Journey to Cloud Mountain Market

The sun had just risen, purple qi came from the east.

Su Yu sat cross-legged before the window, holding a Low-grade Spirit Stone as he absorbed spiritual qi for cultivation. The Wutong Greenwood Art mana within him was steady as the water in an old well beneath a deep pool, circulating through his body without the slightest ripple.

At a certain moment, a green gleam flashed across Su Yu's body, and the dormant mana in his dantian finally stirred.

In an instant, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth gathered from all directions, forming a small tide.

Su Yu's aura silently rose to the third layer of Qi Refining.

Half an hour later.

The Low-grade Spirit Stone in Su Yu's hand shattered into dust and fell through the gaps between his fingers. The spiritual qi of heaven and earth that had gathered around him for his breakthrough also returned to calm.

He slowly opened his eyes and murmured, "I broke through."

His mind focused, and lines of text appeared before his eyes.

Name: Su Yu.

Cultivation: third layer of Qi Refining.

Lifespan: 18/100.

Cultivation Art: Wutong Greenwood Art (third layer, proficiency 0.01%), Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique (fourth layer, proficiency 69.1%).

Spells: Wood Vine Technique (mastered), Spirit Nurturing Art (mastered), Spirit Spear Art (mastered), Spirit Infusion Art (proficiency 36.8%).

It had been nearly two and a half years since he returned from the Cloud Sword Sect, and his cultivation had reached the third layer of Qi Refining.

This talent could not compare to Su Zhi's or Su Qingyi's.

However, Su Yu was not anxious. His current cultivation progress might not match Su Zhi and the others, but the path of immortal cultivation was long. Once he reached the later realms, the Proficiency Panel's advantage of having no bottlenecks would allow him to surpass everyone.

Breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refining put Su Yu in a pleasant mood.

Looking at the Proficiency Panel, Su Yu's gaze fell on the Body Refining Technique as he pondered. "Over the past year, the progress of my Body Refining Technique cultivation has slowed considerably."

After turning it over in his mind, Su Yu opened his Cosmos Bag and looked at the more than one hundred and thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones he had accumulated. He made up his mind.

"I'll find a chance to visit Cloud Mountain Market."

The Medicine Garden organized a caravan to Cloud Mountain Market every month. Its scale was considerable, with powerful members of the Lineage leading and guarding it.

Following the caravan would be much safer.

Over the past year.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth in the Medicine Garden had grown nearly another ten percent denser. It was almost certain that a first-grade Spirit Vein had appeared beneath the Medicine Garden.

Now, they only needed the Lineage to find an earth master to seek the dragon and locate the acupoint, then set up a grand formation. They would gain a blessed land for cultivation.

Even the poorest blessed land with a first-grade Spirit Vein would be a treasure passed down through generations for the Su Family.

Unfortunately, earth masters were difficult to find, and the Lineage was still gathering information.

If it can become a blessed land, my cultivation speed should increase somewhat. Su Yu was greatly looking forward to it.

Even an increase of merely five percent would save a considerable amount of cultivation time in the long run.

The next morning.

Su Yu awoke from cultivation with a Low-grade Spirit Stone in hand. Looking at the Proficiency Panel, he found that his daily cultivation speed for the Wutong Greenwood Art had increased somewhat; it now took only a little over two hours to complete.

"My proficiency increased by 0.12%." Su Yu pondered. "Even if I cultivate with Low-grade Spirit Stones every day, breaking through from the third layer of Qi Refining to the fourth will still take nearly three years."

"Mm, more precisely, a little over two years—two years and two or three months."

Near the end of the month, Su Yu set ten Beast Luring Powder traps in the Medicine Garden that night. His luck was not bad.

Six Earth Rock Rats took the bait, including two mid-stage First Order demon beasts.

The next day.

Su Yu carried these demon beasts to the Medicine Tower. Inside, Third Elder Su Chang was settling accounts with several Lineage elders, preparing for the shipment of spirit herbs at the end of the month.

When Su Chang saw Su Yu enter, he looked up and immediately smiled. "Oh? Our Medicine Garden's demon beast nemesis is here again?"

The other elders all burst into laughter and nodded in greeting at Su Yu.

Over the past year, Su Yu had occasionally hunted Earth Rock Rats, keeping the Earth Rock Rat demon beast population in the Medicine Garden below a tolerable threshold.

Su Yu's reputation had also spread throughout the Medicine Garden.

His ability to break through to the third layer of Qi Refining in a year was inseparable from the resources he gained by hunting Earth Rock Rats.

Su Yu respectfully handed over the sack in his hand. "These were hunted last night. Six Earth Rock Rats."

Su Chang was immediately somewhat surprised. "Six?"

He gave Su Yu a surprised look. Previously, whenever Su Yu came by, he had brought at most five Earth Rock Rats.

This was the first time he had exceeded that limit.

Su Chang opened the sack and exclaimed, "Oh, there are even two mid-stage First Order Earth Rock Rat demon beasts."

The other elders were not surprised.

Instead, they looked at Su Yu and smiled. "With him in our Medicine Garden, the Earth Rock Rat infestation plaguing the Spirit Vein won't be able to grow."

Seeing Su Chang in high spirits, Su Yu quickly brought up his request for leave to accompany the caravan to Cloud Mountain Market.

Su Chang considered it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "All right, but once you join the caravan, you must obey orders and protect its safety."

Afterward, Su Chang gave Su Yu the Low-grade Spirit Stones for the six Earth Rock Rats.

As usual, he did not receive the essence blood from the two mid-stage First Order demon beasts.

Including the value of the materials, the total came to seventy-eight Low-grade Spirit Stones.

"Come here early the morning after tomorrow," Su Chang instructed.

Transporting spirit herbs did not rely on such primitive methods as horse-drawn carriages. Su Yu had received a Cosmos Bag as a reward merely for killing a Lin Family junior—could they not use Cosmos Bags or even Universe Rings to transport spirit herbs?

Early the morning after next, when Su Yu arrived at the Medicine Tower, ten immortal cultivators were already waiting there.

The leader among them was a Lineage elder at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

He was from Su Yu's grandfather's generation, named Su Jingbang.

He had been responsible for the transport route from the Medicine Garden to Cloud Mountain Market for more than ten years.

"You're here? Then let's go."

Seeing Su Yu arrive, Su Jingbang smiled faintly and nodded. The other nine looked at Su Yu with a touch of curiosity.

They had all heard of Su Yu, the Medicine Garden's "Earth Rock Rat Nemesis."

Including Su Yu, all eleven were immortal cultivators.

They did not directly fly on magical artifacts to Cloud Mountain Market. Not to mention that their mana was insufficient, even if it were enough, they would not dare be so conspicuous.

What if they exhausted too much mana and encountered bandits along the way?

Thus, they still rode spirit horses to Cloud Mountain Market.

The journey went smoothly, and even the hostile Lin Family did not ambush their group.

Three days later, they arrived safely at Cloud Mountain Market outside the Cloud Sword Sect's mountain gate.

To enter the market, each person had to pay one Low-grade Spirit Stone.

Unless one stayed overnight in the market, one could only remain inside until nightfall and could not linger on the streets.

After paying the entry fees for the group, Su Jingbang said, "We'll go to the Alchemy Pavilion first. Afterward, we'll stay in the market for one night and leave tomorrow afternoon to return. During that time, you're free to move about."

The market was vast, built within a mountain range. The entire market was enveloped by layer upon layer of grand formations, and many Spirit Fields surrounded it on all sides.

Rumor had it that beneath this market lay a branch of the Cloud Sword Sect's underground Spirit Vein.

But even as merely a branch, it was still a second-grade Spirit Vein.

It was far stronger than the first-grade Spirit Vein discovered beneath the Su Family's Medicine Garden.

Upon entering the market, Su Yu could feel the difference in the density of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. Spending a day cultivating here would make his progress more than ten percent faster than in the Medicine Garden.