To avoid disturbing the sleeping Tai Yan, Nie Kong quietly slipped into the room formerly occupied by Hua Mei. Without lighting a lamp, he sat down immediately.

With a mere thought, two spheres of green light leaped out of his pet backpack, manifesting on his left and right palms, respectively. A brilliant emerald glow exploded outward, illuminating the room brightly. Just as Nie Kong had suspected, Nie Shen Gong had summoned him out to hand over the "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf" he had acquired from Dong Qingyi.

At last, the green leaves, separated for nearly a thousand years, were finally reunited.

Glancing at the fracture mark on the leaf, Nie Kong brought the two pieces together. The green light within the two leaves flickered rapidly, and the crack began to mend at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few seconds, a complete green leaf, the size of an infant’s palm, materialized.

“Now I have two pieces,” Nie Kong thought, a slight joy blooming in his heart. He then summoned the red “Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf” from his pet backpack as well.

The red and green glows interwove, enveloping the entire room in a hazy, dreamlike spectrum of colors.

What profound mysteries did this thing hold?

Nie Kong turned the two leaves over and over, examining them closely. After a good few minutes, Nie Kong suddenly perceived a faint suction emanating from the leaves, pulling them toward the center, much like the positive and negative poles of a magnet. This anomaly stirred something within Nie Kong, and he placed them flat on the **.

Indeed, the attractive force grew stronger, and the speed at which the two leaves drifted toward each other increased. In less than ten seconds, the two leaves touched.

“Buzz!” With a faint, resonant hum, the two leaves gradually fused, the red and green lights continuously blending. Seeing this, Nie Kong’s interest soared, his eyes barely blinking as he watched.

Minutes later, the two leaves had become one.

The thickness and size of this "Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf" remained unchanged, but now, dotted across the emerald base were countless fine, crimson specks.

Picking up the leaf, Nie Kong allowed his spiritual sense to stir, and he perceived a strange fluctuation.

That was…

“Divine Gathering!”

The two words that suddenly sprang to his mind first caused Nie Kong some shock, immediately followed by an irrepressible surge of delight in his heart. According to Aunt Qing, the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf was a treasure personally crafted by a Spirit God thousands of years ago, containing the profound insights he gained upon achieving divinity.

While he hadn't yet found the Spirit God’s complete enlightenment, discovering a trace of that Spirit God's divine power within it was only natural.

The Tianling Continent lacked the environment found deep within the Nether Earth of the Underworld Battle Clan, making the cultivation of the "War God Star Seal" and the "Crimson Star Battle Body" exceedingly slow. However, with divine power, the process would be drastically faster—a truth well-verified by his earlier absorption of Dragon Ancestor's divine power.

The only current concern was whether the divine power within the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf could harmonize with his own.

From his prior perception, the green leaf contained a dense aura of Wood Spiritual Energy, while the red leaf exuded an aura of Fire Spiritual Energy. Now that the green and red leaves had merged, was the resulting divine power a mutated Wood Divine Power forged from Fire Divine Power? His initial probing seemed to suggest this.

“Whether it works or not, a single test will reveal!”

With that thought, Nie Kong held the leaf between his palms and swiftly circulated the "War God Star Seal." A sphere of golden light instantly spilled from his palms, enveloping the leaf.

Immediately, a mixed aura of red and green seeped out of the leaf and entered Nie Kong’s body.

But to Nie Kong’s surprise, as this aura approached his Sixth Nether Star, it was repelled by the layer of golden light surrounding the star’s exterior.

“Is the divine power attribute not compatible?”

Nie Kong frowned slightly.

From the "Heart Pill" formed when he broke through to the Pill Spirit stage and the "Spirit Cave" that appeared upon reaching the Cave Spirit stage, it was clear that his Spirit Treasure essence not only failed to repel the divine power in his Nether Stars but actively cooperated with it. Why would mutated Wood Spiritual Power work, but mutated Wood Divine Power fail?

After deep contemplation, a flash of realization struck Nie Kong’s mind. Since the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf contained the insights of that Spirit God’s breakthrough, this divine power must still retain the Spirit God’s soul imprint! At that moment, Nie Kong understood perfectly: anything carrying a soul imprint could never be absorbed unless that faint imprint could be erased.

Back on Dragon Island, the divine powers he absorbed had first been stripped of their soul imprints by the Dragon Ancestor before Nie Kong could successfully refine them.

“Erase the soul imprint in the Seven-Colored Spirit Fluid?”

Nie Kong shook his head helplessly. To achieve this, one would first need strength equal to or surpassing that of the original Spirit God. On the current Tianling Continent, perhaps only the Wood Ancestor of the Yin Ruins could manage it.

Of course, that depended on the Wood Ancestor being able to resolve the three "Dark Blood Spirit Worms" in his heart.

Furthermore, if the soul imprint were erased, the Spirit God's enlightenment contained within the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf would vanish as well.

“For now, this divine power is something to look at, not to consume!” Nie Kong mused internally. He wasn't overly anxious. If he could gather all seven leaves and unite the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf into one, he would gain the Spirit God's insights. Only then would it be time to erase the soul imprint from the unified leaf. However, finding the remaining five leaves would not be easy.

“Forget it; finding the 'Medicine Spirit Illusion Realm' is the priority.”

After much wandering thought, Nie Kong finally stored the Seven-Colored Spirit Leaf back into his pet backpack.

He glanced out the window; the first light of dawn was just beginning to show.

It wouldn't be long before daybreak. Nie Kong lost the desire to sleep, walked to the door of the adjacent room, gently pushed it open, and peeked inside. Seeing Tai Yan still sleeping soundly on her side, he didn't disturb her further. He tiptoed out of the courtyard and headed toward the Alchemy Hall….

“Qing Yue!”

Not long after, Tai Yan threw off her blanket and sat up, puffing out her cheeks and glaring angrily at the small figure sitting beside her pillow.

After receiving some wonderful secrets from Qing Yue, Tai Yan had waited full of anticipation for Nie Kong’s return. In the end, Nie Kong did return, but he never entered this room; instead, he went next door and stayed there until the dead of night. Just now, he had only opened the door for a quick look before leaving, making Tai Yan anxious.

Qing Yue was also dejected. She chuckled dryly, “Tai Yan, your brother didn't even step into the room. Everything I taught you was useless; you can’t blame me for that.”

Tai Yan pouted sullenly, “Then call my brother back.”

“Cough, cough, it would be faster if you went out yourself.”

The little figure whimpered and shook Tai Yan skeptically. “Aren’t you my brother’s grandmother? A grandmother should make my brother listen more than a little sister!”

Qing Yue felt extremely awkward and laughed weakly, “That’s what I call myself, ha ha, self-proclaimed!”

“I knew it.”

Tai Yan hopped off the bed in a huff. Her delicate, curved body seemed to shimmer with a rosy glow under the lamplight, her beautifully unveiled curves radiating breathtaking beauty. After a moment, this sight was concealed by a red robe. Tai Yan said crisply, “Brother must have gone to find Master. I’ll go too.”

Qing Yue quickly grabbed the sleeve of her robe, looking worried. “Wait, you’re not going to say anything reckless, are you?”

Tai Yan’s eyes twinkled mischievously. She smiled sweetly, “I won’t say anything reckless. I’ll just ask Brother if that posture you taught me last night looks nice?”

“Good heavens!”

Qing Yue dropped to the floor with a thud. Who said this dead girl’s heart was as pure as white paper? She could be ruthlessly calculating. If Nie Kong ever found out she was constantly misleading his sister, she would surely cut off her food supply! After a long while, Qing Yue managed to crawl back up, groaning weakly, “No, don't, don't! As long as you don't say anything foolish, Grandma… I promise I’ll make sure you and your brother can spar successfully within three months, how about that?”

“No, one month!”

“Two months?”

“One month!”

“Fine, deal! One month it is, Grandmother really has a bitter fate!”

“……”"