Earth Vein Disturbance

Inside the Hall of Sacrifice, Jiang Fu'an stood silently, slowly opening his eyes.

Those eyes, usually calm, were now flickering with a look of pleasant surprise.

This instance of Fu Yuan was finally an opportunity that could increase his cultivation speed.

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

Jiang Fu'an understood in his heart that this so-called "Earth Vein disturbance" was actually what he called an earthquake in his past life.

According to the Fu Yuan prompt, when the earthquake occurred, the demonic beasts in the mountains would be startled and run about wildly across the hills and plains.

At the foot of the mountain range on the side near Peace Town, an Azure Spirit Tree would temporarily lose its guardian beast.

As long as he followed the route provided by the Fu Yuan, he would have a quarter of an hour to safely pick the Azure Spirit Fruit from the tree.

The information stated that this was a First-Tier Spirit Fruit and could be consumed, though its specific effects were not detailed.

However, none of that was important.

As long as the fruit contained spiritual energy, he could assist his cultivation by eating it raw.

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

Otherwise, he would never make it in time to pick the fruit.

Thinking of this, Jiang Fu'an's brows furrowed slightly.

He was not worried about himself, but about his family.

Although this house had been built not long ago and was quite sturdy, what if it could not withstand the earthquake and collapsed?

And if he were not at home, what would his wife and children do?

What was more troublesome was that he could not speak of the earthquake in advance.

Otherwise, he would have no way to explain the source of the information.

Pacing back and forth in the Hall of Sacrifice, Jiang Fu'an finally made up his mind.

In the open space of the backyard, Stone stood with bated breath and focused mind.

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

His right hand gripped a pebble the size of a finger.

Suddenly, Stone's shoulder sank, and his arm whipped out like a bowstring!

With a soft "shoo" sound, the pebble tore through the air.

Immediately following, with a crisp "crack," the wooden board in the distance split in two.

Footsteps came from the courtyard entrance.

Jiang Fu'an, who had just walked in, happened to witness this scene and could not help but stop, a look of approval appearing in his eyes.

"Not bad. This strike is accurate and ruthless, fast to execute, and concealed; it is much more practical than drawing a bow and nocking an arrow."

Stone turned his head, a smile blooming on his face:

"Father, would you like to learn this 'Heaven-and-Earth Toss' as well?"

Jiang Fu'an smiled and waved his hand:

"Father doesn't learn martial arts as quickly as you young people, so I won't waste the time."

Now that he could cultivate, he naturally did not want to spend his time on worldly martial arts.

Moreover, his plan for this life was to steadily manage his Lineage, and the chances of him having to fight someone personally would likely be few and far between.

He walked up to Stone and said softly:

"Tomorrow afternoon, Father needs to go out. I am leaving the house in your hands.

"If any danger arises, you must protect your mother and younger brother first, do you understand?"

As for Yue'er, he did not give any special instructions.

That girl possessed the "Lucky Star Shining" destiny and had practiced the "Cloud-Soaring Steps," so she should be safe enough.

Besides, this house was newly built with solid beams and pillars; even if an earthquake did occur, the possibility of it collapsing entirely was not high.

A single-story house was not like a multi-story building; even if it collapsed, people would not necessarily be killed on the spot.

Stone blinked, somewhat puzzled as to why his father was suddenly giving such instructions.

But he had always felt that his father was omnipotent and that his words had their own reasons, so he nodded earnestly:

"Father, I have remembered. Please go with peace of mind."

The next day at noon, the sun was scorching.

Jiang Fu'an hurriedly finished the rice in his bowl, then shouldered the bamboo basket in the corner and headed out the door.

It was three-quarters past the hour of Shen, which was a little past three in the afternoon.

The time provided by Fu Yuan this time was finally not as hellish as the last night exploration of the cave dwelling, so there was no need to be on pins and needles.

Summer rains were plentiful, and weeds in the fields grew wildly.

Along the way, Jiang Fu'an met quite a few farmers squatting in the fields with baskets on their backs, weeding.

He blended in among them, not drawing any attention, and very smoothly arrived at the edge of the forest he often entered when hunting.

Further ahead was the true wilderness.

Beasts frequented the area during the day, and if he happened to run into one, it would be troublesome to delay his important business.

Fu Yuan had only given him a quarter of an hour, and he could not afford to delay even for a moment.

He found a Stone by the forest edge to sit on, casting his gaze toward the vast, rolling mountain shadows in the distance.

The Mizhang Mountains lay horizontally across the horizon, the area above the mountainside shrouded in gray mist all year round, making it impossible to see clearly.

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

It was said that these mountains stretched for ten thousand miles, connecting more than a dozen kingdoms.

Countless high-level demonic beasts were hidden deep within the mountain forests, and even the Mysterious Elixir Valley, the number one sect of the Song Kingdom, did not dare to venture deep inside easily.

The sun slowly shifted westward, and the light and shadows in the forest gradually lengthened.

He did not know how long he had waited when Jiang Fu'an suddenly felt a slight tremor coming from the soles of his feet.

His heart tightened, and he immediately stood up.

The vibration became more and more obvious, and the small pebbles on the ground began to jump with a rustling sound.

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

The sounds were layered, coming from far to near, filled with panic and violence.

Immediately after, he saw black shadows rising into the sky from the depths of the mountain range, heading straight for the clouds.

Even though they were extremely far away, the silhouettes of those figures as they spread their wings were still large enough to make one's heart palpitate.

The beast roars pierced the sky, vibrating one's eardrums until they went numb.

Jiang Fu'an's legs felt a bit weak, and he instinctively wanted to turn around and run.

Fortunately, those black shadows did not fly in this direction, but flew higher and higher, gradually turning into a few small dots on the horizon.

Without looking any further, he took a deep breath and executed the Cloud-Soaring Steps, his figure shooting toward the mountain range like an arrow.

The ground was still shaking continuously, with gravel rolling about.

Fortunately, his foundation in light-body techniques was solid; although his footsteps were a bit unsteady, he never lost his balance.

He strictly followed the route suggested by Fu Yuan, weaving through the trees.

The beasts in the forest were also plunged into panic.

From time to time, the sound of breaking branches came from the distance, mixed with the hissing of unknown animals.

But fortunately, there were no fierce beasts on the path he was traveling.

Even if he occasionally caught a glimpse of a few fleeing shadows, those fierce beasts were completely unable to bother attacking him, concerned only with saving their own lives.

The earthquake did not last long.

In less than half the time it took to burn an incense stick, the tremors under his feet gradually subsided.

Jiang Fu'an, however, felt his heart tighten and immediately pushed his speed to the limit.

From now on, he had to strictly calculate the time:

Pick the Azure Spirit Fruit within a quarter of an hour, then immediately retreat.

Otherwise, once the demonic beast guarding the Azure Spirit Tree returned, he would likely have to forfeit his life here.

The closer he got to the foot of the mountain, the clearer the figures of the demonic beasts became.

Through the sparse trees, he could clearly see those figures crashing about in the mountain forest.

Some were the size of oxen with single horns on their heads, while others were entirely crimson with hooked tails.

They were clearly still recovering from their terror, concerned only with running blindly through the mountain forest.

A doubt arose in Jiang Fu'an's heart:

Would these demonic beasts discover him from afar and chase after him...

Just as this thought arose, the earth beneath his feet began to tremble once again!