When Leaf Gray wasn't deliberately probing, he didn't feel anything. But if he deliberately probed, he could clearly sense the presence of the Talent Tree.

This miraculous tree was rooted within his Origin Spiritual Aperture.

The pill potency of the Spirit Nurturing Pill dissolved in his abdomen, transforming into spiritual power. While diverting part of his focus to guide the pill potency into his apertures, Leaf Gray also kept his attention on the Talent Tree.

The spiritual power obtained from converting pill potency wasn't directly injected into a specific aperture; it first had to pass through the Origin Spiritual Aperture. For example, since Leaf Gray's twenty-one apertures weren't yet full, the spiritual power converted from the pill he took needed to pass through the Origin Spiritual Aperture first before flowing into the twenty-first aperture. If an aperture was too far from the Origin Spiritual Aperture, it might even need to transit through several apertures.

But without exception, the Origin Spiritual Aperture was the starting point for receiving spiritual power. That's why this first opened aperture was called the Origin Spiritual Aperture and was the most important aperture for a cultivator.

In Leaf Gray's understanding, the Origin Spiritual Aperture was similar to the dantian of those martial arts masters.

However, to be precise, the location of the Origin Spiritual Aperture was indeed at the dantian. And the apertures opened by low-level techniques were all near the Origin Spiritual Aperture, so they didn't require much transit; just passing through the Origin Spiritual Aperture was sufficient.

Previously, Leaf Gray hadn't investigated carefully. This time, with intentional observation, he was surprised to find that the spiritual power converted from the Spirit Nurturing Pill's potency... seemed less pure than his own spiritual power. That spiritual power vaguely contained some indescribable impurities, which should be harmful to oneself.

Is this the pill toxin? A thought emerged in Leaf Gray's mind.

The Sect Leader had mentioned this to him before: all medicine is three parts poison, let alone the spirit pills consumed by cultivators. The lower the quality of the spirit pill, the more severe the pill toxin. Therefore, cultivators needed to find ways to resolve the pill toxin after taking pills for cultivation, otherwise, it would leave hidden dangers.

The not-so-pure spiritual power flowed into the Origin Spiritual Aperture, transited through it, and flowed into the twenty-first aperture. But something magical happened: the spiritual power flowing into the twenty-first aperture no longer contained any residue of pill toxin; it became as pure as the spiritual power in the other apertures.

Leaf Gray keenly detected this point, thereby confirming that the alteration in spiritual power took place within the Origin Spiritual Aperture.

He quickly directed most of his focus into the Origin Spiritual Aperture, observing carefully, and soon discovered the secret.

The Talent Tree, rooted in the Origin Spiritual Aperture, grew roots that seemed to draw in the spiritual power from the Origin Spiritual Aperture. After flowing through the tree's body, it was fed back. And that not-so-pure spiritual power became pure after going through this process.

Throughout the process, gray mist continuously emanated from the Talent Tree's body, like ashes after burning.

Indeed, the issue lay with the Talent Tree!

Based on the currently observed situation, it seemed the Talent Tree had the effect of purifying spiritual power. All the pill toxin was burned away by it.

Leaf Gray recalled another thing: since he started opening apertures and cultivating, he always felt uncomfortable after each cultivation session, as if covered in a layer of dust.

This situation became more pronounced after he entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield and had enough Spirit Nurturing Pills.

Conversely, during a previous period when he had no Spirit Nurturing Pills and cultivated by refining essence into energy, this phenomenon did not occur.

Putting everything together, Leaf Gray suddenly understood.

The Talent Tree had the ability to purify spiritual power. The pill toxin from his pill-assisted cultivation was all burned away by the Talent Tree, which was why his pill-assisted cultivation had no hidden dangers. And that burned pill toxin couldn't just disappear without a trace; it was all expelled from his body, causing him to feel as if covered in dust after each cultivation session.

Everything was clear now. Leaf Gray's previous conjecture was confirmed, so he wasn't too surprised.

However, after understanding this, he wouldn't have as much psychological pressure when taking pills for cultivation in the future.

Relaxing his mind, Leaf Gray continued guiding the pill potency in his abdomen. The spiritual power in the twenty-first aperture gradually increased.

Evie had been watching him nervously, but seeing no further abnormalities, she eventually succumbed to sleep. Heaven knows how a spirit body like her could sleep...

She was awakened by the sound of something cutting through the air. When she opened her eyes, dawn was breaking. The campfire beside her had long burned out. Not far away, Leaf Gray, bare-chested, was continuously swinging his knife with one hand. Each movement wasn't fast, but his expression was meticulous.

This guy... is he made of iron? Evie's eye twitched.

In fact, Leaf Gray had slept for three hours last night. Although a cultivator's physique is stronger than a mortal's, they still need rest, especially low-level cultivators like him who haven't completely transcended the mortal realm.

But he was deeply aware that the road ahead was fraught with difficulties, so he was unwilling to waste any time.

By the time Leaf Gray finished his morning practice, Evie and the big tiger had already gathered enough firewood and lit it. Leaf Gray took out a section of snake from his storage bag and tossed it to them to handle.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group set off again.

The journey wasn't as pleasant as imagined. Jolting along on the tiger's back, Leaf Gray swallowed a Spirit Nurturing Pill. He wanted to try cultivating while on the tiger's back. If he didn't solve this problem, he would waste a lot of time.

Occasionally, they encountered some low-level cultivators hurrying along the way, but the big tiger avoided them in advance. Those cultivators, seeing the big tiger from a distance, wouldn't provoke it unless they were insane. Moreover, they might not even be able to catch up.

When night fell, they found a suitable place to rest as usual.

Eat snake meat, practice with the knife, then take pills and cultivate.

Progress today was quite good. Although Leaf Gray still felt the jolting of the tiger's back, he could at least start cultivating, even if the efficiency was somewhat low.

At daybreak, Leaf Gray took out the Ten-Point Map, compared his current position with his starting point, and determined the direction of travel and the nearest target.

After riding the big tiger for two days, they still hadn't left the range of Jade Mountain, showing the vastness of this mountain range.

Another day later, towards evening, Leaf Gray looked at a market not far away and let out a long sigh of relief. The nearest destination had been reached.

On the Ten-Point Map, this place was labeled Jade Market V.

Leaf Gray rode the big tiger into the market, attracting many people's attention.

He had seen cultivators accompanied by demon beasts back at Jade Market III, but those demon beasts all looked rough and fierce, none as majestic and impressive as the big tiger.

Leaf Gray had also considered leaving the big tiger outside to wait for him. But the big tiger's strength wasn't actually very high, and this place was unfamiliar. If it accidentally trespassed into some other demon beast's territory, it might suffer losses.

After thinking it over, he simply brought the big tiger in with him.

He planned to rest here for the night.

It must be said, having the big tiger by his side was quite intimidating. Many timid cultivators kept their distance from Leaf Gray.

A little over half an hour later, Leaf Gray arrived at the Providentia Merchant Alliance in this market. He didn't have any spirit stones on hand, but the Merchant Alliance also accepted spirit pills as payment. So, after Leaf Gray paid with one Spirit Nurturing Pill, he was led by the alliance staff to a guest room on the third floor.

The room wasn't too spacious, but it was peaceful. The large tiger lay resting on the floor. Leaf Gray fed it a Spirit Nurturing Pill. Evie, who had been holding back for quite a while, emerged to get some fresh air.

Leaf Gray sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding the pill potency to impact the aperture barrier of the twenty-second aperture.