Starting Cultivation During a Trip

The next day, early morning.

The first rays of the sun gently shone, cloaking Pearl Lake in a layer of delicate golden light, rippling with the waves.

In the restaurant of the Zhu Lake Grand Hotel, through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could gaze upon the morning glow of Pearl Lake while having breakfast, enjoying the lake view, which added a unique charm.

This is why staying here costs over eight hundred a night.

Of course, now that Zhang Fan has four million in savings, he doesn’t mind too much.

"Miaoyin, are you sure you’re okay?"

Zhang Fan looked at Li Miaoyin, unable to hide his concern.

After a night’s rest, Li Miaoyin seemed fine, though her face was slightly pale, and her lips lacked color. She wore home clothes and no makeup, adding a certain delicate beauty.

"I’m not so fragile; I’m really fine." Li Miaoyin reassured.

"If you feel uncomfortable, say it right away." Zhang Fan added another reminder.

"Do you want to find a place to examine me?" Li Miaoyin teased with a half-smile.

"No need for that!" Zhang Fan laughed awkwardly.

"Cough... cough..."

At this moment, a bout of coughing interrupted their conversation.

Zhang Fan glanced over, remembering that Ge Shuangxiu was still sitting nearby, staring at them indifferently.

"Do I need to change tables and give you two some space?" Ge Shuangxiu couldn’t resist saying.

"Old Ge, what are you talking about?"

Zhang Fan chuckled, picking up a salted duck egg from the table and placing it on Ge Shuangxiu’s plate.

"Eat more."

"Are you sure you’re okay!? "

Li Miaoyin questioned, her gaze at Zhang Fan full of concern.

Ge Shuangxiu heard this and couldn’t help but look at Zhang Fan, remembering how Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit had been shattered by Zhang Evil.

For most people, even minor cracks in the Primordial Spirit could lead to significant issues, ranging from mental instability to madness, or even death, with everything dissipating within a hundred days.

Yet, despite Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit being fragmented, he seemed invigorated after just one night, as if nothing had happened—it was truly baffling.

"Nothing to worry about now." Zhang Fan shook his head, picked up a bun, and took a bite.

After a night of profound cultivation, his Primordial Spirit was restored, unharmed.

Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit was like a barrel of water, neither increasing nor decreasing, as if it had never experienced a tribulation.

"Is the Divine Demon Holy Embryo really so heaven-defying?" Ge Shuangxiu questioned skeptically, eyeing Zhang Fan.

He knew the Divine Demon Holy Embryo was a Supreme Technique for the Primordial Spirit, and once mastered, it made the Primordial Spirit remarkably strong. But to recover so easily from such severe injuries as if it were a cold—it seemed unlikely.

"It healed naturally." Zhang Fan replied casually.

He hadn’t just trained the Divine Demon Holy Embryo; he’d also practiced the Three Corpses Illuminating Fate, making fragmenting his Primordial Spirit inconsequential.

"You’re becoming more of a monster." Ge Shuangxiu muttered.

Great Night, cracks in the Primordial Spirit...

What Cultivators feared as a great tribulation was, for Zhang Fan, as routine as eating and drinking, astonishingly so.

"What about that precious item of yours?"

At this moment, Li Miaoyin shifted the conversation abruptly.

Hearing this, Zhang Fan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He pulled out a black iron plate from his chest and placed it on the table.

Since it fell into his hands, he’d been fidgeting with it like a plaything. The black surface had developed a patina, emitting a faint subdued light, looking unremarkable; it could be overlooked in a garbage pile.

"This little thing took down a master of the Sect Leader Realm!?"

Ge Shuangxiu stared at the black iron plate on the table in disbelief.

The Sect Leader Realm was already rare, let alone a master from the Northern Zhang Lineage, rare and precious like a giant panda, yet this small iron plate annihilated him, leaving nothing behind.

"Destroyed the body, ruined the Inner Core, obliterated the Primordial Spirit... everything perished, all techniques turned to void..."

Li Miaoyin recalled yesterday’s scene, murmuring with a solemn look on her face.

"This thing has an unusual ferocity."

"It might be a fragment of some significant Magical Treasure." Li Miaoyin speculated: "Moreover..."

"It is still alive!"

"Alive!?" Zhang Fan was stunned, as if speaking of not a Magical Treasure, but a life.

"What do you consider life?"

Li Miaoyin seemed to guess Zhang Fan’s thoughts and quickly turned to ask.

"This..."

"Speaking, awareness, reproduction..." Li Miaoyin shook her head, listing features of life.

"Do plants count as life? They grow there, don’t speak, don’t interact, don’t even move."

"Do bacteria count as life? Ordinary people can’t even see them..."

"Water lacks knowledge, and the manifestation of the Dao is ever-changing... even with our shallow cultivation, it’s hard to comprehend all mysteries of the universe." Li Miaoyin mused.

"Are you saying Magical Treasures have life too?" Zhang Fan pondered thoughtfully.

"Daoist Sect’s Magical Treasures derive essence from heaven and earth, incorporating the essence of Daoist Skill, refined over time with human effort." Ge Shuangxiu said solemnly.

A century-old refining can produce common Magical Artifacts; by being an ’artifact,’ it naturally lacks life.

In ancient cultures, an important concept was called [Longevity Spirit Communication].

"Generally, a treasure that has been worshipped for over a century gains spirituality, having life as well." Ge Shuangxiu explained.

When worshipped over a century, it can be called a Magical Treasure.