Chapter 1652 — Thinking of a Way: "Mother, what are you saying!" Tang Zhi said. "I am still your daughter — I was before, and I am now. Whatever you have to say, say it; I am listening..."
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"I haven't thought of one yet. But from what I have observed, you must have some means of rapidly restoring your strength, don't you?" Bing Tang asked. "Zhang Naipao drained you dry, and yet in a single night you recovered — and broke through besides. Without some secret method, that would be impossible."
"That's true enough!" Wei Zhao did not try to hide it, for the thing had happened on the Ice Palace's own ground, and the Palace Master could hardly be ignorant of it; she simply did not know the particulars. So he answered honestly: "I have tried to recover many times. But the moment I am back at Mystic rank, my strength drains away like water, so for now I can only bring myself back to the peak of the late Yellow rank."
"You mean to use that method to break through to Earth rank in one stroke?" Bing Tang was clever, and she saw his intent at once.
After all, Wei Zhao knew perfectly well that recovering to Mystic rank meant losing it again, yet he had done it over and over. Plainly he meant to force a breakthrough straight to Earth rank that way; otherwise, if one or two attempts had failed, he would have given up — what sense was there in restoring himself again and again?
"Yes!" Wei Zhao nodded in admission.
"Then at the very most, how far can you restore your strength?" Bing Tang asked after a moment's thought.
"The peak of the late Mystic rank!" Wei Zhao said. "In fact I could go further, but I am held back by the level I had before. I never broke through to Earth rank back then, so when I recover, I still have not broken through — and finding the opening for a breakthrough is very hard."
"Oh? You can raise yourself all the way to the peak of the late Mystic rank in one go?" Bing Tang was rather surprised; she had not expected Wei Zhao to be so formidable.
"It's passable, but it does me no good. Without a breakthrough, it drains away all the same," Wei Zhao said.
"If that is the case, then I do have a way to get you through to Earth rank... though there are certain drawbacks." Bing Tang frowned and said it only after a moment's hesitation.
"Let's hear it," Wei Zhao said. So long as there was hope, that was enough.
"That Qi Gathering Pill — do you still have it on you?" Bing Tang asked. "I remember you said before that you had one, and meant to trade it to me for the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit."
"I do. It is still with me!" Wei Zhao nodded, half guessing her meaning. "You mean I should take the Qi Gathering Pill? But isn't the Qi Gathering Pill taken at the peak of the late Earth rank, to break through to Heaven rank?"
"It can be taken at the peak of the late Mystic rank as well, to break through to Earth rank — it is just a bit of a waste," Bing Tang said. "The Qi Gathering Pill can be taken as an experience pill, or as a wonder elixir for shattering a barrier. But once you have taken one, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth will no longer have any effect on you. If you wish to cultivate after that, you will have to keep taking Qi Gathering Pills to raise your strength — the true qi contained in them is simply too pure. Even the spirit veins of the Ice Palace cannot compare."
"So that is how it is!" Hearing this, Wei Zhao actually breathed a sigh of relief. The spiritual qi of heaven and earth was of no use to him now anyway; and as for purity of energy, what could possibly be purer than the energy within the jade pendant's space?