Chapter 180 - 1-11

Chapter 1: The Realm-Breaking Pearl

Langya County, Green Bamboo Mountain!

Green Bamboo Mountain rose several thousand meters into the sky, ranking among the highest peaks in a mountain range that stretched a thousand miles in every direction.

And the Zhang family of Green Bamboo Mountain stood as one of the twelve great Qi Refining families of Langya County.

——

Inside a cave dwelling, a young man in white robes sat cross-legged on the ground. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

His hair was black as ink, his features sharp and handsome. His eyes sparkled like stars, radiant with inner light.

"The third layer of Qi Refining Realm, complete." A faint smile touched his lips. "Finally, I can attempt the fourth layer."

His name was Zhang Huaijin, a member of the Zhang family. (Of its third generation)

The second-born among his cousins.

At fifteen years old, Zhang Huaijin possessed a five-element spirit root, the lowest grade and had just polished his cultivation to the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining Realm.

——

This world was a world of cultivators.

Cultivators lived long lives. 

They stood above the mundane, lofty and untouchable.

Everyone yearned to become one. To set foot on the immortal path. To wield great power. To extend their lifespan, perhaps even achieve immortality itself.

But only those with spirit roots could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and embark on that path.

Within the Zhang family, only those with spirit roots were permitted to live on Green Bamboo Mountain.

Because beneath the mountain ran a low-grade, first-tier spiritual vein, a source that constantly produced gentle, balanced spiritual energy to sustain the family's cultivation needs.

In most places across this world, spiritual energy was either too thin or violently turbulent.

Unsuitable for cultivators to absorb.

But the energy from a spiritual vein was calm and harmonious, harmless to a cultivator's meridians.

Thus spiritual veins were the most precious asset a cultivation powerhouse could possess.

Even if a family fell on hard times, as long as their spiritual vein remained, they would always have a chance to rise again.

This low-grade, first-tier vein could comfortably support the cultivation of thirty Qi Condensation cultivators.

And it was precisely because of this vein that the Zhang family of Green Bamboo Mountain had been able to thrive here, generation after generation, growing step by step into the Qi Refining Realm family they are today.

——

Zhang Huaijin, dressed in white, slowly rose to his feet and walked out of his cave dwelling.

He looked out at a landscape of distant, dark green mountains, a place of remarkable beauty and spiritual energy.

The surrounding peaks were lush and verdant. From time to time, the roar of a demonic beast echoed through the valleys.

'Cultivation is hard' he thought, a flicker of emotion passing through his eyes. 'I still have to work harder.'

——

It had been fifteen years since he had transmigrated to this world from modern Earth.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan.

He had known nothing but loneliness and hardship, without a soul to rely on.

But he hadn't wallowed in self-pity or cursed the world for his misfortune.

Instead, through relentless effort, he had carved out a reasonably comfortable life for himself.

You know how it is, when a man has some free time, he looks for a little entertainment.

But after a simple moment of relaxation... he woke up as a newborn baby.

He felt wronged.

He had struggled and fought for over a decade. He had finally made his life enjoyable. And then, just like that, he ended up here.

As a baby.

But what was done was done. After some time of wallowing, he had no choice but to accept his fate.

Then he learned that this was a world of cultivation.

And Zhang Huaijin got excited.

After all, who wouldn't want to cultivate?

Who wouldn't want to become an immortal, riding the wind, pursuing the great path to eternal life?

Most of all, cultivation represented a hope that burned within every living being.

The hope of living forever. Of endless years. Of never dying.

And cultivation was the key to that dream.

——

Zhang Huaijin was lucky. He had been born into a cultivation family, and he possessed a spirit root.

Compared to mortals with no spirit root at all, or rogue cultivators with no family to protect them, he was in an infinitely better starting point.

True, his spirit root was only a five-element type, the slowest, the lowest. But even that was invaluable to a Qi Refining Realm clan.

A Qi Refining Realm family, though considered a cultivation power, was barely an ant in the vast, boundless world of immortals.

Langya County was home to three major Foundation Establishment powers and twelve Qi Refining Realm families.

And the number of rogue Qi Refining Realm cultivators was even greater.

——

But since stepping onto the path of cultivation, Zhang Huaijin had truly understood how important a spirit root was.

A cultivator with a five-element spirit root absorbed spiritual energy far too slowly.

Even sitting on a spiritual vein, it was agonizingly slow.

A cultivator with a three-element spirit root, for example, absorbed spiritual energy twice as fast as someone with a five-element root.

And that was nothing compared to the geniuses with two-element roots or the legendary heavenly spirit root.

There was simply no comparison in their cultivation speeds.

For instance, a five-element root cultivator might take five years to break through a single layer.

But a heavenly spirit root cultivator could do it in just a few months.

——

Every year, starting from age six, the Zhang family tested their children for spirit roots.

Typically, if a child had one, it was detected at six.

Those found to have spirit roots were taken directly to Green Bamboo Mountain and enrolled in the family academy.

There, they began four years of study: reading, writing, physical training, and the study of Daoist scriptures.

All of it preparation for their future cultivation.

Any child with a spirit root was usually quite precocious(gifted) , so none of this was a problem if they applied themselves.

At age ten, they officially began drawing spiritual energy into their bodies and embarking on the path of cultivation.

——

Now, after five years of cultivation, Zhang Huaijin has reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining Realm.

Most cultivators with a five-element root weren't this fast.

They'd be lucky to reach the second layer in 5 years.

That was how agonizingly slow a five-element root was.

The reason Zhang Huaijin was faster than usual was because of a pearl embedded in his chest.

There, tattooed on his skin, was a black-and-white pearl.

This pearl had crossed into this world along with him.

Normally, it appeared as a black-and-white tattoo on his chest. When something stirred it, it would sink back into his flesh.

Only he could see this pearl.

When he was little, his father had bathed him and never noticed the tattoo. Neither had his mother. And when he'd run around naked as a toddler or when playing with the other children, none of them had seen it either.

From that moment, Zhang Huaijin knew that the pearl on his chest was an extraordinary treasure.

He even suspected it was the reason he had transmigrated to this world.

So he never let his guard down. Once he was found to have a spirit root, he studied hard at the family academy, waiting for the day he could finally cultivate.

——

And on the day he turned ten, he drew spiritual energy into his body for the first time.

The moment the first wisp of spiritual energy gathered within him, the pearl that had lain motionless for ten years finally stirred.

It sent him a message.

"The Realm-Breaking Pearl."

That was its name.

And its function was exactly what it sounded like: it could help a cultivator break through bottlenecks.

All he had to do was gather enough energy within the pearl, and it could force a breakthrough to the next level.

Chapter 2: The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram

After Zhang Huaijin guided spiritual energy into his body and became a first-level Qi Refining Realm cultivator, a visualization diagram appeared in his sea of consciousness.

It was another gift from the Realm-Breaking Pearl.

Deep within an endless expanse of primordial chaos, a black-and-white Tai Chi diagram floated, slowly rising and falling.

From a distance, it looked like a massive millstone, black on one side, white on the other, twisting and turning, grinding down everything in its reach.

For five years, Zhang Huaijin's soul was tempered without rest. Though he endured immense pain at times, it was still a great blessing. Just now, he had broken through to the third level of Qi Refining Realm, reaching its peak. But his soul had already grown strong enough to rival a late-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram.

That was the name of this image.

For five years, it had slowly refined his soul. Zhang Huaijin had grown sharper, more intelligent. He could pick up cultivation techniques and scriptures almost instantly. 

His soul had become dense, and his comprehension now reached an extraordinary level. His cultivation speed was already comparable to that of an ordinary three-spirit-root cultivator.

After he became a cultivator, the Realm-Breaking Pearl had given him the visualization diagram and then fallen back into dormancy.

Over the following five years, as he cultivated, thin threads of spiritual energy were quietly siphoned away and absorbed by the Pearl.

Now, five years later, the once-pristine pearl tattoo on his body had turned black and white once more. Its energy was full to bursting.

Zhang Huaijin had a feeling that with a single thought, he could directly step into the fourth level of Qi Refining Realm and advance to the middle stage of the realm.

The Realm-Breaking Pearl could help him break through cultivation bottlenecks, but it required a massive amount of resources and energy to do so.

Back when he had first become a cultivator, the Pearl had exhausted all its energy just to leave him the visualization diagram. It had taken five full years to recharge.

And here was the most important thing, the Realm-Breaking Pearl only worked on major bottlenecks between realms.

Take the gap between the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining, for example. 

Though it was only a single level apart, it was a massive bottleneck. Some five-spirit-root cultivators needed seven to eight years just to break through that one barrier.

In other words, as long as the Pearl had enough energy stored up, major cultivation bottlenecks would simply have no effect on Zhang Huaijin.

As for the smaller, intermediate levels? He had the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram for those. His daily cultivation speed wasn't slow at all. It was already comparable to a three-spirit-root cultivator.

With the help of the Realm-Breaking Pearl, he could pull far ahead of everyone his age.

Zhang Huaijin also had a feeling that as time passed, the boost from the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram would only grow stronger. And when that happened, that would be his moment to shine.

——

"Second Brother! You hermit, you finally came out of seclusion!"

"Grandfather and your father are looking for you!"

As Zhang Huaijin was deep in thought, a clear voice rang out nearby.

He smiled when he heard it and turned around. A boy in gray clothes was moving like a beam of light, arriving at his side in an instant.

"Little Fifth, slow down. What's the rush? Take a deep breath," Zhang Huaijin said, giving the boy a light tap on the head.

The boy's name was Zhang Wujian. 

He was the second son of Zhang Huaijin's second uncle. At thirteen years old, he was ranked fifth among the third generation of the Zhang family. 

He had a four-spirit-root and was at the second level of Qi Refining Realm. Having only been a cultivator for three years, he had already reached the second level.

A four-spirit-root cultivator was indeed faster than a five-spirit-root. Without the visualization diagram, Zhang Huaijin would probably still be stuck at the second level himself. That was how important spirit roots were for cultivators.

In a small family like the Zhangs, most members had four or five-spirit roots.

Having just one three-spirit-root cultivator was enough to make him the future hope of the entire family. Foundation Establishment was too much to hope for, but reaching the peak of Qi Refining Realm was almost guaranteed if he didn't die young.

As for geniuses with two-spirit-roots or even a Heaven-root? That was beyond their wildest dreams. Even if smoke suddenly started rising from their ancestors' graves, they wouldn't dare keep such a person. They would have to send them to a major sect. Otherwise, trouble would come knocking.

The law of the jungle, that was the rule of the cultivation world.

"Second Brother, how many times have I told you? Stop hitting my head!" Zhang Wujian frowned, muttering in dissatisfaction. "I don't know what Grandfather wants. He just said to come quickly."

"Got it. And also… I lied before. Patting your head won't actually stunt your growth."

Zhang Wujian looked up.

"It definitely won't make you shorter. From now on, every time I see you, I'm patting your head."

"Hahaha!"

Zhang Huaijin laughed heartily, then dashed toward the peak of Green Bamboo Mountain.

"Second Brother! You're so annoying!"

Zhang Wujian's angry shout lingered in the air long after he was gone.

—

At the summit of Green Bamboo Mountain stood a large cluster of cyan-colored pavilions, arranged like teeth on a comb. This was where the Zhang family cultivators lived.

Dense green bamboo groves surrounded the area. When the breeze blew, the leaves swayed, creating a soft, rustling sound.

—

Inside the Zhang family's main hall.

Zhang Huaijin stepped through the doorway and was met by two concerned gazes.

"Huaijin, not bad. Third level of Qi Refining Realm, and at the peak of it. If everyone in our clan worked as hard as you, we'd have nothing to worry about," said the speaker, the Zhang family patriarch and Zhang Huaijin's grandfather, Zhang Chongwen.

Zhang Chongwen was eighty eight years old, a peak Qi Refining Realm cultivator, and the anchor of the Zhang family.

He is a four-spirit-root cultivator, originally a rogue cultivator. He had only reached the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm at forty, and that was after clawing his way up through tremendous hardship. 

Knowing his own limits and having suffered injuries, he decided to establish his own family and carry on his bloodline. That was how the Zhang family of Green Bamboo Mountain came to be.

The other person in the room was his father, Zhang Chongwen's eldest son, Zhang Lixian.

Zhang Lixian was the Zhang family's first three-spirit-root cultivator. At forty-eight years old, he had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm. 

Lately, he had been trying to break through to the ninth level.

For a small Qi Refining Realm clan, a ninth-level cultivator was a matter of life and death. If Zhang Lixian could reach the ninth level before turning fifty, he might even have a shot at Foundation Establishment.

"Father, don't praise him too much. His head will get too big to fit through the door. Now, let's discuss family matters," Zhang Lixian said, waving his hand and gesturing for Zhang Huaijin to sit down.

Zhang Lixian spoke quickly, and soon Zhang Huaijin understood the family's current situation.

Things were getting difficult.

The clan had more and more cultivators, but their resources were stretched thin. 

This year's harvest was poor. They had collected less spirit rice than usual. And there were too many places that needed manpower.

The Zhang family was less than sixty years old. They owned three hundred acres of first-level spirit rice paddies, all reclaimed by Zhang Chongwen and his descendants, inch by inch, over decades. 

Of them one hundred eighty acres were on Green Bamboo Mountain itself. The remaining one hundred twenty were scattered elsewhere.

Chapter 3: A Son's Duty

Other spirit fields across the region now needed guarding as well.

Right now, every cultivator in the Zhang family already had their hands full.

But Zhang Huaijin had recently reached the third stage of early Qi Refining Realm, the peak of the realm's initial phase. He possessed real combat ability now.

He was ready to contribute to the family.

This was simply unavoidable. For a Qi Refining Realm family like theirs, the greatest source of resources came from the spirit rice grown in their spirit fields.

The family's very survival depended on it.

Even more critically, that spirit rice was also essential to the Zhang family's source of income, to brew spirit wine. 

If anything happened to the harvest, their spirit wine shop in Langya County Town would have to shut its doors for good.

Zhang Chongwen hadn't founded this family on a whim. He'd had his advantages. The injuries he'd sustained back then had come from seizing certain opportunities.

He possessed three recipes for brewing spirit wine. This was the true reason the Zhang family had managed to establish a foothold in Langya County.

On top of that, he'd also inherited the knowledge for crafting talismans and forging artifacts. 

Both were first-grade inheritances, modest by the wider cultivation world's standards, but compared to other Qi Refining Realm families in the county, the Zhang family's foundation was remarkably deep being as young as they are.

Among the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, alchemy, artifact forging, array formation, and talisman crafting were the most widely useful and offered the greatest potential for the future.

Zhang Huaijin's second uncle, Zhang Liliang, was a first-grade, mid-tier talisman master. Every month, he could refine over a hundred talismans for the family.

Zhang Huaijin himself had not yet chosen an art to specialize in, due to his current cultivation level and his spirit root.

But his father was a Spirit Plant Cultivator. And in his spare time over the years, Zhang Huaijin had absorbed that profession's skills until they were second nature to him.

The Spirit Plant Cultivator's art was one of the most accessible and easiest to learn among the Hundred Arts. Now, on the verge of breaking through to the mid-Qi Refining Realm, it was time for Zhang Huaijin to choose his own path, one that would let him earn the resources he needed to grow.

Becoming a Spirit Plant Cultivator would also deepen his understanding of spirit fields and spirit herbs. And if he could later obtain an alchemy inheritance and invest enough resources into the practice, he might one day become a respected alchemist.

"Grandfather. Father." Zhang Huaijin's voice was calm. "I understand what you're telling me. I'll go to Heavenly Yang Mountain. The family needs hands, and I'll go stand guard."

Zhang Chongwen's expression flickered with pain. "Huaijin... I'm sorry."

Heavenly Yang Mountain was a first-grade, low-tier spirit vein the Zhang family controlled. After decades of development, they had reclaimed forty acres of spirit fields there.

"Heavenly yang Mountain is only a low-tier spirit vein," the old man continued. "The spiritual energy there is thin. It will slow your cultivation speed."

Helplessness bled through his words.

This was the tragedy of a Qi Refining Realm family. To ensure the family's survival, they had to sacrifice their own members' individual paths to immortality.

Zhang Huaijin's spirit root was a lowly five-element root, the worst kind. 

But he was naturally gifted with a photographic memory, and Zhang Chongwen thought very highly of this grandson. The old man had hoped... but now, the family simply had no one else to spare.

"It's all right, Grandfather." Zhang Huaijin smiled. "I'm fifteen now. It's time I did my part for the family."

He had been reborn into this world fifteen years ago, and in that time, he had come to truly see himself as a member of the Zhang family. 

From childhood, even while pinching every spirit stone and tightening every belt, the family had never skimped on his training and education.

Among the twelve Qi Refining families of Langya County, the Zhang family ranked at the very bottom. Survival was a constant, grinding struggle. His grandfather and father had worked themselves raw just to keep things afloat.

His father, Zhang Lixian, was the Zhang family's first cultivator with a three-element spirit root. A far better root than Huaijin's own. It was precisely because of Zhang Lixian's birth that Zhang Chongwen had made the decision to establish the family in the first place.

And now Zhang Lixian was forty-eight years old, stuck at the eighth stage of Qi Refining Realm, the peak of the mid-stage. 

If he had been born into a Foundation Establishment family, he would have been a prime candidate for Foundation Building. With enough resources, he might already be a Foundation Establishment cultivator by now.

But he had been born into a Qi Refining Realm family. He had never had sufficient resources.

"Father," Zhang Lixian said quietly, "this is the duty of a Zhang family member. Hanren has been working for years. Now it's Huaijin's turn."

The first generation of the Zhang family consisted of Zhang Chongwen alone. After founding the family, he took wives and concubines to continue the bloodline.

Over decades, he fathered over twenty children. But only four of them had spirit roots, three boys and one girl. 

The children without roots were all moved twenty five km away to the foot of Green Bamboo Mountain, sent to branch out and multiply among the mortals. 

After decades, a lively town named Green Bamboo Town had formed there.

Of the Zhang family's third generation, there were nine cultivators. Zhang Huaijin was the second eldest. 

Half of them were the children of his uncles without spirit roots, uncles who had been born in Green Bamboo Town. Mortals could give birth to children with spirit roots, but the chance was vanishingly small. About one in a thousand.

"Ah, Huaijin..." Zhang Chongwen sighed heavily. He flicked his finger, and a storage pouch materialized in front of his grandson.

Zhang Huaijin's eyes lit up. A storage pouch. Essential gear for any cultivator. Even a low-tier, first-grade pouch cost dozens of spirit stones. Zhang Huaijin had never been able to afford one.

"Inside are two mid-tier, first-grade artifacts," Zhang Chongwen said. "A bottle of mid-tier, first-grade Essence Pills. And a hundred spirit stones. This is your grandfather's compensation, for sending you out there."

He sighed again. "And the storage pouch itself is yours too."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away, his hands clasped behind his back. Another sigh trailed behind him.

Zhang Lixian stood up as well. He walked over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Huaijin. You know everything I've taught you about being a Spirit Plant Cultivator. You'll qualify soon enough. The forty acres on Heavenly Yang Mountain... I'm entrusting them to you." His voice was heavy. "Be careful. And don't go outside the mountain unless you absolutely have to."

He reached into his robe and produced two Transmission Talismans.

"If you run into something you can't handle, send me a message immediately."

He paused, his grip tightening slightly on his son's shoulder.

"The family is in a difficult spot right now. And I have a feeling... someone is targeting us. Be very careful on your way to Heavenly Yang Mountain. Do you understand?"

Zhang Huaijin's expression remained calm. He nodded. "I understand, Father."

Then he smiled. "The Zhang family will get better. You'll see."

Zhang Lixian blinked. Then, slowly, a brilliant smile spread across his weathered face.

"Yes," he said softly. "Our Zhang family will definitely get better."

He squeezed his son's shoulder one last time, then let go. "You'll be leaving soon. Go see your mother."

Zhang Huaijin nodded. Father and son parted ways, and Zhang Huaijin made his way home.

His mother's name was Sun Xueqi. She had been a rogue cultivator once. When Zhang Lixian first set out on his cultivation journey, young and inexperienced, he had crossed paths with her. A bond formed. Several encounters followed. Eventually, he brought her home as his wife.

Unknowingly, over twenty years had passed.

Sun Xueqi's contribution to the Zhang family was immense. 

She had given Zhang Lixian seven children. Only three had spirit roots. But even so, three out of seven was considered a tremendous stroke of luck. 

Sun Xueqi held a very high status in the family because of it.

Chapter 4: A Mother's Farewell

When two cultivators married and had children, the odds that their offspring would possess a Spirit Root were exceptionally high.

Sun Xueqi, however, had managed about a fifty percent success rate.

This made Zhang Chongwen very happy. He treated his daughter-in-law with genuine respect.

Sun Xueqi was a cultivator with a Four-Element Spirit Root, the same age as her husband, Zhang Lixian.

But her own cultivation had only barely reached the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm.

Having too many children had drained her vital energy severely.

And the Zhang family's resources were meager. They hadn't been able to replenish her energy in time.

As a result, her cultivation progress had become painfully slow.

Yet Sun Xueqi never complained. She poured her entire heart into raising her children.

Her other four children, the ones without Spirit Roots, had already grown up, married, and started families of their own in Green Bamboo Town.

Sun Xueqi still visited them often.

But the divide between mortals and immortals was real. As the years passed, even the closest bonds began to fade.

In the cultivation world, the Spirit Root mattered above all else.

——

"Mother, I have to leave now."

Zhang Huaijin looked at Sun Xueqi and spoke softly.

Sun Xueqi sat quietly in simple white robes, her bearing graceful, her features striking.

"I made your favorite, stir-fried pork with chili peppers. Eat before you go."

Her voice was calm.

But the reluctance flickering in her eyes betrayed everything.

This was exactly how it had been when Zhang Huaijin's eldest brother left. 

Back then, for the sake of the family, he'd walked away from Green Bamboo Mountain. Years would pass before he came home again.

And now, it was Zhang Huaijin's turn.

The Zhang family had too few cultivators. But securing resources required manpower, lots of it.

Still, more and more of the third-generation descendants were being born with Spirit Roots.

Once they grew up, the family would finally have enough hands.

"All right. Thank you, Mother."

Zhang Huaijin sat down and began to eat with genuine appetite.

Sun Xueqi had grown the chili peppers herself. They carried faint traces of spiritual energy. The meat came from a first-grade, mid-tier Spirit Beast. The rice was steaming hot spiritual rice.

A mother's cooking tasted like home.

Zhang Huaijin felt a tightness in his chest, his nose prickling, but he forced the feeling down and kept eating.

Soon, he had cleared every dish.

Only then did Sun Xueqi bring out a small pile of items.

"Here, ten first-grade, low-tier talismans and three first-grade, mid-tier ones."

"I bought the mid-tier ones from your Second Uncle. The low-tier ones were his gift."

"Twenty sacks of Red Sun spiritual rice. Eat it sparingly, don't waste it."

"And twenty bottles of Red Sun spiritual wine. I had to ask your grandfather for that."

She placed everything in front of him, one item after another.

"If you run into danger, don't be a fool. Don't fight recklessly. Remember, as long as the green hills remain, you'll never lack for firewood. Your life comes first. Nothing else matters."

She paused, her voice softening.

"And come back to see me when you can. Don't stay away too long."

She spoke each word carefully, as if she could stuff every last thing she owned into his arms and send it all with him.

Zhang Huaijin's throat tightened.

"Thank you, Mother."

That was all he could manage.

After a long pause, he tried to lighten the mood by changing the subject. 

"Where's my little sister?"

"Who knows? Off causing trouble somewhere, I'm sure. You'd better leave now, if she sees you go, she'll start crying, and my eardrums simply can't take it."

Sun Xueqi's face twisted into a look of mock anger.

Zhang Huaijin laughed. "Mother, I'm going." 

He turned and walked away.

Sun Xueqi stood there, watching, until his figure had vanished completely.

——

"Come out already."

Zhang Lixian emerged from where he'd been hiding, his face sheepish, his smile awkward.

"Look at yourself," she said, rolling her eyes. "Would it kill you to say one word to your son?"

"You don't understand," he mumbled. "Between us, everything goes unspoken."

"Get lost and go cultivate. Seeing you just annoys me."

She wasn't wrong. The Old Patriarch was getting older by the day.

The Zhang family desperately needed someone at the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm.

And Zhang Lixian was forty-eight years old. If he could just break through to the ninth layer, he might still have a chance, a slim one, to attempt Foundation Establishment.

For cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, sixty was the line in the sand.

Reach Perfection before sixty, and your body and bloodline were still at their peak. You still had a shot at Foundation Establishment.

Of course, attempting Foundation Establishment was no joke. One wrong move and your meridians would shatter, your cultivation path would end, and you could even die.

But it was still a hope.

Zhang Chongwen's greatest wish, his lifelong obsession, was to turn his son into the Zhang family's very first Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"You heard me," Sun Xueqi added. "Don't come back until you've broken through to the ninth layer."

Zhang Lixian didn't argue. He shrank his neck and slunk away.

——

Zhang Huaijin traveled fast.

He left Green Bamboo Mountain behind him in no time.

Heavenly Yang Mountain was only about a hundred km away.

Aside from Heavenly Yang Mountain, the Zhang family owned two other peaks. But spiritual veins only produced so much energy, reclaiming too many spiritual fields would drain the vein dry.

Heavenly Yang Mountain could support at most forty acres of spiritual fields.

The Eastern Wasteland stretched endlessly, a vast expanse of mountains and rivers.

Spirit Beasts roamed everywhere, constantly clashing with human cultivators over territory.

Most of the beasts between Heavenly Yang Mountain and Green Bamboo Mountain had already been cleared out by the Zhang family.

But a few scattered ones still lurked in the deeper ridges.

But luck was on Zhang Huaijin's side. The journey passed without incident.

An hour later, he arrived.

Heavenly Yang Mountain rose more than three hundred meters into the sky, its slopes a deep, burning red. A shimmering energy barrier, the mountain's protective formation, shrouded the mountainside.

The moment Zhang Huaijin stepped inside, he felt the temperature rise by several degrees.

Somewhere in the distance, a beast's roar echoed through the peaks.

——

"Blue Bamboo Sword. Nether Iron Shield."

A smile spread across Zhang Huaijin's face. 

"I finally refined them."

Originally, he'd only owned one low-tier, first-grade Spirit Artifact, the Blue Bamboo Sword.

But before he left the mountain, Zhang Chongwen had given him two more. Both were mid-tier, first-grade.

One was another Blue Bamboo Sword, a better one this time, for attacking.

Green Bamboo Mountain was surrounded by blue bamboo. Some of it, fed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, had transformed into first-grade spiritual wood. 

Perfect material for crafting Spirit Artifacts.

The other was a defensive Spirit Artifact, forged from Nether Iron with the scales of a Nether Serpent smelted into it. Sturdy. Reliable.

As long as Zhang Huaijin had enough spiritual energy to fuel it, it could withstand a full-force strike from a sixth-layer Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Defensive Spirit Artifacts were always more valuable than attack ones.

When he'd first received them, they'd already been partially refined, enough for basic control. Now, he'd finished the job.

Mastery would take practice. Lots of it.

But once he settled in, he planned to use the Breakthrough Pearl and advance to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

Zhang Chongwen had also given him a bottle of Essence Cultivation Pills. They would speed things up considerably.

After taking them, he might even touch the threshold of the fifth layer. A period of consolidation after that, and he would officially break through.

Chapter 5: Heavenly Yang Mountain

And at that very moment, Zhang Huaijin had already reached the mountainside, standing just outside the Array formation!

The formation's crimson light rippled across the void like a curtain of blood-red water, while the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth slowly gathered, storing up power.

"A lower Tier 1 formation… the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array," Zhang Huaijin murmured to himself.

Heavenly Yang Mountain only had a lower Tier 1 spirit vein. It was overseen by a single cultivator from the Zhang family, who was responsible for the forty acres of spirit fields on the mountain.

As he stood there, the formation sensed his presence. A figure appeared within the hazy light, an old man in a gray robe with snow-white hair and beard.

"Oh, it's Huaijin! So the family sent you out."

The gray-robed elder was named Zhang Hong. He looked at Huaijin's face and broke into a warm smile.

"This junior, Huaijin, pays his respects to Uncle Hong!" Zhang Huaijin bowed deeply.

Crack.

The active Six Ren Crimson Flame Array twisted and turned, the energy barrier warping to form a spiral just wide enough for one person to slip through. 

Huaijin quickly stepped inside, his figure swallowed by the glow.

"You're too polite, Huaijin. The truth is, this old, broken body of mine just can't hold on anymore. I can't share the family's burdens. Making a young man like you work for the family so early… the family has wronged you." Zhang Hong shook his head and sighed.

Zhang Hong was not Zhang Chongwen's biological son.

Back in the day, Zhang Chongwen had luckily obtained cultivation manuals, stepped onto the immortal path, and became a rogue cultivator. 

Over the decades, he survived countless life-and-death encounters and befriended a few kindred spirits along the way.

But by the time Zhang Chongwen was ready to establish his own family, those friends had already fallen to misfortune. A rogue cultivator's fate was precarious, no one knew what tomorrow would bring.

All that remained of them were three bloodlines, three orphaned children.

Facing the children of his closest friends, Zhang Chongwen couldn't just abandon them. The oldest was only six at the time. After gaining their consent, he adopted them.

Through decades of wind and rain, those three children had long since entered middle age, their youth forever gone. As time passed, they came to see Zhang Chongwen as their true father, taking on the Zhang name.

Zhang Hong was the oldest of the Zhang family's second generation. He was nearly sixty now, at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm, peak stage. 

But a great battle in the past had left him with hidden injuries that would forever block him from reaching the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Much of his lifespan had already been stolen away.

Now, Zhang Hong's body has become incredibly frail.

A Qi Refining Realm cultivator's maximum lifespan was 120 years. But very, very few ever lived that long.

"Uncle Hong, the family is the one who should apologize. The younger generation is useless. You've been guarding the spirit fields with your injuries, still serving the family." Zhang Huaijin's face was full of shame.

Zhang Hong waved a hand. "The family belongs to all of us. No need to say any more. From now on, Heavenly Yang Mountain is yours."

After speaking, Zhang Hong led Huaijin into the heart of the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array. There stood a simple, crude thatched hut.

"Huaijin, these are the family's spirit fields. It's July now. In about three months, the spirit rice will be ripe. Until then, these fields are in your hands."

Zhang Hong's voice echoed softly. 

Zhang Huaijin looked out. Forty acres of spirit fields lay in orderly yet organic disarray. Threads of spiritual energy drifted through the air. Crimson rice tassels swayed in the wind, carrying the scent of grain.

Red Sun Spirit Rice was a Tier 1 spiritual seed. If the spirit fields had enough spiritual energy, it could even produce upper Tier 1 grains. But since Heavenly Yang Mountain's spirit vein was only lower Tier 1, all forty acres were also lower Tier 1.

"Understood. I won't let the harvest suffer." Zhang Huaijin gazed at the endless sea of crimson fields, his eyes full of determination. 

He had already mastered the skills of a Spirit Plant Cultivator. With constant practice and careful tending, he would soon become a true one.

"This is the formation disk for the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array. Keep it safe. I've already erased the old seals, refine it as your own." Zhang Hong took out a crimson disk and handed it over.

Huaijin did as instructed. In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, he had refined the disk.

Beyond the disk, the core of the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array also contained a mid-Tier 1 dharma artifact: the Crimson Flame Saber. 

If an enemy invaded, Huaijin could wield the saber to unleash a blade aura. Its terrifying flame power could match a seventh-level Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

The Six Ren Crimson Flame Array hadn't been activated in over a decade. The energy stored within it was abundant.

"Good. No time to waste, I'll take my leave. Be careful in everything."

Zhang Hong finished handing over all the affairs of Heavenly Yang Mountain, then prepared to leave.

The mountain only had a lower Tier 1 spirit vein, thin and weak. Zhang Hong was at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and with his injuries, the mountain's spiritual energy couldn't even support his daily cultivation. Lately, he'd even shown signs of regressing in his realm.

"Good luck, Uncle Hong." Zhang Huaijin bowed again.

His heart was full of respect for this elder who had given his all for the family despite his broken body.

Zhang Hong waved without turning back, dragging his frail body slowly down the mountain until he disappeared from sight.

Huaijin turned and returned to the thatched hut. 

He refined the formation disk once more, fully mastering the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array. But with his current cultivation, he couldn't yet unleash its full power.

Now is the perfect time to break through to the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Zhang Huaijin sat cross-legged on the ground. At his chest, the Realm-Breaking Pearl pulsed with black and white patterns. As his will focused, energy from the pearl surged into his meridians. The spiritual energy within turned wild and violent.

In an instant, the bottleneck to the mid-stage Qi Refining Realm shattered. A powerful aura burst from his body.

The Realm-Breaking Pearl's strength was immense. It crushed the boundary between realms and pushed Huaijin into the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm. 

He was now a mid-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

And he was only fifteen years old.

Huaijin circulated the Heavenly Fire Blaze Art. The restless energy in his meridians gradually settled. Spiritual energy from all around gathered toward him with a low hum.

The Heavenly Fire Blaze Art was the Zhang family's fire-attributed Qi Refining Realm technique. 

It allowed the cultivator to refine fire-attributed spiritual energy and could carry someone all the way to Qi Refining Realm perfection. 

It was the best fire-attributed technique the Zhang family had.

As for a Foundation Establishment technique? The Zhang family didn't have one yet.

Huaijin's aura slowly stabilized. Inside the Realm-Breaking Pearl at his chest, the black-and-white energy had been completely used up, leaving the pearl pure pale white.

In his sea of consciousness, the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram slowly rotated, constantly refining his soul and spirit. 

Breaking through to the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm had strengthened his soul even further. 

Most cultivators at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm couldn't match Huaijin's spiritual power.

Chapter 6: The Pearl's First Transformation

Zhang Huaijin steadied his newly advanced realm and slowly rose to his feet.

The aura radiating from his body gradually receded as he exhaled a long, murky breath.

Then his expression shifted, before blooming into a smile.

With his breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Qi Refining Realm, the Realm-Breaking Pearl had delivered another revelation.

He could now devour the flesh and blood of Spirit beasts to charge the pearl with energy.

Previously, the pearl could only absorb the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth at a sluggish pace, requiring vast stretches of time to fill its reserves.

Now that he had advanced to the fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, Zhang Huaijin's connection to the pearl had deepened considerably.

The pearl's energy stores were depleted.

At the current rate of spiritual energy absorption, he estimated it would take at least five years to fully recharge it.

Of course, if he chanced upon a location blessed with dense spiritual energy, that time could be drastically shortened.

But now, the Realm-Breaking Pearl had undergone its first transformation.

It could now consume Spirit beast flesh and blood to store energy, and the speed was ten times faster than absorbing natural spiritual energy.

In other words, if Zhang Huaijin continuously hunted and devoured Spirit beasts, he could fully recharge the pearl in little less than a year.

Once he reached the peak of the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, he could break directly through to the seventh layer and enter the late stage.

Even better, Spirit beast flesh and blood wouldn't merely recharge the pearl. It would also temper his physical body, strengthen his meridians, and forge a more powerful frame.

If he could obtain a body-refining technique, he could walk the path of a true Body Cultivator.

He could temper himself until he was as indestructible as diamond, capable of crushing anything in his path.

With the Realm-Breaking Pearl in his possession, Zhang Huaijin had no fear of the future.

After all, the countless small bottlenecks between a cultivator's levels could be overcome with sufficient resources and time.

But the barriers between mid-stage and late-stage, and the great shackles between major realms, were different beasts entirely.

They required not just specific resources, but also spiritual strength, talent, and sheer luck.

The path of cultivation was merciless.

Even with several Foundation Establishment Pills in hand, if your luck ran cold, you might never ascend to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"For now, I still have the Essence Vitality Pill my grandfather gave me," Zhang Huaijin mused. "There's no rush to hunt Spirit beasts. Right now, the family's spirit rice is the top priority."

"One pill every ten days, and I'll have fully refined them all in three months. Pill toxicity won't accumulate in my body, and my realm won't become unstable."

Zhang Huaijin had set his cultivation plan for the next three months.

Now, it was time to inspect the spirit fields.

Dressed in flowing white robes, he manifested a low-grade, first-level spirit hoe in his palm and stepped into the fields.

The air was thick with the fragrance of rice. The crimson ears of the Red Sun Spirit Rice hung heavy, almost glowing in the light.

The earthy scent of soil lingered on the breeze, which carried with it a sense of tranquility and peace.

Crack!

The spirit hoe struck down, shattering a clod of earth. A faint wisp of spiritual energy flickered and dispersed, smoothing out the surrounding spiritual currents. Zhang Huaijin casually plucked a weed from beside the rice stalk.

Spirit fields were saturated with spiritual energy, yet despite being fully planted with spirit rice, weeds were everywhere.

The vitality of plants was terrifyingly tenacious.

If a cultivator didn't tend the fields, in less than seven days, weeds would sprout like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, fighting the spirit rice for every ounce of spiritual energy.

The harvest would dwindle. The yield would suffer.

That was precisely why a cultivator, ideally at the mid-stage of the Qi Refining Realm, was needed to guard Heavenly Yang Mountain.

The mountain was vital to the Zhang family.

One acre of spirit field produced roughly 16 sacks (400 kg) of spirit rice.

Forty acres meant 640 sacks of rice.

It wouldn't exceed that unless there was an unexpected surge in spiritual energy.

A single low-grade spirit stone could buy five kg of low-grade spirit rice.

In other words, when the Red Sun Spirit Rice ripened, it would bring the Zhang family an income of over three thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Of course, it wasn't that simple.

Half of that harvest would go toward brewing spirit wine for the next batch.

And the Zhang family's own cultivators needed their monthly salaries paid.

The resources required to sustain even a single faction were staggering.

——

An hour later.

Sweat beaded on Zhang Huaijin's forehead.

He had finished inspecting ten acres of spirit fields. Every weed had been pulled, and he had crushed every spirit insect gnawing on the rice ears.

A first-level Spirit Plant Cultivator would usually only master two skills.

The Cloud Rain Art and the Metal Finger Art.

The Cloud Rain Art summoned moisture, allowing him to call down rain over a small area.

The Metal Finger Art could obliterate spirit insects outright, reducing them to dust.

Those tiny fragments of shattered flesh (of insects) seeped into the spirit field, slowly enriching its fertility.

Zhang Huaijin felt his realm growing more stable with each passing moment.

The spiritual energy flowing through his meridians became sharper, more refined.

As a cultivator with five spirit roots, he could only cultivate for about two hours a day in the Qi Refining Realm.

Cultivators with better spirit roots could last a little longer.

But even a Heaven Spirit Root cultivator wouldn't push past four hours of cultivation per day at this stage. Any longer, and their fragile meridians would begin to fail.

——

Another hour slipped by.

Zhang Huaijin had now inspected half of the spirit fields.

He had lost count of how many times he had cast the Metal Finger Art and the Cloud Rain Art.

But thanks to his formidable spiritual strength, both skills had directly reached the Minor Accomplishment level.

A cultivator's mastery of techniques followed four stages: Initial

Minor Accomplishment

Major Accomplishment

Perfection.

Thanks to The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram, Zhang Huaijin's spiritual strength was already exceptional. And his comprehension, his raw understanding, far surpassed ordinary cultivators.

He could now rightfully call himself a low-grade, first-level Spirit Plant Cultivator.

Once his Metal Finger Art and Cloud Rain Art reached Major Accomplishment, he would be considered a mid-grade, first-level Spirit Plant Cultivator.

For now, he still couldn't accelerate the growth of spiritual plants or perceive the hidden threads of their inner structure.

But as his cultivation rose and his proficiency deepened, that day would come.

Zhang Huaijin sat down cross-legged in the middle of the spirit field and began meditating to recover his spiritual energy.

Inside his chest, the Realm-Breaking Pearl slowly gathered wisps of spiritual energy, a faint black-and-white hue beginning to bloom across its surface.

Within his sea of consciousness, a black-and-white Tai Chi symbol spun like a millstone of primordial chaos, relentlessly refining his spiritual strength (soul).

——

It took Zhang Huaijin two full days to inspect all forty acres of spirit fields.

Weeds pulled. Pests crushed.

The crimson rice ears grew even more brilliant, dazzling to the eye.

The fragrant scent of spirit rice filled the air. Everything was peaceful.

A smile touched Zhang Huaijin's lips.

For the days that followed, after completing his daily cultivation sessions, he focused entirely on practicing his techniques.

The Cloud Rain Art and the Metal Finger Art could serve as offensive techniques as well.

The Heavenly Fire Blaze Art contained two techniques within its teachings.

Zhang Huaijin had already grasped the basics when he first began cultivating them. Now he practiced relentlessly, striving to push both to the Minor Accomplishment level and strengthen his combat ability.

At the same time, he refined his control over the Blue Bamboo Sword and the Nether Iron Shield until they moved as easily as his own limbs.

His combat power was growing, day by day.

Bit by bit, he was becoming stronger.

Chapter 7: A Ripe Season

The blink of an eye, and three months had passed.

Every ten days, Zhang Huaijin swallowed an Essence Vitality Pill, and his cultivation was steadily climbing.

His Cloud Rain Art and Metal Finger Art had both broken through to the Major Achievement level.

He was now a tier-one, middle-rank Spirit Plant Cultivator.

This was the benefit of having a powerful soul.

The two techniques within the Heavenly Fire Blaze Art had also reached the Minor Achievement level.

Before he even realized it, Zhang Huaijin's cultivation had entered the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, the peak of the initial stage.

Every day, besides cultivating, he practiced his techniques and patrolled the spirit paddies.

His spiritual aura had become so stable that even a cultivator in the late Qi Refining Realm couldn't easily discern his true level.

"Whew."

"The last Essence Vitality Pill is gone," he murmured to himself. "Looks like it won't be long before I break through to the fifth level."

Zhang Huaijin stepped out of his thatched hut and gazed across the paddies.

The Red Sun Spirit Rice was already beginning to ripen.

"By my estimate, the family should be sending someone soon."

He cracked his knuckles. 

"Might as well get started on my own. After harvesting, I still need to turn over the fields to preserve their fertility before planting the next batch of spirit seeds. It's gonna be a huge job."

But he couldn't advance to the fifth stage of the Qi Refining Realm just yet.

He pulled a gleaming, cold sickle from his storage pouch.

Dressed in white, he disappeared back into the sea of rice.

Swish. Swish.

The once proud stalks toppled one after another, falling in neat rows across the fields.

Zhang Huaijin moved like an old farmer who had spent his whole life doing this, steady, efficient and skilled.

His sickle flashed in the light, each swing precise and clean.

Two hours later, he stopped.

He sat down cross legged and began restoring his spiritual energy.

The rice on Heavenly Yang Mountain was ripe. Even with the protective formation in place, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

A rich harvest tempted greedy hands.

A field of spirit rice was a massive treasure trove, even for other families in the Qi Refining Realm. For desperate rogue cultivators who lived on the edge? It was practically irresistible.

And the Zhang family sat at the bottom of Langya County's twelve Qi Refining families.

That made them an easy target.

Half of Zhang Huaijin's spiritual energy was already spent. During harvest season, he had to stay battle ready. Just in case.

Fifteen minutes later.

Crack!

The usually quiet Six Ren Crimson Flame Array roared to life with a violent explosion.

Three powerful auras burst onto the scene. 

Three cultivators appeared over the Heavenly Yang Mountain, hurling their spirit artifacts at the formation in a frenzy.

The array's energy barrier dimmed rapidly.

Zhang Huaijin's face hardened. He shot to his feet, grabbed the array core, and ran to the formation's heart.

He poured his spiritual energy into the core as fast as he could.

Instantly, the trembling formation began to stabilize.

"What? That's impossible!"

The three cultivators were led by a creepy faced, gray robed elder. Shock flickered across his weathered features.

"Fourth stage of the Qi Refining Realm!" the elder spat. "Wasn't he supposed to be a Five Spirit Root cultivator? How is he cultivating this fast?"

His expression darkened.

Level four versus level three, it might only be one level difference, but that level separated the early stage from the middle stage.

Zhang Huaijin sized up his enemies as well.

The gray-robed elder was the strongest, a sixth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator. 

The other two were at the third and fourth levels.

From their rough clothing and hard eyes, all three seemed to be rogue cultivators, the kind who lived by the edge of a blade.

Zhang Huaijin's eyes flashed with killing intent.

The Zhang family was too weak. That weakness had made these rogues bold enough to think they could steal from him.

He memorized each face.

No panic. He crushed a spirit stone in his palm, letting its pure energy flood into his body to restore his reserves.

And he calmly controlled the formation, holding the defense steady.

The message talisman Zhang Lixian had given him was already crumbling to ash in his storage pouch.

Now it came down to one question, would the three rogues stay or run?

Zhang Lixian was at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. From Green Bamboo Mountain, he could reach Heavenly Yang Mountain in about fifteen minutes.

It was clear that Zhang Huaijin's cultivation level had thrown them off.

If Zhang Hong had still been guarding Heavenly Yang Mountain, they never would have dared attack. Even wounded, Zhang Hong was at the sixth level, and he had the formation on his side. One wrong move and they could have been killed.

But the rumors had said Heavenly Yang Mountain was now guarded by a teenager at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm. And the rice was ripe.

The gray robed elder had been tempted.

If he could break through the barrier, the spirit rice would fetch over two thousand spirit stones. Enough resources to maybe even push him into the seventh level, the late Stage of Qi Refining Realm.

Did he care about offending the Zhang family? With that kind of profit on the line? No. He'd simply flee beyond their reach.

But plans change.

The boy had broken through to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm. A middle stage cultivator defending a formation was a completely different beast from a beginner. Breaking through would now take several times longer.

"Boss, what do we do?" the fourth level rogue asked, his words tumbling out fast. "He definitely has a message talisman. Green Bamboo Mountain already knows. One of their late stage cultivators could be here in fifteen minutes. Can we break through and kill him in that time?"

"And boss," the third level rogue added darkly, "the rice hasn't even been harvested yet. Even if we break in, we won't have time to take it all."

"Retreat." The gray robed elder looked at the formation's energy signature, sighed, and felt a pang of regret. "We've lost our chance."

"Go!"

They were greedy, but not stupid. Seeing there was no opening, they fled.

By acting today, they had already angered the Zhang family. 

Even if the Zhangs were the weakest Clan in the country, that wasn't something a handful of rogues could simply shrug off.

Those three couldn't show their faces here again. If they wanted to live, they had to get out of Zhang territory as fast as possible.

The elder's plan would have seemed like a sure bet to any rogue cultivator. No one would have blamed him for taking the risk.

They hadn't accounted for Zhang Huaijin's breakthrough.

Now, they have failed.

Inside the Six Ren Crimson Flame Array, Zhang Huaijin's expression didn't change. He watched the three men flee into the distance, perfectly calm.

Right now, the forty acres of Red Sun Spirit Rice in his paddies were what mattered most.

Those three rogues were just a minor nuisance. Once his cultivation grew, he would hunt them down.

Besides, who was to say they weren't faking a retreat, trying to lure him out?

He wasn't about to take that risk.

Caution was the best decision.

Chapter 8: The Price of Patience

"Isn't this brat a little too calm for his age?"

In the span of a few heartbeats, the three rogue cultivators had already put over a kilometer between themselves and the formation.

But inside the formation, Zhang Huaijin remained utterly motionless. 

A flicker of doubt crept into the grey robed elder's eyes.

"Big brother," the fourth level Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivator hissed, his voice edged with panic, "this one's different from the other youngsters. He's cautious. We're running out of time, if we wait any longer, the Zhang family's late stage cultivators will be here."

They had taken a gamble, hoping to provoke Zhang Huaijin into stepping out of his protective formation.

But the young man wasn't falling for it.

"Let's go."

The grey robed elder finally abandoned all hope.

Behind him, his two companions exhaled in quiet relief. Staying any longer would mean certain death.

The three rogue cultivators didn't slow down. They fled at maximum speed, racing toward the distant horizon.

Clang!

But in the next moment, a streak of light erupted from the distance, blazing fast, sword-radiance splitting the air as it hurtled directly into their path!

Boom!

A crimson spiritual sword tore through the void and came crashing down toward the grey robed elder with terrifying speed.

"No! How did the Zhang family get here so quickly?!"

Sweat poured from the elder's forehead. Black light swirled in his palm.

A black bead rose into the air, releasing a shimmering curtain of energy that wrapped around his body like a cocoon.

Boom!

The crimson sword struck. Light rippled outward like water meeting stone.

Crack!

The energy curtain splintered, countless fractures spreading across its surface before it shattered with a bang.

The elder's face went pale. He tried to raise his white bone club in defense, but the crimson sword was already swinging down.

Swish!

The bone club shuddered. A deep, bloody gash tore across the elder's chest and abdomen. Blood sprayed into the air.

In a single blow, he was mortally wounded.

The wielder of that crimson sword was none other than Zhang Huaijin's father, Zhang Lixian.

At this moment, Zhang Lixian's aura was overwhelming. He radiated power, confidence, and cold, killing intent.

In just one strike. The grey robed elder was finished.

The remaining two rogue cultivators, blind with terror, veered desperately toward Heavenly Yang Mountain.

But Zhang Lixian had already sealed their escape. There was nowhere left to run.

"Late stage ninth level Qi Refining Realm? You… you broke through?" The elder's voice was thick with regret.

Zhang Lixian's expression did not change.

The crimson sword howled again.

Thud!

A head flew through the air. The body crumpled to the ground.

Zhang Lixian collected the storage pouch, flicked his finger, and a fireball bloomed, consuming the elder's corpse.

Moments later, only ash remained.

Without hurry, he turned and pursued the last two rogue cultivators.

——

Meanwhile, Zhang Huaijin felt it too.

Outside his formation, two rogue cultivators were charging straight toward the Heavenly Yang Mountain, their movements wild and desperate.

That's… Father's aura.

A familiar presence reached him through the fragments of the transmission talisman.

Zhang Huaijin watched the two men draw closer. A slow, cruel smile curved across his lips.

He did not hesitate. He stepped out of the formation.

Clang!

The Blue Bamboo Sword materialized, transforming into a streak of cyan light that slashed horizontally toward the enemy.

At the same time, Zhang Huaijin's two left fingers turned pale gold. A one inch long beam of energy, Attacks from the Metal Finger Art, shot through the air.

Straight for the third level cultivator's brow.

The two rogue cultivators jolted in surprise, but their reactions were sharp. They raised their spirit artifacts and unleashed techniques, striking back at Zhang Huaijin.

Earlier, he refused to come out. Now he's stepping forward on his own? Is it because he thinks we're weak?'

A sheltered family cultivator who had only trained and never fought, trying to take on two at once? That was suicide.

They were rogue cultivators. They had survived countless battles. Their experience was their greatest weapon.

If they could subdue him, they could use him as a hostage. A bargaining chip for survival.

But the moment their attacks collided, their faces twisted in shock.

"Such dense spiritual energy!" the fourth level cultivator gasped, stumbling backward. "He just broke through to the fourth stage?!"

As for the third level cultivator, he was already overwhelmed, forced on the defensive, barely holding on.

Zhang Huaijin's expression remained calm. He unleashed another Attack from the Metal Finger Art. Then another. Then two more in rapid succession.

Each strike was stronger than the last.

Thud!

The third level cultivator's body went rigid. A bloody hole appeared in the center of his forehead. Blood gushed out.

He collapsed.

Zhang Huaijin's spiritual energy was dense, several times more concentrated than an ordinary cultivator at the same level.

This was his first real battle. With more experience, he could have ended that third level rogue in a single blow.

But even so, one down.

Zhang Huaijin's face did not change. He pressed forward.

The Blue Bamboo Sword wove a net of flashing light, each strike cutting off the fourth-stage cultivator's escape. Spiritual energy flowed steadily through Zhang Huaijin's meridians.

He kept firing Attacks from the Metal Finger Art, aiming for the man's limbs.

The fourth level cultivator, pale and desperate, swung his white bone club again and again. Sparks of energy exploded with every clash against the Blue Bamboo Sword.

Five seconds passed.

Crack!

An Attack from the Metal Finger Art struck the fourth level cultivator's left knee. The kneecap shattered.

His body lurched. He pushed the black bead's energy to its limit.

Light flickered from his storage pouch, he was searching for something, anything, to turn the tide.

"Heavenly Fire Sword."

Clang!

Overwhelming fire attributed spiritual energy erupted from the Blue Bamboo Sword. A 3 meter blade of crimson flame burst into existence and swept downward.

Boom!

The black energy curtain shattered like glass. Crimson light flashed across the fourth level cultivator's neck.

Thud.

Blood sprayed. The fourth level Qi Refining Realm rogue cultivator dropped to the ground, dead.

The Heavenly Fire Sword was a technique from the Heavenly Fire Blaze Art. 

This was Zhang Huaijin's first battle.

Clean. Decisive. Two kills.

He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a Qi Return Pill. Threads of spiritual energy slowly began to replenish in his meridians.

Footsteps approached.

Zhang Lixian walked over slowly, his presence calm and unhurried.

Zhang Huaijin caught his breath and offered his father a small smile. Then, without ceremony, he crouched down and began looting the bodies, collecting storage pouches, searching every fold and pocket.

He formed a fireball on his fingertip and dropped it onto each corpse, reducing them to ash.

"Father," Zhang Huaijin said, his voice steady. "You've been here for a while, haven't you?"

Zhang Lixian nodded.

"Yes. The spiritual rice ripens in a few days. I arrived a day ago."

His father's words confirmed what Zhang Huaijin had already suspected.

If Zhang Lixian hadn't arrived early, even with his breakthrough to the ninth level, he couldn't have reached Heavenly Yang Mountain so quickly.

And of course, if he hadn't sensed his father's presence, Zhang Huaijin would never have stepped out of the formation to engage those two rogue cultivators alone.

Chapter 9: A Test of Composure

"Huaijin, not bad! Your performance has made your father very satisfied."

Zhang Lixian looked at his son, his eyes full of approval and his voice laced with pride.

In just three months, Huaijin had stepped straight into the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm. What's more, he hadn't taken the bait and walked out of the formation. That showed composure. He kept the family's spirit fields as his top priority.

Even better, the moment he saw the battle turn to his advantage, he acted without hesitation and charged out of the formation. 

He took on two enemies by himself and killed them both.

Zhang Lixian could have easily killed those two rogue cultivators himself. He had already slain the sixth level Qi Refining Realm rogue, and the other two wouldn't have escaped his pursuit. 

But he had watched their retreat path and held back. He wanted to see what choice Huaijin would make.

"I only charge out because I sensed your presence, Father," Zhang Huaijin said. "Otherwise, I would never have stepped outside."

The truth was, if it weren't for the spirit fields, Zhang Huaijin could have faced those three rogue cultivators alone in the wild and taken them all down. 

His soul was already powerful enough to rival an eighth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator. The power from his Heavenly Fire Blaze Art was also an aggressive type.

Right now, Huaijin desperately wanted to find a soul cultivation technique. 

Once he mastered it, he could launch soul attacks and kill without a trace. Otherwise, such a powerful soul would be wasted.

"Good! Steady, but still sharp," Zhang Lixian said, clearly pleased.

As for the fact that Huaijin had advanced to the fourth level in only three months… Zhang Lixian didn't pry. Everyone had their own secrets. 

Though Huaijin had five spirit roots, his cultivation speed was no slower than someone with three roots. The Zhang family didn't think much of it.

"Father, the spirit rice is ripe. We need to harvest it quickly, before more trouble comes," Zhang Huaijin urged.

Now that Zhang Lixian had advanced to the ninth level of Qi Refining Realm, the family's strength had grown considerably. 

The Zhang family now had two ninth level Qi Refining Realm cultivators guarding it.

"You recover first. I'll handle the harvest," Zhang Lixian said.

Father and son walked into the Six Ren Crimson Blaze Array. Zhang Lixian produced a sickle, its cold metal glinting. This was a Tier 1 Upper Grade spirit sickle, capable of harvesting very quickly.

Zhang Huaijin didn't stand on ceremony. After the battle, most of his spiritual power was depleted. He sat down cross legged and began to recover.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Lixian had already harvested three acres of spirit rice. Zhang Huaijin had recovered more than half his strength and took out his own sickle. Father and son worked side by side.

Zhang Lixian was not only a ninth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator but also a Tier 1 Upper Grade Spirit Plant Cultivator. He harvested quickly. Two hours later, they had cleared all forty acres of spirit paddies.

Zhang Lixian took out five storage pouches, and together with Zhang Huaijin, they gathered all the rice stalks and spirit rice. 

Back at the family compound, clansmen would thresh the rice. Some of the spirit rice would be sold, some stored, and the rest used for brewing wine.

The leftover stalks still contained faint traces of spiritual energy. They would be ground up, mixed with other feed, and used to raise spirit fowl. 

A Qi Refining Realm family's foundation was truly meager. They raised several dozen spirit chickens. Every year, the rice stalks from the spirit fields were their food.

"Huaijin, here's a hundred sacks of Red Sun Spirit Rice and fifty spirit stones. The family is going through difficult times right now. Heavenly Yang Mountain is counting on you," Zhang Lixian said with a sigh.

Zhang Hong's injuries were too severe. He needed to rest. Zhang Lixian and his own father had to guard Green Bamboo Mountain. The family had very few mid-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivators, and all of them were already occupied with their own duties. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent Huaijin, only at the fourth level, down the mountain in the first place.

"Don't worry, Father. I'll take care of Heavenly Yang Mountain," Zhang Huaijin said.

He understood. The spirit rice and spirit stones were a form of compensation. A drop in the bucket, but at least it showed the family's attitude.

"The family has failed you. Once this batch of spirit rice is sold, your grandfather and I will set aside some spirit stones to buy you some resources," Zhang Lixian said slowly. Then he took out the spirit seeds from his storage pouch. "In the coming days, you need to carefully adjust the spiritual energy in the paddies, till them all thoroughly, and maintain fertility. When the time is right, plant the new seeds."

Zhang Huaijin nodded. "I understand. I've already become a Tier 1 Middle Grade Spirit Plant Cultivator. I'll need the techniques for the higher levels."

Zhang Lixian handed him a book. "Most families have this, but for a rogue cultivator, it would still be a treasure. Once you've mastered it, burn it."

Zhang Huaijin nodded. "I know." 

He tucked the book away. Father and son spoke no further, and Zhang Lixian left.

Heavenly Yang Mountain fell silent once more. Zhang Huaijin then began breaking the seals on the two storage pouches. Both were Tier 1 Low Grade pouches with very weak seals. 

Using his powerful soul, he ground away the seals in just a few seconds and dumped everything out.

After taking stock, a look of disdain crossed his face. "Only two Tier 1 Low Grade spirit artifacts, twenty eight spirit stones, three Qi Return Pills, and a bunch of junk. Rogue cultivators are really poor."

Looking at the spoils, Zhang Huaijin felt a trace of helplessness. But even a rat's meat is still meat. 

His total net worth had now reached nearly three hundred spirit stones.

Besides these two rogue cultivators' low-grade artifacts, he already had a Tier 1 Low Grade Blue Bamboo Sword from before. He now had three Tier 1 Low Grade spirit artifacts in his possession, all of them useless to him. 

When he finally left the Heavenly Yang Mountain, he would sell them off and convert them into spirit stones for cultivation resources.

Zhang Huaijin shook his head and began studying his father's book on spirit planting techniques. 

With his powerful soul and exceptional comprehension, he had the entire book memorized in less than a day. 

All that remained was practical application.

"The Six Ren Crimson Blaze Array isn't damaged, and the stored energy hasn't been depleted much. Good thing I didn't rashly activate the Crimson Flame Saber," Zhang Huaijin murmured after inspecting the formation, breathing a sigh of relief. 

The array's power was enough to fully activate the saber three times, unleashing an attack comparable to a late stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator. That was the family's hidden strength, their deterrent against outside enemies. It was best not to use it unless absolutely necessary.

After settling everything and recovering his spiritual power to its peak, he turned his gaze to the spirit paddies. 

The rice was harvested, and the fields' fertility was depleted. The rice roots and stubble were still in the ground. He needed to till all forty acres, grind spirit stones into fine powder, and sprinkle it evenly across the fields to restore their fertility. 

Only then could he plant the new spirit seeds.

Chapter 10: Breaking Ground

"This is going to be a huge project."

Zhang Huaijin looked at the spirit field before him and let out a soft sigh.

Without him even realizing it, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Tilling this spirit field was a form of cultivation in itself.

It would continuously temper his foundation, making his spiritual power deeper and more solid with every passing day.

——

The next day, at dawn.

The morning sun rose, its first rays splitting the darkness. Golden light spilled across the land, draping the red slopes of Heavenly Yang Mountain in a thin, radiant veil.

Zhang Huaijin, dressed in white, carried his spirit hoe over his shoulder and began his great task.

He turned over the dark, rich soil, breaking up the old rice roots and stalks buried within. Strands of spiritual energy wove through the air, maintaining a delicate balance across the field.

Whenever a patch of earth felt lacking in spiritual energy, Zhang Huaijin crushed spirit stone fragments into fine powder and scattered them over the spot.

Time passed slowly, and everything moved forward in perfect order.

With every swing of the hoe, Zhang Huaijin's entire body was engaged. His cultivation was constantly refined, and the spiritual energy flowing through his meridians grew purer by the day.

Each day, Zhang Huaijin lived a tiring but satisfying life.

He spent two hours cultivating, circulating his technique to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The rest of his time was devoted to learning new arts, practicing with his spirit artifacts, and working the spirit field.

——

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

All forty acres of spirit field had been turned over.

The areas lacking spiritual energy had been replenished.

Wisps of spiritual energy from the vein below began seeping into the soil, slowly restoring its fertility.

According to Zhang Huaijin's estimate, in half a month, the field's fertility would be just right for planting the spirit seeds.

At that point, he could finally sow the Red Sun Spirit Rice seeds into the ground.

After that, the work wouldn't be nearly as exhausting.

In his spare time over those days, Zhang Huaijin had already memorized every piece of knowledge in the Spirit Plant Cultivator's manual. That book had since been burned to ashes.

Once the spirit seeds sprouted, he would be ready to begin.

His Cloud Rain Art and Metal Finger Art were both steadily advancing toward major achievement. Once he cultivated them to perfection, he would become a top tier, upper grade Spirit Plant Cultivator.

Zhang Huaijin sat down cross legged on the ground. Strands of spiritual energy from all around him flowed into his body.

Fifteen minutes later, he had fully recovered to his peak condition.

"Time to start hunting spirit beasts."

Now that the Red Sun Spirit Rice on Heavenly Yang Mountain had been harvested, the spirit fields held no value to rogue cultivators.

In other words, he could finally move around the surrounding area.

As long as he didn't wander too far from the mountain, ensuring the protective formation remained safe, he would be fine. Even if someone triggered the formation, he could return in the shortest possible time.

Zhang Huaijin walked out of the formation to the foot of Heavenly Yang Mountain. He took a thin, black incense stick, no thicker than a chopstick, from his storage pouch.

He tossed it lightly and lit it.

Wispy strands of fragrance drifted in all directions on the gentle breeze.

This was Spirit Beast Luring Incense, capable of attracting spirit beasts from several miles around. 

The one Zhang Huaijin held was only a Tier 1, low grade incense.

It could attract Tier 1, low grade spirit beasts, and there was even a chance it might draw in a Tier 1 mid grade beast.

The mountain range bordering Langya County was called the Purple Dusk Mountain Range.

The Eastern land was vast and boundless, with countless mountains and rivers, both great and small.

The Green Bamboo Mountain was at the very edge of the weakest part of the range.

Within fifty miles of Green Bamboo Mountain, all Tier 1, upper grade spirit beasts had already been hunted.

There were still plenty of Tier 1 low grade beasts, but finding mid grade ones were extremely rare.

Fifty miles was a vast area, and the spirit beasts were scattered far and wide. Besides, Zhang Huaijin didn't have the time right now to leave Heavenly Yang Mountain just to hunt beasts.

So the Luring Incense was the perfect solution.

Zhang Huaijin concealed himself, sat down cross-legged, and gripped his Blue Bamboo Sword.

He waited for the beasts to come to him.

——

Fifteen minutes later.

The distant stillness was suddenly broken.

A Tier 1 low grade Fire Python slithered into view.

The scent of the Spirit Beast Luring Incense held a fatal attraction for spirit beasts.

The python was about a meter long, its body a fiery red marked with black patterns. Flickers of flame licked from its jaws. Its eyes were crimson and cold as ice.

The Fire Python was a fire attributed beast, and it also carried a potent venom.

From behind a large rock, Zhang Huaijin moved with blinding speed. Before he even fully emerged, his Blue Bamboo Sword shot forward.

A Tier 1 Low grade Fire Python was no match for him at all.

Swoosh!

The sword whistled through the air, its Blue blade gleaming. Moving like lightning, it flew straight toward the python's head.

Boom!

The python twisted its body, opened its mouth wide, and spat a torrent of flame to try to block the Blue Bamboo Sword, buying itself a single moment to escape.

It immediately began retreating.

A Tier 1 mid grade spirit artifact was something it couldn't possibly handle.

Zhang Huaijin shifted his intent. The Blue Bamboo Sword changed direction and plunged directly into the python's weak spot, seven inches below its head.

Shlick!

Blood sprayed out. Without so much as a hiss of pain, the Fire Python was dead.

A Tier 1 low grade spirit beast was no match for him. He could kill it in a single blow.

At his current level, Zhang Huaijin could even defeat most cultivators at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm.

He scanned his surroundings. He raised his left hand, two fingers glowing with a faint, golden light. Two golden rays of light shot out, leaving two bloody holes in the python's body.

Snake type spirit beasts had incredibly strong vitality. Even when they appeared dead, they might suddenly lash out.

Seeing no movement from the Fire Python, Zhang Huaijin relaxed.

He quickly stowed the python's corpse and hid again behind the rock.

"The fangs, the scales, and the venom sac… all good stuff."

Zhang Huaijin worked quickly, beginning to dissect the Fire Python's body.

He stripped away the valuable resources and threw the rest of the corpse into his storage pouch.

Shifting his intent, a strand of black and white light flowed from the Realm-Breaking Pearl against his chest, down his fingertip, and into the storage pouch.

The python's corpse dissolved like snow under the morning sun.

Zhang Huaijin could sense the energy within the Realm-Breaking Pearl increase by several strands.

"It really is ten times richer than ordinary spiritual energy," Zhang Huaijin said, a smile appearing on his face. "As long as I keep hunting spirit beasts, I'll recharge the pearl's energy to full again soon."

Just as the Realm-Breaking Pearl finished devouring the python's corpse, a sudden stream of information erupted from the calm Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram within his spiritual sea.

Zhang Huaijin's face showed a moment of stunned surprise. Then his eyes lit up with unrestrained laughter.

"Haha! From now on, I won't even fear cultivators at the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm!"

Zhang Huaijin was incredibly excited.

But in the very next instant, a powerful aura erupted just a few dozen meters away.

Boom!

A massive, three meter tall purple tiger suddenly appeared. A fierce energy filled the surrounding space as it slowly fixed its gaze on the Spirit Beast Luring Incense.

Zhang Huaijin glanced from the corner of his eye.

"A Purple Spirit Tiger!"

Chapter 11: The Yin Yang Divine Needle

The Purple Spirit Tiger was an exceptionally ferocious spirit beast, boasting a powerful physique and blinding speed.

It possessed two elemental affinities, Fire and Metal.

Among Tier 1 spirit beasts, it had virtually no weaknesses.

This particular Purple Spirit Tiger sat at the Tier 1, Medium Grade stage.

Zhang Huaijin estimated that even a Qi Refining Realm level 6 cultivator would find this beast a genuine headache.

The Purple Spirit Tiger stared at the Spirit Beast Luring Incense, a flicker of rage igniting in its eyes.

Boom!

With a thunderous charge, its vicious claws came down and shattered the incense into pieces.

Then it began sweeping its gaze across the surroundings, searching for any trace of a cultivator.

This object was clearly a cultivator's tool, meant to lure spirit beasts.

The human and Beast races had waged countless great wars over cultivation resources and spirit veins.

They were mortal enemies, locked in endless bloodshed with no hope of reconciliation.

Zhang Huaijin's expression remained calm as he burst out from cover.

The Blue Bamboo Sword whistled through the air, a blazing crimson sword light swirling around it.

Fire attributed energy erupting from it.

"Heavenly Fire Sword!"

Zhang Huaijin's soft chant hung in the air as the sword light materialized, slashing straight for the Purple Spirit Tiger's neck.

Roar!

The tiger unleashed a roar, a flash of disdain gleaming in its eyes.

Its claws exploded with power, shattering Zhang Huaijin's attack in an instant.

He didn't dare be careless. He raised his Nether Iron Shield and positioned it before his body.

Clang!

The tiger's claws, blazing with combined Metal and Fire energy, formed a massive, meter wide spectral claw that tore through the air straight at him.

Bang!

The Nether Iron Shield rose to meet the attack and blocked it completely!

Energy radiated outward in all directions as Zhang Huaijin swung his Blue Bamboo Sword once more, striking with the Heavenly Fire Sword aimed at the back of the tiger's neck.

At the same time, his Metal Finger Art shot out like silent, invisible darts, streaking straight for the tiger's eyes.

He intended to blind the beast.

But the Purple Spirit Tiger was a seasoned fighter. It leaped, and its tail whipped around with devastating force.

Bang!

The Blue Bamboo Sword was struck directly. Its spiritual aura dimmed, and it went flying back toward Zhang Huaijin.

Massive purple tiger claws lashed out repeatedly, clashing with the Metal Finger Art in a shower of sparks and metallic shrieks.

Zhang Huaijin's attack shattered one after another.

The Purple Spirit Tiger's physical body was incredibly robust, comparable to a Tier 1, Medium Grade spirit artifact.

Aside from a relatively weak soul, this type of beast had almost no obvious flaws.

Zhang Huaijin remained calm. The Blue Bamboo Sword returned to his side, and he channeled his spiritual energy into it, reigniting its brilliant sword light.

"Beast! Taste my blade!"

Zhang Huaijin charged forward. The commotion of their battle was already drawing far too much attention.

He had to finish off the Purple Spirit Tiger quickly.

The tiger's eyes blazed with fury.

Rumble!

Zhang Huaijin fought with sword in one hand and shield in the other, exchanging blow after blow with the tiger.

His Metal Finger Art flashed out without pause.

Meanwhile, hidden in his palm were three Fireball Talismans, all Tier 1, Low Grade. He planned to use them to disrupt the tiger's focus.

The Metal Finger Art continued to shoot out, targeting the tiger's weak points.

Soon, drops of blood appeared.

Wounded, the Purple Spirit Tiger grew even more ferocious, its power surging.

Zhang Huaijin crushed the Fireball Talismans. Three fist-sized fireballs erupted, shooting toward the tiger to box it in.

And then, deep within Zhang Huaijin's soul, a swirling mass of black and white light coalesced, forming a single, hair-thin needle.

The Yin-Yang Divine Needle.

Silent and invisible, it sliced through space.

It moved like a shadow of light, piercing through the blazing elemental attacks and appearing directly before the tiger's brow.

By the time the Purple Spirit Tiger sensed it, it was already far too late.

Shhk!

The Yin-Yang Divine Needle sank directly into the tiger's skull. A wave of soul force exploded outward.

The Purple Spirit Tiger's fragile soul shattered instantly.

The ferocious beast's body froze mid snarl, its eyes filled with unwillingness.

Then it crashed heavily to the ground.

Zhang Huaijin moved with blinding speed. He stored the tiger's corpse, carefully cleaned up every last fragment of the Spirit Beast Luring Incense, turned, and hurried back to Heavenly Yang Mountain.

Whoosh.

Back inside the safety of his protective array, he sat cross legged, swallowed a pill to restore his spiritual energy, and began to recover.

Spiritual energy from the surroundings flowed into him and the chaotic energy within his body slowly began to settle.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Huaijin opened his eyes.

'The Purple Spirit Tiger truly is a formidable fighter', he thought, a lingering trace of fear in his heart.

He was currently only at the fourth level of Qi Refining Realm. Even with his considerable combat skills,

killing a level 6 (Tier 1 mid grade) Purple Spirit Tiger would normally cost him dearly, likely leaving him severely injured.

But after his Realm-Breaking Pearl devoured the corpse of the Fire Flame Serpent,

The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram had bestowed upon him a Soul Cultivation Technique!

The Yin Yang Divine Needle.

Zhang Huaijin's soul, constantly refined by The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram, was already powerful.

His own innate comprehension was also exceptional, far above the ordinary.

Cultivating a soul technique was like adding wings to a tiger, his combat power soared.

The Yin Yang Divine Needle had no fixed rank.

Zhang Huaijin could condense his soul force into this needle, allowing it to silently annihilate another's soul.

Currently, Zhang Huaijin's soul power was enough to condense three such needles!

As his cultivation rose, the number of needles would only increase.

Perhaps one day, he could condense an entire stream of them, flowing like the celestial river, cascading down to extinguish the souls of hundreds of thousands.

The most important thing was that once a Yin Yang Divine Needle was condensed, it would never disappear.

And The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram would constantly temper it.

In other words, the power of these needles would always keep pace with Zhang Huaijin's own soul force.

Right now, his soul force could match that of a level 8 Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Therefore, the Yin Yang Divine Needle could unleash the power of a level 8 cultivator.

And once it entered an opponent's spiritual sea, the seat of their soul, their own soul would be powerless to stop it.

The power of Primordial Tai Chi could twist anything.

If a low tier cultivator's soul shattered, their body became nothing more than an empty shell.

The Purple Spirit Tiger, though powerful, had a weak soul. That was why Zhang Huaijin had killed it with a single blow.

He had simply annihilated its soul.

The Yin Yang Divine Needle originated from the same source as The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram. And with Zhang Huaijin's comprehension, he grasped it instantly, condensing his very first needle!

The Purple Spirit Tiger became its first victim.

After restoring his spiritual energy, Zhang Huaijin found the entire Heavenly Yang Mountain calm and peaceful.

He let out a sigh of relief.

In front of his simple hut, Zhang Huaijin worked quickly, expertly dismantling the tiger's corpse.

"Fangs, tail, claws, and bones..."

"The bones could be used to make medicinal wine... I think I'll keep them."

Zhang Huaijin finished dismantling the tiger. He kept the useful materials for himself, along with about thirty pounds of the meat.

As for the remaining flesh and blood, he did the same as before, he let The Realm-Breaking Pearl devour it.

Moments later, the black and white energy within The Realm-Breaking Pearl visibly increased.

A satisfied smile spread across Zhang Huaijin's face.