Chapter 134: Searching for the Primordial Spirit Bead

Li Sibai took out a Primordial Spirit Bead and began cultivating in his room. The pure spiritual energy within the Primordial Spirit Bead was immensely useful to him; not only could it rapidly replenish the vital energy consumed within his body by converting directly into vital energy, but it also allowed him to continuously absorb the ambient spiritual energy to accumulate his cultivation.

As the vital energy inside his body circulated continuously along the pathways dictated by the Primordial Art, Li Sibai felt an incomparable sense of comfort in every single cell of his body.

Just then, a knock came from outside the door. "Xiaobai, are you in?"

Recognizing the voice instantly as Yao Xueqing's, Li Sibai quickly stashed the Primordial Spirit Bead into his storage bracelet. He walked over and opened the door to find Yao Xueqing standing outside.

Upon stepping into the room, Yao Xueqing immediately sensed something unusual. "Xiaobai, were you just absorbing spiritual energy?"

The spiritual energy from the Primordial Spirit Bead had not been completely absorbed, leaving residual traces lingering in the air. Different from the ordinary ambient clear Qi, this spiritual energy was far purer, allowing Yao Xueqing to detect the difference the moment she arrived.

Li Sibai smiled sheepishly. "Yes, Senior Sister. I was just cultivating with a Primordial Spirit Bead."

"Oh?" Yao Xueqing looked somewhat surprised. Although Li Sibai had recently been asking about Primordial Spirit Beads, she had not expected him to actually possess one already.

Such items were extremely rare even among the inner disciples of the Profound Heaven Sword Sect, affordable only to disciples from wealthy families. Even she had only recently acquired one from her family after advancing her realm.

When one's realm was insufficient, using the Profound Heaven Jade Clear Pill was quite sufficient, and there was no need to be so wasteful. She had never imagined that Li Sibai, who was merely at the second layer of the Qin Xin realm, was already making use of a Primordial Spirit Bead.

"That's right, Xiaobai, when did you advance to the second layer of the Qin Xin realm? Even at the second layer, you could just use the Profound Heaven Jade Clear Pill; there's no need to resort to a Primordial Spirit Bead." Yao Xueqing remarked.

When they had parted ways last time, Li Sibai was still at the sixth layer of the Feng Chu realm. Advancing to the first layer of the Qin Xin realm by now would have been normal, but barely over a month had passed since their separation, and Li Sibai had already reached the second layer of the Qin Xin realm. The mere thought of it was astonishing.

Li Sibai smiled and said, "Senior Sister, aren't I trying to participate in the Inner Sect Grand Competition? I happened to acquire three Primordial Spirit Beads by chance, and absorbing them allowed for a rapid advancement, so I was hoping to find some more."

Hearing this, Yao Xueqing was taken aback. You used up all three? And you still want to participate in the Inner Sect Grand Competition?

"Xiaobai, you really keep surprising me!" Yao Xueqing sighed in amazement.

On second thought, it made sense; absorbing three Primordial Spirit Beads and advancing by one tier wasn't all that strange, and perhaps advancing only one tier was even a bit underwhelming.

What she did not know was that true qi and battle qi coexisted within Li Sibai's body, meaning his advancements required a much greater consumption of energy. Although three Primordial Spirit Beads sounded like a lot, managing to advance by even one tier was already a remarkable feat for him.

Li Sibai smiled apologetically. "Senior Sister, please don't make fun of me. I can tell that you've also made a breakthrough. When you have time, please tell me more about the Inner Sect Grand Competition."

Hearing him mention the Inner Sect Grand Competition, Yao Xueqing shook her head. "My cultivation wasn't sufficient before, so I've never participated."

"Ah?!" Li Sibai had not expected such an answer, as he had assumed Yao Xueqing would have participated at least once.

"That's why when you said you wanted to enter the Inner Sect Grand Competition at only the second layer of the Qin Xin realm, I thought it was completely unrealistic." Yao Xueqing murmured.

Although she had just returned, she had already heard some rumors about what Li Sibai had been up to lately. Seeing that he had hit a wall at He Tianshu's place, she had rushed over immediately.

Li Sibai hesitated. Some secrets still could not be revealed, making it impossible to fully explain himself, so he could only continue playing dumb.

"If you're looking for Primordial Spirit Beads, you won't find them here, but I do have other channels." Seeing him fall silent and realizing he had unspeakable difficulties, Yao Xueqing stopped pressing him and instead changed the subject to bail him out.

Hearing this, a surge of joy welled up in Li Sibai's heart, and he hurriedly asked, "Senior Sister, where are they? Can you take me there?"

Yao Xueqing nodded. "Do you really need them? They can be found near my family estate. I happen to be heading back once, so if you need them, you can come with me."

"Your family estate?" It was the first time Li Sibai had heard Yao Xueqing mention her family, and he felt a great sense of curiosity.

"Mhm, my family is in Tianyuan City, which isn't far from here. If we take a flying beast, it will only take us three days to get there. There is a trading market for Primordial Spirit Beads there, and if you go, you should have a chance to acquire some."

"Tianyuan City?" It was Li Sibai's first time hearing of the place. Having grown up right here at Yuxu Peak and having never traveled far, he knew very little about the outside world.

"Then when can we set off, Senior Sister?" Li Sibai asked.

"In a few days, my family will send a flying beast to pick me up. Once I receive the notice, you can come back with me," Yao Xueqing said.

Li Sibai nodded and asked Yao Xueqing a few more questions about preparations for the trip to Tianyuan City, after which Yao Xueqing took her leave.

As soon as Yao Xueqing departed, Caiyao popped out. "Brother, are you really going to Tianyuan City?"

Li Sibai nodded. "If I want to rapidly push through to the third layer of the Qin Xin realm, I need to obtain more Primordial Spirit Beads. This trip to Tianyuan City might waste some time on the road, but fortunately, I can still cultivate while on the flying beast. According to Senior Sister Yao, she won't be staying away for long; she expects to return in ten days, or half a month at the most."

Caiyao blinked her eyes. "But Brother, can I go along? I want to go see it too."

Li Sibai found himself in a difficult spot upon hearing Caiyao's request, as he had originally not planned to bring her along. For one, the trip was quite short, lasting only about ten days. Secondly, the round trip alone would take six days, and while flying in the air, Caiyao couldn't stay hidden the entire time; she would inevitably need to come out for fresh air, which would expose her to Senior Sister Yao.

"Caiyao, I'm afraid it won't be very convenient up in the air," Li Sibai said honestly.

Caiyao looked somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but she quickly understood Li Sibai's meaning. Shaking her head helplessly, she said, "Alright then, I suppose I'll go stay with the old tree sprite." Her eyes were filled with disappointment.

Seeing this, Li Sibai felt a twinge of reluctance and even felt tempted to bring Caiyao with him, but he managed to hold back.

I'll just wait until I can fly on a sword myself before taking Caiyao out to see the world, Li Sibai thought to himself.

The following few days passed without any special events. Li Sibai continued to seize every spare moment for cultivation, occasionally visiting the library to peruse books on array formations. He also began practicing the sword techniques, movement arts, and fist techniques contained within the Primordial Art.

He had already absorbed all four Primordial Spirit Beads he possessed, significantly boosting his cultivation once again, though he also discovered a few new problems.