Chapter 53: Extraordinary Talent

"You little punk..."
Qin Liang looked at the young man in front of him, somewhat speechless, and reached out to grab him by the ear.
"Ouch..." Jiang Chang struggled in pain. "Young master-in-law, it hurts, let go!"
Qin Liang released him and said solemnly, "Consider this a lesson. If you ever dare to run your mouth off like that again, I'll chop off your ears."
"Understood," Jiang Chang lowered his head.
"What is Master Mo looking for me for?"
Qin Liang walked into the courtyard as he spoke, just in time to see Mo Xiaochi sitting in the living room sipping tea. Instead of answering, Jiang Chang turned and bolted away quickly, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Young master-in-law, I'll definitely do it again next time!"
"Little friend Qin..."
Seeing Qin Liang, Mo Xiaochi hurriedly set down his teacup and stood up to welcome him.
Well-connected as he was, he had already learned about Jiang Xuehan's situation. He had originally intended to comfort Qin Liang, but seeing the young man beaming with joy and seemingly in no need of comfort, Mo Xiaochi couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
To be able to remain so calm and composed after experiencing a marital setback showed a temperament far superior to ordinary people.
"Master Mo, there's no need for such formalities. Please speak your mind freely."
Qin Liang had long guessed that the other party was here to ask a favor, and an important one at that, so he had no desire to waste time.
Without beating around the bush, Mo Xiaochi said, "I heard that little friend Qin has a second-rank alchemist standing behind you. I've come to trouble little friend Qin to act as a bridge and ask him if he would be willing to refine a pill for me."
"I wonder what kind of pill it is?" Qin Liang asked.
Mo Xiaochi answered truthfully, "I was heavily injured two days ago and had no choice but to take a Reversing Life Pill. Right now, only the Deathless Pill can turn the tide and save me from disaster. My life is entirely in little friend Qin's hands."
"I will gather the required spiritual herbs myself. As long as you can persuade that master to refine the pill, I will agree to any condition."
Mo Xiaochi's tone was resolute, and he stood up to give Qin Liang another deep bow.
"You mustn't. Master Mo is a man of great virtue and high standing; how can you show me such great respect?"
Qin Liang hurried forward to help him up, then added, "I will do my best to help Master strive for this. Since Master has already sent two Spirit-Refining Pills as a betrothal gift, how could I ask for further conditions? It's just that..."
"Just what?" Mo Xiaochi asked.
Hesitating slightly, Qin Liang said, "It's just that that master is not the easiest person to talk to. I heard that he has recently been collecting Solar Essence Stones and demonic beast core essences. If I mention this to him, he will most likely agree readily."
"Solar Essence Stones..."
Mo Xiaochi furrowed his brows in puzzlement, unable to figure out what that master could possibly want with Solar Essence Stones.
It was merely a type of stone containing blazing spiritual energy, often used as material for certain magical arrays, and the same went for demonic beast core essences, which contained the condensed cultivation essence of demonic beasts and were frequently used in setting up arrays.
Therefore, array masters had a much greater demand for Solar Essence Stones, whereas alchemists showed little interest in them.
"Could it be that he is also an array master?" At this thought, Mo Xiaochi's expression changed once again.
For a cultivator, reaching the pinnacle of a single path was already extremely rare. To walk multiple paths simultaneously was simply defying the heavens.
Qin Liang knew nothing of Mo Xiaochi's wild inner speculations, just as he currently knew nothing about the Dao of Arrays.
"Very well, very well. I will go back and prepare five Solar Essence Stones right away. As soon as the pill is successfully refined, I will present them both to you with my own hands."
Mo Xiaochi bowed deeply to Qin Liang once more and turned to leave.
Just as he reached the doorway, however, as if recalling something, he turned back to face Qin Liang and asked, "I have a somewhat presumptuous request. Would little friend Qin be willing to extend a hand and press it onto this?"
As he spoke, he produced a crystal ball about the size of a human head, within which faint spiritual energy could be seen flowing.
"Rest assured, this is merely a Spirit-Testing Stone used to detect spiritual power," Mo Xiaochi explained.
Qin Liang frowned, somewhat baffled as he asked, "Logically speaking, spiritual power only manifests after eight spirit-refining stages. I have currently only completed six spirit-refining stages; spiritual power is still far too distant for me."
When a cultivator reached the eighth spirit-refining stage, it entered the stage of nurturing the spirit, requiring a certain level of talent and opportunity to give birth to spiritual power; otherwise, one could only end up like the vast majority of people, remaining an ordinary cultivator.
"I observed that little friend Qin possesses exceptionally sharp spiritual perception, so I made a bold guess and wished to verify it."
Mo Xiaochi's face was flushed with fervor and excitement, as if he were about to witness a historic moment.
With a peculiar expression, Qin Liang couldn't help wondering why Master Mo seemed somewhat unreliable. Could one really make such bold guesses about matters like this?
That being said, he was also curious about his current state. With half-doubt and half-curiosity, he extended his hand and gently placed it on the crystal ball, remaining ready to pull it back at any moment just in case it exploded again.
The moment the crystal ball came into contact with Qin Liang's palm, it began to emit a glow that grew increasingly intense.
It shone like a star within Qin Liang's courtyard, its brilliant white light filling the eyes of both the old man and the young man.
The crystal ball did not explode, but Mo Xiaochi's heart practically did.
"Super-grade spiritual power talent! I really didn't misjudge you; you little punk are truly a legend."
The old man was far too excited to mind his phrasing. A wide smile spread across his face, making him look several years younger.
"Master Mo, is it really necessary to be this excited?" Qin Liang scratched his head and said helplessly.
"You..."
Having witnessed history, Mo Xiaochi was almost choked speechless by Qin Liang's casual remark. He took a deep breath before saying, "Do you even know what a super-grade spiritual power talent implies?"
Qin Liang shook his head blankly.
"Spiritual power talent is generally divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and super-grade," Mo Xiaochi patiently explained.
"Take the Dao of Alchemy for instance. A mid-grade talent can achieve modest success, while a high-grade talent has the potential to reach the absolute pinnacle of alchemy, and perhaps even branch out into a few other paths, such as artifact-refining and array formations."
"Then what about super-grade?" Qin Liang asked out of curiosity.
"Don't rush, I haven't finished yet," Mo Xiaochi placated Qin Liang's curiosity.
"Those with high-grade talent, even if they reach the pinnacle of alchemy, can only achieve modest success if they attempt to walk other paths simultaneously. However, a super-grade talent can advance across multiple paths side by side."
"Therefore, someone with a super-grade talent can ultimately go very far down every single path." Mo Xiaochi stroked his beard and gazed up at the sky, feeling immensely proud to have witnessed a historic moment.
"Potentially?" Qin Liang frowned, still feeling that the old man was somewhat unreliable.
Mo Xiaochi nodded. "That is because I have never seen a super-grade talent either. There are probably no more than one or two such people across the entire continent. If you apply yourself wholeheartedly to cultivation, you have the potential to become a foundational grandmaster-level figure."
"Besides, other people's spiritual power only emerges after the eighth spirit-refining stage, whereas you have already reached the great completion of the first tier at the mere sixth spirit-refining stage. Your starting point is far ahead of everyone else's, which is also unprecedented."
Shortly after, Mo Xiaochi informed him that spiritual power was also divided into realms, spanning from the first to the ninth tiers, with each tier further divided into minor completion, great completion, and perfection.
"No wonder!"
Dawn finally broke for Qin Liang. No wonder his spiritual perception was so acute—even high-level experts in the Condensed Yuan Realm like Geng Zi'an and Hua Zhiqiao had been kept on alert.
The fact that his spiritual power talent was so formidable was undoubtedly related to his absorption of the lingering resentment within the Heaven-Desolating Cauldron.
"I don't even know if I can survive the next five days, so I'll leave these two booklets with you. Study them carefully; hopefully, they will be of some help to you."
Mo Xiaochi knew that Qin Liang had a second-rank alchemist behind him, and that master would naturally guide him through any difficult questions.
However, since the old man had witnessed history and his life was hanging by a thread, he did not want to leave any regrets.
Tossing the two booklets to Qin Liang, Mo Xiaochi turned and left the Jiang family without looking back, heading off to prepare the spiritual herbs and Solar Essence Stones.
"*Introduction to Spiritual Power*, *Art of Nurturing the Spirit*."
Unable to wait any longer, Qin Liang returned to his room and began studying the two booklets.
Since his spiritual perception could affect experts in the Condensed Yuan Realm, he had to make good use of it.
Recalling his battles at the mining site, he thought: "If I can raise my spiritual power even further, it might become a formidable trump card. The next time I face someone at the ninth spirit-refining stage, I won't be nearly as passive as I was before."