Chapter 3: Sun Essence

Chapter 3: Sun Essence

The method Gu Mo discovered was actually quite simple. Since he didn't have a spiritual field, he decided to create one artificially. By burying spirit stones and other items containing spiritual energy into the soil, he could enhance the spiritual energy of the land.

However, this approach had an obvious downside: once the spiritual energy in the buried spirit stones was depleted, the spiritual energy in the soil would dissipate as well.

Only true spiritual fields supported by spiritual veins could maintain a continuous flow of spiritual energy.

But for Gu Mo, this was the only way to break through his predicament. Conveniently, he had three spirit stones to experiment with.

Without hesitation, Gu Mo quickly returned to his small room. He found a basin, went outside to dig up some soil, then cracked the three spirit stones and buried them in the basin. These three low-grade spirit stones should provide enough energy to elevate the small basin of soil to the level of a first-grade spiritual field.

After completing his miniature artificial spiritual field, Gu Mo planted the seeds of the Sunflower directly into the soil. All that was left now was to wait.

If things went smoothly, he would know by tomorrow. As long as the planting conditions were met, the Sunflower would immediately take root and sprout. After carefully inspecting the flowerpot, Gu Mo began his cultivation.

Though the night of cultivation yielded no progress, the flowerpot had undergone a remarkable transformation. Where there had once been bare soil, now a plant resembling a sunflower gently swayed under the morning sun.

"So this is the Sunflower."

Gu Mo curiously examined the plant, which stood about as tall as his arm. Its stem was straight and upright, with two palm-sized leaves sprouting from it.

What drew the most attention, however, was the flower itself. While it resembled a sunflower, Gu Mo felt it looked more like a miniature sun. As the real sun rose higher in the sky, the flower's color shifted from a warm red to a brilliant golden yellow.

Moreover, the golden disk of the Sunflower remained locked onto the sun in the sky. Seeing this, Gu Mo moved the flowerpot to the window so the sunlight could shine directly on it.

Under the sun's rays, Gu Mo noticed the Sunflower swaying more joyfully, and the sunlight seemed to concentrate and gather within the flower's disk.

"Sun Essence!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Mo immediately realized what the light gathering in the flower's disk was. However, the Sun Essence couldn't be harvested yet; he would have to wait until sunset to collect it.

He waited in his room the entire day, not daring to leave even for a moment, worried something might go wrong in his absence. Fortunately, he had stored some food and water, so he wasn't hungry.

Finally, as the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, the once radiant Sunflower quickly dimmed. Yet, within the flower's disk, a faint golden glow remained.

Gu Mo's gaze locked onto the Sunflower as a familiar light screen appeared. At this moment, an option to harvest appeared on the screen.

This meant that if others couldn't see the attribute screen of the Sunflower, they wouldn't be able to harvest the Sun Essence. This was undoubtedly great news for Gu Mo.

Without hesitation, Gu Mo clicked the harvest option. The next moment, the golden light within the Sunflower surged out, transforming into a translucent, egg-sized miniature sun that floated into Gu Mo's hand. As soon as he touched the illusory sun, a warm energy surged through his body from his hands.

"Well then, let's see if this Sun Essence can help me achieve Qi Induction!" Feeling the mysterious power of the Sun Essence, Gu Mo's confidence grew.

Tomorrow was the final deadline. If the Sun Essence couldn't help him complete Qi Induction, Gu Mo would be expelled from Qinglu Sect.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Mo swallowed the illusory sun in one gulp and entered a meditative state. As the Sun Essence entered his body, the warmth became even more pronounced. Gu Mo focused his mind, guiding the Sun Essence toward his dantian.

The process of guiding the energy went smoothly, but Gu Mo knew the final result would depend on whether the Sun Essence could dispel the black light entrenched in his dantian.

Finally, the warm energy of the Sun Essence reached his dantian, and the black light that had been entrenched there began to melt away like ice under the scorching sun.

"It worked!"

Seeing this, Gu Mo was overjoyed. After the Sun Essence dispersed the black light, it successfully settled into his dantian, marking the completion of his Qi Induction.

Although the energy he had absorbed wasn't the conventional spiritual energy, the Sun Essence was a far more powerful force. With this power, Gu Mo would surpass ordinary cultivators in all aspects.

"Phew…"

Letting out a long breath, Gu Mo concluded his cultivation. Feeling the steady warmth radiating from his dantian, he was exhilarated. Having completed Qi Induction, he had officially embarked on the path of cultivation.

Of course, what excited him the most was the Sunflower he had obtained from the Black Mist Space. The Sun Essence condensed by this flower was undoubtedly a rare treasure, and with its help, his cultivation would progress significantly.

The Next Day.

Gu Mo slowly opened his eyes. The joy that had filled them the night before was now replaced by helplessness. He had thought that the disappearance of the black light in his dantian would lead to significant progress in his cultivation, but the results from a whole night of cultivation were still extremely disappointing.

"This inferior spiritual root cultivates way too slowly." Gu Mo shook his head. Successfully completing Qi Induction hadn't changed the quality of his spiritual root. Without the obstruction of the black light, he could now cultivate normally, but his speed was still at the level of an inferior spiritual root.

However, when Gu Mo's gaze fell upon the Sunflower swaying gently in the morning light by the window, hope flickered in his heart once more. This Sunflower could condense a portion of Sun Essence every day, and with its help, he could compensate for his poor spiritual root and slow cultivation speed.

Rising to his feet, Gu Mo observed the Sunflower for a moment before grabbing the flowerpot. The next instant, the Sunflower at the window vanished as he stored it back into the Black Mist Space.

Today marked the end of the three-month period. Those who had not completed Qi Induction by now would be expelled from Qinglu Sect, while those who had succeeded would advance to the next stage of cultivation.

Since he was leaving, Gu Mo didn't want to risk leaving the Sunflower in his room, so he took it with him.

"So many people!"

Arriving at the gathering point, Gu Mo saw hundreds of people assembled in the square. These were all the new servant disciples recruited this year, selected from several nearby kingdoms. Qinglu Sect held such recruitments every one or two years.

The exact frequency depended on the sect's need for servant disciples. If the demand was high, the recruitment was annual; if not, it was biennial.

Glancing at the clusters of young boys and girls chatting in small groups, Gu Mo found a random spot to sit down. The original owner of his body hadn't been close to anyone here, and Gu Mo was perfectly fine with that.

After a short wait, the familiar middle-aged man in a blue robe appeared, and the square immediately fell silent.