Looking at the words appearing before him, Qi Chuan's expression became increasingly relaxed.
Compared to the monotonous and tedious cultivation, he felt a lot less stressed even though he didn't spend much time on tending to spirit plants.
Each time after working, he could immerse himself in cultivation with a better mood. He wondered if it was connected with his mood, as the critical strike multiplier would also become slightly higher.
"If this keeps up, I might eventually master spirit plant skills on my own and become a true Spirit Plant Cultivator, right?"
Qi Chuan couldn't help but laugh.
However, because he didn't spend much time on this, the improvement he gained wasn't much, so he probably still wasn't a qualified Spirit Plant Cultivator yet, as his skills were still quite shallow.
He glanced at the sky; the clouds high above had gradually changed from a dark yellow to a deeper shade.
This also meant that nightfall was about to arrive.
"I wonder, when will the external turmoil stop?"
Looking at this scene, Qi Chuan muttered to himself helplessly.
Although he had been staying on this peak throughout the year, some news from outside occasionally spread within the family and then reached his ears through his second uncle.
It's said that during this period, the outside was in chaos, with some families even being wiped out completely.
Among them was the Xiao Family, a strong race with Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators!
As for this Xiao Family, it was courting death.
They dared to harbor thoughts of the secret realm within the fifty-mile forbidden zone secretly. As a result, they were discovered by the Wind Moon Sect, who decisively eliminated them.
Even the "Profound Sword True Master" didn't personally step in; instead, a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators and several warships were dispatched. Under the siege, except for those members of the Xiao Family who were outside, nearly over two hundred people, including the Xiao Family's Foundation Establishment Patriarch, were all killed.
From this, it can be seen how powerful the Wind Moon Sect is.
In hindsight, it was utterly correct for the Qi Family's patriarch to retract the force and limit the outings of family members.
Some small and declining families were also extinguished, but not by the hands of the Wind Moon Sect.
These weak families lacked the courage to covet the secrets of the forbidden zone, and the Wind Moon Sect wouldn't see them as a threat either.
According to Qi Chuan's own speculation, these weak races were probably wiped out by some strong Foundation Establishment tribes taking advantage of the chaos, aiming to swallow up the resources of the other families.
And to think a bit darker, perhaps the Qi Family might have done it too.
After all, regarding the Qi Family's Foundation Establishment Patriarch and those Qi Refining Late Stage Elders, no disciples could monitor their movements.
It's hard to say whether they might have acted secretly, which just could not be verified.
Moreover, a noteworthy point is that several Middle Stage Cultivators from the Qi Family have also disappeared, according to the family's upper echelons, they were killed by evildoers and Tribulation Cultivators while overseeing some family industries outside.
As for how it really happened, Qi Chuan had no way of knowing.
But anyhow, before the massive upheaval outside ends, Qi Chuan wouldn't venture out.
Only by honestly staying on this peak to cultivate could he protect himself this way.
"But in the past few days, my second uncle has been occupied with family duties. It's not an external task; it's a safe internal family task. These days, I'm the only one on this peak, so I must be careful."
Qi Chuan thought to himself, glancing around the entire peak.
This peak was bestowed to his second uncle by the family, whose strength was at only Qi Refining Third Layer, rather weak, and the spiritual Qi on the granted mountain wasn't considered particularly favorable; it was among the poorer in terms of spiritual Qi concentration, located at a relatively outer area of the Red Maple Valley Spirit Vein.
There was no family array covering this area.
In fact, the entire Red Maple Valley probably only has a Tier One Array covering a small area of the Main Peak, or perhaps a Tier Two Lower Grade Array?
Therefore, although the Qi Family has retracted its forces and stationed itself at Red Maple Valley, it's hard to say that unexpected situations might not arise.
Even though the Qi Family is a Foundation Establishment Strong Race, they couldn't guarantee that no one would dare to pull the tiger's whiskers.
However, after inspecting the peak, nothing unexpected appeared, even the peaks further away, as well as the few mortal towns at the outermost areas, were quite peaceful.
So Qi Chuan went back to his room and closed the door.
After running the Evergreen Technique a few times, he planned to have a good sleep. However, being at Qi Refining Second Layer, he couldn't completely forgo sleep yet, but he could rest for about two hours and regain full energy.
"Rustle…"
But just as Qi Chuan closed his eyes, preparing to sleep, suddenly, some extremely faint sounds reached his ears.
"Hmm?"
This rustling sound was much like the sound of wind rustling leaves, but if one carefully discerned, they could discover some slight differences.
This was also because Qi Chuan remained vigilant and did not let his guard down; otherwise, he might not have noticed.
"Is someone infiltrating this peak? Stealing? Or…"
Qi Chuan's eyes slightly narrowed, but he made no move.
With his eyes shut tightly, appearing as if in normal sleep, he quietly listened to the sounds outside.
He was aware of his current Qi Refining Second Layer strength. Even though he had minor success in Basic Five Elements Magic, to be honest, strength like his was not very impressive in the entire Qi Refining Realm.
If the intruder outside had strong powers, it would not end well by confronting them directly.
Moreover, aside from some spirit grass worth little Spiritual Stones, there was nothing else outside, so losing some wasn't a big deal.
Besides, the intruder might not even be interested in those spirit grasses; they might just leave after finding nothing of high value and head to other peaks.
However, even though he thought this in his heart, after waiting for a little while, Qi Chuan sensed something amiss.
"This… the opponent seems to not want to leave, and the sound, how come it sounds like…"
Pop!
Qi Chuan's eyes narrowed slightly, pulling out a Light Body Talisman from his bosom, patting it above him. Instantly, the Light Body Talisman emitted a faint glow before disappearing.
Qi Chuan felt his body become buoyant immediately.
Then, he moved, silently heading outside.
...
"Rustle…"
Above a spirit field, a giant lizard covered with dense scales stepped its claw onto the soil, only causing a relatively faint sound, blending within the sound of the wind, almost undetectable.
"Gulp…"
Its ferocious jaws casually chewed on the spirit grass in its mouth, swallowing it whole afterward, while its alert and protruding lizard eyes glanced twice in the direction of the flat house. Seeing no movement, this massive Tier One Lower Grade Lizard Demon Beast then stepped out its claw, preparing to trample another patch of spirit field.
"Drip."
However, while moving its claw, droplet after droplet of blue-green blood trickled down from its front right claw along the greenish scales, staining the ground.
On its back, below the raised sharp ridge towards the front right claw area, there was a massive and hideous tear, oozing fresh blood.
Evidently, this Tier One Lower Grade Lizard Demon Beast was wounded.
"Chi!"
Just as this lizard demon beast took a step, ready to head to the next spirit field, there came a slight swooshing sound.
Above its lizard beast head, a tiny crimson fireball, about half the size of a fist, suddenly appeared. The fireball was encircled with tiny flames flickering fiercely in the wind, silently scorching the air, plunging rapidly towards the lizard's beast head.
The sudden turn of events caused this lizard demon beast's body to stiffen abruptly, a chill rushing straight to its head.