"Blast!" Nie Kong inwardly cursed. His right hand swiftly changed its motion from a push to a grab, stabilizing his form. However, the weight of his body forced the cliff face inward, creating a significant depression where his palm had contacted the surface. The object he had grasped was revealed in its true form: nothing more than a vine as thick as a thumb.

Only then did Nie Kong realize that the surface of the cliff before him was not rock at all, but a dense tapestry of interwoven vines. These were covered everywhere by that strange moss, indistinguishable from the rest of the environment. Had it not been for that brief push, he might never have noticed, even searching for another day.

A thought struck Nie Kong. He remembered the fissure, recessed several meters into the cliff face not far to his right, and quickly moved toward it. Squeezing carefully into the crack, he indeed felt that same spongy, yielding texture. As Nie Kong pushed deeper, the soft, yielding sensation intensified.

Suddenly, the fissure that had been closed ahead of him split open to either side.

A blinding, stark white light streamed out from within. Startled, Nie Kong immediately activated the "Five Star Shifting Art," beginning to circulate his internal spiritual power and tense his body, slowly inching forward. Should any danger arise, he could retreat from the fissure with maximum speed.

However, the danger Nie Kong anticipated never materialized.

After cautiously navigating several meters down the fissure, the view suddenly opened up—behind the curtain of vines lay a naturally formed stone cavern.

The interior was oval-shaped, spanning about thirty meters in diameter. The ground was riddled with uneven depressions. The walls and ceiling were irregularly dotted with numerous smooth, round white stones that pulsed with light, illuminating the entire cave as brightly as day.

"Ayayaya!"

The little creature cheered with delight.

Suddenly, Nie Kong caught a faint, lingering, ethereal fragrance. His nose involuntarily twitched twice, but the scent seemed to vanish almost instantly.

Having gone to such lengths to find this stone cave, Nie Kong was unwilling to give up easily. He moved his feet, sniffing the surrounding air keenly, like a hunting hound. Moments later, Nie Kong successfully tracked the scent again, greatly encouraged; it seemed there were indeed medicinal herbs here.

After several minutes of following the intermittent aroma, Nie Kong arrived at the innermost recess of the stone cave.

This section contained many stones of bizarre shapes. The moment Nie Kong stepped into this area, he noticed the faint fragrance had grown noticeably stronger.

"The herbs must be close," Nie Kong breathed in greedily, the scent permeating his heart and leaving him feeling thoroughly warm.

"Ayayaya!"

Inside the Yaochi Acupoint, the little creature groaned comfortably as it floated in the dark green blood. Nie Kong was momentarily bewildered. A brief scan revealed that some of the fragrance he inhaled was directly absorbed by the Purple Luo Illusory Spirit Incense, while the rest merged with the wood spiritual power flowing through his meridians.

Nie Kong knew that medicinal aromas usually contained trace amounts of medicinal efficacy, but discovering wood spiritual power elements within the fragrance was a first. Furthermore, judging by the state of the little Incense, the efficacy in this scent was likely far from trace amounts. It seemed he had truly stumbled upon a treasure this time!

He quickly rounded the stones in front of him; the fragrance grew ever stronger, and the smile on Nie Kong's face widened commensurately.

"Thump!"

Nie Kong collided head-on with the cave wall, stunning him so much that his vision swam with stars.

Hissing through clenched teeth, Nie Kong violently shook his head until his mind cleared slightly. Forgetting to check his forehead for injury, Nie Kong stared fixedly at the wall. It was a stone shaped like an archway, crystal clear and white as jade, faintly reflecting Nie Kong's silhouette.

The fragrance seemed to be emanating from inside this stone!

Staring blankly at the white jade stone seamlessly integrated with the cave wall, Nie Kong sniffed incredulously at the surroundings, then pressed his nostrils closer to the stone: Correct! The source of the fragrance was this white jade stone! Nie Kong struck it twice with focused force, but there appeared to be no hollow space behind the white jade.

Could the medicinal herb he sought for so long be this rock? Nie Kong’s entire face darkened with frustration. This white jade stone looked like a small, arched gateway, but in reality, it had absolutely no seams connecting it to the surrounding wall—it was impossible to dig out.

Nie Kong couldn't help it; he channeled his internal spiritual power and unleashed a "Flower Burst" strike.

A flash of emerald green vanished in an instant, and surging spiritual power exploded against the stone surface at his fingertips. The white jade stone remained utterly unmoved, its surface still smooth and flawless, showing no sign of the impact. In fact, Nie Kong was forced to stumble backward by the rebound force of his own attack.

"Damn it!"

Nie Kong erupted with a crude curse in his anger.

"Ayayaya!"

The little creature bounced excitedly in the Yaochi Acupoint, its cry expressing an undisguised craving for the medicinal fragrance. A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Nie Kong. Since the scent could be absorbed by the Incense and it contained wood spiritual power elements, why not cultivate here for a while and see?

If only he could absorb every last bit of the fragrance!

He muttered fiercely to himself, then immediately sat down with his back against the jade stone. Silky warmth spread from his spine throughout his body, quickly calming his state of mind.

In an instant, the Five Star Shifting Art began operating silently.

The void within the cave seemed to ripple subtly, and the fragrance immediately surged toward Nie Kong, carried along by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It poured into his body through his palms, the soles of his feet, and the crown of his head. With his meridians now clear, the first tendril of the medicinal fragrance reached his three Spirit God Apertures almost instantaneously.

The little creature’s roots attached themselves to the acupoints, continuously absorbing the medicinal efficacy within the scent like a ravenous child. However, its speed was clearly slower than Nie Kong’s cultivation. Most of the fragrance was converted into spiritual power. Soon, the medicinal scent in the cave was completely drawn out.

Hiss-hiss-hiss-hiss...

Amidst extremely faint sounds, tiny holes seemed to appear on the smooth, warm surface of the white jade stone, and more medicinal fragrance poured out wildly. As time passed, Nie Kong's body became entirely enveloped by the medicinal scent, which had condensed into a smoky cloud.

At this point, what Nie Kong’s "Five Star Shifting Art" was absorbing was no longer the ambient spiritual energy mixed with faint traces of fragrance, but purely the concentrated medicinal aroma.

The fragrance drilled into Nie Kong's body at a speed visible to the naked eye. His cultivation efficiency reached an astonishing level; his meridians swelled with spiritual power, and his three Spirit God Apertures vibrated at an unprecedented frequency. Inside the Yaochi Acupoint, the small, tender sprout that was green tinged with purple had transformed into a fully purple entity.

It was like drinking alcohol. A person with a high tolerance might drink ten bottles of a few-degree beer without feeling tipsy. But if that beer were replaced by a sixty or even seventy-proof spirit, a few small cups might lead to utter intoxication.

After a long while, the Incense’s roots detached from the acupoints, ceasing their absorption of the fragrance. It groaned, "Ayayaya," curling its stem and leaves into a tight ball before sinking into slumber.

Without the little creature sharing the burden, Nie Kong absorbed all the medicinal fragrance erupting from the white jade stone alone, and his cultivation speed accelerated further. The massive spiritual energy surged tirelessly between the Twelve Regular Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, like a host of agile little mice.

A subtle, profound realization dawned from the depths of his heart. Nie Kong felt as if he had merged with the medicinal fragrance that was either entering or about to enter his body. In that instant, the lively and joyful emotions of the wood spiritual power elements within the fragrance were clearly transmitted to his heart.

Communicating with spiritual power elements! Is this what it means to achieve spiritual attunement? Faintly, Nie Kong seemed to see that intangible barrier again within his three Spirit God Apertures. It was like a high threshold, sharply separating Spirit Gathering and Spirit Attunement into two distinct worlds, blocking Nie Kong’s path forward...