Aside from escaping calamity at Wei Fan's house and uncovering True Master Chengshan's cunning nature, He Song found little else to reflect on as he thought back over recent events.
However, in the following days, while balancing his cultivation, He Song also took the time to learn about the situation in the outskirts of the market.
Although the outer area of the market had suffered devastation from the evil cultivators' rampage, not all the cultivators there had been killed.
Some had survived due to their low cultivation level, which made them unworthy targets. Others made it through by relying on numerous life-saving items, while some hid so well that they managed to escape detection.
In the end, a quarter of the cultivators in the outskirts survived and gradually regrouped.
From these survivors, He Song learned what had transpired in the outskirts during the evil cultivators' assault.
The events in the outskirts could be divided into three phases:
The Phase of Panic:
At first, there was widespread fear among the cultivators. Many scrambled to spend their spirit stones on life-saving items. During this period, the prices of such items in the market soared dramatically.
The Phase of Retreat:
This phase began when the Enforcement Squad engaged the evil cultivators in battle and was forced to retreat to the inner circle.
During this time, the wandering cultivators in the outskirts suffered greatly.
Some attempted to use concealment techniques like the Aura Concealment Technique, hoping to avoid detection by suppressing their spiritual aura while hiding in their homes. However, the technique only masked their aura and did not grant invisibility, leading to their swift discovery.
Their fates, needless to say, were grim.
Others tried different means to evade danger, but most were found and met similarly tragic ends.
Only a handful survived—those with the strength to fight back against the evil cultivators, those with exceptional hiding abilities, or those so low in cultivation (like those who are at the first level of Qi Refinement Realm) that the evil cultivators found them unworthy of attention.
The Phase of Rampage:
By this time, most cultivators in the outskirts had either been killed or gone into hiding. With fewer targets to loot, the evil cultivators turned their attention to the inner circle.
However, with the aid of late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators in the inner circle, the evil cultivators' assault was repelled.
Realizing that their efforts were futile, most of the evil cultivators scattered and fled, leaving behind a few who hoped to scavenge some small gains in the outskirts.
Their fate was sealed when True Master Chengshan returned, killing them all in a single strike.
Among the surviving cultivators, some powerful individuals had gained considerable wealth after this ordeal—though it was unclear how.
After hearing all of this, He Song couldn't help but take a sharp breath, feeling a deep sense of relief.
He silently thanked his decision to follow Wei Fan into the inner circle. Otherwise, with his third level of Qi Refinement Realm cultivation, he might have perished in the outskirts.
Looking at the types of cultivators who had survived in the outskirts made this clear enough:
Some had exceptional strength and managed to fend off the evil cultivators.
Others had extraordinary hiding abilities and evaded detection.
A few were so lowly (barely at the first level of Qi Refinement Realm) that even the evil cultivators didn't find them worth the effort.
As for those who were neither strong enough nor skilled at hiding, yet had cultivation levels above the first level of Qi Refinement Realm, they were the true unfortunates of this ordeal.
He Song was certain that, with his current life-preservation abilities, he would likely have been one of those unlucky ones.
"It seems that from now on, besides cultivating cautiously, I also need to focus on enhancing my life-preservation abilities," He Song resolved silently, setting a clear goal for himself. With a shake of his head, he stood up and headed toward the spirit farmlands he managed.
The five acres of spirit farmland under He Song's management were now solely his responsibility again.
The Spirit Planter who had previously helped him manage the farmlands had perished in the recent calamity.
The twenty spirit stones He Song had promised him as payment were no longer needed. The poor fellow had tended He Song's farmlands for three months without gaining anything and had ultimately lost his life in the catastrophe.
A lamentable and tragic end.
Aside from this, after returning to the outskirts of the market, He Song sent messages using Transmission Techniques to several acquaintances.
However, only Zhao Lin from the Spirit Herb Pavilion and Lin Cong, who had fled the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market long ago, responded to He Song.
The rest were unaccounted for, with no reply to He Song's flying paper cranes.
It was unclear whether these individuals were dead or trapped somewhere, unable to see He Song's messages.
He Song speculated that most of them had likely perished.
Three-fourths of the cultivators in the market's outskirts had died, leaving only one-fourth alive.
Those without strong means, with poor hiding abilities, and middling cultivation levels were almost entirely wiped out.
This disaster left the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market much emptier.
Although the Spirit Builder Pavilion quickly restored the market to its former appearance, the wandering cultivators who had perished would never return.
The market's population of cultivators could only recover gradually over time.
In the mundane world, new wandering cultivators emerged every year.
In a few years or perhaps a decade, the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market would once again bustle with activity.
Time passed like a fleeting shadow.
Three years went by in the blink of an eye.
Three years had passed since the attack by the evil cultivators and True Master Chengshan's departure from the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market.
During these three years, the market returned to its tranquil state, and He Song devoted himself to studying the Introduction to Formations Book. However, even now, he had yet to successfully arrange even the simplest Spirit Gathering Formation.
This wasn't due to a lack of talent in formations setting.
On the contrary, He Song had developed a deep understanding of how to arrange the Spirit Gathering Formation.
Now, he had begun practicing engraving Formation patterns onto spirit stones, a necessary step in arranging the Formation. Unfortunately, this process had consumed almost all the spirit stones he had earned over the past three years.
Engraving Formation patterns on spirit stones was a delicate and often wasteful process. When he failed, the spirit stones were damaged, causing the spiritual energy within to leak. He would then have to absorb the energy himself to avoid waste.
As a result, He Song never managed to accumulate any spirit stones.
However, thanks to frequently absorbing the leaked spiritual energy, his cultivation had quietly advanced to peak third level of Qi Refinement Realm.
Now, with just one concentrated effort, he could break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, joining the ranks of mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators like Lin Cong.
Additionally, his frequent practice had significantly improved his skill in engraving Formation patterns onto spirit stones. He believed that it wouldn't be long before he could finally arrange a Spirit Gathering Formation.
In He Song's residence in the outskirts of the Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, the meditation room was quiet and serene.
He Song sat with his eyes closed, surrounded by a dozen spirit stones.
These were the last spirit stones he had left. Now, to successfully break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, He Song spared no expense in placing them around him.
This was a technique Lin Cong and Wei Fan had taught him.
When breaking through to a new minor realm, surrounding oneself with spirit stones could slightly increase the chances of success.
While the improvement wasn't significant, it was a rare and valuable trick for enhancing one's breakthrough odds.
If not for their friendship, such a method might never have been shared with him.
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