Chapter 5: Breakthrough
When Xiao Se pulled out the cork, a rich aroma of elixir filled the air, making him feel relaxed and happy.
The mouth of the bottle tilted, and a green pill the size of a longan rolled out of the bottle and fell into his palm. He raised his hand, brought the pill to his nose, and greedily inhaled its refreshing fragrance.
Then, he placed it into his mouth.
The gathered energy melted as soon as it entered his mouth, transforming into a warm, pure energy that rushed through Xiao Se's body. In a moment, it spread to his limbs and meridians.
Xiao Se's body trembled suddenly, but his expression quickly returned to calm. He made a few strange hand seals with his hands and began to rapidly absorb the fighting spirit from the outside world.
As soon as the fighting spirit entered his body, it combined with the pure medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Powder within him, then was refined and transformed into green energy the size of rice grains.
In an instant, the fighting spirit in the entire stone chamber began to riot, and wisps of fighting spirit continued to gather. A single wisp might be very weak, and even invisible to the naked eye, but as the saying goes, a spark can start a prairie fire.
In a moment, wisps of pale white fighting spirit condensed in the stone chamber, penetrating into Xiao Se's body through his mouth and nostrils.
For a brief moment, Xiao Se felt his body relax like never before, warm and very comfortable... However, as the fighting spirit continued to flow into his body and combined with the pure medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Powder, then was refined into green energy, Xiao Se's face began to contort with pain.
He felt waves of soreness throughout his body's meridians. It wasn't very strong at first, but with every additional wisp of fighting spirit he absorbed, the pain intensified.
By the end, Xiao Se was clenching his teeth in agony.
Fortunately, he had paid great attention to physical training since he was a child, and his meridian strength was different from that of ordinary people.
Although it was painful, it could not cause much damage to his meridians.
Finally, the last bit of medicinal power was refined.
At this point, Xiao Se felt that all the meridians in his body were about to burst, and his body was severely swollen.
Xiao Se thought to himself, "This is not good, I must quickly gather the Dou Qi Cyclone, or all my efforts will be wasted."
He exhaled heavily and formed a few strange hand seals with his hands. The surging green energy in his body began to rotate violently around his dantian in his lower abdomen, forming a vortex.
The pale white fighting energy accumulated in the meridians of his body also gathered together and flowed continuously into the green vortex.
As all the fighting spirit flowed into his dantian, Xiao Se's soul power keenly sensed that the originally green vortex had turned milky white.
At this point, Xiao Se knew that he was about to take the final step.
Compress the fighting spirit.
Stay calm and keep your mind focused!
Xiao Se activated his soul power perception. Although he was not yet proficient in it, his soul perception ability was no less than that of Xiao Yan's three years later, thanks to the strength of his soul as a traverser.
With the help of soul perception, Xiao Se quickly formed hand seals, and the fighting cyclone in his dantian began to gradually shrink.
When the fighting spirit was compressed to the size of a palm, it finally stopped changing.
But Xiao Se did not stop. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Compress again."
Boom.
A not-so-loud rumbling sound quietly resonated within Xiao Se's body, and the fighting cyclone was successfully condensed.
[Ding, congratulations to the host for raising his cultivation to a higher level, reaching Dou Fighter, and receiving a system patch reward.]
Hearing the system prompt in his mind, Xiao Se couldn't help but smile faintly. Then he fell to the ground exhausted, his eyelids slowly closing as he drifted into sleep.
What Xiao Se didn't know was that as he fell into a deep sleep, the stone platform beside him gradually cracked, and a tender bud began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye. In an instant, it grew into a bonsai tree half a metre tall.
Looking carefully through the cracks in the stone platform, one could vaguely see a dark green ancient jade treasure chest inside. Under the moonlight shining through the vents at the top of the stone chamber, it glowed with a faint and eerie light.
The next morning.
The warm sunlight shone through the vents of the stone chamber and onto Xiao Se's fair and tender little face.
Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes and immediately checked the scroll and the Palm of Heaven Bottle in his storage belt. These were the foundation of his livelihood.
Fortunately, the Burning Decree and the bottle were still there.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Xiao Se showed a satisfied look on his face and stretched comfortably, "Ah, that sleep was so comfortable. I have been in Douqi Continent for more than eleven years, and this is the most comfortable sleep I have ever had. Not only did I break through to the Douzhe level, but I also obtained the best skill of Douqi Continent, the Flame Mantra. By the way, it seems that I was awarded a patch, and the system can be upgraded as well."
Thinking of this, Xiao Se shouted in his mind, "System, install the patch."
[Ding, the system patch is being installed. The installation time is estimated to be one hour. Please wait patiently.]
Xiao Se smiled helplessly. "This system is really half-finished."
Since the system was being upgraded, Xiao Se naturally wouldn't just sit there and wait.
He stood up and stretched his slightly sore limbs, then turned his gaze to the stone platform.
Seeing this, Xiao Se was immediately delighted. The tender bud had indeed grown into a bonsai. Xiao Se made a rough estimate and found that the bonsai in front of him was at least thirty years old.
Passing by the bonsai, Xiao Se's attention was drawn to the cracks at the roots of the bonsai on the stone platform. He found that it was hollow and that there seemed to be something inside.
"What is this?"
There were no entertainment facilities on the Douqi Continent. Besides practicing, Xiao Se would go to the Xiao family library to read books about medicinal herbs and the geography of the Douqi Continent.
If a transmigrator in Doupo does not have the heart of an alchemist (to show off), can he still be called a transmigrator?
With the spiritual talent of a transmigrator, Xiao Se could not say that he had a photographic memory, but after reading it two or three times, he could basically remember it. Over the years, he had almost turned the open area of the Xiao family's library upside down.
Now he could basically recognize some common types and years of medicinal herbs.
At this moment, Xiao Se easily recognized that the bonsai in front of him was just an ordinary one.
However, the items under the bonsai aroused Xiao Se's great interest.
"Stone Crushing Palm."
He took a few steps back and then rushed forward suddenly. Fighting Qi gathered in Xiao Se's right palm, and he raised his right palm and swung it toward the crack of the stone platform.
This was the only fighting skill Xiao Se currently possessed, and it was of intermediate yellow rank. It was taught to him by the housekeeper, and now he had mastered it to perfection, able to break stones with ease.
Rumble.
Under Xiao Se's powerful palm strike, the root trunk of the bonsai was instantly broken. With a click, the cracks in the stone platform spread rapidly, growing larger and larger, and stones began falling off. In a moment, the hollow area of the stone platform was revealed to Xiao Se's sight.
"This is... a box."