Cultivation starts from devouring the Dao fruits

Two months later.

Shadows flitted across the practice room, eventually merging to reveal Zhao Yu\'s figure. With a wave of his hand, a flying dagger shot out like a bolt of lightning, piercing the body of a wooden mannequin clad in fish-scale armor.

"Qinggong: Phantom Step (Grandmaster level)."

"Flying Daggers (Grandmaster level)."

"Lightning Sword Technique (Grandmaster level)."

"Vajra Dragon Elephant Art, the fiftieth layer (0/100)."

"Grandmaster level Phantom Step allows me to explosively increase my speed by fifty percent! Grandmaster level Flying Daggers enables my magic sword Flying Dagger Technique\'s power to increase by fifty percent as well. My Vajra Dragon Elephant Art has made progress, too; I wonder if it could contend with a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator?"

Zhao Yu quietly looked at his panel and fell into contemplation, "If I were to face a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator without a supreme grade magic artifact, perhaps I could defeat them. But if my opponent were someone like Su Bingyun, who possesses a supreme grade magic artifact, I\'m almost certainly no match for them."

A voice arose from outside the door, "Pill Master Zhao, I am Xi Mi Dan. Are you at the mansion? I have an important matter to discuss with you!"

Zhao Yu left the practice room, opened the main door, and saw Xi Mi Dan and Meng Yibai standing outside with grave expressions.

Zhao Yu led the two of them into the mansion.

Zhao Yu asked curiously, "Brother Xi, what has happened?"

Xi Mi Dan said, "The Foundation-Establishing ancestor of the Ling family has died in battle during the great war of the five sects! Jiuchen Mountain Market and Linghe Lake will likely face unrest in the future. So we came to give you a heads up."

Zhao Yu\'s brows furrowed tightly, "The Ling family\'s Foundation-Establishing ancestor has died in battle? This news is truly terrible!! However, since the Ling family ancestor died fighting for Cang Ling Sect, these two Spiritual Lands should still belong to the Ling family."

The Ling family had been able to hold Jiuchen Mountain Market and Linghe Lake, two major Spiritual Lands, thanks not only to the deterrent presence of their Foundation-Establishing ancestor within the family but also because they had received permission from Cang Ling Sect.

The reason there were only five major Foundation-Establishing families in Cang Country was that only these families were recognized by Cang Ling Sect.

Even if Loose Cultivators were fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment, they either had to join Cang Ling Sect as guest elders, serve as retainers for the five major families, or continue to cultivate in hiding within some Spiritual Land, utterly unable to establish their own Foundation-Establishing families.

Meng Yibai said with a serious face, "Cang Ling Sect is now too busy with its own affairs to care about the Ling family. These two Spiritual Lands will certainly not be taken away by Cang Ling Sect. But that doesn\'t mean they\'ll remain as safe as before."

The protection of Jiuchen Mountain Market and Linghe Lake had mainly depended on the power of the Ling family; without the deterrence of their Foundation-Establishing ancestor, it was uncertain how long stability could last.

Xi Mi Dan said, "Pill Master Zhao, I propose that our three families support each other. If one family is in trouble, the other two will assist. This way, it will be safer for all of us!"

Zhao Yu smiled, "Good! Also, congratulations to both of you on successfully advancing to the Eighth Level of Qi Refinement!"

Meng Yibai proudly said, "It\'s all thanks to the power of the pills!"

Being at the Eighth Level of Qi Refinement was already considered a master within Jiuchen Mountain Market.

Xi Mi Dan said somberly, "Us cultivators with ordinary Spirit Roots can only rely on the power of pills to make progress! Pill Master Zhao, among us, only you may have the chance to achieve Foundation Establishment. When the time comes, don\'t forget to take care of us!"

Zhao Yu laughed lightly, "If Zhao should be fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment, I certainly will not forget my friends!"

After chatting a while longer, they each went their separate ways.

"With the Ling family\'s Foundation-Establishing ancestor fallen in battle, danger is already in the air. With my cultivation level unable to make great strides in a short time, I must prepare some protective measures."

"The only thing that can quickly enhance my combat power and survival ability are Superior Grade Talismans!"

An urgent feeling surged within Zhao Yu\'s heart. Once back in the Quiet Room, he took out a large number of Evil Warding Talismans to ingest, then worked on honing his proficiency in drawing Evil Warding Talismans.

Three days later.

"Talisman Practice: First Rank Low-Grade (50/100)."

"Talisman——Evil Warding Talisman: Grandmaster."

"The power of the Superior Grade Evil Warding Talisman has undergone a transformation! The Superior Evil Warding Talisman should be one of the strongest few talismans against ghost creatures among the first-rank talismans!"

Zhao Yu took out a Superior Evil Warding Talisman, corners of his mouth lifting slightly, a hint of fervor flitting through his eyes.

"For a first-rank middle-grade talisman, I can choose the Featherweight Talisman! With the Superior Featherweight Talisman, I can better escape or chase down enemies!"

Zhao Yu began to buy up a large number of Featherweight Talismans and continuously consumed and refined them.

Twenty days later.

"Talisman Practice: First Rank Middle-Grade (50/100)."

"Talisman——Featherweight Talisman: Grandmaster."

Clasping a Superior Featherweight Talisman, Zhao Yu sighed lightly, "Unfortunately, in the short term, I can only raise the Featherweight Talisman to Grandmaster level! The Golden Light Talisman is just too expensive! I can only draw it myself!"

Although Zhao Yu had earned many Spirit Stones by refining Superior Yellow Spirit Pills, and had started selling the Red Jade Pill, he also needed to purchase materials for refining the Heart-Calming Pill, so he naturally could not afford to buy all the Golden Light Talismans to increase proficiency.

After Zhao Yu raised his proficiency with the Golden Light Talisman to Master level, he chose to draw the Golden Light Talisman himself.

Ever since the news of the Ling Family patriarch\'s death came, the atmosphere within the market had turned strange; the prices of talismans and magic artifacts had suddenly increased by a large margin, and many cultivators had formed small groups.

Zhao Yu also took advantage of the situation to sell off a large number of low-grade magical instruments at a good price.

Zhao Yu and Li Xianjiao entered and exited together, both equipped with talismans and superior-grade magic artifacts.

After Meng Yibai, Xi Mi Dan, and Zhao Yu formed an alliance, they took turns to keep watch every night.

Array Masters were even scarcer than Pill Masters; in a small place like the mountain market, there were no Array Masters at all, nor were there any formations for sale, so they had to resort to this primitive method.

Late in the night.

"Pill Master Zhao, come quick! It\'s chaos! It\'s chaos outside!"

An anxious voice from Xi Mi Dan came from outside the cave mansion.

Zhao Yu, who had been on the bed, snapped open his eyes, grabbed the superior-grade magic sword beside the bed, sprang up, and left the cave mansion with Li Xianjiao, who had been sitting nearby, to come outside.

They saw that within the market, the sounds of combat could be heard everywhere, and various spells shone and flickered in the darkness.

"Wars in the Cultivation World are truly terrible, affecting everyone! It\'s hard to even hide from them!"

Zhao Yu watched the chaotic scene from afar, his brows furrowed tightly. He had already hidden in the very back of Cang Country, yet the aftershocks of the Five Sects\' great war still reached this place.

All of a sudden, Meng Yibai pointed towards the northwest and said, "Look over there!"

Zhao Yu and Xi Mi Dan both looked in that direction but discovered nothing.

"Look at what?"

Xi Mi Dan wore a puzzled expression. Just as he spoke, a streak of crimson blade light flashed by, and his head soared high into the air, fresh blood spraying out from his headless body, which collapsed onto the ground.