"The Profound Sect never taught you any of this before?"

After a period of conversation, Elder Lockridge discovered that Leaf Gray had only a vague and fragmented understanding of basic cultivation concepts. This struck him as somewhat odd.

Leaf Gray could not reveal the truth, so he replied, "When I was younger, I was ignorant and unruly. The elders in the sect did offer guidance, but this disciple did not truly listen."

Elder Lockridge smiled. "No matter. You are still young. Cultivate properly from now on."

"Yes."

Elder Lockridge lifted his hand and extended a finger toward Leaf Gray's lower abdomen. "You currently have only one aperture filled. Since you wish to open the second, focus your mind and perceive carefully."

Leaf Gray immediately straightened his posture.

As Elder Lockridge's finger touched, Leaf Gray instantly sensed an external force entering his body. It was Elder Lockridge's spiritual power—gentle and restrained, causing him no harm.

That force flowed through his source aperture and slowly gathered at a spot nearby. This position was very familiar to Leaf Gray—it was the location of the second aperture used in the circulation of Cicada's Transcendent Metamorphosis. He had attempted several times to locate it precisely on his own but failed. Yet Elder Lockridge found it with ease.

This was the advantage of joining a sect and having elders to guide one—especially in the initial stages of cultivation, it saved immense effort and time spent on fumbling in the dark. And these early days were the most precious for any cultivator. If one began even slightly ahead of others, their future path would naturally hold greater advantage.

"This is the second aperture of Cicada's Transcendent Metamorphosis. You may try to guide your own spiritual power into it," Elder Lockridge said.

Leaf Gray quickly followed the instruction.

The spiritual power stored in his source aperture slowly flowed toward the second aperture under his guidance. Yet he clearly sensed a barrier surrounding that aperture, preventing the spiritual power from entering.

"Every aperture has an aperture barrier. Only by breaking through the barrier can an aperture be opened. This is something no one else can help you with—you must do it yourself."

With Elder Lockridge's level of cultivation, he naturally could have helped Leaf Gray shatter the barrier effortlessly. But doing so would likely cause irreversible damage to the aperture. Thus, he could only mark the location of the aperture and leave the actual opening to Leaf Gray.

Leaf Gray only now learned that such aperture barriers existed. He had relied on the talent tree to open his source aperture. Thinking back to that moment, he vaguely remembered something in his body breaking apart. Now it seemed that what shattered must have been the barrier of the source aperture.

Elder Lockridge's spiritual power did not linger. It continued to circulate within Leaf Gray's body. Breaking an aperture barrier was not something that could be accomplished in a short while. He had already helped Leaf Gray pinpoint the location of the second aperture—what remained now depended on Leaf Gray's own effort.

After a short time, Elder Lockridge withdrew his hand and said, "Following the circulation route of Cicada's Transcendent Metamorphosis, I have left traces of guiding spiritual power in the next eight apertures within your body. Each time you open one aperture, you will sense the location of the next. On the day you open all eight, you will circulate your spiritual power through the source aperture and those eight according to the method, and the Spirit Creek Realm will naturally form."

"Thank you, Master!" Leaf Gray bowed respectfully.

Elder Lockridge smiled slightly. "Go and cultivate. It will still take some time before we depart for The Verdant Peaks."

"Yes," Leaf Gray responded. Without moving elsewhere, he immediately began to cultivate right where he was.

With the sect master present, if any problem arose during cultivation, Elder Lockridge could oversee it.

Having now confirmed the location of the second aperture, Leaf Gray felt a surge of motivation. He mobilized the spiritual power within his source aperture and charged it against the barrier of the second aperture.

He had no idea what the barrier was made of, but with each impact he felt it loosen ever so slightly.

Yet the sensation of ramming the barrier was not pleasant. Each time he gathered spiritual power to strike, it felt as though a tiny hammer was knocking at the location of the aperture.

A few attempts were tolerable, but repeated strikes caused a subtle ache and swelling sensation around the second aperture.

Each impact consumed some spiritual power as well. Leaf Gray finally understood why the master said that opening apertures was difficult at the start, but would become relatively easier as one's cultivation increased.

If each aperture were like a bucket, then spiritual power was the water within. Right now, he only had one bucket of water. If he had two or three buckets, he would have more spiritual power to use, and opening the aperture would be faster—he might even break the barrier in a single continuous effort.

After nearly half an hour, Leaf Gray could no longer mobilize his spiritual power—the water in the bucket was nearly gone.

He retrieved a bottle of Vermillion Dawn Pill from Ryan Carter's storage bag, took out two pills, and was about to consume them.

"You've been using that to assist your cultivation?" Elder Lockridge's voice sounded.

Leaf Gray quickly replied, "Yes!" Noticing Elder Lockridge's changed expression, he felt a jolt of alarm. "Master, is there something wrong with this Vermillion Dawn Pill?"

Elder Lockridge frowned. "Someone from The Lunar Blight told you that this is Vermillion Dawn Pill?"

"This isn't Vermillion Dawn Pill?" Leaf Gray was surprised. He had consumed it before—indeed it seemed to increase blood and qi. If it wasn't Vermillion Dawn Pill, then what was it?

Elder Lockridge took Ryan Carter's storage bag, searched through several bottles and jars, inspected them one by one, and then placed one bottle before Leaf Gray. "This is Vermillion Dawn Pill."

Leaf Gray examined the bottle and saw that the pills inside were quite different from the ones he had taken before. He had seen this bottle earlier but did not recognize it, and so did not dare to use it.

He had never expected that what he thought was Vermillion Dawn Pill was not Vermillion Dawn Pill at all—and that the real Vermillion Dawn Pill was something else entirely.

"Then what is this?" Leaf Gray asked, pointing to the bottle he had been about to consume.

"Residue from a failed attempt to refine Vermillion Dawn Pill," Elder Lockridge explained. "Refining pills does not always succeed. When the process fails, it becomes residue. Residue generally serves no real function, although some may still contain slight medicinal effects. What you have is the leftover product of a failed Vermillion Dawn Pill refinement."

After hearing the explanation, Leaf Gray's expression darkened. No wonder each time he consumed these so-called Vermillion Dawn Pills, there was a faint burnt taste. He had assumed that was the pill's natural flavor. Now it was clear—it was just residue, so it was hardly surprising it tasted odd.

"What were cultivators of The Lunar Blight doing with this stuff?" Elder Lockridge wondered.

"They gave it to us miners to consume," Leaf Gray explained, describing the contribution exchange system in the mines.

Elder Lockridge understood and put away the residue. "This must not be consumed. It will affect your future cultivation."

Leaf Gray tensed immediately. "What kind of effect?"

"All medicine carries poison—our cultivation pills are no exception. The lower the quality of the pill, the heavier the pill poison it contains. Not to mention residue from failed refinement—the poison is most violent. Therefore, while cultivation can be aided by pills, one must never rely on them excessively. If too much pill poison accumulates in the body, at best one's spiritual power becomes turbid and techniques lose effectiveness; at worst, it shakes one's foundation and damages cultivation."

Leaf Gray felt his heart tremble. He had consumed two or three hundred of these so-called Vermillion Dawn Pill residues. According to the Master's explanation—was he doomed?

He swallowed nervously and asked, uneasy, "Master, is there a standard for using pills in cultivation? How can one tell how much pill poison has accumulated in the body?"

Elder Lockridge said, "Observe the spiritual power. As I said, once pill poison accumulates excessively, the spiritual power becomes turbid and unclear. The purer a cultivator's spiritual power, the more advantageous in combat and cultivation. The opposite harms them. I observed your spiritual power earlier and found it still quite pure, so do not worry too much."

Earlier, while helping Leaf Gray locate the second aperture, his spiritual power had flowed through Leaf Gray's source aperture, allowing him to clearly sense its nature.

Hearing this, Leaf Gray's mood became rather complicated.