Stack the Thickest Armor

Yu Ziqing was rather annoyed. Since coming to this world, he had hardly enjoyed a few days of peace.

His life was constantly at risk. At first, he had feared starving to death or being slaughtered and eaten. Now he was worried that any trouble outside might spill over and affect the village.

Old Yang had said that cultivators had a covenant among themselves: they could not massacre mortals, nor could they let mortals be caught up in their battles. The more powerful the faction, the less likely it was to do such a thing. At the level of Great Qian, Great Li, and Great Zhen, these rules had even been written directly into the Divine Dynasty's Dharma Canon.

Even when two countries went to war, they would not fight in places where mortals lived. Even if circumstances left them no choice, they would relocate the mortals long in advance.

Old Yang had only said that much, but he had not said that the people in Jinlan Mine would not be in serious danger.

Yu Ziqing knew very well that, if people claimed to care about such matters, they genuinely did care. Whether cultivators or Divine Dynasties, mortals—the common masses—were the foundation beneath all foundations. In ordinary times, they would proclaim this openly and loudly, making sure everyone heard it.

But once they actually started fighting, who would still worry about so many things?

If they truly dared not fight with all their strength for the sake of a few mortals, so many mortals would not die every year, and the mortals living in border regions would not be pitifully few.

Those places were not all resource-poor wastelands. On the contrary, many border regions had everything: metal ores, spirit jade, spirit medicines, demon beasts, and rare birds.

Old Yang had told him a great many things, from geography and customs to matters related to cultivators' cultivation—Register Scripts, Runes, formations, Dharma Treasures, and so on. Every day, he taught him a massive amount of knowledge, force-feeding it to him as if in a hurry.

Recently, after seeing Yu Ziqing independently refine Spirit-Confusing Medicine with frighteningly good effects, he had begun teaching him about medicinal plants, metals, and related subjects, letting him try his hand at some simple things.

Yu Ziqing understood that Old Yang was definitely a Dao Practitioner, and naturally wanted him to take this path as well: first cultivate Dao cultivation as a mortal, then practice Qi Refining. At the very least, he would make not the slightest mistake during the first few realms, building a solid, flawless foundation.

Only then could he go farther in the later stages, instead of reaching a certain level of strength and finding himself unable to advance even an inch, forced to wait until he died of old age with lifelong regrets.

But Yu Ziqing had always maintained a clear understanding: all of that was too far away from him, so far that he could not even form a clear, concrete concept of it.

He only wanted to gain some sense of security first, so that he would not die before the day he could no longer advance.

And that was the choice most ordinary people would make.

"Are you really sure?" Old Yang asked solemnly.

Yu Ziqing looked at Old Yang, his gaze firm and serious.

"Old Yang, I'll be honest. If we were in Langya Academy in Great Qian right now, and I could become a student of Langya Academy, with a decent status, powerful people protecting me, and safe surroundings, then aside from becoming a Dao Practitioner, I absolutely wouldn't choose anything else.

"But we're in the Wasteland, in Jinlan Village.

"I can't even use a Storage Bag right now.

"And besides, Old Yang, you've entered Dao, haven't you?"

"..." Old Yang fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I've entered Dao."

"Was this a path you once kept as an alternative?"

"No." Old Yang shook his head again. He immediately understood, and let out a long sigh. "All right, I understand. I just think it's a pity."

"There's nothing to pity. If you won't even live until tomorrow, yet you're already thinking about what feast to eat next year, that's reaching for the stars—completely unrealistic.

"Besides, I always feel there's something wrong with your way of cultivating Dao cultivation first, then only entering Dao cultivation after reaching the limit. And it's not a small problem.

"Don't ask me what the problem is. I haven't read much, so I can't explain it. It's just a blind intuition.

"Building a tower from a high vantage point is certainly good, but establishing your foundation then and establishing it when you were young and knew little would give you completely different insights and feelings.

"By then, I'd definitely have spent years researching and determined that this path couldn't be wrong before I dared to do it.

"But now, I don't know whether it's right or wrong. I'm willing, and I dare, to charge ahead and make mistakes. Even if there's a problem, I'll only think about how to solve it.

"You said everyone's cultivation path has deviations. If I've never walked either path, how could I possibly know for certain which one is right and which one is wrong?

"It's like now, Old Yang. You know so much. If you had entered Dao and practiced Qi Refining back then, you'd at least have reached the sixth or seventh tier.

"Then, do you know whether the path you're walking now is right or wrong?"

Old Yang opened and closed his mouth, rendered speechless.

He truly did not know.

He had never considered this current path either.

In the past, no one who had been afflicted by the Art of Beast Creation had ever refused to dispel the evil technique, gone against the current, voluntarily transformed into an animal body, and walked this path of not knowing whether it was the path of a demon or something else.

Of course, that might also have been because those who had previously been afflicted by the Art of Beast Creation simply lacked the ability to do so.

Likewise, he did not know whether Yu Ziqing's refusal to walk the path of a Dao Practitioner was right or wrong.

"All right, don't worry. I've followed you and learned for so many days, and I more or less understand now. You're a bunch of people doing research in a world of cultivation. Even if I start cultivating first, it won't stop me from conducting my own research later.

"You said that after practicing Qi Refining, many studies would be affected, deviations would appear, and fatal errors might occur. In that case, I just won't practice Qi Refining."

Old Yang did not understand what "research" meant, but he understood the rest.

"Then what do you want to choose?"

"I'll stack armor first... No, I mean I'll practice Body Refining first. I've looked into it. Quite a few pure Body Refining methods don't have any Qi Refining steps during the early stages. They only require nourishment.

"Even if the Strange Power permeating the village has an effect, I can go practice at Cècè's place. It's safe, and there's no Strange Power from the village interfering there."

"..."

Hearing this, Old Yang looked as if he had swallowed an entire sour lemon. His features twisted with conflicted misery.

Although people said that cultivation paths had no hierarchy, only people did, and that one should choose what suited oneself, Qi Refining had always been the mainstream and the orthodox path. Even cultivators who practiced Spirit Refining still had to practice Qi Refining.

Body Refining had always been at the very bottom. Besides, even cultivators who specialized in Body Refining rarely practiced Body Refining alone.

Most Body Refining cultivators chose paths that could also be cultivated alongside Qi Refining, allowing the two to complement one another.

Those who truly practiced only Body Refining were, to put it bluntly, called miserable laborers.

Where were such people most common?

In mines everywhere, and in all sorts of dangerous places that required people with tremendous strength, thick skin, sturdy bodies, and the ability to endure hardship and resist death.

Pure Body Refining methods like this were also as common as dirt. In Great Qian, as long as you weren't afraid of death and were willing to dig in some mine, someone would immediately give you a Body Refining formula for free. If you didn't like the look of its name, they would simply bring out a stack and let you choose one.

What was the most important reason?

Because they were easy to learn but difficult to master. Entering the path was easy, but advancing was hard. The stronger one became, the harder it got. Among pure Body Refining cultivators, it was rare for even one supreme expert to appear in a thousand years.

As for Qi Refining cultivators, even averaging things out a little, one could say that outstanding young talents and heaven's favored children rose to prominence every year, while every faction had experts guarding it.

Old Yang truly wanted to advise Yu Ziqing against it. There was no need. It wasn't worth it. He really shouldn't...

But when he looked at himself, reduced to his current state, wasn't he also merely seeking survival?

The words of persuasion reached his lips, yet he could not bring himself to say them.

"You're right. We cultivators have always charged forward without looking back.

"Our predecessors opened up paths to make things easier for those who came after them, but they never intended for their descendants to follow the old roads forever. They had always told later generations to carve out their own paths.

"Have you decided which Body Refining method you'll use to establish your foundation?"

"I have. 'Blood Essence.'"

"That one..." Old Yang thought for a moment, then nodded. "This method does indeed meet your requirements. Its advantage is that it's fundamental enough—so fundamental that, aside from being easy to learn but difficult to advance in, it has no flaws whatsoever. And if you want to change methods later, it'll be easy to do so. You can continue cultivating during the Blood Essence stage, too, without worrying about compatibility."

Yu Ziqing had known that long ago.

After learning enough methods from Old Yang, Yu Ziqing had finally understood what the power he had unleashed when he slew Shepherd last time actually was.

It was the power he would gain after cultivating "Blood Essence."

The feeling of his blood essence surging like a furnace throughout his body, sweeping forth so that no evil could invade and no technique could break through—it was something Yu Ziqing had experienced before.

Moreover, the power he had unleashed back then was, at most, equivalent to the strength of a Third-Tier Return to Apertures Realm Body Refiner.

Now that he was practicing Body Refining through "Blood Essence," he would not make the slightest mistake in cultivation before the Fourth Tier, because his body had long remembered what the first three realms looked like after being perfected.

All right, this was also a minor part of the reason Yu Ziqing did not want to walk the traditional Dao Practitioner's path.

After pestering Old Yang to explain everything in detail, describe it thoroughly, and make all sorts of comparisons, Yu Ziqing had confirmed that he had experienced what cultivating "Blood Essence" felt like—and then he had understood.

When I'm barely clinging to life, you want me to become a weakling and walk that seemingly lofty, promising path of a Dao Practitioner? Am I insane, or have I gotten carried away?

Now he wanted to learn their way even less. He would not take any other path. He would walk his own.

It was better to be practical.

Nourishing his blood essence was even simpler. Fresh Jinlan Mushrooms until he was full—what more could he possibly need?

Once he had made his decision, Yu Ziqing did not delay. After eating a meal of Jinlan Mushrooms, he still went to Cècè's Abyss of Despair to begin cultivating, just to be safe.

"Sorry for the trouble. It's unsafe outside, and it might not be safe inside either, so I can only come bother you." Yu Ziqing did not care whether Cècè could hear him or had any awareness. After politely saying a few words first, he sat at the edge of the Abyss of Despair and began cultivating for the first time.

The first realm of Body Refining cultivation was the Blood Essence Realm, corresponding to the Foundation Establishment Realm of Qi Refining. Qi Refining cultivators could use medicinal pills, guidance from elders, and many other methods to establish their foundation in a hundred days and pass through it quickly.

But Body Refining did not work that way. Transporting and strengthening one's blood essence was a slow, painstaking process. No matter how much nourishment one took, it still required time and effort.

That also had its advantages. It was particularly easy to begin.

The moment he started, Yu Ziqing clearly felt the power of his blood essence surging within his body. There was no such thing as difficulty entering the path.

He was still cautiously trying to control it, yet his body seemed far more relaxed than he was. The blood essence looked hot and violent as it surged, but it flowed extremely smoothly, without causing the slightest discomfort.

An hour later, Yu Ziqing ended the day's Quiet Cultivation and opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing through them.

He did not know whether this smoothness was because of his fist training and physical conditioning, because he had chosen a method he had once experienced, or because he had been eating Jinlan Mushrooms as his staple food.

Perhaps it was all of them.

After the surging blood essence calmed down, he returned to the village. For the first time, he sensed some strange power permeating the air. Yet this strange power kept out of his way, directly ignoring him. Even the portion inhaled with his breath was exhaled again.

After testing it himself and sensing it for a long while without finding any problems, Yu Ziqing walked toward the Village Chief's room.

"Village Chief, I have a bold idea..."

The progress is a little slow, but I already discussed it with my editor when I started the book. I won't put it on sale after only a hundred-odd thousand words. At my public-release rate of six or seven thousand words a day, there will be at least more than two hundred thousand words before it goes on sale.