Chapter 9

In the depths of the night, the cold wind howled, and the trees swayed with the wind, scattering some accumulated snow, which made a 'rustling' sound.

It seemed that every cultivator living in the Chen Mountains had fallen asleep, except for a young man sitting cross-legged in a cave on Dongchen Mountain. Beside him, something was boiling, and a faint aroma of alcohol wafted through the air.

Inside the cave, it was as bright as daylight, with blue light blending together, illuminating the young man. White mist swirled around him, and some of it seeped into his body through his pores.

Receiving the infusion of this white mist, it seemed as if the young man's body was undergoing a sacred baptism. This baptism added an intangible luster to his face, which had been tired from a day's work.

At this moment, he looked less like a novice who had just started on the path of cultivation and more like a high-level cultivator who had been sealed away for many years.

This person was Bai Shi!

"Exploring the laws of heaven and earth, but these laws are unknown. If they are unknown, why explore them?" As the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Bai Shi let out a long sigh. His eyes were deep like the boundless night. He pondered, recalling Dongchenzi's words, which he found somewhat incomprehensible.

Slowly standing up, Bai Shi looked at his palm and muttered, "However, there are always some cultivators who, while exploring the laws of heaven and earth, develop their own cultivation... This cultivation is precisely the result of the intangible laws of heaven and earth. Could it be that these laws, in the midst of cultivation, resonate with one's cultivation, rather than being true laws? When I was focused earlier, I indeed felt a thread of power infusing my body, making me feel refreshed and extremely comfortable..."

As he muttered, Bai Shi frowned and hesitated before walking to the campfire and adding a few logs.

"Hmm... What Uncle Dongchen said is not a lie. But when I try to feel it, I can't sense any laws of heaven and earth at all." He took a deep breath, feeling that there were many things he couldn't understand about what Dongchenzi had said.

"Haha... If you could explore the laws of heaven and earth now, that would be a problem, wouldn't it?" Just as Bai Shi was pondering, Dongchenzi had already entered the cave. However, Bai Shi hadn't noticed him at all.

Dongchenzi held a bamboo basket, covered with a towel, from which some steam and a fragrant aroma were emanating. It contained some kind of steamed bun.

Bai Shi smiled and said, "Uncle, what you said is very true... But the laws of heaven and earth are not like other things that follow a pattern. Exploring something unknown is indeed very challenging for me."

Dongchenzi gave Bai Shi a playful glare and said, "Cut it out... The laws of heaven and earth are not something that can be explored in a day or two. As long as you exist in this world, you will never finish exploring them. These laws will naturally become apparent as your cultivation improves. Now, don't talk about these things. Come over and eat something. I'll check on the 'Moutai' brewing."

Dongchenzi placed the bamboo basket aside and ran to the campfire, rubbing his hands together.

Bai Shi walked over. He had been so focused on cultivation and brewing that he hadn't felt hungry, but now, the aroma of the buns made his stomach growl.

"Uncle, when I was cultivating, I could clearly feel a thread of spiritual energy seeping through my skin, transforming into internal power and circulating within my body... But I heard from Master that one needs to reach the second level of the Foundation Establishment stage to absorb external spiritual energy and transform it into internal power, right?" Bai Shi asked, eating a bun.

Smelling the alcohol, Dongchenzi swallowed hard. He added more wood to the campfire and said, "Any cultivator, from the moment they start cultivating, is already at the first level of the Foundation Establishment stage. When they focus their consciousness to sense spiritual energy, they usually reach the second level of the Foundation Establishment stage. The reason you didn't feel this before is that your Chize point wasn't unblocked... So, there's a saying: Foundation Establishment starts from the second level."

Bai Shi nodded thoughtfully and continued, "Then, Uncle... If I'm at the second level of the Foundation Establishment stage, how long will it take to reach the third level?"

Dongchenzi wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a deep breath, and said, "It depends on your own enlightenment. Of course, if you want to improve faster, you'll need some medicinal pills to assist you..."

Bai Shi nodded and said, "When I was in Xichen Village, I read about this in books... But those herbs are all very common. If we need high-quality herbs, they might be hard to find in the Chen Mountains."

"Usually, don't waste time on cultivation. When your strength reaches a certain level, the amount of spiritual energy you can absorb also has a limit. In fact, for most cultivators to break through to the next level, they generally rely on medicinal pills... If you have nothing else to do, you can enter the Chen Mountains to try your luck. However, there are many strange beasts in the mountains, so you must be extremely careful. If you encounter hunters or people searching for herbs, you should be even more cautious," Dongchenzi advised.

Bai Shi responded, "But now, with my strength, I don't dare to go into the Chen Mountains alone to search for herbs. I'll wait until my strength improves by two or three levels..."

"That's a good idea. With your current strength, you wouldn't stand a chance against any strange beast in the mountains," Dongchenzi said.

As they chatted, two hours passed quietly, and the Moutai brewing emitted a rich aroma.

Dongchenzi took a deep breath, smelling the aroma, and praised it. After pouring a few jars, he couldn't wait to store it for a day. He took a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and praised it highly.

"Indeed, indeed... Bai Shi, you're amazing. Such a fine wine, I never thought I would taste such a fine wine in my old age. I have no regrets in this life, no regrets... Come, Bai Shi, drink with me!" Dongchenzi laughed and threw a jar of wine to Bai Shi.

Bai Shi caught the wine, his face turning stiff. Dongchenzi's drinking capacity was incredible; he could drink a jar without showing any signs of intoxication. Bai Shi, on the other hand, would likely be drunk after just half a catty!

But no matter what, under Dongchenzi's watchful eye, Bai Shi seemed to muster up a lot of courage, took a deep breath, and gulped down a mouthful of the strong liquor, then made a pained expression.

Seeing this, Dongchenzi teased Bai Shi again, then raised the wine jar and took a few more gulps.

Under Dongchenzi's urging, Bai Shi reluctantly took a few more sips. Soon, his face turned red, and his vision became blurry. He slowly stood up, burping, and his speech became slurred. "I... can't... Uncle, I can't drink anymore... You drink by yourself."

Bai Shi staggered into another cave entrance, pressed a mechanism, and the cave door 'thundered' shut.

Seeing this, Dongchenzi laughed loudly, "Haha... You little guy, are you afraid I'll force you to drink?" He then ignored Bai Shi, who had retreated into the cave, and started drinking heartily.

Bai Shi shook his head hard, trying to stay awake. Although his eyelids were heavy, he forced himself to look at the stone door. In his blurry vision, he could vaguely see the strange characters carved on the stone door.

Although his vision was blurry, he could roughly make out the characters. What was different was that, in his dizziness, Bai Shi saw the strange characters slowly wriggling!

Seeing the characters wriggling, Bai Shi, who was nine-tenths drunk, seemed to sober up by three-tenths in an instant. His swaying body paused, and his gaze focused on the strange characters!

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