Three Years

Spring turned to autumn, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.

At the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, Han Changming sat cross-legged on a wooden bed, his body shrouded in a layer of pale yellow radiance.

Not long after, the yellow light on his body dissipated, and he opened his eyes.

"Still no progress. It seems I need to go out and get some activity," Han Changming muttered to himself.

As early as a year ago, Han Changming had advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining. However, since then, no matter how hard he cultivated or how many medicinal pills he consumed, his cultivation had not increased in the slightest. The spirit water, which had been quite effective at first, had gradually lost its potency.

Clearly, Han Changming had hit a bottleneck.

Every cultivator encounters bottlenecks. Those with superior spiritual roots face fewer, and some prodigies have none at all; for them, cultivation is as simple as eating or drinking, and they advance to the next realm as naturally as water flows.

Han Changming possessed three spiritual roots, so encountering a bottleneck was perfectly normal.

A year ago, Han Changjiong had already advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Every cultivator encounters bottlenecks, but the timing is unpredictable. The lucky ones only hit them at high realms, while the unlucky ones encounter them early, and they are often difficult to overcome.

Han Changming had a clan uncle who was fifty years old and still at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The time required to break through a bottleneck varies from person to person; there is no fixed duration.

Han Changjiong encountered his bottleneck at the fifth level of Qi Refining and spent seven years overcoming it. Han Dehai hit his at the seventh level and broke through in two years. Han Debiao spent ten years overcoming his bottleneck at the eighth level, while Han Delei was stuck for twenty years.

The Han Clan had a specialized Monster Hunting Squad, fully equipped with members dedicated to scouting the movements of monsters and formulating hunting plans based on the number and supernatural abilities of the beasts.

Han Changming could speak to Han Deling and join the squad to hunt monsters.

Before that, however, he needed to purchase a few high-powered magical artifacts and some second-tier talismans.

Over these three years, by selling talismans, Han Changming had accumulated a large number of spirit stones; he had over four thousand in his storage bag.

During this period, Han Daohe had come to visit him. Han Changming gave Han Daohe one thousand spirit stones and a second-tier Water Escape Talisman. Despite Han Daohe's repeated refusals, he eventually accepted them, unable to resist Han Changming's insistence.

He had consumed a large amount of Spirit Nourishing Pills, making his divine sense stronger than that of a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator. Perhaps due to overconsumption, he had developed a resistance, and the pills no longer significantly increased his divine sense.

Consequently, he had switched to using Spirit Nourishing Incense.

Han Changming could control three first-tier magical artifacts simultaneously, though not for long.

A strange hissing sound came from his waist, and a Spirit Beast Bag at his hip began to stir restlessly.

He tapped the bag, and a purple light flew out.

It was a purple scorpion about half a foot long, with a pair of purple wings and a golden tail stinger.

From a distance, the purple scorpion looked like a massive piece of amethyst.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion, ranked fifty-second on the Heaven and Earth Exotic Insect Ranking, fed on spirits and poisonous herbs and could disrupt a person's soul.

Three years ago, at an exchange meeting, Han Changming had traded spirit water for a Ghost-Faced Scorpion egg.

Initially, Han Changming placed the insect egg near a Spirit Gathering Stone, letting it slowly absorb spiritual energy to hatch.

Half a year passed, and the egg showed no signs of life.

Han Changming then soaked the egg in spirit water. As a result, the golden egg slowly turned purple, and after it hatched, the Ghost-Faced Scorpion had transformed into an Amethyst Flying Scorpion.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion ranked higher than the Ghost-Faced Scorpion. It was also a venomous insect, but it fed on spirits and poisonous herbs. Han Changming had tried feeding it spirit water at first, but it was useless; it preferred devouring monster spirits and poisonous herbs.

Poisonous herbs were rare, but fortunately, monster spirits were relatively common. One relies on the mountains if living in the mountains, and on the water if living by the water; the Red Algae Sea had no shortage of low-tier monsters.

Monster spirits could be refined into magical artifacts to attack in manifested forms, and the higher the grade of the spirit, the more expensive it was.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion was a first-tier spirit insect that could devour first-tier monster spirits. Ten or twenty spirits were nothing, but its appetite was massive. Every time it fed, it required dozens of first-tier monster spirits, and its appetite was growing. It had also become picky; it wouldn't touch spirits of too low a grade.

If not for the two Alligator Turtle Beasts and the Amethyst Flying Scorpion, Han Changming could have saved up even more spirit stones.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion let out a strange hiss and flew into the air, appearing somewhat irritable.

Han Changming took out a palm-sized black gourd and pulled out the stopper. Dozens of egg-sized green light clusters flew out.

The black gourd was a first-tier mid-grade magical artifact called the Hundred Soul Gourd, specifically used for storing monster spirits.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion pounced on them like a starving ghost, flapping its wings.

The green light clusters were no match for the Amethyst Flying Scorpion. In a few quick movements, it easily devoured all the monster spirits.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion seemed unsatisfied, flying around the room while emitting strange, hissing sounds.

Over the past two years, it had devoured hundreds of first-tier monster spirits and dozens of poisonous herbs that were over a decade old, yet it remained a first-tier low-grade insect.

Han Changming sighed softly and muttered to himself, "Sooner or later, you're going to eat me into poverty."

He pulled out a bottle stopper, and a fist-sized green light cluster flew out; one could vaguely recognize it as the spirit of a monster crab.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion flapped its wings, instantly pouncing before the crab spirit, biting down on it, and devouring it in a few quick gulps.

Only after consuming the crab spirit did it feel satisfied, landing on the ground and lying motionless.

Han Changming took out a small, pitch-black herb and tossed it onto the floor.

The Amethyst Flying Scorpion opened its maw wide, swallowed the black herb, and let out an excited hiss, scurrying around the room.

Han Changming played with it for a while before returning it to the Spirit Beast Bag.

Stepping out of the room, Han Changming noticed that the rooms of Han Dehai and Han Changjiong were both shrouded in spiritual light, likely because they were cultivating or crafting talismans.

After leaving the Spirit Talisman Pavilion, Han Changming headed straight for the Hundred Refinements Pavilion.

The Spirit Talisman Pavilion was not far from the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, and before long, he appeared inside the Hundred Refinements Pavilion.

The Hundred Refinements Pavilion was the same as before, with decent business.

After greeting the clansmen in the main hall, Han Changming went up to the second floor.

Han Debiao was talking to Han Deling; their expressions were grave, as if they were discussing something of great importance.

"Fifth Uncle, Seventh Aunt."

A sincere smile appeared on Han Changming's face as he greeted them.

"Oh, it's Changming! Are you here to see your Fifth Brother?" Han Deling said with a smile.

"No, Nephew has encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation and intends to go out to hunt demonic beasts with Seventh Aunt. Seventh Aunt, could you take me along when you go hunting?" Han Changming asked with anticipation.

Han Deling frowned slightly and said, "Encountered a bottleneck? That's a coincidence. A large group of low-level demonic beasts has appeared at the junction of the Red Algae Sea and the Green Carp Sea, and I was just preparing to take some people to hunt them! I'll count you in."

I was delayed by something today, apologies.