Returning to the cultivation area, Qin Anwu immediately began his second round of blood, flesh, and bone tempering. He used two more types of medicinal ingredients than the first time, and the quantities were also thirty percent greater.
After exiting the cave, Qin Anwu found a nearby elevated spot to practice his basic movements. Once he completed the planned number of repetitions, he took a cold plunge, then pulled out a flask of wine and took two gulps.
He watched Qin Youshen standing on a large rock, practicing her basic sword forms. Her movements had improved significantly compared to before. Satisfied, he headed towards the array formation.
Qin Youshen had just finished her training quota for the day and was preparing to cook. Seeing him emerge, she smiled and asked, "Young Master, are you tempering your body again?"
He nodded. "Hungry?"
"A little. What are you planning, Young Master?"
"Going to the canyon to battle. You can go more often too."
"But I don't practice combat techniques."
"Just follow your heart. The goal now isn't to kill, but to fight. Use such opportunities to temper your body and hone your reflexes. Whoever fights more often will always maintain vigilance."
"Oh, this servant understands. Young Master, wait a moment. I'll grab some cured meat. We can eat while we walk."
Soon, she ran out of the cave with several pieces of cured meat, extending one to him. "Young Master, I made it. It tastes pretty good."
He took a piece and bit into it. "The taste is indeed good."
Qin Youshen giggled. "I learned in the kitchen. The master often has to travel far, so the estate keeps some dried meat and such."
He raised his wine flask and took a sip. "This environment is really suitable for cultivation. The sheer cliffs can be climbed, the first canyon offers opponents, and here, you can practice your fundamentals."
She frowned. "Young Master, there are also bad things here... No rice, flour, or other staple foods. What we brought initially, and what we bought later, are almost gone. Young Master, am I eating too much?"
He reached out and flicked her forehead. "You can be considered a cultivator now, so it's natural to eat more than before. Let's go, I'll tell you what can be used as staple foods."
He led her across the grass and up the hillside, explaining the plant species they encountered.
"This is a yam, a medicinal food and a staple. Just boil it and peel it."
"So this is a yam vine sprout? It grows like this."
"This is taro. You've eaten it before."
"Oh, oh, I've eaten a lot, but this is my first time seeing the leaves."
"This is five-star grass."
"Mm-hmm, I know this one! It's ginger grass. Oh, and there are sweet dew berries and raspberries... Young Master, there's really a lot of edible stuff here!"
"This place used to be where a certain force cultivated low-level disciples. No need to wonder why."
"Right, they had to stay here for a long time, so they needed food, or they'd starve to death."
After leading her around for a while, and after she finished her cured meat, he took her into the first canyon.
Following Qin Anwu's suggestion, she found two wild boars. She didn't use any weapons, fighting until she drove them away. She was utterly exhausted, covered in injuries, and only then did she leave.
After she left, Qin Anwu entered the second canyon, again finding beasts to fight. He returned after being utterly spent.
Upon returning, he continued to practice his basic movements. After reaching exhaustion, he ate with Qin Youshen, then went to sleep.
After getting up, he completed his planned number of basic movements. Then, he protected Qin Youshen as she finished her battle in the first canyon. He then went to the second canyon himself to fight beasts, returning after exhaustion, and then resumed his basic sword movement training.
After another hard battle in the second canyon, he felt the time was ripe for his third round of blood, flesh, and bone tempering. Without hesitation, he completed the third tempering of his blood, flesh, and bones.
After this tempering was complete, he continued his normal routine: waking up to practice basic sword movements, guiding Qin Youshen in her cultivation, then supervising Qin Youshen fighting beasts in the first canyon. After she finished, he would go to the second canyon to fight beasts. Upon returning from exhaustion, he would resume his basic sword movement training.
This continued until the fourth day, when he felt the time had come to temper his six viscera. He then performed the first tempering of his six viscera.
After the tempering, he continued to repeat his cultivation day after day, improving his realm...
Qin Anwu once again entered the Qin Residence. His actions had severed Zhang Xianmei's arm and killed Zhang Yuan, leaving Zhang Xianmei and Qin Fang feeling that becoming the Prefectural Lord was now hopeless.
Not only was there no hope, but they had also become a laughingstock.
Previously, people frequently came to visit, but now, when they went out to visit others, they couldn't even get an audience.
A few days later, Zhang Xianmei's injuries had mostly recovered (except for her severed arm, which couldn't be restored). She sat at Qin Datong's bedside, gritting her teeth, her eyes flashing with hatred. "That little beast not only severely injured us, but also cut off our foundation. We can't stay here."
Qin Datong asked, "Mother, if we don't stay here, where else can we go?"
"We didn't know before, but Zhang Yuan and their branch are doing so well in Dali Kingdom. We can definitely go find them and seek cultivation resources there. Your mother refuses to believe that they can become Qi Refining stage cultivators and we can't."
"Father and mother will definitely..."
"Don't mention that useless man! If he were a little smarter, he would have seized the Prefectural Lord position long ago. When you're the Prefectural Lord, what resources can't you obtain? Now Qin Zhuan and Dai Linglong are caught, and the Prefectural Lord can't even sit on the throne. He's completely useless."
"Mother, he's our father."
"So what if he's your father? Haven't you heard that many people, for resources, can kill their fathers, murder their mothers, and massacre their relatives? We're not going to kill him; we're just leaving, and not taking him with us. Besides, we're going to Dali Kingdom, and he's Qin Zhuan's biological younger brother. The danger of him going would be even greater."
"Mother, when are we leaving? I heard the road to Dali Kingdom is arduous and dangerous. Just the three of us might not make it there."
"Don't panic. Your younger brother, Huitong, is already in the early Qi Refining Stage. Also, I know an hidden base of Zhang Yuan's organization. As long as I say I'm his sister and want to transport his body back, they will definitely help."
"Mother, if younger brother is in the Qi Refining Stage, he might not necessarily leave with us."
"How dare he be unfilial?! You don't need to worry about any of this. Your mother will handle it herself..."
After that middle-aged man escaped from the Prefectural City's large courtyard, he hid in an unoccupied small courtyard.
Gradually, he felt something was wrong. There were many prefecture guards on the streets, investigating house by house, claiming to be apprehending Dali Kingdom spies. Although he wasn't afraid of these prefecture soldiers, he couldn't stand their sheer numbers, and there were still those ancient forces' elders in the city. So, instead of resisting, he quietly left the Prefectural City and went to a mountain.
On this mountain stood an old courtyard, isolated on the hillside.
On either side of the courtyard's main gate stood three towering pine trees, reaching into the clouds. In front was a pond, bordered by weeping willows.
He walked to the main gate and knocked on the knocker with one hand.
Soon, the gate opened a crack, and a head appeared in the gap. "Chen Qi, what happened?"
It turned out this middle-aged man was named Chen Qi.
Hearing the question, Chen Qi sighed. "Hu Se, Zhang Yuan might be in trouble."
Hu Se pulled the door open. "Come in and talk."
After letting Chen Qi in, Hu Se closed the door again.
This courtyard was their organization's contact point. Normally, there would be three to five people, but now it was an extraordinary period, and only Hu Se was keeping watch here.
After listening to Chen Qi explain his purpose, Hu Se's face turned grim. "So, you didn't even confirm Zhang Yuan's situation and just ran off on your own?"
Chen Qi nodded. "Qin Anwu could find that courtyard, and the prefecture soldiers are investigating Dali Kingdom people house by house. I think we've been exposed, so coming to inform you of the news first was the most stable approach. As for Zhang Yuan, as a mid-Qi Refining Stage cultivator, escaping should not be a problem."
Hu Se said gravely, "That Qin Anwu, everyone says he's a fool, but from what you've said, those people are the fools... Anyway, let's not talk about that. I'll contact people to find out Zhang Yuan's situation, and also to find where Qin Anwu is hiding."
Beneath the Cliff of Despair, Qin Anwu jumped out of the stone trough, grabbed clear water to rinse his body, and muttered to himself, "In these 40 days, I completed the second and third blood, flesh, and bone tempering, and also the tempering process of the six viscera, skin, membranes, tendons, and meridians. My inner qi has also been generated."
"In the Spirit Bridge Plane, this would already signify the completion of Qi Nurturing Stage cultivation. I would only need to wait for spiritual energy to enter the body to advance to the Qi Refining Stage. Otherwise, I'd be stuck in this realm for life."
"But this Immortal Emperor's pursuit isn't here, but higher, even higher than my previous life. So, I must achieve the extreme realm and reach body and spirit unity. I searched this entire secret realm, but still haven't found any magnets. Without this type of ore, the extreme realm cannot be attained."
"The girl has completed her blood, flesh, and bone tempering. Once qi essence appears, she can temper her heart. It's time to go out. I need to find information, and I need to find magnets..."