Supreme Sword Exalt

Gu Han was stunned. “Spirit source? What is that?”

“Well, of course you wouldn’t know, Little Brother...”

Then, Chen Ping patiently began to explain.

When cultivators trained, using essence crystals and pills as aids would naturally enhance their efficiency. However, born from mineral veins, essence crystals were inevitably tainted by the earth’s qi impurities. If used excessively without restraint, one’d need to periodically refine the impurities in their body. Otherwise, it’d place a tremendous burden on their meridians, and in severe cases, mess up their foundation.

In contrast, the spirit source was extracted from essence crystals. All the impurities were refined away, leaving only the purest heaven and earth spirit qi. Using it would yield no adverse effects, making it precious. Ordinary rogue cultivators would even have heard of it, let alone use it.

Although the one in Gu Han’s hand was only the lowest-tier spirit source, it required over a thousand essence crystals to refine. Factoring in the cost of refinement, the price would double.

Double the price? What a terrible deal!

His unique meridians allowed him to naturally filter out all impurities, so this item was practically useless to him. Naturally, he didn’t value it.

However, for ordinary cultivators like Chen Ping, it could save them a significant amount of training, making it an extremely precious cultivation resource. Of course, given Chen Ping’s financial means, he wouldn’t even dare to use it under normal circumstances.

Gu Han glanced at Ah Sha. “Hmm... Ah Sha could definitely make good use of it.”

Under his guidance over the past days, Ah Sha had already successfully sensed qi and was about to officially step into cultivation. Using the spirit source to train would spare her any adverse effects.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping was curious. “Little Brother, judging by the direction you’re heading, it seems you’re going to the capital?”

Gu Han didn’t hide it. “That’s right. I’m going to the Martial Academy.”

Chen Ping was envious. “So that’s how it is. How foolish I was. Tianwu City would only limit the growth of someone with your talent and cultivation. You saved my life, Little Brother. If you need anything in the capital, feel free to find me at the Treasure Pavilion!”

“Treasure Pavilion?” Gu Han paused. “Do you buy things like beast cores and spirit herbs?”

Chen Ping was stunned. Then, he realized that the five stewards Gu Han had killed carried a large amount of resources. Combined with his own situation, a rough estimate would put the total value at over a hundred thousand essence crystals.

This is an enormous fortune!

“We do buy them, but I don’t have that many essence crystals on me...”

“So you have no credits?!”

Chen Ping quickly explained, “That’s not what I meant. When you reach the capital, you can come find me. I’m willing to buy them at a price twenty percent higher than the market rate.”

At that price, he wouldn’t make a profit and would even lose some. Nevertheless, he wanted to repay Gu Han for saving his life.

Gu Han’s eyes lit up, and even his tone changed. “Twenty percent? Brother Chen, you’re a straightforward man! Saving your life was definitely worth it!”

Chen Ping smiled bitterly.

Little Brother is excellent in every way, except for, well, his greed.

***

Divine Physician Xue’s pills were undoubtedly extraordinary. In just half a day, Chen Ping’s injuries had healed by half, so he didn’t linger and bid farewell to Gu Han.

Gu Han didn’t stop him either. Having Chen Ping follow him would be inconvenient, especially since Ah Sha’s abilities were too conspicuous. The fewer people who knew, the safer they would be.

***

Time flew by, and another half-month passed. During this time, apart from some fierce beasts, Gu Han didn’t encounter anyone else. Thanks to Ah Sha’s abilities, he found seven or eight more spirit herbs. Although they couldn’t compare to the Purple Crystal Vine, it was still a considerable harvest.

As for Ah Sha, under Gu Han’s continuous guidance, she was about to draw qi into her body and enter the path of cultivation.

In the cave, Gu Han gently placed the spirit source in Ah Sha’s hand. “Remember the qi circulation paths I taught you?”

“Mhm! I remember!”

“Good, let’s begin.”

Following Gu Han’s instructions, Ah Sha closed her eyes and slowly guided the spirit source’s pure qi into her body. After about half a day, her eyelids trembled slightly, and a layer of spirit light appeared around her. This was the sign of reaching the first stage of Qi Condensation.

“That was fast!” Gu Han was secretly astonished.

Back then, it had taken him three full days to reach the same stage. Even so, he had been hailed as a once-in-a-decade genius in Tianwu City.

Then what does that make Ah Sha? A once-in-a-century genius? As expected of someone with the Eye of Shattered Illusions bloodline!

He smiled when he saw Ah Sha entering a stable state. Then, he sealed the cave entrance and took out his resources.

There was still one month left before the Martial Academy opened. He wasn’t in a hurry as he’d traveled most of the way. Still, before reaching the capital, he’d like to cultivate until the Acupoint Unsealing realm.

As he slowly closed his eyes, the pile of essence crystals beside him flashed briefly. The spirit qi merged together, surging into his body like a violent torrent.

Before this, he had unblocked over three hundred branches of meridians. The ninth stage of Meridian Opening was only a step away.

Supplemented with such abundant spirit qi, the spirit liquid in his meridians continuously rushed toward the remaining meridians.

When he sensed that the external spirit qi was waning, he didn’t hesitate. Instead, he took out a large number of essence crystals, grabbed two spirit herbs, and stuffed them into his mouth. The spirit qi raged once again.

As meridian after meridian was unblocked, he could faintly sense the start mists hidden at the ends of them. However, there seemed to be a membrane between the mists and the meridians. Even with his sensitive spirit perception, he couldn’t fully discern the specifics of that mist.

He understood that this star mist represented the human body’s acupoints. Corresponding to the meridians, there were exactly three hundred and sixty of them. As long as he broke through this membrane and poured spirit power into them, he’d reach the Acupoint Unsealing realm.

For every acupoint unblocked, his spirit power capacity would increase. By the ninth stage of Acupoint Unsealing, it’d be twice that of the Meridian Opening realm.

And at this very moment, the last minor meridian was unblocked.

Now’s the time!

With his meridians fully unblocked, the spirit power in his body would converge, producing tremendous impact force. This was the best opportunity to break through to the Acupoint Unsealing realm. If he missed this chance, breaking through later would definitely be much harder.

Without the slightest hesitation, he focused and guided the impact force to crash against one of the membranes.

Crack!

The membrane shattered, and an ocean of spirit power rushed into the acupoint. Although the impact force had somewhat weakened, it was still present.

Crack!

Hence, before the impact force finally dissipated, he seized the momentum and broke through twenty-seven layers of membranes in one go. With spirit power flowing steadily into the acupoints, his meridians gradually emptied.

From now on, if he wanted to break through more membranes, he would’ve to rely on slow, steady effort. The Acupoint Unsealing realm was also where ordinary cultivators spent the most time.

In truth, when ordinary people broke through, the impact force could break through at most seven or eight layers of membranes before reaching its limit. However, Gu Han had achieved the supreme stage, and his spirit power had liquefied, far surpassing ordinary people.

“Whew...” He let out a breath of relief and opened his eyes.

Further cultivation wouldn’t be achieved overnight, and the remaining time simply wasn’t enough. Beside him, Ah Sha stared at him with wide eyes. She’d partially consumed the spirit source, reaching the third stage of Qi Condensation.

Gu Han felt gratified. Who would have thought that a seemingly simple-minded little girl would have such extraordinary cultivation talent?

He slowly stood up. “Let’s go. It’s about time.”

While cultivating, he had kept track of time. There were still ten days until the academy opened, and he could easily make it with his speed.

Just as he reached out, his expression suddenly changed. A layer of dust fell from the rock blocking the cave entrance.

Something’s wrong!

His heart dropped. Then, more and more dust fell, and even the rock quaked. Even Ah Sha noticed something was off.

“Young Master...”

“Go!”

Without hesitation, Gu Han shattered the cave entrance with a palm strike and rushed out with Ah Sha. At this moment, it wasn’t just the cave. The ground beneath their feet was shaking.

Suddenly, a faint roar, filled with savagery and madness, echoed from the depths of the Wild Forest.

This voice... It’s not a demonic beast. It’s a human!

“This is bad.” Gu Han’s face paled as he immediately carried Ah Sha and fled.

Although he couldn’t guess the identity of the voice’s owner, he had a vague premonition that staying any longer would bring unimaginable danger.

“Wuu!”

“Roar!”

As if confirming his suspicions, countless beast cries erupted behind him. They were agitated, restless, and tinged with fear.

It’s a demonic beast rampage!

The ground shook even more intensely. To his horror, Gu Han realized the demonic beasts were chasing him.

Damn it!

As he cursed inwardly, he frantically circulated spirit power, weaving through the dense forest. Even though he had reached the Acupoint Unsealing realm, being caught in a beast tide would mean certain death.

From the corner of his eye, he saw people emerging from the forest in all directions, fleeing desperately. He realised he wasn’t the only one being chased.

“ROAR!”

The beast cries sounded again, carrying even more agitation and fear. Gu Han started to grasp that these demonic beasts weren’t chasing him at all. They seemed to be fleeing as well, trying to escape from something.

And that something was the cause of all of this.