Osmanthus Tower

But judging by the urgency with which the man had left, He Song had a feeling that he was likely doomed.

The death rate among Rogue Cultivators was no laughing matter.

As for the newly moved-in old man and child, the elder looked kind and benevolent, while the little girl was lively and adorable. He Song was fairly familiar with them as well.

The old man was named Su Jin.

The little girl was named Su Yan.

They were grandfather and granddaughter.

According to Su Jin, Su Yan was his biological granddaughter from the mortal world.

Because she possessed a spirit root, he had brought her over from the mortal world and kept her by his side to teach personally.

Most cultivation families in the cultivation world came to be this way.

This old man and little girl before him were the budding form of a cultivation family.

Families bound together by bloodline were exceedingly dependable. If a few more cultivators with spirit roots emerged among them,

the cultivation world might gain another cultivation family.

"Xiao Yan is such a good girl. Brother Song will bring you something tasty next time." He Song pinched Su Yan's little cheek as he responded to her, though his gaze rested on Su Jin beside her.

"I went to visit a friend today. Senior Su, are you heading to the Stall Area?" Su Jin's cultivation had reached Qi Refining stage 6, so it was only natural for He Song to address him as Senior.

At the same time, although Su Jin appeared decrepit and truly was quite old, as a Rogue Cultivator, his livelihood was similar to Lin Cong's.

Lin Cong's cultivation was low, and he needed to partner with others to hunt demon beasts outside and earn Spirit Stones.

Su Jin, however, was different. His cultivation had reached Qi Refining stage 6, and he lacked neither Magic Artifacts nor Spirit Talismans. Fighting was as commonplace to him as eating and drinking.

Thus, even traveling alone outside, he could kill demon beasts and earn Spirit Stones.

Moreover, all gains from slaying demon beasts went to him alone.

The Spirit Stones he could earn naturally exceeded those of ordinary people by far.

The stall He Song had asked about referred to Su Jin returning to the Immortal Market with demon beast corpses after hunting them, then setting up a stall to sell them.

"Mm. Xiao Yan has been clamoring to go out and play, so I'm taking her to the Stall Area for a bit." Su Jin looked at Su Yan with indulgence, then nodded to He Song, signaling that he would take his leave first.

He Song cupped his hands in farewell.

Only Su Yan, even as Su Jin led her away, kept her eyes fixed on He Song.

After they had gone farther away, she still turned back from time to time to glance at him.

As though she were trying to see whether He Song really had anything tasty in his hands.

He Song, however, noticed none of this.

He opened the door.

Entered the house.

Locked the door.

Before long, He Song had once more immersed himself in the Array Dao Primer within his mind.

Studying the Array Dao was what He Song needed to do most right now.

Once he entered the Array Dao and successfully set up a Spirit Gathering Array, his cultivation speed would increase again.

By then,

even if he did not help others set up arrays for hefty rewards, He Song could still quietly make a fortune and rapidly raise his cultivation.

Entering the Array Dao was difficult.

Yet once one crossed the threshold, the rewards were numerous.

Take the Spirit Gathering Array, for example.

Helping someone set up a Spirit Gathering Array generally earned a reward of three hundred Spirit Stones.

One Spirit Gathering Array, three hundred Spirit Stones!

That equaled He Song's current income for two years!

Setting up a Spirit Gathering Array required very little time, yet the returns were so astonishing.

There were many reasons for this.

First, array masters capable of setting up arrays were extremely rare; ordinarily, one was difficult to find.

Second, once a Spirit Gathering Array or another array was set up, it would practically exist forever. So long as Spirit Stones were added to activate it, it could remain effective indefinitely.

Third, once an array master stepped in to set up an array, the odds of being eyed as a fat sheep rose greatly. Thus, array masters generally would not risk setting up arrays for others. If someone intercepted and killed them, they might not even be able to escape.

While studying the Array Dao Primer, He Song had already prepared himself never to help others set up arrays.

Though setting up arrays for others offered sufficiently high returns,

the risks involved were no less great.

As an Immortal, what He Song needed was safety and stability, not risking his life at the sight of a little profit.

That was the path to death.

Not He Song's path.

Therefore, even before purchasing the Array Dao Primer, He Song had already considered how to rely on the Array Dao to earn Spirit Stones.

So long as he used that method,

even without personally setting up arrays for others, he could still make Spirit Stones come rolling in.

A thought flashed through his mind, and He Song's eagerness to comprehend the Array Dao Primer immediately grew stronger.

Over the following days,

He Song lived a nearly identical life day after day.

After finishing his cultivation each morning, he went to the Spirit Fields under his management and cast the Spirit Rain Technique for half a shichen.

Once he had finished casting the Spirit Rain Technique, if he had matters to attend to, he dealt with them first.

If he had nothing to do, he immediately returned home to recover his spiritual power.

Once his spiritual power had fully recovered, he began comprehending the Array Dao Primer.

Whenever the mental strain became too great, he cultivated for a while before resuming his comprehension.

And so,

half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Time flowed on.

Days flew like arrows.

Half a month vanished in an instant.

On this day,

He Song was at home pondering the Array Dao Primer when he heard knocking at his door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Before He Song could open it, however, Lin Cong's excited voice rang out from outside.

"Fellow Daoist He, I have successfully broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage! Today, I'm treating—we won't leave Osmanthus Tower until we're drunk!"

Upon hearing Lin Cong's familiar voice, delight appeared on He Song's face as well.

A month ago, Lin Cong had told him that he was entering seclusion to break through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

After so much time had passed, He Song had thought he had failed.

Unexpectedly, one month later, Lin Cong had succeeded in breaking through and immediately come to share the good news with him.

This surprise left He Song both startled and delighted.

He was startled that Lin Cong had taken a full month to break through.

He was delighted that Lin Cong had truly succeeded in reaching the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

With this, he had another friend in the Qi Refining Middle Stage, and his roots in Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market had grown deeper still.

At the same time, Lin Cong's breakthrough would give He Song a deeper understanding of the bottleneck between early-stage Qi Refining and the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

He opened the door.

He Song invited Lin Cong inside.

The two sat at the table, and only then did He Song cup his hands in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on your great advance in cultivation. Foundation Establishment awaits you in the future." He Song cupped his hands toward Lin Cong. After speaking, he handed him a cup of hot tea.

At the table, the joy on Lin Cong's face deepened upon hearing He Song congratulate him in person.

They had known each other for many years.

He Song had always kept to himself, as though everything beyond his door had nothing to do with him.

Even though Lin Cong, his neighbor, had deliberately sought to befriend him, it had taken several years before he and He Song had finally become friends who could drink tea and chat together from time to time.

Now that he had heard a word of congratulations from He Song, he felt quite pleased with himself.

He was now a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator too!

In this small Bamboo Mountain Immortal Market, there were many Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivators, but their status was still somewhat higher than that of early-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

A trace of lofty spirit flashed through his mind, and the smile on Lin Cong's face gradually widened.

"Just luck, just luck. Is Fellow Daoist He free now? Let's go to Osmanthus Tower—we won't leave until we're drunk!"