Wind Catching Eye

The three of them regrouped and returned to Golden-Faced Gentleman's cave dwelling.

The journey was peaceful, and nothing happened along the way.

On the evening of the third day...

Li Shuilang took half a packet of Purple Poison Powder from his robes and gently set it on the ground.

A scorpion then crawled out of his sleeve. Its body was dark yellow, and its eyes glimmered among the Spiritual Objects, as if it knew that the marvelous thing on the ground could make it even stronger.

It gently pried open the packet with its pincers, and the enticing aroma immediately filled the air. The little scorpion grew restless, its eight tiny legs beginning to move as it quickly devoured the remaining half packet of Purple Poison Powder.

In an instant, Li Shuilang could feel its body being strengthened by the Purple Poison Powder once again.

Under the infusion of Purple Poison Powder, the little scorpion danced wildly all over, as if it had drunk strong wine. Faint green light shone from its deep, dark eyes.

Purple Poison Powder was a Spiritual Object used to raise the Five Poisons.

When they had returned from the market three days ago, the little scorpion had already eaten half a packet.

Three days later, the little scorpion was clamoring for more, so Li Shuilang could only feed it again.

It was gone...

This time, it was really gone.

And although Purple Poison Powder was a Spiritual Object, its effects were potent. After eating a whole packet, the scorpion would need at least half a month to recover.

The Spirit Field.

Madam Qin Yue'e, her maid Jiang Xue, and Lu Qi'er were cultivating in the nearby courtyard.

Though none of the three were looking at the two people working in the Spirit Field, the pressure they exuded was enough to keep the pair from daring any funny business.

Li Shuilang was using a long-handled ladle to fertilize the Flying Poison Flowers, while Li Shuidao had gone over to the Luokui Grass. From a distance, he looked as if he were inspecting its growth.

Li Shuidao gently scraped away the fine soil around the Luokui Grass with his foot, revealing a pile of blackened rotten flesh: the flesh of a second-tier Mud Dragon.

An yōushòu's flesh and blood were also Spiritual Objects, but if too much time passed and the Spiritual Energy dissipated, they no longer counted as such. A Spirit Companion could still eat them, but they would not improve its cultivation.

Three days ago, after returning from the market, Li Shuidao had cried out that he had been swindled. He then dumped these five worthless pieces of rotten flesh into the Spirit Field as fertilizer and resigned himself to his bad luck.

Three days later, he gently scraped away the soil with his foot. The rotten flesh beneath had turned black and sticky, an upsetting sight.

More than a dozen tiny, milky-white worms were wriggling across the blackened flesh. They were small insects, and they were metal-element spirit insects.

The Mud Dragon's flesh had lost its Spiritual Energy, but it had once belonged to a second-tier demon beast. In just three days, it had given rise to insects.

The earth-element flesh, nourished by the Spiritual Energy of the Kuixing plants, had naturally produced metal-element insects within the vast system of the Spirit Field.

Earth gives birth to metal!

All things in the world form systems of their own. Within a system, everything will naturally tend toward Yin-Yang Balance and the generation cycle of the Five Elements.

This was the Heavenly Dao!

A Jade Toad, about half the size of a palm, hopped out from the wide leg of Li Shuidao's trousers and landed on his cloth shoe.

The Jade Toad flicked out its tongue and swallowed the little metal-element insects one by one.

Metal gives birth to water.

After clearing the insects from the rotten flesh, Li Shuidao once again covered it with soil, without anyone noticing.

The whole process was completely silent...

Madam didn't know. Neither maid knew. Even Li Shuilang didn't know.

In the woods outside the cave dwelling.

Li Shuilang drew a deep breath, bent his knees slightly, and gripped a hard stone in both hands.

He watched the gaps between the trees. The moment a leaf fell, he would strike.

After a few breaths, he saw a leaf drift down from deep within the woods.

Whoosh!

The pebble shot through the air and struck the leaf with pinpoint accuracy. This required not only keen eyesight but precise control of his wrist.

In this seemingly quiet forest, Li Shuilang kept hurling stones. His movements were so light and nimble that everything seemed to be under his control.

His gaze was calm and sharp, his eyes keen. His eyesight and movements improved with every passing second.

His figure was like a leopard in the mountains: agile and ferocious.

The Venomous Scorpion Tail Needle, the traveling dragon's flying arrow.

When he gained Mana in the future and reached the middle stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm, he would be a formidable fighter, no easy target for anyone to bully.

Not far beyond the woods, a winding stream flowed.

Li Shuidao held a Bamboo Sword and repeatedly ground it against a smooth slab of stone.

After sharpening the sword for a long time, Li Shuidao raised the Bamboo Sword before his eyes and examined its almost transparent edge.

Then he stood and walked away. Along the way, he lightly swept the Bamboo Sword across a leaf, cutting it cleanly in half with a perfectly smooth edge.

The Bamboo Sword was sharp, but much too brittle. It was only good for a toy.

At dusk.

The Li brothers' courtyard.

A large stone vat stood in the courtyard. Stagnant water filled it, naturally breeding mosquitoes and flies.

The mosquitoes and flies buzzed above the water.

Suddenly.

A man's reflection appeared on the surface of the water in the stone vat.

With a turn of his wrist, he thrust the Bamboo Sword straight ahead.

Each thrust was as swift as the wind. The falling-rain-like moves were gentle yet ruthless, the sword's tip so fast it could barely be seen.

Each strike left a sword-shaped shadow on the water in the vat.

Day after day, he practiced without rest.

Three months later...

On a pitch-black night, Li Shuidao was still standing before the water vat, thrusting his sword into the air again and again.

The Bamboo Sword slashed through the air with a series of sharp cracks, like an orchestra in full swing.

As always, Li Shuidao persevered, making his swordsmanship faster and more precise through countless repetitions.

Streak after streak of sword shadows and flashes of light flew by like shooting stars across the night sky, seeming to condense Li Shuidao's blood, sweat, and soul.

In the evening quiet, it was like music frozen in the air, intoxicating and mesmerizing. Even the moonlight seemed to ripple at his swordplay.

When he finally sheathed his sword, a thin layer of mosquitoes and flies floated on the still surface of the stone vat. Some had their wings severed, while others had their bodies pierced.

After three months of hard practice, Li Shuidao had finally mastered the Wind Catching Eye. With a single sword stroke, he could cut down a flying fly. The faster it flew, the less chance it had of escaping his gaze.

He plunged the Bamboo Sword into the water vat and gently stirred the surface. The mosquitoes and flies, their severed limbs clinging to the sword, stuck to it. With a light flick, he sent them all tumbling into a corner.

Four months later.

Madam distributed the monthly pay again.

Senior Disciple Sister Jiang Xue led two companions along the winding mountain path at a brisk pace.

Jiang Xue moved as swiftly as the wind. Li Shuidao and Wang Tiankun from the kitchen followed close behind, the three of them steadily picking up speed.

Every month, Jiang Xue went to the market. She always made the trip, and any other disciples who wanted to go could accompany her. She would look after their safety along the way. Those who didn't want to go could ask her to purchase things on their behalf.

It had been four months since their last trip to the market. Li Shuidao had one hundred and twenty Jade Coins in his purse.

Li Shuilang received thirty Jade Coins a month and spent them as soon as he got them, buying one packet of Purple Poison Powder worth thirty Jade Coins each time to feed his Spirit Companion.

So whenever Li Shuilang received his monthly pay, he handed the money to Senior Disciple Sister Jiang Xue and asked her to buy the powder for him at the market. He didn't need to make the trip himself.

The two maids, Lu Qi'er and even Senior Disciple Brother Ren Jichuan, did the same.

Anyone who wanted to shop for themselves had to accompany Senior Disciple Sister Jiang Xue on a trip to the market.

The three crossed mountains and streams at breakneck speed, darting over ravines and leaving blurred afterimages in their wake.

After four months of cultivation, with the help of his Spirit Companion, the Jade Toad, Li Shuidao's body had grown stronger and stronger, far surpassing that of martial artists who had trained for years.