Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 88 Breakthrough
Gu Changzhou: "The royal family's sacred ground is almost identical to the Yougu Palace."

Every year, Bei Chenyao would reward meritorious officials of the court. The best reward was to allow them to enter the sacred land for a month of cultivation, just like the reward given to Liu Sijun just now.

He had been inside many times and had a direct feeling for the spiritual energy on both sides.

Although Liu Sijun was quite envious of this place, he wouldn't presume to suggest cultivating here. This place was discovered by someone else, and whoever discovered it first would be the owner of this place.

Not far ahead, a stream of spiritual energy flows gently by. The water is crystal clear, yet it also displays five colors. This is because the stream contains five different types of spiritual energy. These five types of spiritual energy blend together without interfering with each other, forming a wonderful balance in the stream.

Liu Sijun felt her heart pounding. She looked at Gu Changzhou and asked, "Could this be the legendary Five Spirit Spring?"

It is not only the Five Spirit Spring, but also a living spring, meaning that the Five Spirit Spring is continuously generated and inexhaustible.

This place might not be very attractive to cultivators with a single spiritual root, but for Liu Sijun, it was a cultivation ground tailor-made for him.

To say I'm not envious would be a lie.

Gu Changzhou nodded: "That's right, it's the Five Spirit Spring."

Many rare spiritual plants grow beside the spiritual spring. Some of these plants have leaves that look like they are carved from jade, with spiritual energy flowing and shimmering. When they sway gently, the spiritual energy they emit can instantly dispel the weariness in one's heart and soothe the hidden loneliness in one's heart.

Gu Changzhou looked at Liu Sijun: "This spiritual spring is a perfect match for your physique. You can cultivate next to the spiritual spring, which can make up for the lack of spiritual energy in the palace and the slow progress of your cultivation."

"You brought me here because you felt guilty that my presence here was hindering your cultivation?"

“Not entirely,” he said. “You are now a resident alchemist, and it’s not easy for you to come here. Make the most of your time to cultivate.”

Liu Sijun was naturally happy to be able to cultivate here.

She truly hadn't expected that Gu Changzhou brought her here on New Year's Day not simply to relax, but to let her cultivate.

……fine.

The two immediately sat cross-legged on the spot and began their cultivation.

Liu Sijun first took a deep breath to calm her slightly excited mood, then slowly closed her eyes and began to circulate the spiritual power in her body, guiding the five elements of spiritual power around the Five Spirit Spring to gather towards her.

As if summoned, the five-colored spiritual energy surged toward her body in wisps, flowing slowly through her meridians and merging into her spiritual power. With each wisp of spiritual power absorbed, she could feel her meridians widening, and her spiritual power becoming increasingly mellow and powerful.

Gu Changzhou, possessing a unique spiritual root, began to calm his mind and concentrate, preparing to cultivate using the abundant spiritual energy beside the Five Spirit Spring.

He formed a hand seal, and a bluish-green aura emanated from his body, a unique color resulting from the intertwining of lightning and wind spiritual power.

As he circulated his spiritual energy, the surrounding air began to vibrate slightly, and spiritual energy was also drawn out from the Five Spirit Springs. However, unlike Liu Sijun, when this spiritual energy approached him, it was automatically filtered by the unique spiritual root within his body. The lightning-attribute spiritual energy transformed into wisps of electric arcs, leaping and flashing in his meridians, constantly strengthening the resilience of his meridians; the wind-attribute spiritual energy, like a gentle breeze, shuttled between his meridians, making the flow of spiritual energy smoother and faster.

For a moment, spiritual energy surged and shimmered around the Five Spirit Spring. The two were so engrossed in cultivation that they forgot everything around them. After an unknown amount of time, Liu Sijun felt that the spiritual energy within her body had reached a critical point, as if an invisible barrier was preventing her from breaking through further.

However, one thing puzzled her: she always felt that the Golden Core was enveloped by a faint, ethereal frost-like aura.

She had this feeling when she first formed her core, but she ignored it.

Liu Sijun frowned slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

She was somewhat anxious, having absolutely no experience and not knowing how to break through this bottleneck.

Although Gu Changzhou was also at a critical stage of cultivation, he still spared a sliver of his divine sense to keep an eye on Liu Sijun's situation, knowing that she had reached a crucial moment.

He carefully controlled his spiritual power, separating a wisp of essence containing both lightning and wind attributes, and transmitted it to Liu Sijun. At the same time, he transmitted his voice, saying, "Don't rush, I will help you with my spiritual power. Try to use this external force to break through that bottleneck."

Upon hearing Gu Changzhou's telepathic message, Liu Sijun immediately composed herself.

Concentrate your mind and guide the external spiritual energy to merge with the spiritual energy within your body.

The lightning-attribute spiritual energy, carrying a fierce and explosive force, slammed into the bottleneck barrier like a sharp blade; the wind-attribute spiritual energy, on the other hand, skillfully moved among the spiritual energies, assisting in the flow of spiritual energy and making the impact more even and lasting.

With the help of Gu Changzhou's spiritual power, Liu Sijun gritted her teeth and circulated her spiritual power with all her might.

Finally, with a loud "boom," the bottleneck barrier was broken through in one fell swoop, and a strong burst of five-colored light erupted from her body, shooting straight into the sky and illuminating the entire area around the Five Spirit Spring in a dazzling display.

Liu Sijun successfully broke through her cultivation level. She slowly opened her eyes, which were filled with surprise and joy.

Seeing that Gu Changzhou was still cultivating, he suppressed his joy and waited patiently.

At this moment, the azure aura around his body became increasingly intense, and wisps of electric arcs flickered along Gu Changzhou's meridians. Each flicker seemed to be tempering his physique, making his aura more and more stable and powerful.

As his cultivation deepened, the air around Gu Changzhou seemed to be stirred up, forming a small vortex of spiritual energy. The water in the Five Spirit Spring also rippled, and the colorful spiritual energy was drawn towards him, merging into the blue light, making the whole scene even more dazzling.

Liu Sijun was secretly amazed!
She knew that Gu Changzhou's spirit was exceptionally gifted, but witnessing firsthand how perfectly he integrated his cultivation with his spiritual power, she couldn't help but feel admiration.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Changzhou's brows suddenly furrowed even more, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Upon seeing this, Liu Sijun instinctively wanted to reach out to help him, but as soon as she reached out, she quickly withdrew her hand. She was afraid that her rash action would interrupt Gu Changzhou's cultivation and harm him instead, so she could only wait quietly to the side.

Fortunately, after a while, Gu Changzhou's expression gradually relaxed, and the blue-green halo began to slowly recede and merge into his body.

Finally, Gu Changzhou slowly opened his eyes. A glint of light flashed in his deep eyes, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, dazzling and sharp. He let out a long sigh and turned to meet Liu Sijun's concerned gaze.

He looked Liu Sijun up and down: "You've broken through?"

(End of this chapter)