Preparations for Entering the Mountains (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

The next morning, Zhou Ling went to Chu Xing's home on Front Street.

Chu Xing had two sons, but they were doing business over in South City and did not live here.

His wife, Madam Chu Ye, ran a breakfast stall nearby and had set out early in the morning.

"Uncle Chu, are you home?"

The front gate was ajar, and Zhou Ling knocked on it.

"Brother Ling, come in!"

Chu Xing's slightly hoarse voice came from the small courtyard.

Zhou Ling walked in. The small courtyard was permeated with a strong medicinal scent.

Chu Xing was sitting in the small hall, wiping down his arrows.

When he looked up and saw Zhou Ling enter, he paused slightly.

Zhou Ling's aura today seemed somewhat different from yesterday.

Though his face still bore the youthful immaturity of a boy, there was now a trace of steadiness between his brows.

Yet Chu Xing was not surprised. He could be said to have watched Zhou Ling grow up.

Perhaps because the child had been born in the wild mountains, he had always seemed more sensible and composed than other children his age.

This time, they had encountered a Late First-Tier Demon Beast, and everyone in the Medicine Seeking Team had suffered some injuries.

But for them, this was as commonplace as a daily meal.

As long as the injuries were not too severe, they would rest and recuperate for a few days before entering the mountains again.

Setting down the arrow in his hand, he asked, "Brother Ling, is your father feeling better today?"

"My father is in much better spirits today. He ate some Spirit Porridge this morning and keeps saying he's fine!"

"But Physician Lin and the others said that unless his meridians are properly restored, he absolutely cannot enter the mountains again."

Zhou Ling replied.

"Uncle Chu, in a few days, I want to enter the mountains with you."

Hearing this, Chu Xing could not help but pause. He shook his head. "No! You're still too young! Black Cloud Mountain will soon enter winter, and Demon Beasts are more likely to appear then. It's too dangerous!"

Zhou Ling said firmly, "Uncle Chu, don't worry. I've gone to Black Cloud Mountain with Father and Mother several times before."

"Besides, I'm already at the Fourth Layer of Qi Condensation. Even if I encounter danger, I can handle it!"

Chu Xing pondered briefly before saying solemnly, "I know you want to enter the mountains to look for Core Condensing Grass, but it's a Tier 2 Spirit Herb. How could it be so easy to find?"

"Not to mention that you have no experience seeking medicine—even mud-legged folk like us, who have spent years rolling about in the mountains, might not find a single Tier 2 spirit herb in two or three years!"

Zhou Ling shook his head. "Uncle Chu, if you won't let me join the Medicine Seeking Team, then I'll go with another one."

Chu Xing frowned, caught in a dilemma. Helplessly, he said, "You child, why are you as stubborn as your father!"

After thinking it over, he realized that if Zhou Ling followed him, he could at least look after him. If the boy truly joined another Medicine Seeking Team, it would most likely be even more dangerous.

Still, he asked, "Does your mother know about this?"

"Please keep it a secret for me, Uncle. My mother has to care for my father, and I don't want her worrying about me as well!"

Zhou Ling said.

As for his mother, he had already made an excuse, saying that he had run into a few problems in his recent cultivation and needed to move into the Dao Academy for a few days.

After all, the spiritual energy at the Dao Academy was far denser than at home.

Li Ru did not think much of it and merely told him to cultivate diligently.

Hearing this, Chu Xing's brows furrowed even more deeply. Still concerned, he said in a low voice, "No matter what, your mother needs to know about this."

"If my mother knows, how could she possibly let me go?"

"Uncle Chu, Core Condensing Grass can't be bought on the market anytime soon. I can only enter the mountains to search for it, and there's only a little over a month left."

"If we can't refine the Pulse Nurturing Pill, my father's cultivation will be ruined!"

Zhou Ling fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.

With his father's proud and unyielding nature, if he could no longer cultivate and became an ordinary man, how painful would that be for him?

As Zhou Ling spoke, his eyes gradually reddened.

Chu Xing sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "All right! Thinking back to when your father and I entered the mountains, we were only in our teens as well."

"We'll enter the mountains in three days. This time, we may not go into the Inner Mountain. When the time comes, I'll head to Nine Leaf Valley alone and try my luck."

"It would be best if I can find it. If not, I can only ask around among the other Medicine Seeking Teams."

"As for you, just search around the Outer Mountain."

Zhou Ling shook his head and said with great confidence, "Uncle Chu, have you forgotten that I'm an Artifact Refiner? I have plenty of methods at my disposal. This time, I'll prepare more Thunder Fire Balls."

"Even a Late First-Tier Demon Beast might not be able to hurt me!"

Chu Xing glanced at him and shook his head helplessly. "Sigh, you child, what am I supposed to do with you!"

"But be careful. The mountains are no place to trifle with!"

Zhou Ling hurriedly nodded. "Don't worry. I grew up in the mountains."

Afterward, Chu Xing told him to come back in three days.

When he returned home, his mother was helping his father refine Qi Nourishing Powder to nurture his meridians.

Zhou Ling did not disturb them.

He went straight back to his room.

With a thought, he took six Thunder Fire Bead vessels from his Storage Pouch.

After taking a few sips of tea and waiting for his emotions to settle, he began inscribing them.

This Storage Pouch was another vessel left over from the last time he had refined Storage Pouches, which he had made himself.

As for the Thunder Fire Bead vessels, he had prepared them for his father.

As his Inscription Pattern cultivation improved, his Success Rate in drawing Thunder Fire Engravings had now surpassed eighty percent.

As long as he had enough spiritual energy within his body, he could basically draw them successfully.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Before dawn that day, Zhou Ling got up and began preparing.

He had already bought food and daily necessities and placed them in his Storage Pouch.

There were also six Thunder Fire Beads inside, along with a First-Grade Low-Rank Fire Pattern Sword.

With the power of a Thunder Fire Bead rivaling a Mid Qi Refining Stage spell, firing all six at once would be enough to blast a Late First-Tier Demon Beast to death.

Furthermore, his Azure Wind Sword Art had improved somewhat over the past few days.

He had already entered the minor mastery realm of the first level.

With the aid of the [Sword Control] talent, he could now control a sword for around five zhang.

Sword control had originally been the most difficult sword technique.

This kind of sword-control technique required the coordination of an art formula, as well as extraordinarily Precise Control over one's Internal Spiritual Power.

It gathered the spiritual power of the entire body into a single stream to command a dharma sword.

Once mastered, killing enemies with a controlled sword was not only immensely powerful, but could also catch opponents completely off guard.

However, mastering sword control—and the minute control of Internal Spiritual Power it demanded—was simply too difficult.

It was not something an ordinary Rogue Cultivator could achieve.

Fortunately, with the combined support of his [Sword Control] and [Precise Control] talents, Zhou Ling had forcibly cultivated the Azure Wind Sword Art into the Azure Astral Sword Control Art.

However, he had yet to condense Azure Wind Sword Qi. The sword qi he unleashed was merely the result of fusing his own spiritual power with the dharma sword.

Even so, its power was enough to deal with a First-Order Mid-Stage Body Refining Demon Beast.

Besides the Thunder Fire Ball and sword control, there was also his body refinement. He was now at First-Order Mid-Stage Body Refining, and the strength of his fleshly body was enough to rival that of a mid-stage first-order Demon Beast.

Moreover, his Great Yang Fist had reached the complete mastery realm of the first level, its power already surpassing his father's.

A casual punch carried astonishing force!

Combined with [Lion's Roar], evolved from the [Roar] talent, its destructive power was certainly no trifling matter.

With all these trump cards, along with [Crisis Reaction], Zhou Ling was brimming with confidence about entering the mountains this time!