The courtyard was lonely.
Only the wind blew through the withered leaves.
As an Immortal Master of the Xuantian Grotto-heaven, Thirteen Wu considered his standards to be incredibly high, having seen far too many so-called Geniuses in his life.
Wang Canglan, hailed as the number one Prodigy of the Eastern Region, had entered the Late Stage of Ascending the Tower at only one thousand three hundred and seventy-five years old, a feat that left the world in awe.
Then there was that little monster hidden in the Xuanming Palace, who also advanced with unstoppable momentum, defying all logic.
Even he himself.
Had he not been a Prodigy as well?
But the scene before him was truly somewhat absurd.
How many days has it been?
This girl entering Ascending the Tower was only a matter of a few days ago... at most, it hasn't even been a year.
Moreover, when ordinary Cultivators Cultivate to this Realm, who among them doesn't walk as if on thin ice, fearing a single misstep would lead to eternal damnation.
Even if their Breakthrough speed was fast, they would still need to spend several years or even decades polishing and stabilizing their Realm.
But she was different.
She even thought it wasn't fast enough, coming to ask why she couldn't reach Perfection directly.
You call this Cultivating?
Thirteen Wu's lips twitched, and after a long while, he stammered, "You... tell me, what exactly is your current situation?"
Jiang Yuechu did not hide anything.
"The Spiritual Qi is overflowing, yet it feels like I've entered a quagmire... it's as if something is obstructing me from taking the next step."
The young girl's brow furrowed slightly, clearly puzzled by this.
According to the nature of the Heaven-Devouring Art, as long as there was enough essence, she could keep achieving Breakthroughs; it had always been simple and direct.
Unless she encountered some special mechanism.
For example, entering the Ink Dot Realm requires seeking a Spiritual Seal, and entering Mountain Gazing requires condensing the Inner Scenery...
But even so.
The System would usually step in and provide some hints...
But this time.
The System had no reaction at all, stingy even with a notification sound.
This was a bit strange.
After hearing this, Thirteen Wu's expression gradually became solemn.
"How strange."
The old Daoist shook his head.
"Tower Ascent Perfection is something that should happen naturally."
"The so-called Ascending the Tower is like climbing stairs one step at a time; as long as the Spiritual Qi accumulated in your body reaches that point and your Primordial Spirit can bear it, it should happen naturally."
"Unlike a Breakthrough into a major realm, Cultivators stuck at this step are usually there because their Foundation is unstable, so they actively choose to stay in the late-stage to spend time polishing it..."
"I've never heard of someone wanting to reach Perfection but being unable to take that further step."
Jiang Yuechu fell silent.
As for an unstable Foundation?
What a joke.
With the accumulation built up by the System, if even she was considered to have an unstable Foundation, then few people in this world would dare say their Foundation was solid...
Seeing the young girl silent, Thirteen Wu also frowned in deep thought.
This girl was an anomaly and could not be judged by common sense.
But despite all the changes, the essence remains the same; the path of cultivation always leaves traces to follow.
The old Daoist's gaze swept back and forth over Jiang Yuechu.
From her calm and rippleless face to her hands resting naturally on her knees.
Suddenly.
A flash of inspiration struck his mind.
Thirteen Wu suddenly looked up, his eyes sharp.
"Girl, let this old Daoist ask you."
"Now that you have reached Ascending the Tower, how many types of heart material have you integrated into the tempering of your Primordial Spirit?"
heart material.
This is where the Foundation of a Denglou Realm Cultivator lies.
To build a high tower and make the Primordial Spirit more powerful, one must use the rare treasures of heaven and earth—the so-called heart material—as the beams and Foundation stones of this tower.
The higher the quality and the greater the quantity of the heart material, the more stable the tower will be, and the higher one's future achievements will be.
This is also why the descendants of those Dao Lineages are often several times more powerful than Loose Cultivators.
Because even if they just pile up resources, they can build a magnificent Primordial Spirit.
But Jiang Yuechu was slightly stunned.
heart material?
This term felt somewhat distant.
She thought back carefully.
When she had first achieved a Breakthrough to Ascending the Tower, she had indeed followed this old Daoist's suggestion and specifically sought out something.
That thing seemed to have been snatched from Running Ox... what was it called?
Oh, right.
twelve-colored rosy cloud silver.
Jiang Yuechu raised her eyelids and looked at the serious Thirteen Wu, her tone calm.
"One type."
"Hmm?"
Thirteen Wu seemed not to have heard clearly.
Or rather, he couldn't believe his ears.
He leaned his ear closer to Jiang Yuechu: "How many did you say?"
Jiang Yuechu's expression was composed as she held up a fair and slender index finger: "Just one, twelve-colored rosy cloud silver... besides that, there's nothing else."
"..."
The courtyard fell into silence again.
Even the chirping of insects in the corner seemed to sense the wrong atmosphere and sensibly shut up.
Thirteen Wu's mouth hung open.
His cloudy old eyes were filled with absurdity at this moment.
Wang Ziyu, who had been afraid to interrupt, curled his lips helplessly.
It turned out this girl... besides the one time he accompanied her to find heart material, she hadn't looked for any other heart material since...
But this seemed even more outrageous.
With only one type of heart material, how on earth did she possess her current strength?
It's true that the quantity of heart material doesn't represent absolute strength.
But for most Denglou Realm Cultivators, aside from their cultivation level...
...they rely on the quality and quantity of heart material to determine their strength.
This was like a grand and magnificent palace with a Foundation supported by only a single brick.
How is that possible?
How dare she!
Thirteen Wu felt a tightness in his chest, nearly spitting out a mouthful of old blood.
He pointed at Jiang Yuechu with a trembling hand, his fingers shaking.
"You... you..."
The old Daoist was heartbroken, slapping his thigh and wailing.
"twelve-colored rosy cloud silver is certainly a rare High Grade heart material in this world, but in the end, a single tree cannot make a forest... Even ordinary Loose Cultivators, for the sake of their future Dao path, would try every means to find three to five types of heart material, following the principles of Five Elements mutual generation or the way of Yin and Yang harmony to temper the Foundation of their Primordial Spirit."
"Those Prodigies of the Dao Lineages are even more eager to stuff all the good things in the world into their Primordial Spirit, starting with at least nine types!"
"But you."
"Just one?"
Looking at Jiang Yuechu's matter-of-fact appearance, Thirteen Wu felt his head buzzing.
No wonder.
No wonder this girl was stuck before reaching Tower Ascent Perfection.
This wasn't because of anything special.
It was clearly that single pillar reaching its limit.
If she were to force her way into Tower Ascent Perfection...
...once the Primordial Spirit could no longer bear it...
...it would end with the Primordial Spirit shattering...
When that time comes...
...the Primordial Spirit will be gone.
What use is having only a Physical Body?!
Listening to the old Daoist's scolding, Jiang Yuechu showed no shame on her face.
Relying on the System all the way, she didn't have so many requirements; having one was already good enough.
After all, the strength gained from using heart material to enhance the Primordial Spirit wasn't as much as killing more demons and directly adding points to her stats.
Besides.
No one told her back then that she had to get several of them.
If she had known earlier that this thing was like collecting stamps and required a set, she would have turned the Eastern Region upside down to gather them all first...