"Could it be that I haven't awakened?

"Is this the result of taking too many Awakening Pills?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li's heart immediately suspended in mid-air.

"Don't worry, Monkey. This is definitely awakening," Qin Shouren reassured Lu Li, noticing his tense expression.

However, Fan Zhengping's expression grew indifferent. He thought to himself, Awakening three at once? It's obvious they're all mixed spiritual roots. The master probably won't accept three disciples with mixed spiritual roots.

With a heavy heart, he walked out.

Lu Li noticed this and beckoned Qin Shouren and Chen Zhong over. He asked in a low voice, "Have you guys noticed any changes in your bodies these past two days?"

The two exchanged glances, and Qin Shouren said, "No other changes, but our eyesight and hearing have become much sharper. Also, sometimes when we close our eyes, we can see our own bodies. According to the entry-level mantra Fan Senior gave us, it seems we're condensing our divine senses."

Chen Zhong nodded, "Same here."

Lu Li knew the mantra too. After awakening, the Qi channels would appear. Condensing the divine sense allowed internal visualization of the Qi channels. Cultivation during the Qi Refining stage involved absorbing and refining the so-called Heaven and Earth Qi to open the Qi channels and acupoints, ensuring smooth flow and storing Qi.

There were twelve secondary Qi channels and two main Qi channels. Opening all twelve secondary Qi channels allowed for the Foundation Establishment stage, also known as Qi Refining Level 12.

Generally, geniuses wouldn't establish their foundation at Level 12. They would choose to open the two main Qi channels as well, reaching Qi Refining Level 14. This allowed for the circulation of the Great Cosmic Orbit, vastly increasing the power of spells compared to those who established their foundation at Level 12.

Each Qi channel had a hundred acupoints, all needing to be fully opened for a level to be considered complete. Therefore, cultivation was not simple, especially for those with impure spirit roots like them.

Because the attributes of Heaven and Earth Qi were mixed, single-element spirit roots only needed to condense Qi corresponding to their spirit root attribute to open acupoints.

Multiple attributes, however, required condensing multiple types of Qi to open a single acupoint.

For example, someone with all five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) would need to condense Qi of all five attributes. The condensation speed wasn't a simple one-to-five ratio.

This was because one couldn't guarantee that the absorbed Qi contained all five elements.

It was even more challenging for those with impure spirit roots below the five elements.

Lu Li nodded. "Good. After condensing your divine sense, you can check your Qi channels and absorb and refine Qi. Then you'll know your spirit root type."

"What I want to say is, Fan Zhengping had a strange look earlier. Now that both of you have successfully awakened, and I might have too, there are no more test subjects for the Cool and Refreshing Taoist Observatory.

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"And I suspect that the old Taoist is unlikely to take on disciples with impure spirit roots. Even if he does, it's improbable that he'll take on three at once. So... we need to prepare for the worst."

Chen Zhong and Qin Shouren immediately nodded when they heard this. Qin Shouren realized, "Your mind works fast. I almost forgot ourselves. We're just impure spirit roots, not much different from ordinary people. We're probably still at risk of being used for experiments."

"They killed Xiang Yun. Although Fan Zhengping isn't completely evil, he still thinks of ordinary people's lives as expendable. We should indeed be cautious," Chen Zhong said.

"Monkey, just tell us what to do. We'll follow your lead," Chen Zhong added.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Li said, "We'll pretend to cooperate while observing the situation."

"Good."

The three chatted for a while before Qin and Chen left.

In the evening, while cooking, Fan Zhengping suddenly said, "I feel like Master might be coming back. From tomorrow, you can't go into the yard anymore. But don't worry. When Master returns, I'll tell him everything truthfully. He's a kind person. There's a good chance he'll accept you as disciples."

A kind person?

Lu Li and the other two exchanged looks, seeing mockery in each other's eyes, but none of them rebutted. Instead, they happily agreed.

After dinner, Fan Zhengping took the three back to their room, locked them in one by one, and left after double-checking. He felt very anxious, wondering if he would be punished for producing three disciples with impure spirit roots.

After hearing the footsteps fade away, Lu Li sat cross-legged.

He didn't have a cultivation manual, only a rudimentary entry-level mantra for condensing divine sense and sensing Qi, without any methods for absorbing and refining it.

According to Fan Zhengping, divine sense was part of the soul, capable of seeing things in place of the eyes. Powerful divine sense, coupled with Qi, could control objects.

Lu Li closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and began to condense his divine sense according to the mantra.

Fifteen minutes.

An hour.

Two hours.

Suddenly, Lu Li felt like he was floating. He could even see his own cross-legged body. Even in the dark, everything within a three-foot radius became clearly visible. Lu Li rejoiced, "Is this the so-called divine sense?"

Wasn't it said that divine sense was extremely difficult to condense?

This was too amazing.

With a thought, the wonderful sensation disappeared. When he opened his eyes, everything around him was still dark. When he tried to sense with his mind again, everything around him immediately became clear.

After using it several times, he became more proficient. With just a thought, he could activate his divine sense.

He also felt that his eyesight and hearing had become sharper. Originally unable to see in the dark, he could now see much better in the room without using his divine sense.

Just then, Lu Li suddenly felt a burst of heat from his palm.

He looked down and saw the pagoda-shaped tattoo glowing with a faint light. At the same time, a strange feeling came over him, as if this thing was a real object that he could control at will.

With a look of surprise and suspicion, he tried to move it with his mind.

Hum.

The small pagoda actually flew up and turned into a real three-tiered pagoda. It was gray and had several cracks, only thumb-sized, looking like a small decoration.

With another thought, the small pagoda turned back into an azure tattoo on his palm.

"Space, Emptiness, Time. What do they mean?" Lu Li stared at the small characters on the pagoda and pondered.

"Three Treasures Glass Pagoda!"

"The first level is the Treasure Hall, a fairy realm where you can plant spiritual herbs, raise spiritual beasts, enhance soil quality, and more to expand the space. Initially, it's one zhang square..."

"The second level is the Space Hall, a storage space that's always ten times larger than the first level, with no upper limit..."

"The third level is the Time Hall, where you can enter to cultivate. Initially, time passes ten times faster. The larger the first-level space, the higher the time ratio..."

As Lu Li pondered, streams of information suddenly flowed into his mind, all about this small pagoda.

This...

"A treasure!"

An absolute treasure. Lu Li stared at the small pagoda tattoo on his palm, overwhelmed with excitement.

"Monkey, where's the treasure?" Qin Shouren, in the next room, suddenly heard Lu Li exclaim and peered through the hole, staring straight at him.

"Uh, nothing. I was just saying my spirit root is too impure. I need treasures..."

Such treasures could never be revealed; otherwise, it could immediately bring disaster upon him.