When she was about to leave, Shi Yu looked toward the southern mountain range, still feeling a thrumming sensation in her heart.
Jiang Qihe had mentioned that there was a volcano about five hundred li to the south, and the heightened activity of fire spiritual Qi in the area was likely due to it.
But Shi Yu felt there was more to it than just that.
Cultivators placed great importance on their intuition. This inexplicable sensation piqued her interest, making her resolve to find an opportunity to visit that volcano and investigate.
However, five hundred li was a long distance, separated by layers of mountains and rivers. Getting there would be no easy task, not to mention the root cause of the recent spirit beast riot remained unknown, making the journey fraught with danger.
“I'll raise my cultivation level first before making plans to go.”
Before heading back, Shi Yu stole another glance at the defense line.
The sun was sinking in the west, casting a lingering afterglow across the horizon, as the calls of various insects began to echo with distinct clarity.
In the distance, ferocious beasts could be seen roaming deep within the mountains, seemingly driven out by some terrifying creature. Under the twilight, the distant spirit beasts roared ferociously without end, sending chills down one's spine.
Meanwhile, on the defense line, led personally by several Foundation Establishment Realm Masters from the Yuxu Sect, numerous Yuxu Sect disciples and rogue cultivators formed a solid wall.
Whenever a spirit beast charged forward, a burst of various artifacts and spells immediately erupted, forming dazzling flares of fire with thundering detonations.
Rogue cultivators had no sect guidance or family heritage, forced to figure out cultivation techniques on their own. Even if they learned spells, most were mediocre and unrefined, far inferior to the profound arts of sect disciples and clan inheritors.
Yet rogue cultivators were survivors of endless trial and blood. Reaching this level in an environment so starved of resources was no small feat. Though their spells were ordinary, they had honed them through countless life-and-death struggles into ruthless, precise strikes.
Looking over, quite a few rogue cultivators appeared thoroughly seasoned when dealing with spirit beasts.
In contrast, many Yuxu Sect disciples of the same realm were visibly green and inexperienced in combat, panicking and flustered, clearly lacking real-world tempering.
Of course, the truly elite inner disciples possessed far more experience. Selected for their innate talent and backed by sect heritage, their displayed power far surpassed that of the rogue cultivators.
It seems once my cultivation improves a bit more, I should go out to gain practical experience as soon as possible, Shi Yu thought to herself.
Venturing out into the world served to temper both one's strength and state of mind.
Her current cultivation at the second layer of the Qi Refining Realm was still a bit too low. Once she reached the mid stage of the Qi Refining Realm—that is, the fourth layer—she could try entering the mountains to gain some experience.
The Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Record in her mind was constrained by her cultivation level, so it was currently incomplete, containing only the cultivation technique for the Qi Refining Realm. Given her newly regenerated, extremely low-grade spiritual meridian, being able to reach the second layer of the Qi Refining Realm so quickly proved just how profound and extraordinary the Fate-Tapping Record was.
But...
The Fate-Tapping Record contained only a cultivation technique, completely lacking auxiliary spells or divine abilities—akin to having internal Qi skills without external martial moves in a wuxia realm. Consequently, she severely lacked ways to fight off enemies.
Relying on spirit talismans in combat was one option, but if an opponent was prepared in advance, their effectiveness would be severely limited.
External items, after all, could never bring the same peace of mind as personal strength.
“I wonder if higher cultivation will unlock spells and divine abilities from the Fate-Tapping Record later on.”
If it took too long, she would have no choice but to find a way to acquire sword techniques, movement techniques, and the like to practice on her own.
...
The rest of her journey was fairly peaceful, free from further attacks.
By the time she returned to the market, total darkness had fallen, leaving only shimmering moonlight to illuminate her path.
After bidding farewell to Jiang Qihe, Shi Yu took a leisurely few turns to ensure she wasn't being followed before returning to her small courtyard.
The newly planted White Jade Rice in the yard had grown significantly taller and was currently heading. As a light breeze passed, the green rice stalks swayed in the wind, filling her ears with the gentle rustling of leaves.
Gazing at the scene, Shi Yu felt her heart naturally grow serene.
Under the moonlight, she followed her usual routine, mixing a bit of diluted Life Spring water into a bucket to water the plot. She then fetched another bucket of well water and added a single drop of ink-black Slaughter Spring water into it.
Drawing the Slaughter Spring water, as always, exhausted nearly all her spiritual energy and forced her to endure a sharp, biting pain.
One by one, she dropped the spiritual materials into the bucket to soak—the Golden-Winged Bird Feathers and Soul Frost Jade bought at Tongyi Pavilion, as well as the Wood-Seeking Python skin bought at the defense line market.
Watching the spiritual materials hit the water with a sizzle as grayish-black mist from impurities billowed outward continuously, Shi Yu let out a yawn. She regulated her breathing for a moment, forced herself to eat a bowl of spiritual grain rice, and went to her room to sleep.
She had been traveling all day, survived an attack by a spirit beast along the way, and dealt with Chen Er's affair afterward.
Though her constitution had improved, she was still fragile compared to ordinary people, leaving her thoroughly exhausted upon her return.
...
A night passed.
As soon as Shi Yu woke up, she checked the water bucket.
After a night of soaking, the deep black water had turned completely clear. Seeing this, she wrapped her spiritual energy around another drop of Slaughter Spring water and flicked it into the bucket.
The clear water turned black once more in an instant, with intermittent wisps of impurity mist rising up—far sparser than the previous night, almost imperceptible. It was clear the spiritual materials were nearly fully refined.
Leaving it be, Shi Yu gulped down two mouthfuls of Life Spring water and sat down nearby to circulate her Qi in cultivation.
Once her spiritual energy, depleted from drawing the Slaughter Spring water, was fully restored, Shi Yu exhaled slowly and opened her eyes.
Looking back at the bucket beside her, no impurity mist rose from it at all now.
“Looks like the refining is complete.”
Looking at the slightly paler water, she extended a slender, jade-white finger, suddenly feeling an urge to dip her hand into the Slaughter Spring water to test it.
Hesitating for a moment, she ultimately decided against it.
Merely drawing a single drop of Slaughter Spring water had nearly exhausted her spiritual energy. If she actually put her hand in, her flesh would likely be burned down to the bone.
Dutifully pouring the water into another bucket, she looked at the spiritual materials—now shrunk a bit overall, yet shining with vibrant spiritual light—and nodded with satisfaction.
After being refined by the Slaughter Spring water, not only were all impurities stripped from these spiritual materials—saving her the hassle of purging impurities during forging—but their innate quality had also visibly improved.
She intended to forge a few artifacts for Chen Er first to warm up. Chen Er possessed a Wood-attribute Spiritual Meridian, so that Wood-Seeking Python skin would be perfect for making a protective soft armor.
Retrieving the Gansong Charcoal she had bought last time from the Fate-Tapping Bell, Shi Yu was about to send a burst of spiritual energy to kindle a fire when her gaze fell upon the Wood-Seeking Python skin, reminding her of the stone lump she had bought from the vendor stall.
Switching to pull out the stone lump, Shi Yu held it in her hand, turning it over to examine it several times, yet she still couldn't identify what it was or where that strange feeling it gave her came from.
Attempting to channel a stream of spiritual energy into it, Shi Yu raised an eyebrow. The spiritual energy poured in like a stone sinking into the sea, disappearing as if absorbed by something.
“Curious,” she murmured to herself, holding the stone lump and continuously fueling it with spiritual energy.
The spiritual energy seemed to enter a bottomless pit. Even after she had poured in over half of her spiritual energy, the stone lump showed no reaction whatsoever.
Shi Yu stopped feeding it energy and pulled out a curved blade to scratch at its surface. To her surprise, the stone lump was extraordinarily sturdy, leaving not the slightest scratch behind.
After a moment's thought, she looked over at the bucket of Slaughter Spring water, which, though slightly paled, was still potent, and tossed the stone lump straight into it.
Rate on N.U.
