Perfect World: Starting from Becoming Sister Huang

Chapter 60: Spirit Transformation Perfected, Little Stone Emerges from the Mountain

"Where did this come from?"

After wandering around for a while, Shi Zhao found himself back near the capital.

The Six Paths of Reincarnation Disc had already settled into the cave of her physical body, but the remnant blood of the Qilin it carried still emitted wisps of essence, tempering her physical body and nourishing her soul.

The transformation to the Spirit Transformation Realm continues; what she has just begun is the real breakthrough to the limit!

As for why she only runs and doesn't fight... the reason is simple: the Six Paths of Reincarnation will only protect her life in times of crisis, and will not waste its precious power to kill indiscriminately.

On one hand, it may involve some kind of cause and effect in the dark; on the other hand, it wants to see Shi Zhao grow, rather than rely on the treasure to commit evil.

The remnant artifact of the Celestial King possesses its own will; that's just how unique it is.

Shi Zhao naturally did not want to develop a dependency mentality. She was well aware of the turmoil to come and that only by taking power into her own hands could she control her destiny and cope with all kinds of crises.

"I still have some things left here, so I might as well replace those odds and ends," she muttered to herself.

Entering the palace with practiced ease, Shi Zhao comforted Aman and Qingfeng before approaching the Emperor and spreading the extorted goods all over the floor of the main hall.

"Did you plunder the ancient sacred mountain?" The Stone Emperor's tone could no longer be calm.

"How did you know?" Shi Zhao was immediately surprised.

"..."

In the end, Shi Huang reluctantly took away the "stolen goods" from the ground.

Shi Zhao also got what she needed in return, it was a win-win situation.

Yes, she won twice in a row!

"The Venerable Armor and the Ancient Shrinking Earth Talisman—all things considered, I still came out on top."

The items extorted from the ancient sacred mountain are at most of the king or marquis level, but exchanging them for a set of venerable-level armor is definitely a bargain, trading something low for something high.

In addition, she had nine magic-breaking arrows made from the black gold ore she had obtained from looting the Rain Clan's mining area, and the rest were put into the national treasury.

There's no way around it; refining this stuff is too troublesome, and she doesn't need that much anyway.

There was also the star stone that was bought at the auction house. After it was cut open, there was no star sand inside, but a small, more precious fragment of star essence, which could be used to refine divine artifacts.

She had the hammer that Fourth Master had given her repaired, and then, on a whim, she took out a bunch of divine materials and had them forge another purple-gold hammer.

"These are all investments. We're getting a good deal now, but we'll have to pay it back later." Shi Zhao's eyes sparkled as he smiled, then suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Even if she doesn't believe in fate or the so-called cause and effect, she will still feel uneasy. Perhaps, in a sense, this can also be considered a kind of "cause and effect".

"I'm leaving now. You all stay here and cultivate peacefully." She gave Aman and Qingfeng her final instructions and asked them to return the Purple Gold Hammer to Fourth Master in the future.

The Stone Emperor was very generous; knowing that Shi Zhao was leaving, he even gave her a mount.

A mighty beast roared past through the mountains and forests.

This is a Bixie, four or five meters long, with a strong body and a tiger-like appearance, but its body is covered with purple-gold dragon scales, and it has a pair of dragon horns on its head that shimmer with purple-gold divine light, making it very majestic and handsome.

Without a doubt, this is a descendant of the old Bi'an, the current sacrificial spirit of the Stone Kingdom in the palace. Its bloodline is quite pure, very close to pure blood, but it was sent away by the Stone Emperor.

Even before reaching adulthood, he already exuded a powerful aura, comparable to a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Bi'an was naturally unruly and quite arrogant, but after Shi Zhao slapped its skull open, it immediately became obedient and docile like a big cat.

The lone rider deliberately avoided the main road, but some people still witnessed the scene of the tiger roaring in the mountains. They were immediately shocked and amazed, and naturally, they wouldn't be so foolish as to provoke him.

Not long after, Shi Zhao arrived in the Western Frontier and quietly returned to his second ancestral land.

After visiting her two great-grandfathers, she did not linger and set off again for the Great Wilderness.

On the banks of the Taiyin River, a Bi'an is confronting a group of large golden crocodiles.

To be precise, they were several adult crocodile dragons who were using the power of the Taiyin River to temper their bloodline and cultivate. They happened to run into a man and a horse, and a battle was about to break out.

Shi Zhao did not make a move, but stood quietly to the side, watching the Bixie and the Crocodile Dragon fight.

"roar!"

After a fierce battle, Bi'an returned victorious, bathed in the blood of the dragon. Then, carrying the largest crocodile dragon in its mouth, it hopped and skipped to her side as if presenting a treasure.

"You're covered in blood, go wash up first." Shi Zhao said with some disgust.

"Wow, this is the Taiyin River, you'll freeze to death." Bi'an spoke, its clear voice ringing out, surprisingly a loli voice.

It ran to the side to shake off the blood, and when it returned, Shi Zhao had already lit a fire and set up a large cauldron to cook the crocodile dragon.

The Great Wilderness Miscellaneous Sayings states: Crocodiles and dragons are fierce, but eating them is highly nutritious!

Freshly killed and eaten on the spot, emphasizing freshness.

"Why did you transform into human form?" Shi Zhao glared at the silly loli, unable to help but put his hand to his forehead. How was he supposed to ride her now? His conscience would hurt.

Bi Ling didn't care about any of that. Her nose twitched, and she came running because of the smell. Her eyes were full of longing for meat.

After eating and drinking his fill, Shi Zhao gazed in the direction of Shi Village, but changed his mind. Instead of returning, he plunged headlong into the depths of the vast wilderness.

"I must break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm as soon as possible!" She made up her mind.

Another reason is that I don't want Xiaoshi to become too dependent on me.

The relationship between her and Da Shitou was fairly normal, like that between siblings, but Xiao Shitou was too dependent on her. Sometimes she felt like she was really raising a child.

Therefore, she had to harden her heart. This was not only being cruel to Xiao Shi, but also to herself. She couldn't always be by Xiao Shi's side.

In the following period, Shi Zhao went deep into the Great Wilderness, constantly comprehending the Dao, and began to "nourish his spirit".

The Spirit Transformation Realm, if one reaches perfection, requires three steps: physical body becoming a spirit, reshaping the true self, and nurturing the spirit in a grotto-heaven.

These three stages can only be approached infinitely, but it is almost impossible to truly reach them.

But what she wanted was to turn the impossible into the possible!

For her, physical transformation into a spirit and spiritual reshaping of her true self were effortless, and she had already achieved astonishing success at Qilin Cliff.

While battling a ferocious beast, with a loud boom, the ten great grotto-heavens opened, surging forth with a vast life force, each containing a powerful spiritual will.

Seven of the caves house the precious techniques of seven pure-blooded ferocious beasts: Bixie, Suanni, Zhenhou, Qingluan, Bifang, Jinchan, and Undying Silkworm. The other three caves contain the Grass Character Sword Technique, the author's Seven Star Divine Power, and the Sacrificial Spirit Dance passed down by the Willow God.

In fact, it was not a simple sacrificial dance, but an ancient divine war dance, and it also recorded a body-strengthening technique called the Immortal Willow Golden Body Technique.

The Willow Goddess deliberately placed the sacrificial dance first and hid the skill at the end, so that she only glanced at it and didn't pay much attention, thus being tricked by the Willow Goddess.

At that very moment, Shi Zhao's body trembled violently, and the ten cave heavens merged into one. The various spiritual bodies nurtured within suddenly ignited, unleashing boundless divine power. He swung his great hammer and forcefully suppressed and killed the ferocious beast at the Inscription Realm.

She sat down cross-legged on the spot, and using the insights she gained during the battle, she infused her spiritual will into the unified grotto, creating a person exactly like herself.

Next, she ignited the runes and marks contained within the ten spiritual bodies, turning them into firewood, as if offering a sacrifice, solely to fulfill the spiritual will that had been infused into her.

When Shi Zhao broke through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, she unexpectedly experienced a similar "sacrifice". This time, she took the initiative to activate it and was determined to walk a different path.

The so-called "cultivating spirit in a grotto" ultimately involves withdrawing one's will, returning to one's original body, and leaving only the precious technique, which then evolves into something almost like life.

This involves too many things. To truly achieve the goal of nurturing a spirit in a grotto is considered a success. To completely endow a spirit with life is something even gods cannot do.

But Shi Zhao took a different approach, not following the usual path.

She believed that if she couldn't collect all ten of the most powerful techniques, then there would be no point in going down this path. So she didn't seek external things but focused on cultivating her own spiritual will!

It may seem like the same choice that ordinary cultivators, who are severely lacking in magical techniques, make out of desperation, but in reality, they are worlds apart.

"The Cave Heaven Realm is complete, all three stages have reached their peak, and you've taken a step forward in each one. The results are remarkable, and you're not far from truly breaking through the limits!" Shi Zhao smiled.

In the past six months, she has grown even taller, making her appear even more exquisitely beautiful.

Her eyes were bright and lively, her black hair flowed freely, and she had an ethereal quality. After changing into a white dress, she appeared even more otherworldly, like a banished immortal descending to earth.

At that very moment, in Stone Village, seven-year-old Shi Hao completed his cultivation and stepped out of the village to begin his trials and tribulations.