Another two months passed, and Xu Guang had become mostly familiar with life in Chuannan Prefecture.

Having taken on the job of a steward, he needed to go to the government office daily to fulfill his duties.

In reality, there wasn't much significant work, considering he was only the Seventh Steward, and his authority wasn't as vast as imagined.

The Chuannan Martial Arts Academy was currently his only notable achievement.

Of course, whether Jiufeng Mountain would recognize this, Xu Guang wasn't sure.

In those two months, he had begun to grasp the basics of the Star Feng Shui technique; it wouldn't be long before it would appear on his panel.

His progress in alchemy was even more rapid.

Since obtaining a lost alchemical technique from Tang Cheng in Lu Yuan County, he successfully entered the initial stage over the past two months.

This greatly increased the success rate of refining Sixth-Grade Elixirs, including one Sixth-Grade Pill Formula.

Xu Guang's sole Sixth-Grade Pill Formula at the moment---the Moon Supplement Pill.

One furnace could produce around ten pills, with each pill equating to the refinement of five Spirit Crystals.

Merely in terms of material value, it equated to around ten Spirit Crystals.

However, there was an ingredient called Moonlight Grass, a Sixth Grade Treasure Medicine, that, while not highly valuable, was quite rare. Xu Guang, having refined it, did not sell it, supplying most of it for his and General Wei's cultivation.

The enhancement in cultivation, particularly the aggregation of the Gold Attribute, was significant.

The Jade Cicada Molt Divine Technique had been elevated to Level 13, considered a Second Shedding Zhenren realm, yet the Gold Attribute was still insufficient.

Generally speaking, people believe that a Zhenren cultivates through three transformations.

The first transformation is when the body initially gathers the Gold Attribute, breaking through to the True Realm.

The second transformation is when the five organs are filled with Gold Attribute, protecting them and driving the entire body's metamorphosis. At this stage, one is no longer bound by the Five Elements Attribute, affecting them through the Visualization Image, freely transforming.

The third transformation sees the five organs become even more mystical, beginning to transform towards the Golden Body.

Xu Guang's martial arts realm, having been enhanced with experience points on his panel, had technically reached the Second Shedding Zhenren realm, but in reality, his Gold Attribute aggregation still fell short.

Xu Guang attempted to condense Gold Attribute using Spirit Crystals, consuming about fifty Spirit Crystals to condense a single wisp of Gold Attribute.

A Second Shedding Zhenren requires at least five hundred wisps of Gold Attribute within their organs.

Over four months, Xu Guang had amassed around seventy wisps of Gold Attribute within himself. This cultivation speed, for a typical Fifth Grade, was already an extraordinary pace.

This progress was achieved through spending nearly eight hundred Spirit Crystals. Along with some fortuitous encounters after slaying demons in the Dark World, he managed to cultivate to this extent.

Any treasures containing Gold Attribute obtained from the demons were directly obliterated by Xu Guang, along with an individual's Spirit Bone gained from killing Elder Mu beside Shen Suzhen earlier.

This obliteration of items to harness Gold Attribute was a shortcut Xu Guang discovered on his own. Given his talent, obliterating five wisps of Gold Attribute from an opponent allows him to forge one wisp of Gold Attribute within himself, consuming numerous Spirit Crystals.

This ratio is quite impressive.

The essential aspect is the speed. As long as sufficient resources are expended, one wisp of Gold Attribute can be honed in two to three days.

Thus, aside from reserving enough for General Wei's daily growth, Xu Guang currently had little in the way of resources.

Regarding the items from the demons, he was still researching pill formulas, aiming to refine them into elixirs or the like, a process that would take gradual exploration.

'Martial Artists, seemingly prestigious in this world, are actually destitute behind the scenes. They will go to any lengths to compete for cultivation resources!' he mused.

After so many days of hiding, though he hadn't completely absorbed previous fortuitous episodes, Xu Guang felt his strength wasn't inferior to ordinary Second Shedding Zhenren.

Of course, he still wouldn't risk challenging Second Shedding Zhenren.

It's much more satisfying to bully the innately gifted or spar with youngsters at the Martial Arts Academy.

...

Poof.

Flame light slowly illuminated the room ahead, Jiang Bai's expression caught Xu Guang's eye.

The light red flames flickered, nearly going out before stabilizing moments later.

"Are you aware of the recent happenings in the city?"

"Has someone from the Cha Family appeared again?"

Jiang Bai replied solemnly, "The Cha Family's influence is vast. A prominent clan spanning three hundred years, stronger than the likes of the Shen Family. If Shen Suzhen from the Shen Family could conspire with Barbarians, I'm worried about the Cha Family..."

This concern wasn't unfounded. The Cha Family was notoriously erratic. Their downfall stemmed from collusion with the Celestial Destiny Sect in plotting the inheritance Secret Technique of Zouchuan Dao.

This crime was far more severe than Shen Suzhen's, leading to the Cha Family being targeted by numerous factions and ultimately annihilated.

With such a precedent, it seemed natural for the Cha Family's remnants to conspire with Barbarians.

Xu Guang's brows slightly furrowed.

"Do you suspect the recent events in the city..."

Recently in the city, some bodies were discovered. They belonged to well-known Jianghu experts and had dried up entirely post-mortem.

The Cha Family had used similar methods in the past.

It was a Secret Technique called Spirit Stealing.

When the Cha Family was besieged by numerous forces, they had used Spirit Stealing extensively. Even though all clan members became insane, their combat power surged, enabling many to break out from Chuannan Prefecture.

And now...

With Jianghu experts suspected of being killed by Spirit Stealing, it's as if declaring the Cha Family's return.

"Is it confirmed as Spirit Stealing? What's so intriguing about this Secret Technique that everyone's so wary of it?"

Jiang Bai sighed, "The so-called Spirit Stealing was created by Cha Heng, the Cha Family's top expert two hundred years ago, as a way to break through the Fifth Grade by aggregating the Gold Attribute. The world holds spirits, to seize them.

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