Volume One, Chapter 14: A Nighttime Visit to Qinghe Town!

Grandfather’s cultivation notes—thirty pages in—alluded to this as well.
“A fifth level marks a tribulation, akin to divine punishment.”
“To surpass it requires accumulation hundreds of times greater, and, above all, the right opportunity!”

Thus, no matter how many spiritual pills Zhao Fusheng consumed, or how many times he swung his sword, breaking through that barrier remained elusive.

“Let’s hunt demons.”
“Sometimes, an outsider’s skill can overcome the jade.”
“Why not those rat demons? They’ve eaten your pills and are growing fat!”
“That’s how I overcame my tribulation in the past.”
“But you must choose the fattest; that clan leader is a good candidate!”

Zhao Fusheng shook his head with a smile.

They say snakes and rats breed together, but that wasn’t the case here.

“No, they’re business partners.”
“A century-old medicinal ginseng costs forty taels of silver in the Suwen Pavilion of the Pill Hall.”
“And five taels must be given to Senior Brother Wang as commission.”
“If we eat them, where will the money come from in the future?”

Yun Yao rubbed her belly.

After half a year of nourishing herself, she too approached the threshold of her seal!

“No worries. They reproduce quickly—a litter can produce more than ten offspring.”
“Killing one or two won’t matter.”
“Besides, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. They need you to refine their pills.”

Zhao Fusheng detested such exploitation.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

“No way!”

His reply was resolute.

Yun Yao pouted briefly.

“Fine, fine.”
“You have good sense, child—I can’t argue with you.
“But if you don’t eat, what will you do?”

Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow.

The heroic spirit in his gaze was markedly different from six months ago.

“Grandfather’s notes mention a solution.”
“Across the river lies the Dragon-Leaping Cave.”
“Legend says many fish demons become dragons there. He said it’s a method.”

Yun Yao’s expression tightened involuntarily.

“That’s just a rumor. Even if it exists, it’s a deadly place dominated by great demons.”
“Better to find another way.”

Zhao Fusheng perceived something in her demeanor.

“If you’re afraid, just stay here and wait for me.”
“Grandfather’s notes are precise. If he said it exists, then it must.”

The year’s end was near, and Senior Sister Song would represent the Six Peaks in the sect’s grand election.

Missing ten years of Qi condensation would be unfair.

But Zhao Fusheng had yet to repay the debt.

He needed to hurry.

Soon he rose, took a green satchel, packed travel rations and notes.

Just as he was about to leave, Yun Yao stopped him.

She said, “Alright, if you insist, I won’t stop you.
“But be sure not to go north once you get there.
“Return before nightfall!”

Zhao Fusheng gave a faint assent, though unconcerned.

The note’s map was clear; he had already planned several routes in his mind.

“Also, I caught fish from the river pool today.”
“The opposite bank is dangerous; I need to strengthen my internal elixir and fill my stomach.”
“To prevent mishaps.”

Yun Yao urged him to take care.

Zhao Fusheng, inheriting his grandfather’s meticulous nature, heeded her advice.

The freshly grilled yellow croaker, crisp outside and tender inside, bathed in thick gravy, was especially fragrant compared to before…

By the time he left the house, the sun was already high.

The stationed disciples wanted to train themselves by hunting demons across the river, to build courage and advance their cultivation.

The higher-ups supported and encouraged this.

But for a long time, the enemy’s attacks had come from the far shore, and the guards stationed there were treated as cannon fodder—usually the lowest-ranked disciples.

They barely managed to protect themselves, let alone venture into enemy territory.

Thus, when Zhao Fusheng found the sect’s special boat, it was covered in age-old dust, green moss, and dense cobwebs.

Fortunately, a simple cleaning made it serviceable.

He had wanted to learn sword control from Senior Brother Pangtou.

But sadly, he couldn’t master even the rudimentary Nine Essentials of Body Refinement.

That technique, “Mountain Shattering Strike,” was merely a superficial skill Yun Yao had him practice perfunctorily.

“I was once injured by that move, so I know its power and method of externalizing and absorbing energy,” he explained.
“So I modified it with the abdominal elixir technique.”
“But beyond that… I truly don’t know.”

Yun Yao had confided the truth to Zhao Fusheng, dashing his hopes completely.

For him, absorption techniques based on spiritual roots were a nightmare.

Traversing heaven and earth was difficult enough.

He could only rely on these dilapidated things to cross the river.

Luckily, he didn’t mind the smell.

Creak, creak.

The boat swayed on the Bluebend River like a drifting leaf.

Even a slight breeze threatened to capsize it.

“How is this different from what the notes describe?”

Zhao Fusheng looked up, puzzled.

The old ferry terminal and the town behind it had been built by indigenous villagers.

But later, a demon clan invaded and occupied it, leaving it desolate as it was now.

The immortal sect had intervened many times.

But demons had changed—many great demons cultivated to the Nascent Pill stage had risen.

Their numbers were vast, endless, giving them the upper hand.

After years of conflict, the river served as a temporary boundary.

Thus, the area around the port was always guarded by demon minions.

Just as the sect set up posts to defend themselves.

Yet now, the ferry shore was eerily empty of demons.

In broad daylight, not a single shadow appeared, only thick fog dimming the light, scattered crows along the bank, and occasional strange cries.

An oppressive sense of desolation and eerie silence pervaded.

He had planned to hide inside the broken boat, disguising himself as refuse to deceive the enemy.

But that was clearly unnecessary now.

“The demon occupation has lasted nearly sixty years.”
“This is right opposite the sect. Why is it like this in broad daylight?”
“Could they have foreseen my arrival?”

Recently, he had been refining his Nascent Pill by sword qi release, opening his senses.

He could see hundreds of meters across the river—nothing alive.

He could hear no demon breath within two hundred meters.

He could smell the strong rank odor of demons.

And the deathly stench he remembered from childhood.

“What happened here?”

He furrowed his brow, speaking softly to himself.

He intended to bypass the deserted Blue River town, take a more secluded shore, and then slowly find the main path marked by his grandfather.

That way, he wouldn’t alert the snakes.

But now, it seemed unnecessary…

With steady strokes, the old boat almost seemed to sprout wings.

Soon it reached the shore.

But Zhao Fusheng’s brow tightened.

White fragments of flesh and blood stains marred the blue-bricked road…

Hence the crows just now!

The deeper he went, the more pungent the smell.

He saw some corpses clearly along the roadside.

They were demon creatures who had taken human form, but their lower abdomens were hollowed out!

Their wounds were shattered and ripped deep to the bone—painfully obvious!

“Demons preying on each other’s demon pills is normal.”
“But the entire city’s demons slaughtered?”
“Not normal.”

Zhao Fusheng’s eyes darkened as he pondered.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his abdomen!

Startled, he crouched and circulated his qi to ease the blockage.

But at the source was a wisp of purple demon breath.

He hadn’t eaten before leaving—only that roasted yellow croaker!

Could it be Yun Yao? But why?

“Maybe she knows something and wants me to return quickly.”

He could only think that.

After all, Yun Yao had no reason to harm him!

Yet his resolve was firm.

With the barrier gone, it was the perfect opportunity to proceed.

Time waits for no one.

He found a quiet dwelling, circulated his small microcosmic orbit, and balanced his breath.

Half a year’s practice was not in vain—his abdominal elixir had nurtured condensed qi.

Now it moved like forged energy at his command.

Still, the opponent was a sealed great demon.

By the time he suppressed the demon breath in his abdomen and felt refreshed, night had fallen.

His timing was impeccable!

“Night conceals better…”

Zhao Fusheng comforted himself, ate two pieces of flatbread to line his stomach, and continued onward.

Yun Yao didn’t understand the skills he had learned since childhood to overcome hardships.

But just two steps outside, he stopped again, scratching his back.

A sudden itch and damp stickiness spread beneath his flesh.

It seemed the circulating protective energy in his body was being breached!

His gaze sharpened.

He suddenly remembered something.

Compared to the original route, wasn’t Blue River Town the northern path?

A whisper like a nocturnal spirit drifted on the cold wind, accompanied by tendrils of black mist.

A massive demon breath surged freely.