An Earth Vein Disturbance

Inside the Hall of Sacrifice, Jiang Fu'an stood quietly and slowly opened his eyes.

His usually calm gaze now sparkled with delight.

At last, this time Fu Yuan had brought him an opportunity to increase his cultivation speed.

The information revealed that tomorrow, at a quarter past Shen hour, an Earth Vein disturbance would occur in the direction of the Mizhang Mountains.

Jiang Fu'an understood that the so-called "Earth Vein disturbance" was really what he would have called an earthquake in his previous life.

According to the hint from Fu Yuan, when the earthquake struck, the monsters in the mountains would be startled and stampede in every direction.

At the foot of the mountain range on the side nearest Peace Town, an Azure Spirit Tree would temporarily be left without its guardian monster.

If he followed the route Fu Yuan had provided, he would have a safe window of one quarter of an hour to pick the Azure Spirit Fruits from the tree.

The information said they were First-Tier Spirit Fruits that could be consumed, though it did not specify their exact effects.

But none of that mattered.

As long as the fruits contained spiritual energy, he could aid his cultivation by eating them raw.

The only problem was that when the earthquake struck, he had to be near the Mizhang Mountains.

Otherwise, he wouldn't make it in time to pick the fruit.

At the thought, Jiang Fu'an furrowed his brow slightly.

He wasn't worried about himself, but about his family.

The house had only recently been built and was quite sturdy, but what if it couldn't withstand the earthquake and collapsed?

And if he wasn't home, what would happen to his wife and children?

Worse still, he had no way to warn them about the earthquake ahead of time.

There would be no way to explain how he'd learned about it.

After pacing a few times in the Hall of Sacrifice, Jiang Fu'an finally made up his mind.

In the open space behind the house, Stone stood perfectly still, holding his breath.

His back was straight as a pine, his gaze fixed on a thick wooden board standing more than ten meters away.

He held a pebble about the size of a fingertip in his right hand.

Suddenly, Stone lowered his shoulder and whipped his arm forward like a bowstring snapping loose!

With a soft whoosh, the pebble shot through the air.

A sharp crack followed, and the distant wooden board split in two.

Footsteps sounded at the courtyard gate.

Jiang Fu'an had just come in and witnessed the whole thing. He stopped, admiration in his eyes.

"Not bad. That strike was accurate and fierce, quick to launch and hard to spot. Much more practical than drawing a bow and nocking an arrow."

Stone turned around, a smile spreading across his face.

"Dad, do you want to learn this Heaven-and-Earth Toss too?"

Jiang Fu'an smiled and waved his hand.

"I'm not as quick to learn martial arts as you young folks, so I won't waste my time."

Now that he could cultivate, he naturally didn't want to spend any more time on mundane martial arts.

Besides, his plan in this life was to steadily build up the lineage. The chances of him personally fighting someone in the future were probably few and far between.

He walked up to Stone and said quietly,

"Tomorrow afternoon, I have to go out for a while. I'll leave the house in your hands.

"If anything dangerous happens, protect your mother and younger brother first thing. Understand?"

As for Yue'er, he didn't go out of his way to give her any special instructions.

That girl had the Lucky Star Shining fate and had also learned Cloud-Soaring Steps. She should be able to protect herself.

Besides, the house was newly built, and its beams and pillars were sturdy. Even if an earthquake struck, it was unlikely to collapse completely.

A single-story house was nothing like a multi-story building. Even if it fell, no one was likely to die on the spot.

Stone blinked, puzzled by why his father was suddenly giving him such careful instructions.

But he had always believed his father was capable of anything and that everything he said had a reason, so he nodded solemnly.

"Dad, I'll remember. Don't worry and go ahead."

The next day at noon, the sun beat down fiercely.

Jiang Fu'an hurriedly finished the food in his bowl, then picked up the bamboo basket from the corner and left.

A quarter past Shen hour was a little after three in the afternoon.

This time, the time Fu Yuan had given him was nothing like that last late-night trip to explore a cave dwelling. At least he wouldn't have to spend the whole time on edge.

Summer rains had made the weeds in the fields grow wildly.

Along the way, Jiang Fu'an passed several farmers crouching in their fields with baskets on their backs, weeding.

He blended in among them and drew no attention. Before long, he reached the edge of the forest he often entered when hunting.

Beyond it lay the true wilderness.

Wild beasts roamed frequently during the day. If he ran into one and it delayed him, he would be in trouble.

Fu Yuan had given him only a quarter of an hour; he couldn't afford to waste even a moment.

He found a rock by the forest's edge and sat down, gazing at the vast, unbroken mountain range in the distance.

The Mizhang Mountains stretched across the horizon, their slopes above the halfway point shrouded year-round in gray mist, indistinct from afar.

A few days earlier, while chatting with Miao Ruolan, he had heard her mention this mountain range.

It was said to stretch for ten thousand miles, connecting more than a dozen kingdoms.

Countless high-tier monsters lurked deep in the mountains. Even the Mysterious Elixir Valley, the foremost sect in the Song Kingdom, didn't dare venture far inside.

The sun drifted slowly westward, and the shadows between the trees grew longer.

After waiting for who knew how long, Jiang Fu'an suddenly felt a faint tremor beneath his feet.

His heart tightened, and he sprang to his feet.

The shaking grew stronger, and little stones on the ground began to rattle and hop.

Almost at the same time, one beast's roar after another came from the direction of the Mizhang Mountains.

The roars overlapped, drawing closer from afar, filled with panic and ferocity.

Then he saw dark shapes surge up from deep within the mountains, soaring straight into the sky.

Though they were far away, the silhouettes of their outstretched wings were still so enormous they made his heart quake.

Their roars tore through the sky, vibrating his eardrums until they went numb.

Jiang Fu'an's legs nearly gave way. His instincts screamed at him to turn and run.

Fortunately, the dark shapes weren't flying in his direction. They climbed higher and higher, gradually shrinking into tiny specks in the distance.

He didn't waste time watching. Drawing a deep breath, he used Cloud-Soaring Steps and shot toward the mountains like an arrow.

The ground still shook, sending loose stones tumbling.

Luckily, his light-footed technique was well-practiced. Though his steps faltered, he never lost his balance.

He followed the route Fu Yuan had indicated to the letter, weaving through the trees.

The beasts in the forest were panicking too.

From time to time, he heard branches snapping in the distance, mixed with the cries of strange animals.

But fortunately, no ferocious beasts appeared along the stretch of road he traveled.

Even when he occasionally spotted a few fleeing shapes, those beasts were too busy escaping to attack him.

The earthquake didn't last long.

In less than half an incense stick's burn, the tremors beneath his feet gradually subsided.

But Jiang Fu'an's heart tightened. He immediately pushed his speed to the limit.

From this moment on, he had to keep strict track of the time:

Pick the Azure Spirit Fruits within a quarter of an hour, then leave at once.

Otherwise, once the monster guarding the Azure Spirit Tree returned, he might well lose his life here.

The closer he got to the foot of the mountain, the clearer the monsters became.

Through the sparse trees, he could clearly see them charging wildly through the mountain forest.

Some were as big as oxen, with a single horn on their heads; others were red all over, with barbed tails.

They clearly hadn't recovered from their fright and were blindly stampeding through the forest.

Doubt stirred in Jiang Fu'an's heart.

What if these monsters spotted him from far away and chased after him...

The thought had barely arisen when the earth beneath his feet began to tremble again!