Raid and Sweep

Night, wilderness.

Bright moonlight spilled across the mountains, draping the peaks in a veil of silver.

A True Dragon tore apart the heavens, while a Savage Elephant shattered the earth. It was happening for real.

Li Jiusheng was a centenarian with a head of white hair, yet his body was covered in muscles. Drenched in sweat, he stood as still as a mountain. His blood and Qi surged within him, like the roar of a dragon and the trumpeting of an elephant, burning away his decay and age.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The night was silent, making the pounding of his heart especially loud, like war drums. It pumped forth even more blood, circulating it throughout his body and replacing all of his aged blood and Qi.

During this blood-replacement process, the True Dragon and Savage Elephant flickered between reality and illusion as they guarded Li Jiusheng.

Li Jiusheng's mind was clear. He knew that he had finally gained an initial grasp of the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength]. The power in his body had far surpassed the limit of a First Layer Innate Void Core.

But in Li Jiusheng's eyes, it was still not enough.

"I still need to shed this old body and welcome new life. How can I be content with the present?" Li Jiusheng decisively cultivated the [Mountain and Wild New Life Method], treating this blood replacement as an accumulation for his rebirth.

To be reborn, he needed to cultivate without pause. Every accumulation was another step forward.

"The path of cultivation is long. I will search high and low." Li Jiusheng said resolutely.

The night passed in the blink of an eye. When the horizon had just begun to glow pale with dawn, Li Jiusheng opened his eyes in the wilderness. He dispersed his blood and Qi, shaking the dew from his body. As his blood and Qi circulated, they generated immense heat and evaporated the moisture on him.

"This cultivation session brought great gains. My physical strength has risen drastically, and my realm has loosened somewhat as well. That Void Core has become more solid, bringing me another step closer to the next realm, the Real Core." Feeling the changes in his body and the advancement of his realm, Li Jiusheng was very satisfied.

"Next, I need to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as quickly as possible and make the Void Core more solid." Li Jiusheng set his next goal. While absorbing spiritual energy, he would also accumulate foundations for rebirth, cultivate the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength] as much as possible to increase his strength, and comprehend the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique] to further strengthen his Innate Sword Body.

These were all directions for Li Jiusheng's cultivation.

And all of them required time, accumulation, and steady refinement to grow stronger bit by bit.

Having determined his direction, Li Jiusheng began working hard.

He no longer deliberately pursued insight into more cultivation methods. Instead, he pursued what came naturally, planning to first master everything he already knew.

At dawn, he rose at the rooster's crow and began practicing swordsmanship.

When the morning sun hung high overhead, he began practicing his fists.

In the afternoon, he tempered himself and began cultivating rebirth.

At night, he absorbed spiritual energy and accumulated True Qi.

The days passed like this, one after another. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days had gone by.

By the time Li Jiusheng emerged from his immersed cultivation, winter had already arrived.

As the year entered winter, heaven and earth gradually turned cold, and heavy snow sealed the mountains.

Goose-feather snow fell from the sky in a sweeping flurry, blanketing the wilderness. The verdant pines, layered forests, and riot of colorful flowers were all covered in white, as though heaven and earth had been painted white overnight.

Standing atop the eaves of the Scripture Repository Pavilion and looking out, he saw plains turned into waxen elephants, all clad in silver. The beauty was enough to calm one's heart.

After watching the snow for a while, Li Jiusheng entered the tea room. With a flick of his finger, a strand of True Qi shot into the brazier, transforming into blazing flames and igniting the dry firewood. Before long, flames roared and heat filled the room, driving away the cold.

Li Jiusheng placed the teapot atop the brazier, then watched silently as he waited for the water to boil.

As he waited, his thoughts returned to himself.

More than twenty days of arduous cultivation and accumulation had pushed his realm to the peak of the Innate Void Core. The True Qi gathered within him was like a clear, pure lake, slowly circulating around the Void Core. As long as he fused it all into the Void Core, he could forge a Real Core.

His physical strength had not been neglected during this period either. The [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength] had continuously tempered his body. Despite Li Jiusheng possessing a body with neither innate bones nor talent, he had somehow unearthed the Power of Three Dragons and Three Elephants. It was simply unbelievable.

Li Jiusheng had long planned to use this Power of Three Dragons and Three Elephants as an accumulation for rebirth. He would continue increasing it. So long as his accumulation before rebirth was deep enough, once his rebirth succeeded, the rewards would surely be extraordinary.

Accumulation naturally did not consist of brute strength alone. The [Grass and Wood Sword Technique] and Innate Sword Body had not been neglected either. Like his physical strength, both had improved greatly. In particular, Li Jiusheng had already comprehended the "momentum" of the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique].

It could be said that although Li Jiusheng's realm was only at the peak of the Void Core, with all his combat power combined, he dared say that he was invincible within the Innate Realm!

This was not arrogance, but absolute confidence.

Three dragons and three elephants, the Innate Sword Body, the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique], the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength], and the [Mountain and Wild New Life Method]—these were Li Jiusheng's confidence. Compared with them, the most unremarkable thing was the lake-like abundance of True Qi he had accumulated.

Gurgle, gurgle...

Just as Li Jiusheng was deep in thought, the sound of boiling tea pulled him back to reality.

Pouring the boiled tea into a cup, Li Jiusheng carried the steaming tea beneath the eaves and admired the beautiful sight of heaven and earth merged into a single color.

A sip of clear tea, a beautiful view, and a heart as tranquil as water. Clad in a purple Daoist robe, his white hair draped over his shoulders, Li Jiusheng enjoyed this moment.

"Senior Brother, you are in quite an elegant mood."

At that moment, a streak of sword energy flashed amid the swirling snow. Li Jiusheng focused his gaze. How was that sword energy? It was clearly Li Qingshan.

His cultivation had clearly advanced further. Standing amid the snow, he was like a long sword, sharp and unstoppable. The falling snowflakes all veered away from him.

"Judging by that aura, you've cultivated the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique] quite deeply." Li Jiusheng said with a smile.

Li Qingshan came from the snow to stand beneath the eaves, untouched by dust. He cupped his hands toward Li Jiusheng and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for imparting your teachings and techniques."

Li Jiusheng waved his hand, calculated the time on his fingers, and said, "One month has passed."

Li Qingshan nodded. He had emerged from seclusion precisely because the time had come. "The disciples of Shangqing Palace have been constantly gathering intelligence. Zhang Wudao is already on his way here."

Li Jiusheng nodded and asked, "Are you confident?"

Li Qingshan stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Jiusheng. He possessed exceptional talent and had achieved success in cultivation while still young, preserving his youthful appearance. He now looked like a young man, and standing beside Li Jiusheng, they seemed like a grandfather and grandson.

"In his early years, Emperor Wu of Zhou emerged onto the scene with a domineering temperament and no regard for consequences. He made countless enemies, and more than half the Cultivation world wanted him dead. Yet he endured it all. He carried out a raid and sweep, plowing through every one of his enemies and killing until no one dared make a sound. It was also through those terrifying achievements and the immense aura he accumulated that Emperor Wu of Zhou broke through his shackles in one stroke and became a Patriarch."

"Now his disciple Zhang Wudao wants to imitate his master and carry out another nest-clearing raid. He wants to trample my Shangqing Palace to establish his own fame. What a fool's dream."

"Zhang Wudao is strong, but I am not weak either. I had already prepared to perish with him. Now that I have the [Grass and Wood Sword Technique] imparted by Senior Brother, the one who deserves to die is Zhang Wudao!"

"I will plow through Zhang Wudao!"

Li Qingshan's words rang with force.