Dúgū Xìn's footsteps were hurried as he entered his own courtyard. Since marrying Jiāluó, he had given up his previous residence and now lived with Mù Jiāluó and Elder Mu in the Mu family courtyard. The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Dúgū Xìn's heart tightened.
Inside the house, Elder Mu lay weakly on the bed, a large, shocking expanse of bloodstains on his chest, looking particularly grim against the plain white clothes. Mù Jiāluó sat by the bedside, her face as pale as paper, her trembling hands gently wiping away the bloodstains for Elder Mu. "Jiāluó, I'm back.
What on earth happened?" Dúgū Xìn asked urgently, his voice full of anxiety and concern. Mù Jiāluó looked up at the sound, her eyes filled with tears, and said with a cry, "Ā Xìn, you're finally back.
We've been bullied!" Dúgū Xìn quickly walked to the bedside, his expression grave, and asked, "How is Elder's injury?" After speaking, he closed his eyes and carefully probed Elder Mu's entire body with his spiritual sense.
After a thorough examination, he discovered that Elder Mu had only suffered a heavy blow to the chest. Although the injury looked terrifying, it was not life-threatening, and only his meridians were blocked by the impact. Dúgū Xìn then sat by the bed and took Elder Mu's wrist firmly in his hand.
Gentle spiritual energy flowed from his palm, slowly injecting into Elder Mu's meridians, heading towards the chest to unblock them. The spiritual energy circled the chest, striving to clear the blocked meridians. Before long, Elder Mu suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of pus and blood, then slowly opened his eyes.
"Ā Xìn, I feel much better now. You're finally back, I'm fine. Let this matter pass, don't think too much about it, sigh..."
Elder Mu said weakly. "What exactly happened? Jiāluó."
Dúgū Xìn turned to his wife, his eyes full of inquiry. Mù Jiāluó calmed herself and slowly said, "Today, while we were collecting herbs in the market, we accidentally found the main ingredient for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill. We thought it was a rare opportunity, but we didn't expect..."
As Mù Jiāluó recounted, the whole story gradually became clear. It turned out that their encounter in the market had led them to run into bullies who preyed on the weak. Normally, fighting was strictly forbidden in the market.
The patrol team within the city was not for show, and moreover, this was a border town, constantly watched by the Cultivation Alliance. Such a thing should not have happened. However, human hearts are unfathomable, and they were ultimately plotted against.
It turned out that after Elder Mu bought the main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill, he was targeted by a rogue cultivator. This person was named Wáng Wúlì, and he lived two streets away from them. His son, Wáng Xiǎowú, was already at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation and was waiting to break through to the next stage, also looking for Foundation Establishment Spiritual Medicine everywhere.
In order to seize the herb, Wáng Wúlì saw that Elder Mu was only at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation and guessed that they needed a Foundation Establishment Pill. Thus, he hatched a wicked plan and tricked Elder Mu and his daughter, saying that they had a Foundation Establishment Pill and could sell it to them for spirit stones. When Elder Mu and Mù Jiāluó, full of joy, followed Wáng Wúlì into their courtyard, they were instantly subdued.
Wáng Wúlì and his son immediately moved to snatch Elder Mu's storage bag. Wáng Wúlì was at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, and Wáng Xiǎowú was also at the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation. Elder Mu and his daughter were no match for them.
Not only were the hard-won herbs snatched away, but Elder Mu was also injured while protecting Mù Jiāluó. Fortunately, it was within the city. No matter how bold Wáng Wúlì and his son were, they only dared to injure, not kill.
Afterward, Mù Jiāluó wanted to report to the patrol team, but she had no evidence, and Elder Mu was injured and unconscious. Helpless, she had to take her father home first. As soon as they got home, Dúgū Xìn returned.
Upon hearing this, Dúgū Xìn was furious, his anger boiling, and he roared, "This is too much! I'm going to settle this with them!" He was about to rush out.
Seeing this, Mù Jiāluó quickly stepped forward to stop him, crying, "Their cultivation is higher than ours. Don't go. You'll only get hurt for nothing."
At this time, she hadn't realized that Dúgū Xìn had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. After all, Dúgū Xìn was only at the Eighth Level of Qi Condensation when he left, and less than two months had passed since then. Just then, Elder Mu noticed the faint aura emanating from Dúgū Xìn and asked in surprise, "Ā Xìn, you've broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage?"
Mù Jiāluó finally realized and looked at Dúgū Xìn with surprise and joy. "Yes, I encountered a great opportunity outside the city. I've returned this time to take you both there with me," Dúgū Xìn nodded slightly, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.
"That would be wonderful! But I need to recover from my injuries first. Since we've encountered this opportunity, let's not rush to get revenge.
We can't act rashly within the city. If the Zhang family seals their doors, we can't do anything to them," Elder Mu said after a moment of thought. Dúgū Xìn thought this made perfect sense.
Within the city, harming someone in secret might go unnoticed. But if they wanted to openly break into someone's home for revenge, they would easily be discovered by the patrol team. Afterward, Dúgū Xìn and Mù Jiāluó got together again to carefully examine Elder Mu's injuries.
After a diagnosis, they found that Elder Mu's injuries would require at least a month before he could get out of bed and walk. In this case, they would have to wait for Elder Mu to recover before going to the secret cave containing the great opportunity to cultivate. Dúgū Xìn also comforted them, saying that there was abundant Essence of the Five Elements in the secret cave, and even without a Foundation Establishment Pill, they still had a great chance of breaking through their realms, so they shouldn't worry.
Mù Jiāluó sat by her grandfather's bedside, her expression focused and a little weary. With the damp cloth in her hand, she gently wiped the dried, yet still shocking bloodstains on her grandfather's chest, her movements gentle, as if afraid of hurting the old man. Her eyes were full of worry and concern.
From time to time, she would look up at Elder Mu's complexion, then reach out to check his breathing. After confirming his vital signs were stable, she would continue her task. Besides washing the bloodstains, she also had to pay attention to Elder Mu's condition at all times, ready to change the herbs, give him water and medicine, dedicating herself entirely to his care.
Dúgū Xìn stood by, watching the busy Mù Jiāluó, his heart full of helplessness and heartache. He had originally expected to reunite with Jiāluó upon his return, to reminisce about the time they were apart, and to enjoy a moment of tenderness. However, the sudden turn of events had shattered his beautiful dream.
At this moment, Elder Mu's safety was paramount. He could only suppress his inner desires and put this longing aside for now. He turned silently and walked towards his usual cultivation corner.
Although it was simple, it was full of traces of his diligent practice. After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he hadn't had the chance to calmly sort out his cultivation. Now, taking advantage of this brief respite, he sat down cross-legged, his aura gradually stabilizing.
He slowly closed his eyes, entering a state of ethereal tranquility. He carefully extended his spiritual sense, like a meticulous explorer, and began to meticulously examine his body from the inside out. The breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage had brought him comprehensive and astonishing changes.
The Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture he practiced was truly a top-tier cultivation method, its advantages becoming increasingly apparent. In terms of cultivation speed, compared to the Qi Refining stage, it was immeasurable. It was as if he had been struggling through mud and had now stepped onto a wide and smooth avenue, his path to cultivation becoming much smoother.
Even more commendable was that this cultivation method also had body-tempering effects, making his physique increasingly robust. Now, he had a certain degree of resistance even against attacks from mid-level Magic Tools; ordinary attacks could not harm him at all. And during this in-depth internal observation, he was pleasantly surprised to discover another profound hidden effect of this cultivation method—Condensing the Soul/Spirit.
Although he knew the method was extraordinary before, he never expected that after breaking through to a major realm, the effect of Condensing the Soul/Spirit would be so significant. As his spiritual sense delved deeper, he clearly felt that the range of his spiritual sense detection far surpassed that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the Qi Refining stage, his spiritual sense could only detect up to a hundred meters.
Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, ordinary cultivators' spiritual sense detection range was at most a thousand meters. However, he was only in the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and his spiritual sense detection range had already reached an astonishing two thousand meters, exceeding that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators by more than half. "Indeed, a good cultivation method makes things easier," he murmured to himself inwardly.
He recalled in his early years how he had worried about how he would specifically practice body tempering in the future, and even pondered whether he should cultivate his soul like the Demonic Soul Sect to enhance his strength. But now, it seemed these worries could be put aside for the time being. The Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture had already paved a bright path for his comprehensive improvement.
As his spiritual sense
traversed his body inside and out time and again, it finally arrived at the area of the sea of consciousness. The scene before him was greatly shocking. The hazy, floating sea of consciousness from the Qi Refining stage had been completely renewed.
Not only had the area of the sea of consciousness become wider, but the originally chaotic spiritual mist had shed its dull color, becoming crystal clear and shimmering with a charming luster. Upon closer inspection, countless twinkling light spots could be seen within, like the brilliant stars in the night sky, shining brightly. This was a clear sign of the soul's gradual evolution.
He could clearly feel his soul transforming and growing at an astonishing speed. His spiritual sense wandered aimlessly in this refreshed sea of consciousness space, and unknowingly, it arrived near the Tiangang Great Luo Pán. Suddenly, his spiritual sense detected something unusual.
The Tiangang Great Luo Pán remained in its ancient and mysterious form, but there was a new change in its central area. A light spot was pulsing rhythmically, as if issuing an urgent summons to him, attracting his attention. "Hmm, could it be..."
A strong sense of curiosity and anticipation welled up in Dúgū Xìn's heart. Almost instinctively, he slowly extended his spiritual sense into the flickering light spot. In an instant, a vast and obscure torrent of information surged into his sea of consciousness.
He tightly shut his eyes, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, as he fully endured this sudden massive flow of information. Gradually, an uncontrollable smile of joy appeared on his lips. He knew that he had obtained another Great Divine Ability, which would undoubtedly become another powerful aid on his future cultivation path.