Minor Accomplishment

Autumn turns to winter.

In the mountains and forests of the Southern Border, even though it's the end of the year and deep winter is only a few days away, it's still as hot as ever. Only the dry weather with little rain and little shade proves that winter still has some presence.

Du En's situation is the same as always: busy burying corpses during the day, and hunting a Great Owl after that.

"Hoo~"

With the final mournful cry of a Great Owl from the flock, this group of Strange Owls officially met their end.

After this, if he wanted to hunt Great Owls again, he'd either have to hurry and act before they returned to their nests, or travel further to find another flock's nesting grounds.

Once the Strange Owls were eaten, there were the Grey Jackals, also scavengers. After the Grey Jackals were gone, there were other scavenging beasts. After a round of feasting, by the time they looked back, new Strange Owl colonies would have likely moved in a while ago, so there was no fear of them being completely eaten.

This was because the stench of corpses from the corpse burial wasteland was the best bait, drawing scavengers in endlessly.

Du En carried the Great Owl and returned to the small courtyard.

The other Corpse Buriers were already used to it.

"Boss, the New Year is almost here. That guy surnamed Liu, do you think he'll increase the protection fees when he comes again?"

Wei Ming asked worriedly at this moment.

He was naturally referring to the Blood Eagle Gang's protection fees.

More than fifty days had passed since Liu Qixiang's last visit. They had paid protection fees twice more during this time. Du En hadn't caused any trouble, and considering the expenses for food and supplies, the twenty-five Low-grade Spirit Stones he had left were now down to just four.

As the situation gradually calmed down, Liu Qixiang's attitude was visibly becoming arrogant again. It probably wouldn't be long before he increased the fees again.

The others also felt worried about this.

Du En remained calm and replied serenely, "I don't plan on paying next time."

Hearing this, Wei Ming and the others were stunned.

Only Ning Caize quickly grasped the point: "That's right. We still have Spirit Stones, but we can't just take them out. This way, it's estimated that we've already exhausted the wages Du En asked for last time, so naturally, we should return to being tough like before."

"This... will Liu Qixiang let us off easily?"

Wei Ming had been a Corpse Burier for several months. In the past, he would have been considered an elder among elders, more than capable of being a leader. But now, he was becoming more timid the longer he lived.

As he understood his own situation better, he fully grasped his powerlessness and helplessness.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it."

Du En's simple words calmed everyone's unease.

Looking at him, it was the same as always; he was stewing the Strange Owl with medicinal herbs again.

He had almost cleared out all the medicinal herbs growing by the wasteland, and he no longer limited himself to the old three types.

Wei Ming and the others sighed in admiration, then turned and headed back to their rooms in unison.

They had no choice but to go back. Du En's cooking skills were visibly improving, making the stewed Strange Owl more and more fragrant.

If this continued, they would be unable to resist shamelessly asking for a taste.

Every time this happened, images of Strange Owls eating corpses and corpse fluid would flood their minds. They would recall their past painful memories of trying boiled Strange Owl after foolishly not believing it was bad.

The struggle between their gluttony, disgust, and past suffering, their physical instincts and personal emotions, made them tacitly choose to withdraw at such times.

When Du En returned after taking a bath, there was no movement from their room. They were either asleep or cultivating.

He sat back down in front of the mud stove, smelling the increasingly fragrant stew made with various ingredients. He waited silently until, at a certain moment, inspiration struck him as if it were a natural progression. With a sweep of his hands, he lifted the large pot. Magic Power overflowed, extinguishing the heat and subtly infusing it as a final touch.

The aroma immediately subsided, and a panel appeared before his eyes.

[Age: 19/91]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]
[Cultivation Level: Early Qi Refining (23/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Proficient 49/50)]
[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Initial Glimpse 15/20), Sand Raising Technique (Proficient 31/50)]
[Divine Abilities: None]
[Hundred Arts: Gather and Appraise (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Cuisine Cooking (Initial Glimpse 0/20)]

He had finally glimpsed the path to cooking Spirit Cuisine, accumulating enough knowledge to use Magic Power for the finishing touches.

Although it was just an additional small step, it caused a significant qualitative change in the overall dish.

Tier 1 Mid-grade!

Du En set the pot of Spirit Cuisine aside, not rushing to eat it, and silently savored the feeling of natural progression.

Unknowingly, he had aged another year.

Due to facing Evil Cultivators with unknown backgrounds, his primary strategy was to transfer and retreat.

Furthermore, the Sand Raising Technique could be practiced openly by exploiting loopholes, and the generated yellow sand could be gathered into clumps and thrown into the corpse pits. Therefore, Du En chose it as his main focus, allowing it to successfully surpass others.

This, in turn, promoted the Earth Bullet Technique, so he didn't need to practice it much to accumulate fifteen points of proficiency.

Unfortunately, when he broke through to Initial Glimpse, it didn't promote his Proficient Yellow Earth Technique. When he broke through to Proficient, although it did promote it, it only gained two points.

Otherwise, the Yellow Earth Technique would have broken through by now.

"Of course, it's just a little slower."

After finishing his meal, Du En focused his gaze on the pot of stewed owl.

Tonight, with its power, he would break through in one go!

He directly carried the pot into his room and ate while sitting cross-legged on the bed.

The meat was no longer tough and rotten, but permeated with sweetness, rich yet not greasy, tender and smooth, becoming quite delicious. However, looking at Du En's calm expression, there was no difference from when it tasted bad before.

He ate quickly, his body, nourished and strengthened by the accumulated earth essence, digested at full speed. Then, he circulated his Magic Power, promoting digestion while refining the Cuisine Power seeping from the Spirit Cuisine.

He felt refreshed, any fatigue vanished, and his entire being entered its optimal state.

Naturally, he didn't miss a beat. He set the empty pot aside and began to cultivate.

His Magic Power was fully mobilized, and the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn in. The Great Circulation technique, which he had long since mastered, cycled again and again, subtly changing and becoming increasingly apparent.

After nine cycles, the accumulation was sufficient, and he broke through as a matter of course.

Various new insights arose, and the circulation of his Magic Power naturally adjusted. More spiritual energy was continuously drawn in, and the remaining Cuisine Power was quickly refined.

From the outside, he didn't seem to have changed much, but in reality, his entire body was further strengthened during this circulation.

Earth essence accumulated and then erupted, filling his physical body and Blood Essence with vitality, as if he had undergone a metamorphosis. Ordinary iron weapons could no longer harm him, yet he remained silent and inconspicuous.

Thick earth carries virtue, no need for fanfare.

Within his meridians, the gaseous, earth-yellow Magic Power appeared even more dense and pure, exuding a solid, heavy feeling. Yet, during circulation, it moved with great lightness, effortlessly traversing and refining Qi without Du En's further control.

The basic efficiency of sensing and refining spiritual energy increased by ten percent compared to before.

The time it took to complete one Great Circulation cycle shortened again, and the mental exertion required diminished further. With the aid of Spirit Cuisine, he could now perform twelve cycles each night!

His overall cultivation efficiency had improved by sixty-five percent compared to before!

This was a Minor Accomplishment!

[Age: 19/93]
[Spiritual Root: Low-grade]
[Cultivation Level: Early Qi Refining (31/100)]
[Cultivation Technique: Yellow Earth Technique (Minor Accomplishment 0/100)]
[Spells: Earth Bullet Technique (Proficient 3/50), Sand Raising Technique (Proficient 36/50)]
[Divine Abilities: None]
[Hundred Arts: Gather and Appraise (Initial Glimpse 0/20), Cuisine Cooking (Initial Glimpse 0/20)]

"With the Cultivation Technique breaking through to Minor Accomplishment, my lifespan limit will also increase. At the same time, the Earth Bullet Technique was also boosted by this breakthrough. Now... it's still not enough, my Cultivation Level is too low."

He glanced at his status panel when he had a moment, then Du En continued to cultivate, performing another cycle before dawn.