186: Chapter 186 Three Apertures Nourishing Soul Flower

"spirit nurturing pills from the black market?" Elder Qingmu's expression was one of great dissatisfaction. "The spirit nurturing pills that leak out to the public are basically just Medium Grade or Low Grade."

"The medicinal power of those things is impure. Taking one or two isn't a big deal, but if you take too many, Impurities will accumulate in your Divine Soul. In the end, it will actually block your path to advancement."

He let out a sigh.

"Even within the Sect, High Grade spirit nurturing pills cannot be consumed without limit. Otherwise, spirit nurturing pills would have been distributed throughout the Sect long ago; why else would the Pill Formula be kept so secret?"

"Ultimately, using Medicinal Pills to improve is just a supplementary method. It mostly relies on Cultivating Divine Soul Cultivation Techniques, using special Spirit Medicine for long-term nourishment, or waiting for your cultivation level to rise and naturally pull it up, though that path is the slowest."

Su Cheng nodded upon hearing these words, offering no defense.

However, while his Revered Master's concerns were reasonable, they did not apply to him.

The Qi of Creation inherently possessed the property of purifying all mottled spiritual energy. The creation furnace in his mind and the dao foundation furnace in his Dantian were faintly connected, operating day and night without pause. Thus, the creation dao charm was equivalent to nourishing his Sea of Consciousness at all times.

Those residual Impurities from the Medium Grade spirit nurturing pills had long since been crushed and digested cleanly.

But he couldn't say this outright.

"If Revered Master is worried, how about I open my Divine Sense for you to take a look?"

Elder Qingmu gave a huff, which served as silent permission.

Su Cheng released his Divine Sense barrier, allowing his Revered Master's perception to probe into the edge of his Sea of Consciousness.

It was only the outer layer—the part that could be projected externally; the interior certainly couldn't be probed.

But it was fine. Unless Su Cheng actively released the qiankun creation furnace, no one could sense it.

Elder Qingmu's Divine Sense swept across the outer layer of Su Cheng's Sea of Consciousness, paused for two breaths, and then scanned the entire area meticulously once more.

His brow relaxed.

This kid's Divine Soul was transparent and condensed, without a single trace of accumulated Impurities. This didn't look like it had been forced up by swallowing Medicinal Pills at all; it looked more like it was born this way.

He had taken several Medium Grade spirit nurturing pills, yet not a single trace of impurity remained in his Divine Soul?

Just what kind of Physique was this?

Elder Qingmu stared at Su Cheng for a long while, his lips twitching, before finally swallowing the question at the tip of his tongue.

Forget it, there were already more than a few strange things about this Disciple; asking about one more or one less didn't make much difference.

In any case, the result was good. As long as the Divine Soul wasn't damaged, it was fine.

"It seems I was overthinking it," Elder Qingmu's tone returned to its usual casualness. "However, touch fewer spirit nurturing pills from the black market in the future. Their quality is uneven, and most are things rejected by the Sect. If your luck is bad after taking them, it won't be your body that's harmed, but your Divine Soul Foundation."

Su Cheng cupped his hands in acknowledgment, though he hadn't expected that what circulated in the Prefecture City was actually the lowest-grade spirit nurturing pills from the Danding Sect.

"How about this, I'll go get a few High Grade spirit nurturing pills for you later. The Sect's internal stock is quite good; after all, they won't harm their own Disciples, but even those cannot be taken in excess."

Su Cheng followed up on this: "Thank you, Revered Master. I actually wanted to ask, is there any way for you to get the Pill Formula for the spirit nurturing pill? I want to study it and see if I can try refining it myself."

Elder Qingmu was amused by this and spoke with a touch of self-deprecation:

"You certainly are ambitious. The Pill Formula for the spirit nurturing pill is the lifeblood of the Alchemy Hall, and the entire Sect keeps it under tighter wraps than anything else. Never mind you, even among the Golden Core Elders, only a very few are qualified to access and refine it. I have limited friendship with that lot in the Alchemy Hall; I can't pry that door open."

Su Cheng wasn't surprised. He nodded and didn't press further.

"I can't get the Pill Formula, but I can still get a few High Grade spirit nurturing pills. I'll find someone to trade with later." Elder Qingmu's tone shifted as he suddenly patted the rock beside him. "But having said that, it's not like there's no other way without the spirit nurturing pill. There's more than one path to improving the Divine Soul."

Su Cheng's attention followed.

"Do you know of the soul-nurturing flower?"

"I've heard a little of it; it's a third-tier spirit medicine."

"The three-aperture soul nurturing flower." Elder Qingmu held up three fingers. "I have one right here on this mountain peak. I've been nurturing it for over two hundred years since I found it. Now, all three apertures are open, and its quality is top-notch."

"Actually, the name of this thing already explains its function: it is to nurture the soul."

"It's not the short, fast-acting stimulation and expansion of a spirit nurturing pill. It subtly nourishes the Divine Soul Foundation. The effect is slow, but its advantage is that it's gentle and harmless. It's most suitable for a Cultivator like you who has a solid Foundation and takes the long-term approach."

Su Cheng's interest was piqued; his Revered Master had something new again.

"Revered Master, what does 'Three-Aperture' mean?"

"soul-nurturing flowers are ranked by the number of apertures." Elder Qingmu rarely felt the urge to teach, so he counted on his fingers to explain in detail. "One aperture corresponds to a growth cycle of three hundred years."

"One aperture is the first tier, two apertures take six hundred years and make it second tier, and once it opens to three apertures and reaches nine hundred years, only then can it be called a third-tier spirit medicine."

"The higher the number of apertures, the purer the soul-nurturing spirituality it contains."

"Going up, there are four apertures and even higher... However, the fourth and seventh apertures are major bottlenecks. Not every soul-nurturing flower can successfully cross them. Many get stuck at three apertures for hundreds of years, unable to open the fourth."

Speaking of this, Elder Qingmu thought of his own treasure and sighed.

"For mine, its luck likely ends at three apertures. To break through the fourth aperture barrier, relying solely on time is pure fantasy. You'd have to pour in massive amounts of high-tier resources, and it depends even more on whether the heavens grant the Opportunity and creation. In this lifetime, it will just honestly remain a top-tier third-tier spirit medicine."

He paused and continued: "After all, those that can grow to four apertures are no exaggeration to call one in ten thousand; they are genuine fourth-tier precious medicines. Four to six apertures is one stage, and if it reaches seven apertures and above..."

Elder Qingmu shook his head.

"A Nine-Aperture Soul-Nurturing Flower is a top-tier fifth-tier Spirit Medicine. Whether there is even one in the entire hundred provinces of the Eastern Wasteland is debatable."

Su Cheng ran this system through his mind.

One aperture for three hundred years, three apertures for nine hundred years... every aperture opened further up was a heavenly chasm.

Then the three-aperture one in his Revered Master's hands was already a decent bit of wealth.

"Does Revered Master mean to give this soul-nurturing flower to Disc—"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Elder Qingmu's hands waved in front of his chest like a windmill as he hurriedly said: "Who said I was giving it to you? This is my lifeblood! Do you know how many Elders have brought good things to trade with me, only to be flatly rejected?"

Su Cheng was choked up, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"My meaning is, after you finish infusing spiritual energy into the dragon beard vine on the mountain peak every day, you should meditate beside the soul-nurturing flower for half an hour."

"The spirituality emitted by that flower has a natural nourishing effect on the Divine Soul of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. You don't need to pluck it for Alchemy; just sitting quietly and breathing beside it is useful."

"Of course, the effect isn't as immediate as directly taking a spirit nurturing pill, but over time, your Divine Soul Foundation will be much thicker than Cultivators of the same rank."

He glared at Su Cheng and added specifically: "You're just sitting nearby to share in its benefits, nothing more. You aren't allowed to even touch it, do you hear me? This is only because it's you; I wouldn't even let others get close."

Su Cheng suppressed a smile and cupped his hands: "Disciple has noted it."

"Go on, go on." Elder Qingmu jumped down from the rock and squatted back in front of the dragon beard vine to fiddle with the soil, muttering to himself, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have asked. To think he'd set his sights on my soul-nurturing flower the moment he opened his mouth, this little brat..."

Su Cheng turned and left, his figure disappearing around the bend of the mountain path.