Big Black Steps Aside

Shen Jingchuan held the dark, heavy Soul-Seizing Nail in his hand, and with a thought, he activated his Divine Sense.

"Sister Xian'er, how do you use this?"

Xian'er landed in front of him, stared at the nail for a couple of seconds, and her expression softened slightly.

"Fortunately, it's just a Spirit Artifact."

She paused, then added.

"After your repair and upgrade, that Ring is now a top-grade Spirit Artifact."

Shen Jingchuan was confused.

"Sister, why do you say it's alright? Wouldn't it be better if it were Spirit Treasure? Even a low-grade Spirit Treasure is better than a top-grade Spirit Artifact, right?"

Xian'er scoffed.

"It's good, but can you even use it?"

"You're currently at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. Even with your powerful Divine Sense, activating magic Law Artifact and Law Treasures is no problem for you. As for Spirit Artifact, well, that's barely enough."

"It's only fortunate that it's Spirit Artifact that attacks with Divine Sense, kept in the sea of consciousness and activated by Divine Sense."

"If it were a top-grade Spirit Artifact for offense or defense, it would require the use of true essence. With your cultivation level, you wouldn't even be able to activate it once."

Shen Jingchuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Xian'er looked at him, her tone becoming more serious.

"You need to quickly temper your soul and enhance your Divine Sense. Otherwise, forcibly activating it will drain your Divine Sense completely, and even that might not be enough."

Xian'er: "This thing doesn't consume your true essence. You can nurture it in your sea of consciousness, and as your soul Divine Sense grow stronger, its power will also increase."

"The rank can't be upgraded anymore, but the attack power can still keep increasing."

Shen Jingchuan's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked again.

"Now that I've encountered Foundation Establishment cultivator, can I put up a fight? Is this thing a threat to Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

"There are certainly threats."

Xian'er answered decisively.

"But your Divine Sense is too weak right now, so weak that you might not even be able to use it once. You need to strengthen your Divine Sense first."

"Once your Divine Sense is strong enough, let alone Foundation Establishment, it will still pose a threat to Golden Core True Person in the future."

Shen Jingchuan was now completely confident.

Following Xian'er's instructions, he guided his Divine Sense to the Soul-Seizing Nail. The nail transformed into a thin, wisp of black light and silently sank into his sea of consciousness.

"Alright, Sister Xian'er."

He stretched his arms and legs, his expression resolute.

"Then I'll start by focusing on refining my spirit. I still have quite a few Spirit Concentrating Pills, so I'll refine them one by one. Once my Divine Sense has improved, I'll leave the market."

Xian'er, however, did not tease him as usual; instead, her expression became serious.

"Don't just be happy."

"I already know. People outside have been watching you for a long time. Today, because of this spiritual vein, you've offended the Tian family of Qi to the point of no return. That's a family with a Golden Core cultivator."

"If you want to go out, prepare your cards first."

Shen Jingchuan's expression hardened.

Xian'er stared at him again, giving him instructions word by word.

"Also, remember this: with your current cultivation level, you can only activate this Soul-Seizing Nail once at most."

"After that one time, my Divine Sense was completely empty, not a trace remained."

"I reckon there's more than one company watching you outside the market. Nobody knows exactly how many Foundation Establishment are hiding inside."

Her voice deepened.

"Be careful, don't let yourself get caught in a ditch."

Shen Jingchuan nodded emphatically and said nothing more. With Divine Sense, his gaze returned to the ball of light.

In the corner of the sphere of light, the green light surrounding the two spiritual herbs had also dissipated.

With a Divine Sense, he brought the two blades of grass to his palm.

The dark gold patterns on the grass leaves were a bit brighter than before, and the pale red on the roots was more lustrous. The Spiritual Qi was restrained, and it was indeed the Blood-Veined Golden Leaf Grass.

Shen Jingchuan put the grass into his Storage Ring and walked in the direction of the three horses.

In an open space, Su Qingshu and Su Qinghua were brushing the manes of three horses.

Hearing footsteps, the two sisters looked up at the same time.

Su Qinghua's eyes lit up, and she dropped her brush and ran over.

"Brother, have you finished talking with Sister Xian'er?"

Shen Jingchuan nodded.

"Okay, I'm done."

Su Qinghua moved closer to him, tilting her face up.

"Brother, do you still have any Qi Nourishing Pills? There should be plenty left, right?"

Shen Jingchuan said, "Yes, plenty. Don't be stingy."

Su Qinghua smiled, her eyes crinkling. She didn't know the value of the Qi Nourishing Pill, otherwise she would never have dared to ask such a question.

"I knew my brother was the best. That Qi Nourishing Pill is really effective; I feel like I'm progressing very quickly. Brother, just wait, it won't be long before I break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer."

As she got into the conversation, she casually asked another question.

"By the way, brother, what level of Qi Refining are you?"

The question came as abruptly, and even Su Qingshu, who was standing next to him, was taken aback.

Shen Jingchuan wasn't angry. He looked at her and said slowly.

"Qinghua, remember this rule. When you're out in the world, don't casually ask about other people's cultivation levels. If you can see through something, you know it in your heart; if you can't, don't ask. This is a taboo for cultivators, and it can easily cause trouble, understand?"

"It's alright if you ask me."

He paused.

"In a few days, I will teach you a small method of observing aura, and then you will be able to discern the depth of others' abilities."

Su Qinghua stuck out her tongue, looking a little embarrassed.

"Brother, I didn't know there was such a rule... so you'd better not tell me."

Shen Jingchuan was amused by her.

"It's alright to tell you. Just remember, he's much taller than you; you can't catch up."

Su Qinghua clenched her small fists, her face serious.

Even if I can't catch up, I don't want to fall too far behind you, so I'll train like crazy.

Shen Jingchuan raised his hand and ruffled her hair.

"Cultivation requires a balance of activity and rest; you can't practice relentlessly all day long. You need to rest when you need to, and only by combining work and rest can you build a solid foundation. Do you understand?"

Su Qinghua nodded emphatically.

"I heard you."

Shen Jingchuan then took out some spirit medicine herbs and remedies he had bought at the temporary market that day from his Storage Ring and handed them over.

"Take these and plant them all."

Su Qingshu quickly reached out and took it, putting it into the Ring, and then glanced at her sister.

"Let me keep it, brother. She's too careless."

Su Qinghua was displeased upon hearing this, puffing out her cheeks.

"I'm not careless!"

Shen Jingchuan smiled, ignoring the sisters' bickering, and turned to walk towards the three horses.

He took out the spirit herbs, opened his palm to reveal the two Blood-Veined Golden Leaf Grass, and handed them to Big Black to see its reaction.

In fact, the moment he took out the grass, Big Black's eyes lit up, and his breathing became heavy.

Little Black and Treading Snow also came up from the left and right, their three heads nuzzling into his palm.

Big Black lowered its head and sniffed, its eyes shining even brighter.

But when it saw that there were only two plants in its palm, it stopped moving.

It glanced at Little Black, then at Treading Snow, and finally fixed its gaze on Shen Jingchuan's face, letting out a low snort.

Then, it took two steps back.

The meaning couldn't be clearer—there were only two plants, and it was giving them to the two smaller ones; it didn't want them anymore.

Shen Jingchuan understood immediately.

He looked at Big Black, feeling both warmth and a sigh in his heart.

This guy clearly recognized the herb's use at a glance, knowing it was a good thing that could awaken blood circulation, yet he deliberately stepped back at this moment, giving the fortuitous opportunity to his two companions.

In terms of this mindset, he is stronger than many others.

What a fine horse, a real man! All those years of pampering it were worth it.

Shen Jingchuan reached out and patted Big Black's neck heavily, his palm stroking the mane behind Big Black's neck. He swallowed hard, and after a long while, he spoke, his voice somewhat deep.

"Big Black, don't worry, I'll definitely find you someone better in the future."

Big Black seemed to understand, nuzzling its head into his chest and letting out a low growl. Instead, it stuck out its tongue and gently licked the back of his hand.

Shen Jingchuan felt a surge of warmth as it rubbed against him, patted its neck twice more, and said nothing more.