Chapter 368: 171 Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land_2
Though Xue Mingzhi had decent talent, there was still a certain gap from being considered a true prodigy. If it hadn’t been for Shen Yuan repeatedly bestowing opportunities, such rapid progress would have been impossible.
In the Essence Refining to Qi Transformation Stage, cultivators can break through quickly as long as there is sufficient Spirit Energy. It was precisely because Xue Mingzhi possessed Spirit Energy resources beyond the reach of others that he was known as a prodigy.
However, once reaching the Qi Training Stage, it’s no longer a matter that can be resolved with resources alone—the difficulty of Elemental Qi Absorption far exceeded Xue Mingzhi’s expectations.
Elemental Qi Absorption requires not only resources but also knowledge of the breakthrough points, a solid foundation, and an understanding and application of skills.
Aside from the knowledge of breakthroughs he got from Gong Buyu, both Xue Mingzhi’s foundation and understanding of skills were far from meeting the requirements for a breakthrough, leaving him stuck at the Qi Transformation Peak for several months.
During such a long time, those prodigies within the Imperial Capital had already surpassed him, breaking into the Qi Training Stage.
Even those capital geniuses originally less advanced in cultivation had reached the Qi Transformation Peak. Xue Mingzhi’s name as a prodigy of the Imperial Capital became a joke among the various noble families for a while.
Even within the Xue Family, many questioned the resources given to Xue Mingzhi.
Some claimed that if they had been granted the resources invested in Xue Mingzhi, they could have also reached the Qi Transformation Peak.
Under all the criticism, Xue Mingzhi finally realized that he was not really a prodigy. He temporarily set aside the idea of forcefully pushing into the Qi Training Stage and chose to comprehend Divine Power skills to solidify his foundation.
Eventually, just a few days ago, following Gong Buyu’s guidance, Xue Mingzhi successfully advanced to the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Although he had been stuck at the Qi Transformation Peak for a lengthy period, he finally crossed that threshold, and the label of Imperial Capital prodigy attached to Xue Mingzhi was mentioned once again.
However, having gone through this experience, Xue Mingzhi no longer cared about the so-called title of prodigy. He paid no attention to the outside world’s praise; as soon as his realm stabilized, he went to visit Shen Yuan.
After listening to Xue Mingzhi’s account, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but show a hint of a smile.
“Not bad, it seems that these months of trials and hardships have indeed been fruitful.”
In Shen Yuan’s view, although Xue Mingzhi took a very long time to break through, this experience might not be a bad thing for him.
Xue Mingzhi was not a monstrous prodigy like Gong Buyu. Having more experiences of setbacks and recognizing his own limitations was beneficial for the current Xue Mingzhi.
If he could find his proper place and coupled with a bit of fortune bestowed by Shen Yuan, his achievements in the future might not fall short of those true prodigies.
Of course, this only applied to average prodigies. When it came to someone like Gong Buyu, who could be considered a monstrous talent even in an era of cultivation flourishing thousands of years ago, Xue Mingzhi was still far behind.
With a tap of his forefinger on the tabletop, the dazzling Great Sun that had just risen in the sky slowly disappeared, replaced by the myriad of stars and the Starry Bodhi Treeformed by the Sainthood Attainment Enlightenment Array Formation.
Shen Yuan extended his right hand in a grasping motion and plucked a bodhi leaf made of starlight from the vast Starry Bodhi Tree.
As his thoughts moved slightly, Shen Yuan exhaled a wisp of barely noticeable Origin-purifying Xuanzhen Qi, which wrapped around the starlight bodhi leaf, forming delicate characters.
When the last character was done, the stars vanished once again; the Great Sun reilluminated the Courtyard Secret Realm in the sky above.
With a flick of his finger, Shen Yuan tossed the starlight bodhi leaf inscribed with the Divine Secret Skill to Xue Mingzhi.
“During the discussion at the end of the conference, I had said that once you advance to the Qi Training Stage, I would grant you a Divine Power skill.
However, the five Divine Powers I had prepared before have already been given to those destined. The 6th Divine Power was a recent enlightenment of mine, and today I give it to you; I hope you will diligently cultivate and do not disgrace this Divine Power.”
Xue Mingzhi respectfully extended his hands to receive the starlight bodhi leaf. As soon as his palms touched the leaf transformed from starlight, he immediately felt a clarity in his mind and as if a multitude of inspirations flickered within his Spiritual Platform.
The barriers he had previously been unable to understand about certain skills and spells were instantly broken through at this moment, and he gained a new understanding of the Qi Training Stage he had just stepped into.
With vast amounts of information flashing in his mind just from touching the starlight bodhi leaf, Xue Mingzhi realized that it was indeed an exceptional treasure for aiding in cultivation.
What Xue Mingzhi did not know was that the five starlight bodhi leaves previously handed down by Shen Yuan over the eons were taken from the Starlight Bodhi Tree that had not yet merged with the starry sky, and the characters were written with the Primal Chaos Energy, which, besides its profound energy, had no special effects.
The starlight bodhi leaf now in Xue Mingzhi’s hands, due to the fusion of the Starry Bodhi with the starry sky and the boost from the Star Astrology Divine Power, contained a Light of Enlightenment that far exceeded the previous five leaves.
And the Qi of heaven and earth used to write the characters was the Origin-purifying Xuanzhen Qi, which aids cultivators in increasing their comprehension.
The combination of both could indeed be considered a precious treasure for aiding in cultivation.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xue Mingzhi quickly looked at the characters recorded on the starlight bodhi leaf.
At the very top of this wondrous item were four exquisitely written characters.
Star Evolving Technique
Xue Mingzhi read on carefully and gradually understood that this was an offensive Divine Power skill that combined the Star Orientation Method to bolster oneself.
However, as he delved deeper, Xue Mingzhi felt that this Divine Power was also like a Divine Power Deduction Method.