As their mentors arrived, the Violet Vibrance students stood up dutifully to follow them up the Tree of Resonant Power.
Along the way, they spotted many other students cultivating. The students looked back at them with both envy and curiosity. It was a privileged group that walked in their midst, and news of the Violet Vibrance squads’ special training had already spread.
To be able to access resources that the school usually guarded jealously… that was what the students were most envious about.
Although it invited a fair bit of resentment, but there was nothing to be done for it. The Holy Grail Meet neared, and only the best of the students would be favored with the school’s resources, watering their chosen seeds in hope of fruit. Li Luo and the others headed on amidst the gazes, until they came to a place near the top of the Tree of Resonant Power. They were already past the clouds now, and when they looked down, the whole of Astral Sage College stretched out under the wispy cotton veil. In the distance, they could even make out the build-up that was Xia City.
Finally, Chi Chan and the other mentors came to a halt.
They had stopped at a wooden platform fas.h.i.+oned out of the Tree’s trunk. In the middle of the platform was a door made of green wood, with a swirling rune in the middle that gently sucked worldly natural energy from its surroundings like an exhaust fan.
Chi Chan, Shen Jinxiao, and the other Violet Vibrance mentors all pulled out a violet seal each, that they pressed to the greenwood door.
It vibrated in response, then creaked open slowly.
Behind the door was a pool of green light, too bright for them to make out anything from the outside.
“Go on in then.”
Shen Jinxiao said neutrally to them as he stowed his own violet seal in his robes and led the way in.
The Violet Vibrance students eagerly crowded after, unable to contain their curiosity.
Once inside, they stood on the spot, disoriented by the sudden change. When they recovered their bearings, they found themselves on a greenwood platform, almost identical in design to the one outside. Before them was a huge greenwood pillar that rose up into the sky, almost like it was a narrow, vertical mountain that propped up the entire s.p.a.ce.
Along the pillar were emerald platforms that stuck out at intervals, going on upwards in layers as high as they could see.
“This is Angelwood Hollow?” Li Luo gasped as he stared upwards, lost in wonder.
Chi Chan c.o.c.ked her head at him. “Want to go up and test it out?”
Without waiting for his answer, she swiped a hand, summoning a gust of energy that propelled him up on to one of the emerald platforms.
Li Luo righted himself carefully, pulling a pair of short blades out. These were temporary resonant artifacts that he had dug up – they were not even lower white-eyes. Still, they were functional enough for a place like this.
Li Luo was looking about when suddenly the faint emerald mist suddenly condensed, forming several figures.
Swis.h.!.+
Each of them had a wooden spear that gleamed with a leafy green light. They stabbed at Li Luo.
He raised his twin swords and summoned his resonant power, moving to meet them with his blades.
As he drew close to them, Li Luo realized that they had empty eye sockets, despite their humanoid appearance. It made them extremely creepy.
Swis.h.!.+ Swis.h.!.+
Water Edge cut cleanly through their necks with practiced combative efficiency.
He sheathed his blades and stood there easily. These emerald figures were only roughly at First Pattern in strength, and did not pose a real threat to him.
As Li Luo beheaded them, the green figures started to warp into a green mist that rose drifted through the air towards Li Luo.
“Absorb them.” He was prepared to duck away, but Chi Chan’s call out to him stopped him up short. Looking dubiously at the green mist, he let it come to him.
The moment it touched his body, it rapidly began to seep in.
Li Luo could feel a strangely pure energy flow through him, entering his resonant palaces with no resistance at all. They were easily absorbed into his two resonance seeds.
He didn’t even have to spend any effort to process it!
Li Luo did not know if he was imagining it, but after taking in the green mist, his woodearth resonance seemed to grow a little more active. It was as though he had just consumed a spirit liquid. Not only did the peculiar mist a.s.similate well into his resonance seeds, it could even strengthen his resonant power like spirit liquids and purifying lights?!
That was some incredible effect, for sure.
Li Luo’s eyes lit up with wonder.
“You can call these things absinthe puppets. They are formed from the mystical energy in Angelwood Hollow. The higher the platform, the stronger the absinthe puppets. As long as you can beat them, you can get the absinthe energy that they convert into.”
“Absinthe energy is incredibly pure and forgiving. It does not clash with any resonant power, which is why you will be able to strengthen your resonant power foundations readily with it. Besides, absinthe energy also improves your resonance – it has the same effect as spirit liquids and purifying lights, albeit weaker and in a different form. Still, it doesn’t hurt.” Mentor Chi Chan’s spoke loudly and calmly, her voice carrying to reach all the Violet Vibrance students.
There were stunned nods in response.
Usually, energy absorbed through the environment had to be processed with energy cultivation arts – and the quality of those would determine the final amount that they could use. But this absinthe energy could skip that step? That would definitely increase their cultivation efficiency by a huge margin.
As for the resonance refining effect, that was incredible as well. Before this, all they knew was that the effect of liquids and lights were unique. However, spirit liquids and purifying lights were expensive brews, and not a sustainable way of growing stronger. Although the effects here might be weaker, but who cared when they were free!
Li Luo sighed contentedly. No wonder this place was usually off-limits. It was heaven. He could only imagine how hard it was to create and protect such a place, for the school to guard it so carefully.
“But as magical as absinthe energy is, there is a daily limit. And when divided up across the halls, the amount reserved for One Star Hall students is even smaller. If you want to get more absinthe energy, your squad needs to climb up the layers as fast as you can,” Chi Chan said meaningfully.
“Let me make it even clearer. To get the limited amount of absinthe energy available each day, whichever squad climbs the fastest will naturally get the largest amount of what is allocated. Do you understand?” Shen Jinxiao
The five Violet Vibrance squads looked at him, alarmed.
Which means… the more they had, the less there would be for the other squads.
Even at this highest level of privilege, still there was compet.i.tion.
Shen Jinxiao waved his long sleeves in a grand gesture.
“Enough talking. If you’re all ready, your special training begins now.”