Chapter 42

After Amu, Lishui, and Tieyun said their goodbyes, they headed straight for the small courtyard at the back of the mountain.

Descending from the Tianxuan flying saucer, Amu and Lishui both let out a long breath.

Reflecting on today's journey, they were still somewhat fearful. If everything hadn't been under Tieyun's control, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Two novice cultivators dealing with two high-level initial cultivators, and there was even a fixed cultivator lurking in the shadows. No matter how you looked at it, it was somewhat mythical.

"Lishui, this time I really caused you trouble!" Lishui said.

"Hehe!" Amu smiled, "What trouble? Wasn't everything quite perfect? Li Ruo entered Tianzifeng, so in the future, you will be senior and junior disciples!"

"Um!" Lishui just nodded, but there was no visible joy on his face.

"Lishui Senior, you don't seem very happy?" Amu was somewhat surprised. On the way back, he had mostly just responded to Tieyun and the others, not paying much attention to Lishui.

"Nothing! It's just that, if Li Ruo enters Beihan and becomes a successful cultivator, I will still be a novice! Ordinary people, we can't even be!" Lishui smiled bitterly.

Amu was taken aback by this. He hadn't thought about this aspect until Lishui mentioned it.

A few days ago, Lishui had planned to live an ordinary life with Li Ruo. But now that Li Ruo had entered Tianzifeng, it was like a step to the heavens. If she truly cultivated a divine root, then she and Lishui would be in different realms, how could they be ordinary people?

"Why didn't you stop Li Ruo earlier, and even encouraged her to agree?" Amu asked.

"I, Lishui, am a waste, how can I block Li Ruo's path to divinity?" Lishui shook his head slightly. Deep down, Lishui still couldn't let go of the fact that he couldn't cultivate a divine root.

"Lishui Senior, you don't need to worry too much. First, Li Ruo's path to divinity is not certain. Second, even if she becomes a successful cultivator, I don't think she is a heartless person!" Amu couldn't think of better words to comfort Lishui.

Lishui nodded and sighed slightly, "If I can ensure Li Ruo's success in cultivation, even if she treats me like a stranger, it doesn't matter."

Then Lishui said no more, walked into the house, and started preparing dinner for Amu.

Looking at Lishui's back, Amu didn't know what to say. A question suddenly popped into his mind—can Lishui really not cultivate?

He entered the house in a gloomy mood. For a moment, Amu didn't know what to say, just watching Lishui busy himself.

The night passed without a word.

The next day, Amu, as usual, continued to go to Luoyun Cliff's Heavenly Numbered Cave for cultivation.

On the way, Amu saw many Beihan Sect's initial cultivators, and these disciples looked at Amu with different eyes.

Usually, these disciples were polite to Amu, but generally just nodded or exchanged a few polite words. After all, ordinary novices and initial cultivators might not even acknowledge them, and those who could control the wind and sword were at least of the sixth or seventh level.

So what if they had flying magical treasures and could fly in the sky? It wasn't real skill.

Therefore, the politeness these disciples showed to Amu in the past was mostly due to respect for Han Qianli and Amu's potential, but it was limited.

However, today, when these people saw Amu, he could feel that besides politeness, most of them looked at him with a hint of awe.

Amu smiled, understanding the reason.

It must be that the news of him killing a ninth-level initial cultivator yesterday had spread throughout Beihan, causing another shock to the Beihan Sect.

Amu's guess was correct. After Tieyun and the others returned yesterday, the news of Amu killing a ninth-level initial cultivator alone spread.

From the four peaks and four caves, from Han Qianli to the small novices, everyone knew about it except those in closed cultivation or not in the sect.

There were doubts, surprise, and jealousy! But mostly shock.

If Amu wasn't Han Qianli's direct disciple candidate, and if he hadn't been protected in everything, and if he was indeed a novice, there would have been Beihan's self-proclaimed strong initial cultivators challenging him long ago.

A novice killing a ninth-level initial cultivator, many people wouldn't believe it even in their dreams.

Even the chief elders of the four peaks and four caves were shocked for a long time when they heard about Amu's feat. If Amu had once defeated Zhao Xian, Deng Yan, and others, it could be understood, as it wasn't a life-or-death battle. But the Yungmen Sect cultivator was trying to kill Amu, which was a world apart.

Only Han Qianli, upon hearing Tieyun's report, wasn't too surprised, just nodding slightly.

Hearing about the black light in Amu's hand, Han Qianli didn't seem surprised either, just warning Tieyun not to ask too many questions about Amu's personal matters and not to publicize them.

In short, the shock this incident brought to Beihan was no less than when Amu entered Luoyun Cliff's Heavenly Numbered Cave effortlessly.

Amu's status in the hearts of the people of Beihan was further elevated.

Speaking of Amu, he soon arrived at Luoyun Cliff and entered the Heavenly Numbered Cave.

After the battle with the ninth-level initial cultivator, although he won, Amu clearly felt his own inadequacy. Without the protection of various treasures and the divine bones he had forged for ten years, he would be nothing.

Because he couldn't even cast the most basic ice spells, fire spells, and other elemental spells. In essence, Amu was not yet a cultivator.

Therefore, Amu decided to focus on cultivation, aiming to achieve a fully formed divine root within a month, becoming a true cultivator, and then he could practice the corresponding techniques to advance further.

As usual, Amu sat cross-legged on the stone platform, practicing the Root Nourishing Technique, absorbing spiritual energy, and cultivating the divine root.

For some reason, the speed at which Amu absorbed spiritual energy today was clearly faster than usual.

When he looked inward, Amu saw that the originally pale black divine root in his dantian seemed even darker, constantly swaying, and the surging spiritual energy was continuously being absorbed by it. Then, the divine root solidified at a visible speed.

This solidification speed far exceeded the past, and Amu even saw a faint red light flowing continuously within the divine root.

What is that? Amu was secretly surprised.

According to the Root Nourishing Technique, an unformed divine root cannot retain spiritual energy, as all the spiritual energy would be converted into nourishment for the divine root.

But if that's the case, what is flowing within my divine root?

At this moment, Amu suddenly remembered the strange force that came from his dantian's divine root when he used the black vine to kill the ninth-level initial cultivator from the Yungmen Sect.

Could it be cultivation energy?

Cultivation energy is a kind of magical power that cultivators possess, which is the initial power formed by converting spiritual energy after cultivating a divine root.

Cultivation energy is also the basic power of cultivators, and with it, one can control the items of the Immortal Sect, making one a true cultivator.

But that is a power that can only gradually form after the divine root is fully formed.

Theoretically, the divine root in Amu's dantian is not yet a true divine root, so how could it have cultivation energy?

If it's not cultivation energy, then what is it?

Amu's mind moved, trying to control the red light, but no matter how he tried, the red light was completely uncontrollable, flowing on its own within the divine root.

Amu also didn't feel the strange force he had when he killed the ninth-level initial cultivator yesterday.

Could it be related to the demonic coffin? Amu thought to himself.

Since Wang Jue placed the demonic coffin in Amu's dantian, except for a few times when it automatically absorbed external power, the demonic coffin had been completely inactive.

Sometimes, Amu even felt it didn't exist. But those few times it absorbed power at critical moments helped Amu a great deal. Without the demonic coffin, Amu wouldn't have brought so much shock to the Beihan Sect.

Unfortunately, Amu knew too little about the demonic coffin. It was still a mystery to him.

Just as Amu couldn't figure out why there was red light flowing within his divine root, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes watching him from behind.

"Long time no see!" As soon as this feeling appeared, Amu instantly focused his mind, surprised that this feeling, which hadn't appeared for days, had reappeared.