Although she had been a top-tier alchemist for many years, she had never encountered the matter of changing her spiritual root before, and this was a new attempt for her.

During her self-examination, she carefully felt the pull of various forces within her body. Her spiritual root was incompatible with this body; it was not noticeable when weak, but it could become active when her body's spiritual energy was output. If the spiritual root itself became stronger, it would feel like it wanted to break free from its restraints. Conversely, if her physical body and meridians were stronger than the spiritual root, they could temporarily suppress it.

Having reached this conclusion, Shi Xuan sat cross-legged in the Spirit Tempering Pool, his eyes slightly closed, and began circulating the Myriad Things Grow Heart Method. "Then let's strengthen our meridians and physical body, and let the East Wind prevail over the West Wind!"

As the myriad things were born, Shi Xuan entered a mysterious state. At this moment, the spiritual spring liquid in the Spirit Tempering Pool suddenly became extremely active, swirling and frantically drilling into Shi Xuan's body. The original dark red color in the pool water also faded rapidly at a visible speed, being absorbed by the spiritual root in his body.

Before long, the spring water in the pool began to surge, forming a whirlpool that swept Shi Xuan, who was in meditation, into the center. Abundant spiritual energy flowed into his body from the air, creating a spectacular scene like a hurricane.

Shi Xuan sat between the vortex of air and water, entering a state of selfless cultivation.

Elder Li, who was waiting outside, heard the commotion and looked up to see this extraordinary sight. He stood up abruptly, realizing he had never seen such a commotion in all his years at the Lianfeng Sword Sect. He was momentarily worried about whether the child could withstand it. However, he knew this was not the time to disturb him, so he sat back down, still feeling quite concerned about Shi Xuan inside.

The disciples in the small pond outside naturally saw this scene as well. Some of the more perceptive ones could sense that the spiritual energy here was rushing wildly into the inner room.

Looking at the towering hurricane raging outside, and then at their own calm, still pool, they couldn't help but feel worried that they might not be able to fully grasp the wonders of the spring water and thus not improve much.

Even with the painkiller, Shi Xuan was still in excruciating pain, drenched in cold sweat. She pushed the Life Force of All Things to its limit, drawing energy from the pool water and air to her meridians, muscles, and bones. The tempering power from the spiritual spring directly entered her body, doubling its effectiveness and continuously refining and forging her meridians, making them stronger and wider.

Shi Xuan's body had already been nourished by a top-grade fire spirit root, and apart from this newly acquired spirit root, she was excellent in every other aspect. At this moment, in the spirit-tempering pool filled with the original spirit spring liquid, the spirit-tempering power of the spirit spring and the surging spiritual energy in the air rushed in. With both methods working together, the enormous energy filled the bottomless first layer of her spirit palace. After being compressed to the extreme until it could not be compressed any further, the enormous power expanded out and finally broke through the barrier that seemed to be ten times thicker than others, sending her to the second level of Qi Refining.

It was just a small step forward, yet it was so difficult!

The spiritual energy continued to flow in.

Shi Xuan finally felt relieved. Having reached the second level of Qi Refining, she clearly felt that the power suppressing her spiritual root had become stronger. The pulling sensation in her body disappeared instantly, taking away the pain as well.

The hurricane and whirlpool continued, consolidating her newly advanced cultivation. This process lasted for two full hours before gradually slowing down and finally subsiding.

When Shi Xuan came to her senses, the Spirit Refining Pool had been utterly destroyed by her. The once exquisite stone platforms around it were now mottled and weathered, as if they had aged a hundred years in an instant. The pool water contained not a trace of spirit refining power, and was no different from ordinary spring water in the mountains.

No, it's not even as good as spring water. Because with Shi Xuan's upgrade, all the impurities and filth have been precipitated and dissolved in the water. This Spirit Tempering Pool has truly become a dirty pool after a bath...

I wonder what the sect leader will think when he announces this.

She quickly emerged from the pool, cast a cleansing spell on herself, and pretended nothing had happened as she left the "private room."

Some of the disciples who were soaking outside had already left, while others were still persisting, hoping to seize this rare opportunity and that a miracle might happen to them.

Elder Li, who had been waiting anxiously, breathed a sigh of relief when she finally came out. "How was it?"

He glanced at Shi Xuan's cultivation level and exclaimed in surprise, "Qi Refining Level 2?"

Shi Xuan chuckled: "Isn't that excellent? You've already advanced to the next level."

Elder Li stared incredulously, "You made such a commotion, and you only advanced one minor level?!"

From the outside, her soaring aura made it seem like someone was about to form their core, but it turned out she had only advanced a small level! And from level one to level two at that! Such a small step! How dare she utter the word "excellent"!

For most disciples of this sect, going from the first to the second level of Qi Refining is something they can accomplish simply by meditating without even realizing it. But she made a huge fuss, a massive undertaking, and yet the result was a measly 250!

Elder Li was at a loss for words; he was certainly good at fancy moves. But when he entered and saw the pool of primordial liquid, he was utterly dumbfounded. The desolate landscape was so barren that if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that this person had only taken one small step.

I'm mentally exhausted.

Shi Xuan took a few steps outside, then suddenly remembered that he hadn't taken out the bird yet. So he turned back to find the bird, and as he turned around, he almost got hit in the face by the bird.

Zhao Cai seemed to have grown a bit. Shi Xuan picked it up and weighed it in his hand; it was indeed heavier.

The cat, Zhao Cai, had grown a size larger, but its appearance remained unchanged. The ahoge (cowlick) on its head still stood stubbornly upright, fluttering in the wind. Most importantly, it could actually fly! Although it immediately slacked off and perched on Shi Xuan's shoulder when it saw her, it had just flown out of the cat on its own!

"Not bad, Zhaocai," Shi Xuan said, tugging at its tuft of hair. "As a useless spirit pet, you've finally unlocked your first skill—you can fly! Congratulations!"

Zhao Cai seemed to be in a good mood and didn't hold it against her. Xiao Dou Dou's eyes were full of joy, it seemed that it had also benefited greatly from this Bathing Dust Ceremony.

Shi Xuan led Xiao Zhaocai out of the back mountain and saw her master waiting there with three generals to greet her.

Shi Xuan felt a warmth in his heart and stepped forward to greet them with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, Master and Senior Brothers and Sisters."

Lin Daozi was unaware of what had happened in the Spirit Tempering Pool. He glanced at Shi Xuan and, seeing that she seemed quite happy to have advanced a small level, nodded in approval and said, "Not bad."

Shi Xuan didn't know how to describe what happened in the back mountain, and scratched his head somewhat guiltily, saying, "It's alright."

"To advance to the next level so soon after entering the sect, truly a natural swordsman's bone." Lin Daozi assumed she was being modest. Few disciples who entered the Spirit Tempering Pool usually advanced, because the pool's purpose was only to temper the body. Many disciples had no cultivation at all, which didn't prevent them from participating in the Bathing in Dust Ceremony.

"I've been waiting here because I wanted to take you to test your spiritual root again and see how this baptism of dust will affect you."