The Stone Formation Blocks the Way

The other end.

"Xiaoyao, are you dissatisfied with the He family's young man?"

Inside the tent, Ning Yuanshan deliberately lowered his voice and frowned. "He's the one the family chose for you. They made inquiries on all sides and confirmed that he has decent talent. Like you, he has a chance to go cultivate with the Galaxy Alliance. Besides, our Ning Family and the He Family have been family friends for generations..."

"He was chosen by the family, not by me." Ning Yao impatiently cut off the rest of Ning Yuanshan's words.

Ning Yuanshan shook his head and sighed. "As a woman of the Ning Family, how can you have that many choices of your own?"

"Once I go to the Third Realm and prove myself in the Galaxy Alliance, I'll have choices." Ning Yao's voice turned cold.

"It won't be that easy."

As someone who had been through it himself, Ning Yuanshan gave a bitter smile and patiently explained, "In our realm, your cultivation talent and the He family boy's might be considered outstanding."

"But in the Third Realm, the spiritual energy is far richer, and contains almost no impurities. There are countless youngsters your age with better talent than either of you."

What he meant was that even if she and He Ziren were recommended to the Galaxy Alliance, they wouldn't be among the alliance's most outstanding members.

"Talent isn't the only measure. What matters is what you make of it." Ning Yao's bright eyes gleamed.

"True. I'm glad to see you have the confidence and spirit to think that way."

Seeing the light in her eyes reminded Ning Yuanshan of the vigor he'd had in his youth. He said, "The He boy traveled thousands of miles to see you. He's very pleased with you. He's doted on in the He Family, and both families' elders have reached an understanding. If he insists..."

"You know there are two others in the family competing with you for a place in the Galaxy Alliance."

Ning Yao fell silent for a moment. A chill gradually crept into the corners of her mouth, and then she suddenly said, "He shouldn't have come to the Cenji Mountains."

Ning Yuanshan was taken aback. He studied her closely, then said with concern, "Don't do anything rash."

"So many people from the Galaxy Alliance, the Blood Moon, and the Yin Spirit Temple have died in the Cenji Mountains. What makes He Ziren any different?" Ning Yao seemed to have made up her mind. Her voice was cold. "Liu Qigang is dead too. I might not even make it out alive—and neither might you, Uncle Yuanshan. What's so strange about him dying in the Cenji Mountains?"

Ning Yuanshan rubbed his temples and sighed. "It seems you've grown up while I wasn't paying attention."

"Enough, Uncle Yuanshan. You should go keep watch outside. I have a feeling something's wrong with that pile of rocks." Ning Yao urged him to leave.

Just then, they heard a shrill whistle of wind from outside. Without hesitation, they rushed out of the tent.

Under the deep, dark night sky, the first thing they saw was several hazy, faint gray beastly silhouettes. Accompanied by the shrill whistling from the pile of rocks, they flew toward Pang Jian, who sat quietly in a corner.

The shadows were vague, without real flesh and blood, as if they were made of gray mist. They were filled with a frenzied, violent air.

Pang Jian, sitting quietly, seemed to have noticed something strange. He was already on guard, his expression cautious.

"Beast Sha! The lowest rank, formed from the souls of wild beasts in the mountains!" Ning Yuanshan shouted.

By then, He Ziren, Zhang Heng, and several others who had been cultivating inside the tents had also rushed out, one after another.

"Beast Sha!"

He Ziren lowered his voice.

He was also at the Pulse-Opening Realm, and could see the indistinct gray shadows just like Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan.

His tent was actually the closest to Pang Jian. Yet as he watched the souls of wild beasts transform into "Beast Sha" and drift toward Pang Jian, he made no move to help.

Instead, a mocking smile tugged at his lips. He clearly intended to watch Pang Jian suffer.

"Uncle Yuanshan, we need Pang Jian alive," Ning Yao said sharply.

Ning Yuanshan shot forward.

After several swift leaps, he reached Pang Jian and pulled a silver-white stone pillar carved with a Flame Dragon from his back, planting it in the ground.

"Flame Sunfire!"

A fierce blaze suddenly burst from the top of the pillar.

Beneath the flames, the Flame Dragon carved around the pillar seemed to come alive, striking a menacing pose with bared claws and fangs.

The flames surged several meters into the air. Bolstered by the Flame Dragon's divine power, they became a roaring sea of fire above Ning Yuanshan and Pang Jian.

The "Beast Sha," newly formed and of the lowest rank, vanished like steam as soon as they neared the sea of fire, never managing to touch Pang Jian.

"What's going on?"

Only after doing all that did Ning Yuanshan, still holding the Flame Dragon Stone Pillar, lower his head to examine Pang Jian, who remained seated.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "When I first saw you, there wasn't a trace of spiritual energy in you. I took you for an ordinary hunter. Now, after only just entering these mountains, there's faint spiritual energy in your dantian. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I just sensed the existence of qi and drew a little spiritual energy into my body." Pang Jian's expression was calm.

Looking up at the sea of fire still burning overhead, he felt the intensely hot, yang energy radiating from Ning Yuanshan, who was holding the Flame Dragon Stone Pillar with one hand. He added, "Believe it or not."

"How convenient. You've only just begun cultivating?" Ning Yuanshan sneered.

Pang Jian offered no further explanation.

"How long have you been cultivating?"

Ning Yao's graceful figure swayed lightly as she approached at an unhurried pace. She called out while still some distance away.

Looking at her graceful figure and her spirited bearing, Pang Jian replied, "Three years."

"Three years, and only now you've sensed the existence of qi and drawn a little spiritual energy into your dantian?" Ning Yao furrowed her thick brows. Her distinctive features took on a strange expression.

Once she reached Pang Jian, she took a smooth, round white jade bead about the size of a finger from her waist and shone it over his dantian. Then she said to Ning Yuanshan, "It really does seem to be just a tiny bit of spiritual energy."

At that, Ning Yuanshan gave a cold snort and lowered his guard, drawing the sea of fire overhead back into the pillar.

The scorching heat around Pang Jian vanished at once.

"Don't blame me for suspecting you. There are so many hunters in Linshan Town, yet your family lives apart from the rest, closest to the Cenji Mountains." Ning Yuanshan's face remained stern as he added, "Strange and sinister things have been happening in the mountains lately. Apart from those of us from the Seven Great Families, there may be other people with ill intentions mixed in. We have to stay on guard."

Pang Jian gave an "oh."

"I say we tie him up and keep him under guard," He Ziren suggested maliciously. "Then, if he does anything suspicious, we can kill him on the spot."

Pang Jian's heart sank. His gaze immediately turned to the eerie, ominous pile of rocks. If the Ning Family really treated him that way, he would risk dashing inside and making a fight of it.

"There's no need. His strength and cultivation are both low. He poses no threat to us," Ning Yao rejected the suggestion.

"Suit yourself." He Ziren didn't care either way.

Since Pang Jian's cultivation was so low, if he did show any signs of trouble, He Ziren could kill him in an instant.

Pang Jian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As he looked at the pile of rocks, he noticed that the light from the White Paper Fan, the copper hammer, and the bell had vanished. Only the shrill howling remained.

Recalling what had happened earlier, he also sensed that some invisible things had been rushing toward him.

Those invisible things were probably the "Beast Sha" of the lowest rank that Ning Yuanshan and the others had mentioned. Ning Yuanshan had come to his rescue at Ning Yao's instruction, destroying those "Beast Sha" in the process.

But from what Pang Jian could sense, those so-called "Beast Sha"... didn't seem to be trying to harm him.

Instead, they seemed unable to resist the pull of the "Spirit Pot" he had visualized, as if they were being drawn toward it to be gathered into the Spirit Sea in his dantian.

That was what it felt like to him, but since Ning Yuanshan had already destroyed the "Beast Sha," Pang Jian had no way to confirm it.

While Pang Jian's mind wandered, Ning Yao, who had decided to let him remain free, was watching the strange movements among the stones and discussing with Ning Yuanshan and the others why the "Beast Sha" had appeared.

Pang Jian continued secretly examining the Spirit Sea in his dantian.

The Spirit Sea was a small world hidden within the human body. According to the Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art, those who had not reached the Dongxuan Realm and refined their spiritual sense could not see the true landscape of their Spirit Sea. They could only sense it vaguely.

He explored it with his senses and discovered that his Spirit Sea was filled with many cotton-like things.

Those cotton-like foreign objects muddled his senses, making it difficult to perceive the full extent of his Spirit Sea.

He was like a blind man moving around a room, repeatedly blocked by those cotton-like things, unable to feel out the room's general shape.

But he gradually sensed that the little spiritual energy he had absorbed earlier quickly vanished whenever it touched those cotton-like foreign objects.

When the spiritual energy came into contact with them, it was like a flicker of ghostly fire burning away a tiny piece of the "cotton," reducing their numbers slightly.

Before long, the little spiritual energy he had accumulated was completely exhausted.

"Your Spirit Sea is filthy, full of impurities and dregs. If you want to cultivate, you'll first need to gather spiritual energy and clear out the impurities in your body. This step is like cleaning a room that has been shut up for ages, sweeping away all the dust and clutter."

"Only when your Spirit Sea is clean will you be able to hold on to spiritual energy and truly become a qi cultivator."

When Pang Jian was at a loss, Ning Yao, holding the faintly glowing white jade bead, explained it to him in a cool, detached voice.

Since she needed Pang Jian to guide them, she felt that she was already treating him well. But the air of superiority in her bones had never truly disappeared.

The cloth pouch of silver she had tossed to him earlier, and her explanation now, both felt like a handout to a beggar.

"Oh."

Pang Jian replied coolly.

It turned out that while the girl had been talking with Ning Yuanshan and He Ziren, she had been secretly observing him. Clearly, she hadn't fully believed him.

"Once you get to that point, you'll be able to sense the size of your Spirit Sea. But..." A trace of mockery slipped from Ning Yao's lips as she changed tack. "Those with filthy Spirit Seas full of impurities usually lack talent for cultivation. Even after their Spirit Seas become clear and clean, they tend to be quite small at first."

She paused, then continued coldly, "The space you'll be able to open up in the future will also be very limited."

Like Sun Bin, she could tell that Pang Jian's cultivation aptitude was mediocre. No wonder he had taken three years just to sense the existence of "qi."

In her eyes, Pang Jian was no longer a suspect. She didn't care about him in the slightest—not even enough to ask how he had obtained his cultivation technique.

Nothing else happened that night.

At dawn the next morning, the sky was still dim and overcast.

"Thud, thud!"

The sound of galloping beasts came from the canyon entrance. Before long, a party of riders appeared, mounted on dark gray One-Horned Rhinos.

The tough hides covering the powerful One-Horned Rhinos were like natural armor, gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.

"Zhou Qingchen!"

The Ning Family's many servants cried out in surprise when they saw the One-Horned Rhinos charging toward them with an imposing, ferocious air.

At the front of the party, a tall man in blue robes sat bolt upright atop the largest One-Horned Rhino.

He was handsome and imposing, a full head taller than the people behind him, standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

As he rode over on the One-Horned Rhino, a divine light seemed to flash in his eyes. When he spotted Ning Yao, his eyes brightened even more, and he laughed heartily. "So it's Miss Ning. It's been a long time!"

Ning Yao's manner turned refined. She smiled with polite reserve and nodded in greeting.

Pang Jian watched from the side and could tell she treated this newcomer far more courteously than she did He Ziren.

The man in blue swept his gaze over He Ziren as if he didn't even know such a person existed. Then he clasped his fists toward Ning Yuanshan and called out, "Uncle Yuanshan!"

Ning Yuanshan beamed and beckoned warmly. "I knew the people of the Zhou Family would be arriving soon."

Once the newcomers dismounted, he took the initiative and told them about the strange happenings around the pile of rocks, as well as their confusion and concerns.

"Old Han, go take a look up ahead."

Zhou Qingchen's name sounded elegant and refined, but his looks and bearing were quite rugged. He spoke to a stout old man in yellow behind him.

"Sure thing!"

Han Duping wore bright yellow robes embroidered with copper coins. He slid off another One-Horned Rhino and only took out a specially made compass once he reached the pile of rocks.

He didn't rush inside. Instead, he circled the outside of the rocks, carefully inspecting something.

Ning Yao, Ning Yuanshan, and the others had been waiting for him. They seemed to know what he could do, so they didn't warn him of the danger within and let him examine the terrain, muttering to himself.

Pang Jian also watched his movements with curiosity.

After a while, Han Duping returned to the group, his plump face grave.

"The scattered rocks have formed a formation that can trap yin energy. As a result, the souls of living beings who die nearby, whether people or beasts, won't disperse within a certain radius. They'll also be drawn into the pile of rocks."

He looked up at the cliffs on either side, puzzled. "The rocks slid down from the mountains on both sides. They should have landed in a jumble, yet somehow they formed a formation that traps yin energy."

"How strange. I can't tell if this formation formed naturally or if someone made it."

Han Duping explained what he had discovered, his mind full of doubts.

At his words, everyone immediately began discussing it, offering all kinds of guesses and conjectures.

Pang Jian's thoughts stirred. He couldn't help remembering how his father had acted whenever he took him hunting as a child and they passed through the Cenji Mountains.

Whenever they passed this place, his father would kick the scattered stones.

His father seemed never to have moved the larger, heavier rocks, but he had kicked many smaller stones from farther away over to this spot.

According to his father, the scattered rocks were blocking the way and hindering their progress.

Thanks to our new alliance leader, "Tsutsui Ayame," and thanks to the brothers and sisters who sent rewards these past two days. It's been so long—yet you still remember me~~ wipes away tears