Passing on the Dao, Imparting Knowledge!

At the entrance to the Spirit Vein on the back mountain.

Five-year-old Sun Mao and four-year-old Sun Yao stood side by side.

They held hands, their legs trembling.

Ten paces ahead lay a black bear over a zhang long, with thick black fur and sharp claws protruding from his paw pads. Each breath stirred a low, rumbling sound.

To the two young children, the sight was terribly intimidating.

Sun Bo'an had brought them here and left, not even daring to look back.

Shi Jian opened his eyes and looked at the two little tots. He did not release the pressure of a great Foundation Establishment demon. Instead, he deliberately restrained his presence, suppressing all his violent Demon Power deep within his Dantian.

"Afraid of me?" Shi Jian asked in a deep voice, deliberately slowing his speech.

Sun Yao's eyes reddened, and her mouth turned down as she was about to burst into tears.

Shi Jian raised a forepaw and gently hooked two golden cakes out of the Storage Bag beside him with the tip of a claw...

These were spirit honey cakes he had asked Sun Bo'an to prepare in advance, steamed from honey from low-grade first-tier spirit bees mixed with spirit rice.

They were immensely beneficial to children, with a remarkable effect in strengthening their foundations and nourishing their bodies.

"Come here. Eat." Shi Jian pushed the cakes in front of them.

Young children had almost no resistance to sweets, and the cakes' sweet, delicate fragrance wafted straight into their noses. Sun Mao was the braver of the two.

He swallowed, then cautiously stepped forward, picked up a cake, and took a big bite.

His eyes lit up at once, and he turned and pressed the other cake into Sun Yao's hand.

Shi Jian watched them finish eating before leisurely sitting up.

"Starting today, you two will cultivate here." Shi Jian spoke casually, without a trace of the lofty airs of a Human Race elder.

Instead, he seemed a little like an elder passing on the Dao.

"Ancestor..." Sun Mao gathered his courage to speak, his voice childish. "Grandpa said that to cultivate immortality, you have to sever your ties to the mortal world and keep your heart pure and desires few. Is that true?"

Shi Jian let out a snort of laughter.

"Bullshit." He spat out the word and said bluntly, "If you can't even protect your own family or get a decent bite to eat, what the hell are you cultivating immortality for?"

Sun Mao froze. This was completely different from what his grandfather had taught him.

"Cultivating immortality is about living a better life, about making sure nobody can step on your heads." Shi Jian leaned his enormous bear head close to the two of them:

"Remember, you're members of the Sun Clan, and you're my descendants too. If anyone dares bully you in the future, I'll swat them dead for you!"

The words were blunt and crude, but they showed an absolute willingness to defend his own.

The fear in the two children's eyes vanished completely, replaced by an inexplicable sense of reassurance in their young minds.

In just a few sentences, "Ancestor Shi Jian" had changed from a terrifying Demon Beast into an impregnable mountain they could lean on.

"Now, sit cross-legged," Shi Jian instructed.

The two immediately did as they were told.

Shi Jian did not explain the meridian theory in the Thick Earth Essence Cultivation Instruction. Instead, he used the Demon Race's most instinctive way of sensing things to break the complex Cultivation Method down into plain language.

"Spiritual Qi is meat, and your meridians are passageways."

Shi Jian extended the tip of a sharp claw and gently touched Sun Mao's forehead. "Swallow the meat, send it around the passageways once, and digest it. Then it'll become your own strength."

"Never mind the Heavenly Dao or nature. Only what you can seize in your hands is real."

A strand of pure, gentle Demon Power entered Sun Mao's body through the tip of the claw, forcibly opening the most basic route for spiritual power to circulate through him.

Sun Mao's whole body jolted, and he immediately sensed the Spiritual Qi drifting freely through the air.

Sun Yao was next.

Shi Jian's approach was extraordinarily extravagant. When Human Race elders taught their juniors, they usually recited the mental techniques and let them comprehend them on their own.

Who else would do as Shi Jian did, directly consuming his own cultivation to widen the meridians of two young children with no foundation at all?

But Shi Jian did not care about that little loss. What he wanted was absolute loyalty and efficiency.

Besides, the two children were still young. The Human Race generally did not begin formally studying the Dao and cultivating until after the age of six. Shi Jian was also doing this to let the two children begin cultivating early...

Thus saving time and giving them a slightly greater chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.

Half a month later.

Sun Mao and Sun Yao drew Qi into their bodies one after the other, entering the Qi Refining First Layer.

Sun Bo'an stood ten zhang away, staring in shock at the two children, whose bodies emitted a faint spiritual glow. They had drawn Qi into their bodies in half a month!

It had taken him a full two months back then, and he had still been hailed as a rare genius in the third branch!

"Ancestor, your methods reach the heavens!" Sun Bo'an dropped to his knees and kowtowed, his voice fervent.

"Cut the nonsense." Shi Jian lay on a boulder without even raising an eyelid. "Go into the city and find five black puppies that are one month old. I want local dogs with big frames and fierce eyes. Bring them here within half an hour."

Sun Bo'an was full of questions, but he dared not ask. He immediately got up and went to carry out the task.

Half an hour later, five black puppies that had only recently been weaned were brought to the back mountain in a large bamboo basket.

Shi Jian dismissed Sun Bo'an, leaving only Sun Mao and Sun Yao.

He rose and walked over to the bamboo basket.

The five black puppies huddled in a corner, trembling and not daring to make a sound.

Shi Jian brought up the system screen in his mind.

[Enlightenment]: 5

"Confirm use."

Shi Jian directed a thought at the bamboo basket. Five invisible ripples surged out of his body and entered the five black dogs with precision.

A sudden transformation occurred.

The five black puppies' bones gave a rapid series of cracks, and their bodies visibly swelled by a size. Their once-soft puppy fur quickly fell out, replaced by shiny black hair as hard as steel needles.

Their limbs grew thick and strong, and their claws and teeth sharpened. More importantly, their eyes changed!

The clouded, uncomprehending beastliness in them faded, replaced by a hint of clarity and intelligence.

Their intelligence had awakened, and they had directly crossed the threshold that was hardest for wild beasts to cross, taking on the rudimentary form of level 1 Demon Beasts.

The five black dogs crawled out of the bamboo basket in unison and prostrated themselves before Shi Jian, making low whimpering sounds in their throats to show their absolute submission.

Sun Mao and Sun Yao stared in a daze.

"Pick one each."

Shi Jian turned to the two children, his tone as calm as still water:

"From now on, these will be your Dao-guarding dogs."

"They eat spirit rice, absorb Spiritual Qi, and can understand what you say. You're responsible for raising them, and they're responsible for protecting your lives."

Sun Yao's eyes filled with delight. She ran forward and picked up a slightly smaller black dog.

The black dog did not resist. Instead, it obediently licked the back of her hand. The little fellow looked utterly adorable...

Sun Mao picked the one with the biggest frame. He stroked the black dog's hard fur with his little hand, his face red with excitement as he waved his arms and danced about.

"The remaining three can stay for breeding, to serve as part of your Sun Clan's foundation," Shi Jian transmitted to Sun Bo'an in the distance.

Sun Bo'an scrambled over on hands and knees. Looking at the five black dogs emitting faint fluctuations of Yao Qi, his mind went completely blank.

Enlightening mortal beasts!

What kind of immortal technique was this?

Sun Bo'an was merely a minor Qi Refining cultivator with a narrow and limited outlook, so naturally he could make little of it. He only assumed it was some Divine Ability of Shi Jian's.

Though he did not understand, he was deeply shaken, and he grew even more submissive at heart.

"Ancestor, even ten thousand deaths would not repay your gift to the Sun Clan!" Sun Bo'an kowtowed heavily, striking his forehead against the rock until a little blood seeped out.

His initial fear of Shi Jian and his schemes were now gone, leaving only pure reverence and wholehearted devotion.

In any case, with an ancestor possessing such a great Divine Ability holding the fort, why should his Sun Clan worry about failing to dominate Hongtian City? Why should they worry about failing to venture beyond this remote place?

Even as servants, they would have a boundless future!

"Get lost and do your work. Stop being an eyesore here."

Shi Jian waved a paw, his face full of impatience. Sun Bo'an shrank back and withdrew with the remaining three black dogs and the two children.

Peace returned to the back mountain.

Night fell.

Shi Jian lay on the boulder, breathing in great mouthfuls of the Spiritual Qi surging from the Spirit Vein. He could clearly feel the entire Sun Clan gradually falling under his sway.

The younger generation's dependence on him and Sun Bo'an's reverence for him intertwined into a tightly woven net.

He was no longer an outsider living as a parasite. He had truly become the Lineage's totem, and even their most revered ancestor.

In his Dantian, the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage barrier that had troubled him for two years gave a crisp crack. Violent spiritual power surged through his meridians, his strength climbing steadily...

After years of arduous cultivation, he had finally broken through in a single day!

He had reached the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!