Heaven's Gifts Refused Bring Disaster

"Good opportunity!"

A surge of joy rose in Gu Han's heart.

Jade Spirit Fruits were among the finest Fourth-Grade Heavenly Material Earthly Treasures, not inferior even to many Fifth-Tier Heavenly Material Earthly Treasures.

When used as one of the ingredients in alchemy, they had many effects and were widely used in refining certain Fourth Grade and Fifth-Grade Pills.

However, if swallowed directly, they had only one effect: strengthening the meridians of cultivators below the Dou Master realm and increasing cultivation speed. If consumed during the Dou Qi stage, it guaranteed success when condensing a Dou Qi Vortex at the Ninth Stage Dou Qi.

As everyone knew, the human meridians were fragile. During the Dou Qi stage, they could hardly withstand medicinal power. Most cultivators at this stage could only honestly absorb Heaven and Earth Energy through the simplest methods to grow stronger.

This was why many factions judged a disciple's potential by their cultivation before the age of twenty, because it largely reflected a person's talent and cultivation temperament.

This was also why Qi Gathering Powder, a pill that guaranteed a Ninth Stage Dou Qi cultivator could break through to Dou Zhe, qualified as Fourth Grade.

There was a considerable chance of failure when condensing a Dou Qi Vortex at Ninth Stage Dou Qi. Once it failed, one's cultivation would regress to Eighth Stage. With bad luck, it might take more than ten attempts to succeed, wasting the best period for cultivation and affecting one's future.

Jade Spirit Fruits were even more effective than Qi Gathering Powder.

"Chou Hour, one fifteen in the morning. There's still over an hour."

"Mao Hour, five fifteen in the morning. There are four hours in between."

"There's enough time, but I need to hurry."

Gu Han quickly rose, changed into a set of pure black clothes, and quietly left the wooden cabin.

It was the middle of the night, and most people had already gone to sleep. Leaving as soon as possible would help him avoid being discovered.

Cloud Stream Valley in the Back Mountain was quite a distance from where the Probationary Disciples lived, and the roads were difficult to travel. Setting out early would prevent unexpected complications.

Nearly one shichen later, Gu Han arrived at the location mentioned in the intelligence. Sure enough, he saw a sizable boulder covered in moss and unknown vine-like plants.

Ordinary people passing by would never imagine that a small path was hidden behind the boulder, leading to a Spirit Gathering Ground.

Bang!

Gu Han took out the iron rod he had prepared in advance from his Storage Ring and dug deeply around the boulder. Then, he inserted it into a spot and used leverage to pry it loose, channeling Dou Qi throughout the process.

After repeating this dozens of times, an opening barely wide enough for one person appeared, with a narrow path behind it.

After walking nearly two hundred meters along the path, Gu Han felt his view widen. The dense Heaven and Earth Energy made him feel extremely comfortable.

Once he emerged from the path, he saw an Open-air Cave roughly ten zhang in diameter. At its center stood a Purple Root Tree three zhang tall.

There were five fruits on the tree, like little lanterns emitting a faint white glow in the night.

"Jade Spirit Fruits!"

Gu Han's breathing trembled slightly.

These were his ticket to swiftly reaching the Dou Zhe realm. They could also strengthen his meridians and make his future cultivation path smoother.

It was no exaggeration to say that a single Jade Spirit Fruit was enough to repay the Misty Cloud Sect for the kindness it had shown in nurturing him.

"Huff."

After letting out a breath, Gu Han cautiously approached the Primal Spirit Fruit Tree, his gaze vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Although the intelligence had not mentioned any danger, and the boulder at the entrance indicated that no one had entered this place for many years, Fourth-Grade Heavenly Material Earthly Treasures were highly likely to attract Magical Beasts. He still needed to remain cautious.

Fortunately, the opportunity discovered by the Mysterious Turtle was reliable. No danger arose until he had plucked all five Jade Spirit Fruits and stored them in his Storage Ring.

Although he wanted to uproot the entire Jade Spirit Fruit Tree and take it away, Gu Han knew that was not realistic for now. Without any attachment, he left.

More than an hour later, he returned to his small wooden cabin, and only then did his wildly pounding heart gradually calm down.

Meanwhile, in the area where Outer Disciples lived, the door of a wooden house built in an excellent location was suddenly pushed open.

Mo Qing, sleeping in the inner room, opened his eyes and spoke with an extremely ugly expression. "Who is it? Who dares disturb this young master, uh..."

Mo Qing's expression suddenly froze, then instantly turned into a smile. He rolled out of bed and walked toward the visitor. "Brother, why are you here?"

The visitor was Mo Yu, the personal disciple taken in by Great Elder Yun Leng and the biological grandson of the Mo Family's Great Elder. At eighteen, he had already reached the One Star Dou Master realm. He was expected to attain Dou Ling before thirty and challenge the Dou Wang realm before forty.

"I heard about what happened yesterday." With his back to Mo Qing, Mo Yu walked to the window and looked at the moon, which was about to vanish. "I came specifically to warn you not to do anything unnecessary."

"Brother!" Mo Qing wanted to argue.

Gu Han had shown him no respect, which meant he had shown the Mo Family no respect. How could he not teach him a lesson?

Otherwise, how would everyone else in the sect view the Mo Family? Would they think the Mo Family was weak and easy to bully?

"I am the Great Elder's Personal Disciple. Many times, I must lead by example." Mo Yu turned and stared at Mo Qing, his gaze oppressive. "The sect has rules. The Punishment Elder is close to the Sect Leader, not my Teacher."

"Within the sect, you must follow the rules. But outside the sect..."

Mo Yu did not elaborate on the rest, but Mo Qing understood.

Gu Han was merely an orphan. Though he had decent talent, he would eventually have to leave the sect to gain experience.

When that time came, with the Mo Family's strength as the foremost of the Four Great Families in the Jia Ma Empire's Northeast Province, they had a hundred ways to dispose of him without anyone noticing.

Within the sect, one had to learn restraint and concealment.

"Yes, Big Brother." Mo Qing obediently agreed, then immediately said, "I had Mo Feng secretly teach Gu Han a lesson. I'll go tell him to cancel the plan."

"No need." Mo Yu raised a hand. "How do you think I learned of all this? I told Mo Feng to proceed as planned, but to act in secret and merely give him a warning."

"You need not concern yourself with these matters anymore. Focus on cultivating diligently from now on. Once I bring you a Primal Spirit Fruit, you can break through to Dou Zhe as well."

"At that time, you will have pills provided by the family, Profound Tier Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques, as well as Teachers at the Da Dou Shi and Dou Ling levels."

"Someone like Gu Han will not even be able to see your back."

Thinking of the scene his brother had described, Mo Qing's eyes grew fervent.

A quarter of an hour later, Mo Yu used a Yellow Tier movement technique to travel to Cloud Stream Valley.

"Hmm?!"

Seeing the clearly shifted boulder, Mo Yu's expression changed sharply, and a bad feeling rose in his heart.

He sped up and arrived at the Spirit Gathering Ground. When he saw the Jade Spirit Fruit Tree completely bare, he nearly fainted.

"Which bastard did this? My Mo Family will never coexist under the same sky as you!"

Achoo.

The "bastard," Gu Han, felt his nose itch slightly.

"Judging by the time, is Mo Yu cursing me?"

A trace of amusement flashed through his eyes. Gu Han quickened his pace, holding his Token as he arrived at the Outer Sect Training Hall.

The Misty Cloud Sect had four Cultivation Halls, built in the outer sect, inner sect, mountaintop, and Back Mountain. All of them were built in areas where Heaven and Earth Energy was at its densest.

There were Training Rooms inside the Cultivation Halls. Cultivating in an Outer Sect Training Room for one day cost one hundred contribution points, and Outer Disciples only chose to use them when breaking through minor realms.

Gu Han did not immediately go to the Transmission Hall according to his original plan. Instead, he first came to the Outer Sect Training Room, preparing to use its environment to complete his breakthrough.

But the moment he entered the Training Hall, he saw someone rush out from the side and sprint toward him.

"Hmm?"

"It's her!"