Chapter 107: The Innate Spirit

“This... this is the spirit of an elixir!”

As soon as Li Jiansan sensed that power, he stopped cultivating. When he saw the tiny figure, excitement surged through his heart.

He had never expected such a congenital spirit to have given birth within the elixir vault. What a treasure.

A congenital spirit was formed from gathered primordial spiritual qi. Once refined, it could not only enhance one’s cultivation, but also strengthen one’s natural talent.

It could grant a martial artist greater comprehension, making it easier to communicate with heaven and earth and to sense the power of the world.

It was practically a modern miracle tonic.

“Most likely, I absorbed most of the spiritual qi in here and frightened the little thing out.”

“Come here, little one!”

Seeing this, Li Jiansan no longer hesitated and reached out to seize it.

The creature was extremely nimble. Before Li Jiansan could even get close, it slipped away in an instant.

But after a short while, it slowly came back again, looking at Li Jiansan with a pitiful expression.

“Is the little thing hungry?”

Li Jiansan blinked. “I don’t have any milk on me...”

“What do you want to eat?”

He placed some of the pills on his person in front of it.

Sss—squeak—

The little creature swallowed a second-rank pill in one gulp.

Seeing this, Li Jiansan seized the moment and sprang forward, chasing after the elixir spirit.

Before long, the elixir spirit was caught by Li Jiansan.

“Let’s see where you run now.”

At this moment, the elixir spirit had only just formed and had not yet developed any intelligence, so naturally it was no match for Li Jiansan, that old hand at this.

After capturing it, Li Jiansan did not refine it at once. Instead, he stored it in his spatial ring.

This little thing grew at an astonishing pace and possessed tremendous potential. Though it looked weak now, once fully grown, it could possess the power to uproot mountains and overturn seas, the might to split heaven and earth.

Such a treasure had to be raised slowly. Only when it grew larger would it fetch a fine price.

After putting the elixir spirit away, Li Jiansan resumed cultivating.

The elixir vault was truly a marvelous place. Since he had only rarely gotten in here, he could not waste a single moment.

Outside the elixir vault, when Li Jiansan took out the pills, the three old fellows had all clearly seen a second-rank pill.

That second-rank pill had not been one they gave him. Could it be...

“This little fellow’s alchemy has reached the second rank. A few days ago, he was only at the first-rank level, wasn’t he? Such progress is simply too...”

Thinking of Li Jiansan’s rate of improvement in alchemy, the disciples nearby could not help drawing a sharp breath. A trace of awe crept into their gazes when they looked at him.

In just a short span of time, he had raised his alchemy rank by a full grade. Such speed was terrifying.

When one’s talent reached a certain level, it was enough to inspire awe in many people.

“You brat, you really kept this from us well. Who would have thought you had already advanced to a second-rank alchemist?”

“At this rate, it won’t be long before us old fellows are ready to retire.”

Master Mo wore a bitter smile and shook his head with a sigh.

They had only accepted Li Jiansan as a disciple for a short time, and yet he had already become a second-rank alchemist.

From the looks of it, he seemed only one step away from becoming a third-rank alchemist.

Such improvement was simply too monstrous.

“Right now, why do I suddenly feel as though there is nothing left for me to teach you?”

“It seems we did not choose the wrong person after all. After this, that matter can be entrusted to him.”

“Old Mo, at last someone can fulfill your wish for you...”

Only at the very end did Master Mo speak.

“The elixir vault trial has ended. Everyone, follow me and leave.”

After twelve hours had passed, the spiritual qi within the elixir vault had been completely absorbed by Li Jiansan and the others.

The reason the elixir vault trial had a limit on the number of participants was precisely because the spiritual qi stored within it was finite. Only by restricting the number of entrants could the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi in the elixir vault slowly recover, allowing the disciples of the next round to continue their cultivation.

Before leaving the elixir vault, Li Jiansan concealed some of his cultivation once more.

After all, if word spread that Li Jiansan had broken through repeatedly in a single day while at the Foundation Establishment stage, some powers might become covetous.

Still, before he left, Li Jiansan could clearly feel that the great formation inside the elixir vault was slowly gathering the spiritual qi within, at a measured pace.

It seemed that before long, the next batch of disciples would once again be able to enter the elixir vault and obtain tremendous benefits.

After Li Jiansan left the elixir vault, the three old fellows came looking for him.

When they saw him, all three of them approached with smiles.

“Second level of Foundation Establishment? Hmph, you little brat actually broke through a major realm inside there. Are you trying to anger the three of us to death with your talent?”

After discovering Li Jiansan’s cultivation, the three of them were all deeply shocked. Even they, usually so steady and composed, could no longer remain calm.

But in truth, Li Jiansan’s real cultivation had already reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the fifth.

If they knew his true strength, they would likely be shocked senseless.

“Haha, the spiritual qi inside the elixir vault was truly terrifying. I wonder when the vault will open again next time?”

Li Jiansan said with bright eyes.

“You brat, and you still have the gall to think about the next elixir vault trial?”

Master Mo shot him a glare.

“I’m afraid the spiritual qi at the center of the elixir vault has been absorbed by you by at least half, hasn’t it?”

Li Jiansan laughed sheepishly.

After a pause, Master Mo replied, “The elixir vault trial won’t open again for another three years, so stop dreaming about it.”

At this point, Master Qi beside them asked, “The elixir vault is protected by a great formation, and the pressure inside is immense. The pressure at the center is even more terrifying.”

“Even the three of us would have a hard time entering, and yet you brat somehow got in so easily, and could still cultivate so effortlessly inside?”

Master Qi stared fixedly at Li Jiansan, as though he would not let him leave if he failed to answer.

“This...”

“I once saw a similar formation in a book. That book said that all formations, once activated, follow certain patterns. So I used the formations described in the book to avoid the pressure.”

Li Jiansan paused, then casually made up an excuse to brush them off.

After all, the Purple Extreme Demon Eye was hard to explain, and the system’s cheat was even harder.

If he were to explain it properly to this bunch of local natives, he would probably still be talking until next year.

“So that’s how it is...”

Master Qi’s eyes lit up. “Th-then... could you let me take a look at that book?”

“This...”

Li Jiansan hesitated. “It was a filthy old man who showed it to me. After I finished reading it, he snatched it back.”

Master Qi said a little disappointedly, “I see. Then perhaps it was your fate...”

“All right, old thing, stop acting like a martial arts fanatic.”

Seeing the disappointed look in Master Qi’s eyes, Master Mo chuckled.

“Although the elixir vault trial only opens once every three years, there is another opportunity to cultivate that is even more exciting than the elixir vault trial. Do you want to give it a try?”