Shang Shujue and Song Yanqing settled down in Cloud-Piercing Village. The two of them tacitly avoided using their spiritual power and lived the lives of ordinary people. It only took them a month to go from being unaccustomed to it at first to getting used to it.
Over the course of that month, the two of them gradually became familiar with the rhythm of life in the village and naturally integrated into this simple yet warm environment.
After a month of getting to know each other, everyone recognized them and started asking about their jobs, since most of the young people in the village had gone out to work.
They wouldn't be back until before the Lunar New Year, so they set up a small shop at the village entrance that sold both daily necessities and snacks. This made it convenient for elderly people in the village and nearby villages who couldn't travel far to buy what they wanted.
People liked them even more, but liking someone is a double-edged sword. When too many people like them, it can lead to another extreme, and that's when people who hate them for profiting from it will appear.
It was a Sunday, the fifth month since they opened the shop together, and the sixth month and ninth day since they came to Cloud-Piercing Village. Shang Shujue was the one minding the shop.
Song Yanqing went to the mountains to hunt down the monsters that had been appearing frequently and were very restless recently, fearing that they would rush out of the forest and frighten the villagers.
Incidentally, it was also to find out whether the monsters' restlessness was due to some reason or if someone was deliberately trying to test their abilities in order to proceed with the next step of the plan.
Song Yanqing's cultivation has reached the Golden Core Peak Stage. He only needs one more opportunity to touch the breakthrough gap. With the assistance of spiritual plants and pills, the probability of a successful breakthrough is very high.
Shang Shujue knew he was close to breaking through, which is why he sent him up the mountain to spar with the demonic beasts and see if he could find the critical point for his breakthrough and then break through in one fell swoop.
After all, only those who have reached the Nascent Soul Stage can be considered true powerhouses. There are only five Nascent Soul powerhouses currently recorded in the entire world, which shows how difficult it is for Nascent Soul cultivators to break through, not to mention the tribulation lightning they face.
Many people fail to survive the tribulation lightning and are struck dead by it. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few Nascent Soul cultivators. Even though many have reached the Golden Core Peak, no one dares to take the gamble, as the odds of success are too low.
However, Song Yanqing was confident that he would be able to successfully Tribulation Transcendence and enter the Nascent Soul Stage, so he had no worries and even had some expectations.
However, now he needed to deal with some minor issues; he had found the reason why those monsters were restless.
Song Yanqing stopped in front of an array. A huge black and white gargoyle was bound, its eyes were bloodshot, and it was releasing lightning all around. Every bolt of lightning that struck it scorched its skin black, and the air was filled with the smell of roasted meat.
" Zhifan..."
Looking at the suffering rat, Song Yanqing frowned and unconsciously called out its name. This rat had been coming to their yard to play every few days recently.
It would occasionally bring the treasures it found to exchange with them. Shang Shujue liked it very much and named it Zhifan, thus recognizing this special friend.
Zhifan had a companion of the same breed as him, also with a black and white color scheme. However, except for its belly, the white parts of its body were all black, making it look a bit dull. Shang Shujue named it Zhiyu.
Once a small animal has a formal name, it will not become a demon beast after it begins cultivation. Instead, it will move towards becoming a spirit beast, waiting for its demon core to be purified into a spirit essence core.
They can then completely shed their demonic beast status, evolve into spirit beasts, and after cultivating to the Golden Core Stage, they can transform into human form.
In this world where spiritual energy is reviving, such spirit beasts are the most valuable, because their demon cores, which are about to be purified into spirit essence pills, are top-grade medicinal materials, and their bones, flesh, hides, and furs are highly nourishing for cultivators.
The Cultivator Alliance has explicit rules prohibiting cultivators from hunting spirit beasts. They may form contracts with them, but they are not allowed to kill innocent creatures. If a cultivator encounters a demon beast that has no malicious intent, but kills it out of greed or lust, they will be punished.
It is said that the laws and regulations for sanctions are very strict, and the cultivators of the Cultivator Alliance have all abided by them very well. It is self-evident which faction the people who are now able to hunt down demonic beasts and arrest spirit beasts so openly belong to.
Song Yanqing rushed into the formation with incredible speed, destroying the core of the formation. Zhifan then collapsed to the ground, shrinking back to its usual size in front of them. It took a deep breath, then stumbled to its feet and eagerly began to bite his trouser leg.
"Squeak squeak squeak..."
" Zhiyu has been captured? Let's go! We'll go after them."
Zhifan chirped and chattered, making no sense of what it was saying, but Song Yanqing, who was already familiar with it, understood instantly. He picked it up from the ground and chased after it in the direction it was sniffing.
They chased after them until they reached a mountain hollow where people had set up camp. There were more than twenty people there. In front of one of the tents, a group of people carried various cages out and went directly into the forest.
Those cages contained spirit beasts and demon beasts from the nearby mountains. They had been poisoned, and lay motionless in their cages, as if they were dead.
Song Yanqing spotted Zhiyu in the cage at a glance. It was lying limply, its tender white and pink claws twitching slightly, looking like it was in great pain.
Zhifan saw it too and squeaked anxiously. Fortunately, Song Yanqing had already set up a barrier, so the outside world couldn't see or hear them at all.
" Zhifan, don't worry, I will rescue Zhiyu."
Song Yanqing Zhifan's head, and after saying those words in a reassuring manner, he closed his eyes and released his spiritual sense to probe the situation in the mountain valley.
Of the ten tents, half were filled with demonic beasts and the other half with spirit beasts, and more than half of the twenty people were at the Peak Foundation Establishment.
The remaining five were at the Early Golden Core Stage, and these five seemed to be the leaders. They were sitting in the same tent, but judging from their demeanor, they didn't seem to be very harmonious.
Song Yanqing carefully examined their attire and the way their spiritual energy was circulating, and soon he knew their identities. His expression changed drastically, and his eyes darkened.
These people were actually from the five major factions of the Cloud-Heaven Alliance, which had been formed by those rebellious cultivators: Cloud Dragon, Cloud Phoenix, Cloud Lark, Cloud Fish, and Cloud Tiger.
Their five forces merged and became known as Cloud-Heaven, meaning that everything they ruled was the true heaven of this world. This was a widely circulated rumor in the martial arts world, and they were extremely arrogant and conceited.
Now that all five factions of the Cloud-Heaven Alliance have mobilized to do these things in this mountain valley, they probably already knew about the robbery of the Spirit Origin Stone Vein Mine. Now that they have a new plan, they simply sent out people from all five factions.
Song Yanqing withdrew his spiritual sense to avoid alerting the prey. He concealed himself, squinted, and entered the ravine. Only after approaching the cage area did he realize that they had all been drugged.
These anesthetics have been refined with spiritual energy extracted from the spirit stones, making them an absolute game-changer against demonic beasts and spirit beasts. No wonder they couldn't escape.
If it weren't for Zhifan's formidable strength, almost reaching the Origin Spirit Core Stage and being immune to anesthetics, and the fact that these Early Golden Core Stage cultivators were afraid of being betrayed by their companions, none of them would have dared to make a move.
If those Foundation Establishment are no match for Zhifan and can only trap him, then Zhifan will likely be unable to escape being captured as well.
Song Yanqing took out the antidote from his storage bag and used his spiritual sense to scatter it into all the cages. Once they recovered from the anesthesia, chaos would ensue, and he could simply sit back and reap the benefits...
Song Yanqing's antidote was remarkably effective. A tiger's roar and a monkey's cry were heard, and the entire mountain valley suddenly shook. The wild animals in the cages "came back to life," and the five people had no choice but to take action.