They were not the only ones who noticed the burst of pure life energy that suddenly pervaded the area. Administrator Mo Guang who had been checking the inventory of herbs, gems, potions, pills, talismans, and spirit liquids provided for the running of the branch, suddenly paused as he felt his body get washed by a gentle and pure energy.

His body felt lighter and rejuvenated. He lifted his palm and pulled back the sleeves of his robes which revealed his skin that was getting rosier with a healthy lustre. When he looked around him he saw the spirit glow lianas that were used as a preservation tool for the storage room suddenly glow with a radiant light as if they were excited about something.

They grew rapidly and the white-blue light that was constantly released from their leaves grew a deeper shade of blue which resulted in the atmosphere of the area dropping slightly with an increase in its renewing and refreshing properties.

Administrator Mo Guang could feel his mind clearing and unencumbered while his soul felt like it was being gently massaged and refreshed with every breath he took.

"Such dense life energy.." he muttered as his gaze trailed to where he detected to be the source.

"It's the branch chief?.." he muttered once he detected the presence of Luo Meili and Su Jinjing in the area.

"Figures.." he said with an amused smile.

"Only someone of his caliber would have the reputation he does at the Order.." he added as he went about with his work.

..

"I thought he would relax once he reached the palace realm, but the changes happening to him are more rapid than it was when he was at the core formation realm..." Su Jinjing said as she felt the life energy wash over her stirring her soul in the process.

"Mmh.." Luo Meili absentmindedly nodded as she felt the changes happening in her body. She felt like a few more shackles had been shattered. She felt like the burden her physique put on her had been alleviated significantly.

Her bones no longer felt as brittle as they had been, her internal structure didn't feel like it was about to crumble from an overwhelming force and her head didn't seem as heavy as it normally was. All this relief created a movement in her cultivation base as she felt her spiritual qi filling with excitement and vigor, pushing the barrier of the 12th stage of the core formation realm.

Not hesitating, she quickly sat down in a lotus position, cleared her mind of needless thoughts, and circulated her cultivation art.

Su Jinjing on seeing this, moved slightly away while still maintaining a safe distance where she could act as her protector in case something went wrong with part of her attention focused on the radiant white light that was still being produced about a few hundred meters ahead.

After half an hour Luo Meili opened her eyes with an excited expression on her face after going through one of the smoothest breakthroughs she ever had. Usually, it always felt like she was smashing away at a barrier with her fists repetitively before it gave way, but this time, it felt like the gates had been opened and all she had to do was comfortably walk through.

She took a breath to calm herself as she sensed the changes within her body. Even though it was just a slight improvement from the eleventh stage to the twelfth stage of the core formation realm, she felt like her strength had experienced an astronomical leap.

Because of her physique, she had a variant core. Unlike the typical red, orange, blue, gold, and purple core, hers was dark green and had tentacle protrusions. When she went to observe her core, she found another addition to it, an illusory swirling cosmos that wasn't quite distinctive. She had to focus her whole attention on the core for her to notice it.Even though the cosmos was almost undetectable, Luo Meili could tell it had brought immense changes to her core and her body and cultivation by association. The swirling brought about an increase in the speed with which she absorbed and converted spiritual qi from the outside into a form that was most suitable for her body.

The speed of absorption and conversion had doubled, and not only that, but she could tell the converted spiritual qi was slightly different from before. Her spiritual qi matched her core and was a dark shade of green, but now she could detect a sliver of light grey mixed within it that matched the color of the cosmos swirling within her core.

The grey light was scantly mixed in with her dark green qi, but Luo Mieli could tell, because of the grey light, her qi felt purer and denser than before, by at least two times. She felt that if she executed her cultivation spells, the consumption cost would be two levels lower than it was before while the power would be two levels higher than before.

She felt that when her entire body was suffused with that light grey color those values would only continue to increase. Currently, only a speck of the grey light was being produced for every 500 swirls. It would take a considerable time before her entire spiritual qi was converted considering the amount within her body was about the size of a river.

The changes didn't only stop there, as she could fairly feel the grey light carried a sense of mystique within, like some underlying truth. Because of her physique, she was sensitive to the response of living organisms to external stimuli which was why she was good at spirit beast training as she could find what conditions suited them most.

Before she never knew how she could do what she did and the details she saw even though were sufficient, she needed to supplement it with knowledge from the books the Beast Hall division had on rearing spirit beasts. But now, the amount of information she could sense had exploded and she could feel the intrinsic properties of things she hadn't even known before and within those properties, she could sense a guiding principle like how it was all connected. However, that principle was ephemeral, she couldn't quite grasp it. It felt like it was hidden behind a veil of fog that would disappear at the slightest disturbance.

Luo Meili quickly lost herself in the dance of trying to sense what lay behind the fog. It was only when she felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue wash over accompanied by a faint headache, did she finally open her eyes.

Her eyes widened when she saw the starry sky and the moon above her.

"Seems like someone had a fruitful session.."

A teasing sound quickly pulled her from her reverie state. She turned to the source of the voice, who by no surprise was the cheekily smiling Yang Qing holding a chicken wing with one hand and a wine cup with the other.

"How long was I out?" asked Luo Meili as she unceremoniously took the wine cup of Yang Qing's hand and took a sip.

Her eyes narrowed into a crescent shape as she sensed the smoothness and slight chill of the snow ginseng wine. For some reason, it felt even better than she remembered it, to the point she couldn't help but mutter,

"I wonder when Yi Jie will come out..."

"Probably not long, he would have made the breakthrough a long while back had he not been conflicted in the dao to pursue. The overachiever stumbled onto two paths.." Yang Qing said as he refilled Luo Meili's cup.

"You seem different, Meili.." Su Jinjing suddenly chimed in

"Well, i am now a peak core formation stage expert now.." Luo Meili said as she tried to mimic Yang Qing's pompousness, who couldn't help but rub his nose when he realized he was being teased.

"Not that way.." Su Jinjing said with mirthful laughter.

"You seem lighter like unburdened somewhat.." she added as her gaze focused on Luo Meili.

"Jinjing, the level of your intuition is really one of the highest I've ever seen.." said Luo Meilie with a sigh.

"It can't be that high considering how our boss here constantly swindles me.." Su Jinjing said with a snort.

"What do you mean swindle? I am the picture of integrity and purity. You will be hard-pressed to find someone as honest and above board as I am.." said Yang Qing with an air of righteousness.

Seeing that Yang Qing was about to go on his fake endless tirade, Su Jinjing hurriedly lifted her hands in fake defeat as she humorously said,

"Yes, yes, boss, you are the most honest.."

Which drew a hearty laugh from the two inquisitors, before Yang Qing joined in.

"It seems you have felt your path now, Meili?" Yang Qing said with a sideway glance as he poured forth more dishes from the basket next to him and split them unevenly among the three of them.

The two inquisitors knew enough not to say anything.

"I did but only slightly, every time I tried to grasp it, it would disappear.." Luo Meili said with a slightly frustrated tone.

With her team rapidly improving and her strong desire to help Yang Qing, she had longed to reach the palace realm as fast as she could, but with how volatile her physique was, her every step had to be careful.

She never knew how long it would take before she could reach it. Today was the first time she finally had a sight on it, but she couldn't even take a glimpse of it.

"Don't be in a hurry. When it comes to finding your dao into the palace realm, going with the flow is the best thing you can do.

Your dao is a reflection of your heart. The more natural you are, the easier you are to grasp it. No need to brute force i. Just take your time, float along, and ease yourself into it.." said Yang Qing.

"Mmmh.." Luo Meili nodded taking Yang Qing's words to heart.

Yang Qing poured wine into the three cups next to him and distributed it amongst themselves.

"I am not good with speeches.."

"I would not have expected it, considering how skilled you are in bootlicking.." Su Jinjing snidely remarked.

"Jinjing who poisoned you? Can you let me finish, please.." said Yang Qing as he glared at Su Jinjing who laughed cheekily.

"Anyhow, Meili congratulations on your breakthrough and I wish you smooth tidings ahead.." Yang Qing said as he clanked his cups with the two, followed by them drawing their heads back and downing the entire cup.

Laughter, banter, good food, and wine were exchanged amongst the three, with Yang Qing calling over Mo Guang to share in the festivities which continued till dawn, after which they went their ways to resume their duties.