"That's impressive." Feifei nodded, immediately understanding the benefits of a Spiritual Mark.
"That's not all." Old Peun smirked as he continued, "A Spiritual Mark also acts as a reservoir of Spiritual Energy. It can store enough Spiritual Energy to activate it once. So, this means we carry it with us a trump card that can save us or change the tide of battles."
"A Spiritual Mark only has one ability each. And from what I have collected, a person can only possess one Spiritual Mark," Old Peun said solemnly. "After all, once obtained, a Spiritual Mark becomes imprinted on your soul. It can neither be inherited nor transferred. Plus, it would be carried with you even when your soul enters the reincarnation cycle. That's why they have a tremendous value."
"Amazing!" Feifei smacked in wonder. This meant that even if she were to die, she'd possess her Spiritual Mark in her soul and would be able to use it after reincarnation. And if she were to obtain a Spiritual Mark that stored all her memories, it would mean that she had basically conquered death.
After all, even though having a Spiritual Incarnation made her a perennial, unable to be killed easily, as long as her opponent pursued her relentlessly and destroyed all her Land Incarnations, she would die eventually.
But with this Spiritual Mark, she would reincarnate in a new body while possessing all her memories. Even though she would have to start from scratch once again, thanks to possessing all the memories of her past life, she would be able to grow stronger at a faster pace and seek revenge in the future.
After all, since she would be an entirely new individual, her enemies would never know what hit them.
But she didn't know if such a Spiritual Mark existed. It was just a hopeful wish of her due to the chaos she would be subjected to once she returned to the God Realm.
She then thought, asking, "Where and how do I obtain a Spiritual Mark?"
"A Spiritual Mark is tremendously precious and rare. In this entire city, I am the only one to have this. And from the information I had collected, in the hundred plus cities situated in this region, there are only three with a Spiritual Mark. All of us had been lucky to obtain it while venturing through the Alacatra Ruins."
"Alacatra Ruins?" Feifei asked in confusion.
"Yes," Old Peun nodded. "It is a mysterious place located 20,000 kilometers to the west of this city. Thankfully, the Gargantuan River is a straight line passing nearby the Alacatra Ruins. That's how I was able to make it back here despite my perilous condition."
"After all, heading there is difficult since we have to head upstream. But returning is simple since it's just a voyage downstream." He continued, "Alacatra Ruins in the only place where one can obtain a Spiritual Mark. However, that's easier said than done. After all, strength is irrelevant there. Every year, millions of people, both mortals and cultivators, head there. Nevertheless, they all die. At most, one of them might survive. But even that is rare."
"Then again..." Old Peun sighed. "Anyone with a hint of ambition would head there first. After all, with a Spiritual Mark, your life would be many times easier on the Immortal Peak."
"Is there a certain time when the Alacatra Ruins opens up? Or does it operate with different standards?" Feifei asked.
"Different," Old Peun shuddered. "The moment a million people converge before it, a path to enter it opens up. And, the moment another million gather, it opens up once again. So, it's only dependent on the number of people."
"I see." Feifei nodded, asking, "Do you know anything interesting about the Immortal Peak?"
"Of course." Old Peun laughed as he patted his chest, glad to converse so freely after many decades. "The competition to enter the Immortal Peak is tremendous. After all, each gate only hands out thirty tokens a year. But if you don't wish to fight for it, you can simply head towards the Immortal Staircase. All you are tested upon there is your willpower."
"There are 1000 steps in total there. If you manage to reach the peak, even if you don't have any Spiritual Roots, you would be granted a set of meridians by the heavens and also a cultivation technique suitable for you." Old Peun laughed as he continued, "Even cultivators that are privy to the information take that path just to obtain a cultivation technique suitable to them."
"Though, there's a catch here," Old Peun said in all seriousness. "It only works if you hadn't stepped foot on the Immortal Peak before. Otherwise, you'll simply be teleported to a random location on the Immortal Peak the moment you set foot on the first step."
"It seems the Heavenly Dao itself personally creates the cultivation techniques there. So, if you hadn't entered the Immortal Peak before, you shouldn't miss this chance." Old Peun then realized that he was talking to an old woman that might very well have entered the Immortal Peak before.
Otherwise, it wouldn't explain the healing technique she had displayed. So, he changed his tone. "The Immortal Staircase is one of the closely guarded secrets. So, please don't divulge it to anyone. Only tell it to a person you judge worthy of handling this information."
"I'll keep that in mind," Feifei replied, beginning to talk about a lot of things as they conversed for a couple of hours. Eventually, upon seeing that it was already evening, she sighed, getting up as she placed a tiny pill on the table, "I had fun talking with you. Take this pill. You can either eat it or can give it to your descendants. When consumed, your body would grow stronger with the passing of every day. Your body weight would reach 200 kilograms, giving you tremendous power."
"Anyone who consumes it would become stronger than their peers," Feifei said, waving her hands as she intended to leave. "This is a show of my gratitude for listening to this old lady speak for so long."
"The Alacatra Ruins are tremendously dangerous. Once entered, you will only exit it after finding a Spiritual Mark. Otherwise, you'll either die or be trapped in it until you die of old age, hunger, or starvation." Old Peun shouted a bit, thinking of something as he said, "Please wait."
He then took out his ring and gave it to Feifei. "This is my storage ring that I had obtained during my younger days after going through a lot of peril. It has no use to the current me. If you are planning to explore the Alacatra Ruins, this would prove more useful to you. And besides, contained within it is a scroll detailing my experience there."
"I didn't want my experience to die with me, so I wrote it while on my deathbed.." Old Peun waved his hand as he told her, "I hope you succeed, friend."