For an entire month, Du Xinghe immersed herself in cultivation without eating or drinking.
During her breathing exercises, she would rest her mind while piecing together the suspicious aspects of the Mountain God Temple.
The spiritual energy within the Mountain God Temple differed slightly from that in the secret realm. Du Xinghe suspected it had been refined through some immortal technique, making it more purified than what was found in the secret realm. Just seven days of cultivation here could elevate a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator directly to Foundation Establishment.
The secret of Little Cloud Mountain likely lay beneath this very Mountain God Temple.
Whoever was behind this would inevitably return here.
Thus, when the Ape Demon came to see her again, Du Xinghe asked him to help her find a specific item in the township and bring it back, offering him spirit stones as payment.
…
Another ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Nourished by this place, Du Xinghe’s cultivation surged to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. However, she still needed time to consolidate and comprehend this progress, as having cultivation without substance would make her vulnerable to backlash and regression when facing setbacks.
While she enjoyed absorbing the energy, she couldn’t shake her doubts. After searching through the System mall without finding what she wanted, she immediately reported to the System: “I want to have an affair. Get me some warning items.”
System: [“Ho-host wants to have an affair?”]
“Correct. I want to have an affair and hope you can help me avoid being caught in bed by the emperor. Haven’t you read historical romance novels? How can a captivating female lead go it alone? She must inevitably have clandestine affairs with the ever-devoted general, the scheming yandere prime minister, the dashing yet infatuated martial arts hero, and the prince who covets his sister-in-law, while the rear palace might even harbor a self-deprecating fake eunuch secretly in love with the female lead.”
Du Xinghe calmly continued her meditation.
Moments later, a new product appeared in the System mall.
[Admonishment Bell]: When you don’t want to be discovered, you should hang this up rather than lament when caught red-handed: “Honey, say something!”
Recommended usage: Murder and arson, illicit dealings.
After exchanging for the Admonishment Bell, Du Xinghe hung it on a tree and resumed her meditation.
Another two days passed. In the early morning before dawn, the Admonishment Bell suddenly rang without any wind.
She had memorized the Ape Demon’s aura. Its cultivation was lower than hers, and she had easily detected its previous two approaches to the Mountain God Temple. Therefore, this had to be someone else, and their intentions were likely malicious.
Du Xinghe immediately urged the Qilin to greedily absorb more spiritual energy while it still could—
If the newcomer was a master, whether for battle or escape, she would have to rely on the Qilin. Though she had prioritized her own cultivation these days, she hadn’t forgotten to share the benefits with it. Now that the truth was about to be exposed, of course she’d tell her baby to quickly slurp up a few more mouthfuls and not let it go to waste.
…
At the same time, a cultivator was flying on his sword toward the Mountain God Temple atop Little Cloud Mountain.
To explain the origin of this Mountain God Temple, we must go back a hundred years to Yunshan Township.
The Xiang Zheng said none of Yunshan Township’s residents had cultivation aptitude, but that was because he was born later and had seen less. Over a hundred and twenty years ago, there had been a genius from Yunshan Township named Lu Youwei.
Unfortunately, what counted as genius in Yunshan Township became mediocrity in the greater Xuan Dynasty.
It took Lu Youwei a full fifty years to successfully reach Foundation Establishment.
With such aptitude, he should have essentially given up on cultivation. But Lu Youwei never surrendered. He often encouraged himself with this mantra: “Fifty years to reach Foundation Establishment is failure in cultivation terms, but Foundation Establishment immediately adds a century to your lifespan! From a health preservation perspective, that’s actually quite successful!”
At the age of fifty-six, Lu Youwei encountered his first opportunity on the path of cultivation. He discovered the corpse of a Golden Core Spirit Beast on Little Cloud Mountain. While he desired to refine it and claim it for himself, he lacked the means to do so. Staring at the beast’s remains, he felt the frustration of a skilled housewife unable to cook without rice.
Having once joined the Lizong Sect, he had considered seeking help from his sect. But he quickly dismissed the idea. “Reporting a treasure site would mean the sect takes most of it. This is my opportunity—why should I share it with others?”
Driven by greed, Lu Youwei hid the Golden Core corpse and searched far and wide until he found a formation to refine it into spiritual energy. He set up a Mountain God Temple, leveraging Little Cloud Mountain’s feng shui to aid the process. As for potential side effects during refinement, Lu Youwei paid no mind.
However, his poor aptitude, shallow cultivation, and weak resolve prevented him from truly meditating on Little Cloud Mountain without food or drink, absorbing the essence of sun and moon. Had he possessed the single-minded devotion to ignore worldly affairs and focus solely on immortality, he wouldn’t have taken fifty years just to reach Foundation Establishment.
Thus, during the beast’s refinement, Lu Youwei spent most of his time drifting between his sect and mortal markets, alternating between playing the humble subordinate and the arrogant master. As for the Lu Family… he had long abandoned them. How could he face his parents, wife, and children after boldly vowing to achieve Foundation Establishment in three years and Golden Core in ten upon leaving home? In any case, his family wouldn’t neglect his only heir.
In earlier years, Lu Youwei had set up restrictions around his cultivation site, fearing discovery. But he later removed them. Was he unaware of the need for precautions? He knew, but maintaining restrictions cost money! Spirit Talismans and formation materials required spirit stones, and his own living expenses already stretched his resources. Considering Yunshan Township’s remote poverty, he gambled on luck—and for years, it worked. Yet, just as success seemed imminent, his sect assigned him to a five-day trial in the Miao Ridge secret realm.
Upon exiting the secret realm, Lu Youwei rushed back to Little Cloud Mountain. The journey was long—even by Flying Ship, it took a month—causing further delays. But he never expected that upon glimpsing the mountain’s peak, a thunderous explosion would roar before him.
Boom!
Thick black smoke billowed upward. His heart and gall shattered with terror. Sprinting to the scene, he heard a woman’s voice: “Huh? Just a Foundation Establishment cultivator? I wouldn’t have bothered blowing it up if I’d known.”
Lu Youwei cast the Clarity Sight Technique and finally saw the woman’s slender, gaunt silhouette. “Who are you? What have you done?”
He drew his magic artifact jade disk, demanding answers. As the smoke cleared, rocks crumbled and forests lay in ruins. The original “Mountain God Temple” was blown open into a gaping hole. Du Xinghe stood atop a massive broken boulder, glanced at him, then leaped into the opening. His eyes widened, catching only the flutter of her robes whipped by the wind.
As Du Xinghe descended, the updraft stung her face. Just as she suspected, there was something hidden beneath the Mountain God Temple. Ordinary explosives couldn’t harm a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but they were more than enough to blast through a mountain.
Inside Little Cloud Mountain, a vast cavity had been hollowed out and sealed with a mountaintop cover using immortal methods. As a wood-earth Spiritual Root holder, Lu Youwei could accelerate plant growth, allowing new vegetation to quickly conceal the summit. Unless deliberately inspected, ordinary cultivators would notice nothing amiss.
Sunlight poured through the hole Du Xinghe had blasted, illuminating the scenery of the valley floor.
The long-concealed cave was like a jar sealed for years, now suddenly exposed to the sky, releasing a bizarre odor that rushed straight to the brain.
In places completely untouched by sunlight, even shade-tolerant and moisture-loving plants like mosses and ferns struggled to survive, leaving only fungi to thrive wildly.
With a sharp ring, the sword was drawn and hovered mid-air beneath Du Xinghe’s feet.
She looked up—sure enough, her pursuer had followed her down.
Lu Youwei wielded a low-grade magic artifact, the Azure Jade Wheel, shaped like a jade disc. It served both as a defensive shield and a mid-range offensive tool, making it highly practical among low-grade artifacts.
Du Xinghe did not underestimate her opponent. As she fell, she had already swallowed a Warm Passion Pill. Now, raising her sword, she charged forward.
Warmth flowed into her dantian, instantly igniting into a blaze—
In this era of great strife, killing was unavoidable. From the day one embarked on the path of cultivation, life and death became one’s own responsibility. Among cultivators of equal cultivation level, young practitioners often lost not only due to lack of combat experience but also because they lacked the resolute will to kill.
The first move of Chen Hegao’s “Unrestricted Combat Style” was to let out a loud, strange cry before a fight, alerting the brain to secrete adrenaline and instantly enter a frenzied, life-risking state.
—Feeling guilt over killing might leave inner demons, but if killed, one would have to start Qi Refining all over again in the next life.
Du Xinghe’s principle was: better to harbor inner demons than meet the King of Hell.
Lu Youwei, seeing the young female cultivator and her use of mountain-blasting mortal tactics, couldn’t help but feel contempt. As he began his hand seals, a thunderous roar grated against his ears. Sword energy shot toward him while he was still mid-air, its whistling sound echoing through the deep valley, aimed straight for his vital point!
With no room to dodge, he could only block with the Azure Jade Wheel.
A loud clang resounded, and a flash of clear light enveloped him—his protective aura was nearly pierced. As if struck by a massive wave, he tumbled through the air before the Azure Jade Wheel caught him. Still disoriented, the beautiful female cultivator was already charging at him, sword raised.
In their close combat, Lu Youwei had already discerned that this female cultivator’s cultivation was indeed not high.
A truly powerful cultivator would have annihilated him in an instant.
Though not high, it was enough to match him evenly. And when paths cross, the brave prevail—after just two strikes, fear crept into his heart, and defeat loomed.
If Du Xinghe had tried to reason with him, his fury would have driven him to fight her to the death.
But when she attacked without a word, he couldn’t help but shout:
“Stop fighting! Let’s talk this through!”