35: Mysterious Spiritual Qi, Tempering the Meridians

"Second Uncle-Grandfather, I also want to request a secret art for contracting Spirit Beasts," Lin Yongmao said.

"That's not difficult. You just need 200 Family Contribution Points to exchange for the [Spirit Binding Contract] secret art. It's the most suitable for contracting Spirit Beasts."

"Alright."

After using enough Contribution Points, Lin Xuanzhong handed a Jade Slip and an ancient book to Lin Yongmao.

"Yongmao, you can come chat with this old man when you have time," Lin Xuanzhong suddenly said, his expression appearing a bit lonely.

Lin Yongmao quickly replied, "Okay, Second Uncle-Grandfather, please rest well here. I'll come visit you as soon as I have time."

Lin Yongmao had already secretly decided that once his strength improved further, he would find a way to Cultivate spiritual plants that could increase Lifespan.

Only with these old Longevity Stars of the Family alive could their Lin Family possess sufficiently deep foundations.

...

Back at Thousand-Pinnacle Cliff, three items lay before Lin Yongmao.

A copied version of the Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art.

A Jade Slip containing the [Spirit Binding Contract].

A Spirit Beast Bag holding the Spirit-devouring Iron Beast.

He first thoroughly read the contents of the Jade Slip, gaining a deep understanding of this secret art.

The key to the [Spirit Binding Contract] is to draw a trace of the Yao Beast's Divine Soul into one's Sea of Consciousness, thereby achieving control over the Yao Beast. That trace of Divine Soul can directly control the Yao Beast's life and death.

By continuously refining this trace of Divine Soul in the Sea of Consciousness, one can even assimilate it with one's own Divine Sense, causing the Yao Beast to become increasingly close to the contractor.

Two points are worth noting:

Firstly, the contractor's Divine Sense must be strong enough, at least surpassing that of the contracted Yao Beast. The stronger the contractor's Divine Sense, the greater the probability of success.

Secondly, it requires the consumption of a drop of the contractor's vital blood.

Lin Yongmao let out a sigh of relief. He had thought it would take a long time to comprehend the Spirit Binding Contract, but now it seemed unnecessary.

It would be difficult for other Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators to successfully contract this first-order eighth-level Spirit-devouring Iron Beast, but Lin Yongmao's Divine Sense strength was far superior to others at the same stage.

After drinking thousand-year cloud mist tea for a few more days, Lin Yongmao was confident he could raise his Divine Sense strength to the Foundation Establishment Stage level.

As for vital blood, since the last time he automatically signed a Mind Contract with the World Tree and consumed a drop, he had only managed to condense another drop with great difficulty during this period.

This was also thanks to the Hundred-Year Hemostatic Vine's effect of replenishing Qi and blood; otherwise, it would not have been easy to condense another drop of vital blood in just a hundred days.

"In a few days, when my Divine Sense strength reaches the Foundation Establishment Stage, I can basically guarantee a 100% success rate in contracting the Spirit-devouring Iron Beast."

This was a first-order eighth-level Spirit-devouring Iron Beast, equivalent to a Qi Refinement Stage eighth-level Cultivator's Cultivation. Moreover, without considering Magical Artifacts, the strength of Yao Beasts at the same stage is stronger than that of immortal cultivators.

By then, he would not only have a dedicated miner but also a powerful enforcer.

...

Next was to study the Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art. Although this Body Refining Cultivation Technique was incomplete, Lin Yongmao knew that its effects were far superior to Body Refining Cultivation Techniques like the Golden Body Art.

Lin Yongmao once again used the [Attribute Panel] to understand its attributes:

Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art:

Grade: Incomplete, Grade Unknown

Description: Absorbs the Xuan Ling Qi from plants and trees to strengthen oneself, using the Xuan Ling Qi to nourish the Meridians, flesh, and bones, greatly enhancing the Physical Body's strength.

Note: Due to the incomplete Cultivation Technique, currently only the first to third layers can be Cultivated.

First Layer: Can refine and absorb any type of spiritual plant with a Lifespan of 0-200 years.

Second Layer: Can refine and absorb any type of spiritual plant with a Lifespan of 200-600 years.

Third Layer: Can refine and absorb any type of spiritual plant with a Lifespan of 600-1500 years.

...

Upon completing the first layer of Cultivation, Meridians can be widened, allowing more spiritual power to circulate and increasing the speed of Cultivation advancement.

Upon completing the second layer of Cultivation, bones can be strengthened, making the Physical Body as strong as a Low Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Upon completing the third layer of Cultivation, blood Qi can be enhanced, making blood as heavy as lead and mercury, and accelerating the speed of vital blood condensation.

...

An unknown-grade Body Refining Cultivation Technique, though only having the first three layers, its effects were already on par with top-tier Qi Refinement Stage Body Refining Cultivation Techniques like the Golden Body Art.

"Since I've decided to Cultivate this set of Cultivation Techniques, let's begin!"

Lin Yongmao had made some preparations, with a large amount of spiritual rice placed before him, filling half of the stone house.

These spiritual rice grains were of excellent quality, but unfortunately, they were difficult to sell entirely for Spirit Stones. Now, they finally had a use.

For spiritual plants aged 0-200 years, this spiritual rice was extremely suitable.

Without Cultivating the Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art, Lin Yongmao's normal daily consumption of three to four catties of spiritual rice was already his limit; any more, and the energy could not be absorbed.

As the Body Refining Cultivation Technique operated, Lin Yongmao felt a burning pain from his Meridians, filled with a craving for spiritual substances.

Then, a wave of hunger swept over him, and Lin Yongmao couldn't help but swallow when he saw the spiritual rice.

"Gulp, gulp!"

This was the sound of Lin Yongmao swallowing.

Unable to wait for the spiritual rice to be cooked, Lin Yongmao directly grabbed a handful of spiritual rice and put it into his mouth.

The spiritual rice, which normally required some time to digest, was surprisingly quickly refined by his body, forming a mysterious Qi that began to surge wildly within his body.

"This must be the Xuan Ling Qi, entirely transformed from the essence of plants and trees."

Lin Yongmao began to guide this Xuan Ling Qi to move along the routes specified in the Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art within his Meridians.

However, this Xuan Ling Qi dissipated in a very short time.

Then, hunger struck again.

"Gulp, gulp!"

Keep eating!

This time, Lin Yongmao continuously stuffed several mouthfuls of spiritual rice into his stomach, but it didn't last even a minute.

"It seems that ordinary people simply cannot Cultivate this Mystic Spirit Body Tempering Art; the Cultivation resources required are truly immense. Even an Inner Sect Disciple of the Qinglan Sect probably wouldn't have such financial resources."

Lin Yongmao only took less than an hour to refine all the spiritual rice in more than half of the stone house.

But the benefits were also very obvious: the toughness of his Meridians was greatly improved. If he were to operate the Azure Wood Art again, the speed of his spiritual power circulation would also be faster.

The first layer was equivalent to tempering the Meridians, and it even had a weak effect of improving Cultivation talent.

However, to completely master the first layer, it would conservatively take a month, with a mandatory one hour (two hours) of Cultivation every day.

Hiss!

How many resources would that require!

In a place like the Qingyang Mountain Range, there really aren't many Cultivators with such financial resources; you could probably count them on one hand.

And Cultivators with such financial resources would long ago have disdained the slight improvements brought by this Cultivation Technique.

"And with the good System, and the World Tree, otherwise this Cultivation Technique, no matter how suitable for me, would be useless."

Lin Yongmao secretly rejoiced, this was simply tailor-made for him.