Afterward, Zhou Qing immediately sat down cross-legged, took out the Spirit Egg laid by the Old Hen, and began absorbing and refining it with complete focus.
Under the cover of night, the fully recovered Zhou Qing headed straight for Flame Dragon City.
With a thought, the panel silently appeared.
Name: Zhou Qing Age: Nineteen Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivation Art: Taiqing Mysterious Qi Art Innate Skill: Daily Appraisal, Mind Mirror Vision—LV2 (121/200), Reduce Presence—LV3 (3/100) Skill Shards: 0/3 (Unavailable)
It seemed that before long, the innate skill Mind Mirror Vision would also rise to Level 3, allowing him to bind even more people.
Then, no matter how Second Uncle changed his appearance, Zhou Qing would be able to see through him at a glance.
"Where have you been these past three days? I was just about to ask Old Mo for help."
Seeing Zhou Qing return safely, Yan Xiaohu finally let out a long breath.
Over the past three days, he had kept sending messages, yet Zhou Qing had not replied to a single one. He had truly been worried sick.
Zhou Qing said awkwardly, "Well, something held me up. Didn't I rush over as soon as I saw the messages?"
"Where's that senior?" Yan Xiaohu looked left and right, but the old stallholder was nowhere to be seen.
Zhou Qing said, "Stop looking. He's already gone."
"He left? What a pity. What did he want with you? Why were you gone for so long?" Yan Xiaohu asked curiously.
Zhou Qing thought for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "He wanted to take me as his disciple."
"Take you as his disciple?" Yan Xiaohu froze.
Zhou Qing nodded. "That's right. He wanted to take me as his disciple. He said I looked heaven-blessed and divinely mighty, and that my luck was good too, so he wanted to pass down his legacy to me. For that, he practically begged me for three whole days. But how could I possibly agree? I was born a man of the Taiqing Sect, and I'll die a ghost of the Taiqing Sect."
Looking at Zhou Qing standing there all proud and spirited, Yan Xiaohu did not believe a word of it.
"There's no one from the Taiqing Sect here. No need to swear your loyalty. If you don't want to say it, then don't. It's not like I'm especially curious. Hurry home—your Old Hen, the one you were willing to spend three thousand spirit stones to find, is probably about to starve to death!" Yan Xiaohu said.
Zhou Qing's expression changed at once. How had he forgotten about that?
The two hurried back toward the sect gates...
When Zhou Qing hastily opened the courtyard gate, he was instantly dumbfounded.
A pavilion in the courtyard had already collapsed, and the Old Hen was pecking away at it with a "tap tap tap."
No way, what kind of beak did you have? Why was it so hard?
Yet looking at it overall, the Old Hen's entire body had shrunk by a full circle, while chicken feathers littered the ground all around the courtyard.
"My precious chicken!"
Zhou Qing's heart ached. He hurried over, casually crushed two spirit stones, and picked up the Old Hen so it could peck at them.
Then, as he gently stroked the Old Hen, he could not help feeling that this was rather good too. At the very least, it no longer looked so fat on the surface. Otherwise, it would be easy for others to covet it.
Once everything returned to normal, Zhou Qing looked again at the black-and-white Spirit Core within his dantian, feeling as though he were dreaming.
So this was Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment?
And he already had one foot in the future Heaven-ranked, number-one Three Flowers Converging Nascent Soul?
If I went out and bragged about it today, would I be assassinated tonight?
Thinking of this, Zhou Qing could not help laughing.
Still, no one could know about this. The sect would certainly spare no effort to nurture and protect him, but even a hundred secrets had one slip.
He did not want to be watched by countless people even when using the toilet. After all, he was used to freedom.
Afterward, he made another trip to the Scripture Pavilion and thoroughly reinforced his knowledge of cultivation.
Sure enough, he found records concerning Yin Yang Qi, ranked first among Heavenly Dao Energy.
This Yin Yang Qi was an Innate Spirit, so scarce that its numbers were frighteningly low.
Not only could it forge the strongest Foundation Establishment, but after advancing to the Golden Core realm, it would strangely produce two Golden Cores.
One would reside in the dantian, while the other would reside in the heart field.
One had to know that ordinary people only had one Golden Core in their entire lives. Any Golden Core condensed from any additional strand of Heavenly Dao Energy would be the same.
Once a Golden Core shattered or was dug out by someone, that person would be completely crippled for life and would never be able to cultivate again.
But the Yin Yang Dual Cores alone were an exception.
All things carried yin and embraced yang; blending their energies, they achieved harmony. Yin and yang waxed and waned, joining as one in perfect unity.
If either one was lost, as long as the other remained, given enough time, the missing one would be born anew.
Seeing this, Zhou Qing was astonished.
As expected of the Heavenly Dao Energy ranked first.
And just as Second Uncle had said, possessing two Golden Cores made one's combat strength far surpass that of others in the same realm.
In the future, there was even a forty percent chance of condensing the strongest Three Flowers Converging Nascent Soul. There was no need to even mention the road ahead—it would directly form a virtuous cycle.
"Second Uncle said this strand of Heavenly Dao Energy came from that place deep within the Grotto-Heaven. Then what were those things I saw? Why was someone as powerful as Second Uncle trapped for so long?"
"Then how far has the sect researched it now? After all, according to Master, the ancient Taiqing Sect discovered the strange nature of this place first, which was why it was built here and layer upon layer of restrictions were established."
Zhou Qing grew ever more curious.
Of course, he was also deeply grateful to Second Uncle. Such a priceless treasure could probably be exchanged for countless Top-Grade Spirit Stones, yet Second Uncle had simply given it to him.
He had to remember this kindness.
When he returned to the courtyard, he suddenly stopped, as though struck by a thought, and looked toward the big tree outside the gate.
Or rather, at a clump of wild grass beneath the tree.
Looking at the specks of golden dew on it, then at the sun in the sky, he felt that something was off.
With a thought, he appraised it.
Ordinary Wild Grass: It could originally have lived for several more years, but half an hour ago, Yan Xiaohu urinated on it. Its life helplessly came to a halt the day after tomorrow.
Zhou Qing: "..."
He took out his identity token and, sure enough, saw a message from Third Senior Brother.
"Little Junior Brother, I waited for you for a long time but didn't see you. I went down the mountain to attend the gathering first. If you want to come, send me a message then!"
Zhou Qing sighed. He did not want to go down today, since he had just used Daily Appraisal.
Moreover, now that the Treasure Exchange Gathering had reached its later stages, battles between sects had become fewer, and it was almost impossible to gain Ignorance Points.
He might as well cultivate properly today.
After replying to Third Senior Brother, Zhou Qing first checked the chicken coop, then began cultivating the Silver Dragon Step that Second Uncle had taught him.
But after only a short while, he opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
"What's going on?"
He hurriedly tried again, proving once more that it was not an illusion.
When he had first grasped it that day, it had felt so obscure and difficult to understand. Why was cultivating it today so easy?
His mind felt utterly clear, almost to the point where he could draw inferences from one instance to another.
"Could it be—"
Zhou Qing hurriedly looked at the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Spirit Core in his dantian, lost in thought.
He immediately changed course and began cultivating the Silver Dragon Hand. Sure enough, everything proceeded as naturally as water flowing downhill.
Still unwilling to believe it, he circulated the Azure Wood Spirit Shield. The silky smooth sensation filled him with excitement.
In just a short time, dense Wood Attribute spiritual energy surged in from all directions as though summoned, instantly gathering around him.
In the blink of an eye, a solid shield took shape. Its surface patterns were clear, brimming with an unshakable sense of sturdiness.
Standing within it, Zhou Qing looked at the shield and found that its durability was no weaker than the one Senior Sister Shi Zhen had demonstrated during her lesson in the Lecture Hall.
"It's already perfected?"
Zhou Qing could not help swallowing. He had cultivated the Azure Wood Spirit Shield for years. Though he had long reached minor mastery, he had expected it would still take several more years to reach major mastery. Yet now, he had achieved it with effortless ease.
"Was this the enhancement brought by top-tier Heavenly Dao Energy? Had I truly been reborn? No, even my brain had been replaced!"
After verifying it again and again, Zhou Qing was overjoyed. Once he calmed himself, he quickly withdrew the shield, since it consumed a great deal of spiritual power.
He then sat cross-legged and absorbed the Top-Grade Spirit Stone in his hand. To his shock, even his absorption and refinement speed had greatly increased.
"I'm really going to strike it rich!" Zhou Qing finally could not hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
Before you continue