A month passed.
By now, Ghost and the other two Titled Sages had finished their cultivation.
With the help of Wu Ling's potion, Erasmus Graves successfully absorbed the toxins inside his body. At the same time, his Spirit Power advanced naturally to level ninety-two.
That was not all. He had stayed at level ninety-one for far too long, so the Spirit Power stored inside him was already enormous. With the toxins no longer suppressing him and with a cultivation method to support him, he was even confident he could reach level ninety-three within a year.
Ghost and Yue Guan had gained no less. With the potions' help, both of them reached level ninety-six, but the greater change lay in their Martial Souls.
Ghost could feel that the eyes of his Martial Soul now seemed able to see something. After several days of study, he confirmed that those things were what people called souls. As for what that ability could do, that still needed research.
As for Yue Guan, she had changed the most among the three.
Her formerly golden hair had turned entirely purple. Her already fair skin had become even smoother and more delicate. A closer look would reveal that the Adam's apple at her throat had vanished, and her body now had the full curves and mature grace of a woman.
Yue Guan had changed into the loose robe of a Spirit Hall elder. Her previous clothes had already been destroyed by her altered figure, and the spare clothes she had prepared no longer fit. Personally, she did not mind letting Ghost and Wu Ling see, but Erasmus Graves was an outsider, and she did not have women's undergarments prepared. To avoid any awkwardness, she wrapped herself in the heavy, loose elder robe.
That was right. When Wu Ling first found the Yin Yang Flower before it had become an immortal herb, he had already thought of this possibility. By adding a bottle of Qi Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum potion, he forcefully raised the Yin Yang Flower's effect to the immortal-herb level. The flaw was that only someone whose Martial Soul was the Qi Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum could use it.
Since Wu Ling had prepared it specifically for Yue Guan, that flaw might as well not exist.
After taking the potion, Yue Guan had become fully female on the physiological level. Her Martial Soul also changed from the golden Qi Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum into the purple Silken Nether Chrysanthemum, and that transformation had affected her appearance as well.
Now, the three Titled Sages stood in excellent moods before the Ice and Fire Spring, all of them watching the spring with full concentration.
To be honest, if Rose had not remained outside the spring and repeatedly guaranteed Wu Ling's safety, they would have dragged him out long ago. No matter how strong the spring's effect was, staying inside that kind of extreme temperature for an entire month was something even Yue Guan and Ghost, now Venerate-level Titled Sages, could not confidently endure.
Only a moment ago, Rose had suddenly told them that Wu Ling's cultivation was complete. That was why they had come to the spring to wait for him to emerge.
Time passed second by second. Just as the three of them were about to ask Rose again, ripples began spreading from the center of the spring.
Their eyes snapped toward it.
With a splash, Wu Ling leaped out of the spring on a column of water more than two meters high.
Behind him, four Spirit Rings, purple, purple, black, and black, shone brilliantly beneath the rainbow formed by sunlight and spray.
Erasmus Graves let out a breath when he saw Wu Ling emerge unharmed. After all, he had personally experienced the cultivation efficiency created by the combination of potion and cultivation method. He had to admit that he had never felt such a smooth, satisfying breakthrough in his life.
From now on, he was following Wu Ling for good.
Then, in the next second, he saw the Spirit Rings behind Wu Ling. The sight of purple, purple, black, and black struck Erasmus Graves's worldview like a hammer.
After seeing Wu Ling's alchemy, Erasmus Graves had thought he understood why Spirit Hall valued the boy so much. Now it seemed this monster of a young man was not merely skilled at refining medicine.
Thinking that, Erasmus Graves looked toward Yue Guan. He was just about to ask about Wu Ling's Spirit Rings when he saw that Yue Guan and Ghost were also shocked.
Erasmus Graves's expression practically said, "Why are the two of you surprised too? Don't tell me you didn't know either!"
Perhaps sensing Erasmus Graves's confusion, Yue Guan, who had been in an excellent mood these past few days, explained, "We knew Wu Ling could absorb Spirit Rings above his level, but his previous Spirit Rings should have been yellow, purple, black, and black."
The moment she finished, Erasmus Graves understood. For some reason, Wu Ling's first Spirit Ring had changed from a hundred-year ring to a thousand-year ring.
It was shocking, but when Erasmus Graves thought of Yue Guan's Martial Soul changing outright, perhaps Wu Ling increasing a Spirit Ring's age was still within the range of acceptance.
No, it absolutely was not!
Martial Soul mutations were rare, but they were not unheard of. Something like Wu Ling increasing the age of an existing Spirit Ring, however, was the first time Erasmus Graves had ever seen it.
Ignoring the three elders' shock, Wu Ling took a moment to adjust to the sudden change in pressure after leaving the spring at high speed. He shook his still-dizzy head, took a set of clothes from his storage ring, and put them on. His previous clothes had long since been ruined by the torment of the fire spring and the ice spring.
The increased age of the Spirit Ring behind him was also one of the reasons this seclusion had taken so long.
Inside the Ice and Fire Spring, Wu Ling had needed only three days to absorb half of the potion into his body, causing a qualitative transformation in his constitution.
As for the remaining half, if Wu Ling had absorbed all of it, then after obtaining his fifth Spirit Ring he likely could have gone directly for his sixth.
After all, in the original story, the Shrek Seven Monsters each raised their Spirit Power by at least five levels from absorbing only one immortal herb. If someone took the five-in-one potion made by Wu Ling, its powerful medicinal effect would not create resistance, and it could be fully absorbed. A Spirit Elite at level thirty might even leap directly to Spirit Leader, or possibly Spirit Daoist.
Even with only half the potion remaining, even with Wu Ling's total Spirit Power and Spirit Power quality far exceeding an ordinary Spirit Leader's, he had already cultivated at level fifty for some time. Add the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast Rose had planned, and after absorbing his fifth Spirit Ring, he really might be able to absorb his sixth immediately.
But Wu Ling would never do that. No matter how condensed his Spirit Power was, he had to remain at the Spirit Leader stage for a while.
That was why Wu Ling and Rose had planned the second matter: increasing Spirit Ring age.
If god trials could directly bestow god-given Spirit Rings and raise their ages, why did ordinary Spirit Masters have to hunt Soul Beasts?
Using Wu Ling as the medium, Rose spent more than half a month researching that question and finally made some progress. The upgraded first Spirit Ring was the result. If the potion's effect had not nearly run dry at the end, raising the first Spirit Ring directly to ten thousand years might have been possible.
Once Wu Ling was dressed, he walked calmly over the surface of the spring. Rose was already waiting on the shore.
The moment he stepped onto land, Rose sent him a voice transmission.
"The research on raising Spirit Ring age is complete. The creation of Spirit Rings also has some leads."
Approval appeared in Wu Ling's eyes. He silently nodded.
Rose truly had never disappointed him.
Then Wu Ling looked toward the three Titled Sages walking toward him. He smiled and went to meet them.