Cultivation

Remembering that night of brutality and blood, Gelu shuddered despite himself. He took a large gulp of wine to suppress the indescribable terror in his heart, then looked up at Li Junshan and said, "As for challenging the people Mr. Donald brings in, that isn't so simple either. In the past, there was a Magic God among us who couldn't stand it. For an entire month, he challenged every newcomer every day, killing thirty in one month. After that, Mr. Donald summoned him, and he never came back." As he spoke, fear surfaced in Gelu's eyes.

"Mentor, let me ask two last questions. First, in the past thirty years, has anyone ever left Blood Canyon? Second, how many experts does Blood Canyon have now? Mentor, you understand what I mean by experts." Li Junshan stared fixedly at Gelu, his mood somewhat tense.

"People have left, and their ranks weren't low. They all made it through Coiling Dragon Cave and only left with Mr. Donald's permission. Every one of them was a top figure. Otherwise, why would all those empires and duchies, large and small, have kept sending geniuses here over the years?" Gelu said slowly. He frowned and thought for a while, then said, "As for your second question, there are around thirty-some people in Blood Canyon at the level of Battle Saint and Magic Saint or above. There are fewer Magic Gods and Battle Gods—fifteen. With Boer, who just advanced, that makes sixteen. As for grandmaster-level alchemists and pharmacists, those go without saying."

Li Junshan's breathing instantly grew rapid, and his mind went blank.

"The Lans Empire is so powerful, yet I heard it only has two Magic Gods and four Battle Gods. This tiny Blood Canyon actually has as many as sixteen."

"What is Coiling Dragon Cave?" Only after a long while did Li Junshan recover, though he still felt his heart pounding violently.

"A cave at the southernmost end of Blood Canyon. Xiaoshan, don't ask about that anymore. Trust me, you would never want to set foot in that place." Gelu clearly had no intention of continuing. He waved a hand at Li Junshan and said, "Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you to cultivate summoning arts. You may go now."

Seeing his desolate expression and the sadness between his brows, Li Junshan said nothing more. He respectfully saluted, turned, and walked out. After returning to his room, he could not calm down for a long time.

"The root of everything unbelievable in Blood Canyon lies with that Saint-level Mage, Donald. I'll understand it slowly." Li Junshan thought to himself in silence.

The next day, Li Junshan was woken by Guli early in the morning. A group of thirteen summoners followed Gelu, taking a winding path through the canyon toward the west.

"There's a forest over there that belongs to us summoners for cultivation. The environment is quite nice," Guli said softly to Li Junshan as he walked beside him.

"What rank are you?" Li Junshan looked at the several companions around him, some old and some young, and asked Guli in a low voice.

"Summoner." Guli smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm the worst one here."

"What about your summoned beast? What level magical beast is it?" Li Junshan asked again.

Seeing an old man up ahead glance back at them with a frown, Guli winked at Li Junshan and stopped talking.

Before long, the group entered the forest through an exit on the western side of the canyon. Not long after that, they arrived at an open clearing. The ground was covered in lush green grass, wildflowers surrounded them on all sides, and the surroundings were indeed beautiful.

"Everyone, cultivate on your own," Gelu called to the group. The other twelve respectfully agreed, then each found a place and sat down. Some meditated to cultivate their spiritual power, while others focused intently on practicing summoning contract gestures.

Li Junshan saw Gelu beckon to him and walked over. He followed him to a rock at the edge of the clearing. Gelu sat down on it and said, "Perform the Great Summoner's contract gestures once for me."

Li Junshan did as he was told. He had never broken through, and he had practiced the Great Summoner's contract gestures countless times. His right hand demonstrated them smoothly and skillfully, like flowing clouds and running water.

"Mm, not bad." Gelu nodded. His hands traced out a series of movements, though as slowly as if they were in slow motion. In Li Junshan's eyes, the complex, intricate gestures became indescribably graceful and beautiful under Gelu's demonstration.

After Gelu finished, he looked up at Li Junshan. Seeing the slight confusion in his eyes, he smiled faintly and said, "Compared with the Great Summoner's gestures, this set of Summoner contract gestures is dozens of times more complex. You have to complete six hundred and thirty-one contract lines and symbols in the shortest possible time. There's no need to rush. Take it slowly."

With that, he demonstrated it slowly once more. Li Junshan also understood the principle that biting off more than one could chew was useless, so he only firmly memorized the first twenty-some gestures before imitating them.

For half a month straight, except when eating, Li Junshan kept practicing this set of Summoning Saint Master contract gestures. He also knew he was no genius. To survive better, he became more diligent than ever before.

"Three hundred twenty-three, three hundred twenty-four..." Li Junshan sat focused inside the stone cave, his right hand drawing one contract pattern after another in the air, each glowing with faint white light. Finally, when he drew the three hundred fortieth contract gesture, his spiritual power was completely exhausted. The mysterious contract pattern scattered like stardust in the air and vanished.

His whole body wilted. Li Junshan sighed helplessly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave a bitter smile.

Spiritual power! It was still spiritual power! When others meditated, they could gain at least something, more or less. Only he alone made no progress at all, staying stuck where he was.

Vaguely feeling that the Xenomorph genes inside his body were causing trouble, yet unable to be certain, Li Junshan frowned and paced around the room several times. Then he gritted his teeth and walked toward Gelu's stone cave.

"Greetings, Mentor. I have some questions I'd like to ask you." Li Junshan stood outside the stone chamber and spoke respectfully.

"Xiaoshan, come in." Gelu was sitting on the stone bed, meditating. For someone at his level, aside from breaking through in rank, nothing else could attract him anymore.

Li Junshan went in and sat before the stone table, then said, "Mentor, my spiritual power cultivation has never made any progress. I remembered some things from before, but I'm not certain, so I wanted to hear your opinion."

"Go ahead." Gelu smiled faintly.

Li Junshan then told Gelu about the process of his first breakthrough in spiritual power, and afterward looked at him with great hope.

"After cultivating battle aura, your spiritual power broke through?" Gelu asked in astonishment. "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Li Junshan nodded and said, "At the time, it was just like now. No matter how I meditated and cultivated, my spiritual power didn't improve at all. Later, I became somewhat discouraged, so I found a battle aura manual and practiced it on my own. Who knew that before long, battle aura formed? And at that instant, my spiritual power grew by leaps and bounds."

"Such a thing exists!" Gelu murmured, frowning tightly as he sank into thought. Li Junshan did not disturb him and quietly waited at the side.

"I can't explain it either." In the end, Gelu still shook his head, shattering the bubble of hope that had filled Li Junshan's heart.

"Perhaps you could find a warrior and ask. See if you gain anything from that," Gelu said after pondering for a long while, tossing out that one sentence.

Li Junshan smiled bitterly inwardly a few times, then stood and took his leave from Gelu.

He had risked danger to come to Blood Canyon because he thought the continent's only Summoning Imperial Master, whom Randolph had spoken of, might be able to solve his problem. He had not expected the result to still be this.

"Xiaoshan, go to the warriors' dwelling area and find Slanbi. He is the only Battle God I know. Perhaps you can get some help from him."

Li Junshan turned and nodded gratefully to Gelu, then walked out. It was currently dusk, and those from various professions who had gone out to cultivate had already returned. Li Junshan found Guli and asked him the way, then headed toward the warriors' dwelling area in the northern part of the canyon.

The dwelling areas for each profession in Blood Canyon were divided in great detail. Like the cultivation grounds, they were clearly separated. Before long, Li Junshan reached the warriors' dwelling area in the northern part of the canyon. From a distance, he saw several people chatting outside. Like the summoners' side, they were a mix of old and young, uneven in age.

Li Junshan was just about to walk over and ask if Slanbi was there when he heard someone call his name. He looked up and saw Robin standing in front of a stone cave, smiling as he waved to him.

"Big Brother." Warmth stirred in Li Junshan's heart, and he walked over.

"I thought it was you from a distance. Xiaoshan, we haven't seen each other for half a month. Are you used to staying here?" Robin led Li Junshan into his stone chamber.

The stone chamber was just as simple as Li Junshan's, though there were many more empty wine bottles on the table. As Li Junshan walked, he said, "It's pretty much just like this. There's nothing to get used to or not get used to. We don't have a choice anyway."

Robin had perhaps heard some news as well. He gave a bitter smile and shook his head. After the two sat down, Robin asked, "Did you come here to look for me?"

"No. I came to find Mr. Slanbi."

"Mr. Slanbi? What do you need him for?" Robin asked, somewhat surprised.

Li Junshan repeated to Robin what he had told Gelu, then finally said with a wry smile, "I came here because I wanted to break through my limits. I didn't expect it would still turn out like this."

Robin unconsciously rubbed the wine bottle in his hand. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "I've never heard of anything like that either. Battle aura can affect mental strength?"

"But that's exactly what's happening," Li Junshan said, growing even more depressed.

"Mr. Slanbi went to the street to drink. You came at the wrong time." Robin stood up and said, "Come on, let's go find him together."

The two of them walked and talked about what each had encountered during this period. Before long, they arrived on the street. They searched three or four taverns in a row, but still did not run into Slanbi. They kept searching until they reached the tavern where they had drunk when they first entered Blood Canyon, but they still did not find him.

"There's no rush." Li Junshan pulled Robin down to sit, ordered a few bottles of Bloody Anya, and the two of them slowly began to drink.

As they chatted idly, Li Junshan's eyes suddenly lit up, and the cup he had lifted to his lips stopped there.

Two people came in through the door. The magic staffs in their hands, inlaid with magic crystals, revealed their identities to Li Junshan.

In front was a beautiful young woman in a white gauze dress that swept the floor. The black fox stole draped over her shoulders gave off a light, delicate tremble as she moved.

The skin of her face was like the clearest white jade, utterly translucent, and her black eyes shifted and sparkled, full of liveliness.

Her long black hair fell smoothly like a waterfall, glossy enough to reflect a person's face. Her Eastern features and well-proportioned figure made Li Junshan's heartbeat quicken despite himself.