Demanding

Five months later.

"The Primordial is the state before Origin Energy is separated, chaos unified, the beginning of Origin Energy. Origin Energy is born from chaos, bright outside, dark inside."

Lu Xiaotian sat cross-legged on a straw mat in the open space in front of his Cave Mansion, silently circulating the Cultivation Technique in the Primordial Scripture. He held his breath, focused his mind, and embraced unity, circulating that wisp of Origin Energy within his body for a second grand cycle before exhaling a breath of turbid air. Before entering the Qi Refining First Layer, any air Lu Xiaotian exhaled would scatter. Now, the gas expelled from his mouth shot out like a short arrow.

It took Lu Xiaotian nearly four months to reach the Qi Refining First Layer, and he spent the last month consolidating his progress a bit.

"Damn it, I almost forgot to feed Little Green Ant the Beast Spirit Pill."

Lu Xiaotian slapped his forehead. The spiritual energy outside the cave was more abundant, so he had spent a bit longer cultivating. Snapping back to reality, Lu Xiaotian scrambled to his feet and hurried into the Cave Mansion. The Black Bear lying by the entrance opened its eyes, saw it was Lu Xiaotian, and listlessly closed them again, continuing its loud snores.

Lu Xiaotian skillfully went to the hidden room of the alchemy chamber and retrieved a small white bottle. Then, he went to the Spirit Beast room inside the Cave Mansion. In the relatively spacious Spirit Beast room, a Jade Pool about ten feet square was scattered with the leaves of White Fluorescent Grass. White Fluorescent Grass was a low-grade Spiritual Grass, its leaves shimmering with a faint white luster. Within the leaves of the White Fluorescent Grass, there were occasional faint rustling sounds.

Lu Xiaotian took out over a dozen black pills from the small white bottle, which emitted a strange fragrance, and sprinkled them on the leaves of the White Fluorescent Grass.

Hiss hiss

A commotion immediately arose from the Jade Pool. Over twenty green ants, five to six times larger than normal ants, crawled out from the leaves and rushed towards the Beast Spirit Pills, chewing them with large bites.

"One, two..."

While the Little Green Ants were eating, Lu Xiaotian counted them repeatedly. When he confirmed the number hadn't decreased, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Over the past six months, the Black Robe Old Man had been going out more and more frequently. Besides cultivating, Lu Xiaotian was also responsible for helping the Black Robe Old Man take care of these Little Green Ants.

These Little Green Ants were low-grade Spirit Insects, difficult to raise. In the past six months, only these twenty-odd had been successfully raised. If they lacked sufficient food, the Little Green Ants would kill and eat each other.

Two months ago, Lu Xiaotian had been late with feeding, and two Little Green Ants were killed and devoured by stronger ones. For this, Lu Xiaotian received twenty lashes from the Black Robe Old Man, enduring such pain that he could barely move for over three days. After this lesson, Lu Xiaotian became exceptionally careful.

Lu Xiaotian plugged the small white bottle with a peach wood stopper. Suddenly, a long, narrow shadow appeared on the ground. Lu Xiaotian's heart tightened, but he quickly relaxed. Turning around, he saw it was indeed the Black Robe Old Man.

"Elder Geng!" Lu Xiaotian bowed to the Black Robe Old Man.

"You know it's me?" His cultivation was far superior to Lu Xiaotian's, and he had only just appeared at the entrance of the Spirit Beast room, yet Lu Xiaotian seemed to have already sensed him. The Black Robe Old Man couldn't help but be surprised.

"There was a faint shadow on the ground, and the Black Bear was guarding the cave entrance. Only Elder Geng could enter the cave silently," Lu Xiaotian replied truthfully.

"Not bad. Such intelligence at such a young age is truly outstanding among his peers," the Black Robe Old Man nodded slightly. He inwardly lamented that this child's Spiritual Root potential was somewhat lacking. He had been cultivating the Primordial Scripture for nearly half a year with little progress. In the past, taking him as a disciple wouldn't have been out of the question. But ever since the Earth Fire Palace was destroyed, the word "disciple" brought a dark expression to the Black Robe Old Man's face.

"The Shadow Ants are also well-fed. Here is a Qi Gathering Pill as a reward for you." The Black Robe Old Man took out a pill bottle from his person and, with a wave of his palm, the bottle floated in front of Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian took the pill bottle, opened the cap, and was immediately met with a refreshing medicinal fragrance. Lu Xiaotian couldn't help but beam with joy. Qi Gathering Pills were used by cultivators in the early Qi Refining stages, with good effects from the first to the third layer. This single pill was equivalent to three months of arduous cultivation for him, who was only at the Qi Refining First Layer.

"Thank you, Elder Geng, for the pill." After carefully putting the pill away, Lu Xiaotian quickly expressed his gratitude.

"As long as you do your job well, I will not be stingy with rewards," the Black Robe Old Man nodded, then took out a small Jade Gourd. "I will be spending less time in the Cave Mansion from now on. When the Shadow Ants in the Jade Pool mature, if I am still not back, put the mature Shadow Ants into this Jade Gourd."

Only now did Lu Xiaotian learn that these Little Green Ants were called Shadow Ants. However, Lu Xiaotian's expression became troubled. These Little Green Ants were low-grade Spirit Insects with not much destructive power, but they possessed a strong paralyzing effect. Two months ago, during the time he was late with feeding, Lu Xiaotian had accidentally reached into the Jade Pool and been bitten by a Little Green Ant. His movements became significantly slower than usual, and he fell asleep on a beast hide, sleeping two hours longer than normal. When he woke up, the Little Green Ants in the Jade Pool were already killing and eating each other.

"Elder Geng, after being bitten by a Shadow Ant, the paralysis lasts for nearly a day. Without preventative measures, I fear I will fail the task you've assigned me," Lu Xiaotian said cautiously, afraid of displeasing the Black Robe Old Man.

"This bottle contains the antidote for the Shadow Ant's paralyzing venom. You only need to take the antidote before handling the Shadow Ants," the Black Robe Old Man handed Lu Xiaotian another small medicine bottle.

"Yes, Elder Geng."

Lu Xiaotian took the antidote and thought to himself, No wonder the Black Robe Old Man, who was never cordial to me before, just rewarded me with a Qi Gathering Pill. It turns out he wants me to do this laborious work. Even with the antidote, being bitten by a Little Green Ant would still be quite painful. However, with the Black Robe Old Man's arrangement, there was no room for him to refuse.

"I will be leaving tomorrow. I'm taking the Alchemy Furnace with me," the Black Robe Old Man said.

"If the Beast Spirit Pills run out and you're not back, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of these Shadow Ants," Lu Xiaotian said truthfully.

"I have a small Alchemy Furnace here. It's not much, but it's sufficient for refining Beast Spirit Pills."

The Black Robe Old Man took out another small Alchemy Furnace, entirely black, as if forged from dark iron. Judging by its quality alone, it was far inferior to the one the Black Robe Old Man had used before. However, Lu Xiaotian didn't mind, as he didn't have any other formulas or Spiritual Materials himself. Still, Lu Xiaotian thought that he currently had no means of self-protection. From the conversations between the Black Robe Old Man and others, Lu Xiaotian knew that cultivators not only needed Cultivation Techniques but also had to practice Spells or Martial Skills to possess combat power.

When he was at the Thunder Blade Sect before, his elder brother Shi Qingshan also had to practice Martial Skills after cultivating internal energy techniques to be considered a true martial artist. Therefore, Lu Xiaotian thought there were similarities between martial artists and cultivators.

The Black Robe Old Man's absences were getting longer each time. After pondering for a moment, Lu Xiaotian mustered his courage and said, "Elder Geng, if you happen not to return in time, and I need to go out to gather Spiritual Medicine to refine Beast Spirit Pills, if I take the Black Bear out, and a Yao Beast intrudes into the Cave Mansion, it might damage the things inside. If I don't take the Black Bear out, it's a small matter if I encounter danger outside, but if I don't return, it might disappoint your hope of raising these Shadow Ants."

"Are you implying you want benefits from me?" Elder Geng chuckled sinisterly, his triangular eyes shooting out cold, snake-like glares.

"No, I wouldn't dare."

A cold sweat broke out on Lu Xiaotian's forehead. The pressure from the high-level cultivator made his legs tremble. It was already an achievement that he could stand without kneeling.

Elder Geng's expression flickered between grim and pleased. The Spiritual Materials discovered in the canyon were indeed something he was determined to obtain. The Shadow Ants were also one of his trump cards, though their individual lethality wasn't high. They had been largely destroyed in several battles with disciples of Lingxiao Palace. This little fellow in front of him was somewhat useful. If things truly turned out as Lu Xiaotian described, it would indeed be troublesome.

After a moment of consideration, Elder Geng's expression softened slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. He then tossed a small ancient silver ring and a booklet to Lu Xiaotian. "This is a Spirit Beast Ring, and the booklet contains the Beast Taming Art. You can take the Black Bear out to subdue a low-grade Spirit Beast."

"Thank you, Elder Geng."

Lu Xiaotian finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt an innate fear towards the Black Robe Old Man and, unless absolutely necessary, Lu Xiaotian truly did not wish to endure such pressure without cause. However, if the Black Robe Old Man left, it would be too dangerous for him to go out alone to gather Spiritual Grass to refine Beast Spirit Pills. For the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to act this way.