A Bountiful Harvest

The Silver Creature opened its mouth and spat out a ball of light. As it caught the wind, it unfurled into a Silver Fan, which it swung toward Bai Yixin, unleashing a vast, surging tide of white waves.

Every towering ancient tree was uprooted and shattered into fragments in the sky. Furthermore, a stone mountain was torn asunder, as if struck by a god, with boulders rumbling and tumbling down.

The scene was terrifying; the power of the Treasure Technique was immense and heart-stopping, leaving the geniuses of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion watching from afar trembling with fear. This Silver Creature was undoubtedly an unimaginable descendant of a royal bloodline.

Otherwise, how could one so young wield such a Silver Fan? Its power was too great; it should not have been in the hands of an underage beast.

But what kind of damage would such a powerful treasure fan actually inflict upon Bai Yixin?

As the silver waves dissipated, the silver light revealed a Purple-Gold Giant Cauldron, inverted and resting on the ground. Bai Yixin was inside the cauldron, calmly drawing out a sword.

This Purple-Gold Giant Cauldron was the very same one within Bai Yixin's dantian, a semi-finished vessel meant for refining his Golden Core; it was a manifestation of his cultivation's spiritual energy.

Well, although this Purple-Gold Giant Cauldron was important, if it were destroyed...

It would be no matter. He could treat it as a divine ability; if destroyed, he would simply start over, reshaping a new cauldron for his Golden Core. It would only slow his progress toward the Golden Core stage, which was of no great consequence.

Although the treasure light fanned out by the Silver Fan was terrifying, it had not left a single mark on the Purple-Gold Giant Cauldron.

Because of its unexpectedly extreme durability, this was not the first time Bai Yixin had used it to block an attack. Every time he finished using it, he would toss it back onto the high platform within his dantian to be nourished once more. Proper tempering would only make it sturdier, which would be more conducive to a successful Golden Core formation when the time came.

"What kind of Treasure Technique is that?!"

In the distance, Little One and the others were extremely shocked by the Purple-Gold Giant Cauldron Bai Yixin had summoned, which had actually managed to block the Silver Creature's treasure attack.

"The treasure is strong, but unfortunately... you are too weak!"

Bai Yixin flicked the sword in his hand, producing a crisp ringing sound, and shook his head as he spoke.

Immediately after, a deep crater suddenly exploded beneath Bai Yixin's feet. He shot into the sky, his Azure Wings unfurled, accompanied by the sound of thunder, his sword light cold and sharp, pointing directly at the Silver Creature!

The Silver Creature's expression changed. He could sense the sudden eruption of power from Bai Yixin—a force he could not overcome, even with the treasure in his hand.

He swung his fan again, and silver light flooded the sky, crashing toward the incoming Bai Yixin.

The sword energy severed the air, its cold, biting light causing everyone present to shiver, as if a guillotine were hanging over their heads, about to fall.

The overwhelming silver light pouring down was split in two by a single sword strike, cascading to either side of Bai Yixin without so much as touching his sleeve.

The Silver Creature continued to unleash his power, his treasure fan flashing as he attacked repeatedly, retreating as he fired.

"With only this much skill, you dare to spout such arrogant words? You don't even have the qualifications to be my war servant!" Bai Yixin's sword light never faltered as he closed the distance to the Silver Creature, mocking him.

Veins bulged on the Silver Creature's face. He let out a roar and shouted, "I won't take you as a war pet anymore! The Nine-Headed Lion and the others won't get their hands on you either. I will tear you apart and devour you today; no one will get a powerful servant!"

"Oh? At a time like this, you're still indulging in such delusions? If you have any other trump cards, use them now, or you won't live to see tomorrow's sun."

Bai Yixin said unhurriedly; there was still some time before dinner, so he could afford to play a little longer.

"I don't want to waste any more time. Die!" the Silver Creature roared coldly. He spat out a silver dagger, which flashed with light and flew out in an instant.

During this process, he frantically waved his Silver Fan to pin Bai Yixin down, making it difficult for him to spare the strength to resist the dagger.

This silver dagger was polished from a Treasure Bone; while its power was not as great as the fan, it was not to be underestimated.

"Clang!"

But unfortunately, the Silver Creature's desperate efforts did not cost Bai Yixin much effort; it only made him swing his sword energy a little faster.

Bai Yixin couldn't be bothered to use his Azure Edge Sword to block the sneak-attacking dagger, so he simply reached out his left hand and grabbed it.

With a loud clang and a piercing sound, the silver dagger failed to pierce Bai Yixin's palm, leaving only a white mark.

"Behave!"

Crackling golden lightning surged forth, giving the silver dagger a comfortable electric treatment, destroying all the runes the Silver Creature had left on it to control the treasure.

In the end, Treasure +1.

"What?!" The Silver Creature was startled. How strong was this kid's palm to be able to withstand his silver dagger attack head-on?

"Bad!" He turned and fled. He had only dared to spout arrogance and provoke the boy because he relied on his higher cultivation realm and his treasures. Now that he realized this human boy was not human at all—neither his cultivation nor his treasures could stop him—how could he not flee?

However, he was a step too slow. Seeing that the creature had run out of tricks and wanted to escape, Bai Yixin decisively flew forward with his Azure Wings, instantly crossing the distance between them, and swung his sword.

The Silver Creature couldn't dodge in time, and the decapitating strike landed on his left arm instead. With a puff, it was severed, and blood splattered everywhere.

"Damn it!"

The Silver Creature let out a sharp cry, his Silver Fan spinning to lift him up, emitting boundless light before he sped away along the ground.

"Want to escape? Too late!"

Bai Yixin unfurled the Azure Luan Bird Wings on his back, his body turning into a streak of light. He quickly caught up to the Silver Creature and kicked him down.

With a boom, a giant human-shaped crater was smashed into the forest.

A flash of sword light swept past, and the Silver Creature was decapitated, dying with his eyes wide open.

Bai Yixin searched the body, but found only some medicinal pills for healing; there was nothing else of value.

"Pah! Poor wretch!" Bai Yixin weighed the Silver Fan and the silver dagger, tucked them into his storage space, and turned back to carry the Silver Creature's corpse to the lakeside.

"Little Junior Brother, what exactly is your background? How is your cultivation so profound that you could withstand two of his treasures head-on?"

The disciples of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion sighed with emotion. Bai Yixin was simply too strong. Seeing how effortlessly he handled the situation, who knew how strong he would be at full power?

Little One heard their praise for Bai Yixin and puffed out his chest. He and Brother Little White had come from a small mountain village, yet they could still beat the geniuses of these great clans and powerful factions just the same.

"Brother Little White! You're back."

"Solved it easily."

Bai Yixin smiled, then tossed the silver creature aside.

"This Primordial Remnant must be a flesh-and-blood treasure medicine. If we could refine its essence blood to nourish ourselves, it would surely help us break through to a new realm. But I don't want to eat a humanoid creature." Little One frowned, his little face twisted in hesitation as he wondered whether to add it to the bear paw broth he was brewing.

"It's fine, there's definitely a market for this. We can just trade it with someone else later." Bai Yixin thought for a moment; he also felt squeamish about eating a humanoid creature.

Firelight flickered. An hour had passed, and the bear paws in the bronze cauldron were glowing, bobbing in the boiling water as rays of light swirled around them, the aroma of meat filling the air.

"Brother Little White, put those spirit herbs in. This pot of flesh-and-blood treasure medicine will surely be even more amazing." Little One took a whiff of the fragrance, a look of intoxication on his face.

"Mmm~ smells so good!" Bai Yixin took out the four Red Orchids he had just gathered. The spirit herbs were fragrant, shimmering with rosy light, each stalk brilliant.

When they were dropped into the cauldron, it immediately erupted with auspicious colors.

The lid was placed on, firelight danced, and the scent became intoxicating. The bear paws were stewed to a deep red, the Fire Cloud Sparrow meat and bear meat had turned tender, and the essence blood had transformed into rays of light that seeped into the thick broth and soaked into the succulent meat.

With the four spirit herbs added, the medicinal potency was even stronger; the red liquid inside the cauldron was dazzling enough to make one swoon.

"Drinking this soup is truly a wonderful thing! Don't you agree, Little One?" Bai Yixin signaled to Little One with his eyes.

"Right, it smells so good! Senior brothers and sisters, what do you think?" Little One's mouth watered as he spoke to the five seniors from the Heaven-Mending Pavilion.

"Gulp~"

The sound of swallowing echoed one after another.

"Ahem, two junior brothers, what do you mean by..." One of the seniors stared at the pot of treasure medicine, eyes filled with longing. If they could eat a few bites to cultivate their own strength, they would surely break through their bottlenecks.

"Eat to work, it's only natural," Bai Yixin said with a smile.

"Alright, it's about time!" Little One called out, opened the lid, and fished out a bear paw.

"Gulp~" The several senior brothers and sisters looked at each other, swallowing their saliva, but none dared to be the first to move. Listening to Bai Yixin, eating meant they had to work, and judging by the ferocity of these two junior brothers, the danger of that work was likely not small.

"Eat! If you don't eat, you won't be able to escape anyway. Don't forget the elders' instructions~" Bai Yixin picked up another bear paw, glanced at them, and said.

He made it clear: trying to freeload was not going to happen!

"Gulp, then... we will follow your lead, Junior Brother. Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do." The senior brothers and sisters looked at each other. What else could they do? Following these two incredibly powerful junior brothers didn't seem so shameful after all.

"Don't worry, I don't expect much from you. After we finish eating, you just need to call out and sell this along the way. See if anyone comes to trade for this silver creature." Bai Yixin handed them five pairs of chopsticks, inviting them to join the meal.

The five geniuses of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion ate a third of the meat and drank half of the red broth before they could move no more. They immediately sat cross-legged, circulated their Runes, and began to cultivate.

Bai Yixin and Little One gorged themselves, eating with great delight, golden juices splattering everywhere, their mouths full, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The two of them finished off the remaining bear meat and red broth. After eating their fill, they felt a bit sleepy.

"Junior Brother, don't slack off. Hurry and circulate your energy to break through," one of the Heaven-Mending Pavilion seniors urged.

"No need. I've integrated this massive essence and spirit into my flesh and bones; the accumulation for a breakthrough isn't enough yet," Bai Yixin said, burping contentedly and squinting his eyes.

Little One had already entered a state of meditation, seemingly on the verge of breaking through to the Seventh Heavenly Cave.

"Ah--~ You guys keep watch, I'm going to cultivate for a while~"

As a "Liver Emperor," Bai Yixin naturally wouldn't sleep. Or rather, he hadn't slept in a year or two; he was either cultivating or on his way to cultivate. It was all about that one word—grind!

"Don't worry, Junior Brother, the watch is on us," one senior said, patting his chest.

"I'll handle the selling part perfectly as well."

"Mmm, I'll leave it to you." Bai Yixin nodded, casually took out an Ice Talisman to freeze the silver creature's corpse to prevent it from rotting or spoiling too quickly.

He then took out a Jade Meditation Cushion, sat cross-legged on it, and quickly entered meditation.

Both the Ice Talisman and the Jade Meditation Cushion were bought from the shop. The former needs no explanation, while the latter's effect was roughly to increase the user's speed of absorbing external spiritual energy and to calm the mind, making it easier to enter meditation.

"Nurturing spirits in the Heavenly Cave, arranging arrays in the Inscription Realm, carving runes to set up formations—there is a lot of room for operation in these four stages. If I could set up those legendary Primordial Great Formations within my own body, wouldn't I be able to kill gods if gods block me, and kill Buddhas if Buddhas block me?"

"But the problem is, I can't afford the complete formations, and my current cultivation realm and physical body can't withstand such powerful formations yet..."

"It's a pity that a Heavenly Cave seems to have a limit of ten. Shi Hao could only manage to merge ten Heavenly Caves, an alternative eleventh Heavenly Cave. Nine is the extreme of numbers, ten is perfection, and fullness leads to overflow. Shi Hao merging ten into one perhaps implies the meaning of Reincarnation..."

"I would like to open two more Heavenly Caves to reach the number of the twelve Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. That way, I might be able to raise twelve spirits as formation eyes in the future to set up the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation. But unfortunately, even opening one more might invite misfortune."

"Besides, without the essence blood of the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the most crucial Pangu essence blood, dreaming of setting up the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation is just that—a dream..." Bai Yixin glanced at the shop; it was another astronomical price.

"The human body has 720 acupuncture points distributed along the Ren and Du meridians and the twelve main meridians. There are about 52 single points, 309 double points, and 50 extra-meridian points throughout the body, totaling 720."

"Using the body as a seed to open the gates of potential—this path is also worth trying. In the future, I might be able to find 365 acupuncture points to merge with the power of the 365 stars in the sky, corresponding to the 365 main stars, and then use the gates of potential to replace the 14,800 secondary stars, connecting them with the power of the Zhou Tian stars to set up the Zhou Tian Star Formation!"

"Something slightly lesser, the Ten Thousand Immortal Formation of the Sect Master (Tongtian), is also not bad. It could serve as a method to burst forth with power at a critical moment..."

"The Immortal Execution Sword Formation..."

"Unfortunately, with my current financial resources, I can only choose one to set up a corner of during the Inscription Realm. Perhaps setting up a Spirit Gathering Formation wouldn't be bad either ╮(╯-╰")╭"

The surging spiritual power flowed along the meridians through one Great Circulation after another, finally converging into the Dantian, staining it purple-gold, climbing up the high platform, and pouring into the giant purple-gold cauldron.

"Junior Brother~ Junior Brother~ The Fire Kingdom Princess heard us shouting about trading the Primordial Remnant and is rushing toward us. She'll be here soon. Do you think we should receive her?" A senior sister from the Heaven-Mending Pavilion looked at Bai Yixin with gratitude. After eating that treasure medicine, they had all successfully broken through.

"Oh~ she's coming?" Bai Yixin had anticipated this and opened his eyes to look into the distance.