A few days later.
After the first batch of city-building materials had been inventoried and put into storage, Meng Nan summoned his second disciple, Xu Rong.
She was also from the Three Hundred Cave Villages. She was a little older than Chen De and Wang An, but by the fiftieth year of the Third Immortal Era, she had already reached the fifth level of True Essence Sense Imprint—a promising Qi Refining talent in Tianlin Cave. Later, when Sky-Scraping Cliff seized Tianlin Cave, Xu Rong went with Immortal Master Zheng Shanpeng to Cha Mountain. Meng Nan had no idea how things had unfolded after that.
In this life, Meng Nan had found Xu Rong early. Through a stroke of "coincidence," he had taken her as his disciple and guided her cultivation, bringing her into Tianlin Cave at an early age.
Now, at only twenty-nine, she had already reached the second level of Sense Imprint—the same cultivation level Zhao Xiaoshuang had reached in her previous life.
She had mastered her techniques and possessed outstanding combat strength.
"Teacher."
"Madam."
Xu Rong stepped forward and paid her respects to Meng Nan and Zhao Xiaoshuang.
"Xu Rong."
Looking at his disciple, Meng Nan said clearly, "I have an important matter for you to handle. Can you get away?"
"Just give the order, Teacher!"
Xu Rong was deeply respectful toward Meng Nan.
He had guided her in cultivation and supported her in countless ways over the past decade or more. In her heart, he had long been like a father as well as a teacher.
"Good."
"Take a look."
Meng Nan flicked his sleeve, and a map unfurled before them.
Xu Rong looked it over.
The map marked Tianlin Cave's location, then stretched southeast, tracing a route.
Ghost Mother Mountain lay at the southeastern end. Beyond the mountain, five places were marked.
"Fifty thousand li from here, beyond Ghost Mother Mountain, there are many markets. These five are the largest and have the richest goods."
"Go with Madam, and bring ten junior disciples. Sell off some odds and ends for me at these five places. Bring back Spirit Sand, spirit pills, cultivation methods, techniques, or other treasures."
"I've already discussed the details with Madam. Once you're there, the two of you can consult and act according to the circumstances."
"Your top priority is safety."
Meng Nan had embezzled a great deal of construction material this time. There was no use letting it sit around; he would have to sell it off to improve his own strength.
In the Third Immortal Era, all five markets beyond Ghost Mother Mountain had been first-rate places, far surpassing Qingtian Market.
They were full of Rogue Cultivators.
And rich in resources.
Spirit Sand.
Spirit pills.
Those could be used to improve cultivation.
Cultivation methods.
Techniques.
Those could be memorized, then studied selectively when an opportunity arose. And if they came across secret arts like "Blood Arrow" or "Giant Spirit God," that would be a huge windfall.
In this Fourth Era, Meng Nan could stay for at most eight years.
Tianlin Cave was fifty thousand li from Ghost Mother Mountain, making the round trip a hundred thousand li. It wouldn't be easy to go back and forth. Even if Zhao Xiaoshuang and Xu Rong set out now, it would take them two or three years at the very least to return.
He would have to send more groups later.
Only by rotating two or three groups could they hope to sell off all the stolen goods within eight years and rapidly improve their strength.
Meanwhile,
Meng Xingzhe, Meng Jian, Meng Santan, and the other people close to him would also have to be moved away one after another.
As for eight years from now—
Meng Nan would certainly be gone, so there would be no need to fear being held accountable.
But he didn't know whether this stretch of time and space would collapse or continue rolling forward after his departure. He had to make proper arrangements for what came after.
This batch alone would be enough to keep Meng Nan and the others well fed. When the time came, Zhao Xiaoshuang and the others could slip into the deep forests or disappear into Ghost Mother Mountain. The world was vast; even Qi Refining Immortal Masters would have a hard time finding them.
The most important thing was not to be discovered during those eight years.
The city-building project was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Meng Nan's cultivation hadn't fallen behind, either. A new era and a new identity brought new ways to cultivate.
One day,
in a cave dwelling on Wuyun Peak,
Meng Nan sat cross-legged in meditation.
Formation flags were arranged throughout the cave, and spiritual energy filled the air. This was one of the six Spirit Lands affected by the site chosen for Angming City.
In fact, Meng Nan had cultivated here in his early years. He had even mined the two Spirit Sand Veins within Angming Mountain until not a grain remained.
With the help of Spirit Sand,
and the Spirit Land,
he had built up enough wealth to expand his connections in Tianlin Cave, while also allowing Zhao Xiaoshuang, Qian Yu, and the others to cultivate rapidly.
Now, monopolizing the spiritual energy and drawing on his experience with the written words, Meng Nan was still making rapid progress.
In a short time, he had advanced to the Greater Celestial Circuit of Internal Qi, catching up with his Third Life.
At this point, he had to grasp what it meant to "embrace the origin and keep to oneness," and what it meant for "internal qi to flow like water."
Inside the cave,
Meng Nan sat cross-legged.
Two large flags stood before him, fluttering in the wind as waves of water swept around them, stirring the internal qi in his body.
He focused on the minute details.
He could sense countless subtleties within them, too many to count or describe.
Every time he cultivated, every time he comprehended something, he gained something new.
One month.
Two months.
Three months.
He cultivated every day, and his cultivation advanced little by little. The pace was slow, but there was some progress each day.
The two flags were called "Water Yuan Banners." Meng Nan had paid a hefty sum to borrow them from a fellow disciple in Tianlin Cave. They could help internal qi break through into True Qi.
They were remarkably effective.
After keeping this up for half a year,
at last,
Meng Nan sensed a glimmer of opportunity.
He flipped his hand and took out a "Great Pill," swallowing it. His internal qi surged, and the Greater Celestial Circuit shook. The next moment, his internal qi suddenly boiled, vaporizing without pause.
Clouds of mist seemed to swirl around him.
A brand-new force emerged within him, sweeping outward in an instant as everything transformed.
After an unknown length of time,
Meng Nan opened his eyes, joy showing on his face.
"True Qi at last!"
Feeling the change within himself, Meng Nan sighed with emotion.
In his Third Life, he had been stuck at the Greater Celestial Circuit of Internal Qi for more than four years. In this life, he had drawn on his experience, used all sorts of pills and talismans to help him, and finally relied on the "Great Pill," the "Water Yuan Banners," the spiritual energy of the Spirit Land, and even Spirit Sand.
Only then had he broken through in one go.
He had used the connections and resources of Tianlin Cave's Grand Steward to support a mere practitioner of internal qi.
The results had truly been remarkable.
At last, he had achieved True Qi.
That threshold had been like a thin sheet of paper. Once he pierced it, everything became clear. It was nothing special.
"For ordinary cultivators, the True Qi Stage is the longest stage of cultivation before advancing to Qi Refining."
The True Qi Stage was divided into two stages: "Qi Accumulation" and "Body Cleansing."
Among them—
"Qi Accumulation" was divided into three realms: "Water," "Silver," and "Coiling."
"Body Cleansing" was divided into five stages: "Flesh," "Tendons," "Skin," "Bones," and "Five Viscera."
True Qi Accumulation was just what it sounded like: a process of accumulating True Qi, with the tide rising as the water grew deeper.
This stage couldn't stop a genius.
A genius either had exceptional comprehension and could quickly grasp the three realms of "Water," "Silver Mirror," and "Coiling," spurring their True Qi to rise and completing this stage in short order—
or they had an exceptional Root Bone.
At this stage, True Qi grew rapidly, and as the tide rose, so did their cultivation.
If someone had both extraordinary comprehension and an exceptional Root Bone, they would cut through obstacles like a knife through bamboo.
Xu Rong, for example, had cultivated extremely quickly during the True Qi Accumulation stage, completing it in just half a year.
That was why this stage only stopped the mediocre.
The second stage, True Qi Body Cleansing, was relatively fair.
This stage required gradually refining one's "Flesh," "Tendons," "Skin," "Bones," and "Five Viscera," going deeper step by step as the body continued to transform.
Ultimately, one replaced the blood and cleansed the marrow, forging the body like steel and forcing True Qi to transform into True Essence. This also laid the groundwork for Sense Imprint in the True Essence Stage.
This step required meticulous care, so it couldn't be rushed. It consumed True Qi, so it also required abundant resources.
Among the goods Zhao Xiaoshuang and Xu Rong were going to sell, Meng Nan had included many pills and spirit items that could help with Body Cleansing.
Combined with the many details in his cultivation notes,
the two would work hand in hand, and his progress at this stage should be swift.
"Best of all would be reaching True Essence!"
Meng Nan was greedy.
As he thought about it, he habitually opened the information panel—
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