This time, Emily Thompson had learned his lesson. He didn’t touch it directly with his hand, but instead touched it through his sleeve. The lotus showed no unusual reaction.

It seemed that only direct contact with the spiritual herb would trigger the effect of the incense burner.

After that, he reached out and touched the lotus directly.

As he expected, as the mark on his chest flickered, the spiritual herb was drained of its spiritual energy and turned to dust.

At the same time, a gentle force coursed through his body. This force was different from the violent nature of fire spiritual energy, and unlike the vibrant vitality of wood spiritual energy. Its main characteristic was its endless continuity. After circulating through Emily Thompson’s body, it suddenly burst open an acupoint, allowing Emily Thompson to experience the sensation of gathering energy for the third time...

However, this time, the impurities expelled from his body were already very few. Emily Thompson jumped into the pool, took a bath, scrubbed his clothes, put them back on, and circulated his magical power. A wave of heat radiated from inside out, and his damp clothes quickly dried.

Afterwards, he guided his magical power to touch the incense burner mark on his chest and once again entered the space where the incense burner was located.

The space here was exactly the same as before. The incense burner stood there, covered in dense cracks. Emily Thompson circled around it a few times and finally noticed something unusual.

He remembered that the last time he came in, on the front of the incense burner, the first stroke of the character “乾” in “乾坤” had a very tiny crack. At that time, Emily Thompson had stared at these two characters for a long time and remembered this detail clearly.

But now, that crack, thinner than a strand of hair, had actually disappeared.

That stroke was now completely intact, without any flaw.

This thing could actually repair itself...

It seemed it could absorb spiritual energy from spiritual herbs to repair its own cracks.

However, after absorbing three spiritual herbs, it had only repaired a crack the size of a hair. Who knows how many more treasures this incense burner would need to fully restore itself? This was something Emily Thompson simply couldn’t imagine at the moment...

Chapter 11: An Unreasonable Request

After coming out from the waterfall, the little white tiger finally stopped running around. Most likely, that lotus was the last spiritual herb it gave to Emily Thompson.

To repay its kindness, Emily Thompson caught three wild chickens and two rabbits, roasted them, and gave them to the tiger, watching it devour the food until its belly was round.

A moment later, on the grassy bank by the stream, Emily Thompson hugged the little white tiger—whom he imagined as a cat—rubbing its soft body while thinking about his next plan.

The incense burner mark on his chest clearly held a great secret, but it was something he couldn’t unravel for now.

Three priceless spiritual herbs had been drained by it. Although Emily Thompson felt a pang of regret, he had also benefited. While others ate the meat, at least he got a sip of the soup. If he was right, his wood and water spiritual veins had already been opened.

For Emily Thompson, who was at the first level of Qi Refining, his strength had truly quadrupled.

Of course, opening two more spiritual veins wasn’t just about having extra acupoints to store spiritual energy. It meant he could cultivate two more types of techniques, and in the future, he could even gain a lightning attribute and a wind attribute.

However, at present, Emily Thompson only had a basic fire attribute technique, which he had received when he first arrived at Whitecloud Abbey. Upon entry, every new disciple received a set of basic techniques suited to their cultivation. Emily Thompson remembered that William Clark had the water attribute, and Senior Sister Carter had the wood attribute...

At Whitecloud Abbey, if you wanted to obtain techniques of other attributes besides your own, you had to exchange for them with spirit coins. Each technique cost dozens of spirit coins. Although Emily Thompson could afford it, there was really no need.

...

Night.

Whitecloud Abbey.

In a certain room, Sophia Carter had just finished bathing and was about to go to bed when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

She asked in some confusion, “Who is it?”

A voice came from outside: “Senior Sister Carter, it’s me.”

A moment later, the door opened from inside. Sophia Carter looked curiously at Emily Thompson standing at the door and asked, “It’s so late, Junior Brother Thompson, is there something you need?”

About to go to bed, she was only wearing a thin outer garment, her hair casually tied up. Because she had just bathed, her hair was still damp and clung to her temples, adding a touch of allure to her already beautiful appearance.

Emily Thompson hadn’t expected to see Senior Sister Carter like this when the door opened, and was momentarily stunned.

Having lived two lifetimes, he had always been surrounded by men, rarely interacting with women, and had never encountered such a scene. Instinctively, he glanced a few more times.

Sophia Carter noticed Emily Thompson’s gaze, openly staring at her, and shyly tugged at her collar, softly saying, “Li, Junior Brother Thompson, is there something you need?”

Emily Thompson snapped back to his senses, realizing he was here for serious business. He cleared his throat and said, “Coming to see Senior Sister Carter so late, I do have an unreasonable request...”

Sophia Carter smiled slightly and said, “What is it? Junior Brother Thompson, just say it.”

Emily Thompson thought for a moment and said, “This matter might be a bit presumptuous. I hope Senior Sister Carter won’t tell a third person. Let it be known only to heaven, earth, you, and me...”

At Whitecloud Abbey, there was a rule strictly forbidding the transmission of cultivation techniques to outsiders, or one would be expelled. Although there was no explicit rule about whether disciples could share techniques among themselves, it was best to be cautious to avoid giving others grounds for gossip.