Chapter 456 (1)
The Fire Essence Pearl was the name of the magical artifact in Lu Qing's possession.
Originally, it was supposed to be a supreme-grade treasure. However, due to some unknown damage in the past, its restrictions were impaired.
Now, it only retained the power of a high-grade artifact.
Moreover, it was not a powerful offensive artifact but leaned more toward an auxiliary function.
Its primary ability was the rapid absorption of spiritual energy, aiding cultivators in refining their internal spiritual or magical power into a purer form.
In some respects, it bore similarities to his Five Elements Gourd.
Of course, this Fire Essence Pearl could only refine the pure fire-element power, making it suitable solely for cultivators dedicated to fire-element techniques.
Compared to the Five Elements Gourd, which could refine all five elemental energies, the Fire Essence Pearl fell far short in both versatility and potential.
As Lu Qing gazed at the Fire Essence Pearl in his hand, he finally understood why Li Changbo had achieved the Golden Core Realm so quickly.
Aside from his naturally decent aptitude, most of the credit likely belonged to this artifact.Yet, Li Changbo had been overly hasty in his pursuit of progress.
Relying on the Fire Essence Pearl, he had excessively refined spirit stones, causing his cultivation level to skyrocket.
While this made him one of the fastest to reach the Golden Core Realm in the era of spiritual revival, it also left his foundation unstable. He was far weaker than a Golden Core cultivator who advanced steadily, step by step.
If he had exercised patience, with the help of the Fire Essence Pearl to continuously solidify his foundation, he might have eventually become a prominent figure in his own right.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Qing withdrew his thoughts and extended his spiritual sense into the Fire Essence Pearl.
This was a spoil of war, and he had no intention of returning it to Cold Water Palace.
Although he could not use it himself, it would be an excellent gift for his master, who cultivated in the Dao of Water and Fire.
With Li Changbo now utterly annihilated, the Fire Essence Pearl had become ownerless.
Thus, Lu Qing easily infiltrated it with his spiritual sense, initiating a simple refining process.
Upon inspection, he discovered that the Fire Essence Pearl contained an internal storage space. Though small, it could hold some items.
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Lu Qing's eyes.
No wonder when he burned Li Changbo with the Nanming Bright Fire, nothing but the Fire Essence Pearl remained.
It turned out that all his possessions had been stored within this artifact.
Soon, numerous items appeared before Lu Qing.
A small pile of spirit stones emitting a faint spiritual glow, two jade slips, and some miscellaneous gold and silver items were among them.
Lu Qing's gaze first landed on the spirit stones, and he smiled.
Although the pile was not large, numbering about sixteen or seventeen, the spiritual glow indicated that they were all low-grade spirit stones.
However, in the era of the ancient cultivation world, even large sects regarded spirit stones as strategic resources, rarely used lightly.
To obtain over a dozen at once was already a significant harvest.
At the very least, they could speed up Lu Qing's progress to a perfect first rotation.
Moreover, based on the information Li Changbo revealed in the illusion realm earlier, these spirit stones were only part of his stash.
Many more spirit stones had yet to be mined.
Lu Qing then turned his attention to the two jade slips.
This time, instead of using his innate abilities to view their contents, he directly read them with his spiritual sense.
Soon, a hint of surprise surfaced in Lu Qing's eyes.
As he had predicted, the jade slips were both inheritance records.
Unexpectedly, the two slips documented completely different types of techniques.
One jade slip contained a fire-element cultivation method, capable of advancing a practitioner to the peak of the Golden Core Realm.
This was likely the primary cultivation method Li Changbo had practiced.
The other jade slip, however, held a method that was far darker and more sinister.
It detailed the use of spiritual soul power, teaching how to condense a soul imprint and implant it into another cultivator's consciousness, turning them into a puppet under one's control.
This was undoubtedly a demonic technique, entirely opposed to the righteous path.
Practicing it could distort one's mind, hindering their cultivation.
Recalling Li Changbo's earlier threats to Han Lingshuang about turning her into a soul slave, Lu Qing now understood his source of confidence.
After a moment of reflection, Lu Qing summoned a wisp of white flame, incinerating the jade slip containing the demonic technique.
Such a technique, harmful to the mind and unbeneficial to cultivation, was unfit to exist.
As for the fire-element technique, it was still of some value and could serve as a reference for his ongoing refinement of the Perfect Golden Core Method.
After handling the jade slips, the remaining items held little interest.
Lu Qing retained the gold and silver but burned the rest in one fell swoop.
Having finished everything, he exited the Li Huo Cauldron.
...
Early the next morning, Lu Qing and Xiao Yan flew to a mountain range.
"The Everlasting Regret Mountains. So this is what they look like."
Hovering in the sky, Lu Qing observed the undulating peaks below with an intrigued expression.
In his eyes, the mountains were not merely a terrain.
The interconnected peaks and unique geography formed a natural formation, subtly drawing the spiritual energy from hundreds of miles around.
Moreover, the formation was incredibly subtle, with no visible anomalies on the surface.
Only someone like Lu Qing, with his mastery of formations from the Divine Rune Sect, could discern the clues.
"With such a natural formation, it’s no wonder spirit stones can form here."
Lu Qing’s eyes gleamed as he carefully studied the formation below.
This time, he refrained from using his innate abilities, relying instead on his expertise in rune formations to analyze the vast natural array.
The Divine Rune Sect’s teachings emphasized learning from the world itself.
This immense natural formation was a perfect subject for observation.
As he stood in the sky and observed for a long time, a formation slowly took shape in Lu Qing's mind.
Starting with the framework, he gradually filled in the finer details until a complete array materialized in his consciousness.
"It's done!"
Lu Qing smiled.
Just now, he had derived a grand formation from the natural array below.
"No wonder the Divine Rune Sect teachings stress learning from the world.
These natural formations are the best instructors.
Comprehending the Dao within these arrays greatly enhances one's understanding and foundation in formations."
Lu Qing felt a deep realization.
Since returning to Jiuli Village after entering the Precelestial Realm, he had rarely ventured out.
The few times he did, it was to trouble Xuankong Mountain.
Looking back, he had neglected this aspect of his cultivation.
But it wasn’t too late. This trip with Xiao Yan presented a great opportunity to observe the grand landscapes of the world and deepen his understanding of rune formations.