Zhou Xun first took a bath and then walked into the Quiet Chamber.
He took out a brand new Calming Incense, lit it, and placed it in front of him, then sat cross-legged on the cushion, his eyes slightly closed.
Soon, Zhou Xun's mind calmed down.
He slowly opened his eyes, gently lifted the lid of the Jade Box, carefully took out the Spirit Gathering Grass, and placed it in his palm.
He operated the invocation of the Spring Condensation Scripture.
"The way of heaven, benefit the deficient by taking from the excess..."
As the invocation operated, a mysterious and profound feeling arose, Zhou Xun's mind immersed in the State of No Self, merging with the natural world, as if he could control everything.
His fingers lightly tapped on the Spirit Gathering Grass, and suddenly the surrounding Primordial Qi was attracted, gathering toward him.
Suddenly, the Spirit Gathering Grass floated up out of thin air, becoming more vibrant, with its green leaves emitting a faint fluorescence.
As the last part of the invocation completed, an invisible force appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around the Spirit Gathering Grass.
Time passed by bit by bit, the glow on the Spirit Gathering Grass became more intense, as if continuously condensing its essence.
Suddenly, a green light dot appeared above the Spirit Gathering Grass, emanating a gentle glow.
Following the guidance of the Spring Condensation Scripture, Zhou Xun waved his hand, and the green light dot slowly floated away, flying towards Zhou Xun's Dantian.
Instantly his body seemed to be surrounded by a warm current, like a mother's embrace, warm and peaceful.
At this moment, Zhou Xun felt as if his body was cleansed, full of vitality and energy.
Meanwhile, a powerful suction suddenly emerged in Zhou Xun's Dantian, and his Cultivation Technique began to operate involuntarily.
The bottleneck at the peak of the Second Layer seemed nonexistent, and he directly broke through it.
More remarkably, Zhou Xun's senses were instantly elevated to an unbelievable level with a "boom."
Everything around became clear and bright.
Even the previously indistinguishable details became clear.
Even the living room, blocked by the Quiet Chamber's door, appeared in his sight.
In addition to that, he could suddenly smell previously undetectable scents and hear unheard sounds clearly.
"Divine Sense!"
Zhou Xun was stunned by his own discovery.
Under normal circumstances, only Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators can develop Divine Sense, which is why Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators are often called Great Cultivators.
With Divine Sense, one can leave a Divine Sense Imprint in a Magical Artifact.
When controlling the artifact, it follows like a shadow, maneuvered like an arm, and the consumption of Spiritual Power when driving artifacts is significantly reduced.
With the guidance of Divine Sense, the cultivator's magic can come with a tracking effect, its power far beyond that of early and middle-stage Qi Refining.
Strangely, his Divine Sense could only see clearly within a range of three zhang.
Much smaller compared to the over ten-zhang range of Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.
However, this could greatly improve his strength.
If he had a Magical Artifact in his hand, even facing masters at the Fifth-Layer Qi Refining, he would not fear.
The Cultivation Technique operated autonomously for half an hour and finally stopped.
Zhou Xun felt it out; not only had he broken through the Second Layer's shackles, but he was already halfway through the Third Layer's progress as well.
"Indeed, it saved me several years of arduous cultivation!"
Based on cultivation, he was now far ahead of Shan Xionghai; if he knew, one couldn't guess the scene.
"This time utilizing the Spring Condensation Scripture brought an unimaginable enhancement!" Zhou Xun was satisfied.
"Oh, almost forgot the fundamental effect of the Spring Condensation Scripture: improving Spirit Root Talent!"
Immediately, Zhou Xun operated the Cultivation Technique and began to refine the Spiritual Qi in the air.
After a long time, he opened his eyes.
"Compared to before, the speed of Spiritual Qi Refinement has increased by at least one-third!"
"Yet it's unclear what my current Spirit Root Sensitivity is?"
Spirit Root levels are all divided based on Spirit Root Sensitivity.
Cultivators' Spirit Root levels are divided into:
Mortal Spirit Root, Low-Grade Spirit Root, Middle-Grade Spirit Root, High-Grade Spirit Root, Earth Spirit Root, Celestial Spirit Root.
Sensitivity Spiritual Qi 1-9 points signifies Mortal Spirit Root.
11-19 points signify Low-Grade Spirit Root.
20-39 points signify Middle-Grade Spirit Root.
40-59 points signify High-Grade Spirit Root.
60-79 points signify Earth Spirit Root.
Over 80 points signify Celestial Spirit Root.
Normal cultivators possess all five elements: therefore, they have Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth Spirit Roots, while those with Thunder Spirit Root, Ice Spirit Root, Wind Spirit Root, etc., are all multi-attribute mutations.
Of course, cultivators with variant Spirit Roots are rare.
Yet the strange part is that every cultivator with a variant Spirit Root has a Spirit Root Sensitivity above 60.
Moreover, there are natural Spirit Bodies among cultivators, like the Fire Spirit Body, naturally compatible with Fire Attribute Techniques; even with a Mortal Spirit Root, its cultivation speed can compare to that of an Earth Spirit Root Cultivator.
There are also Thunder Spirit Body, Three Suns Body, Black Tortoise Body, etc.
Though such Spirit Bodies are exceedingly rare, even rarer than Celestial Spirit Root Cultivators.
Every individual with a natural Spirit Body is a future Powerful Cultivator.
Given natural Spirit Bodies, there naturally exist acquired Spirit Bodies.
The types of acquired Spirit Bodies are more extensive, and some effects outperform natural Spirit Bodies, while others are just burdensome.
For example, the Lightning Attractor Body that naturally attracts thunder strikes.
These are all obtained by chance.
Zhou Xun possesses Fire and Wood dual Spirit Roots, his Fire Attribute Sensitivity is 11, his Wood Attribute Sensitivity is 17, which is considered above average among Low-Grade Spirit Roots.
As for his other three attributes, Gold, Water, and Earth, their sensitivities are all less than 1, hence not included in calculations.
Although there is no Sensing Stone to measure Spiritual Qi Sensitivity, based on the speed of Spiritual Qi Refinement, his Spirit Root should now be classified as Middle-Grade.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xun couldn't resist glancing at the other Spirit Gathering Grass.
"If I refine this Spirit Gathering Grass, could I directly advance to Middle-Stage Qi Refining!"
To reach Middle-Stage Qi Refining at 17 within the Four Great Clans is considered genius.
Quickly, Zhou Xun abandoned such thought.
Until a few days ago, he was at Second Layer Qi Refining, and suddenly appearing as a middle-stage master; even a fool knows there must be great fortune involved.
Needless to say, Zhou Xun would not risk it.
"I should keep this Spirit Gathering Grass for breaking through to Late-Stage Qi Refining; there are plenty of spirit medicines on the market, no need to use such an extremely rare treasure!"
Moreover, Zhou Xun had already reached Third-Layer Qi Refining, meeting the prerequisites for applying to become an Alchemy Apprentice.
Adding that his Spirit Root Talent had improved, the probability of selection is now immensely high.
Becoming an Alchemy Apprentice, accessing spirit medicine will be an everyday occurrence.
Zhou Xun then stored away the Spirit Gathering Grass.
Only then did he have leisure time to look at the Spirit Gathering Grass after its refinement.
The Spirit Plant that was once emerald and jade-like had completely vanished, leaving only a small pile of gray-white ash.
Anyone who saw it would never recognize it was once the renowned Spirit Gathering Grass of the Cultivation Realm.
"It truly condensed all its essence!"
Zhou Xun exclaimed, then tidied up briefly and strode out of the Quiet Chamber.
In the following days, Zhou Xun spent his time in cultivation.
Time flew by, and ten days passed quickly.
Finally, it was the day for Alchemy Apprentice application and selection.