After a cautious and arduous journey that consumed a good deal of his energy, Yang Che finally arrived at an ethereal canyon.
This canyon was precisely where the underground dark river from the natural Stone Cave ultimately converged.
Yang Che found the extremely hidden exit of the dark river, walked in, stepped on the moss-covered stones along the bank, and went upstream.
As he delved deeper into the earth, the light grew dim, so Yang Che focused his mind and proceeded with extreme caution.
The closer he got to the natural Stone Cave, the more uneasy he felt. This forced Yang Che to secretly remain vigilant, raising his guard to the extreme.
With the Stone Cave in sight, Yang Che did not approach rashly. He faintly smelled a very strange odor, like animal feces?
Previously, there was a ‘flower demon’ in the Stone Cave, so wild beasts dared not approach. But after the flower demon died and he left, it was possible that some wild beast had discovered and entered it. If the roots of the nine-leaf dark yang fruit were eaten or destroyed, that would be too much of a pity.
Thinking of this, a slightly anxious Yang Che clutched his Flying Fire Needles and infused them with spiritual power, quickly arriving at the Immortal Cave of the Cultivator.
Indeed, lying inside was a strange, snow-azure fox.
This fox had emerald green eyes and lustrous, snow-azure fur, but its leg seemed to be injured, with the bloodstains half-dried.
The moment its eyes met Yang Che’s, the azure fox suddenly sprang up. Though limping, it fiercely lunged at Yang Che.
A foul odor assailed him. Yang Che held his breath and, without hesitation, flung his Flying Fire Needles at the azure fox.
A look of surprise flashed in the azure fox’s eyes. It strangely twisted its body, forcefully dodging Yang Che’s Flying Fire Needles.
The Flying Fire Needles transformed into black streaks and embedded themselves in the stone wall. Yang Che’s expression involuntarily grew solemn.
That emerald-eyed azure fox could actually dodge his spiritual power-infused Flying Fire Needles, which both surprised him and made him somewhat uneasy.
The azure fox was injured, and forcefully dodging the Flying Fire Needles just now had exacerbated its injuries. Seeing several more identical Flying Needles appear in Yang Che’s hand, it grew somewhat irritated.
With a strange low growl, the azure fox’s body suddenly swelled, becoming twice its previous size. Its sharp claws glowed faintly, and it viciously lunged at Yang Che again.
Yang Che gritted his teeth and acted ruthlessly. While rapidly retreating in a curved path, he directly infused all ten-plus Flying Fire Needles with spiritual power and flung them at the azure fox’s abdomen.
With a ‘hiss,’ Yang Che was struck by the azure fox’s sharp claws, and his chest immediately became a bloody mess.
However, the azure fox was also in a bad state; its abdomen was directly pierced by over ten Flying Fire Needles, causing it to fall heavily from mid-air.
After falling, the azure fox did not stop. It leaped backward, disregarding the tearing wound on its leg and the splattering blood, and directly returned inside the Stone Cave.
The azure fox squatted in the Stone Cave, first showing disbelief in its eyes, wondering how its full-power strike failed to disembowel the young man?
Then, watching Yang Che take out a Medicinal Pill and quickly swallow it, after which the bleeding from Yang Che’s chest wound rapidly stopped, the azure fox’s eyes immediately flashed with fervent and yearning light.
After Yang Che ate the Nourishing Yuan Pill and felt his injuries recover significantly, he was also enraged.
He directly grabbed a handful of about dozens of Flying Fire Needles, infused them with spiritual power, and prepared to strike again, but the azure fox suddenly raised its front paw, making a gesture of ‘begging for mercy and surrender.’
After doing this, it quickly turned around and actually lifted the root of the nine-leaf dark yang fruit with its soil from inside the Stone Cave, seemingly intending to hand this item over to Yang Che.
Yang Che was expressionless, his gaze icy.
Seeing that Yang Che seemed unmoved, the azure fox gritted its teeth and suddenly spat out an object from its mouth. It was an oval-shaped small ball, Emerald green , covered in mucus, and he had no idea what it was.
Yang Che remained unmoved, subtly preparing to raise his hand and fling the Flying Fire Needles.
The emerald-eyed azure fox finally grew anxious. It immediately disregarded the injuries to its leg and abdomen and directly replanted the nine-leaf dark yang fruit back into the soil of the nursery.
Then, it broke open the oval-shaped small ball and poured what seemed to be some kind of liquid onto the root of the nine-leaf dark yang fruit.
Immediately, the originally withered stem of the nine-leaf dark yang fruit gradually turned green at a visible speed.
“It’s spirit liquid!”
Words described in the "Alchemy Notes" suddenly flashed in Yang Che’s mind.
Whether it be medicinal herbs or Immortal Plants, if cultivated with spirit liquid and Spiritual Soil, their growth rate would double.
A medicinal herb that originally required ten years to mature might mature early in three or five years.
It’s just that spirit liquid and Spiritual Soil are truly too scarce.
The "Alchemy Notes" stated that any Heaven and Earth spiritual object could potentially produce spirit liquid.
However, Spiritual Soil could only be possessed by large Cultivation Sects.
“This emerald-eyed azure fox is not simple.”
Yang Che thought this, slowly retracting his hand, but still clutching the Flying Fire Needles. Then, he stepped into the Stone Cave one step at a time.
Using the Meteor Box to remove the Flying Fire Needles from the azure fox’s abdomen, Yang Che said faintly, “This Stone Cave is mine. You may leave.”
However, the azure fox showed dissatisfaction in its eyes. It pointed at the root of the nine-leaf dark yang fruit, then at its leg injury and abdominal injury, and then stared intently at Yang Che’s chest, its eyes burning with desire.
Yang Che was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood the azure fox’s meaning.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Che took out a green jade bottle and poured out a Nourishing Yuan Pill to give to the azure fox.
The azure fox took it, swallowed it in one gulp, then its eyes lit up with joy. It actually bowed to Yang Che, then walked out of the Stone Cave and quickly disappeared along the underground dark river.
Yang Che glanced around the Stone Cave a few times and found that it had not been damaged.
After resting for a while, and once the injury on his chest had improved somewhat, he went out and found a large, hard-shelled fruit nearby. He hollowed it out with a long sword, then repeatedly fetched clear water from the dark river to thoroughly clean the entire Stone Cave.
Next, Yang Che carefully tidied the nursery again, digging up the soil once and then watering it thoroughly with clear water.
Having come this far, Yang Che had made up his mind to Cultivate the nine-leaf dark yang fruit according to the "Alchemy Notes" while diligently Cultivating, not stopping until he reached the third level of Qi Refining.
...
Time flew by in the mountains.
Yang Che ignored worldly affairs and focused wholeheartedly on Cultivation.
During this period, he completely stopped Cultivating the Heaven and Earth Chaos Art and instead dedicated all his time to Cultivating the Purple Origin Art.
Over a year later.
One day, Yang Che, who was Cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes.
He had been stuck at the Peak of the second Qi Refining level Bottleneck for over a month. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't Breakthrough to the third Qi Refining level, which made Yang Che very helpless.
“It seems that simply continuing to Cultivate like this has very little effect. I must find another method.” Yang Che stood up and paced back and forth in the Stone Cave.
Yang Che, now fourteen years old, had shot up another section, and his height had already caught up to that of an adult.
After much thought, unable to find a solution, a ruthless glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. Then, gritting his teeth, he sat cross-legged on the ground, poured out an Eight Treasures Pill, stared at it in his palm for a while, and then abruptly swallowed the Eight Treasures Pill.
The "Alchemy Notes" clearly stated that the Eight Treasures Pill must only be consumed after reaching the third level of Qi Refining, otherwise there would be a risk of the body exploding.
However, Yang Che was stuck at the Peak of the second Qi Refining level with no further progress. He believed he was very close to the third Qi Refining level, and taking a risk by consuming one might give him hope for a Breakthrough.
Upon entering his body, a massive surge of Spiritual Qi, like a volcano, suddenly erupted. In just an instant, many of Yang Che’s Meridians inside his body had already ruptured, a truly gruesome sight.
He quickly ate a Nourishing Yuan Pill, but he didn't expect the situation to get even worse.
At this critical juncture, Yang Che took a bold and unconventional move. He immediately activated the Heaven and Earth Chaos Art, using this massive Spiritual Qi to begin tempering his muscles and bones.