After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Old Sun knew exactly what the Seven Star Grass was all about.

Because that's what he did; an ordinary spiritual plant doctor couldn't save him.

He just wanted to test Lu Qingchen's abilities, but he didn't expect the kid to actually succeed.

After a long silence, he finally spoke: "How did you do that?"

"This disciple does not know either."

Lu Qingchen scratched his head, looking innocent. "Senior Sister Shen helped a lot. She taught me how to change the soil, control the watering, and ensure proper aeration. I just did what she said, and then... it came back to life."

Old Sun looked up and glanced at him.

He knew all these methods, but they alone couldn't save this Seven Star Grass.

"Wait a moment."

After he finished speaking, he turned and went into the house.

After a while, he came out, carrying several items in his hands—a small bronze mirror, a silver needle, a dusty spirit-appraising stone, and a palm-sized jade plate with finely engraved markings on its edge.

Lu Qingchen recognized the stone; it was a spirit-testing stone used for assessing spiritual power.

"Stretch out your hand."

Old Master Sun inserted a silver needle into his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of blood onto the spirit-seeking stone.

The stone lit up with five-colored light, still a low-grade five-elemental root, with no change.

Then they used a bronze mirror to look at his dantian. The mirror surface shimmered with spiritual light, but nothing unusual could be seen.

Finally, Elder Sun placed the jade plate on the table and asked Lu Qingchen to place his hand on it.

A pale blue light shone in the center of the jade plate, with the edge of the light falling precisely on the "three inches and four fen" mark.

Old Master Sun frowned and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his sleeve—it was Lu Qingchen's spiritual body detection record when he entered the sect.

It reads: Green Wood Spirit Body, incomplete, spiritual light intensity 3.2 inches.

Three inches and two fen became three inches and three fen.

Although it only increased by one point, things have indeed changed.

Old Master Sun put down the jade leaf and stared at Lu Qingchen for a long while.

"Your spirit form is stronger than when you first started. What have you been doing during this time?"

Lu Qingchen's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I haven't done anything special. I just practice the 'Azure Wood Spirit Gathering Technique' every day and use the vitality of plants and trees by the spirit field to condense pure energy."

"If I had to name a change... it would probably be from practicing this technique."

Old Master Sun pondered for a moment, then picked up the jade plate again and looked at it, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

He certainly knew about the "Azure Wood Spirit Nourishing Technique," as it was a basic cultivation method for spiritual plant practitioners, practiced by countless people, but he had never heard of it being able to nourish the spiritual body.

But apart from that, the kid really didn't do anything else.

He stared at Lu Qingchen for a few more seconds, but couldn't figure it out, so he finally waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can go now."

Lu Qingchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and turned to leave the herb garden.

He walked quite a distance before he dared to breathe heavily.

That test just now almost scared him to death.

Fortunately, the stele was well hidden, so these spirit-testing tools couldn't detect it.

Old Sun stood there, watching Lu Qingchen's figure disappear behind the bamboo forest. He looked down at the pot of Seven Star Grass, pinched the leaves, and smelled them. His brows furrowed more and more.

"What secrets does this kid hold?"

He thought for a long time before his gaze fell on the test record.

The spirit body has indeed changed—the intensity of the aura has increased from 3.2 inches to 3.4 inches.

Could it be that his revival of the Seven Star Grass was related to the spiritual transformation?

How can a spirit change on its own?

Incomplete spirits are said to get weaker, not stronger.

He muttered to himself, "Could it be because he cultivated the 'Azure Wood Spirit Nourishing Technique'? That technique can nourish the spiritual body? But I've never heard of such an effect..."

He shook his head, carried the pot of seven-star grass into the house, placed it on the windowsill, and gazed thoughtfully at the tender green leaves.

"Alright, let's observe him further in the future. If his spirit body can truly change gradually, this kid will have a great future in the field of spiritual plants."

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the leaves, and the blade of grass swayed gently in the breeze, as if responding to his words.

......

As night fell, Lu Qingchen sat cross-legged on the bed in the makeshift room he had set up. Instead of immediately starting his cultivation, he recalled Elder Sun's questions from earlier that day.

Although Old Sun didn't ask any further questions, his eyes were clearly still pondering something.

He reviewed his performance over the past period from beginning to end to make sure he hadn't revealed any flaws.

Although spiritual transformations are rare, they are not without precedent; a similar example is recorded in the miscellaneous records in the library.

Even if Mr. Sun has doubts, he probably won't pursue the matter too much.

Pulling his thoughts back, Lu Qingchen stopped thinking about it and focused on cultivation.

The amount of pure energy in his body has now reached forty-seven strands.

It took him nearly three months to cultivate forty-seven strands—a speed that was undeniably slow compared to Chu Yunfeng's.

But Lu Qingchen was already quite satisfied with this, considering that his spiritual root was only a low-grade fifth-level spiritual root.

Without the help of the Dao stele and the vitality of plants, it would probably be impossible to even reach this number.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, beginning his cultivation for the evening.

The mantra of the "Azure Wood Spiritual Essence Technique" flowed silently through my mind.

He placed his hands on his knees, palms up, his five points facing the sky, and his breathing gradually became long and even.

With each breath, the spiritual energy within his body began to surge slowly, like lake water stirred by the wind, spreading from his dantian to his limbs and bones.

The spiritual energy rises from the dantian, travels along the Ren meridian, passes through the Qihai point, passes through the Guanyuan point, and reaches the Tanzhong point.

After pausing briefly at the Tanzhong point, the flow splits into two paths: one path follows the three Yin meridians of the hand into both arms, while the other continues upward past the Yuzhen and Baihui points, then descends along the Du meridian back to the Dantian.

Once a full cycle is completed, the spiritual energy circulates through the meridians in a complete cycle, like a dried-up riverbed welcoming water, with every obstacle being washed away by the spiritual energy.

Lu Qingchen looked inward at his dantian. The forty-seven strands of pure energy were like forty-seven fine silk threads, slowly rotating in his dantian, each occupying its own space and not interfering with each other.

Each wisp of pure energy embodies his hard work over several days. Some are brighter, some are dimmer, but they all slowly absorb and release spiritual power, maintaining the balance in his dantian.

In the path of cultivation, the greatest taboo is impatience.

The process of condensing pure energy relies on meticulous effort—gathering, compressing, purifying, and removing impurities from the scattered spiritual energy within the body, one strand at a time.

This process cannot be rushed. If you rush it, your spiritual energy will run wild, which can lead to the dissipation of your vital energy or even damage to your meridians.

He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and began to try to condense the forty-eighth strand of pure energy.

The gathering of pure energy does not arise from nothing; it requires the essence and blood within the body as a guide.

The essence and blood refined during the marrow cleansing period are the fundamental fuel for "refining essence into qi," and pure qi is the first flame refined from this fuel.

He looked inward into the depths of his dantian, where his essence and blood flowed slowly at the very core, crimson like blood beads, radiating a warm and life-giving aura.

Every drop of his essence and blood embodies the arduous work he has put into cleansing his marrow over several days; it is the key to his transformation from a mortal body to a spiritual one.