After teasing the little girl for a bit, Lu Tao returned to his room.
Lu Tao took out the porcelain basin, poured in the spiritual liquid, and then set it aside to wait for it to sprout.
Lu Tao didn't rest in the following time either. He took out the new cultivation techniques he had obtained from the Han family, Xue Luo Shangren, and Honghua Valley and sorted them out.
With divine sense, these tasks are very quick; a single scan with divine sense can rapidly distinguish these different types of cultivation techniques.
Lu Tao searched out all the techniques—pupil techniques, sword techniques, movement techniques, and breath-concealing techniques—and then began to add points to and integrate them to enhance the power of his four self-created techniques, continuing to build upon them and solidify his foundation.
Whenever a new technique is integrated, the experience gained from creating the technique will decrease. However, for Lu Tao now, it is very quick to recover, so he is not worried at all about its power decreasing.
Two hours later, the Dust-Removing Grass sprouted leaves, and Lu Tao was preparing to begin grafting and upgrading it as before.
The newly grown dust-removing grass turned out to be a top-grade spiritual herb.
"Oh dear, I've been so busy I've forgotten everything. The grass roots I left behind last time were from a top-grade spiritual herb."
Lu Tao patted his forehead and let it grow freely.
After all, he remembered that when he was grinding experience last time, it would take a full ten days to grind for the best spiritual herbs to the next grade.
He doesn't have the time for that right now.
Lu Tao got up and went out to teach the eight little ones the magic and give them some instructions.
Meanwhile, to prevent any accidents, he instructed He Zongming to keep an eye on these little guys for the time being, and to leave them alone once they advanced to the early stage of Skin Refining.
The eight of them diligently practiced their skills in the courtyard.
Lu Tao didn't waste any time and returned to his room to continue studying the cultivation technique...
——
Time passed, and another five hours went by in the blink of an eye. The Dust-Clearing Grass was finally fully mature.
Relatively speaking, it took a little longer than the last grafting. Back then, after each upgrade, the Dust-Clearing Grass would grow an extra section out of thin air. Now, this Dust-Clearing Grass lacks the upgrade process, so it took a little longer to grow.
"Skill: Dust Removal Pill (0/1, Rank 9, Low Grade)".
"System, fully upgraded to 95."
Creation Points -1, Dust Removal Pill (Ninth Grade, Low Rank).
Creation Points -3, Medium Grade.
Creation Points -6, Superior Grade.
Creation Points -10, Rank 8, Low Grade.
...
Creation Points -6000, Dust Removal Pill (Rank 6, High Grade).
The skill point allocation for the Dust Removal Pill is completely different from that of the cultivation technique. The skill point allocation is like upgrading an entry-level item, progressing from a low-grade ninth rank all the way up to a high-grade sixth rank.
Once it reaches the sixth-tier superior grade, it can no longer be upgraded.
The 95 wasn't fully added; only the 96 was.
"Does this mean that the highest grade of the Dust-Clearing Pill can only be refined to the sixth rank (high quality)? Can't it be refined into a fifth-rank spirit pill?"
Lu Tao had a certain guess in his mind, and at the same time, he also thought of the Dust-Removing Grass.
The upgrade of the Dust-Clearing Grass also follows a four-tier system, from low to high, and finally to the highest grade, similar to the four grades of the Dust-Clearing Pill.
Theoretically, the upper limits of the two seem to correspond, but the grafted Dust-Removing Grass can still be upgraded after reaching the level of a top-grade spiritual herb.
Similarly, the dust-removing pills he refines can theoretically be upgraded indefinitely.
I wonder what the Dust-Removing Grass will become after it's upgraded from a top-grade spiritual herb. We'll have to wait and research that later.
Name: Lu Tao.
“Cultivation level: Early stage of Marrow Refining Realm”
"Cultivation Techniques: Heavenly Eye (Perfect), God Slayer (Perfect), Free and Easy Wandering (Perfect), Breath Concealment Technique (Perfect), Primordial Body Refining Technique (Perfect), Flying Divine Feathers (Perfect)... (omitted)"
"Skills: Horse-Taming Master (Perfect), Dust-Cleansing Pill (Rank 6, High Grade), Lu's Hammer Technique (Perfect)."
"Fortune Points: "
After adding some dust-removing pills, Lu Tao took out the alchemy furnace he had obtained from Red Flower Valley and began refining pills.
This time it was a proper alchemy session, not just cooking as before, and all the procedures and steps were more standardized.
Clean the alchemy furnace and medicinal herbs, then purify the medicinal liquid, bake it, blend the medicinal liquid... and so on.
Lu Tao performed each step as if he had done it countless times, with extreme skill and without making the slightest mistake.
The fire power within his body flowed continuously into the bottom of the alchemy furnace, and he controlled every bit of the heat to the extreme, causing the medicinal liquid inside the furnace to gradually condense into a pill...
Half an hour later, a batch of pills was produced.
Using half of the Dust-Clearing Grass, nine pills were produced, all of which reached the sixth-grade superior quality.
[Dust Removal Pill 0/100 trillion (Sixth-grade superior pill, 1% chance to improve aptitude to top-grade superior, 10% chance to improve to top-grade medium, 50% chance to improve to top-grade inferior, 80% chance to improve to good-grade superior, 100% chance to improve to good-grade medium.)]
Without a doubt, upgrading the Dust-Clearing Pill to the sixth-grade high-quality level significantly improves both the upper and lower limits of pill consumption compared to the sixth-grade low-quality level.
There's even a 50% chance of it being upgraded to a low-grade top-tier item, which is terrifying.
Of course, it still can't compare to the effect of Lu Tao using almost an entire Dust-Clearing Grass to refine a pill. Although it was only a sixth-grade low-grade pill, the chance of raising the aptitude to the top-grade medium-grade reached 90%.
Obviously, the specific effects of the elixir are related to the amount of medicinal materials used and the number of pills produced. The more pills produced and the fewer medicinal materials used, the less effective the elixir will be.
Lu Tao took the Cleansing Pill and began his cultivation.
As soon as the Dust-Clearing Pill was ingested, the pill dissolved and transformed into countless torrents, flowing into every bone, fusing with the bone marrow, spinal cord, and even brain marrow, and then began to be tempered.
"Huh? Wasn't it said that the Dust-Clearing Pill couldn't improve comprehension? How come my comprehension is improving too?"
Lu Tao was somewhat surprised.
He could clearly feel that as the medicinal power was refined and integrated into his brain marrow by the Hunyuan Body Refining Technique, his comprehension seemed to be slowly improving, although the improvement was not as obvious as his own aptitude.
That's very strange.
"Top-grade dust-removing grass... Could it be that top-grade dust-removing grass is already approaching the level of spiritual herbs that enhance comprehension?"
This was the only guess Lu Tao could make.
Regardless of the circumstances, this outcome is very good for Lu Tao right now.
Nearly an hour later, Lu Tao finished refining one pill.
"After refining one more, I will be able to break through to the mid-stage of Marrow Refinement."
Lu Tao roughly estimated that it would take 14 (2+4+8) sixth-grade high-quality cleansing pills to break through from the early stage of marrow refining to the innate stage.
"This is quite a waste. If time weren't so tight, I really wouldn't want to waste these pills."
Lu Tao was somewhat astonished. If all 14 sixth-grade high-quality stones were used to improve the aptitude of the disciples of the Immortal Sect, 14 geniuses would emerge.
It's fortunate that it was Lu Tao; if it were someone from another sect, they really wouldn't have been willing to use it to improve their cultivation.
Lu Tao didn't stop, he continued to cultivate, refined all the remaining eight pills, and then continued to refine pills, and refined them again.
During this time, something happened that disappointed and puzzled Lu Tao.
He deliberately left behind a root of the Dust-Cleansing Grass, hoping to cultivate another Dust-Cleansing Grass, but he failed.
...
Eight hours later, Lu Tao had finished refining 14 pills, and his aptitude had also improved to the highest grade when he broke through to the late stage of Marrow Refining.
Otherwise, his cultivation time would have been longer.
Inside the room, Lu Tao's eyes were tightly closed, but his body was churning like a stormy sea.
The power of Qi and blood, the power of bone strength, and the power of the five elements converged into a massive essence, which surged from his entire body toward Lu Tao's lower abdomen.
There is an invisible barrier there.
It cannot be seen or touched, but can be vaguely perceived by the divine sense.
Once, ten times, a hundred times...
Lu Tao continuously practiced the Hunyuan Body Refining Technique, circulating his internal essence and undergoing repeated impacts.
Gradually, cracks appeared all over the barrier, spreading like a spider web.
Finally, with a series of cracking sounds, the barrier shattered, vanished, and was never seen again.
At the same time, Lu Tao's essence and consciousness surged into an unfamiliar world like a tidal wave.
This is the dantian.
Three feet above the dantian, a hazy, indistinct expanse lay within.
Apart from an invisible passage connecting to Lu Tao's lower abdomen, the rest of the area was a chaotic mess.
When the essence flows into the dantian, it is instantly transformed into primordial energy. When used again, it can be either essence or primordial energy.
Clearly, essence and vital energy are interconnected and can be transformed into each other.
This discovery delighted Lu Tao. In this way, the essence of his Marrow Refining Realm cultivation could be disguised as innate primordial energy, thus preventing the discovery that he had cultivated to the Marrow Refining Realm.
Upon closer reflection, Lu Tao understood.
When cultivating the physical body, if no other cultivation resources are used, cultivation also involves absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth to temper it, and the same applies to the innate realm.
Therefore, it is normal for essence and innate vital energy to be able to transform into each other.
"Try opening up your dantian."
The primordial energy permeated the air, and under Lu Tao's control, it continuously impacted the surrounding chaos, producing a series of booming sounds.
Unfortunately, it's of no use other than that.
Clearly, without cultivation techniques at the innate level, relying solely on the Hunyuan Body Refining Technique to temper the physical body is insufficient to further develop the dantian.
Lu Tao was not disappointed. For him now, whether he could break through to the Innate Realm soon was not so important.
Because his current strength has reached the level of perfect innate realm.
The Marrow Refining Realm and the Innate Realm are equivalent in strength.
Now that Lu Tao has broken through the Marrow Refining stage and advanced to the Innate Realm, his strength has naturally reached the peak of the Innate Realm.
However, he only advanced to the Innate Realm. In terms of pure realm strength, he was only at the Perfect Innate Realm and had not reached the Grandmaster Realm.
However, if you add spiritual artifacts and cultivation techniques, then it's not necessarily the case.
With that in mind, Lu Tao began to grind experience points for his equipment.
Even if you can't upgrade your equipment to Tier 4, upgrading it to Tier 5 (superior quality) is still a significant improvement.
When farming for equipment, Lu Tao was more careful, only farming the maximum experience points without upgrading the equipment.
With his cultivation level and equipment grade constantly improving, Lu Tao's strength has undoubtedly increased significantly. However, he is not very confident in this battle.
"If only I could buy a few Earth-rank cultivation techniques."
Lu Tao sighed, "Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate."
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