Breakthrough

The Lin Family did not recklessly go to war with the Su Family at any cost, as Lin Kui had threatened. Instead, they quieted down and withdrew into their shell.

Guo Chudong had fallen into the Su Family's hands. Using a first-grade Spirit Vein as leverage, along with the offer to construct a blessed land for the Su Family free of charge, he bargained for his life.

But the Su Family's appetite was far greater than he had imagined. Letting him go was out of the question.

From now on, Guo Chudong only needed to remain obediently in the Su Family as a servant.

Having fallen into the Su Family's hands, Guo Chudong began working honestly. After seeking dragons and locating the acupoint, he quickly found the core of the first-grade Spirit Vein beneath the Medicine Garden.

He then opened up a Cave Dwelling blessed land and attempted to excavate a Spirit Mine.

A first-grade Spirit Vein did not produce many Low-grade Spirit Stones each month, only one or two hundred.

But accumulated over a year, that amounted to one or two thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

To the Su Family, that was no small sum.

Of course.

These matters had little to do with Su Yu. He paid no attention to the Spirit Vein. After sending Su Qingyi away, Su Yu continued cultivating step by step.

After cultivating the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art, Su Yu had not expected it to be of tremendous help to the Spirit Infusion Art.

The proficiency of the Spirit Infusion Art, which had originally progressed slowly, increased by nearly thirty percent under the influence of the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art.

Meanwhile, the core power of the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art had been fully accumulated with an ample supply of demonic beast meat.

A month and a half later.

The Spirit Vein Blessed Land in the Su Family's Medicine Garden had been completed. Layer upon layer of formations were laid upon the mountain at its core, binding and gathering the Spirit Vein's spiritual qi.

With the spiritual qi scale of a first-grade Spirit Vein, supplying over a hundred Qi Refining Realm immortal cultivators in their daily cultivation would not be a problem.

Su Yu moved in. The spiritual qi concentration inside was at least fifty percent higher than outside.

Cultivating in such an environment slightly increased Su Yu's Qi Refining speed.

With the Spirit Vein Blessed Land, Family Head Su Peng and the others all moved out of Jiang City and settled within the blessed land. They named this place Azure Mountain, because the Su Family's immortal cultivator ancestor had been named Su Cang.

From this day forward, Azure Mountain would be where the Su Family put down its roots.

As for the Lin Family?

The Su Family did not immediately make a move against them. With the Spirit Vein as their foundation, the Su Family's most important task at present was to develop.

Transforming the opportunity brought by the Spirit Vein Blessed Land into an increase in the family's own strength was their foremost priority. There was no need to fight the Lin Family to the death at this time.

If the family's strength rose sufficiently, or even produced a Foundation Establishment Ancestor—

Would dealing with the Lin Family then not be as easy as crushing an ant?

Su Yu did not know what reward the family had discussed. He only knew that Su Peng gave him a token, and his family stipend, originally six Low-grade Spirit Stones per month at the third layer of Qi Refining, had become sixty per month.

In addition.

The family also gave him one thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

With so many resources, as well as more than a hundred drops of late-stage Rank 1 demonic beast essence blood—

Su Yu began secluded cultivation within the blessed land.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Four years had passed since his return from the Cloud Sword Sect, and Su Yu was already twenty years old.

With the Spirit Vein Blessed Land and an abundant supply of Low-grade Spirit Stones, Su Yu's cultivation speed greatly increased.

The bottleneck between the third layer of Qi Refining and the fourth layer of Qi Refining was as level as walking on flat ground. In a single night, he silently broke through.

When the Azure Wood Age Wheel Art broke through to the First Cycle Fourth Turn and another trace of time's aura appeared upon Su Yu, the proficiency of the Spirit Infusion Art also reached 100% completion.

Inside the room.

Su Yu sat cross-legged, a glimmering jade-green radiance emanating from his body. In a daze, the phantom of a towering tree seemed to emerge behind him.

With the Spirit Infusion Art complete, Su Yu's divine sense also gained faint traces of pale green fluorescence.

At that moment, Su Yu seemed able to sense the life auras of countless plants, flowers, grasses, and trees in every direction.

He could even detect the movements of spirit herbs drawing in and releasing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, as though breathing.

Yet after only a brief moment, a sharp pain jolted Su Yu awake.

That state had actually exhausted all his mental energy within a few breaths.

After recovering himself, Su Yu closed his eyes to rest for a moment before slowly opening them. Recalling that state just now, he could not help but be alarmed. "The Azure Wood Age Wheel Art combined with the completed Spirit Infusion Art actually has such an extraordinary effect?"

Although that state consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy, while in it, he could sense plants within several miles around him.

If he used such a method to search for precious spirit herbs in the wilderness—

"Once my cultivation is a little higher, this idea will be entirely feasible." Su Yu secretly rejoiced.

He focused his mind and looked at the Proficiency Panel.

Name: Su Yu.

Cultivation: fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Lifespan: 20/109.

Cultivation Arts: Azure Wood Age Wheel Art (First Cycle Fourth Turn, proficiency 0.01%), Crocodile Demon's 108 Forms Body Refining Technique (fifth layer, proficiency 62.87%), Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art (first realm, proficiency 0.01%).

Spells: Wood Vine Technique (complete), Spirit Nurturing Art (complete), Spirit Spear Art (complete), Spirit Infusion Art (complete).

Looking at the Proficiency Panel, Su Yu pondered to himself. "Breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining increased my mana by nearly thirty percent."

"The power also seems to have risen slightly."

This was the change in his own mana.

As for his lifespan, although it had taken him two years to break from the third layer of Qi Refining to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, after the breakthrough, his lifespan had increased by a full five years.

By comparison, he seemed even more 'young'?

"The Azure Wood Age Wheel Art has broken through. The Body Refining Technique will probably need another year and a half." Su Yu was in high spirits.

With late-stage Rank 1 demonic beast essence blood aiding him, the Body Refining Technique progressed rapidly.

Even breaking from the fifth layer to the sixth would require no more than two years.

As for the Blood Whale Swallowing Moon Art, Su Yu looked thoughtfully at its completely unchanged proficiency.

Strictly speaking, this was not a cultivation art, but a Pseudo Divine Ability.

It did not require ordinary cultivation.

Once the core of the Pseudo Divine Ability was condensed and enough energy accumulated, it could erupt at a crucial moment to enhance one's strength.

He guessed that its proficiency would only change after he used the Pseudo Divine Ability.

The final category was spells.

Looking at the mere handful of spells he knew, Su Yu thought, Now that I've reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining, I can cultivate a few more spells.

After giving it some thought, Su Yu left his room and headed for the Archive Pavilion, which had already been moved to the blessed land. From Fifth Elder Su Bin, he obtained two spells.

One was a stronger Wood attribute enemy-binding spell: the Myriad Wood Vine Technique.

The other was a stronger Wood attribute offensive spell: the Spirit Devouring Art.

Just as he was about to leave, Su Yu suddenly halted and looked at the pile of Ancient Jade Boxes Su Bin had placed inside the counter beside him, his brows furrowing slightly.

Noticing his gaze, Su Bin immediately laughed warmly. "Good lad, has your opportunity arrived? These are fine goods I recently scavenged from a great ruin. There are definitely Ancient Opportunities inside."

"Ten Low-grade Spirit Stones each. No bargaining."

Su Yu's face immediately darkened upon hearing this. He said angrily, "Weren't these one Low-grade Spirit Stone each before?"

"Hehe." Su Bin laughed. "Those weren't treasures produced by an ancient ruin."

PS: It's Second Brother's wedding today, and I need to help out, so there will temporarily be only one update these two days. I'll make it up tomorrow.