Insight

Old Man Tian and the others ultimately stayed behind.

The main reason was that Tian Danu had been injured, and they had no way to leave for the time being. It was becoming more dangerous outside by the moment. With his ox cart destroyed, Old Man Tian could not possibly force his nephew to flee. Blindly running away under such circumstances was simply courting death. It was better to rely on Chen Luo, an "acquaintance," at least Chen Luo would not kill them.

Chen Luo paid no attention to their decision. The valley was so vast; it did not belong to him alone. At worst, when the time was nearly up, he could remind them.

Daybreak came quickly.

The rising sun climbed into the sky, showing half its face.

Chen Luo leaped onto the high platform and began circulating the Internal Qi inside the body according to the method he had found by searching General Fan's brain several days ago.

The newborn sunlight carried a trace of some indescribable power, which Chen Luo absorbed into his body.

It could neither be seen nor touched.

The Jade Slip, which had previously refused to yield anything no matter how he contemplated it, once again emitted warm energy. The change refreshed Chen Luo's spirits, and he immediately began searching the surroundings for changes. Unfortunately, the power came swiftly and vanished just as swiftly. The environment around him showed no changes either, let alone any strange phenomenon.

Did I find the wrong place?

Chen Luo immediately rose to his feet. Ignoring Old Man Tian and the others' baffled looks, he sprang lightly into the air and flew to the highest point, carefully observing the lay of the valley.

Though Chen Luo did not know geomancy, having consulted third uncle, he could not possibly have chosen the wrong location. Let alone with General Fan's brain helping him. And even if both he and General Fan's brain had truly been wrong, could the Royal Family Brain possibly have had no reaction? There were still more than ninety brains left. It was impossible for so many "brains" to all be mistaken at once.

"Since the location is correct, then the timing must be wrong."

After landing back on the high platform, Chen Luo began recalling the contents of Prefect Lou's secret letter.

There were not many words. Apart from describing the properties of the Spirit Mine, the rest was all a report on the discovery. A sample had also been sent along with it, but unfortunately, he could not see the Spirit Mine sample. The letters Prefect Lou had left in the government office were all spare copies he had transcribed himself. The man had done too many things that pricked his conscience, so he had developed the habit of always keeping something in reserve.

"Perhaps it isn't an hour within a day, but an hour within a month."

After a long while, Chen Luo reached a conclusion.

Things involving Immortal Cultivators were indeed profound and mysterious. They were actually linked to the heavenly stems and earthly branches, as well as the changes of the Sun, Moon, Stars. The result gave Chen Luo another measure of anticipation, and his state of mind gradually calmed.

After all this trouble, leaving was absolutely out of the question.

If he missed this opportunity, finding another chance like it would be difficult. Countless martial artists went their entire lives without ever touching "Immortal Destiny." He did not want to sit alone in a courtyard with gray hair someday, consumed by regret.

Having confirmed his conclusion, Chen Luo returned to the high platform and began another round of cultivation.

He applied two medicinal plasters to his body and slowly began practicing his fist technique.

It was still the Black Tiger Fist.

It simply had almost no room for improvement now. More than ten doses of medicinal plaster stacked together could only bring a faint warmth. Before long, the plasters would likely be obsolete as well.

"I must find a new path."

Having trained his martial arts to this point, Chen Luo already felt as though there was nowhere left to advance.

He clearly knew there was still the Grandmaster Realm above him, yet he simply could not step into it. Moreover, he had a feeling that the restrictions of the Grandmaster Realm did not come solely from cultivation techniques, but also from one's innate aptitude. He knew his own situation best. On his very first day of martial arts training, Crippled Ma had told him about his aptitude.

The trash among trash.

If not for the help of more than a hundred "good friends," he would probably still be practicing the first level of the Black Tiger Fist. Reaching his current level would have been impossible even if he trained until death.

After two sudden enlightenments from contemplating the Jade Slip, that feeling became even stronger.

He had a premonition that even if he truly obtained a Grandmaster cultivation technique, he would not be able to break through. At most, he would reach the Half-step Grandmaster stage. Recalling the battle between the Blade-Wielding Strongman and the Sword-Wielding Man, this speculation became increasingly certain.

Compared with those two, his innate foundation was far too weak.

Especially his accumulation of vital blood!

For a powerhouse to become a Grandmaster, apart from innate talent and comprehension, the most important thing was the accumulation of vital blood. When those two had taken action, the vital blood inside the body surged like ocean tides, joining into one vast expanse. That vigorous, life-filled power had All been derived from the martial artists themselves. It was their origin, accumulated from the day they were born.

When Chen Luo had been training martial arts before, he had asked Crippled Ma about it.

From him, Chen Luo learned that people like them had consumed huge quantities of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures when they first began martial arts training as children. They also soaked in medicinal baths. Junior sister apprentice He Min had been the same—her mother had begun taking tonics and drinking ginseng soup to replenish her vitality from the day she became pregnant, ensuring that they were stronger than ordinary people from birth.

That was only Crippled Ma and junior sister apprentice He Min. The accumulation of Grandmaster powerhouses would only be greater.

Poor scholars, rich martial artists. Many things were decided from the moment one was born.

The General Fan whom Chen Luo had killed back then had faced the same predicament as him—he had been innately frail.

That was why he had placed his hopes on the Jade Slip and even betrayed Prince Ning for it. However, General Fan's horizons had been limited. After reading through the Jade Slip, he had actually devised an evil technique that used women's blood essence to cultivate. No wonder Chen Luo had cut him down with a single stroke.

"Immortal Dao."

Chen Luo unconsciously tightened his grip on the Jade Slip, calmed his distracting thoughts, and began a new day of cultivation.

A day passed.

Night fell, and the time node of the Conjunction of Sun and Moon appeared once more.

Chen Luo sat cross-legged on a stone, closed his eyes, and quietly contemplated. The Jade Slip once again emitted a warm aura, and that familiar feeling rose in his heart again.

This Time, the change was even more obvious than the previous two times.

In this state, the Royal Family Brain seemed to have undergone Soul Leaving the Body, granting Chen Luo an entirely different field of vision. He could even see behind his head. With himself as the center, the entire valley's scenery appeared in his mind. Down in the valley, Tian Danu, who had regained his ability to move, was being lectured by Old Man Tian. The brothers Fang Cun and Fang Shan stood to one side as well, not daring to utter a single fart.

Those people were clearly behind him, yet Chen Luo could "see" them.

As night fell and the sun set, that thread of mysterious aura vanished.

The Royal Family Brain also "returned" inside the body. Chen Luo opened his eyes and looked thoughtfully at the completely unchanged Jade Slip in his hand.

The material of this Jade Slip was certainly extraordinary as well. Otherwise, there was no way to explain what had just happened. He sensed the strength of his Internal Qi. It was still at the initial stage of the Bone Forging Realm, though much stronger than before.

That mysterious state was helpful in raising his Internal Qi, though the effect was not great.

"Great Hero, we roasted two wild chickens. Would you like to come down and have some?"

Old Man Tian had finished lecturing his nephew and begun building a fire to cook. Seeing Chen Luo awaken from meditation, he immediately waved and called out.

"No need."

Chen Luo did not go down. Instead, he took out the dry rations he carried and slowly began eating.

The dry rations tasted very poor, dry and hard in the mouth.

But they filled the stomach.

When traveling alone, Chen Luo was more accustomed to eating food he had prepared himself. Although he had spent several days with Old Man Tian and the others, they were not his family. He still needed to maintain the caution he ought to have.

The night passed without incident.

The next early morning, Chen Luo entered that mysterious state once more.

Along with the increasing number of times, he could clearly feel his comprehension of that state growing more proficient. But along with it, subtle changes also appeared in the valley. He knew the predetermined node was approaching.

The day of harvesting the Spirit Mine, which he had awaited for many days, was nearly here.