They eventually ran out of things to talk about for jade and chatted briefly about spiritual stones. Spiritual stones were unlike precious gems and were more common and cheaper. They could be found near precious gems but in much greater numbers. This was because the pure sky-attribute spiritual energy was unstable and easily lost. It readily lost its attribute, turning into a pure form that contained special traits, only raw energy. Like jade, it was abundant around Jade Hill Town.

“Alright, fine. I’ll buy spiritual stones.” Gray said, interrupting the gem merchant.

Anand Patel was perfectly content wasting his days talking about gems and spiritual stones. Gray didn’t have that kind of time and needed to train.

“Gray, my friend, how many do you want?”

Gray scratched his head. He wasn’t sure how much he needed either.

“Let’s say I wanted to cultivate from the 1st Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm to the second level, how much spiritual stone would that take?” He asked.

Anand Patel rubbed his chin and pondered, “It depends on the person. If you practice a high-quality cultivation art, you’ll be able to absorb the spiritual energy within the stones with less waste and it will be more efficient. If your cultivation art is garbage… it might take a lot. I think on average, it takes two or three kilograms. Just take one kilogram to start with and see how far it takes you.”

Gray agreed. He tried to bargain but Anand Patel flatly refused. The reason was that ten gold per kilogram was the standard price set not by the town’s lord but by the laws of the kingdom. While the price of jade could fluctuate periodically, spiritual stones did not. It was so commonly used by cultivators that it was also used as standard currency. Thus, the price was not allowed to change.

Gray retired to his room with a bag of spiritual stones and prepared to cultivate. He sat down in the middle of the floor in the lotus position and recalled the first chapter of the Tome of Glorious Fortune. He read through it until he reached the third chapter. He recited the verses, following the directions they provided.

First, his spiritual veins were awakened. He flooded them with his own spiritual energy briefly. They were strengthened and widened, preparing for what was to come. Spiritual veins were the conduits for spiritual energy. If they were not properly primed, injury was possible. It was the last thing he needed as spiritual veins took a long time to heal and he could cultivate while recovering.

Next, he controlled his spiritual gates to open up to their limit. The wider they wore, the more spiritual energy could be absorbed without it going to waste. Once the spiritual stone was activated, it was a rush against the will of nature to capture all of the escaping spiritual energy that sought to go in every which direction.

Gray followed the direction of the tome and was finally ready. He picked up the biggest spiritual stone out of the bag. He held it with both hands and pressed it to his navel. He covered as much of the surface as possible and began…

Woosh!

The spiritual energy of the stone burst out once summoned. The spiritual gates nearest to it greedily sucked everything in. Very little managed to escape, if any at all. There was almost no waste. It was almost an impossible feat. Even the best cultivation arts of Jade Hill Town could not compare.

The stone’s spiritual energy surged into Gray’s body. His spiritual veins eagerly accepted it all and there was ample room for more. Having been tempered by the heavenly citrine, his capacity for absorption was many times greater than this little stone.

His spiritual sea gladly accepted the torrent that came in. The image of the hills and the endless black sky within his mind’s eye didn’t change at first. Everything seemed normal, even time slowly passed by.

He wasn’t disheartened and moved onto the next section of the third chapter.

The basic principle of improving one’s cultivation was the same for all humans. One’s spiritual sea grew very slowly, if at all, without any external stimulus. Like a puddle of still water, it was impossible for it to transform into a lake or even a sea without effort.

A person’s spiritual sea naturally generated internal spiritual energy for their own use. It was something that replenished naturally, just like a person’s strength. A good night’s sleep and a few good meals were usually enough.

However, this energy could not be used to improve one’s spiritual sea. This was one of the laws of nature. Even great experts around the world weren’t sure why, it was simply the way it was. A person’s spiritual sea had to take in external sources of spiritual energy, bend and mold it into their own. Only then could their spiritual sea be permanently improved and expanded. Only through external sources of spiritual energy could one cultivate.

The Tome of Glorious Fortune was a sovereign-level cultivation art. It allowed him to do things that defied common understanding. His ability to absorb spiritual energy was peerless. His speed and efficiency were unmatched.

Spiritual energy from the stone collected in his spiritual sea and was compressed and squeezed by his will. He subjugated the external energy gradually and through sheer force.

One of the tome’s core principles was strength which suited Gray perfectly.

Only through strength could he force this new spiritual energy to obey…

Only through strength could he bend it to his will…

Only through strength could he dominate everything…

Gray eventually opened his eyes. The spiritual stone in his hand was now a dull gray color. It had no energy left. It looked completely unremarkable, just like an ordinary rock. It was completely expended.

Within his spiritual sea, he could now sense a noticeable difference. Instead of one solitary hill, there was now a second one, one so small it could only be described as a mound of earth. But it was something. It was the first improvement since entering the world of cultivation. He had finally taken the long-awaited step.

His heart filled with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. He grinned from ear to ear and was almost giddy with glee. He didn’t want to stop so he picked up another piece of spiritual stone and resumed cultivating…

---

Gray collapsed onto the wooden floor and heaved a long, tired sigh.

“It’s difficult to break through…” He muttered.

He finished the one-kilogram bag of spiritual stones but he was no longer happy and cheerful. Although his spiritual sea had improved, he had failed to break through to the next level. In fact, he was nowhere close. His second mound of earth was still just a mound, barely taller than him.

The tome’s fourth chapter dealt with breakthroughs but he didn’t experience any of the sensations that it described. There was no feeling of immense fullness, no hint that his spiritual sea was overflowing. It was the complete opposite like he had only added a few drops into a bottomless well.

Xueling had warned him about this and it was the reason why he needed so much money. The Tome of Glorious Fortune was too powerful. It existed to develop the greatest cultivators in the world, heroes and legends, not commoners who would live out their lives in a frontier town.

It required an astonishing amount of resources to establish an unshakable foundation. Only with such a foundation could one hope to reach the higher realms. Without it, it was a waste of time and effort to even try.

Gray did some rough arithmetic and realized that he was in trouble. What if he needed ten kilograms for his breakthrough? What if it was twenty kilograms?

He shivered, beset by a sudden chill as reality set in. His stomach churned from nervous worry.

He had eight more breakthroughs to reach the 10th Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm. Each successive level needed more and more spiritual stones. This wasn’t even considering what it would take to surpass the current realm and reach the next one.

At the price of ten gold per kilogram, would his small wealth hold up? No… he was assured to run out of money.

Gray lay on the floor, in a puddle of sweat and stink, and thought about the problem for a long time. He even fell asleep only to wake up to nightmares about wasting all of his money and still being at the first level.

A knock at his door interrupted his stupor.

“Gray, dinner soon!” Anand Patel called out.

“Okay!”

Gray picked himself up and went to the courtyard. He stripped and started washing. He was no longer in the mountains so he had to look somewhat presentable.

He was in the middle of scrubbing himself when there was a crash behind him and the sound of objects clattering to the floor. He whirled around and was met with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen... correction, the second most beautiful.

She had a soft bronze complexion like wild mountain honey. Her dark brown hair cascaded around her face and down to her shoulders in mesmerizing waves. It perfectly framed her slender neck, pointed chin, and heart-shaped face. Her features were stunning; small red lips, round rosy cheeks, a small nose, and deep brown orbs surrounded by lush eyelashes.

She wasn’t very tall; her head could barely reach his chest. She wore a conservative set of beige robes, the same as Anand Patel, but they left no doubt that she was a woman. The layers could not hide the ample bulge of her chest. There was also a dark leather belt that accentuated her narrow waist and rounded hips.

She was a woman in full bloom, radiating sophistication and maturity. It was a sharp contrast to Xueling who still had an air of tenderness and naivety. If Xueling was a fairy that descended from the heavens, then this woman was a noble queen at the peak of mortal beauty.