"Indeed!"
A single sentence awakened the dreamer!
Upon hearing this, Yun Ze suddenly understood, as if he had discovered a new world!
If he couldn't condense inwards, he would expand outwards!
Every inch his Qi Sea expanded, the more spiritual energy it could store, which was undoubtedly beneficial to him!
He continued to maintain the rotation of the Qi vortex, using the absorbed spiritual energy to expand his Qi Sea.
But with every surge of spiritual energy against the walls of his Qi Sea came a piercing pain, causing his body to convulse uncontrollably!
Yu Xian watched silently.
He knew what that kind of pain felt like, and he also wanted to see how long Yun Ze could endure.
In fact, he had returned to Weishan Prefecture again today.
He was there to verify how much of Yun Ze's words were truth and how much was falsehood.
If it were all false, then what he had drunk today would not have been spiritual wine, but a spiritual sword!
If it were half true and half false, then Yu Xian would have been too lazy to bother with this matter.
But if it were all true...
Then Yu Xian would come to offer a cup of spiritual wine.
He wasn't doing this out of idleness, but for a grand cause!
This world, whether in the mortal realm or the celestial peaks, was filled with too much impurity.
He couldn't stand it!
Even though he had the will to purify the world, he knew that he couldn't achieve it alone, even if he joined the Immortal Mansion.
Not to mention how lazy he was.
But if someone were to help, it would be entirely different!
Given Yun Ze's experiences and character, he had the potential to become his comrade.
If that were the case, why not lend him a hand?
It was just a cup of spiritual wine.
To him, it was merely one-thousandth, or even one-ten-thousandth of his spiritual energy, but to Yun Ze now, it represented years, or even decades, of arduous cultivation!
However...
The current Yun Ze only had the 'potential' to become his comrade.
Judging by the spiritual energy contained within that cup of wine, this spiritual energy storm would last for at least another hour.
If he could endure the entire duration, then he would truly be qualified to know the answer to all of this!
But if he couldn't endure it...
Then this cup of wine would be considered a reward for his good deeds.
But he would still not be worthy of knowing the answer!
Yun Ze was unaware of Yu Xian's thoughts. Currently, he was solely focused on controlling the spiritual energy within his body, continuously expanding his Qi Sea outwards!
A quarter of an hour passed.
Beads of sweat began to seep from his temples.
He was now completely drenched, his entire body trembling uncontrollably, as if he had reached his limit.
Two quarters of an hour passed.
Yun Ze's face turned completely pale, his lips trembling, but the spiritual energy continued to condense, and he instinctively continued to expand his Qi Sea.
Half an hour passed.
He was nearing his limit!
Now, every surge of spiritual energy against his Qi Sea felt like countless knives scraping across his limbs and bones.
Should I... just give up?
Having endured for so long, even breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining wouldn't destabilize his foundation.
No! I can't!
Yun Ze frowned, casting aside the thought!
He had already persevered for so long. If he gave up now, wouldn't that be a complete loss!
Just a little longer!
Just a little longer, it should be over soon!
An hour passed.
The current pain was no longer important to Yun Ze.
He had become numb, his eyes closed, and he mechanically continued to expand his Qi Sea with spiritual energy.
Bu Bu had already opened her eyes and looked at Yun Ze, her expression grave, fearing that Yun Ze might collapse at any moment.
However... he was still holding on!
The wind gradually subsided, and the rain began to cease.
Yun Ze felt the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy begin to slow down, and he gradually relaxed.
After another quarter of an hour or so, the fierce wind and torrential rain had both disappeared.
The sky was as clear as washed jade. Emerging from behind the clouds was not the setting sun, but the rising, bright moon.
Yun Ze slowly opened his eyes. In the moonlight shining in from outside the window, he looked at Yu Xian before him, unsure of what to say.
He could feel that his Qi Sea was at least four times its original size!
Even if they were both at the peak of the second level of Qi Refining, his current spiritual energy was four times what it was before expanding his Qi Sea!
This was just from one cup of wine!
Not only had it allowed him to break through from the first level of Qi Refining to the peak of the second level, but it had also expanded his Qi Sea to its current extent!
He had once read a passage in the cultivation technique left by the elder Xiao.
Without any fortuitous encounters, someone with a Yellow-grade spiritual root would need a year to reach the first level of Qi Refining, three years for the second, and ten years for the third. For a Black-grade spiritual root, it would take one month for the first level, three months for the second, and one year for the third. For an Earth-grade spiritual root, it would take one day for the first level, three days for the second, and three days for the third.
As for the legendary Heaven-grade spiritual root, the cultivation technique did not describe it. However, judging from the cultivation efficiency of the Earth-grade spiritual root, it was likely not impossible to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining in a single day.
Although he didn't know what his spiritual root was, he figured it couldn't be that of a Heaven-grade prodigy.
Even calculating based on a Black-grade spiritual root, this cup of wine had saved him a year of arduous cultivation!
Such a spiritual item... must be of immense value!
Yun Ze's gaze fell upon the jade pot, and he couldn't help but wonder.
If he were to drink the entire pot of wine, then... would he ascend to the ninth level of Qi Refining in one go?
"This wine is called Ascending Immortality."
Yu Xian poured another cup for Yun Ze: "For an ordinary cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining, one cup is enough to reach the ninth level, but only the first cup is effective. If you don't believe me, you can try another cup."
Looking at the jade liquid in the cup, Yun Ze couldn't help but recall the piercing pain he had just experienced, and his body trembled.
Regardless of whether the second cup was effective or not, the wine had already given him psychological trauma.
However... since it was free, he might as well try!
Even if it meant another hour, he would accept it!
If he truly wanted to tread the path to immortality, how could he be timid and hesitant!
"Then I thank you first, Brother Yu!"
Yun Ze said, reaching out to take the cup and draining it again!
The clear liquid entered his throat, and the coldness slid into his lower abdomen.
Yun Ze did not feel the Qi vortex erupting. Instead, he only tasted the mellow fragrance in his mouth.
As expected, it was useless.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of regret, and then he placed the cup on the table, stood up, and cupped his fists towards Yu Xian: "Thank you, Brother Yu. Yun Ze will never forget the kindness of these two cups of wine!"
"Such sentimentality! Why say such things?"
Yu Xian stood up, placed his hand on Yun Ze's shoulder, and patted him twice: "Alright, sit down, sit down. Didn't you want to know why I didn't kill you?"
"Yes."
Yun Ze replied, then looked at Yu Xian: "Brother Yu, please don't take offense, but I am still curious, and I still want to know why you didn't kill me."
"Curiosity is normal! Who wouldn't be curious? If I were in your shoes, I'd be curious too!"
Yu Xian poured two more cups of Ascending Immortality from the pot, clinked his porcelain cup with Yun Ze's, and then drank it down.
"Little Yun, what do you think... of this world?"