Chapter 122: Chapter 119: Breakthrough

Li Heshan and his group left in a hurry.

At the courtyard gate, Shen Yuan watched them disappear, his gaze somber.

“What is Ah Die thinking about?”

Shen Wenxing spoke up.

Shen Yuan’s expression was gloomy: “Thinking about what Li Heshan just said.”

Shen Wenxing was puzzled.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Yuan said: “Initially, we all thought that the disciples of Cliff Mountain Courtyard made a move to provoke Wen’an and avenge that Liu Hong.”

“But Li Heshan just said that this person isn’t that close to Liu Hong.”

“Then why did he risk making a move?”

Shen Wenxing frowned deeply.

This issue hadn’t crossed his mind before; now that his father mentioned it, he immediately realized something was amiss.

“If not to stick up for Liu Hong, what would make this person sneak into our home at midnight?” Shen Wenxing muttered, “Could it be because of something in our family?”

Shen Yuan shook his head slightly.

Currently, the Shen Family’s greatest secrets are only two.

One is the copper pot that can condense Spiritual Liquid, and the other is the White Jade Turtle Shell within his Sea of Consciousness.

But these two items, only a few in their family know about the copper pot, and the White Jade Turtle Shell is known solely by himself.

The disciples of Qiyun Valley couldn’t possibly be here for these two items.

But apart from these two, what else does the Shen Family have that would attract a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer cultivator’s attention?

The father and son thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out.

“Let’s go back and wait for Qiyun Valley to finish their inquiry; perhaps we’ll then have an answer.”

With hands behind his back, Shen Yuan walked towards the courtyard.

Shen Wenxing tilted his head and thought for a long while, always feeling like he had overlooked something, but he couldn’t grasp it for the moment, so he closed the gate in resignation.

Early the next morning, Shen Yuan rose early.

In the courtyard, three little fellows were already waiting respectfully outside his door.

As soon as he opened the door, the three brothers Shen Chongming rushed over.

“Grandpa!”

Shen Yuan laughed as he patted their heads, nodding in satisfaction: “The plan of the day lies in the morning; you all have done well today.”

“Come, Grandpa will take you to the Martial Arts Hall.”

The grandfather and grandsons left the residence, heading towards the Martial Arts Hall.

At the Martial Arts Arena, Huang Qi and Huang Lin had already completed their Pile Skill training and were quietly waiting for the disciples to arrive.

“Uncle Yuan.”

Seeing Shen Yuan, the two hurriedly came up to greet him with cupped fists.

With his hands behind his back, Shen Yuan nodded slightly and smiled:

“Are you accustomed to this place?”

The two exchanged glances, both with smiles on their faces.

“The mountains are beautiful, and the water is clear, very nice.”

“Uncle Yuan, there’s something I’d like to consult you about.”

The eldest, Huang Qi, cupped his hands as he opened his mouth to speak.

Shen Yuan looked at him and nodded slightly.

Huang Qi continued: “While training today, nephew felt many strange energies around, but when trying to carefully sense them, I couldn’t grasp them… Do you know what this means?”

In their eyes, Shen Yuan was an Innate Martial Artist, a senior, who should be able to provide some guidance.

Hearing Huang Qi’s words, Shen Yuan was somewhat surprised.

“Did your father give you any elixirs?”

The two brothers exchanged a glance, then Huang Qi awkwardly said: “The five elixirs Uncle Yuan gave to Father, he kept one, leaving the other four… we took two each.”

Shen Yuan nodded in realization: “No wonder.”

“What you mentioned is called the Qi Sensing Realm.”

“Martial Dao’s postnatal breakthrough to innate requires understanding and refining the power of Heaven and Earth, which is what cultivators call ’Spiritual Qi’. When you can sense the presence of Spiritual Qi, you’ll soon have a breakthrough.”

Upon hearing this, Huang Qi was initially stunned, then full of joy.

“Congratulations, big brother!”

Beside him, Huang Lin also repeatedly cupped his hands.

The four Qi Nourishing Pills were taken by the two brothers, two each. After consuming two, the elder brother had entered this so-called “Qi Sensing Realm” and was about to break through to Innate.

Though he also took two, Huang Lin didn’t sense the presence of Spiritual Qi, leaving him a bit disheartened.

He knew that his talent fell short of his brother’s.

Still, he was happy that his brother could break through at this age.

“Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Yuan.”

Suppressing his inner joy, Huang Qi slightly bowed, then crouched down to face the three young ones.

“Chongming, come here.”

Shen Chongming ran over, snuggling into Huang Qi’s arms, asking expectantly, “Uncle, will you teach me weaponry today?”

Huang Qi lifted him up with a pinch on his cheek, “If you want to learn, Uncle will teach you.”

“Tell Uncle, what weapon do you want to learn?”

The little guy tilted his head, pondering for a long time, seemingly unsure of his preferences.

“Chongming, learn the spear with Uncle Lin.”

Huang Lin laughed, “Spear arts are bold and vigorous, truly manly!”

Shen Chongming pondered and immediately shook his head: “I don’t want to learn the spear.”

“Then how about the sword?” Huang Qi suggested, “In the future, become a Sword Cultivator like your Third Uncle?”

Shen Chongming shook his head again, casting his gaze towards the weapon rack in the Martial Arts Arena, struggling to get down from Huang Qi’s embrace, and ran over.

Behind him, Huang Qi and Huang Lin exchanged glances, both looking at Shen Yuan.

With hands behind his back, Shen Yuan smiled and said: “Let him be. The rascal should practice whatever he likes.”

Under the gaze of the three, Shen Chongming picked among the eighteen types of weapons on the rack, finally choosing a Rhino Horn Bow.

“Hmm?”

Shen Yuan was somewhat surprised at this.

Huang Qi was also taken aback: “Is this kid planning to learn the bow?”

Though martial artists’ weapons vary widely, the most common are still swords, spears, and the like, with bo staffs and whips being more usual.

Those skilled in archery exist, but most treat it as a secondary skill; it’s rare to see someone specializing in such a weapon.

While the three were surprised, Shen Chongming excitedly ran over with the Rhino Horn Bow in hand.

“I choose this!”

Shen Yuan came forward, patted his head, and said, “Tell Grandpa, why choose the bow and arrow?”

Shen Chongming thought for a moment and said, “With knives and spears, you have to fight face-to-face, but not with a bow and arrow.”

“I can hide very far away, shoot at the opponent, and if I miss, I can run.”

“When they’re not paying attention, shoot again, until they’re dead.”

This answer made Shen Yuan and the Huang Brothers somewhat surprised.

Beside them, Shen Chongxuan listened and did not hide the disdain on his face, snorting lightly, “Big brother is too cunning.”

Shen Chonghong also nodded in agreement, obviously thinking this idea was somewhat shameless.

Huang Qi crouched down with a smile and said:

“Good boy, it’d be a headache to be your enemy.”

Shen Chongming nonchalantly replied, “A headache is good; this way, they’ll fear being my enemies, saving trouble.”

Shen Yuan nodded with a smile.

He didn’t think his grandson’s idea was a problem.

In a world where the strong prey on the weak, surviving is the most important.

Fighting head-on is mere bravado, at best called brave, at worst, stupid.

“Uncle Yuan…”

Huang Lin looked at Shen Yuan.

He practiced with a spear, straightforward by nature, and worried whether Shen Chongming’s idea might go astray.

After all, for a cultivator, reputation is also important.

Shen Yuan shook his head slightly and said, “Don’t worry about it, let him practice what he likes.”

Huang Lin nodded and didn’t say more.

“Alright, you three follow your uncle and learn well, I’m going back.”

Leaving the three youngsters in the care of the Huang Brothers, Shen Yuan headed towards the Black Water Pavilion with his hands behind his back.

His cultivation had stalled at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer for some time, and he recently felt he was on the brink of a breakthrough, preparing to attempt to reach the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

By the Black Water Pool, Huang Qingzhou had found some craftsmen from the town.

The little girl Huang Ruoyan was directing them, making them build a nest for the Blood-Feeding Toads according to her instructions.

A few craftsmen worked together to chisel a large rock, and as they were about to move it, something beneath the rock caught their attention, flashing by.

This sudden movement startled the craftsmen, causing them to back away in fear.

Curious, Huang Ruoyan approached and asked, “What’s wrong?”

A young craftsman cupped his hands and said, “Miss, there’s something alive beneath.”

Curious, Huang Ruoyan bent down and noticed a winding tunnel under the rock, with a distinctive scent emanating from it.

“Huh!?”

Having been around Blood Toads since childhood, she instantly recognized the scent as that of a Blood Toad.

“You all step back!”

Huang Ruoyan immediately instructed the craftsmen to move away from the area.

She then reached into a small cloth bag she carried and took out a flat, round porcelain bottle, pulling out the stopper and carefully sprinkling some light purple powder around the rock.

Next, she took out a black cloth bag, poured some light purple powder inside, carefully propped it open, and placed it at the tunnel’s entrance.

From a distance, the curious craftsmen stretched their necks to watch her.

After about fifteen minutes, the pitch-black cloth bag suddenly twitched.

With quick reflexes, Huang Ruoyan immediately grasped the bag’s opening, pulled out a string to tighten it.

Weighing the bag in her hand, she smiled faintly.

“There’s actually a wild Blood-Feeding Toad here…”

“Alright, you can continue working.”

Carrying the bag, Huang Ruoyan excitedly ran toward the Martial Arts Hall.

Halfway there, she encountered Huang Qingzhou, who was checking the progress, and immediately rushed over, “Uncle Huang, I caught a wild Blood-Feeding Toad!”

The Elder Patriarch of the Huang Clan called Huang Qingzhou “worthy nephew”—by seniority, Huang Ruoyan should call him “grandfather,” but Huang Qingzhou, not yet sixty, felt it inappropriate for such a big girl to call him “grandfather,” so he preferred she called him “uncle.”

“A wild Blood-Feeding Toad?”

Huang Qingzhou was a bit surprised to hear this.

The two found a cool place, and Huang Ruoyan carefully opened a small hole in the bag.

Inside was indeed a blood-red toad, slightly larger than an adult’s palm.

“Huh!?”

Seeing a golden line on the back of the Blood Toad, Huang Ruoyan exclaimed, “It’s a hundred-year-old one!”

“Girl, are you sure?” Huang Qingzhou asked, his face showing joy.

“Absolutely sure, it’s shed its skin once, should be around a hundred and ten years old.”

Huang Ruoyan clearly knew much about Blood Toads, able to determine the specific age with just a look.

“Uncle Huang, we need to quickly send people to search.”

“Nowadays, a hundred-year-old Blood Toad’s Exuvia costs at least three to four hundred taels.”

Huang Qingzhou nodded.

Apart from its value, a hundred-year-old Blood Toad’s Exuvia is significantly useful for the Martial Arts Hall’s disciples.

It’s something money can’t easily buy.

“Girl, take this Blood Toad back to the Martial Arts Hall, I’ll have the other disciples search for the Blood Toad’s Shedding.”

The two returned to the Martial Arts Hall excitedly, bringing disciples to search.

Despite turning the area upside down, they could not find the so-called “Blood Toad’s Shedding.”

In the Black Water Pavilion, Shen Yuan felt his spiritual power had reached the peak of Qi Cultivation Third Layer, but he couldn’t break through to the Fourth Layer.

In desperation, he picked up a porcelain bottle nearby, poured out two Qi Nourishing Pills, and swallowed them.

The medicinal power of the Qi Nourishing Pills slowly flowed through his meridians, and Shen Yuan sat cross-legged, practicing according to the Five Elements Breathing Technique.

With the help of the Qi Nourishing Pills, it wasn’t long before he broke through to the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

Feeling the substantial increase in spiritual power in his Dantian, Shen Yuan slowly opened his eyes, but his expression was somewhat heavy.

He could sense that the spiritual qi concentration in the Black Water Pavilion was enough for his breakthrough to Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

But whether it was due to issues with the Five Elements Breathing Technique or his lack of a so-called “Spirit Root,” the efficiency of absorbing and refining spiritual qi was too low.

He vaguely remembered Shi Tou saying that Li Heshan once saw him practicing the Five Elements Breathing Technique and remarked it was an incomplete Cultivation Technique.

If the Five Elements Breathing Technique is indeed the problem, then he urgently needs to obtain a complete Cultivation Technique.

Otherwise, without the subsequent Fetal Breathing Technique, his practice would waste a lot of time.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep