Chapter 102: Cyclone Level Three

“Hee hee!” Princess Fire Phoenix wore a sly smile. “First of all, this is surely something you already know deep down, my lord! You have a spatial ring on you, don’t you? As far as I know, there is only one spatial ring in the entire Du estate, and it is in the hands of Grandfather Du Fengzhong, the venerable old general! How did you come to possess such a ring?”

“Heh heh,” Du Long scratched his head awkwardly, forcing a dry laugh. “Well... that is…”

“None of that ‘well this’ or ‘that’! Remember, you must tell the truth, or else—hmph!” Princess Fire Phoenix cut him off sharply, her eyes flashing a dangerous warning as she caught Du Long’s darting eyes, realizing he was about to fabricate an excuse.

“Sigh...” Du Long sighed deeply. “Very well. But if I were to say I found it by chance in the back garden of the Du estate, would you believe me?”

“My lord! Why didn’t you say that one day, a spatial ring suddenly fell from the heavens and struck you on the head!” Princess Fire Phoenix snapped in dissatisfaction.

“That... how do you know?!” Du Long’s face registered genuine surprise. “That very day, I was practicing martial arts in the Du estate’s back garden when suddenly a ring fell from the sky and hit me on the head...”

Sitting at the front with the great lion spirit, Princess Fire Phoenix turned around and fixed her gaze on Du Long’s astonished face. Seeing the clarity in his eyes, with no trace of deceit, she found herself secretly puzzled.

Having known Du Long for quite some time, she understood him fairly well. Whenever he lied, he either scratched his nose or scratched his head and gave a foolish smile. The expression he wore now was unlike any sign of lying.

“Really?!” Princess Fire Phoenix asked doubtfully.

“Really!” Du Long nodded firmly.

“Is there really such a stroke of incredible luck in the world?! Good heavens! A spatial ring is worth at least two million gold coins on the market, and it’s almost impossible to find one! After begging Father for a long time, he only agreed to give me one as part of my dowry when I truly marry someday!” Princess Fire Phoenix wailed in frustration.

Quietly seated behind Du Long, Xia Qinglian couldn’t help but smile softly at the princess’s exaggerated reaction. Given her personality, even if she knew Du Long harbored many secrets, she would never press him for answers lightly.

In her view, she would listen to whatever Du Long chose to share. If he preferred not to say something, it meant there was a reason he kept it to himself. She would never be like Princess Fire Phoenix, drilling relentlessly for the truth. As long as she knew he would always act with her best interests at heart, that was enough.

“Fine! You barely passed the first question. Now, onto the second! Just now, I held back so much in front of others, my lord! You spent five hundred thousand gold coins to buy a mirror of unknown origin, only knowing that the material is strange?! You’d better give me a reasonable explanation, and whatever you do, don’t tell me it was just for appreciation like last time!” Princess Fire Phoenix finally relented but threw out another query.

Du Long’s heart stirred. Although Fire Phoenix was rather carefree by nature and had entrusted him with full management of the Fengli Commandery territory, she remained the true mistress of Fengli. If he spent a great sum on something truly valuable, she likely wouldn’t question it. But spending a fortune on something of unknown provenance? That would surely unsettle her.

No matter what, she would be his lawful wife in the future, and all household finances would have to go through her.

“Well...” Du Long’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Little Phoenix, I can only tell you this: the value of this item definitely exceeds five hundred thousand gold coins. As for its origin...”

“Spill it, honestly! Or else, hmph!” Fire Phoenix warned immediately, sensing Du Long was about to evade the truth.

Just as Du Long was at a loss, a voice from the ring spirit—a beautiful woman’s voice—echoed in his mind: “Du Long! Don’t reveal the name ‘Xuantian Mirror’! Just call it ‘Sky Rift Mirror’ or something! You can make up whatever else you want!”

Du Long, overwhelmed by the ring spirit’s last sentence, braced himself and said, “The mirror is called ‘Sky Rift.’ I saw the name in an ancient text. I only know that it is a tremendously powerful artifact! As for how to use it, I’m not sure. I’ll have to wait until my strength improves and then search for its usage outside.”

“Really?!” Princess Fire Phoenix could clearly sense that Du Long’s gaze was not as clear as before, though he showed no fidgeting or scratching. She remained suspicious.

“All right, Little Phoenix! As long as we don’t lose money buying this, that’s what matters! The rest we can judge in the future!” Du Long forced a smile and continued to argue.

The three humans and the spirit beast chatted as they returned to the Royal Haotian Academy. Night had fallen, the moon high above. After some discussion, they headed straight to the Spirit Gathering Cave.

Inside the cave, they found a relatively secluded spot. Once settled, all began meditative cultivation.

A spirit beast like the great lion was qualified to train alongside Du Long here. Among senior martial students at the Haotian Royal Academy, Du Long wasn’t the only one with a spirit beast.

About half an hour later, Du Long took out a jade bottle. Sensing his movement, Princess Fire Phoenix and Xia Qinglian opened their eyes and looked over.

“Is it time to start?” Princess Fire Phoenix asked softly, concern evident in her voice. Xia Qinglian’s expression mirrored hers.

“Yes,” Du Long smiled at the two ladies and nodded. Without further ado, he uncorked the bottle and swallowed the entire contents of second-grade spirit liquid.

Feeling the spiritual liquid flow down his throat, he did not slack off. He immediately began to control his breath, silently circulating the Xuantian technique, focusing all his effort on absorbing and refining the vast spiritual energy.

Within his dantian space, two concentric spirals spun rapidly. They absorbed and refined the spiritual energy emitted by the second-grade spirit liquid, while simultaneously drawing in the rich spiritual energy from outside to refine as well.

The Xuantian technique, as praised by the ring spirit, was indeed far superior to ordinary cultivation methods in absorbing and refining spiritual energy.

Outside Du Long’s body, a visible vortex of spiritual energy formed, stirring the air into gentle breezes within the windless cave.

Fortunately, they had chosen a remote spot. This energy fluctuation had not caused much disturbance nor awakened other students cultivating nearby.

Inside the dantian space, the two spirals expanded until they could grow no more, reaching the second stage limit.

Reciting the third stage of the Xuantian technique silently, Du Long gathered the remaining energy of the second-grade spirit liquid to launch an attack on the third-stage spiral.

Soon, a faint image of a third spiral appeared around the two outer spirals. Energy continuously fed into this shadow, gradually forming a profound energy spiral.

A distinct sensation of breakthrough spread throughout his body. The dantian space underwent a new qualitative transformation, and the immense energy from the second-grade spirit liquid was finally depleted.

Exhaling deeply, Du Long opened his eyes and looked at his two beloved companions. Princess Fire Phoenix could no longer contain her excitement.

“Breakthrough to the third spiral stage?!” she blurted out.

Du Long smiled and nodded. “Yes! You two can cultivate with peace of mind now. I’ll continue to consolidate this breakthrough.”

Both women nodded lightly and exchanged smiles before closing their eyes to focus on cultivation.

Du Long withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes, carefully sensing the changes within his dantian space.

Three spirals—two solid, one ethereal—rotated slowly. The central core was now twice as large as before, and the blazing fierce fire inside had grown considerably. Nestled within the fierce fire sat the sacred Fire Cloud Cauldron, quietly nurturing within.

‘Thanks to the Xuanyang constitution, the spirals generate fierce fire normally only seen at the fierce core stage! The third spiral stage corresponds to fierce fire strength of the third fierce core stage! With the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s amplification, I finally barely possess the strength to refine second-grade spirit liquid,’ Du Long thought to himself.

“That’s right! Normally, the third fierce core stage can only refine first-grade pills, but with the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s boost, it can raise your alchemy ability by at least two minor levels! Refining second-grade spirit liquid should be no problem!” the ring spirit added in his mind.

“In that case, I’ll try refining the main ingredient of the second-grade spirit liquid and see how difficult it really is!” Du Long resolved. His spirit had long since descended into the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s internal space within his dantian.

The abundant medicinal herbs harvested from Little Fierce Lion’s garden were all stored inside the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s space. This space not only allowed pill refinement but also locked the medicinal properties of herbs within.

Compared to storing herbs in jade boxes, its efficacy was unmatched.

Scanning the plentiful array of herbs, including the common ones he usually used for practice, Du Long’s gaze fixed on dozens of fresh millennium spiritual ginseng roots—these were the main ingredient for refining second-grade spirit liquid and the most difficult to refine.

The reason second-grade pills were named so was not only for their efficacy but also for the complexity of their refinement.

Gazing upon the humanoid-shaped millennium spiritual ginseng, which had nearly developed spiritual awareness and instinctive responses akin to animals, Du Long mused. Only the ten-thousand-year ginseng truly possessed spirit. At that stage, humans had to put in much effort to harvest them; otherwise, they would vanish underground like moles at the sound of approaching footsteps.

With a thought, Du Long moved one millennium spiritual ginseng to an empty area. Suddenly, a fierce flame blazed forth, summoned from the fierce fire outside the Fire Cloud Cauldron, surrounding the ginseng. His first attempt at refining second-grade spirit liquid had begun.

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