wan hua dao xian

Chapter 4

A night of meditation not only solidified Li Xiuxian's cultivation but also purified the spiritual power within his body. The efforts of this night could match the toil of the past year. Practicing within the Wanhua Pearl was akin to utilizing spiritual stones at any given moment, a method of cultivation deemed extravagant even for prosperous families, let alone the financially strained Li family. Were it not for Li Xiuxian's deficient spiritual roots, the refined spiritual energy absorbed during this night's meditation would have propelled him to the fourth level of the Foundation Building stage.

"Regrettably, this soil cannot be taken out of the Wanhua Pearl. If Xiu Yuan and Shui Yao could cultivate like this, the Li family might produce a Qi refining expert of the twelfth level!" Li Xiuxian sighed softly.

Among the cultivators of the Li family, he had the poorest spiritual roots, possessing only a five-fold Fire Spirit Root. In contrast, both Xiu Yuan and Shui Yao had seven-fold spiritual roots, their aptitude far surpassing Li Xiuxian's.

After leaving the Tianyuan Pearl, Li Xiuxian practiced swordsmanship in the yard. Due to the family's decline, even the most basic cultivation techniques had not been passed down. Despite being a cultivator, Li Xiuxian lacked proficiency in even the fundamental techniques. His spiritual power could only be employed as inner energy.

"Young Master, breakfast is ready!" said the old steward.

"Yes, I'll be right there! Summon Xiu Yuan and Shui Yao as well," Li Xiuxian instructed.

The old steward nodded, "I'll go right away."

The old steward quickly brought Xiu Yuan and Shui Yao to Li Xiuxian's yard. Xiu Yuan, discontented, looked at Li Xiuxian. "What's the matter with summoning us?"

Li Xiuxian was accustomed to his brother's impoliteness and did not take it to heart. "There's nothing important; I just wanted to inquire about your cultivation progress."

"No need to concern yourself; manage your own affairs. You've lingered at the second level of Foundation Building for a whole decade!" Xiu Yuan retorted coldly.

"Brother Xiu, rest assured. I'll make good use of the four Concentration Pills you gave me and strive to break through soon!" Shui Yao intervened, redirecting their attention.

"Very well, your spiritual power has strengthened a bit since yesterday," Li Xiuxian acknowledged.

"Shui Yao, you may leave," Xiu Yuan frowned.

"Brother Xiu..."

"Leave!" Xiu Yuan suddenly shouted.

"Xiu Yuan, have you lost your mind? Why are you yelling at Shui Yao?" Li Xiuxian exclaimed.

"Go down!" Xiu Yuan shouted again.

"Xiu Yuan, you're going crazy. Why are you yelling at Shui Yao like this?" Li Xiuxian shouted back at his brother.

"I said go down!" Xiu Yuan shouted once more.

"Fine!" Shui Yao, after all, was just a girl. Being scolded by Xiu Yuan, she couldn't help feeling aggrieved. After leaving the yard, Xiu Yuan coldly snorted.

"Did you give all four Concentration Pills to Shui Yao?" Xiu Yuan questioned.

"Yes, what's the matter?" Li Xiuxian was puzzled. "Don't you know that using Concentration Pills may lead to a breakthrough? Why didn't you keep one for yourself?" Xiu Yuan scolded. Li Xiuxian chuckled, "So that's what it's about. I still broke through without saving one. Whenever possible, I prefer not to waste Concentration Pills when I can use spiritual stones!"

"Really! Brother, you've broken through!" Xiu Yuan joyfully looked at Li Xiuxian.

"Alright, now that I've broken through, there's no need for such a fiery reaction. Go and apologize to Shui Yao. Yelling at a girl like that must have hurt her feelings," Li Xiuxian advised.

"I'll go right away!" Xiu Yuan realized his inappropriate behavior and immediately went after Shui Yao. Helpless, Li Xiuxian watched his impulsive younger brother. Xiu Yuan was too impetuous. Originally, Li Xiuxian had planned to inform Xiu Yuan about the Wanhua Pearl, but he suddenly changed his mind. Xiu Yuan was still young and impulsive; if he knew about the Wanhua Pearl, he might act recklessly.

Li Xiuxian decided to temporarily keep this secret, revealing it only when the timing was right.

With the excellent cultivation space provided by the Wanhua Pearl, Li Xiuxian maximized every available moment for cultivation. However, upon entering the Wanhua Pearl again, he was stunned by the changes. The once silent Wanhua Pearl was now covered in lush greenery. The area of the black soil within the Wanhua Pearl had also expanded significantly, from the initial fifty to sixty square meters to the current two to three hundred square meters. Li Xiuxian recalled that a few hours ago, the Wanhua Pearl did not look like this!

Perplexed, Li Xiuxian plucked a tuft of grass. Even the ordinary grass carried a trace of spiritual energy, albeit in a minimal amount. Even with thousands of these tufts, it wouldn't accumulate much spiritual energy.

"Puzzling, these are just ordinary grass; there shouldn't be any spiritual energy in them," Li Xiuxian furrowed his brow as he examined the grass.

Unable to comprehend this anomaly, Li Xiuxian decided to let it go. After all, it was only a slight improvement, but the Wanhua Pearl no longer felt lifeless, providing a more pleasant atmosphere.

Seated on the grass, Li Xiuxian began to meditate, absorbing the spiritual energy from the black soil. Meditating on the grass had a different effect from meditating on the black soil; the former made it easier to gather spiritual energy. It seemed that these grasses could draw out the spiritual energy accumulated in the black soil. Realizing this, Li Xiuxian felt as if he had stumbled upon a new continent. Although the change was minor, for Li Xiuxian, who urgently needed to enhance his strength, even a slight improvement was invaluable.

After cultivating fervently for over ten hours, Li Xiuxian's stomach began to protest. Only when his stomach growled did he realize that he had not eaten anything for a day. Although Li Xiuxian was a cultivator, he had not reached the level of fasting.

Considering his cultivation situation, Li Xiuxian decided to bring a basket of apples to his room. After consuming a few, he entered the Wanhua Pearl. However, what surprised him was that simply spitting out the apple seeds resulted in an unimaginable event – the seeds germinated, grew into a tree within half an hour, and bore apples. "This land seems to have a nurturing ability!" Li Xiuxian exclaimed, awakening from his astonishment.

He hadn't expected the Wanhua Pearl to possess such a capability. To be safe, Li Xiuxian took one apple seed, placed it in his pocket, and, with a thought, left the Wanhua Pearl. The apple tree, however, remained inside.

"It seems only the black soil can't be taken out of the Wanhua Pearl," Li Xiuxian muttered to himself.

Li Xiuxian took two ten-year-old ginseng plants from the medicine room and planted them in the black soil of the Wanhua Pearl. Curious to see if the Wanhua Pearl's nurturing ability was as miraculous as he thought, Li Xiuxian waited for over half an hour. Unfortunately, there was no noticeable change in the two ginseng plants. Li Xiuxian sighed, realizing he was overly ambitious. The black soil in the Wanhua Pearl, filled with boundless spiritual energy, was already an extraordinary blessing.