Chapter 12: Cultivating Resonant Power

Li Luo entered the lowest level of the library, where he encountered a massive door made of an extraordinary spiritual metal. Utilising a drop of his blood allowed him to open it. 

What lay behind the door was a brightly lit cultivation chamber.

This cultivation chamber was not as simple as it seemed. The purest of skygold was utilized as the main material for its construction. Skygold was a metal that was usually buried deep under the ground, created from the accumulation of worldly natural energy congealing into a physical form. This was the reason why it was such a special and highly sought-after metal.

Hence, skygold was not just a form of common currency, it could also naturally attract copious amounts of worldly natural energy to itself. A cultivation chamber built out of skygold would thus be a standard requirement for cultivators amongst mighty powers, greatly increasing the speed at which they could cultivate. 

"This truly is extravagant." Li Luo took slow steps as he entered the chamber, sighing in amazement at the sight around him. His parents had spent almost one hundred thousand pieces of skygold to construct this. Practicing his energy cultivation arts here would most definitely provide twice the results with half the effort. Till now, only Jiang Qing'e and him were allowed to cultivate here, and for that matter, this was his very first time stepping within.

This was truly a house made of gold. 

It has to be said that one got what they paid for. The skygold was truly not wasted, as merely standing within the room allowed Li Luo to sense the immense difference in density of worldly natural energy compared to just outside. 

Sighing again at how lucky he was, Li Luo moved towards the center of the chamber. Within which were two stone platforms, each with their own mats. Clearly, this was where his parents sat when they cultivated here.   

Li Luo picked one of the mats at random and sat cross-legged with both hands grasping a jade slip, his eyes closed. He began to chant the incantation recorded from the Azureflood Meditation Diagram in his heart. 

At the same time, his breathing followed the pattern prescribed by the art, gradually inhaling and exhaling.

Six exhales followed by three inhales. Nine shallow breaths followed by four deep ones... Li Luo began to adjust his breathing patterns, causing the effects to fluctuate. 

In the beginning, he would often make mistakes unknowingly, but his amazing perception and talent gradually revealed themselves. He quickly managed to grasp the underlying principles behind the Azureflood Meditation Diagram and truly entered the Ten Seals Stage.

As Li Luo sat on the mat, his eyes were closed tightly and his mind was fully focused. As time passed, it was as though he could hear the waves of the sea, ebbing and flowing. 

The name of the art, Azureflood, was the key to understanding the grand meaning of this art. Li Luo imagined himself sitting within a raging sea, allowing the mighty waves to crash around him. 

Little by little, he could feel the worldly natural energy all around him start to surge. Within that cacophony of energies, the water element energy was sensed most distinctly. There was also some light element energy that could be felt.

These energies were guided by Li Luo's breathing exercises, gradually being absorbed by his body through his numerous pores. 

Water resonance power was gentle and comforting, light resonance power felt incomparably pure...

The two forms of energy began to happily roam around his body, and under their influence, Li Luo's previously withered body gradually regained some of his prior vitality.

After circulating through his body once, the energies eventually nestled into his azure-colored and radiantly shining palace, becoming part of his resonant power.

Li Luo felt intoxicated by the rapid growth of his resonant power, and this only contributed to his mad fervor to cultivate even harder. It was a hard-won opportunity that he would not squander.

Time unknowingly passed and half a day went by in a blink.

When Li Luo finally awoke from his cultivation frenzy, he could faintly feel a tingling, prickling sensation throughout his body.

His body was trying to remind him that his cultivation for the day had to come to an end. 

Progressing energy cultivation arts through the process of absorbing worldly natural energy would inevitably burden the cultivator's body. It was said that the lower the grade, the larger the burden on one's body.

Once the body's limit was reached, cultivation would have to temporarily stop. Only after a period of rest would one be able to continue doing so again.

Li Luo was precisely at this very point, his body currently at its limit.

This sudden interruption led Li Luo to feel a little resigned as he wished to continue. Alas, he had no choice in the matter. Furthermore, the Azureflood Meditation Diagram was a General Stage art, and him persisting for such a long period of time was already something exceptional.

One could clearly see the importance of a high-grade energy cultivation art from this result alone.

If one was able to start cultivation with a high-grade art, the minor accumulations over the days and months would allow one to travel much further down the path of cultivation than those that did not have one. 

It was a pity that such high-grade arts were not only rare and precious but also possessed stringent requirements. Just the restrictions on the resonant grade alone would eliminate the vast majority of individuals from cultivating them. Li Luo was also currently part of this majority. 

Duke resonance arts were available to him... but they all minimally required a seventh-grade resonance.

The bright side was that this Azureflood Meditation Diagram was a temporary measure. When Li Luo inevitably upgraded his acquired resonance, he would then start to cultivate even higher grade energy cultivation arts.

From this, it could be seen that the quicker he raised his resonance grade, the better it would be.

Li Luo yawned and stretched out his arms. He could see a wave of azure resonant power emitting from his palms.

This was what he had struggled for.

Water resonance power.... At the same time, he also possessed light resonance power.

When combined, the two would definitely create a result that was untold times purer than one who only possessed water resonance power.

"My resonant power should have reached the Third Seal Stage," Li Luo mused to himself.

The old Li Luo had immense difficulty absorbing energy into his blank palace. However, it was not as though he had absolutely no foundations so to speak. After this bout of cultivation, he had firmly stepped into the Third Seal Stage. 

At the current pace he was going at, Li Luo had confidence that he would reach the Fifth Seal Stage by the end of the week.

Although a 4th-grade resonance was not high, Li Luo was the House Luolan's Young Lord! He had a sea of cultivation resources to tap into! His rate of improvement would far surpass the common man, even some of the geniuses!

"Hmm, but this is not enough," Li Luo mumbled. The final examination would happen next month, and his aim was to enter the Astral Sage College. The top college of the Xia Kingdom would have exacting standards for entry. 

Just how many exceptional youths were produced each year? In the end, most of them would be left screaming and struggling at the gates, remaining as part of the rabble.

Hence, Li Luo wanted to quickly catch up, and his current pace was insufficient.

"It looks like in the end, the only solution is to temper my resonance. The fourth-grade is too low for my standards!" 

Li Luo steeled the resolve in his heart as he got up to leave. The moment he left the library, an attendant who had been waiting greeted him enthusiastically. "Young Lord! Cai Wei wanted me to notify you that she has already completed her task. All of the goods have been sent to your room." 

At this point, he could only exclaim in joy in his heart. This Cai Wei was truly a capable assistant to Sister Qing'e. Her ability to carry out tasks was truly unrivalled. He had originally expected it to come in tomorrow.

Quickly dismissing the attendant, he made haste towards his room.

Upon entering, he could see that his table was stacked high with exquisite wooden boxes. Upon opening one of them, one could find several tens of neatly arranged sparkling and translucent crystal bottles.

Li Luo curiously picked up two of such crystal bottles. There was a blue liquid within one of them that would give people a penetrating feeling when looked at as it gently swayed within the bottle. A sound much akin to that of a flowing stream could be faintly heard coming from it. 

The other crystal bottle was filled with an even more curious sight. It seemed to contain strands of flowing light, each one a thin thread. From afar, it even looked like a wisp of smoke.

Despite one being a liquid and the other a ray of light, both gave off similar feelings of purity.

"These are spirit liquids and purifying lights? How fascinating." Li Luo tutted in amazement. These could only be refined by cultivators with water and light resonances. They were somewhat similar to pills, both essential goods for any cultivator.

Li Luo continued to turn the bottle to inspect every corner before he noticed a label on one of them. 

"Blue Topaz Spirit Liquid, fourth-grade. Tempering strength: 58%"

Blue Topaz Spirit Liquid was a somewhat common fourth-grade spirit liquid found in the market. On the other hand, the supposed refinement strength was an indication of how much of the spirit liquid would actually be able to temper someone’s resonance. The rest would be rejected by the palace. This was hence termed as tempering strength. 

Simply speaking, the purer the spirit liquids and purifying lights, the stronger the tempering strength, resulting in an even better result.

The 58% tempering strength meant that upon usage, 42% would naturally be rejected.

58% may not seem very significant, but the truth was that this was more than sufficient. An average fourth-grade spirit liquid or purifying light in the market would have a tempering strength of 56% or so. Anything above that grade would be considered excellent quality, and the price would correspondingly be higher.

It was common knowledge that there was a limit to how much one could temper their resonances. The higher the grade of the spirit liquids and purifying lights, the less impurities they would contain. Using a superior product would allow them to delay reaching the point where they could no longer utilize these spirit liquids and purifying lights, while getting a better effect for themselves.

Li Luo had a smile on his face as he looked at his little "cuties". His natural blank palaces seemed to have become essential at this point. Others would be concerned at not maximizing the efficacy of spirit liquids and purifying lights when using them, concerned with riddling their palaces with impurities, accelerating the point where they could no longer be tempered. These individuals would slowly use these tempering tools over time to mitigate any issues that arose. He, on the other hand... he had absolutely no reservations at all.

His natural blank palaces would allow him to squander these spirit liquids and purifying lights with impunity.

This was also a test. If he could absorb all fifty spirit liquids and purifying lights, just how far would his fourth-grade resonance be tempered?

Just the thought alone caused his heart to beat even quicker.