The Sect Master didn't know his situation, but Leaf Gray knew his own affairs well.

Not to mention the thirty-odd Vermillion Dawn Pill dregs he had intermittently exchanged from Manager Miller over the past year and consumed, just during those ten-plus days in the cave, he had taken two to three hundred pills.

Normally, ingesting so many pill dregs would inevitably cause significant hidden dangers to oneself.

Yet the Sect Master actually said his spiritual power was relatively pure?

The Sect Master probably wouldn't make a mistake about such a matter. Leaf Gray didn't know exactly how high the Sect Master's cultivation was, but as the master of a ninth-grade sect, he should at least be at the Cloud River realm.

In other words, his own spiritual power probably really wasn't a problem.

But where was the issue? Leaf Gray first thought of the Talent Tree. Back in the mine tunnel, he had vaguely felt that the Talent Tree was more than just a carrier for spirit patterns. Now, it seemed the purity of his spiritual power was definitely related to the Talent Tree too; otherwise, there was no explaining his current condition.

This matter wasn't something he could frankly explain to the Sect Master. After thinking for a moment, Leaf Gray said, "Sect Master, if pill toxins accumulate excessively, causing spiritual power to become sluggish and impure, how should one resolve it?"

"Naturally, one can only pause cultivation and slowly dissolve the pill toxins. This requires a lot of time. Therefore, over-reliance on spirit pills for cultivation not only fails to increase cultivation speed but can have the opposite effect. However, you needn't worry; using pills appropriately for assistance is fine. The key is to grasp the right balance yourself."

"Disciple understands."

"Mm, your current cultivation is still shallow, so relying on pills for cultivation is understandable. But since you have Spirit Nurturing Pills, why not use them instead of using Vermillion Dawn Pills to refine essence into qi? You should know that although both these spirit pills can assist cultivation, the latter is more important for supplementing qi and blood, and consolidating the foundation and vitality."

Leaf Gray looked embarrassed: "Disciple... didn't recognize the Spirit Nurturing Pills…"

Just moments ago, he had habitually taken Vermillion Dawn Pills, only thinking of restoring spiritual energy quickly to break through the spiritual aperture barriers, without much thought.

Elder Lockridge gave a surprised laugh and pushed a small bottle towards him: "What's in here are Spirit Nurturing Pills. Although they are the lowest grade, the quality is passable and suitable for your use."

Leaf Gray poured one pill out of the bottle, saw the appearance of the Spirit Nurturing Pill, and thought to himself that Manager Miller indeed had Spirit Nurturing Pills as well. He had seen this type of spirit pill in Manager Miller's storage bag before but didn't dare to take them randomly.

Now, with the Sect Master's guidance, he had no worries. He swallowed the Spirit Nurturing Pill in his hand and calmly refined it.

"After taking a spirit pill, you need to guide the pill's power to prevent it from stagnating and leaving future troubles." The Sect Master's voice sounded by his ear.

This was also the reason why he had said the lowest grade Spirit Nurturing Pills were just right for Leaf Gray.

With Leaf Gray's current single-aperture cultivation level, if he really took a superior spirit pill, the potent pill power would inevitably be too much to guide in time. If excessive pill power accumulated in his body, it would greatly affect his cultivation.

Hearing the Sect Master's words, Leaf Gray proceeded accordingly.

A warm flow slowly emerged from his lower abdomen – that was the release of the Spirit Nurturing Pill's power, transforming into spiritual energy usable by a cultivator.

Guided by Leaf Gray, the spiritual energy converted from the pill power was gradually channeled into his Origin Spiritual Aperture.

The nearly depleted Origin Spiritual Aperture gradually became full.

The efficacy of this Spirit Nurturing Pill was far superior to the Vermillion Dawn Pill dregs he had taken before!

The Spirit Nurturing Pill itself was more suitable for cultivation than the Vermillion Dawn Pill. Furthermore, what Leaf Gray had consumed before were the dregs from failed pill refinements by The Lunar Blight cultivators, which required an additional step of refining essence into qi to convert his own qi and blood power into spiritual energy – naturally, there was no comparison.

Only now did he truly experience the joy of cultivation through pill use!

In less than half a day, his nearly depleted Origin Spiritual Aperture was full again, and the Spirit Nurturing Pill's effects were still ongoing.

Leaf Gray quickly guided the spiritual energy from the Origin Spiritual Aperture to impact the barrier of the second spirit aperture, again and again.

Until a certain moment, he faintly felt something shatter within his body, and the previously obstructed spiritual energy suddenly flowed freely.

The second spirit aperture, opened!

Spiritual energy, brimming from the Origin Spiritual Aperture, flowed smoothly into the second spirit aperture. Leaf Gray felt physically and mentally refreshed.

There was still residual efficacy from the Spirit Nurturing Pill. Only after a long while longer, when he sensed the effects of that Spirit Nurturing Pill were completely exhausted, did Leaf Gray open his eyes. He was about to report his success to the Sect Master, but the Sect Master was no longer in sight.

He had left at some point.

Leaf Gray didn't mind. The Sect Master was the leader of the sect and had his own matters to attend to. Anyway, the Sect Master had already helped him locate the positions of the next few spirit apertures. Now, he just needed to follow the steps and cultivate diligently.

Leaf Gray's goal was to open those several spirit apertures as soon as possible and, according to the technique's circulation path, connect these apertures with spiritual energy to achieve the Spirit Creek realm. Only then would he be considered a truly initiated cultivator.

Wanting to test whether his previous conjecture about the Talent Tree was correct, Leaf Gray didn't rest. He took another Spirit Nurturing Pill and consumed it.

The rich pill power transformed into spiritual energy and, under Leaf Gray's guidance, filled his spirit apertures. Two days later, after consuming roughly six Spirit Nurturing Pills in total, the second aperture was full.

Leaf Gray was astonished by this speed.

It had taken him over ten days from opening the aperture to filling the first one. Yet now, the same progress took only two days. The difference was immense.

The efficacy of the Spirit Nurturing Pills was indeed not comparable to those dregs, even if these were the lowest quality Spirit Nurturing Pills.

He thought of Dawn Fielding again.

Dawn Fielding had told him that it took her over twenty days from opening her aperture to filling the first one, and she had also taken Spirit Nurturing Pills – provided by a cultivator from The Lunar Blight.

By this comparison, Leaf Gray's cultivation speed was clearly abnormal.

He could confirm that all this was greatly related to the Talent Tree, but what exactly the relationship was, he currently had no way to investigate.

Regardless, this was a good thing for him. Perhaps when his cultivation became stronger in the future, he could slowly uncover the secrets of the Talent Tree.

The Sect Master still hadn't appeared. Although Leaf Gray had cultivated for two days, he didn't feel tired, just terribly hungry.

Ever since he successfully opened his aperture, his appetite had greatly increased. He had noticed this back in the mine tunnel, but for his current age, being able to eat was a good thing. The more he ate, the more充沛 his qi and blood power became.

It wasn't convenient to go out to find food, but fortunately, there was still some food in Ryan Carter's storage bag. Leaf Gray wasn't picky; he took it out and ate and drank with some plain water.

After eating and drinking his fill, Leaf Gray continued cultivating.

Half a day later, the barrier of the third spirit aperture shattered.

A little over two days later, the third aperture was full.

Again, he consumed about six Spirit Nurturing Pills.

He wanted to continue cultivating, but as soon as he relaxed his focus, weariness washed over him. Knowing that he had been cultivating for too long, he had no choice but to rest first.

Taking out bedding from his storage bag, Leaf Gray fell asleep as soon as he lay down, quickly entering dreamland.