After approaching Pang Jian, she took a round white jade bead the size of a fingertip from her waist and shone it towards Pang Jian's dantian region, then said to Ning Yuanshan, "It seems, indeed, there is only a trace of Spiritual Energy."
With her words, Ning Yuanshan harrumphed coldly and relaxed his guard, retracting the sea of fire above his head back into the stone pillar.
The scorching heat engulfing Pang Jian instantly vanished without a trace.
"Don't blame me for suspecting you. There are so many hunters in Lingshan Town, and only your family lives apart, closest to the Solitude Mountain Range," Ning Yuanshan said sternly, "Recently, the mountains have been increasingly mysterious. Aside from the people from the seven major families, there may also be others with ulterior motives mixed in. We have to be cautious."
Pang Jian just uttered an "Oh."
"In my opinion, we might as well tie him up with ropes and imprison him for surveillance," He Ziren suggested with ill intent. "That way, if he does anything abnormal, we can immediately execute him."
Pang Jian's heart sank, and his gaze immediately shifted to the sinister and eerie pile of rocks, thinking that if the Ning Family really treated him this way, he would take the risk of rushing in to confront them.
"There's no need for that; his strength and realm are so low that he poses no threat to us," Ning Yao refused.
"Suit yourself," He Ziren was indifferent as well.
Since Pang Jian's level of cultivation was that low, if there were any suspicious activity, He Ziren thought killing him would be the matter of a moment.
Relieved, Pang Jian looked at the pile of rocks, now noticing that the glow of the paper fan, the copper hammer, and the bell had faded, with only the piercing howling sound persisting.
Reflecting on the earlier scene, he also sensed some kind of invisible object frantically drifting towards him.
These invisible objects he could not see were probably what Ning Yuanshan and the others referred to as the lowest rank "Beast Evils." Ning Yuanshan had come to his rescue at Ning Yao's behest and had also destroyed those "Beast Evils."
However, his feeling was that those so-called "Beast Evils" ... did not seem to want to harm him.
But rather, involuntarily, they were attracted by the "Spirit Pot" he visualized and were being gathered into his dantian Spiritual Sea.
Despite this feeling, because the "Beast Evils" had been eliminated by Ning Yuanshan, Pang Jian was unable to verify it.
As Pang Jian was lost in thought, Ning Yao, who had decided to continue granting him freedom, was also observing the anomalies in the stone pile and discussing with Ning Yuanshan and the others the reason for the appearance of "Beast Evils."
Pang Jian then secretly examined his dantian Spiritual Sea again.
The dantian Spiritual Sea is a secretly hidden microcosm within the human body. According to the "Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell," one who has not ascended to the Hollow Profound Realm and refined their Divine Sense cannot see the true scene of the dantian Spiritual Sea but can only perceive it vaguely.
After perceiving for a while, he sensed many cotton-like things mixed in his dantian Spiritual Sea.
The cotton-like foreign matter made his perception unsmooth, and it was difficult to grasp the full picture of the Spiritual Sea through sensing.
He felt like a blind man moving around in a room, constantly obstructed by the cotton-like matter, unable to touch the general contours of the "room."
But he gradually felt that whenever he absorbed a bit of Spiritual Energy, it would quickly disappear upon contact with the cotton-like matter.
When the Spiritual Energy touched the cotton-like matter, it seemed as if a faint fire melted a tiny part of the "cotton," slightly reducing the amount of these "cotton" substances.
Before long, the little Spiritual Energy he had accumulated was exhausted within his body.
"Your Spiritual Sea is filthy with impurities; there is too much dross in it. If you wish to cultivate, you need to first gather Spiritual Energy and clean out the impurities within the body. This step is like cleaning a long-sealed room, removing the dust and junk," she explained coldly with the slightly glowing white jade bead in hand, solving his puzzle.
"Only when the Spiritual Sea is clean, can you retain Spiritual Energy, and then truly become a Qi Refiner," Ning Yao continued.
As Pang Jian was at a loss, Ning Yao explained indifferently, with a hint of superiority always present, even in her seemingly decent attitude.
The bag of silver she previously discarded, the explanation she gave now, felt like an act of almsgiving to a beggar.
"Oh," said Pang Jian, matching her indifference.
Turns out the girl, along with Ning Yuanshan and He Ziren, had been secretly observing him all along and had not completely trusted him.
"Only when that time comes, will you feel the size of your own Spiritual Sea. However..." Ning Yao's lips curled into a sneer as she changed her tone, "Generally, those with a murky Spiritual Sea tend to have poor cultivation talent, and even if the Spiritual Sea becomes bright and clean, the initial size is likely to be quite small," she added coldly.
She paused for a moment and then continued in a cold voice, "The potential space for expansion in the future is also very limited."
Like Sun Bin, she had also perceived Pang Jian's ordinary aptitude for cultivation, thinking to herself it was no wonder it took him three years just to sense the existence of "Qi."
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In her heart, Pang Jian was no longer a suspect; she was completely indifferent to such a Pang Jian, so much so that she couldn't be bothered to ask how he acquired the Qi Refinement spell.
The night passed without incident.
...
The next morning, at the first light of dawn, the sky was still dim and dull.
"Thump thump!"
Sounds of beasts thundering echoed from the entrance of the canyon, and soon after, a team of riders appeared, mounted on dark grey Single-horned Rhinoceroses.
The strong Single-horned Rhinoceroses had beast skins that served as natural armor, reflecting a metallic, cold and hard luster.
"Zhou Qingchen!"
The many servants of the Ning Family exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the imposing arrival of the Single-horned Rhinoceroses.
At the forefront of the team, the most robust Single-horned Rhinoceros bore a tall man in blue clothing, who sat upright with an elegant posture.
The man had a handsome face and a noble air about him, standing half a head taller than the others behind him, making him stand out like a crane among chickens.
As he rode on the Single-horned Rhinoceros, his eyes seemed to flash with divine light. When he spotted Ning Yao, his eyes brightened even more, and he laughed heartily, "So it's Miss Ning, it's been a long time!"
Ning Yao's demeanor became more refined; she smiled modestly and nodded in greeting.
Pang Jian watched from the side, noting that her attitude toward the newcomer was significantly more polite than her attitude toward He Ziren.
The blue-clothed man glanced over He Ziren as if he didn't see him at all and then fist-greeted Ning Yuanshan, shouting, "Uncle Yuanshan!"
Ning Yuanshan returned the greeting with a warm smile and welcoming gesture, "I just knew that the Zhou Family's people should be arriving soon."
When the arrivals stopped their beasts, he took the initiative to share about the abnormality of the scattered stones and expressed their confusion and concerns.
"Old Han, go take a look up front."
Zhou Qingchen, whose name belied his burly appearance and rugged temperament, spoke to a stout man in yellow robes behind him.
"Sure thing!"
Han Duping, wearing a bright yellow robe embroidered with a Copper Coin pattern, slid off another Single-horned Rhinoceros. Only upon arriving at the pile of rocks did he take out a special compass.
He didn't rush in, but circled carefully outside the pile of rocks, scrutinizing something attentively.
Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan had been waiting for him and seemed to be aware of his capabilities; they did not offer any warnings about the dangers ahead, allowing him to cautiously survey the land while muttering under his breath.
Pang Jian also watched the man's actions with curiosity.
After a while, Han Duping returned to the group, his round face etched with seriousness.
"The scattered stones have formed a deadly array that locks in yin energy. This causes the souls of living beings who die nearby, whether human or beast, not to disperse within a certain distance and instead to be drawn into the stone pile," he reported.
Looking up at the rock walls on both sides, he continued with uncertainty, "The rocks have slid down from both sides of the mountain; they should have fallen haphazardly, but instead, they've inexplicably formed into an array that locks yin energy."
"It's truly strange: whether this array formed naturally or was deliberately created by someone."
Han Duping explained his findings, filled with doubts.
Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately began discussing, conjecturing, and imagining all sorts of possibilities.
Pang Jian's mind stirred slightly, as he couldn't help recalling his father's actions whenever they went hunting in the Solitude Mountain Range during his childhood.
Each time they passed this area, his father would always kick at the scattered stones.
He seemed not to have moved any of the larger, heavier rocks, but many of the smaller stones, which were farther away, had been kicked over by his father.
According to his father, these scattered stones blocked the path and hindered their progress.
...
```