Chapter 86: The Nature Hall’s Spirit Powder Surpasses a Godly Pill

“A monster…” At that moment, Pu Hanzhong could find no other word to describe Qin Haoxuan. All he could do was stare dumbfounded at the miraculous sight. A normal Qi-Circulating Powder would, at best, form a small vortex in the Dantian. This one had created a basin-sized whirlpool above his head. Even an Uncolored Seed, taking a powder like this, would surely have a promising future in cultivation, wouldn’t they?

Seeing that the powder his junior brother had made was even more effective than a Qi-Circulating Pill, Pu was struck by a pang of regret. He should have had him divide it into even smaller doses. After all, his junior brother was an Uncolored Seed with a weak foundation; he couldn’t possibly absorb so much spiritual energy. A single packet would result in a great deal of waste.

The effects of a normal powder would last for an hour. But the vortex above Qin Haoxuan’s head swirled from the afternoon until the middle of the night, a full three hours. Pu was secretly dumbfounded. How much spiritual energy had he absorbed in that time?

When the vortex finally dissipated, Qin Haoxuan took a deep breath. After three hours of frantic energy absorption, he felt that his Immortal Sprout had grown considerably thicker, and his six hundred fine side-roots had doubled in thickness, from being as fine as silk threads to as thick as small iron wires. To his delight, he also discovered a faint surge of energy at the very tip of his sprout—the sign that he was about to grow his first leaf.

This powder was an incredible treasure. And most importantly, unlike the One-Leaf Golden Lotus or the Seven Star Mushroom, it didn’t leave him feeling bloated with a painful excess of energy. The small amount of residual power left in his body would be depleted by the next morning, perfectly bridging the gap until his next dose and allowing him to maintain a rapid rate of cultivation. After assessing the changes within his body, he opened his eyes. As he did, Pu Hanzhong caught a glimpse of a fleeting, natural-born aura within them that left him inwardly astonished.

“It’s late,” Pu said, coughing. “Get some rest. Remember, only by advancing your realm can you extend your lifespan.” Just as he was about to leave, Qin Haoxuan picked up a packet of the powder and pressed it into his hand.

Pu Hanzhong’s face flushed. Normally, a Guiding Senior Brother would give things to his junior, not the other way around. He was about to refuse, but Qin Haoxuan spoke with a sincere, serious expression. “Please don’t refuse, Senior Brother. As brothers, we should share both our fortunes and our hardships. It may not be worth much, but I made it myself.”

Pu’s eyes grew moist. He knew the value of this powder far better than Qin Haoxuan did; it was many times more effective than a standard Qi-Circulating Pill. Seeing his junior brother’s earnest expression, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He tucked the packet away and, with a look of profound gratitude, said from the bottom of his heart, “Thank you, Junior Brother.”

A feeling of satisfaction welled up in Qin Haoxuan. Since entering the sect, only Xu Yu and Pu Hanzhong had made him feel the warmth of family. He already considered them his kin. This powder, made from the essence of a high-grade pill from the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley, was precious, but he would not hesitate to give it to those who could benefit from it. He looked at the eight remaining packets on the table and decided to give one each to Xu Yu and Murong Chao the next day.

The next morning, after practicing his Celestial River Dao Art, there was a knock on his door. It was Xu Yu and Murong Chao, both with dark circles under their eyes. They had clearly been up all night.

Xu Yu excitedly produced a small, exquisite jade bottle. From it, she tipped a single, fava-bean-sized brown pill. “Senior Sister Luo Jinhua has been teaching me alchemy,” she said proudly. “I finally made a Qi-Circulating Pill!” When Qin Haoxuan didn’t immediately take it, she grew anxious. “You have to take it!” she insisted, her tone half-pout, half-command. “Murong Chao and I stayed up all night watching the furnace for this. A normal powder only creates one vortex. This pill can create five. It’s five times faster! You have to accept it.”

Qin Haoxuan gave a helpless smile and took the pill. It felt light in his hand, yet carried a heavy weight of warmth and affection. That she would give her very first pill to him… He glanced over at Murong Chao, who was staring at the pill with a mixture of envy and jealousy. He had stayed up all night as well, only to see the fruits of their labor given to Qin Haoxuan. A sharp pang of jealousy went through him. Sensing the tension, Qin Haoxuan was about to offer the pill to him, but Murong Chao spoke first. “Junior Sister Xu, I’m going back to cultivate. I feel like I’m about to grow a leaf.” With that, he hurried away.

After he was gone, Qin Haoxuan remembered he had a packet of powder for him, but decided to give it to him later. He then took out one of the golden packets and handed it to Xu Yu. “This is some Qi-Circulating Powder I made. Here, have one.”

Xu Yu smiled sweetly and accepted it. In her mind, now that she could make pills, a mere powder was of little value. But it was a gift from him, and she wouldn’t refuse it. As she took it, Qin Haoxuan’s expression turned serious. “You must not take this in front of anyone,” he warned. “Wait until the dead of night, lock your doors and windows, and only then should you consume it.” Xu Yu was puzzled by his solemnity, but she agreed without question.

That night, she did as he had instructed. She was curious about the powder he had given her. It was golden, and the portion was small, only two qian. She found the dense spiritual energy within it strange, but she still assumed it was inferior to a pill. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to take it. It was a gift from her Brother Haoxuan. One day of slightly slower cultivation wouldn’t matter.

The moment she swallowed it, she was shocked. A jolt of spiritual energy, far more powerful than any pill she had ever taken, surged through her. A moment later, she felt the spiritual energy of the world converging above her head. A massive, basin-sized vortex erupted into existence, and a torrential flood of power began to pour into her Immortal Sprout. Luo Jinhua’s pill would have created five small, internal vortexes. This powder had created a single, external black hole that was absorbing at least three times as much energy. She was grateful for her First-Leaf foundation, which was just barely strong enough to handle the deluge.

The effect lasted for three hours. As dawn broke and the vortex faded, her aura surged, and a second leaf sprouted from her Immortal Sprout. She had broken through to the Second-Leaf Realm. She opened her eyes in disbelief. Luo Jinhua had said it might take seven days of taking pills to break through. With his powder, it had taken three hours. The ingredients he used must have been incredible, she thought. A blush of shame crept onto her cheeks as she remembered her gift of a single pill. It felt like showing off one’s clumsy axe skills to a master carpenter. Her faith in him was stronger than ever.

News of Xu Yu’s breakthrough spread like wildfire, shocking everyone. Zhang Kuang’s leap to the Third-Leaf was a fortuitous encounter, but how had she advanced so quickly?

Li Jing, also a First-Leaf Purple Seed, grew anxious. He was still at least a week away from his own breakthrough. He suspected she had obtained some kind of miracle medicine. He summoned a few of his followers. “From now on,” he commanded, “keep an eye on Xu Yu. I want to know everyone she meets, and everywhere she goes. If you can find the reason for her sudden advancement, I’ll reward each of you with a Qi-Circulating Pill.”

The followers’ eyes lit up with greed. Meanwhile, the unwitting cause of all this, Qin Haoxuan, was peacefully studying, trying to figure out how to make his powder even better. Beside him, Pu Hanzhong was calculating. “This powder is better than a pill,” he muttered. “It must be worth several low-grade spirit stones.”

Just then, an ecstatic Xu Yu, now a Second-Leaf cultivator, came running into the room.

(End of Chapter)