Breakthrough, Visitor

The Ye family residence was not large, but it still had a small courtyard.

Inside the courtyard stood a pavilion and two trees blooming in full splendor.

One was a peach tree, and the other was also a peach tree.

A gentle breeze swept past, sending pink petals drifting down in sheets, a beautiful sight indeed.

Influenced by the original body's memories, Ye Xiaofan could not help staring at the two peach trees and sinking into recollection.

He remembered that these two peach trees had been planted by the original owner and Ye Tianhe with their own hands when the original owner was three years old.

Ten years had now passed. The flowers bloomed beautifully, but the two who had planted the trees could no longer see this sight.

Ye Xiaofan shook his head, and his expression returned to calm.

After taking out a Blood Qi Pill and swallowing it, he began cultivating the Wind God Steps.

Under normal circumstances, one Blood Qi Pill was enough for a cultivator in the first three layers of the Body Refinement stage to cultivate for ten days, yet Ye Xiaofan had used it all up in less than a day.

However, the benefits brought by such enormous consumption were equally obvious.

Li Yan, who was responsible for teaching Reserve Demon Suppressors like them, had said that the qi and blood refined by cultivators in the first three layers of the Body Refinement stage was only as thick as a strand of hair.

Yet the qi and blood Ye Xiaofan had refined was as thick as three strands of hair, comparable to the qi and blood refined by cultivators at the fourth to sixth layers of the Qi Condensation stage.

Thanks to his robust qi and blood, although Ye Xiaofan had not broken through to the Body Refinement First Layer, his lifespan had already risen to three days.

At the same time, as the proficiency of the Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique increased, his cultivation speed continued to rise.

Lifespan: 3 days (severely poisoned) (weakly suppressed)

Realm: None (15/100)

Techniques: Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique (subtle 4000/12000), Sword Drawing Technique (beginner 500/2000), Wind God Steps (beginner 100/2000)

Ye Xiaofan himself was very talented. Even without relying on the panel's simplification, his Sword Drawing Technique and Wind God Steps improved rapidly.

Cultivation was intoxicating, especially when he could watch his cultivation realm continuously rise.

At some unknown point, the sky had been draped in a black curtain, dotted with countless stars, breathtakingly beautiful.

A fierce hunger jolted Ye Xiaofan awake.

He checked the time and discovered that nine hours had already passed.

"The Blood Qi Pills are being consumed even faster. Tomorrow, I'll go buy some meat to substitute for them."

Ye Xiaofan gave a bitter smile and hurriedly took out the last Blood Qi Pill and swallowed it.

As for the three Blood Qi Pills Sun Wude had given him, he did not dare take them. He vaguely felt that the deaths of the original owner's family were very likely connected to Sun Wude.

As the Blood Qi Pill turned into pure energy, the hunger gradually faded away.

Ye Xiaofan opened the panel and looked at it, immediately breaking into a broad grin.

"When a technique reaches subtle mastery, every thousand breaths give 3 realm experience points. At great mastery, that becomes 4 points. Following that logic, it should become 5 points at perfection. My cultivation speed is getting faster and faster—perhaps I'll break through tomorrow."

Thinking that he would soon become a Body Refinement First Layer cultivator, Ye Xiaofan's heart burned with excitement.

Once he broke through to the Body Refinement First Layer, he would become an official Demon Suppressing Guard. He would receive a monthly salary of fifty taels of silver and one Blood Qi Pill. Including the three Blood Qi Pills awarded to him, he would have four Blood Qi Pills every month.

One Blood Qi Pill cost one hundred taels of silver, which would save him four hundred taels.

At the same time, he could accept missions to earn merit and bonuses.

Only after taking a cold bath did Ye Xiaofan calm his excited heart and lie down on the bed, slowly falling asleep.

The next day,

The Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique had already broken through to perfection (2000/20000), and his cultivation speed became even faster. Every thousand breaths now gave 5 realm experience points.

Realm: None (69/100). He needed only 31 more points to break through to the Body Refinement First Layer.

However, the consumption of Blood Qi Pills had become even more terrifying.

Ye Xiaofan got up early. After ransacking every room, he found a dozen or so taels of loose silver and went out to buy meat.

After a night, the medicinal power of the Blood Qi Pill was about to be exhausted.

Now that he was so poor he was nearly unable to lift the lid off the pot, he could only rely on meat to replenish the consumption required for refining qi and blood.

Ye Xiaofan did not notice that the moment he left the house, a middle-aged man missing one ear began watching him.

"Thin build, slightly pale complexion, faint deathly aura lingering around his forehead. Not a cultivator. One Blood Qi Pill and five hundred taels of silver are enough for me to make a move."

After following Ye Xiaofan for some distance, a trace of ruthlessness flashed through the middle-aged man's eyes. He licked his lips and turned away.

Gou Congxin had been watching Ye Xiaofan for two days. He often helped clients solve certain problems, and the reason he had never failed over the years was because he was cautious enough.

If he did not uncover his opponent's background, he would rather give up than act. One friend after another had died around him, while he himself had continued living just fine.

Gou Congxin trusted his own eyes. Now that he had figured out Ye Xiaofan's background, there was no need to waste any more time.

The young, delicate wife he had just married at home was still waiting for him to go back and dote on her.

After spending all his dozen or so taels of loose silver on one hundred and sixty catties of beef, Ye Xiaofan returned home, tossed it into a pot, stewed it haphazardly, sprinkled in some salt, and began cultivating.

Whenever he felt hungry, he ate a piece of beef. Although it was far inferior to Blood Qi Pills, it barely allowed him to keep cultivating.

Time flowed on, and the setting sun burned the horizon red.

Not a scrap of beef remained in the pot, and Ye Xiaofan had no choice but to stop cultivating.

"I'm just a little short of breaking through. It's one thing for the panel's simplification to cost money, but the resources consumed by cultivation are no less frightening."

Ye Xiaofan sat in the pavilion, looking at the lingering glow of the sunset with a helpless bitter smile.

"Should I use the three Blood Qi Pills Sun Wude gave me for cultivation?"

Ye Xiaofan took out the small porcelain bottle from his robes, poured out a Blood Qi Pill, and examined it carefully.

It looked perfectly normal.

"Damn it, I'm doing it!"

After his expression shifted several times, Ye Xiaofan gritted his teeth and swallowed the Blood Qi Pill.

Ever since his lifespan had recovered to three days, no matter how much his qi and blood increased, his lifespan had not risen by even a trace.

This made him desperate to break through to the Body Refinement First Layer. Perhaps only a qualitative transformation could expel or suppress the poison within his body.

Even if the Blood Qi Pill contained poison, with his golden finger, he should not die anytime soon.

When the time came, he could have the old Chinese doctor at the Demon Suppression Division analyze the Blood Qi Pills. They should be able to find a way to deal with them.

The Blood Qi Pill turned into pure energy, replenishing the consumption from refining qi and blood. Ye Xiaofan stared fixedly at the panel without blinking.

When he saw that no new poisoning prompt appeared after the lifespan entry, Ye Xiaofan let out a breath of relief.

"Looks like Sun Wude doesn't dare harm me openly either. After all, I'm the most monstrous genius in Qingyang County's history."

The stone hanging in Ye Xiaofan's heart finally dropped, and he began cultivating with full concentration.

Another thousand breaths were completed, and the number behind his realm jumped by 5 points.

An explosive roar erupted within his body, like dragons chanting and tigers roaring.

His tendons and bones rang together, and his five organs resonated violently. Strands of qi and blood, each as thick as three hairs, surged out continuously, flowing rhythmically through his limbs and bones with every breath.

At once, Ye Xiaofan felt his entire body heat up, white smoke continuously rising from the top of his head.

The skin all over his body was as red as though it had been scalded by boiling water, steaming with heat.

Sticky, foul-smelling impurities were continuously squeezed from his pores, turning gaseous beneath the high temperature and evaporating with the white smoke.

After an unknown amount of time, the night sky was hung with dazzling jewels.

The skin around Ye Xiaofan's body gradually returned to normal, and the violent resonance of his five organs calmed down.

The next moment,

A pair of deep, bright eyes suddenly opened, like two shining stars in the darkness.

"I broke through. In three days, I went from an ordinary person to a Body Refinement First Layer cultivator. I wonder whether that would rank anywhere in all of Great Yue."

Ye Xiaofan pretended to be calm, but the corners of his mouth, which he was desperately suppressing, kept trembling, and his eyes were nearly squeezed into slits. Everything proved the excitement in his heart.

"Although the Body Refinement First Layer still counts as mortal, my personal strength has long surpassed the bounds of ordinary humans."

Ye Xiaofan clenched his fist. A casual strike already possessed the strength of one ox.

He then circulated his qi and blood and threw a punch.

It was as if war drums boomed, and the sound of the air exploding rang out.

"With qi and blood, I have the strength of three oxen, comparable to a Body Refinement Third Layer cultivator practicing a low-grade technique. The terrifying consumption of Blood Qi Pills was indeed worth it."

"Moreover, after breaking through, my five senses have improved greatly. Although I can't see in the dark, I can still make out blurry outlines."

Ye Xiaofan adjusted to the changes in his body, then opened the panel.

Name: Ye Xiaofan

Lifespan: 3 days (moderately poisoned) (suppressed; it may flare up at any time if qi and blood are used)

Realm: Body Refinement First Layer (0/200)

Techniques: Withered Wood Meets Spring Technique (perfection 16400/20000), Sword Drawing Technique (proficient 200/4000), Wind God Steps (proficient 800/4000)

"Damn it, I don't know who was vicious enough to use such a poisonous toxin on a child without even the strength to truss a chicken."

All joy from his breakthrough vanished as Ye Xiaofan cursed fiercely.

His lifespan was stuck at three days, neither increasing nor decreasing.

According to the panel's prompt, the poison would flare up again as long as his qi and blood were overdrawn.

But exactly how much counted as overdrawn, he had no way of knowing.

For the past three days, driven by the problem of his lifespan, he had cultivated every waking moment. His mind was already exhausted beyond measure.

Ye Xiaofan had no solution left. Whatever will be, will be.

After casually eating something, he fell into a deep sleep.

In the dead of night,

Old Man Zhang, who was making his rounds, looked back. Seeing nothing, he continued onward.

"I must have imagined it. I'm getting old. It seems it's time to pass this job on to my son."

After Old Man Zhang had gone far away, Gou Congxin emerged from the corner, wrapped tightly from head to toe with only his eyes exposed.

After glancing at Old Man Zhang, he vaulted over the wall and entered the Ye family residence.

Gou Congxin had long since figured out where Ye Xiaofan's bedroom was. Without wasting any time, he walked to the room, listened to the even breathing inside, and a gleam of delight appeared in his eyes as he took out a dagger and gently cut through the door bolt.