Chapter 157: Upgrading The Spirit Vein
Xiang Yu meticulously arranged his equipment and sorted through the herbs Meiling had provided. Among the resources were several precious sixth-grade herbs that made the alchemist part of him drool. But despite their value, he decided against refining them immediately.
Better to wait until his alchemy advanced beyond sixth grade, he reasoned. Wasting such precious materials on less than optimal success rates would be foolish.
His recent breakthrough to Sacred-grade enlightenment had boosted his base success rate from forty to fifty percent this meant he only needed to be one level above a pill’s grade to achieve perfect results. With this enhanced proficiency and the abundance of resources from Meiling, he decided it was time to upgrade the quality of pills he provided to the sect.
"The sect has been receiving ninth-grade pills for too long," he thought, carefully measuring ingredients. "Eighth-grade should be a reasonable upgrade for now."
He deliberately held back from jumping directly to seventh-grade pills. Their materials remained too scarce even with Meiling’s contributions. Better to wait until the trade deal was finalized before committing such valuable resources to regular sect distribution.
The refinement process flowed smoothly under his expert guidance. With his sixth-grade alchemy skills bolstered by his improved enlightenment, creating eighth-grade pills felt almost effortless. His fingers danced through the complex procedures with fluid grace, each movement perfectly timed and executed.
An hour passed as he worked, and hundreds of perfectly formed pills accumulated in jade containers beside him. When he noticed his experience points reaching the +50 mark, he decided to stop despite not having exhausted his allocated pill-refining time. He had already crafted numerous pills earlier for his spirit animals, pushing his accumulated experience higher than anticipated.
This extra time would serve a different purpose—investigating his earlier discovery about the spirit vein’s unusual behavior. If his theory proved correct—that the vein was absorbing spiritual weapons to fuel its own advancement—the benefits would be tremendous. A mid-stage spirit vein could sustain mid-level herbs and might even generate rare minerals within its influence.
Putting away his alchemy equipment, Xiang Yu retrieved his weapon-crafting tools. First, he forged a basic knife, placing it precisely where he had previously left the spiritual weapons. Minutes passed without any reaction from the surrounding area. The ordinary metal remained untouched, confirming part of his hypothesis—the spirit vein only hungered for items containing spiritual energy.
Next, he crafted a low-level spiritual weapon. When he placed this knife in the same location, the results were immediate and fascinating. The ground beneath the weapon softened, transforming into a strange, bubble-filled substance resembling muddy water. The spiritual knife sank gradually into this malleable earth before the surface hardened once more, leaving no trace of the valuable item.
A triumphant smile spread across Xiang Yu’s face. The spirit vein’s energy had unmistakably fluctuated during the absorption—growing minutely stronger after consuming the weapon. This confirmed his theory completely.
"If it wants to upgrade, who am I to deny it?" he thought, gathering his materials with renewed enthusiasm. He launched into a weapon-refining spree, creating spiritual weapon after spiritual weapon. Each completed item was ceremoniously tossed to the hungry spirit vein, which devoured them eagerly.
After sacrificing six spiritual weapons, Xiang Yu paused to assess the results. Though he could detect slight improvements in the ambient energy after each absorption, the changes remained incremental—nowhere near the threshold for advancement to the next stage. The spirit vein’s evolution would clearly require more time and resources than he had initially estimated.
Acknowledging these limitations, he decided to halt the experiment for the day. His priority now needed to shift to crafting weapons for the sect, as materials weren’t unlimited. Xiang Yu could almost sense a feeling of disappointment emanating from the spirit vein itself—though he quickly dismissed the thought, he was probably just imagining it.
...
Li Yao felt lightning seeping deeper into her body with each passing moment, electricity threading through her newly formed bones, weaving through her internal organs, suffusing her muscles, and crackling beneath her skin. Every part of her was being systematically reforged with lightning essence, transforming her entire being from the inside out.
The process was excruciating—each bolt that struck her from above sent waves of agony cascading through her reconstructing form. Time seemed to stretch into eternity as lightning after lightning after lightning hammered down upon her. Until suddenly... silence.
She raised her head weakly, gazing upward to see the storm clouds dispersing, sunlight beginning to break through the dissipating darkness. Was it finally over? Relief washed through her as she slumped to the ground, every muscle trembling with exhaustion.
"Did it succeed?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The Empress materialized beside her, satisfaction evident in her smile.
[It was a complete success,] she confirmed. [Now eat the spirit food to refill your core so we can start the next process.]
"Next process?" Li Yao echoed weakly, disbelief coloring her tone.
[That’s right,] the Empress responded with undisguised enthusiasm. [It’s finally time for you to inherit the Human Emperor bloodline.]
With trembling fingers, Li Yao reached for her spatial ring and retrieved the third-grade spirit food her senior brother had prepared. The moment the first morsel touched her tongue, a miracle unfolded within her depleted body. Energy surged through her meridians, washing away fatigue as if it had never existed. Her strength returned in a rushing tide, spiritual power filling her emptied reserves.
[Really top notch,] the Empress couldn’t help but compliment, her form brightening as she absorbed the soul nourishment flowing from the extraordinary meal. The spiritual essence contained within this single dish nearly matched the combined total of all nourishment she’d received since her revival.
Li Yao continued eating with growing enthusiasm, savoring each bite as energy continued building within her golden core. The concentrated spiritual essence coalesced, accumulating rapidly until—breakthrough! In a surge of power that sent ripples through the surrounding area, she advanced to the second layer of golden core, a mere minute after officially entering the Golden Core stage. She really was a genius.
"r u fr rn bruh"
Li Yao felt her energy levels stabilizing just shy of another threshold—she was literally a single step away from breaking through to the third stage of the Golden Core realm. A sigh of disappointment escaped her lips as she realized the meal’s power had been nearly, but not quite, sufficient.
[Why are you so disappointed?] the Empress inquired, her tone lightening. [If you return, your senior brother will definitely prepare another meal for you.] The prospect of experiencing such culinary perfection again was admittedly a factor in the Empress’s suggestion, though she’d never openly admit it.
"That’s right!" Li Yao’s expression brightened instantly. She straightened, erasing all traces of her earlier exhaustion. "Quick, teach me that bloodline so I can go back to senior brother!" she exclaimed, her enthusiasm radiating from every pore.
[That’s the spirit,] the Empress replied with a knowing smile.
...
Author’s Corner
Finally over.
I really went all out this time. Comment on any errors you notice and I will fix them IF I wake up.
Interesting stuff:
[Name: Li Yao]
[Realm: Body: 17th Layer; Spirit: Golden Core 2nd Layer; Mind: Level 3]
[Species: Spirit]
[Spiritual Root: Immortal-Grade Lightning, Heavenly-Grade Ice]
[Physique: Nine-Heavens Thunder Body]
[Enlightenment: Heavenly]