Chapter 223 - A Steady Pace
Lin Mu was astounded by this information. Just from this, he could imagine how rare peak grade spirit stones were. He could not help but wonder how much liquefied spirit qi he would be able to obtain from a single peak grade spirit stone.
But just as he had this thought, Xukong interrupted him.
"You shouldn't attempt to absorb spirit qi from a peak grade spirit stone at your cultivation level. It is quite likely that your meridians would not be able to handle the influx of spirit qi and may get injured. You would have to be at the core condensation realm at the very least in order to be able to use them safely." Xukong warned.
"I understand senior. Thank you for your advice." Lin Mu replied before returning to cultivating.
A surprising thing to Lin Mu was that he was actually able to refine three drops of liquid spirit qi using the basic qi pills in just one hour, compared to when it took him around ten hours to do the same without them. But another thing he noticed was that he was much more tired than normal.
'Seems like with the increased speed of refinement, I also have an increased rate of exhaustion. I need to pace myself, or there is a chance I may make a mistake while refining the spirit qi wisps to liquid form.' Lin Mu thought to himself.
Lin Mu had already learned that focus was essential while refining the liquid spirit qi as any mistake during that process could make the spirit qi go haywire and damage his meridians. In fact, whenever he failed in refining them, Lin Mu had to take a break in order to return his mental status to normal.
Even with the help of the sutras, the exhaustion of the mind was not something Lin Mu could easily escape. Thus keeping this in the mind, Lin Mu cultivated normally without putting too much effort into it and let his mind relax and restore.
~Huu~
Another hour passed before Lin Mu opened his eyes and let out a breath.
'Hmm, at least he knows his limits and does not rush mindlessly. Cultivating haphazardly will only lead to his foundation becoming unstable.' Xukong spoke inwardly with approval in his voice.
After ensuring that he was feeling fine, Lin Mu took out another pill and ate it, letting it release the spirit qi in it. He had already obtained around five hundred wisps of spirit qi by cultivating normally and only needed one more basic qi pill to restore it to the maximum.
"Let's start again…" Lin Mu uttered before beginning his refinement.
Having learned his lesson from before, Lin Mu slowed his pace by an appropriate amount and focused on the entire process. By doing this he was observing the points where he made mistakes and was also trying to find the solutions which would help him avoid making them again.
Slowly but surely, he was improving in this manner.
Two hours passed before Lin Mu had depleted all of his spirit qi wisps and in exchange had obtained three more drops of liquefied spirit qi. These three drops joined the other drops of liquefied spirit qi and continued to float around at the bottom of his dantian.
"Indeed, being steady is the way. Not only can I avoid mistakes, but I'm also able to pick up points where I can improve." Lin Mu spoke in a slightly joyful tone.
And just as he thought this, his stomach grumbled with hunger, making him realize that he hadn't eaten for over twelve hours by now.
He quickly finished his meal and set up more meat to cook while he assimilated the vital energy. Lin Mu now knew that it would be best if he always had meat ready for cooking before he cultivated, so that he would have it done by the time he finished his session.
Quickly returning to his session, Lin Mu repeated the process until it was night time and the snow had started falling again. The window was half open, which allowed some snowflakes to drift in with the wind that was blowing.
The snowflakes came and settled on his face, which made him snap out of his focus. He looked outside and realized that hours had passed by.
"Hmm, I should eat and rest. I'll continue in the Sleepscape." Lin Mu muttered to himself before having his dinner and swiftly falling asleep.
Appearing in front of the spirit apple tree in the Sleepscape, Lin Mu skillfully plucked four ripened spirit apples and stored them in the ring, before taking out a halberd to continue practicing the Thousand armament blade Scripture.
Lin Mu had learned a lot from the battle with Duan Ke and was able to pick up on the flaws that he had. Though in the process, he had also destroyed the seven weapons he had originally bought from Duan Ke. They were the first few weapons he had gotten and was thus feeling slightly sad.
But the sadness soon faded away once he realized the gains he had gotten today. Lin Mu had been able to obtain ten drops of liquefied spirit qi today. This was the largest amount he had obtained till now and had actually doubled his entire store of liquefied spirit qi, taking it to a total of twenty drops.
"Now that I know I can refine these many drops of liquefied spirit qi, I can resolutely use half of them for practicing the lost immortal's technique." Lin Mu stated to himself.
He continued practicing the thousand armament blade scripture until he felt like he had depleted half of his mental stamina.
'Let's see if there's a difference with the nameless technique or not.' Lin Mu thought to himself before sitting down below the spirit apple tree.
He then willed a drop of liquefied spirit qi to rise from his dantian and then merged it into the tissues of his stomach according to the instructions. Still, no effect could be seen from a single drop the same as before.
"Again…" He muttered.
Another drop of liquefied spirit qi rose and merge with his stomach. He repeated this five times, after which he was left with fifteen drops of liquefied spirit qi.
~Huu~
"Still no change. Perhaps, I'll see the difference when I wake up." Lin Mu muttered to himself.
Now feeling completely tired, Lin Mu decided to call it quits for today and faded away from the Sleepscape.