Chapter 386: 10 Billion Years for One

Seeing the excited look on Li Yang's face, the Blade Slaughter Sect Master added, "Li Yang, don't get too excited just yet. Don't think the Spirit Pool can compare to the Thunder Pool. While they are often mentioned together, when you really get down to it, the effects of the Thunder Pool far surpass those of the Spirit Pool."

"For tempering the physical body and condensing an Evil Qi domain, the Thunder Pool is what truly matters."

"As for the function of the Spirit Pool..."

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master explained in detail to Li Yang, "You can think of the Spirit Pool as the final step after tempering your body in the Thunder Pool. After entering the Thunder Pool, the energy you absorb is incredibly violent, as is the Evil Qi domain it helps form. This will have a subtle effect on a person's emotions. But by then entering the Spirit Pool, that violent energy will be quickly calmed. That is what makes for a perfect body tempering session."

"Huh?" Li Yang was taken aback.

'The Spirit Pool is the final step for the Thunder Pool? It seems my previous assumptions clearly overestimated its effects.'

"Haha, Li Yang, no need to be discouraged. Even if the Spirit Pool isn't as good as the Thunder Pool, it's still very important. For those who treat body cultivation as a supplementary path, the slight negative side effect from the Evil Qi domain is negligible and won't cause any real issues."

"But for those who make body cultivation their primary focus, like the members of the Thunder Spirit Race, the side effects from that subtle negative influence are quite significant. Rumor has it that the Thunder Spirit Race has been looking for a way to eliminate it for a long time."

"That's precisely why, when those Emperors from the Thunder Spirit Race found out you had the Spirit Pool Token, seven of them appeared at once," the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said with a smile.

"After all, the Spirit Pool can perfectly eliminate that subtle negative influence from the Evil Qi domain."

The path of cultivation emphasizes perfection. The further one progresses, the more any subtle negative influences from the early stages are amplified. Naturally, the best solution is to eliminate those influences completely from the very beginning.

In anything, the final step is the most crucial.

For example, once you master the final nuance of an attack, learning it completely, its power will increase exponentially!

Comprehending the final sliver of a law's profundity allows one to break through to a whole new major realm!

The same is true for body tempering. Only with this final baptism from the Spirit Pool can the tempering from the Thunder Pool be considered complete.

"I understand, Teacher," Li Yang nodded.

He didn't feel any regret; in fact, Li Yang was still overjoyed.

'The Thunder Pool as a whole is comparable in value to a powerful Sacred Artifact. Even if the Spirit Pool isn't as good, it must still possess at least a fraction of the Thunder Pool's effectiveness.'

Li Yang took a deep breath. At last, he finally understood the true nature of the Token in his hand.

'I never expected its origins to be so significant!'

The Thunder Pool of the Thunder Spirit Race was famous, and the formidable physical bodies of its people were directly related to it.

But beyond the Thunder Pool, there was also a Spirit Pool that could allow for better formation of an Evil Qi domain and even eliminate the subtle negative side effects of the Thunder Pool.

"Not many people know about this Spirit Pool. I only learned of its existence because I once fought alongside a Deity from the Thunder Spirit Race who mentioned it to me."

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master remarked with a sigh. He looked at Li Yang and said with a smile, "In terms of value, this Spirit Pool Token is far more precious than the fragmented part of the Sacred Artifact Sword Net Array that you obtained from the Star Moon Race's Star Moon Stele."

Li Yang's heart swelled with joy. He couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, how should I handle this Token? How should I negotiate with the Thunder Spirit Race?"

The longsword he had previously obtained from the Star Moon Race was a Divine Artifact in its own right, not to mention a component of the Sacred Artifact Sword Net Array. It was incredibly useful even when wielded alone.

'But this Token can obviously only open the Spirit Pool, making it useful only to the Thunder Spirit Race. Otherwise, it's completely useless. It would just take up space in my Spatial Ring.'

Li Yang was determined to trade it away.

"Haha, Li Yang, the Thunder Spirit Race must be desperate for this Spirit Pool Token. This time, you can use this opportunity to properly increase your strength within their clan."

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master said with a smile, "I have a few suggestions for you. First, you should demand to enter the Thunder Pool alone."

"Enter alone?" Li Yang's interest was piqued.

The information he had received earlier was that he would enter the Thunder Pool to temper his body along with five geniuses from the Thunder Spirit Race.

"That's right. The energy in the Thunder Pool is finite. Naturally, the tempering effect is best when you're in there alone."

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master said, "Even though it's difficult for a single person to condense an Evil Qi domain, there's a definite difference in effectiveness between several people competing for energy and one person being free to absorb and condense all the energy at will."

Li Yang nodded. From a personal standpoint, absorbing all the energy alone was, of course, the only way to maximize his own increase in strength.

"Besides that, I suggest you negotiate with the Thunder Spirit Race for Evil Qi Crystal Stones! Twenty Evil Qi Crystal Stones! If they give them to you, then you hand over the Token," the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said.

"Evil Qi Crystal Stones?" Li Yang asked, confused. "Teacher, what are they?"

'Back with the Star Moon Race, the Sect Master advised me to ask for Divine Artifacts, contribution points, and so on. But now, with the Thunder Spirit Race, he's only telling me to ask for Evil Qi Crystal Stones.'

Looking at his disciple, the Blade Slaughter Sect Master said, "Li Yang, an Evil Qi domain can only be condensed and formed inside the Thunder Pool. Once you leave, its development basically grinds to a halt. Making further progress becomes extremely difficult."

"However, by absorbing Evil Qi Crystal Stones, you can allow your Evil Qi domain to continue developing. In fact, the rate of improvement can increase by at least ten thousandfold!"

"More than ten thousandfold?" Li Yang was utterly astounded.

'Aren't these just like Spirit Liquid and other such things?'

He recalled that when he broke through to the Star Lord Realm, he had relied on things like Spirit Liquid to reach the peak of the Star Lord Realm in just over a year.

Without that Spirit Liquid, however, relying on the normal absorption of Spiritual Power would have taken an incredibly long time.

There was no telling how many cultivators in the entire Cosmos were in the Star Lord Realm, yet over ninety-nine percent of them never reached its peak.

This was precisely because the process of improving oneself by absorbing Spiritual Power is excruciatingly slow; it's not something that happens overnight.

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master continued, "Among our Human Race, a small number of experts who focus on body cultivation have also gone to the Thunder Spirit Race to condense an Evil Qi domain. And even they have to pay an enormous price to trade for Evil Qi Crystal Stones, and that includes Emperors!"

"What? Emperors?" At this, shock once again filled Li Yang's eyes.

'Even Emperors need Evil Qi Crystal Stones for their cultivation?'

"Yes, even Emperors."

The Blade Slaughter Sect Master nodded. "Evil Qi Crystal Stones are incredibly difficult to form. You know about the Fire Spirit Pearls from the Fire Nether Divine Beast clan, right? It takes over one hundred million years to create a single Fire Spirit Pearl. But one of these Evil Qi Crystal Stones takes ten billion years to form!"

"A single Evil Qi Crystal Stone contains enough Evil Qi for a Deity to absorb for a very long time! Even those Emperors who possess Evil Qi domains use them for cultivation. As for their true effect..."

"If a person hasn't comprehended any laws, just by absorbing the energy from a single, complete Evil Qi Crystal Stone, their physical body alone would be strong enough to completely overwhelm an ordinary Deity!"