Half a day later,
In the Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber,
Shen Changchuan sat cross-legged on a large rock, weighing the White Jade Token engraved with the character for "Xiang" in his hand, his brow slightly furrowed.
Xiang.
'What does it mean?'
'Is it some kind of token?'
'And who on earth hid it in that dark cavern?'
As he carefully recalled the details of its discovery,
Shen Changchuan sank deeper into thought.
He had noticed some telling traces.
The Cyan Essence Water Grass didn't seem to have grown there naturally; rather, it had been transplanted by someone.
Someone had moved it to the depths of the cavern.
Furthermore, a small Invisibility Array had been set up outside to conceal everything within.
But it seemed that due to years of neglect,
the Array outside the cavern had failed, which ultimately attracted the Crocodile Demon...
Scenes of what must have happened played out in Shen Changchuan's mind.
Although he hadn't witnessed any of it firsthand,
his Spiritual Eye Technique, which had reached Perfection, allowed him to see more details in the surrounding traces.
By piecing together and deducing from those details,
the reality was likely not far from what he imagined.
'The traces were left about twenty years ago... Perhaps the cavern at the bottom of the river was the handiwork of the previous master of Dawan Village from twenty years back?' Shen Changchuan guessed to himself.
He couldn't help but think this way.
Twenty years ago, the previous ruler of Dawan Village had secretly murdered a member of a Shen Clan branch family. After being reported, the Shen Family dispatched someone who traveled a great distance to execute the ruler on the spot.
Dawan Village had changed hands ever since.
The age of the traces in the riverbed cavern
matched up with the time Dawan Village changed hands.
'Does this mean the Cyan Essence Water Grass was a legacy left behind by that Minor Immortal Cultivation Clan?'
'But what about this Token?'
Shen Changchuan looked at the White Jade Token in his hand again, the confusion on his face deepening.
He had a faint feeling that,
for the person who hid the treasure in the cavern back then, this Token was even more precious than the Cyan Essence Water Grass!
It was even possible that
the Cyan Essence Water Grass itself was merely a decoy for the White Jade Token!
Shen Changchuan pondered for a moment.
He gazed at the Token in his hand.
He activated his Spiritual Eye Technique.
Shen Changchuan immediately saw more unusual details.
This Token
seemed to be forged from some unknown material, not actual white jade.
Moreover,
faint wisps of Spiritual Qi in the air seemed to be gathering under the Token's influence!
It appeared to have a subtle Spirit Gathering effect on its own!
How miraculous!
However,
after observing it for a long time,
Shen Changchuan couldn't discern anything else.
'Forget it. There's no point in idle speculation here.'
'Unless I can find the people involved and question them, I'll never figure anything out from a single Token.'
After a moment,
Shen Changchuan shook his head
and put the matter out of his mind.
'Later, maybe I can ask around the village for information about the Minor Immortal Cultivation Clan that previously ruled Dawan Village. See if I can find any clues.'
'But for now, I'll let it be.'
'First, I'll focus on the Refinement of the Cyan Essence Water Grass. I shouldn't waste any more time.'
With this thought,
Shen Changchuan put the Token away safely.
He then sat cross-legged on the large rock
and began to meditate, calming his mind and adjusting his state.
Half a day later,
Shen Changchuan felt his condition had once again returned to its peak.
'It's time to consume the Cyan Essence Water Grass!'
Shen Changchuan delayed no longer.
He took out the Jade Box from his side, which held the sealed Cyan Essence Water Grass,
and opened it.
The Cyan Essence Water Grass, which resembled a body of emerald-green glass, shimmered with a hazy cyan light.
As the Jade Box opened,
a wave of spiritual energy brimming with Vitality dispersed,
making the entire Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber feel clearer and more natural.
Spirit Charm lingered in the surroundings,
and the very air grew fresh!
But at this moment,
a pang of regret flashed through Shen Changchuan's heart.
To be honest,
whether he sold this Cyan Essence Water Grass to a major Immortal Cultivation Family or refined it into an Elixir,
the benefits would have far surpassed simply consuming it directly for Refinement as he was about to do.
But he had no choice.
Without the corresponding strength, wealth beyond what one could protect would only be a source of disaster.
'It's better to secure the benefit now.'
He hesitated no longer.
Shen Changchuan swallowed the Cyan Essence Water Grass.
The moment it entered his mouth,
the Cyan Essence Water Grass seemed to melt into a cool liquid,
creating a sensation as if a force of vitality had exploded in his mouth, like a tremor in a cool spring!
Shen Changchuan swallowed it in one gulp.
Instantly,
as the liquid brimming with Vitality and Spirit Charm entered his Dantian, a vast power of Vitality radiated from his Dantian, spreading in all directions along his meridians.
An incredibly peculiar feeling welled up inside him.
At that moment, Shen Changchuan felt as if he were immersed in a warm liquid, returning to the moment of his birth, enveloped by the primordial qi of the womb!
His body and mind were cleansed, bit by bit, by a certain cooling power.
His body gradually became more transparent and pure.
His soul, too, was nourished and strengthened little by little.
Shen Changchuan was immersed in the process of refining the Medicinal Power of the Cyan Essence Water Grass.
Time flowed by silently.
In the blink of an eye, another half-month had passed.
During this half-month,
not much had changed in the outside world.
The rainy season had not yet ended.
The sky was still gloomy,
and the torrential rain, which had been falling for over a month with a constant PITTER-PATTER, showed no signs of stopping. A vast curtain of rain shrouded the entire sky, plunging the world into an extremely damp environment.
Within Dawan Village,
Han Qinhu and Han Dayong, with the help of a few spirit ginseng roots, had quickly recovered from their injuries. Their strength had even faintly improved, reaching a new level.
The funeral rites for the few villagers who had died in the battle against the Crocodile Demon were all completed.
The houses in the village destroyed during the fight
had also been rebuilt, one by one.
Other than that,
no other major events had occurred.
After the village affairs were settled,
calm quickly returned amidst the rainy season.
No more accidents happened.
The villagers stayed in their homes,
waiting for the long rainy season to pass,
just as they always did.
And yet, during this peaceful half-month,
unbeknownst to anyone,
Shen Changchuan, inside the Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber, had quietly undergone a kind of transformation.
"The Cyan Essence Water Grass... it was worth it!"
Inside the secret chamber,
Shen Changchuan opened his eyes.
A flash of light, like lightning, sparked in his pupils in the darkness, sharp as a needle and startling to the Heart Spirit!
Feeling that the Magical Power within him had surged by more than thirty percent, and that the flow of Magical Power through his meridians was significantly smoother and stronger,
Shen Changchuan's face revealed an expression of immense joy.
He had reached the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Middle Stage!
That's right.
After consuming the Cyan Essence Water Grass
and half a month of effort, his strength had improved, and he had reached the Cultivation of the Fourth Layer Middle Stage!
But that wasn't the most important part.
The most important thing was that during the Refinement of the Cyan Essence Water Grass, the extremely pure Water Vein Essence Qi and Spiritual Qi within it had worked together to cleanse Shen Changchuan's entire body!
This cleansing expanded and strengthened Shen Changchuan's meridians,
and also helped expel various impurities from his body, making it more "pure."
And this
meant that in the future, the efficiency at which Shen Changchuan cultivated, absorbed Spiritual Qi, and converted it into Magical Power would increase!
In other words,
his Cultivation Talent had improved to a certain degree!
How did Shen Changchuan know this so clearly?
Because after the Refinement of the Cyan Essence Water Grass, not only did his Cultivation Talent improve, but his Spirit and Soul were also nourished and enhanced to a certain extent!
As of now, Shen Changchuan
was already capable of performing Inner Vision with his enhanced Spiritual Power.
Through Inner Vision,
he perceived the process of change within his body!
And this was something that could only be achieved when one's Spiritual Power reached a certain level!
Under normal circumstances,
only Cultivators in the Qi Introduction Late Stage would be able to unlock the ability of Inner Vision.
But Shen Changchuan had achieved it ahead of time.
He had also clearly witnessed the process of his own body being cleansed and his talent improving.
"No wonder the Cyan Essence Water Grass is so astonishingly valuable, sought after by all the major Immortal Cultivation Families for a high price. Its effect is truly this powerful!"
"Not to mention strengthening the Spirit and Divine Sense, which will be beneficial for breaking through to the Soul Emergence Realm in the future."
"Just the improvement in Cultivation Talent alone is enough to make people flock to it!"
Feeling the much smoother flow of Qi Cultivation within his body, Shen Changchuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
He could feel that
his Cultivation efficiency had increased by at least one-fifth!
Don't be fooled; a one-fifth increase in efficiency may not seem like much.
It was like saving just one day out of five days of Cultivation progress.
But over a long period,
it would be very significant!
For example, an improvement that originally required a full year—twelve months—of hard Cultivation,
would now only take about nine and a half months.
For Shen Changchuan, this was undoubtedly a great thing!
'I never expected such a huge gain. I just don't know where this Cyan Essence Water Grass came from, or if it has anything to do with that White Jade Token...'
Thinking back to the White Jade Token he had found along with the Cyan Essence Water Grass,
Shen Changchuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
'It seems I'll have to do my best to dig up information about that Minor Immortal Cultivation Clan, the previous masters of Dawan Village.'
'I hope I can find some clues.'
A Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object like the Cyan Essence Water Grass was clearly not something that a small water vein like the Dawan River could produce.
It must have a different origin.
And that Token with the Xiang character might be related to its origin.
There might be another great fortune hidden within this mystery!
But after only a moment of thought,
Shen Changchuan dismissed the idea.
Investigating news from twenty years ago was a matter for later.
Right now, the most important thing for him was to stabilize his Cultivation Realm.
Shen Changchuan closed his eyes once more.
He continued to meditate and cultivate, circulating the Xiangshan Qi Absorption Technique,
to stabilize his newly broken-through Cultivation Realm of Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Middle Stage.
At the same time,
considering it had only been two or three months since his last breakthrough to the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer,
Shen Changchuan, worried that his Cultivation was not stable enough, took out two Spirit Stones to aid his Cultivation.
These were two of the five Spirit Stones that Shen Shiyin had compensated him with before.
Although using Spirit Stones for Cultivation was rather extravagant for Shen Changchuan, who was still dirt-poor,
he had no other choice.
Spirit Stones were ultimately just external objects.
In comparison,
it was better to stabilize his own Cultivation Realm as much as possible.
Time flew, and in a flash,
several more days passed.
Shen Changchuan's Cultivation at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Middle Stage was completely stabilized.
With that, Shen Changchuan ended his secluded and arduous Cultivation, which had lasted for over half a month.
Although the feeling of his strength increasing was wonderful,
the continuous, secluded Cultivation
had left him feeling a bit mentally exhausted.
Shen Changchuan decided to end his seclusion.
He walked out of the Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber,
ready to relax outside for a bit.
As Shen Changchuan walked out of the passage,
he looked up and saw the bright sun shining high in the sky.
The dark clouds that had shrouded the entire sky for over a month, and the incessant wind and rain that had swept across the land, had completely disappeared.
The rainy season was over.
The sky had cleared!
Shen Changchuan looked up.
Under the golden sunlight,
the Spirit Grain Seedlings in the mountain Spirit Fields began to sprout ears.
A gentle breeze blew past,
stirring up waves of green.
The pleasant chirping of birds could occasionally be heard from the mountains.
Vibrant with life, all things were flourishing.
Shen Changchuan's mood was also excellent.