…
"Senior, please enlighten me."
Xiao Ting withdrew the Purple Beast Flame and smiled lightly.
He shouldn't hide too much, otherwise he might accidentally expose himself to the world.
"Our cultivation method is special and grants us extremely strong soul perception," the gray-robed man on the left replied. "Your soul domain is even higher than ours. Have you perhaps already entered the Spirit Realm?"
Whoosh!
Su Qian felt as if he had been struck by lightning; a numbing sensation spread throughout his body.
Given his power and status, he naturally knew that souls existed in various domains and that there had been various methods of soul cultivation in ancient times, though most of those methods had been lost and could only be found in a very few top-tier hidden forces.
The Spirit Soul was a prerequisite for reaching the eighth stage of alchemy. Eighth-stage pills possessed extremely high intelligence, with quality ranging from two-colored pill lightning to nine-colored pill lightning. Bestowing this intelligence required a Spirit Soul.
He recalled what the dean had once told him: the Spirit Realm was for Dou Venerate, but Dou Venerate were not necessarily Spirit Realm souls.
The reaction was that for those with Spirit Souls, there were no obstacles to reaching the Dou Venerate level. With sufficient resources and as long as they did not perish midway, it was only a matter of time.
At the Dou Venerate level, there were very few such experts across the entire continent. Even if they died under abnormal circumstances, their souls could remain in this world for a certain period. If lucky, they might be resurrected, but reaching the Spirit Realm was not guaranteed.
"Spirit Realm, huh." Xiao Ting had not expected the two elders, Qian Mu and Bai Lie, to possess such sharp perception.
But upon reflection, it made perfect sense.
In the original timeline, when Xiao Yan first came to the library, Yao Lao had completely hidden himself, deliberately severing the subtle connection between them.
At the time, Xiao Yan had recalled that this was the first time Yao Lao had not completely blocked his senses despite his soul power being greatly depleted and falling into a deep sleep.
This showed that the two elders possessed extremely high soul perception ability.
Energy, spirit, and vitality—these three aspects would influence each other to a certain degree.
The soul domain of a peak Dou Ancestor expert was undoubtedly in the Mortal Realm.
The two elders, Qian Mu and Bai Lie, had reached the peak of the Dou Ancestor realm, so their souls might have reached the mid or late stage of the Mortal Realm.
It seemed the two of them cultivated using special techniques. Therefore, their chances of reaching the peak of the Mortal Realm were very high.
"I have not yet reached the Spirit Realm." Xiao Ting shook his head lightly. "Breaking through to the Spirit Realm is not easy. I am currently only half-step into the Spirit Realm and will need a little more time to break through."
Su Qian: !
Reaching even half-step into the Spirit Realm was already incredibly powerful, and Xiao Ting seemed to know exactly when he would fully reach the Spirit Realm.
Terrifying!
"Young man, you are truly talented." The two elders' voices carried a hint of melancholy.
When they were Xiao Ting's age, they had only just begun to understand the basics of Dou Spirit techniques. They had now reached the peak of the Dou Ancestor realm, yet their soul domain was merely the peak of the late Mortal Realm—still far from perfect.
If they had possessed Xiao Ting's soul talent, they would have already reached the Dou Venerate level.
"There is no problem with you entering the library." The two elders spoke in unison. "Although your talent is extraordinarily high, the rules cannot be broken, so we must make things clear in advance."
"Once you enter the library, you will see countless streaks of light. Each streak of light contains a treasure. However, everything inside is covered by an energy layer, so you cannot forcibly take anything out. Only when you pass through the energy layer without any obstruction can you retrieve the item inside."
"No matter how many books you pick up, you can only take three or four books out of the library!"
"If you cannot break through the energy layer, do not try to force it open. There are wonderful things inside that cannot be obtained by brute force. Many people have tried ambitiously in the past, only to end up with nothing."
"Go with the flow, consider your talent and aptitude, and do not force anything!"
Xiao Ting already knew these rules, yet he still bowed politely and said, "This junior understands. Thank you for your guidance, seniors."
The two elders nodded simultaneously and, at the same time, took out their wrinkled hands from their sleeves and slowly began forming seals.
With each strike, violent Battle Qi flowed into their bodies, mobilizing spatial power and transforming into two extremely powerful invisible waves.
The invisible fluctuations gradually spread and eventually merged. Space rippled layer upon layer, coming into contact with the spatial folds in front of the pavilion.
Splash!
When the two made contact, the space in front of the library's main entrance rippled like a calm lake surface.
After ten breaths, the ripples stopped. An invisible pair of hands condensed and slowly tore open the gate like opening a spatial rift, releasing a powerful aura.
Xiao Ting understood that the spatial lock had been released.
Spatial sealing was a power only Dou Venerate-level experts could master, but in reality, highly talented high-level Dou Ancestor experts could also master it.
For example, once Xiao Ting's soul reached the Spirit Realm level and his cultivation reached seven-star Dou Ancestor, he would be able to master many spatial techniques that only Dou Venerate could use.
"Enter," the two elders said.
Xiao Ting nodded lightly and unhesitatingly leaped into the spatial portal.
Beyond the portal lay a hidden world, still a valley stretching out.
After passing through a lush mountain path, he arrived at the attic.
A plaque that had been hanging there for who knows how many years was displayed in the library.
Xiao Ting looked up and immediately felt a deep sense of despair welling up in his heart, lingering for a long time.
The two elders seemed to sense something and were about to call out to warn him, but their thoughts were overturned when they saw Xiao Ting sitting cross-legged and releasing his soul power.
"This child used the library plaque to temper his own mind." The two elders were astonished.
They exchanged glances and said to Su Qian, "Xiao Ting will probably be inside for a while. If you have business, you may leave first."
"Understood." Su Qian nodded lightly and vanished into the void.
…
In the blink of an eye, thirty minutes passed.
Suddenly, a strange fluctuation emanated from Xiao Ting's body.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged dramatically, but it was quickly suppressed by the plaque and returned to silence.
"Stingy." Xiao Ting opened his eyes, slowly stood up, and stretched.
This was truly a wonderful opportunity.
'In seven days, I can find a place filled with heaven-and-earth energy and spiritual energy and begin my breakthrough.'
Since he possessed a Spirit Soul, he also had the means to threaten Dou Ancestor experts. It would be best if he could find a Spirit Soul skill.
"I hope the library's collection lives up to expectations."
Filled with anticipation, Xiao Ting entered the library and used a movement technique to rush inside. After dozens of breaths, he passed through a dark corridor and reached a dead end, where a large hall appeared before him. The surrounding walls contained more than a dozen energy shields, each emitting light at random.
"I'm not the one seeking a cultivation technique—the cultivation technique should come to me."
Xiao Ting released his soul power, soared high into the sky, and sat cross-legged in the void.
As time passed, light continued to emanate from within the energy shields, but none of them approached Xiao Ting.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a silver light suddenly shot out and floated in front of Xiao Ting's eyes.
"Hmm?" When Xiao Ting grasped the light, it immediately disappeared, revealing a jade block.
[Low-grade Earth-rank Soul Technique: Heavenly Thunder Summon]