41: Cleansing essence and marrow

[Ding! Successful apprenticeship. Successfully returned to the Sect, triggering a Disciple Enhancement Mission.]

[Take Zhang Hai for Marrow Cleansing and Physique Refinement. Upon mission completion, Zhang Hai will be rewarded with Physique activation, Luck unlocking, and an exclusive Cultivation Technique.]

Li Haotian heard the prompt from the System and, without hesitation, brought Zhang Hai to a pool deep within the Back Mountain.

Here, large amounts of mist continuously rose into the air, and the light blue spring water below seemed to be emitting strange white Qi.

The Spiritual Qi concentration around this spring water was significantly higher than outside. Zhang Hai curiously looked around, wondering why his Revered Master had brought him here.

"Zhang Hai, this Marrow Cleansing Pool is a treasure of my Spirit Gathering Peak. It can perform Marrow Cleansing and Physique Refinement, which not only improves your Comprehension Ability but also strengthens your Spiritual Root. A person only gets one chance in their life to absorb it. It might be painful, but I hope you can persevere."

Li Haotian pointed to the pool in front of them, motioning for Zhang Hai to strip off his clothes and get in.

After hearing the introduction, Zhang Hai generally understood the function of the pool, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

Changing someone's initial innate talent, Meridians, Spiritual Root, and similar attributes undoubtedly requires high-grade Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Items.

Even wanting to slightly improve the quality of one's Spiritual Root would require a vastly different cost.

Zhang Hai did not hesitate. Wearing only a pair of shorts, he slowly entered the Marrow Cleansing Pool. Although the pool was outdoors, it did not feel cold; instead, it had a warm aura.

Li Haotian motioned for him to sit down and begin absorbing.

After sitting down, the liquid in the Marrow Cleansing Pool just covered Zhang Hai's abdomen. This liquid seemed to be connected to a place underground.

After a period of time, the liquid inside would automatically increase, with its efficacy remaining unchanged.

Zhang Hai took a deep breath and began to circulate the Cultivation Technique he had learned previously. Soon, some white liquid appeared in his mind—it was the white mist emanating from the spring water.

This mist slowly integrated into his limbs and bones, continuously scouring his Meridians.

Some Impurities were expelled from his body surface as he absorbed the liquid. The spring water completely corroded these Impurities, transforming them into pure Spiritual Qi, which was then reabsorbed into Zhang Hai's body.

Zhang Hai only felt warmth throughout his body, as if he were in a hot spring. His Dantian and Meridians widened several times over at this moment, and his Spiritual Root seemed to have been sublimated.

Li Haotian watched from afar as his Disciple showed a happy expression, and he subconsciously shook his head. Did this guy think this was a comfortable experience?

Sure enough, the next moment, the look of relief on Zhang Hai's face suddenly turned solemn.

The white stream of Qi that had just been warm instantly turned into scorching magma flowing into his body.

A heart-wrenching pain came from his Meridians. He who desires the crown must bear its weight; improving one's foundation inevitably requires paying a certain price.

Zhang Hai grit his teeth and absorbed the white stream of Qi with all his might, knowing that the more he could absorb, the better it would be for him.

Before long, Zhang Hai felt he had reached his limit. He abruptly stood up, leaped onto the bank, and gasped for air.

At this moment, Zhang Hai's body was crimson red. As if he had gained some enlightenment, he sat cross-legged on the ground.

Li Haotian listened to the System prompt beside him, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

[Ding! Detected successful Marrow Cleansing by Zhang Hai. Physique activated.]

[Disciple Zhang Hai has activated the Beast Taming Saint Physique. He can understand the language of any animal, is naturally close to Spirit Beasts, and can simultaneously possess three natal beasts. When the natal beasts Cultivate with their Revered Master, the Cultivation speed increases.]

[Rewarding Host: personal Cultivation speed +10%]

[Acquired the Disciple's exclusive Cultivation Technique, Beast Transformation Art. It has been automatically comprehended by the Host.]

[Disciple Zhang Hai has activated the Gluttonous Luck. He can convert food consumption into his own Cultivation.]

The series of prompts left Li Haotian somewhat stunned. This Luck truly was a good thing. If only he had it too—being able to increase Cultivation just by eating. Who wouldn't want such a benefit?

Zhang Hai also stood up from the ground at this time and excitedly put on his clothes. He clearly felt that he had become somewhat different.

"How do you feel?"

Li Haotian smiled and looked at Zhang Hai. Zhang Hai nodded excitedly.

"I feel like my thoughts have suddenly become much clearer. Things I couldn't understand before, I can now comprehend. My Comprehension Ability must have improved significantly, and my Spiritual Root, Meridians, and Dantian have all been greatly enhanced!"

Zhang Hai had previously wondered because his Revered Master said his Disciples all had the potential of a Great Emperor, but he clearly lacked such innate talent. After going through the Marrow Cleansing Pool just now, he believed he should have also become one of the most top-tier Prodigies.

With this Dantian, Spiritual Root, and Physique, how could his Cultivation be slow?

With his Revered Master guiding his Cultivation, perhaps he could step into the ranks of Great Emperors in a thousand years.

Zhang Hai excitedly returned to the Front Courtyard. Su Yao had already prepared the meal, placing a pot of white porridge and a bowl of salted vegetables in front of him.

It wasn't suitable to buy groceries and cook today, so they simply cooked some rice porridge and salted vegetables.

Zhang Hai originally wanted to refuse, but thinking that eating with his Revered Master and Senior Sister would help strengthen their relationships, he sat down anyway.

Zhang Hai picked up a mouthful of salted vegetables and put it into his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up because he discovered that the radish contained pure Spiritual Qi, which expanded through his body to his limbs and bones, clearly becoming part of his foundation.

"From now on, you can increase your Cultivation just by eating. This is your Junior Brother's special method of Cultivation. Your Revered Master is quite envious."

Li Haotian looked at Zhang Hai's expression and started chatting with Su Yao.

Su Yao, hearing this, also showed an envious expression. When they usually ate these things, they still needed to absorb them to convert them into internal energy. But their Junior Brother seemed to instantly convert it into his own foundation the moment he put it in his mouth.

Why is Spirit Gathering Peak called by this name? Primarily because it possesses a massive Spirit Gathering Array that can gather huge amounts of Spiritual Qi. The concentration of Spiritual Qi here already exceeds that of other peaks by more than thirty percent.

Therefore, this place has unique Cultivation conditions. Even planting ordinary vegetables will imbue them with some Spiritual Qi. If they were to Cultivate Spirit Vegetables or Spirit Plants, they would mature very quickly.

Zhang Hai nodded excitedly upon hearing his Revered Master's words. He had vaguely sensed that his Physique had changed before, but he never expected it to be so abnormal—being able to increase Cultivation just by eating.

At this moment, Wangcai was watching the group from the side without speaking. Although he was a natal beast, he preferred to stay outside. The expression on his face grew increasingly guilty, and eventually, he didn't dare to look at the three of them. This unusual behavior was noticed by Li Haotian.

"Wangcai, are you hiding something from us?"

Wangcai repeatedly shook his head.

"No, no!"

"I definitely won't tell you that the entire Yao Race is currently searching for my whereabouts and swearing to kill me."

Zhang Hai directly read Wangcai's inner thoughts and blurted out what Wangcai had just been thinking. The atmosphere immediately fell into silence.