Suoluo Seed!

A direct hit to the soul!

This is something that can't be predicted.

Life comes so fast, like a tornado.

Meng Nan was indeed a little surprised.

But since it's here, he'll prepare to welcome it, and there's nothing to it.

He himself is a good-for-nothing.

Zhao Xiaoshuang's aptitude is also average.

The one in her belly now, if nothing unexpected happens, should be 'Meng Xingzhe'. This boss was only at 'Fetal Breath Qi Sensing' at eighteen, and his aptitude was also terrible.

But fortunately, there are still sixteen or seventeen years from now until Meng Xingzhe grows up and officially starts cultivating.

"Sixteen or seventeen years!"

"By then, I might have already become a Qi Refining Immortal Master!"

Meng Nan cheered himself on, while also comforting Zhao Xiaoshuang.

He had said earlier that he didn't want children, but Zhao Xiaoshuang found out she was already pregnant. For a while, she didn't know whether to say it or not, feeling conflicted and anxious.

She was ultimately not as composed as she would be twelve years later.

After finally finding something to talk about one night, seeing that Meng Nan seemed a little surprised, the stone in her heart finally settled.

"What are you afraid of?"

"This is a happy event."

"You need to be careful during this period, and don't do heavy work anymore. Go ask your sister-in-law tomorrow; she has experience and can tell you."

Meng Nan worried that Zhao Xiaoshuang would overthink things, so he pretended to be surprised and rambled on with some intimate words. The latter part was genuine; for a woman, pregnancy and childbirth are like passing through the gates of hell.

For example, his mother in this life died during childbirth when he was born, so he couldn't be careless.

After rambling for a while, Meng Nan suddenly remembered: "In the future timeline, Xiaoshuang had three children and her body was fine."

This was being flustered by concern.

Feeling a little relieved, Meng Nan placed his hand on Zhao Xiaoshuang's lower abdomen and thought of himself—

Getting married.

Honeymoon.

Having a child.

His path of cultivation had just begun, and he already had a wife and children. It was truly something else.

"It's pretty good too."

Meng Nan was always optimistic, smiling, and began to look forward to the day the little life would arrive.

The Southern Border does not record years.

Meng Nan mentally designated the year of his birth as 'Immortal Calendar Year One'.

This year is Meng Nan's eighteenth birthday, which is the eighteenth year of the Immortal Calendar.

September 3rd, Immortal Calendar Year Eighteen.

Meng Nan estimated the ripening time of the 'Suoluo Seed' and came to a mountain hollow south of Yinlian Village for the second time.

He turned a bend, crossed a ridge, and pushed through several clumps of thorns.

He saw a 'Suoluo Seed' tree, resembling a tea tree, growing there. The tree was now covered with fruits, which were oblate spheroids, similar to chestnuts, with a brownish-red surface, wrinkled, uneven, and slightly glossy.

These were the 'Suoluo Seeds'!

Meng Nan had come once at the end of August, and this was his second visit. He had calculated the timing precisely, and the fruits were just ripe.

"Everything is going smoothly!"

Meng Nan didn't hesitate and quickly picked all the hundreds of 'Suoluo Seeds', putting them into his cloth bag. Then, he slightly tidied up his footprints and other traces, without making any other arrangements, and immediately returned.

Qian Yu would only accidentally discover this place four years later. Before that, there was no one else, so Meng Nan naturally wouldn't do anything superfluous.

"I'll assess the situation again in four years and see if I need to move them."

If he had already reached the 'True Essence Stage' by then, there would be no trouble. But if not, he could move and hide them, maximizing his gains.

His thoughts were clear.

His pace was not slow.

During the eight years Meng Nan spent in the future timeline, his time and energy were very limited. Besides cultivating the Thunder Illumination Scripture, he only practiced one other skill, the 'Spirit Wandering Steps'. This movement technique was said to be able to travel thousands of miles day and night when propelled by Magical Power by a Qi Refining Immortal Master.

It was perfect for traveling.

Eight years of arduous cultivation had yielded some progress.

Although the "Spirit Wandering Steps" were very inferior, just like the "Thunder Illumination Scripture" in Yinlian Village, they were common goods, learnable anywhere.

They were called techniques.

In reality, they couldn't even be called techniques, more like mortal martial arts.

But with cultivation in his body, when executed, his foot speed was at least faster than running wildly, and it was even better at being light and leaving no trace.

Meng Nan ran for a while, then stopped when he was further away from the "Suoluo Tree," conserving his energy and staying alert for the jungle, before rushing back to Yinlian Village.

Cautiously!

Tremblingly!

Fortunately, there were no incidents along the way, and Meng Nan safely returned home.

Upon putting down the "Suoluo Seed," the first major task after returning from the future timeline was finally completed.

Zhao Xiaoshuang had been sent to her sister-in-law's house by Meng Nan during the day, so she didn't know that Meng Nan had sneaked out for a trip.

In the evening.

Before cultivating.

Meng Nan took out the wooden box he had made beforehand from under the bed and opened it. It was full of "Suoluo Seeds."

"What is this?"

"It looks like chestnuts."

Zhao Xiaoshuang thought they were ordinary fruits. She picked one up and looked at it, only to realize she hadn't seen it before.

"This is called a 'Suoluo Seed.' I encountered them outside the village a few days ago."

Meng Nan avoided the important points and told Zhao Xiaoshuang about the efficacy of the "Suoluo Seed."

Zhao Xiaoshuang's eyes immediately widened: "This is a Spirit Fruit?"

"Calling it a Spirit Fruit is an exaggeration."

"Even quasi-cultivators in the True Essence Stage don't fancy this kind of fruit, and Qi Refining Immortal Masters wouldn't even glance at it."

"However, it's most suitable for those of our cultivation level."

Meng Nan also carefully picked up a seed and held it in his hand, then carefully closed the wooden box. A total of 114 "Suoluo Seeds" from this season had been harvested, which should be enough for cultivation for a while.

But the specifics still needed to be truly tested.

"Don't spread this news. Let's cultivate in secret."

Meng Nan cautioned Zhao Xiaoshuang, who nodded her head like a pecking chicken: "I understand."

According to Meng Nan's words, Qi Refining Immortal Masters and those in the True Essence Stage didn't care for this Spirit Fruit. From another perspective, this meant that even those in the True Qi Stage would be envious and covetous.

Wouldn't they need to keep it well hidden!

And at this moment.

Thinking back to a month ago when Meng Nan told her he hoped to advance to the Inner Qi Stage by the end of the year, and then looking at the "Suoluo Seed" in her hand, Zhao Xiaoshuang suddenly understood.

"So there's a Spirit Fruit."

Zhao Xiaoshuang thought to herself, then was pulled by Meng Nan to sit down and cultivate.

One cycle of cultivation.

Twenty-four breaths.

When Meng Nan opened his eyes, he saw Zhao Xiaoshuang looking at him with a look of surprise, "I think I've advanced to the Visualization Realm!"

There was no obvious threshold between the Qi Sensing Realm and the Visualization Realm.

Based on Meng Nan's experience, accumulating 10 points of internal breath was the peak of the Qi Sensing Realm. When it reached 11 points, one would have entered the Visualization Realm.

At that point, one could cultivate the third layer of the "Thunder Illumination Scripture" and attempt to construct a "visualization diagram."

But there were no obvious changes during this period; one could only feel it carefully.

However--

[Name: Meng Nan]
[Lifespan: 18/80]
[Faction: Chashan·Tianlin Cave]
[Cultivation: Fetal Breath Visualization]
[Internal Breath: 15]
[Root Bone: 1]
[Cultivation Technique: Thunder Illumination Scripture - Third Layer]

Skill: Spirit Wandering Steps (Level 2)

Art: None

Activation Progress: Viewable

"One Suoluo Seed increased my internal energy by 9 points, allowing me to enter the Visualization Realm."

"No wonder Xiaoshuang could feel her breakthrough."

Meng Nan was somewhat surprised.

The effect of the 'Suoluo Seed' exceeded his imagination; a single fruit had brought him to the peak of his future self.

Nine points per fruit.

At most ten more, and Meng Nan would complete the 'basic progress.' This was too easy.

"It's normal, though."

"Suoluo Seeds are effective even for the True Qi Stage, so they're naturally even more effective for us in the 'Qi Sensing Realm.'"

Meng Nan suppressed his surprise and looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang. "The Qi Sensing Realm is just a process of accumulating internal energy. Taking one Suoluo Seed allows for immediate completion and breakthrough. However, the Visualization Realm requires not only internal energy but also the visualization of a complete Qi Circulation Diagram. This is more than just increasing internal energy. Suoluo Seeds can save us the accumulation process, but we still need to carefully explore the key points of cultivation."

Meng Nan said this for Zhao Xiaoshuang to hear, but also for himself.

His own realm had only just reached the 'Visualization Realm.' At that time, he had only just encountered the 'Qi Circulation Diagram' and hadn't constructed much of it. He had just started when time ran out, and he had returned to reality.

So, from this point on, he and Zhao Xiaoshuang were starting from roughly the same place.

The only advantage he had over Zhao Xiaoshuang was that he could circulate his energy for 'twenty-four breaths,' allowing him to sustain the construction of the 'Qi Circulation Diagram' for a longer period each time, naturally making his efficiency a bit higher.

Nothing else.

"I'm currently equivalent to having exhausted my foundation."

"Now that 'basic progress' is nearing completion, the 'sacrifice' can also be put on the agenda."

As Meng Nan spoke with Zhao Xiaoshuang, he was thinking about killing people in his mind.

Amitabha!

What a sin, what a sin!

Thanks to Lin Yuan Dk for the 3000 tip!