Dual Cultivation: Beasts and Women!
Chapter 40: Qualitative Advancement (1)

'With this Ancestor-grade Arcane Crystal, I have the power to transform Thal'Korr!'

Liam's fists tightened, veins pulsating, drowning out the allure of the stunning woman beside him. The thumping of his heart echoed in his ears, momentarily disregarding her presence.

What was the significance of the qualitative advancement of a Spirit? It meant a higher potential for future growth, the enhancement of abilities, the possibility of acquiring new powers, and even direct benefits to the master's physical strength.

The more powerful the Spirit, the more powerful the abilities under the control of the Spirit Master. Masters of more advanced realms, for example, didn't need to use their precious Spirits against beings weaker than themselves. They could often fight for themselves and assert their dominance without showing their Spirits.

Rumors said the greatest sign of a Spirit Master's power was to fight on the same level as their opponents without using their Spirits. It was a humiliation for their opponents, who were not even worthy of such a Spirit Master's basic display of power.

Liam had hardly fought any Spirit Masters, so his previous experiences were less a sign of power and more a sign of ignorance. But he now knew enough of the history of his race in Twin Land to know the importance of developing his Spirits.

'No one can act against me until the following afternoon. I'd better use this day to absorb as many resources as my body can handle.'

He looked into Mary's eyes and said, "Let's go into seclusion. We'd better absorb our wages now and prepare for the end of the protection period. I don't know if the senior disciples in the sect will covet the items of mere novices, but it's good not to risk it."

"I agree. We should get stronger before our journey here actually begins." She nodded in agreement.

Mary didn't ask what he had in his spatial ring. She just sat down on a cushion in one corner of Liam's room, while he did the same on the other side.

Liam placed the Arcane Crystals and the two pills he had in front of him, curious where to start. He had not yet acquired extensive knowledge about pills and crystals, but he wasn't dumb.

'There must be some kind of resistance to the use of pills and crystals. On Earth, an ordinary person who used a drug would become resistant to it after a while and would have to increase the dosage to get the same effect as before. I suppose the same thing has to happen with pills and crystals.

So I'll start with the lowest quality items. That should give me the best possible result for now.'

He put the pill and crystal from the spatial ring aside and picked up the King-grade Arcane Crystal and the pill bottle from the wooden box.

'From its looks, it's a Mana Essence Pill.'

Mana Essence Pills were widely prevalent across the continent, serving as the go-to choose for cultivators. These pills played a crucial role in their cultivation and advancement by enhancing their ability to absorb mana. As the medicinal power of the pills took effect, they effectively sped up the growth of cultivators.

There weren't many versions of popular pills that were used on a large scale. Most unusual pills required a great deal of effort to gather the ingredients, as well as the involvement of powerful alchemists.

Unusual pills were hard to replace. Normally, they had to be ordered, and they weren't for sale.

Those pills that were sold on a large scale had specific shapes that had long been known to the forces of the continent and were easy to identify. Even a novice like Liam could identify the type of pill after one look.

Liam decided to absorb his lowest quality, Mana Essence Pill, first. After that, he was going to let Thal'Korr absorb the King-grade Arcane Crystal, followed by the Ancestor-grade Crystal, leaving to absorb the second pill last.

Placing the two-colored pill with a white stripe down its center in his mouth, Liam closed his eyes while resting his arms on his legs.

He felt the pill melt as it went down his throat. His face turned red almost immediately, drops of sweat starting to drip from his forehead.

His heart pounded harder in his chest, his breathing speeding up with the influx of mana through the pores of his body. For a moment, Liam felt as if the mana around him were metallic components, and the pill melting inside his body was a powerful magnet.

The feeling of cultivating with the Mana Essence Pill was incredible!

In just five minutes of meditation, Liam felt more satisfied than he had in two weeks of cultivation during the journey from Violent Lake to Demon Gate headquarters.

The corners of his lips turned up, his teeth subtly appeared in his mouth, and every muscle in his body radiated happiness.

Unfortunately, the effects of the pill would only last for 20 minutes, after which Liam's cultivation speed would gradually slow down until it reached the normal for him.

Still, cultivating there was better than anywhere else he had been during his journey to the Eternal Doom Island. Even Thal'Korr's cave was no match for the mana density of Street Thirty-Seven.

...

'My cultivation is about to reach a new level. I'll break through to 4-Star later today!'

Liam opened his eyes and picked up the King-grade Arcane Crystal.

Before summoning Thal'Korr, he looked at Mary.

'She's still enjoying the effects of her pill... If I'm not mistaken, our pills had the same rating. But she's weaker than me, so she takes longer to absorb the same resources.'

"Hmm, she'll probably level up with this pill. It's easier to reach 2-Star than 4-Star."

He put his companion aside and turned his attention to Thal'Korr.

He summoned the dark-skinned, macabre-looking Spirit demon surrounded by shadows and made the Spirit absorb the small King-grade crystal, allowing Thal'Korr to absorb the essence of the crystal for the next few minutes.

A red mist left the crystal floating in front of Liam until the crystal completely disintegrated, with all of its essence either nourishing Thal'Korr or getting lost in the air.

Demon Gate was a sect of demon cultivators. As such, most of the Arcane Crystals collected by the sect's disciples were compatible with Spirits similar to Liam's. However, not every crystal was 100% compatible. Some mana and elements were always lost to the environment as the crystal decomposed.

After 25 minutes, Thal'Korr's body stopped glowing red and his limbs stopped vibrating.

The Spirit demon didn't evolve qualitatively with this crystal alone, as Liam had expected. But as soon as Thal'Korr finished, he began absorbing the Ancestor-grade Arcane Crystal.

As the essence of this gray crystal found its way into Thal'Korr's body, the creature behind Liam shook violently, his muscles growing as his presence became more powerful.

The creature's dark skin turned the same color as the crystal for a few moments, while Mary couldn't help but open her eyes, unable to continue what she was doing in the current situation.

As Liam felt a small crack inside his body as the surrounding mana entered him without him even trying to absorb it, he felt the elemental purity of his second Spirit evolve!

'He is reaching the Ancestor-grade, Lower-level!'

Liam's eyes gleamed. His body showed signs of progress, though not quite matching Thal'Korr's prowess. Nonetheless, it was an impressive sight.