Chapter 38

Reaching back to touch the vertebrae near his spine, the originally protruding skin that remained after the wound had healed had now flattened, indicating that the high-quality tiger fang spirit essence had been refined by more than half. As for the other spirit essence bear gall, perhaps due to its lower quality compared to the tiger fang spirit essence, or perhaps because the spirit essence in the form of bile was easier to absorb, it had been refined by more than half in just three months since returning from Bai Que Mountain.

This speed was not slow at all. It was important to note that Yang Junshan had used two high-quality spirit essences to summon, and the higher the quality of the spirit essence, the more difficult it was to fully refine it, perhaps due to the more concentrated essence. However, the higher the quality of the spirit essence, the more substantial the foundation it provided for the cultivator after refinement, increasing the chances of opening a spirit aperture and advancing to the third level. Moreover, the spirit aperture would be expanded and more solid, allowing for the storage of more powerful spirit energy.

Yang Junshan had originally estimated that it would take about half a year to push his cultivation to the perfect realm of summoning spirit essences, preparing for the opening of the spirit aperture at the third level. However, at the current rate, it might take only another two months to completely refine the two spirit essences.

The reason for Yang Junshan's rapid progress was entirely due to his diligent cultivation. The reason was simple: when someone around him was so devoted to cultivation that they forgot to eat and sleep, Yang Junshan would feel guilty if he even took a breath.

Ever since obtaining the medium-quality spirit essence and the promise of land from Yang Tian, Su Baozhang had become completely obsessed with cultivation. He said he needed to cherish this hard-won opportunity, or it would be a sin to be struck by lightning!

Such words, repeated often, made Yang Junshan feel as if there was always a thunder god watching over him, fearing that a single moment of laziness would bring down a bolt of lightning from the void.

Looking at Su Baozhang, who was cultivating beside him at the spirit well, the piece of ox bile in his hand had been refined down to the size of a small fingertip, just one step away from reaching the perfect realm of summoning spirit essences.

It was important to note that compared to Su Baozhang, who only came to the spirit well every five days, Yang Junshan was always by the well. Moreover, the secret technique Yang Junshan used when advancing to the second level had the effect of shortening cultivation time. Even so, his cultivation progress was still far behind Su Baozhang's.

Stretching his body, which had become numb from long hours of cultivation, cultivation was an internal torment. Spirit energy entering the body felt like needles piercing the flesh, and when the cultivation technique was circulated, it turned into thorny balls, causing immense pain to the cultivator's body no matter how they moved.

Yang Junshan's training in the Wild Ox Fist had already reached a considerable level, and his body was much stronger than Su Baozhang's, but even so, long hours of cultivation still made him suffer greatly. It was hard to imagine the immense willpower Su Baozhang needed to persist.

He needed to change his body-strengthening technique. At the current rate of increasing physical strength, if he continued to train, the pain caused by cultivation would exceed the body's limits, hindering his progress before his cultivation could advance.

If he had a year, Yang Junshan could gradually train with the Wild Ox Fist, even if the increase in physical strength was not fast, he could accumulate it slowly.

Now, with only two months left before his spirit essences would be fully refined, using the Wild Ox Fist to strengthen his body was no longer feasible. In fact, Su Baozhang's cultivation speed was already affected. Even with his remarkable willpower, his body could not withstand the pressure of rapid cultivation, making his efforts less effective. Even if he managed to fully refine the ox bile spirit essence, the bottleneck of advancing to the third level and opening the spirit aperture would still hinder his progress.

However, changing body-strengthening techniques was not easy. Unlike cultivation techniques, which could be practiced in private, body-strengthening techniques were often visible to others. As the village head of Tuqiu Village, Yang Junshan's father had many visitors, and a sudden change in body-strengthening technique would attract attention. If Yang Junshan were to practice the high-quality Mountain Lord Diagram openly, the astonishing effects of the high-quality technique would likely draw the attention of the Heaven-Shaking Sect within three days.

Using the medium-quality Ground Lying Fist was not impossible, although it was a technique that only a prominent family in a county might possess. Yang Junshan could claim that it was taught by the Heaven-Shaking Sect's guardian, Chen Ji, which was a well-known fact. However, with the Mountain Lord Diagram in hand, why would Yang Junshan need to practice the Ground Lying Fist?

Therefore, Yang Junshan now wanted to find a secret place to practice the eight diagrams of the Mountain Lord Diagram without anyone knowing. As someone with past life experiences, he also needed a secret place to hide his secrets.

When Yang Tian mentioned that the spirit fields at the foot of West Mountain were about to mature, it reminded Yang Junshan of something from his past life, which was related to the spirit well at his home.

In fact, when Yang Tian dug the well, he discovered that the water in the well was flowing, meaning it had a source. Since the spirit energy content in the water was so rich, what must the source of this flowing water be like?

Yang Tian never told anyone about this secret and had been secretly searching for the source of the flowing water. Unfortunately, even until his family was destroyed, he never found the source.

However, Yang Tian had a rough idea of the location of the source. In fact, the reason he chose to cultivate spirit fields at the foot of West Mountain was because he suspected the source of the well's flowing water was on West Mountain.

And Yang Tian's guess was correct. In the past life, after the great change in the world, West Mountain collapsed, and a spirit spring emerged from the mountain. This spring was not far from the spirit fields at the foot of West Mountain and was soon covered by a flood. After that, with the chaos in Mengyu County, no one tried to find the spring.

If he could find this spirit spring in West Mountain, he could create a secret chamber there to cultivate without worrying about being discovered for practicing a high-quality body-strengthening technique, and he could also use the rich spirit energy from the spring to enhance his cultivation.

However, finding the source of this spring would not be easy. In his past life, he only saw the spring gushing out of the ground from a distance when West Mountain collapsed. Now, he only remembered the general location, and the source of the spring was likely underground, making it even harder to find.

Yang Junshan strolled back to the front yard and saw his younger sister, Yang Junxin, squatting on the ground watching the little tiger cub fiercely gnawing on a bone. In just three months, the little tiger cub had grown much larger, and it was now very difficult for Yang Junxin to pick it up.

Seeing Yang Junshan approach, the little tiger cub lifted its head and let out a "ao" as a greeting, then returned to gnawing on the bone.

Yang Junxin complained, "Tiger Girl has gotten so fat that I can't even pick her up. Big brother, they all say that Tiger Girl will never be tamed and will eat us when she grows up. Big brother, can we not eat her meat?"

When Yang Junxin mentioned eating the little tiger cub's meat, Tiger Girl suddenly lifted her head, and Yang Junshan clearly saw a flash of ferocity in her eyes. The demonic aura that had been dormant in her body suddenly emerged, and she then looked at Yang Junshan, as if asking for an answer.

Yang Junshan stroked the little tiger cub's head, and the cub, which had been bristling, immediately relaxed and closed its eyes in comfort. "No one will eat Tiger Girl. Don't listen to their nonsense. Tiger Girl is my sworn brother, or rather, my sworn sister!"

Tiger Girl immediately raised her head proudly, and the demonic aura retreated back into her body. However, Yang Junxin, who was not paying attention to these details, simply said, "That's great. Now, with Tiger Girl, no one plays with me. Father is obsessed with gambling on stones and goes to the market every few days, sometimes even to the county for a week or two. I don't know how much money he has spent, always bringing back useless stones and asking Zhang Huizi's father to help him decipher them. Zhang Huizi's father mocks father for buying mostly worthless stones, and many people in the village are saying that father has lost his mind and is ruining the family."

Hmm, Father's illusion technique is quite good, but I wonder how many red-rusted raw stones he has collected. We had an agreement, and for every ten jade coins he deciphered, I would get one. The raw stone he brought back from the market once yielded a large piece of spirit jade, and he cut ten jade coins and gave me one on the spot.

Yang Junxin continued, "Mother used to manage things, but since she and father had a big argument over the gambling on stones and went back to her parents' home half a month ago, no one has been managing him."

Another perfect chain of events. I wonder if the three Dharma Xuan Pills are effective, and if Mother has made progress in her seclusion at her parents' home.

"Big brother, you only know how to cultivate with Baozhang. Second brother, after eating the bear paw, has become much stronger and now leads Iron Ox and Qianhai to fight with people in the village every day. Now, Zhang Huizi and Xu Lei don't come out to play much, and the village children are no match for Second brother and his group."

Yang Junshan frowned. This kid had been learning the Lying Tiger diagram from the eight diagrams of the Mountain Lord Diagram, which was the only one that could be practiced indoors. However, this diagram was more focused on healing and recovery, and its effects on strengthening the body and increasing strength were not as significant as the other seven diagrams. Even so, it had greatly increased Yang Junping's strength. However, under repeated warnings from Yang Tian and Yang Junshan, the kid claimed that his strength had increased because he had eaten the paw of a high-quality ferocious beast, the Ground Stepping Bear.

However, while Yang Junping was understandable, a child would naturally show off when he had something good, why were Yang Qianhai and Yang Baoliang also going crazy?

Yang Qianhai had already started refining spirit essences, and Yang Baoliang had received the low-quality spirit essence grain from Yang Junshan from Bai Que Mountain. At this time, they should be working hard to cultivate like Zhang Huizi and Xu Lei.