Chapter 25: Qi Sea

“Also, that Primordial Yang Spiritual Root is very popular among the Heaven-grade Spiritual Roots. After all, everyone in our school is a virgin; the Primordial Yang Spiritual Root can refine the Primordial Yang essence within a virgin's body into magic power, and the effect on boosting magic power is incredible.”

Zhao Tianxing said proudly, “Especially this Primordial Yang Spiritual Root in our high school—it has been passed down for nearly twenty years. After being handled by generations of seniors, it has absorbed the Primordial Yang essence of tens of thousands of students, giving it a certain profound mystery.”

Zhang Yu frowned as he listened, feeling that this Primordial Yang Spiritual Root sounded quite dirty, and besides...

“Hasn't everyone been sterilized? Can you still use this virgin spiritual root?”

“It’s the Primordial Yang Spiritual Root,” Zhao Tianxing explained. “The sterilization surgery only temporarily removes certain organs, but the Primordial Yang essence in our bodies still flows incessantly from the kidneys; it just no longer stimulates our emotions or spirits.”

“Otherwise, how would those who undergo restorative surgery after growing up through successive generations manage to regain their roots?”

As he walked, Zhang Yu continued to ask, “Among the Heaven-grade Spiritual Roots in the school, are there any that are particularly helpful for boosting magic power?”

Hearing this, Zhao Tianxing’s heart stirred. Recalling Zhang Yu's recent actions, he thought to himself that the boy had been quite dedicated to increasing his magic power lately.

*Is it for the Magic Competition?*

After a moment's thought, Zhao Tianxing said, “There are many spiritual roots that can assist in boosting magic power. The most effective one in our school should be the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root. It’s quite expensive, but since this time it's a free reward for you, the price doesn't matter...”

The Sea of Qi Spiritual Root, nicknamed the "Wall-Piercer," had its greatest advantage in its massive coverage area. It could penetrate various walls, buildings, and even the barriers of the earth to perform large-scale collection of spiritual energy, increasing the efficiency of magic power refinement.

After listening to Zhao Tianxing's introduction, Zhang Yu had already decided to try this Heaven-grade Spiritual Root.

Arriving at the Spiritual Root Rental Office next to the quiet rooms, Zhang Yu did not rush to state his goal. Instead, he picked up the introductory brochure on the desk and began to read.

The administrator beside him was a female teacher with a baby face.

Seeing Zhang Yu's actions, she seized the opportunity to ask, “Student, are you a member here? Do you have a specific spiritual root in mind?”

Without lifting his head, Zhang Yu replied, “No, I don't.”

The administrator hurriedly recommended, “We currently have a promotion for new members: top up ten thousand and get one thousand free. Would you like to try it, student?”

Zhang Yu: “I am here for the Heaven-grade Spiritual Root rental via the 0% distraction rate reward. I only take the rewards and have no interest in anything else. You don't need to sell to me.”

The administrator smiled helplessly and stepped back. “Then, if you need anything, just let me know.”

As she spoke, she silently labeled Zhang Yu as "stingy" in her mind, losing all interest in pitching to him.

Zhang Yu did not care what she thought. He simply lowered his head and quickly scanned the brochure, finding that what was written was largely the same as what Zhao Tianxing had said.

Thus, he said to the administrator, “I want to rent the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root.”

She replied, “Scan your student card.”

Zhang Yu took out his student card and handed it to her.

This Songyang High School student card represented his identity as a high school student; it was his important credential for legally practicing immortality and enjoying various services related to the immortal path of cultivation.

A moment later, the administrator brought a jade box before him.

“The Sea of Qi Spiritual Root is inside. In a moment, go to Quiet Room No. 2, open the jade box, and consume the spiritual root.”

“You are renting it for one hour. The time starts from the moment you enter the quiet room. If you exceed it by even one minute, it will be counted as a full hour. Make sure to watch the time and come out on your own...”

After the rental administrator finished instructing him on the details, she urged Zhang Yu to go inside.

Beside him, Zhao Tianxing said, “Well, Zhang Yu, you get to it. I have to go too.”

Zhang Yu nodded to him. “Thanks.”

Watching Zhang Yu turn to leave, Zhao Tianxing kept thinking about Zhang Yu's expression and tone, wondering, *Our relationship should have become closer this time, right?*

***

On the other side, inside Quiet Room No. 2.

This was a room of about twenty square meters. In the center sat a meditation mat, and the surrounding walls were covered with a layer of soundproofing material, which was covered in various large and small distorted talismans.

It was said that these talismans could accelerate the convergence of spiritual energy and had a certain effect on improving breathing efficiency.

However, from the moment Zhang Yu stepped through the door, he only had one hour of breathing time. He had no time to worry about the room's decor; instead, he sat directly on the mat and opened the jade box.

Inside the palm-sized jade box was a piece of exquisite, translucent crystal, shimmering with a faint green light.

The crystal floated in the center of the box, surrounded by wisps of light particles like green smoke.

This was the spiritual root he had rented this time, the Heaven-grade Spiritual Root known as the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root.

Zhang Yu carefully picked up the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root. Just as he brought it to his lips, he felt a chill in his throat. The Heaven-grade Spiritual Root entered his body like a mass of icy water, sinking into his lower abdomen and entering his lower Dantian in one breath.

As soon as the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root entered his Dantian, it seemed to take root and sprout, extending crystalline rootlets that plunged into the surrounding magic power.

Zhang Yu understood that, according to the user manual and the administrator's instructions, the Heaven-grade Spiritual Root had now been successfully planted in his Dantian.

Next, he only needed to perform his usual breathing exercises, and the Heaven-grade Spiritual Root would naturally take effect.

With this thought, Zhang Yu took a deep breath and began to operate the *Circulation Qi Gathering Method*.

*Boom!*

A massive explosion seemed to erupt within his mind.

Zhang Yu felt the surrounding spiritual energy swarming toward him, pouring into the Heaven-grade Spiritual Root within his body.

“Two times?”

“Three times?”

“Too fast... it's still rising!”

Feeling more and more spiritual energy surging into his body, Zhang Yu quickly calmed his mind and focused all his strength on operating the Level 6 *Circulation Qi Gathering Method*.

As the magic power throughout his body accelerated its circulation, wisps of spiritual energy were refined into magic power.

The Dantian, which had felt somewhat bloated due to the swarming spiritual energy, returned to normal.

But as if sensing the speed at which Zhang Yu was refining magic power, the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root within his Dantian expanded and contracted, once again increasing the speed of spiritual energy collection.

This time, it wasn't just the spiritual energy around Zhang Yu that swarmed in; even the spiritual energy outside the room was drawn toward him.

The corridors... outside the window... the sky... even underground...

As Zhang Yu's magic power refinement efficiency increased, the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root expanded its collection range step by step, finally stopping at a radius of 50 meters.

Feeling a massive amount of spiritual energy, like a great river, pouring incessantly into his body, being channeled into the magic power circulation throughout his body, and finally being refined bit by bit into his own magic power—at this moment, Zhang Yu actually felt a sense of euphoria from the sudden surge of magic power.

“So this is the true efficiency of the Level 6 *Circulation Qi Gathering Method*?”

At this moment, Zhang Yu finally understood that when he practiced breathing and refined magic power on ordinary days, he hadn't been able to exert the true power of the Level 6 method at all.

Now, with the help of the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root, he had truly pushed the refinement efficiency of the *Circulation Qi Gathering Method* to its limit.

Not daring to waste a single second, Zhang Yu devoted his entire being to breathing spiritual energy and refining magic power.

Meanwhile, in the spiritual root rental office, the administrator who had just received Zhang Yu looked at her computer screen and said in surprise, “Hmm? The spiritual energy concentration has dropped?”

The school's rental quiet rooms naturally provided more than just silence; the Spirit-Gathering Talismans arranged within could control the concentration of spiritual energy in the room to enhance breathing effects.

The administrator carefully observed the monitoring parameters and found that a significant phenomenon of spiritual energy convergence was occurring in Quiet Room No. 2, attracting a large amount of surrounding spiritual energy and causing the concentration in the surrounding rooms to drop.

“Quiet Room No. 2... I remember a first-year student was using it just now, right?”

“To achieve this level of spiritual energy convergence... a first-year can actually do this?”

The administrator became increasingly surprised. In her memory, it took at least a second-year student to exert such efficacy from the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root.

“Was it Zhang Yu?”

Recalling the name and class the student had registered, the administrator silently noted it in her heart, completely overturning the "stingy" label she had just placed on him.

“To be this powerful in the first year, this student must have spent a lot of money on the immortal path.”

As she activated more Spirit-Gathering Talismans to adjust the spiritual energy concentration back to normal, she thought to herself, *I'll get his contact information later. If he can sign up for a Platinum Membership with me, I won't have to worry about my sales targets for the next few months.*

She planned to tell no one and focus solely on developing this high-potential client.

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.

Immersed in the euphoria of the surging spiritual energy, Zhang Yu's magic power had unconsciously risen from 9.4 to 9.5. Clearly, this one hour was equivalent to half a day of his hard cultivation.

Just then, a female voice rang out from the intercom in the room.

“Student Zhang Yu, your hour is almost up. Would you like to extend your session?”

For some reason, Zhang Yu felt the administrator's voice sounded much gentler.

Feeling the satisfaction of the surging spiritual energy and the full-power operation of the *Circulation Qi Gathering Method*, Zhang Yu couldn't help but ask, “How much for an extension?”

The administrator quickly replied, “The rental price for the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root is 5,000 yuan per hour. However, we have a promotion today: if a new user tops up 100,000 all at once, not only do you get 10,000 free, but you also get a 12% discount on rental fees.”

Zhang Yu sighed helplessly in his heart and slowly stopped his breathing. “I have things to do today, so I won't be extending.”

When returning the spiritual root, Zhang Yu felt the administrator becoming increasingly polite. Conveniently, he also had some questions he wanted to ask.

Thus, with a lingering look at the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root being placed back into the jade box, Zhang Yu asked, “If this spiritual root were to be sold, how much would it cost?”

The administrator's eyes flickered, and she smiled. “The price of the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root is sixty million.”

Zhang Yu gasped inwardly, but with an unchanged expression, he remarked, “That expensive?”

The administrator smiled and said, “Yes. Actually, we don't really recommend buying it; renting is much more cost-effective. After all, pairing a Heaven-grade Spiritual Root during the early stages of Qi Refinement is too extravagant. Generally, practitioners only consider buying a spiritual root after they have entered university.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He knew that the final hurdle in moving from the Qi Refinement stage to the Foundation Establishment stage was to plant a spiritual root of one's own, which was indeed something only university students needed to consider.

However, whether one planted a Heaven-grade, Earth-grade, or Human-grade spiritual root depended entirely on the practitioner's financial strength.

As for the higher-level Divine Spiritual Roots or Immortal Spiritual Roots, those could only be transplanted after joining special departments or entering a great sect.

*Useful Heaven-grade Spiritual Roots are... damn expensive.*

Giving the stowed-away spiritual root a deep look, Zhang Yu thought to himself that one day, he would buy a spiritual root of his own.

Before he left, the administrator took the initiative to add his contact information. Only then did Zhang Yu learn that her name was Wei Xin.

Wei Xin, meanwhile, silently changed Zhang Yu's contact name to: *Zhang Yu (Platinum Member Seed).*