"Here's your reward."
The Golden Egg immediately grabbed the Spirit Stone and started gnawing on it furiously. Halfway through, it looked up at Nie Li. Nie Li could see that the Golden Egg's eyes were incredibly clear and full of life, like those of an adorable child.
"I don't have that many Spirit Stones, so you can eat at most two per day, or I won't be able to keep you!" Nie Li looked at the Golden Egg and said with a helpless smile. Its appetite was truly staggering!
A flash of sorrow passed through the Golden Egg's eyes. It looked down at the half-eaten Spirit Stone in its arms and couldn't bring itself to keep biting. Instead, it stuck out its tongue and kept licking what remained, drool pooling on the ground beneath it.
The sight of the Golden Egg's behavior made Nie Li crack a smile. As time went on, the Golden Egg's intelligence seemed to be growing considerably compared to before.
Nearby, the Phoenix Flame Goddess, who had been cultivating, opened her eyes and saw this scene. A hint of amusement flickered across her face before she closed them again and immersed herself back in her practice. She had already touched upon the mysteries of the Heavenly Fate realm and had begun condensing her Fate Soul.
Unlike others, however, the Fate Soul she had condensed took the form of a faint golden flame. Although she didn't know why her Fate Soul differed from everyone else's, the Phoenix Flame Goddess sensed that this golden flame contained incredibly vast power.
When she had encountered that powerful soul in the Black Flame Tower and it had tried to devour her own soul, it was this golden flame that had incinerated the intruder utterly. The Phoenix Flame Goddess felt certain that this golden flame was deeply connected to her origins.
By the end of the night, Nie Li had burned through more than three hundred Spirit Stones, leaving only about half.
Only then did Nie Li truly realize that this small supply of Spirit Stones was nowhere near enough. He needed to find more ways to obtain them!
The next morning, at dawn.
The sky had just begun to brighten. Nie Li and
The morning mist in the courtyard hadn't yet dissipated. Flowers along the path and beside the rockery were still adorned with dewdrops, looking fresh and dewy.
"Nie Li, Lu Piao, would you two be interested in going somewhere together?"
"Where?"
"One of the three great trial grounds of the Spirit Pavilion — the Sacred Spirit Sanctuary!"
"Oh? What kind of place is that?" Lu Piao asked curiously.
"The Sacred Spirit Sanctuary is the safest of the three trial grounds. However, the requirements are the strictest — only those whose soul quality has reached a certain level can enter." Xiao Yu smiled faintly. "Once we get there, you'll see for yourselves."
The Sacred Spirit Sanctuary? Nie Li hadn't visited it in his previous life and had no idea what kind of place it was.
"Sure, let's check it out." Nie Li nodded, developing a certain interest in the Sacred Spirit Sanctuary.
Under Xiao Yu's guidance, the three of them left the villa and set off down the path.
In the distance, several figures watched the trio depart and began whispering among themselves.
"Xiao Yu and the other two have gone out together. I'm going back to report to Young Master
"Yes, sir!" Several people moved out and trailed after Nie Li's group.
The three of them walked along.
"Looks like someone's following us," Lu Piao said in a low voice to Nie Li.
Xiao Yu smiled beside them. "Clowns putting on a show. Don't bother with them. In the Spirit Pavilion, they can't touch us. If we went to the other two trial grounds, they might cause us some trouble. But the Sacred Spirit Sanctuary? They can forget about it!"
As Nie Li and his companions headed toward the Sacred Spirit Sanctuary, various factions had already begun keeping tabs on their movements.
In a valley to the south of the Spirit Pavilion, where rolling mountains rose and dense forests stretched in every direction with enormous trees that would take several people to encircle, the environment was serene and secluded. At the valley's entrance lay a broad open area where several hundred people had gathered, milling about in a bustling crowd. At the center of the crowd stood a massive stone stele, over ten meters tall, radiating a blinding radiance. At its very top, several characters were carved in an ancient script: Sacred Spirit Rankings.
"That's the Sacred Spirit Rankings. The top two hundred students who perform in the Sacred Spirit Sanctuary are all listed on this stele."