Enlightenment in the Mountains

Golden Bull Ridge. Zhang Tielin's two lackeys helped him as they slowly walked towards his residence.

"Hahaha, Zhang Tielin, how did you get injured!"

An Outer Sect Disciple from Golden Bull Ridge saw Zhang Tielin's injured state and mockingly laughed with schadenfreude.

Although they were all Outer Sect Disciples of Golden Bull Ridge, they were constantly vying against each other.

The Outer Sect Disciple who was mocking Zhang Tielin had a past conflict with him, and their relationship was not good. Thus, he was very happy to see Zhang Tielin injured.

Zhang Tielin ignored him, suppressing his anger, and with the support of his two lackeys, returned to his own dwelling.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Zhang Tielin couldn't help but cough, and fresh blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth again. The wound on his left rib sent waves of sharp pain, causing the muscles on his face to involuntarily contort.

"Brother Lin, how are you feeling? Do you want to go to the Medicine Hall?"

The lackey who was as thin as a monkey spoke to Zhang Tielin. His name was Zhang Qining. He had a three-attribute Mixed Spiritual Root and became an Outer Sect Disciple three years ago. Currently, his cultivation was only at the third level of Qi Refining. Like Zhang Tielin, he was from Qingniu Town.

The other lackey, tall and thin, resembling a bamboo pole, was named Zhang Xu. He was also from Qingniu Town and had a three-attribute Mixed Spiritual Root. He became an Outer Sect Disciple four years ago, and his current cultivation was also at the third level of Qi Refining.

Because they were all fellow townsfolk and had received favors from Zhang Tielin when they first arrived at the Outer Sect, they followed his lead.

"I'm fine, no need to go to the Medicine Hall!"

Zhang Tielin endured the pain from his wound and shook his head slightly. The people at the Medicine Hall were all black-hearted. If he went there, they would definitely demand an exorbitant price.

Zhang Xu said to Zhang Tielin, "Brother Lin, that Fang Chen killed A Niu. Are we just going to let it go like this?"

A murderous intent flickered in Zhang Tielin's eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "How could we just let it go? He killed A Niu, and I will definitely find a way to kill him!"

Zhang Xu frowned and said, "But that kid has Li the Half-Blind protecting him. If he hides in Dog Head Ridge, we can't do anything to him!"

"Hmph! He won't be able to hide!"

Zhang Tielin gave a cold laugh and looked up at Zhang Qining. "A Lin, go to the Merit Hall and help me find Senior Brother Li Muyu. Tell him I'm inviting him to Tingfeng Tower for a drink tonight!"

"Okay!"

Zhang Qining nodded and immediately walked out of the room.

Half an hour later, Dog Head Ridge.

Fang Chen sat on the ground, panting, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

This Misty Turtle Step is too difficult. If I keep practicing like this, my legs will be ruined. I'll stop practicing for now and go chop some things!

Fang Chen thought to himself. By chopping things with the Floating Immortal Sword, his strength could continuously improve. Even if he didn't cultivate any combat skills, his reaction time alone would increase, making him stronger.

For example, Tian Hu and Zhang Tieniu had clearly practiced martial arts, but he had never cultivated any combat skills, yet he had ended up killing them both.

It was like an emperor who, even without using any special moves, could destroy heaven and earth with a mere flick of his finger.

With this thought, he immediately stood up and staggered up the mountain along the dirt path.

After returning to his own residence, Fang Chen went to the hillside behind his courtyard. This hillside was covered with dense trees. Fang Chen summoned the Floating Immortal Sword and began to chop.

"Pa pa pa!"

Every time the Floating Immortal Sword struck a tree, a cool stream of energy flowed into Fang Chen's body. When this stream of energy entered Fang Chen's mind, he felt invigorated.

As he chopped, Fang Chen subconsciously circulated the Glazed Qi Refining Art.

"Chi chi..."

Fang Chen felt the surrounding spiritual energy being continuously absorbed into his body.

Upon internal inspection, he saw white and green light spots flowing along his meridians into his Dantian.

The white light spots were the spiritual energy he absorbed from the outside, while the green light spots were the spiritual energy flowing into his body from the Floating Immortal Sword.

After the green light spots entered his body, some were absorbed by his meridians and muscles, while others merged with the white light spots and flowed into his Dantian.

At this moment, the True Qi vortex in his Dantian rotated slowly. Some white and green light spots were absorbed by the Dantian wall, while others were drawn into the True Qi vortex and finally refined into pure True Qi.

Fang Chen continued to swing his sword, and the cool energy continuously flowed into his body from the Floating Immortal Sword. As this cool energy entered his mind, he felt increasingly energetic, and his thoughts became instantly active. The cultivation method of the Misty Turtle Step flashed through his mind.

The cultivation mantra and character illustrations of the Misty Turtle Step continuously appeared in his mind, and they flashed faster and faster.

At the same time, Fang Chen felt the spiritual energy flowing into his body from the outside gradually accelerate.

Sensing the changes in his body, Fang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he murmured, "It seems that with the help of the mysterious energy flow from the Floating Immortal Sword, my speed of absorbing energy from the outside is also gradually increasing!"

Upon discovering this phenomenon, Fang Chen became instantly excited and continued to chop trees with all his might, felling one tree after another.

Half an hour later, the True Qi in Fang Chen's Dantian had increased significantly.

He noticed that the things within his field of vision were gradually disappearing. First, the tall trees vanished, then the low bushes, and after that, the wild grass. Finally, the dead leaves and branches on the ground.

In his field of vision, only a bare mountaintop remained.

Just then, countless golden lights converged before him, forming a translucent golden figure. The figure moved rapidly on the hillside before him. The moment it moved, Fang Chen could see the flow of True Qi within its meridians.

Seeing this, Fang Chen felt a sense of sudden enlightenment. His body instinctively followed the figure's movements, and the True Qi within his body surged towards his legs along his meridians.

The figure's movements became more agile and elegant. The ground it stepped on showed faint ripples, like a drop of water falling onto a calm lake.

This situation lasted for about ten breaths, and then the figure disappeared.

Fang Chen came back to his senses and found himself on the mountainside, surrounded by trees.

"What's going on?"

He immediately frowned, recalling the scene he had just witnessed.

He tried to use the Misty Turtle Step, tapping his toes lightly.

"Whoosh!"

Fang Chen's body shot forward, about to crash into a large tree. He instinctively raised his leg, tapping the trunk in front of him with his toe.

"Hoo!"

His body surged up the tree as if he were walking on flat ground.

One step, two steps, three steps...

In the blink of an eye, Fang Chen reached the top of the tree. He flipped over and fell towards the ground. Just before hitting the ground, he tapped his toe lightly. A faint ripple appeared on the ground, and he felt as if he were landing on cotton, his body descending gracefully.

"Amazing! Have I mastered the Misty Turtle Step?"

Fang Chen stood still, looking down at his feet. Recalling what had just happened, a surge of wild joy filled his heart.

He reached out and slapped his own face. It didn't feel like a dream, so he began to practice the Misty Turtle Step again, his body weaving through the trees like an afterimage.

After a while, Fang Chen burst out of the woods, leaped high into the air, and descended towards his courtyard. As he neared the roof, he tapped it lightly with his toes, as gentle as a dragonfly touching water, and landed softly in the courtyard.

"It really worked! With my current movement technique and speed, I shouldn't be afraid even if I encounter a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining, right?"

Fang Chen was incredibly excited. When he had first started practicing the Misty Turtle Step, he had felt it was too difficult. He hadn't expected to master it so quickly after chopping trees with the Floating Immortal Sword for a while.

Fang Chen recalled the events, muttering to himself, "When I was chopping trees, the airflow from the Floating Immortal Sword made me more and more energetic, my mind more active, and finally I seemed to enter a state of enlightenment, which allowed me to master the Misty Turtle Step in such a short time! This Floating Immortal Sword is too powerful. I wonder if this method can be used to cultivate other cultivation methods?"

"I'll go find Uncle Li and have him teach me some more secret techniques, then I'll try to cultivate them successfully using the same method!"

Fang Chen immediately used the Misty Turtle Step and ran down the mountain.

With the help of the Misty Turtle Step, Fang Chen quickly descended from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, Li Yanshan was chopping firewood by the door of his house.

Fang Chen rushed to Li Yanshan's side.

Li Yanshan looked up and saw Fang Chen's excited expression. He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "You seem very excited. What's wrong? Did you find more Spirit Stones?"

Fang Chen shook his head vigorously and said, "No, where would I find so many Spirit Stones? I came to find you, Uncle Li, to see if you have any more powerful cultivation method manuals and to borrow a few!"

"Cultivation method manuals?"

Li Yanshan frowned and said, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. Didn't I give you the Misty Turtle Step? Practice that well first!"

Fang Chen immediately said, "I've already mastered it, Uncle Li, look!"

With that, Fang Chen immediately performed the Misty Turtle Step, dodging and weaving in front of Li Yanshan. His movements were elegant and more agile than a rabbit's.

"This..."

Li Yanshan was stunned by what he saw.

Although the Misty Turtle Step had good power, it was extremely difficult to cultivate. Otherwise, it wouldn't have ended up in his hands.

He had obtained the Misty Turtle Step over thirty years ago and had been practicing it for over thirty years. He had only managed to cultivate it to the minor accomplishment stage. But now, the Misty Turtle Step Fang Chen displayed far surpassed his own in power; it was at least at the great accomplishment stage.

Li Yanshan stared at Fang Chen, thinking he was hallucinating. He had given the Misty Turtle Step to Fang Chen less than an hour ago, yet Fang Chen had already mastered it to the great accomplishment stage.

He reached up and touched the wound on his shoulder. A sharp, piercing pain shot through him, making him grimace.

"It's not a hallucination!"

Li Yanshan quickly recovered, his eyes fixed on Fang Chen, a faint glint flashing in them. He couldn't help but exclaim, "A genius!"