Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

In the blink of an eye, Qin Le and his companions had been in the Heavenly Realm for over a month.

Under the triple blessing of Qin Le's third sermon, the tenfold acceleration of time in the Time Secret Realm, and the pure spiritual energy far surpassing that of the mortal realm, his dining companions have all broken through and entered the early stage of Refining Void and Integrating Dao!

This speed is astonishing. You should know that it is common for many senior students in the academy to spend two or three years on the perfect Refining Spirit Returning to Emptiness stage.

Chen Yun and his group, from the time they enrolled until now, including the time acceleration, have only been a little over a year, yet they have already crossed a major realm.

However, upon closer examination, it makes sense—with Qin Le continuously preaching and being in the best cultivation environment, if they still couldn't break through, they would probably start to doubt their own existence and develop inner demons.

On this day, the group finished their cultivation and left the Time Realm together, flying towards the Ascension Land.

The Lunar New Year is approaching in the mortal realm, with only two or three days left. They had already made a promise to go home and spend the New Year with their families.

At the ascension site, the black-robed man responsible for guiding the immortals had been waiting for some time. This place was both the entrance to ascension and the passage for immortals to return to the mortal realm.

The group stepped into the teleportation array's range. The array patterns lit up, and a white light engulfed their vision.

After a brief feeling of weightlessness and displacement, I found myself standing on the familiar jade floor of the Alliance headquarters.

Stepping out of the Alliance building and breathing in the air of the mortal world again, the group felt as if they had been transported to another world.

"How about..." Wang Zhiheng glanced at the sky and suggested with a smile, "Let's go have lunch first? To celebrate our breakthrough, and... to satisfy our cravings."

They had been cultivating in seclusion in the Celestial Realm and the Secret Realm of Time for over a year, without eating a single grain of rice.

Although the Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation Realm allows one to abstain from grains, this is the first time he has gone without food or drink for such a long time.

Now that I'm back in the everyday world, the craving for delicious food is simply irresistible.

"Yes!" Chen Yun was the first to raise his hand in agreement, his eyes shining.

"I'm fine," Qin Le smiled.

Even though he didn't stay in the secret realm all the time, wandering around the Delicious Desert Celestial Realm was still a kind of torture for a foodie—both the front lines and the rear were preparing for war, and the gods didn't even have time to eat, so he was too embarrassed to go looking for food alone.

"We have to go!"

"it is good."

"..."

The others readily agreed. Cultivation was important, but satisfying one's appetite was equally important at this moment.

The group, familiar with the place, found a hot pot restaurant with a good reputation.

After ordering a table full of dishes, while waiting for the pot to boil, Chen Yun leaned back in his chair, his face filled with reminiscence and anticipation:

"I wonder... if I'll ever have the chance to cultivate in the Time Realm again."

Qin Le cooked a slice of tripe and laughed, "I'll go one more time at most. Any more... it won't make a difference."

"Huh? Why?" Chen Yun was taken aback.

The others also cast questioning glances at them.

"Let's go again." Qin Le dipped the cooked tripe in the sauce and said slowly, "You'll most likely be able to push your cultivation to the peak of the Refining Void and Integrating Dao stage. Beyond that... is the Earth Immortal realm. That place can't help you comprehend the laws."

Chen Yun suddenly realized, slapping his forehead: "That's right!"

The others also realized what was happening. They were now at the early stage of the Refining Void and Integrating Dao realm, and with the help of the secret realm, it wouldn't be difficult for them to accumulate spiritual power to perfection.

The key to reaching the Earth Immortal realm lies in comprehending the laws, and the Time Realm offers no help in this regard. Entering solely to accumulate spiritual power would be a waste of precious lifespan, a losing proposition.

They might not even need to go again.

The top priority right now is figuring out how to understand one's own laws.

Accumulating spiritual energy is secondary.

Apart from Chu Xiaonan, whose physical cultivation cannot be stopped, and Chen Yun, whose scientific research requires continuous investment, everyone else should shift their focus to enlightenment.

After enjoying a steaming hot pot meal, the group said goodbye at the restaurant entrance and embarked on their journeys home.

Qin Le pushed open the door to her home.

In the living room, Lin Wanrou was sprawled on the sofa, her hair a messy, frizzy mess, and her face and body covered in soot—clearly, she had just experienced another research accident.

When her son entered, her eyes lit up. She sat up straight, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that stood out against the black and gray background.

"Son's back! Did you buy the things?"

Qin Le smiled and walked over, taking out two storage rings of different styles, and handed them over along with the contribution token engraved with the words "Heavenly Court".

"They're all inside."

Lin Wanrou took it and immediately probed the unfamiliar storage ring with her divine sense. She hadn't even looked at the one that contained spirit stones that Lin Wanrou had given her.

Sensing the mountain of neatly arranged alchemy materials inside, her face instantly lit up with a smile:

"Excellent! Just as I expected of my son! He's so efficient!"

At this moment, Qin Le asked, "Mom, where do we put Jiu You...?"

With a thought, a white jade bonsai appeared in his hand. On it grew a dark red Nine-Life Flower, shrunk to about a foot tall with drooping petals—it was the Nine Netherworld Flower.

The potted plant was filled with a milky white, viscous liquid that emitted an astonishing vitality.

Even with the nourishment of Qin Le's power of creation, Jiu You is still unable to escape this liquid.

Qin Le had already learned from the jade slip given to him by Laozi that this liquid was called the Fountain of Life, a unique wonder of the underworld, an important supplement to the cycle of reincarnation in the three realms, and a holy product for healing.

"Come with me, the place has been prepared." Lin Wanrou stood up and patted the dust off her clothes.

Even before Qin Le returned, her master Qingyu had already sent a message informing her that the Nine-Life Flower of the Supreme Lord Laozi would descend to the mortal realm with Qin Le to recuperate. Lin Wanrou immediately cleared out a prime spot in her family's medicinal garden.

The mother and son arrived at the herb garden in the backyard. Lin Wanrou pointed to a spot next to the spirit liquid pool with excellent lighting and spiritual energy:

"Let's put Senior Jiuyou next to Qingyan. They are both spiritual beings of heaven and earth. Being neighbors might allow them to chat and relieve boredom in the future."

"Okay." Qin Le nodded and gently put the potted plant down.

The moment the white jade bonsai landed, it seemed to have triggered some kind of restriction.

The plant of the Nine Netherworld grew and stretched rapidly without a sound, and in the blink of an eye it returned to its normal size, which was half a head taller than Qin Le. The dark red petals swayed gently in the breeze. Although it still looked weak, the ancient aura of the spirit of heaven and earth had quietly permeated the air.

After settling Jiuyou in, the two returned to the living room.

Qin Le took out another item from his storage ring—the ancient, heavy, and understated giant alchemy furnace that Shennong had once used. With a soft rumble, he placed it in the center of the living room.

"Mom, this is for you," Qin Le said with a smile.

"this……!"

Lin Wanrou's gaze fell upon the alchemy furnace, sensing the immense and profound Daoist principles within it, far exceeding her comprehension. Her eyes widened instantly, her face filled with shock:

"Where...where did you get such a fine alchemy furnace?!"

Within her knowledge, only Laozi's Eight Trigrams Furnace seemed to possess a similar aura to this level of alchemy furnace.

Her first thought was that her son might have stolen Laozi's incense burner...

But she immediately dismissed the absurd idea—her son wasn't capable of that.

"We found it in Shennong's former home," Qin Le explained, then took out a jade bottle and handed it over: "There are also some special medicinal liquids inside, which also came from there. Most of them were given to Laozi, and he gave you about a third of them, saying he would keep them for your scientific research."

Lin Wanrou didn't take the jade bottle; she kept staring at the Great Dao Pill Furnace, her expression gradually shifting from shock to an incredulous and strange look.

"You...you brought back all of Shennong's eating utensils?! And he...he didn't beat you up?!"