"He was here just now," Xiuying muttered as she scanned the area around the rock formation, her brows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes darted between the crevices and shadows, searching for any trace of Xiang Yu who had seemingly vanished into thin air.
"Who was?" Meiling asked as she gracefully landed beside the girl.
"Xiang Yu," Xiuying replied, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"It's Grand Elder," Meiling corrected firmly, making sure to emphasize each syllable.
"Oki," Xiuying responded with a casual nod, though Meiling could clearly tell the correction hadn't truly registered.
Meiling released a weary sigh, reaching out to grasp Xiuying by her collar with a gentle tug.
"Give up on the Grand Elder," she instructed, her tone brooking no argument. "You and him are not compatible at all."
Xiuying's lips formed an adorable pout as she protested, "I just wanted him to teach me the disappearing technique." Her eyes still sparkled with fascination at the memory of Xiang Yu's sudden appearance and vanishing. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
"I'll teach you an even better movement technique," Meiling offered, hoping to redirect the girl's enthusiasm toward a more appropriate goal.
"No!" Xiuying protested, her hands balling into tiny fists. "Yours is not as impressive!"
Meiling paused, then a calculating expression formed on her face. She released Xiuying's collar and took a step back, assuming a more serious posture.
"Actually, I know a way for you to marry the Grand Elder," she explained, her voice dropping as if sharing a valuable secret.
Xiuying's eyes widened dramatically, her previous disappointment instantly forgotten. "Really?" she asked, hope illuminating her features.
"That's right," Meiling confirmed with a nod.
"Tell me! Tell me!" Xiuying exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement, her slippers barely touching the ground as she hopped from foot to foot.
"Actually, the Grand Elder is engaged to the Sect Master," Meiling explained. "As long as you beat her, you can have the Grand Elder."
Xiuying's enthusiasm dimmed slightly as uncertainty crept into her expression. "Isn't the Sect Master really strong?" she asked, her voice smaller now.
Meiling leaned in closer, her voice taking on an encouraging tone. "You are both geniuses of the same generation. Do you want to lose out to her?" She asked. "You'll face each other sooner or later as people of the same generation. Will you bow to her then?"
Xiuying's hesitation evaporated as determination hardened her childlike features. She shook her head firmly, her resolve visibly strengthening.
"Good," Meiling said with satisfaction. This kid could be taught after all, she thought, silently congratulating herself on her successful plan of redirecting her attention. It was better for her to focus on Li Yao than on her man.
As for her actually beating Li Yao... well, people can dream, right?
Meanwhile, inside the spirit vein, Xiang Yu suddenly felt an ominous shiver race down his spine, the sensation so sharp and unexpected that he paused mid-movement. "Why do I feel like something bad just happened?" he wondered aloud, his voice echoing softly in the cavern.
After a moment of anxious contemplation, he forced himself to calm down. Perhaps he was simply being overly cautious because Li Yao wasn't around.
He reminded himself that Meiling had decided to stay the night. Though they had initially planned to leave immediately to report their discoveries to their sect master, they chose to remain while Xiang Yu refined more qi absorption pills to help convince him. She had even provided a substantial amount of high-quality materials for the refining process.
A satisfied smile spread across Xiang Yu's face as he contemplated his good fortune. He had truly hit the jackpot. With Meiling's powerful presence, the sect should be safe for today, and he had secured valuable high-level resources in the bargain, killing two birds with one stone.
He carefully set the materials aside, deciding to refine them tomorrow morning as per his usual schedule. Now, it was time to focus on creating sixth-grade explosion talismans. A devilish smile played across his lips as he imagined the devastating power these advanced talismans would possess. Something with the potential to harm even a Nascent Soul expert had to be impressive indeed.
As he prepared his workspace, Xiang Yu suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to give the spiritual weapons to his martial aunt. The high-level weapons would significantly enhance the elders' combat capabilities in case of emergency. Better late than never, he decided, turning to retrieve the nine spiritual weapons he had crafted earlier.
His movements froze as his eyes scanned the empty space where he distinctly remembered placing the weapons.
"Hmm, that's weird," he muttered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I could've sworn they were here."
"I've been robbed"
...
"They couldn't have just grown legs and walked away, right?" Xiang Yu wondered aloud.
Crouching down, he examined the area where he'd left the spiritual weapons. Something about the ground caught his attention—it appeared unusually soft. The stone floor, normally solid, had a peculiar texture in this specific spot.
Curious, Xiang Yu pressed his palm against the surface, applying gentle pressure at first. When he encountered minimal resistance, he drove his hand directly into the soft ground with deliberate force. His fingers pierced through the earth-like substance with surprising ease, as though reaching into thick mud rather than solid stone.
His fingertips brushed against something solid beneath the surface. Wrapping his hand around the object, he pulled upward with a swift, decisive motion, pulling it out.
"What in the..." he muttered, examining his discovery with narrowed eyes.
It was a sword—or rather, half of one. The once-gleaming spiritual weapon he had crafted with painstaking precision was now reduced to a mundane fragment. He turned it over in his hands, studying the dull metal with growing confusion. The spiritual energy that had previously radiated from the blade had completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but common steel.
"It's just a regular sword now," he observed, his brow furrowing deeper. "No spiritual energy at all."
His mind raced, wondering what could've happened for it to turn out like this. Then, a memory surfaced—something he had read in the cultivation texts his martial aunt had provided when he became Grand Elder. He recalled a passage about spirit veins and their evolution.
"Spirit veins can be upgraded by consuming treasures," he murmured, the realization dawning slowly. "Is that what's happening here? Did the spirit vein actually consume the spiritual weapons to nourish itself?"
Xiang Yu extended his senses, carefully assessing the ambient qi density throughout the cavern. Indeed, the spiritual energy had increased slightly—almost imperceptibly, but definitely enhanced compared to before. It was a subtle change that most cultivators might miss entirely, but his heightened sensitivity to energy fluctuations allowed him to detect the difference.
After several minutes of contemplation, Xiang Yu reluctantly set aside this mystery. "I'll test this theory tomorrow when I craft more spiritual weapons," he decided, accepting the temporary setback without excessive frustration. The loss was annoying, but potentially beneficial in the long run if it meant improving the spirit vein.
With that issue solved, he turned his focus to the evening's primary goal—crafting sixth-grade explosion talismans. The system-granted insights had revealed several interesting new talisman blueprints beyond the standard upgrade path for existing ones.
Most were merely promising, requiring further refinement before practical application. But one design stood out from all others: the soul shock talisman.
Unlike conventional talismans that dealt physical damage, this one could directly damage a cultivator's soul. Thinking about it, it seemed reasonable. Sixth-grade talismans were supposed to be at the level of Nascent Soul cultivators so it made sense that they could attack the most important aspects of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
What truly captivated Xiang Yu, however, wasn't the talisman itself but its underlying principles. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he studied its mechanisms. "If I could reverse-engineer this design," he thought, his mind already racing with possibilities, "I might finally develop a proper soul attack technique."
This had been a goal he'd had ever since he unlocked the soul stat. He had meticulously studied every available sect technique, searching fruitlessly for soul-oriented combat methods to draw inspiration from. Now, with this talisman blueprint, he possessed a genuine foundation to build upon.
"First things first," he reminded himself, retrieving a blank talisman paper from his spatial ring. "I need to understand it completely by crafting one myself."
The crafting process was fundamentally different from his usual talisman refining process. While standard designs relied exclusively on spiritual energy, this soul-oriented talisman required something more—actual soul energy. After all, how could mere qi alone injure something as profound as a cultivator's soul?
Settling into a meditative posture, Xiang Yu held the blank talisman paper before him. He concentrated his spiritual awareness upon it, following the familiar refining process. The blueprint began etching itself onto the paper through his spiritual sea energy.
This time, however, he felt something else being drawn from within him. Turning his awareness inward toward his spiritual sea, he observed his soul infant with concern. The tiny being's expression had hardened with determination as it stretched out its hands, offering soul energy to complete the talisman.
The soul infant's face showed unmistakable strain, its luminous form dimming slightly with each passing moment. Xiang Yu hesitated momentarily, concerned for his soul's well-being. But the opportunity was too valuable to abandon midway—the knowledge gained would be worth the temporary discomfort.
After several more intense minutes, the soul infant finally reached its limit. With a tiny, silent gasp, it collapsed into unconsciousness, floating gently upon the surface of his spiritual sea. Fortunately, the energy provided had been just sufficient to complete the talisman.
Xiang Yu wiped beads of cold sweat from his forehead as he examined the finished product. This was a genuine trump card against higher-realm cultivators.
"This small thing was really expensive to make," he acknowledged, carefully storing the soul shock talisman in his spatial ring. The price had been steep, but the potential benefits were incalculable.
"I should wait for my soul to develop further before attempting another," he decided, unwilling to risk permanent damage to his infant soul for short-term gain. "Otherwise, I'd just be harming myself."
After allowing himself a brief rest to recover from the spiritual exertion, Xiang Yu returned his attention to crafting his usual talismans. Though less innovative, these would provide essential protection for the sect during Li Yao's absence.
Xiang Yu managed to craft ten sixth-grade explosion talismans before exhaustion forced him to stop. The strain of creating such high-level items drained him significantly. He thought to himself that he desperately needed his Mind level to increase soon. After taking a brief rest to recover his spiritual energy, he shifted his focus to formations.
This time, unlike before, he decided not to create another offensive formation. The sect already possessed substantial attacking power; what they truly needed was protection. He would craft a turtle shell first.
The specifications for a sixth-grade protective formation were truly staggering. According to the insights his system had granted him, such a formation could completely block attacks from a hundred peak Core Formation cultivators for an entire week. It could withstand constant assault from a peak Golden Core cultivator for a full day, and even endure ten direct strikes from a peak Nascent Soul realm expert before failing.
"These specs are absolutely insane," Xiang Yu thought, his fingers moving carefully across the formation disk. "But I suppose it's to be expected when crossing from low level to mid level."
Throughout the latter half of the afternoon, he invested every drop of his spiritual energy into crafting this single formation. The process proved far more demanding than he had anticipated. Each line required perfect execution, each energy node demanded flawless balance. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he maintained unwavering concentration despite his growing fatigue.
When he finally completed the formation, a sense of profound satisfaction washed over him. Despite the exhaustion weighing down on him, he felt a surge of accomplishment. With this additional safeguard in place, the sect's defenses had reached an unprecedented level.
He carefully stored the formation disks in his spatial ring as he departed to prepare dinner.
The evening meal unfolded pleasantly, with all five of them enjoying the food. As they neared the end of their meal, Xiang Yu withdrew a set of formation disks from his spatial ring. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"I made a new defensive array," he announced, handing the disks to his martial aunt. "Just like the rest, layer this one in with the others."
"This one is a sixth-grade defensive array. As long as a Nascent Soul expert doesn't attack, we'll be completely safe."
Elder Huang's eyes widened, genuine surprise etched across her features. Her martial nephew had improved yet again, advancing in a way that defied normal comprehension. He now casually discussed blocking Nascent Soul experts—a concept she could barely wrap her mind around. Even her seventh-grade appraisal ability could no longer properly evaluate the items he created.
"Sure, I'll set it up," she replied, excitement evident in her voice as she quickly departed. She couldn't wait to examine his creation in detail—everything her martial nephew produced provided invaluable material for her research.
Meiling sat nearby, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. "A sixth-grade formation master?" she thought incredulously. Their own sect's defensive formation was sixth-grade as well, though theirs consisted of ten layered formations working together. Even so, they had spent a considerable fortune to acquire those formations. An elder at home was really worth a thousand gold.
And his wife—the Sect Master—was also a million-year genius as well. This pair was unmistakably aiming for the skies. If their sect didn't secure an alliance soon, they might miss the opportunity when this ship finally sailed.
After they finished their meal, Xiang Yu rose to leave. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, halting his departure.
"Master?" he turned with a deliberately confused expression. Though he wasn't actually clueless about what was happening, he pretended to have no idea. "Is something wrong?"
Elder Guo's cheeks flushed slightly before he readjusted his expression, adopting the dignified demeanor befitting his position. "Disciple, this master has always looked out for you ever since you were young..."
Xiang Yu's expression twisted in disbelief. Was it really that bad? He even used his ult.
With a deep sigh of resignation, Xiang Yu reached into his spatial ring. "It's my last batch. Just take it," he said, handing Elder Guo a small bundle wrapped in cloth containing about ten pills.
He definitely had no intention of using them himself. Originally, he had planned to feed them to the spirit boar to see if it could impregnate some females and produce spiritual boar offspring. But after consideration, he'd abandoned the idea—that method would take far too long to yield results.
"Hehehe, good disciple," Elder Guo laughed with undisguised satisfaction, patting Xiang Yu's shoulder before turning to leave with his prize.
Xiang Yu watched his master depart, shaking his head slightly. Without further delay, he returned to the spirit vein to continue his cultivation regiment.
As usual, he stripped down and dove into the spirit spring. The familiar tingling sensation of spiritual energy enveloped him as he prepared himself mentally for his daily ritual of bloodline stimulation.
...
This time, Xiang Yu approached his bloodline stimulation with less anxiety than usual. After instructing his martial aunt to establish the new sixth-grade defensive formation, a measure of confidence had settled over him.
Though the formation couldn't block absolutely everyone, the eastern region's peak strength only reached the Soul Formation realm. What were the chances that a Nascent Soul cultivator—representing the second highest cultivation realm in the entire region—would specifically target their sect?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Xiang Yu stiffened. His internal monologue suddenly sounded dangerously like the kind of flag-raising statements that inevitably invited disaster. He quickly banished these thoughts from his mind, hastening to begin his bloodline stimulation ritual before his imagination could conjure more potential calamities.
As always, the moment he released control of the bloodlines, they burst into immediate conflict. Within mere seconds, the first ruptures appeared across his skin as the raging energies tore through his flesh from within. Despite his recent breakthrough to the thirteenth layer of Body Refining, the damage remained overwhelming—his internal organs began collapsing under the strain of hosting such concentrated power.
Xiang Yu hardened his expression, allowing the waves of agony to wash over him without resistance. He silently acknowledged that the pain was excruciating—like being simultaneously burned and frozen from the inside out—but he couldn't afford to stop. The power these bloodlines granted was too valuable to abandon, regardless of the torment required to strengthen them.
A strange thought flitted through his mind: was he becoming addicted to this pain? He dismissed the idea instantly as another sharp pain lanced through his chest, striking just below his heart and causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood that quickly dispersed in the spirit spring's waters.
With trembling fingers, he reached for one of his eighth-grade healing pills, placing it in his mouth. The medicinal energy surged through his meridians, targeting the critically damaged area and repairing the worst of the injury before the battling bloodlines could tear it apart again.
This brutal cycle of destruction and partial recovery continued hour after hour—skin rupturing, organs failing, bones cracking under pressure, followed by the temporary reprieve provided by healing pills. Just when Xiang Yu wondered if his supply of pills would run out before the session concluded, a familiar notification appeared before his eyes:
[Calculating Settlement]
With a thought, Xiang Yu immediately reasserted control over the bloodlines, forcing them to cease their conflict as the system began its daily accounting of his progress...
[Body Refining: 13th Layer (1000/13,000) (+1000/13,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 10th Layer (100/10,000) (+100/10,000)]
[Mind: Level 5 (1260/5000) (+60/5000)]
[Soul: Infant (450/100,000) (+50/100,000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (320/2000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (4490/1,000,000) (+30/1,000,000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (3200/10,000) (+100/10,000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Common Blood (700/2000) (+100/2000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (2390/4000) (+30/4000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 5th Grade (310/50,000) (+10/50,000)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Minor Success (100/200) (+20/200)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Intermediate (210/300) (+10/300)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Intermediate (10/300) (+10/300)]
[High-grade Ice, Wind, Light, Dark Palm: Minor Success (40/200) (+20/200)]
[Cook: 3rd Grade (190/700) (+10/700)]
[Appraiser: 5th Grade (300/500) (+100/500)]
[Talisman Maker: 6th Grade (70/400) (+50/400)]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 6th Grade (50/400) (+50/400)]
[Spirit Farmer, Medicine: 9th Grade (20/100) (+20/100)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Spirit Farmer, Medicine: 9th Grade (20/100) -> (40/100)]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 6th Grade (50/400) → 6th Grade (100/400)]
[Talisman Maker: 6th Grade (70/400) → 6th Grade (140/400)]
[Appraiser: 5th Grade (300/500) → 4th Grade (0/600)]
[Cook: 3rd Grade (190/700) → 3rd Grade (380/700)]
[High-grade Ice, Wind, Light, Dark Palm: Minor Success (40/200) → Minor Success (80/200)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Intermediate (10/300) → Intermediate (20/300)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Intermediate (210/300) → Major Success (0/400)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Minor Success (100/200) → Intermediate (0/300)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 5th Grade (310/50,000) → 5th Grade (620/50,000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (2390/4000) → Sacred (0/5000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Common Blood (700/2000) → Common Blood (1400/2000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (3200/10,000) → Level 1 (6400/10,000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (4490/1,000,000) → Level 1 (8980/1,000,000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (320/2000) → Medium (640/2000)]
[Soul: Infant (450/100,000) -> Infant (900/100,000)]
[Mind: Level 5 (1260/5000) → Level 5 (2520/5000)]
[Qi Gathering: 10th Layer (100/10,000) → 10th Layer (200/10,000)]
[Body Refining: 13th Layer (1000/13,000) → 13th Layer (2000/13,000)]