C12 Peak of Early Period of Mortal Rank

The Storage Ring, a rare treasure, was possessed by only a select few within the vast Great Jin Nation.

Han Feng touched his chest, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

The seventh level of the Nine Flames Heavenly Fire Tower housed a Storage Space, capable of holding anything, even living beings. Regrettably, accessing it required a high level of mastery. Initially, it was indistinguishable from any ordinary storage space.

From the memories passed down to him, Han Feng knew that upon unlocking the seventh level, the first tier alone would boast over a hundred cubic meters of space.

"I just need to refine the origin fluid, and then I can unlock the seventh level Storage Space," Han Feng mused to himself.

Han Tiancheng gestured to the dozens of Lower-grade Spirit Stones on the table.

"These are all the Spirit Stones I have left. Take them if you wish, take them all."

"No, that won't do," Han Feng quickly interjected. "Just a few will suffice. Otherwise, how will you continue your cultivation?"

Han Tiancheng sighed, shaking his head. "These Lower-grade Spirit Stones are less than 10% pure. I've reached the Four-star Human Rank; I need at least Medium-grade Lower-grade Spirit Stones for steady progress. For significant improvement, Upper-grade Lower-grade Spirit Stones are a must."

"Yet such stones are scarce, not just for our Han family, but throughout all of Renzhong City."

"And while our Han family does possess Medium-grade Lower-grade Spirit Stones, how could I, a convicted man, lay claim to them?"

Han Feng fell silent.

Patting Han Feng's head, Han Tiancheng offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me. If I truly wanted to use those Spirit Stones for cultivation, your three uncles would have already brought them to me in secret."

Relieved by his father's words, Han Feng exhaled deeply, his tension easing. It was enough to know that the family hadn't singled out his father for ill treatment.

Han Feng was well aware of his father's self-imposed burdens. Otherwise, he would have harbored deep resentment towards his uncles and cousins like Han Lin.

Weak or not, his father was still his father.

Approaching the Spirit Stones, Han Feng began his examination, but soon his brow furrowed.

Being in the Early Period of Mortal Rank, he couldn't refine or absorb the spirit energy from the stones, and thus, he was unable to discern their purity.

The purity of a Spirit Stone is discernible by its hue, with clear distinctions between the five levels: Low-grade, Medium-grade, Upper-grade, Top-grade, and Top. However, within the same grade, the differences are subtle and hard to detect.

Han Tiancheng had laid out an array of Lower-class Lower-grade Spirit Stones, which were so similar that Han Feng couldn't distinguish them based solely on color.

Noticing Han Feng's furrowed brow, Han Tiancheng inquired, "Is something amiss?"

With a wry smile, Han Feng replied, "Father, could you select some Lower-class Lower-grade Spirit Stones for me, specifically with purities of one, two, and three percent?"

"Do you really need such low purity levels?" Han Tiancheng questioned. "You do realize that Spirit Stones with such meager purity barely contain any spirit energy. Even if I were to refine a thousand of them at one percent purity, my strength wouldn't increase in the slightest."

"I only require these three types of Spirit Stones," Han Feng affirmed.

With a resigned sigh, Han Tiancheng picked out eight stones. "Here, one is at one percent purity, five at two percent, and two at three percent purity."

Han Feng accepted them, his face alight with excitement. "Thank you, Father. I must be going now."

Once back in his room, Han Feng swiftly transported himself to the First Layer of the Nine Flames Heavenly Fire Tower.

"The time has come to use the All Creatures Fire Cauldron," he declared.

Seated in meditation, Han Feng tossed a one percent pure Lower-class Lower-grade Spirit Stone into the cauldron.

Musing to himself, Han Feng noted, "Martial Cultivators can save considerable effort by using Spirit Stones in their practice. Yet, a significant amount of the spirit energy within the stones remains untapped."

"From my research in the Han family's library, I've learned that the efficiency of Spirit Stone absorption is directly tied to the level of the Cultivation Method. The more advanced the method, the higher the utilization rate, and vice versa."

"A Human Rank Lower-class Lower-grade Cultivation Method, for instance, matches the Low-grade Spirit Stone, utilizing only about fifty percent of its energy. This means that half of the spirit energy within the stone is effectively lost."

"The cultivation method of medium Human Rank corresponds to a lower-grade Spirit Stone, with an effective utilization rate of only sixty-five percent."

"For an upper-class Human Rank cultivation method, paired with a lower-grade Spirit Stone, the efficiency is eighty percent."

"The top-quality Human Rank cultivation method, when used with a lower-grade Spirit Stone, has an effective utilization rate of ninety-five percent."

"The efficiency percentage can fluctuate based on the cultivator's own level of cultivation."

"Take my father, for instance. He's at a Four-star Human Rank and practices an upper-class cultivation method from the Han family. Yet, he can only utilize about seventy-five percent of the energy, which is less than the eighty percent benchmark. If he were to advance to a Seven-star Human Rank, he'd achieve eighty percent efficiency, and surpassing Nine-star would allow him to reach eighty-five percent."

"With my current level of cultivation and the method I practice, it would normally be impossible for me to refine the energy within a Spirit Stone. But with the All Creatures Fire Cauldron, this isn't an issue."

"The origin fluid refined by the All Creatures Fire Cauldron and absorbed by me is the epitome of efficiency, with no waste whatsoever, a full hundred percent utilization."

Han Feng took out a fist-sized lower-class lower-grade Spirit Stone with a purity of one percent and tossed it into the All Creatures Fire Cauldron. He then formed a seal with his hands and commanded, "All Creatures Fire Cauldron, activate!"

The cauldron hummed to life, levitating mid-air as beams of light burst forth from it.

"First Layer of the Nine Flames And Strange Fire Art — Mortal Fire Refinement!"

A fist-sized crimson flame ignited beneath the cauldron, the temperature soaring instantly.

"Not enough, refine it!" Han Feng urged, clenching his teeth as he felt his internal strength depleting rapidly, causing the crimson fireball to swell to twice its size.

Within the cauldron, the lower-class lower-grade Spirit Stone began its transformation from solid to liquid.

As time slipped by, night turned into the early hours of the morning.

Han Feng, his face ashen, wiped the sweat from his brow and lifted the lid of the All Creatures Fire Cauldron, his eyelids twitching at the sight.

The once fist-sized lower-class lower-grade Spirit Stone, with a mere one percent purity, had been reduced to a small mouthful of refined origin fluid.

Han Feng retrieved a green jade cup from a nook within the First Layer and carefully poured the origin fluid into it. This cup, designed to preserve the fluid's potent energy from escaping, was one of many such items—including a green jade bowl and other jade vessels with ample storage capacities—endlessly produced by the Nine Flames Heavenly Fire Tower.

Holding the cup, Han Feng whispered to himself, "Just a sip of this, I wonder how much it will elevate my strength?"

No sooner had he ingested the origin fluid than his face contorted with a sudden intensity. Without a moment's hesitation, he crossed his legs and sat down to meditate.