Chapter 22
Ron was happy that he could escape from the pursuit of a powerful beast whose strength was at least the fifth stage of the Energy condensation realm.
Ron resumed his travelling while the evening sun cast long shadows on the ground.
After a long time, the pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky.
A veil of darkness shrouded the forest and Ron searched for a tall tree with a long and strong branch to spend the night on it for safety reasons.
He started cultivating since he decided to break through to the Energy condensation realm before the competition.
After hours of cultivation, a streak of light from the bright rising sun fell on Ron's face.
He took some water from the pearl, freshened himself and took a quick breakfast bite.
Ron continued his journey, started hunting the beasts again and later he came across a region full of big rocks.
'A rocky terrain within a dense forest full of trees? There is something fishy here' Ron thought to himself.
He checked his surroundings and found some anomaly in a certain area.
There were abnormal peculiar stones and plants in that area which appeared to be blocking something.
He pulled out some of the weeds and removed a few stones.
Ron was amazed to find a cave entrance and the stones and plants were actually blocking the entrance to that large cave.
He was planning to enter it when Grandpa Phoenix asked, "What the hell are you doing, Kiddo? Are you entering an unknown cave which might be the dwelling of a powerful beast?"
Ron said with anticipation "I read many eastern fantasy novels in my past life on the planet Earth where the main lead finds some treasure in such undiscovered caves. Maybe I am lucky like them and discover a powerful treasure or resources which can help me raise my cultivation quickly."
Upon hearing this, Grandpa Phoenix rolled his eyes "Brat, I think you need to know the difference between reality and fantasy. It is extremely rare and nearly impossible to obtain something like that in a cave. You should never read such novels."
Ron replied with greed in his eyes.
"We can take a look first and then decide. If we find it dangerous, we can run. I have heard a saying 'We should not drive away a Wealth goddess or else we shall be cursed.' Heheheheeee….. "
Grandpa Phoenix rolled his eyes.
Ron slowly entered the cave and he saw a passage going further deep.
He travelled through the passage but the visibility was decreasing as travelled deeper and deeper.
Finally, he could not see anything around him as it was too dark. But he decided to move forward.
At last, Ron could see some light and he entered an area with a pond at the centre and the ceiling of the cave was full of stalactites as pure as jade.
He could see water drops falling from the stalactites onto the pond.
Ron moved towards the ponds to look at it.
He took a sip from the pond and felt refreshed and calm.
He wondered why the water had such an effect and decided to ask Phoenix when he heard Grandpa Phoenix speak.
"This is not ordinary water. This pond is filled with Jade Earth pure milk and it helps the drinker feel fresh, calm and peaceful."
Ron was amazed at his luck and shouted happily.
"Hahahaaaa... Grandpa Phoenix did I not tell you that we can find treasures in such newly discovered caves. The authors of those eastern fantasy novels must be great wise seers with insight."
Grandpa Phoenix knew that Ron was going to express his happiness more and did not interfere and allowed him to continue speaking.
"I am so lucky. Now I can quickly cultivate and improve cultivation. May be I should thank the Goddesses of wealth and luck and I think they might be charmed by my handsome looks. Wait, why am I being so narcissistic? It must be due to the influence and presence of grandpa Phoenix within me. "
Grandpa Phoenix sneered and said "It is your own hidden characteristics and has nothing to do with my presence within your body. So, don't blame me."
"By the way it good to be imaginative but not good to be a day-dreamer, so stop day dreaming. Jade Earth pure milk might be special but it is not a treasure which can improve cultivation."
"It is useful for cultivators at the body tempering realm and helps them feel calm and fresh. But it is no use for the cultivators with cultivation above body tempering."
Phoenix laughed " I told you those fantasy stories about finding treasures so easily will not happen in real life. No wonder, the surrounding area is so dry and rocky even though it is in the forest. The energy in the area surrounding the cave is absorbed to turn it into the Jade Earth pure milk."
Ron was depressed but still nodded after hearing it.
He then decided to take a bath in the pond to change his state of mind.
He dived into the water after removing his clothes and started swimming across the pond.
He saw some stalagmites at the centre below the water.
Ron did not see them when he was ashore.
He thought 'These stalagmites are at the centre of the pond blocking people from a safe smooth swim. Better, I remove them.'
He decided to break those stalagmites and started kicking and punching at them
One stalagmite after another was destroyed.
At last, he punched and broke the largest stalagmite at the centre.
As soon as he broke the largest one, a small green sphere fell from it and sank to the floor.
It had the size of a tennis ball.
Grandpa Phoenix who was watching Ron's each and every action enjoyed it as an entertainment.
But the appearance of the green sponge-like sphere made him startled in shock and scream 'Impossible!!!'
"What the hell...… How did this thing appear here?"
Ron's eyes sparkled "What?? What is that thing?"
He knew it must be special for Grandpa Phoenix to be shocked, so he dived and picked the small green sponge sphere ball.
Phoenix replied with embarrassment "Kiddo, you really are blessed by the goddess of luck. It is not something so great but still, it is a good cultivation resource for someone like you with meagre cultivation."
"The green sphere is called Jade Earth milk core and appears within the main stalagmite of Jade Earth pure milk whereas it takes around thousand years to form. But the prerequisite to form the core is that it only forms in a still and calm Jade Earth pure milk pond with no large movements or strong waves."
"The pond must be tranquil to form a core. Since there is a core formed within the centre stalagmite of this pond, then it means none entered this cave for the past thousand years."
"This core will help you to break through to the Energy condensation realm with ease. The Jade Earth pure milk core helps to ease a breakthrough in cultivation."
Ron was overjoyed "Hahaha... didn't I tell you such lucky situations occur. It is good that I read those novels back then on earth. I really need to thank those creative insightful authors… Hehehe…."
Grandpa Phoenix murmured something in return in a low voice but Ron couldn't hear.
Ron then started absorbing the Jade Earth pure milk core as the Devouring Phoenix martial spirit appeared behind him.
The core started shrinking as the energy within it started flowing into Ron's body. It flowed through the energy passages and finally reached his dantian.
As he absorbed more and more energy, his dantian started swelling.
Finally, he absorbed the Jade Earth pure milk core completely.
Ron's dantian was expanding and contracting as a sign of a breakthrough. Then as if his body was released from some shackles, his dantian expanded.
Ron opened his eyes and a strong surge of energy was released from his body.
He finally broke through to the first stage of the Energy condensation realm from the Exalted stage of the body tempering realm.
Not only did the Jade Earth pure milk core strengthen his heart of martial arts, he also gained insight into the essence of the Energy condensation realm.
It purified his energy and body causing his fighting strength to increase by more than twofold.
Danger and luck existed side by side, it might have been dangerous to enter an unknown cave, but the rewards he got were also astonishing.
"How long have I been cultivating?" Ron asked.
"Around ten hours" said Phoenix.
Ron nodded, then clenched his fist and applied some martial art moves to feel his new improvement and strength and adjusted his body to the new cultivation stage.
He then looked into his dantian.
He was happy to see his dantian to have expanded to ten times the earlier size with some energy liquid at the centre of the dantian.
The energy when absorbed during the Body cultivation realm is stored in the dantian in the gaseous state whereas the energy in the dantian is compressed to the liquid state in the Energy condensation realm.
The energy in liquid form is more condensed and strong.
But what shocked Ron were the runes and symbols around his dantian which gave him a holy feeling.
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Author's note:
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