Zhao Yu spoke slowly, "Xianjiao, although your mother has died, your enemies are still out there! The Gold Element Gambling House of the Cangling Sect and the Hundred Flowers Building of the Thousand Mysteries Sect are the murderers who killed your mother. You possess the one-in-ten-thousand Heavenly Spirit Root, and in the future, as long as you enter a sect and cultivate successfully, you can become a Golden Core ancestor. Then, you can take your revenge!"
The despair and numbness that had been in Li Xianjiao's eyes slowly filled with life. She got up from the bed, looked at Zhao Yu with anticipation, and said, "Uncle, can't you help me cultivate into a Golden Core ancestor?"
Zhao Yu replied candidly, "I'm currently only at the Third Level of Qi Refinement! I don't even have a Foundation Establishment Technique! If you cultivate with me, building your Foundation and forming a Golden Core might be far more difficult than if you joined a sect."
Geniuses with Heavenly Spirit Roots, once they join a sect, are likely to become True Disciples, and Golden Core ancestors will compete to take them as disciples, imparting precious manuals that directly lead to the Golden Core.
Zhao Yu, a Loose Cultivator like him, didn't even possess a Foundation Establishment Technique. Although he carried the Dao Fruit, which guaranteed immeasurable prospects as long as he lived, he was far behind a Golden Core Sect right now.
Li Xianjiao nodded silently, her spirits reviving.
Several days later, Ling Chongshan sold a Manual of the Stealth Technique to Zhao Yu for the price of five Spirit Stones.
Zhao Yu had Li Xianjiao practice this technique, and until she had mastered it, he forbade her to leave the house. He also purchased in advance two Golden Light Talismans, two Featherweight Talismans, two Armor Horse Talismans, and three Fireball Talismans.
The Golden Light Talisman is a first-tier Superior defensive Talisman. Once activated, it forms a Golden Light Cover with defensive capabilities far surpassing both the Minor Spirit Shield Technique and the Spiritual Shield Technique.
The Featherweight Talisman is a first-tier middle-grade Talisman. Once activated, it allows one to move with the lightness and agility of a swallow.
The Armor Horse Talisman is a first-tier middle-grade Talisman. Once activated, it grants the user the endurance of a swift horse, allowing one to travel a hundred miles a day without exhausting their strength.
The Fireball Talisman is a first-tier middle-grade Talisman. Once activated, it can unleash a Fireball to attack enemies, and even a Great Grandmaster of the Martial Path struck by one Fireball has only one path to death.
Although human Cultivators from the Market of the Minor Black Mountain have emerged overwhelmingly victorious in the annual beast hunting, Zhao Yu was still very cautious and prepared various battle Talismans.
A month later, the Beast Hunting Team was formed, and they began patrolling the Ten Mortal Cities, hunting Demon Beasts.
Many Demon Beasts from the Canglong Mountain range moved towards the Ten Mortal Cities to hunt, only to be killed by the Beast Hunting Team. A substantial amount of Demon Beast Meat poured into the Market of the Minor Black Mountain, causing the price of the meat to plummet.
Zhao Yu seized the opportunity to buy some Superior first-tier Demon Beast Meat for consumption, to accelerate the enhancement of his Spiritual Root attributes.
Since advancing to the Third Level of Qi Refinement, consuming a Yellow Spirit Pill could only improve his proficiency by five points. However, with massive consumption of Yellow Spirit Pills for Cultivation, he soon encountered the bottleneck of breaking through from Early Qi Refining Stage to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.
Another month passed, inside the Quiet Room.
"I've hit a bottleneck. I've refined two Yellow Spirit Pills, but I still can't break through it! Low-grade Spiritual Roots are really trash!!"
Zhao Yu shook his head slightly, took out a Barrier-Breaking Spirit Pill that cost a hundred Spirit Stones, and swallowed it in one go.
A powerful medicinal force flowed through his body and, under his guidance, converged with the Mana inside him, breaking through a meridian and directly promoting him to the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement.
"Cultivation Level: Earth Elemental Skill Fourth Level (0/100). Sixth Level of Qi Refining!"
Zhao Yu's eyes sparkled with excitement: "Finally advanced to the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement!! I've finally become a Mid-stage Qi Refining Cultivator, and I can use the Golden Light Talisman!"
The use of various talismans also required the depletion of the user's mana. Previously, as a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refinement, Zhao Yu found it especially difficult to use the Golden Light Talisman. A single talisman would deplete nearly all of his mana, leaving him without enough to continue fighting.
With a slight upward curl of his lips, Zhao Yu revealed a hint of a smile, "After advancing to the fourth level of Qi Refinement, I find drawing the Evil Warding Talisman much easier, and the refinement of Yellow Spirit Pills has also become much more proficient."
Although the market near the Canglong Mountain Range was replete with the spirit grass and spiritual medicine needed for the refinement of Yellow Spirit Pills, Zhao Yu was unable to obtain enough of these materials to start alchemy. On days when he couldn't perform alchemy, he could only draw talismans to earn money, never slacking off for a moment.
Zhao Yu left the quiet room and went to the guest room, where Li Xianjiao was already sitting and waiting for him at the dining table.
Bang! Bang!
Just then, there came an intense knocking sound from outside. Li Xianjiao swiftly concealed his presence and hid inside the room.
Zhao Yu also concealed his aura, disguising himself as a third-level Qi Refining cultivator before opening the door.
Standing outside were two cultivators of the Cangling Sect Law Enforcement Team, dressed in black and at the sixth level of Qi Refining. One tall cultivator scrutinized Zhao Yu closely and said coldly, "Are you Zhao Yu?"
Zhao Yu replied, "I am he. May I know the purpose of your visit?"
"Ling Chongshan is dead! In accordance with his will, we have brought you his inheritance and his last will!"
The tall cultivator handed over a large parcel to Zhao Yu, then, along with the other person, turned and left.
Zhao Yu returned home, opened the parcel, and found it contained only a little over a hundred low-grade spirit stones and a will.
Upon examining the will, Zhao Yu realized he wasn't the first inheritor but the fourth. The first three were Ling Chongshan's teammates, and it seemed they had fallen in battle for the inheritance to pass to him, the fourth in line.
"It looks like the bulk of the inheritance was embezzled by the Cangling Sect Law Enforcement Team. I remember Brother Ling had a superior magical instrument-grade magic sword. He definitely earned more than these few spirit stones during his time with the Beast Hunting Team!"
Zhao Yu looked at the assets in the parcel and shook his head slightly.
That the Cangling Sect was willing to return even this small amount of spirit stones was considered comparatively rule-abiding and humane. If it had been any other power, it wouldn't have been surprising if they had embezzled everything. After all, those were over a hundred spirit stones—enough to tempt many a loose cultivator into risking danger.
Nightfall.
Using Qinggong, Zhao Yu flitted onto the big tree in his small courtyard like a ghost. Utilizing the superior sensory perception of a martial path Great Grandmaster, he detected no anomalies before stealthily sneaking into Ling Chongshan's nearby home.
After a thorough search, Zhao Yu found Ling's storage room, moved a man-height vase that was placed there, and lifted a floorboard beneath the vase to reveal a box underneath.
"This is Brother Ling's true legacy!"
Zhao Yu took the box out, swiftly restored everything to its original state, and left Ling's house as silently as he arrived.
Zhao Yu returned home and opened the wooden box, which contained six mid-grade spirit stones, a secret manual titled "Gold Element Power," a dull bead the size of a longan, and a letter.
After carefully reading the letter, Zhao Yu's expression first revealed surprise, then he fell into deep thought.