Chapter 995: Chapter 995 Lanruo Temple

    With every breath, an enormous amount of Spiritual Energy surged into their bodies, activating the cells throughout their entire being.

    Eventually, they arrived inside a mountain cave, where the Spiritual Energy was even denser and purer.

    From time to time, Spiritual Liquid, condensed into a liquid state at the cave’s top, dripped down.

    Inside the cave, there were several jade beds, and cultivators who practiced on them would speed up their cultivation by ten to twenty percent.

    Ye Lingyi said to them, “Everyone, find a place to sit and cultivate, you only have one month to improve your strength. After one month, we will set off for the Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy.”

    Qin Hao randomly chose a stone bed to sit on, while Xian Yin and Ling’er sat on the jade stone bed next to him.

    Everyone else also sat on the jade stone beds and began to cultivate in meditation.

    Qin Hao lacked nothing but cultivation resources. Although he had plenty of Spirit Stones, they were nothing compared to this treasure trove.

    He frantically operated the Immortal Burying Skill, drawing in the vast fog-like Spiritual Energy around him, which drilled into his body.

    Soon, a vortex of Spiritual Energy formed above Qin Hao’s body. Similar vortexes appeared above everybody else’s heads as well, but none were as large as Qin Hao’s.

    This was mainly due to his cultivation technique, which allowed him to absorb and transform energy quickly.

    Thus, as time passed day by day, the strength of everyone increased day by day.

    There were still nearly six months until the competition at the Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy, but they had only one month for cultivation—after that, the remaining time had to be spent on the journey.

    The journey from the Skyfire Dynasty to the Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy was long, taking over three months, and they might arrive about a month early.

    The Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy was located in the northern part of the Southern Continent, in the central area among the Nan Zhou Dynasty, Heavenly Phoenix Dynasty, Beichu Dynasty, Flame Dragon Dynasty, and Thunder God Dynasty.

    It did not belong to any dynasty, nor did any dynasty have the privilege to manage the academy—it is a transcendent, powerful force.

    Any top-level expert dispatched casually would command awe from the five large dynasties.

    ...

    A month later, the first to open their eyes in the Royal Cultivation Secret Place was Ye Lingyi. She had already set the time, and this wasn’t her first time here, so she was familiar with it, lacking the initial sense of intoxication.

    She looked at the others, and upon seeing Qin Hao, her gaze visibly lingered. Gao Linglong, Qin Hao, and others were still cultivating, but the vortex of Spiritual Energy above Qin Hao was terrifying, several times larger than normal, with a tendency to liquefy.

    The Spiritual Energy above his head had already partially liquefied, and droplets of Spiritual Liquid occasionally dripped into his body, being completely absorbed.

    Ye Lingyi knew clearly that such phenomena indicated that Qin Hao’s cultivation technique was truly terrifying. She was curious about Qin Hao’s background and how he had such a formidable technique.

    A few minutes later, she woke everyone up, and everyone seemed somewhat reluctant, wishing they could continue cultivating here indefinitely.

    The Spiritual Energy here was already far less dense than when they first arrived. After a month of frantic absorption by the seven of them, even the low-grade Spirit Vein could barely withstand it.

    Further cultivation wouldn’t have much effect now; recovering the cave’s Spiritual Energy to its previous level would take about half a year.

    The underground low-grade Spirit Vein continuously generated Spiritual Energy, and as long as the Spirit Vein wasn’t damaged, the energy wouldn’t be interrupted.

    Qin Hao and the others clearly sensed the change in Spiritual Energy and exchanged glances with one another.

    Gao Linglong, Wu Yutong, and Dong Mengqi had already broken through to the Peak of Late Stage Grandmaster Realm.

    Qin Hao and Xian Yin had broken through to Mid-stage Grandmaster Realm, and Ling’er benefited greatly from Qin Hao’s presence, advancing rapidly to the early Innate stage.

    Ye Lingyi’s rosy, cherry-like lips slightly parted: “Let’s go, prepare, we should set off.”

    Among those going to the Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy for the competition was her, though she did not participate in the royal competition because the child of the Skyfire Dynasty had a spot.

    The group walked out of the Royal Secret Place, and it was afternoon when Ye Lingyi brought them into a palace.

    Ye Jingtian was inside handling state affairs. Seeing Ye Lingyi bringing Qin Hao and others back, a smile appeared on his face: “Everyone must have gained a lot in this month, relax today and stay for dinner, I will personally lead you to the Southern Continent Heavenly Earth Academy tomorrow.”

    Everyone nodded slightly and then said, “Thank you for the emperor’s generosity.”

    Ye Jingtian smiled slightly: “You are all young geniuses of the Skyfire Dynasty, no matter where you go in the future, no matter your cultivation stage, when the Skyfire Dynasty is in trouble, I hope you will come back to help.”

    He was lending a hand to Qin Hao and the others now as a gesture of goodwill—no one could predict how formidable these people would become, but their potential warranted such action.

    After leaving the royal palace, Dong Mengqi said, “Where shall we go?”

    Wu Yutong: “Outside the royal city, there is a Buddhist temple called Lanruo Temple, with beautiful scenery, and the masters there are quite skilled. It’s pretty auspicious, why don’t we go there?”

    Qin Hao and the others weren’t sure where to go, but upon hearing Wu Yutong’s suggestion, they all nodded slightly: “Let’s go and have a look there.”

    Gao Linglong, Wu Yutong, Dong Mengqi, Xian Yin, Ling’er, and Qin Hao walked out of the city together.

    While walking and talking along the way, Qin Hao and the others gained a general understanding of Wu Yutong, a straightforward yet meticulous girl, and she was quite decent.

    She hadn’t brought up the incident when Qin Hao had fought her brother, recognizing it as her brother’s fault for not seeing clearly.

    Out of the royal city, they flew quickly and arrived at the foot of the mountain where Lanruo Temple was located.

    Wu Yutong descended from the air and said, “You cannot fly here; it is disrespectful to Buddha, everyone must walk from the foot of the mountain step by step.”

    Everyone landed, and Qin Hao looked at the endless stairway leading to the top.

    “Then let’s walk up,” Gao Linglong said with a smile.

    “Sure, sure,” Ling’er responded with a smile across her face.

    Qin Hao also said, “Let’s go.”

    They stepped onto the stone stair steps and climbed up, amid a crowd, with some ascending and others descending, revealing the popularity of Lanruo Temple.

    On Earth, there are also Buddhism and temples, but Qin Hao had rarely visited them and felt indifferent about them.

    At that time, his idea was: what good is praying to Buddha? Can Buddha grant you peace, happiness, and wealth? It’s better to work hard, make money, and be the best version of yourself—believe in yourself over everything else—pinning hopes on the intangible was not his way of living.

    Of course, he didn’t oppose others believing in these things; having faith can sometimes be quite beneficial for a person.