformative power described in martial arts novels..."

Tang Ping suddenly thought of a possibility, raised his hand to gather spiritual power, and tried to cast the basic fire-type spiritual technique "Flying Star".

Soon, a leaping flame appeared in his palm. He flicked it lightly and flung it against the wall, where it exploded.

The process of casting the spell was still somewhat bitter, unlike the easy and pleasant experience of water-based magic, but he succeeded in the end. You should know that in the past, when he cast fire-based magic, he would be resisted by the fire element.

He calmed his joyful mood and exchanged experiences with Yuan Ji, discovering that their gains were quite different.

Yuan Ji's physique and five senses have also improved, but that is due to the improvement brought about by advancing to the third stage. His spiritual aptitude is still the same as before, and he will still be resisted when driving elements he is not good at. On the contrary, his spiritual power has increased by a lot, far exceeding the level of the initial stage of the third stage.

Tang Ping, on the other hand, only saw his spiritual power increase by a small amount. He couldn't help but wonder, "Is it because Xu Fu's elixir produces different effects depending on the patient's constitution, or is it that it is originally divided into two effects: improving constitution and enhancing spiritual power, but when we each take half, I get more of the former and you get more of the latter?"

Yuan Ji said, "I think it's the latter. The same medicine can produce different effects depending on the individual's constitution. Even if things in the psychic world often don't follow logic, this setting is too far-fetched."

“I also think the latter possibility is more likely.” Tang Ping took out the crimson feather and said, “Gu Linglong did not lie to me. She can indeed bring good luck. You and I both got what we needed.”

Yuan Ji said, "If I had known, I would have given them all to you. That way, you might have been able to advance directly to the third stage."

"Don't talk nonsense. If it could only be given to one person, it would definitely be you. My spiritual power is still growing rapidly and will break through to the third level sooner or later. I only take the elixir to save time, but giving it to you can break the limitation."

At this point, Tang Ping paused, then asked doubtfully, "Speaking of which, is the limitation of a unique spiritual personality on reputation absolutely true?"

Yuan Ji replied without hesitation, "Since I have advanced to the third level, it naturally proves that it is not absolute."

Tang Ping explained, "That's not what I meant. The 'limitation' I was referring to was whether you could break through by cultivating on your own. The reason you advanced to the third stage, was it because Xu Fu's elixir broke this limitation, or was it because you could have broken through by cultivating, but the difficulty was so high that most people gave up and didn't try to challenge it? Xu Fu's elixir saved you that time. In other words, was the effect of Xu Fu's elixir a quantitative change or a qualitative change?"

Yuan Ji thought for a moment and said, "I think it's the special nature of Xu Fu's elixir that broke the limit. After all, in the past, some unique spiritual energy users tried to break through by taking medicines to enhance their spiritual power after reaching the limit, but without exception, they all failed. Even if the effects of these pills are not as good as Xu Fu's elixir, they were just one step away from the limit. Logically speaking, as long as they can improve their cultivation a little, they can meet the conditions for advancement."

"That makes sense, but unfortunately there was only one elixir of immortality from Xu Fu, so it can't be verified..."

The two exchanged a glance and immediately split up to begin a detailed search.