Hmm?
Just as Xiaobai emerged from the Spiritual Beast Bag, Guo Feilong sensed an aura comparable to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. He turned his head to look at the White Fox Fairy on his left.
There, in the forest, was a white fox much larger than a full-grown horse, exuding an aura equivalent to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
"Xiaobai, we'll be counting on you for the spirit herbs and medicines."
The White Fox Fairy sat on the white fox's back, gently stroking the head of the Treasure-Seeking Fox.
Seeing this, Guo Feilong was filled with envy.
Their Treasure-Seeking Fox was named Xiaobai and was a mid-Foundation Establishment spiritual beast.
His own Treasure-Seeking Mink was also named Xiaobai, but it was only a Qi Refining stage spiritual beast.
Both named Xiaobai, yet the difference between them was so vast.
"Xiaobai, when will you reach the mid-stage too?"
Guo Feilong took out a few spiritual beast elixirs and fed them to his Ninth Rank Treasure-Seeking Mink Xiaobai like candy, hoping it would also advance to the Foundation Establishment stage.
The difference between a Foundation Establishment Treasure-Seeking Beast and a Qi Refining one in treasure hunting is enormous.
Cultivators, though possessing Divine Sense akin to an infrared scanner, can see objects clearly within a certain range without using their eyes.
However, even if a cultivator's Divine Sense covers hundreds of meters, there might be tens of thousands of plants within that area.
It's impossible to instantly identify spirit herbs and medicines among them.
The larger the area covered by Divine Sense, the more detailed the objects it can perceive.
Unless the object being sought is particularly distinctive, like finding a person in a forest, where the difference in appearance between a person and the surrounding flora is stark, making it easy to spot.
If a cultivator's Divine Sense covers a hundred miles, finding one person among tens of thousands is still extremely challenging.
Unless the person's aura imprint is remembered, allowing them to be instantly located within the Divine Sense's range.
It's impossible to easily identify spirit herbs and medicines within a few miles using Divine Sense alone.
Spirit herbs and medicines contain Spiritual Energy that is internalized, not emitted outward. Even if Divine Sense sweeps over them, without sensing any spiritual fluctuations, they might be mistaken for ordinary plants.
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Unless the spirit herbs and medicines are in a special state, emitting spiritual energy like a light in the night, they won't be easily detected by Divine Sense.
Human cultivators must rely on their eyes and a small area of Divine Sense to quickly differentiate and identify spirit herbs and medicines.
Treasure-Seeking Beasts, however, are different. They are particularly sensitive to the aura of spirit herbs and medicines, able to detect what human cultivators cannot.
Like a dog's nose, which can smell scents from hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away, far beyond what a human nose can do.
At this moment, Guo Feilong's Divine Sense detected another aura comparable to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
He looked to the left again, his gaze and Divine Sense passing over the White Fox Fairy and through many shrubs and tall trees.
He saw another female cultivator wearing a black bamboo hat, with a Red Fox Fairy beside her, accompanied by a fiery red fox.
This was another Treasure-Seeking Fox spiritual beast comparable to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, making Guo Feilong even more envious.
This also indicated that the two sisters wearing black bamboo hats had extraordinary backgrounds.
Treasure-Seeking Beasts are rare, and those at the Foundation Establishment stage are even rarer.
Guo Feilong knew that in the Spirit Creek Sect, there were only four Foundation Establishment stage Treasure-Seeking Beasts, all owned by Golden Elixir stage Ancestors of the sect.
The Divine Sense range of early Foundation Establishment stage cultivators is about ten miles, mid-stage twenty miles, late-stage thirty miles, and late-stage Great Perfection is forty miles.
The range of a cultivator's Divine Sense is related to the strength of their Divine Soul.
At the same cultivation stage, the stronger the Divine Soul, the farther the range.
The weaker the Divine Soul, the closer the range.
There are several ways to strengthen the Divine Soul.
The first is through cultivation techniques that enhance the Divine Soul.
However, such techniques are extremely rare and precious.
Even the Spirit Creek Sect doesn't have them.
Only larger cultivation forces might possess them.
The second is by consuming natural treasures or spirit pills that can enhance the Divine Soul.
These natural treasures are equally rare and precious.
Guo Feilong had visited many cultivation markets and auctions in the Northern Borders Continent's cultivation world but never encountered such treasures.
The third is that when a cultivator breaks through major or minor stages, their Divine Soul naturally grows.
In truth, regardless of the being, the Divine Soul is the true essence of life, while the physical form is merely a vessel for the Divine Soul.
If the Divine Soul perishes, it's true death.
If the Divine Soul exists but the physical form is destroyed, it's not considered death; one can seize another body or reconstruct their physical form.
Guo Feilong had read in a tome at the Spirit Creek Sect that the Elemental Infant of an Elemental Infant stage cultivator serves as a second body for the Divine Soul.
Even if the physical form is destroyed, the Divine Soul can reside within the Elemental Infant, continuing to exist in the world.
However, without the protection of the physical form, the Elemental Infant becomes very fragile over time and can be easily shattered.
Thus, reconstructing the physical form or seizing another body becomes necessary.
The tome recorded that when cultivators and other beings reach a certain level of cultivation, they essentially cultivate the Divine Soul.
Cultivating the Divine Soul to the point where it can exist in the world without a physical form, just as it can with one, capable of igniting mountains and boiling seas with a thought, shaking the heavens and earth.
But those thoughts were distant for now. Guo Feilong calmed his mind, setting aside such considerations.
This Fourth Grade Heavenly Abode small world had powerful spiritual beasts, and Guo Feilong feared for the safety of Treasure-Seeking Mink Xiaobai, so he sat directly on Xiaobai's back. If danger arose, he could respond immediately.
Humans, spiritual beasts, and fairies, when concealing their aura, are difficult to detect with Divine Sense. Better safe than sorry; he only had this one Treasure-Seeking Beast and couldn't afford to lose it here.
This undeveloped Fourth Grade Heavenly Abode small world was truly a treasure trove. In less than three hours of entering the forest, Xiaobai had already found four Sixth Grade spirit herbs and medicines, over twenty Fifth Grade ones, and more than a hundred low-grade ones.
Of course, this was only possible because he had a Treasure-Seeking Beast.
Without one, relying solely on eyes and a small area of Divine Sense to differentiate and search bit by bit would never yield such a bounty. Achieving even a tenth of it would be fortunate.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Guo Feilong and his companions had crossed over two hundred miles of forest plains and reached the edge of a continuous mountain range.
During these two days in the forest plains, they encountered only one spiritual beast comparable to the early Foundation Establishment stage; the rest were equivalent to the Qi Refining stage.
They also came across some corpses, all of which, judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations, were Qi Refining stage cultivators.
This was quite normal, considering this Fourth Grade Heavenly Abode small world had only been connected to the cultivation world for a little over ten days. It was essentially brimming with spirit herbs and medicines.
Those who entered first must have collected a significant amount of spirit herbs and medicines.
In the eyes of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Qi Refining stage cultivators were as weak as chicks, easily killed, and having their treasures seized was commonplace.