Time flew quickly, and another month passed in this manner. Rin Tianhai had now been stationed in Qingfeng Town for two full months.
During his second round of alchemy, he consumed materials for three more batches of Fasting Pills, yielding fifty-four pills. This brought his total stock to exactly one hundred and two.
Meanwhile, he consumed one Qi Condensation Pill each month. Having already refined two, his cultivation improved greatly. He had reached the late stage of the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement and was edging ever closer to the Sixth Level. He estimated the breakthrough would come within a couple of months.
Over these two months, aside from alchemy and cultivation, he devoted himself solely to rigorous practice. He rarely left his home but was satisfied with the steady progress he achieved despite the hardship.
At the beginning of each month, Rin Tianhai patrolled within a hundred-mile radius of Qingfeng Town. Each patrol usually took two to three days.
So far, he had not encountered any Demonic Beasts—only a few Mortal Beasts, which he killed casually and brought back for the Rin Family mortals. Their eyes widened in awe when he gifted them the meat.
These Mortal Beasts, though descended from the Demon Race, had bloodlines so degenerated they could no longer evolve. Their flesh, however, retained vigorous energy. For mortals, eating it greatly enhances strength and vitality. Over time, it could toughen their bodies, ward off illness, and even extend their lifespans by nearly a decade.
In the secular world, few mortals practiced martial arts, and facing beasts alone was dangerous. The ease with which Rin Tianhai dispatched them won him admiration and deepened the Rin Family mortals' respect.
At dawn one day, the fiery sun slowly rose, bathing the Nine Provinces Continent in golden light.
Rin Tianhai appeared outside the pavilion in the town square, where many mortals knelt in reverence. Under their watchful gaze, he summoned his Green Bamboo Sword. With a leap, he mounted it and soared into the sky, flying out of town to begin his patrol.
The farmlands outside were crisscrossed with rivers, where rice seedlings stretched in lush, green rows. Many Rin Family mortals toiled there, farming in groups, chatting and laughing as they worked.
A boy of about ten years old harvested with surprising skill. The yield was excellent this year. An elder nearby, his face glowing with pride, exclaimed:
"Thank goodness our Rin Family is blessed by our immortal ancestors. With good winds and rains, we can now live in peace, with full stomachs."
The boy looked up curiously.
"Grandpa, are there really immortals in this world? Did our Rin Family truly have immortals?"
"Of course," the old man replied firmly. "Over thirty years ago, when I was a boy even younger than you, I saw one myself. That immortal flew through the air, commanded water and fire at will, and killed fierce tigers with a flick of the hand. I will never forget it for as long as I live."
The boy's eyes shone with yearning. "Then I too want to become immortal, to protect our family and Qingfeng Town."
Hearing this, his grandfather's face grew solemn. In just over two years, the Rin Family would hold its next Spirit Testing. He would make certain to send his grandson. Having raised the boy alone after his parents' early deaths, the old man's greatest hope was that his grandson might join the ranks of the immortals. If that happened, he himself could pass away without regret.
Watching the mortals laugh and labor happily in the fields, Rin Tianhai was touched by their joy.
He continued west, soaring toward the Wei Kingdom's Ziyun Mountain Range.
The range was small—spanning just over a thousand miles, less than a fifth the size of the Luoyun Mountains. Spiritual energy was sparse. The mountains, shaped like drifting clouds, gave the range its name. Within them, few Demonic Beasts roamed—mostly First Order, with rare Second Order ones that seldom left their territory.
In the vast land of Qing, small mountain ranges like this were countless. No cultivation sects claimed them. But with cultivators multiplying and outside forces pressing in, Qing would eventually face dwindling resources. That, however, was not Rin Tianhai's concern for now.
He released his Divine Sense, scanning several hundred meters ahead from above.
Suddenly, he detected magical fluctuations a few miles away—two cultivators locked in battle atop a small hill. Judging by their power, both were at least Seventh Level of Qi Refinement.
Not daring to approach, Rin Tianhai quickly retreated and concealed himself within a nearby valley. With a concealment spell, he masked his presence completely. Fleeing openly might draw their notice.
They seemed to move in his direction, causing him to frown imperceptibly.
A red-robed cultivator shouted indignantly,
"Jin Daoyou, I was the first to discover that Cave Mansion! To seize it for yourself, you dare launch a sneak attack?"
His opponent, a white-robed man exuding murderous intent, sneered coldly. Without answering, he commanded three Spirit Swords, forming a Sword Array that shot forward with terrifying speed.
Startled, the red-robed cultivator summoned a hammer-shaped Spiritual Artifact. Pouring vast Spiritual Power into it, he manifested a blazing red phantom of twin hammers, which smashed down fiercely toward the white-robed man.
A thunderous boom split the air. Flames erupted in all directions.
The white-robed cultivator was hurled backwards several yards, his robes in tatters, blood at his lips—gravely wounded.
The red-robed man fared little better: his upper garment shredded, his shoulders pierced by bloody holes. Were he not a Body Cultivator with resilient blood and Qi, he would have perished already.
Both men were shaken. Reconciliation is impossible now. They steeled themselves for a desperate fight. The lure of a Nascent Soul Master's Cave Mansion was worth staking their lives.
The white-robed cultivator, expression grim, poured essence blood onto his three Spirit Swords. Their Qi surged violently, merging into a single streak of berserk Sword Light.
"kill!"
The strike screamed forward like a falling star.
The red-robed man, unflinching, clasped both hammers. Blood seeped into his aura as he activated some Body Technique. His wounds sealed rapidly, and a mighty pressure erupted from his frame. Wielding golden hammers, he charged like an unstoppable juggernaut.
Their clash shook the heavens. Fire and debris scattered wildly, shockwaves toppling trees within a hundred yards.