The room gradually fell quiet once more.
Not a single herb remained.
No beast cores.
No ores.
No spirit flowers.
Everything that had once been spread across the floor had vanished completely.
Only a few empty jade bottles lay scattered nearby.
The enormous white-scaled lizard remained motionless for a brief moment.
Then—
his body slowly began to shrink.
Three meters.
Two.
One.
Until—
the familiar tiny white-scaled lizard hovered gently above the floor once again.
He drifted toward the bed.
Beside him—
his storage ring floated silently through the air.
It came to rest near the tip of his tail.
*Click.*
The ring slid neatly over the sharp black tail spike.
Immediately—
several black scales shifted slightly.
They closed around the ring like natural clasps, securing it firmly in place.
The scales settled once more.
The ring no longer moved.
Lizarius curled into a loose coil atop the bed.
His breathing became slow and steady.
Only his glowing golden eyes remained open.
Then—
he spoke inwardly.
*Fuse the genes.*
There was no delay.
The familiar mechanical voice answered immediately.
---
**"Command Accepted."**
**"Beginning Bloodline Gene Fusion..."**
---
Within his body—
countless strands of bloodline essence awakened.
The newly acquired genes separated from one another.
Each floated independently within his bloodline like tiny streams of light.
Then—
they began to converge.
One after another—
they flowed toward the white-scaled bloodline at the very center.
The instant contact was made—
they dissolved completely.
Not resisting.
Not competing.
Simply...
Being absorbed.
Wind affinity strengthened.
Earth affinity deepened.
His scales became marginally denser.
His senses sharpened even further.
Every successful fusion brought subtle adjustments throughout his body.
Nothing dramatic.
Only gradual refinement.
Finally—
one strand remained isolated.
**Nightmare Hawk.**
Unlike the others—
it did not merely reinforce an existing trait.
It carried something entirely new.
The bloodline accepted it.
The fusion proceeded.
Several moments later—
the mechanical voice spoke once more.
---
**"Bloodline Fusion Complete."**
**"New Innate Ability Acquired."**
**"Nightmare Vision"**
---
A faint ripple passed through Lizarius' golden eyes.
For the briefest instant—
his pupils seemed infinitely deep.
Like endless abysses capable of swallowing consciousness itself.
The change vanished almost immediately.
His eyes returned to normal.
Lizarius slowly closed them.
Silence returned.
The room became completely still.
Only the quiet hum of the Spirit Gathering Formation continued without interruption.
Time passed.
One day.
Then two.
Then three.
Nothing changed.
The tiny white-scaled lizard remained curled atop the bed.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Ling Yue and Ling Wei likewise remained immersed in cultivation.
The Spirit Gathering Formation continuously drew spiritual energy into the room, ensuring that neither sibling wasted even a single thread of qi.
The atmosphere gradually grew denser.
Five days later—
the tranquility was finally broken.
A surge of spiritual energy erupted around Ling Wei.
**Whoosh!**
The surrounding spiritual qi rushed toward him like a whirlpool.
His meridians expanded.
The spiritual energy flowing within them compressed again and again before suddenly becoming denser.
A faint pressure spread throughout the room.
Then—
it settled.
**Fifth Stage of Spirit Refining.**
Ling Wei did not stop.
Instead—
he continued circulating his cultivation technique.
The newly advanced spiritual energy flowed smoothly through every meridian.
Patiently—
he stabilized his realm.
Several minutes passed.
Only after confirming that his foundation remained completely stable did he slowly exhale.
His eyes opened.
A smile unconsciously spread across his face.
"...I've broken through."
He slowly clenched his fist.
He could immediately feel the difference.
His spiritual energy was noticeably denser.
Its circulation was smoother.
Even his body felt lighter than before.
*Fifth Stage...*
*After all these years...*
A quiet sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
He had spent years trapped at the Fourth Stage.
Every attempt to advance had required painstaking accumulation.
Sometimes even medicinal pills.
Yet now—
after cultivating continuously within this room—
he had broken through naturally.
Without consuming a single cultivation pill.
Without relying on any external assistance.
Only the Spirit Gathering Formation.
And his own effort.
His thoughts couldn't help but drift further.
*If simply cultivating here is enough...*
*Then what if I cultivate while using spirit pills as well?*
*Or consume the cultivation resources we've gathered?*
*My cultivation speed...*
*It would become even faster.*
The realization left him momentarily speechless.
At that moment—
he noticed something.
Ling Yue.
She remained completely motionless.
The spiritual energy around her continued circulating without interruption.
She still hadn't awakened.
Ling Wei smiled faintly.
"...Still cultivating..."
He wasn't surprised.
His sister had always been slightly ahead of him in cultivation.
If anyone could take advantage of this opportunity longer than he could—
it would be her.
His gaze then shifted toward the bed.
The tiny white-scaled lizard remained curled into a loose coil.
Not the slightest movement.
Not even a flick of the tail.
"...Senior is asleep..."
Ling Wei murmured softly.
He didn't dare disturb him.
Instead—
he quietly rose from the Spirit Gathering Formation.
His movements were slow and careful, making almost no sound.
Neither Ling Yue nor the sleeping lizard stirred.
The room remained silent.
Yet—
after only a few breaths—
he frowned.
"...Hm?"
He inhaled again.
The spiritual energy in the room seemed...
Different.
Denser.
Not because of the formation.
He could distinctly feel a faint warmth spreading through his meridians with every breath he took.
Tiny strands of spiritual energy entered his body naturally.
"...What's going on?"
Ling Wei stood perfectly still.
Carefully sensing his surroundings.
The formation was operating normally.
Nothing had changed.
His gaze slowly drifted across the room.
Then—
it landed upon the countless empty wine jars scattered everywhere.
The lingering fragrance of spirit wine still filled the room.
Ling Wei blinked.
"...The wine..."
Realization slowly dawned on him.
*Spirit wine...*
*It's meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.*
*Even after being emptied...*
*The remaining spiritual essence lingering within the jars is enough for me to notice...*
He took another slow breath.
The sensation became even clearer.
Every inhalation carried traces of refined spiritual energy.
Although extremely faint—
to someone at the Spirit Refining Realm...
It was still beneficial.
His eyes widened slightly.
*Just smelling it has this effect...*
*Then...*
His gaze slowly lowered toward the countless discarded jars covering the floor.
*What if I actually drank it?*
He swallowed unconsciously.
His eyes wandered from one jar to another.
*I didn't think much of it while Senior was drinking...*
*But now...*
*This is spirit wine meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators...*
*Even a single mouthful...*
*It might be comparable to an excellent cultivation elixir for me.*
Ling Wei's throat bobbed once more.
He glanced toward the bed.
The tiny white-scaled lizard remained curled up, completely motionless.
Still asleep.
He looked toward Ling Yue.
She remained immersed in cultivation, showing no sign of waking.
His gaze returned to the mountain of discarded jars.
"...There has to be..."
He crouched beside the nearest one.
Carefully lifting it.
He tilted it upside down.
Nothing.
Not even a single drop.
"...Empty."
He immediately reached for another.
Then another.
One after another—
he inspected every jar he could find.
"...Empty..."
"This one too..."
"...Nothing..."
His movements gradually became faster.
The pile of jars shifted as he searched more frantically.
*Come on...*
*There were hundreds of them...*
*Surely one wasn't drained completely...*
He picked up another.
Shook it.
Silence.
Another.
Still empty.
Another.
Nothing.
Ling Wei's expression slowly became one of unwavering determination.
"...I refuse to believe Senior finished every single one."
He reached deeper into the pile.
The sound of clay jars lightly knocking against one another echoed through the otherwise silent room as he continued his increasingly desperate search for even a single remaining drop of spirit wine.
Ling Wei searched through the pile again.
Then again.
Then a third time.
Every jar.
Every bottle.
Every cracked fragment.
Nothing.
Not a single drop remained.
He slowly lowered the last clay jar.
Silence.
A vein twitched at the corner of his forehead.
His gaze gradually shifted toward the tiny white-scaled lizard sleeping peacefully on the bed.
"..."
*What kind of person...*
*...No.*
*What kind of creature cleans a wine jar this thoroughly?*
His jaw tightened.
He looked back at the empty jars.
Then at Lizarius again.
*Every single one...*
*Not even a drop...*
*Senior...*
*That's excessive.*
The tiny lizard remained perfectly asleep.
Not even his tail moved.
Ling Wei let out a long sigh.
"...Fine."
He picked up one of the larger jars.
Turned it over once more.
Still nothing.
His eye twitched.
"...Screw it."
**SHIK—**
His sword flashed.
The clay jar split neatly into two halves.
He stared at the inner surface.
Although no liquid remained...
A faint fragrance still clung stubbornly to the clay.
Ling Wei hesitated for exactly one heartbeat.
Then—
"...It's worth it."
He leaned forward.
And carefully licked the inside of the broken jar.
"..."
A moment later—
his eyes widened.
A faint thread of refined spiritual energy dissolved across his tongue.
Warm.
Gentle.
It flowed naturally through his meridians before being absorbed into his dantian.
The amount was tiny.
Almost negligible.
Yet—
it was real.
"...It actually worked."
His expression immediately brightened.
Without another word—
he picked up the other half of the jar and thoroughly cleaned its inner surface as well.
After swallowing the last trace of lingering spiritual essence, he closed his eyes briefly.
*Yes...*
*A Foundation Establishment spirit wine...*
*Even the residue left behind on the jar contains spiritual essence.*
He slowly looked toward the enormous pile of discarded jars.
His eyes gradually began to shine.
"...There are..."
"...Quite a lot of these."
On the bed—
the tiny white-scaled lizard remained curled into a loose coil.
Completely asleep.
Or at least...
He appeared to be.
Ling Wei quietly reached for the next broken jar with an expression of absolute seriousness.
"If Senior isn't going to drink the residue..."
"...It would be a waste to leave it behind."