Comprehension

Old Man Tian and the others ultimately stayed.

The main reason was that Tian Danu was injured, and they couldn't leave for the time being. The outside world was becoming increasingly dangerous, and Old Man Tian, with his cart destroyed, couldn't possibly force his nephew to flee. Blindly running away in this situation would be suicide; it was more practical to rely on Chen Luo, a 'familiar face.' At the very least, Chen Luo wouldn't kill them.

Chen Luo didn't pay attention to their decision. The valley was large and didn't belong to him alone. At most, he would remind them when the time was approaching.

Daylight soon arrived.

The rising sun revealed half its face in the sky.

Chen Luo leaped onto the high platform and began circulating the Internal Qi within his body, following the method he had found by searching General Fan's brain a few days prior.

The nascent sunlight, mixed with a trace of inexplicable power, was absorbed into Chen Luo's body.

It was invisible and intangible.

The Jade Slip, which he had been unable to comprehend no matter how hard he tried before, once again emitted warm energy. This change invigorated Chen Luo, and he quickly began searching for changes in his surroundings. Unfortunately, this power came and went quickly. There were no changes in the surrounding environment, let alone any unusual phenomena.

Could I have found the wrong place?

Chen Luo immediately stood up, ignoring the bewildered gazes of Old Man Tian and the others. He lightly leaped to the highest point and began carefully observing the terrain of the valley.

Although Chen Luo didn't know the art of geomancy, having consulted Third Uncle, he absolutely couldn't have found the wrong location, not to mention having General Fan's brain to help. And even if he and General Fan's brain were both wrong, the Royal Family Brain couldn't possibly have no reaction, could it? There were still over ninety other brains; it was impossible for all these 'brains' to be wrong together.

"Since the location is correct, then the time is wrong."

Falling back onto the high platform, Chen Luo began to recall the contents of Prefect Lou's secret letter.

There weren't many words; besides describing the characteristics of the Spirit Mine, the rest was a report of the discovery. A sample was also sent along, but unfortunately, he couldn't see the Spirit Mine sample. The letters Prefect Lou left in the yamen were also just backup copies he had transcribed himself. That guy had done too many dishonest things and was accustomed to keeping a backup plan for everything he did.

"Maybe it's not the time of day, but the time of the month."

After a while, Chen Luo reached a conclusion.

Things related to Immortal Cultivators were indeed mysterious, even connected to the changes of the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the sun, moon, and stars. This result brought Chen Luo a sense of anticipation, and his state of mind calmed down.

Having gone through so much trouble, leaving was absolutely impossible.

If he missed this opportunity, it would be difficult to find a similar chance next time. There were countless Martial Artists who never came into contact with 'Immortal Fate' in their entire lives. He didn't want to wait until his hair turned white and sit alone in a courtyard regretting it.

Having confirmed the result, Chen Luo returned to the high platform and began a new round of cultivation.

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

It was still Black Tiger Fist.

However, there was basically no improvement now. It took more than a dozen doses of medicinal paste stacked together to produce a slight sensation of warmth. He estimated that it wouldn't be long before the medicinal pastes would also be obsolete.

"I must find a new path."

Having practiced martial arts to this extent, Chen Luo had a feeling of being unable to advance further.

He knew there was still the Grandmaster Realm above, but he just couldn't step into it. Moreover, he had a feeling that the limitations of the Grandmaster Realm didn't just come from the cultivation technique, but also from his own aptitude. He knew himself well. Regarding his aptitude, Crippled Ma had told him on the first day he started practicing martial arts.

He was the most useless of the useless.

If it weren't for the help of over a hundred 'good friends,' he estimated he would still be practicing the first level of Black Tiger Fist. To reach his current level, he probably wouldn't be able to do it even if he practiced until he died.

After two insights from comprehending the Jade Slip, this feeling became even stronger.

He had a premonition that even if he truly obtained a Grandmaster cultivation technique, he wouldn't be able to break through, at most reaching the Half-step Grandmaster Realm. Recalling the battle between the Blade-Wielding Strongman and the Sword-Wielding Man earlier, this speculation became even more certain.

Compared to those two, his Innate Foundation was too weak.

Especially the accumulation of Qi and Blood!

For a strong individual to become a Grandmaster, besides their own aptitude and comprehension, the most important thing was the accumulation of Qi and Blood. When those two fought, the Qi and Blood within their bodies were like a tidal wave, connected into one. That vibrant power all originated from the Martial Artists themselves; this was the origin they had been accumulating since the day they were born.

When he was practicing martial arts before, Chen Luo had asked Crippled Ma.

He learned from him that people like them, when they started practicing martial arts in childhood, would consume a large amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and bathe in medicinal baths. It was the same for Junior Sister Apprentice He Min; her mother started taking tonics and drinking ginseng soup from the day she became pregnant to replenish Vital Qi, making them stronger than ordinary people from birth.

This was just Crippled Ma and Junior Sister Apprentice He Min; the accumulation of a Grandmaster would only be stronger.

Poor Scholars, Rich Martial Artists; many things were decided from birth.

General Fan, whom Chen Luo had killed earlier, had faced the same predicament as him: a weak Innate Foundation.

That's why he placed his hopes on the Jade Slip, not hesitating to betray Prince Ning for it. However, General Fan's vision was limited. After reading the Jade Slip, he actually devised an Evil Technique that used women's essence blood for cultivation, which was why Chen Luo cut him down with a single strike.

"Immortal Path..."

Chen Luo subconsciously 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 again.

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

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

In this state, the Royal Family Brain was like a Soul Leaving the Body, bringing Chen Luo a completely different perspective. He even saw the scene behind his head; with himself as the base point, the entire scene in the valley appeared in his mind. In the valley below, Tian Danu, who had regained his mobility, was being lectured by Old Man Tian, and the brothers Fang Cun and Fang Shan were also standing aside, not daring to utter a word.

These few people were clearly behind him, but Chen Luo 'saw' them.

As night fell and the sun set, that mysterious trace of aura disappeared.

The Royal Family Brain also 'returned' to his body. Chen Luo opened his eyes and looked at the Jade Slip in his hand, which had no changes, lost in thought.

The material of this jade slip must be extraordinary; otherwise, what just happened wouldn't make sense. I sensed my internal Qi strength, and it was still in the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm, but much stronger than before.

This profound state helped with the increase in his internal Qi, but not significantly.

"Great Hero, we roasted two wild chickens. Want to come down and eat?"

Old Man Tian had finished lecturing his nephew by now and started a fire to cook. Seeing Chen Luo awaken from his meditation, he immediately waved to call him over.

"No need."

Chen Luo didn't go down. Instead, he took out the dry rations he carried and slowly started eating.

The dry rations tasted terrible, dry and hard to chew.

But they filled him up.

When traveling alone outside, Chen Luo was more accustomed to eating what he prepared himself. Although he had been with Old Man Tian and the others for a few days, they were not his relatives after all, and he still needed to maintain a certain level of caution.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Chen Luo once again entered that profound state.

As the number of times increased, he clearly felt that his understanding of that realm was becoming more proficient. However, along with this, some subtle changes also appeared in the valley. He knew that the predetermined point was approaching.

The day to harvest the spirit mine, which he had waited for many days, was almost here.