After dinner, Shen Yuan asked Shen Wenyan to first take He Zishi to his place to pick up some books to ease his homesickness.

He then went to the Black Water Pavilion with Shen Wenxing.

On the second floor of the pavilion, Shen Wen'an heard the commotion and came down from upstairs.

"Father, Big Brother."

The two nodded, and the three of them sat down.

"Wen'an, how's your cultivation going lately?"

Shen Yuan glanced at him and asked.

Shen Wen'an was already at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, and neither Shen Yuan nor Shen Wenxing could see through his cultivation.

Now meeting in person, they could only feel that the spiritual power on Shen Wen'an had grown stronger, but the specific realm was unknown.

"I'm at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer now." Shen Wen'an stated.

Hearing this, Shen Yuan and Shen Wenxing both showed expressions of surprise.

Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer!?

This speed indeed exceeded their expectations a bit.

After the initial surprise, Shen Yuan expressed some concern, "Is the spiritual liquid in the copper pot used up?"

"Will such rapid advancement in cultivation cause any problems?"

Shen Wen'an shook his head slightly, "There was still a drop of spiritual liquid left, but I condensed another one some time ago."

"Father needn't worry, I have a deep understanding of Sword Dao, and there won't be any issues before reaching the Fetal Breathing Realm."

Seeing the confidence on his face, Shen Yuan suddenly thought of that Sword Holder.

Although he didn't know the specific identity of the Sword Holder, the other person was undoubtedly a Sword Dao master.

By using a fragment of a Sword Spirit, the Sword Holder helped Shen Wen'an condense his Divine Spirit, which then merged with his own.

Being a Sword Dao master, the fragment of the Sword Spirit must contain a vast understanding of the Sword Dao.

After its consciousness dissipated, these insights into the Sword Dao should have been left to Shen Wen'an.

"I plan to first elevate my cultivation to the Perfection of Qi Cultivation, then slowly convert the spiritual power within me into Sword Essence, and seek an opportunity to break through to the Fetal Breathing Realm."

Shen Wen'an's voice was calm, as if breaking through was bereft of any bottlenecks.

"In cultivation matters, one shouldn't be overly hasty."

"There's some benefit in taking one's time to settle."

Shen Yuan hurriedly replied.

In terms of realm, he's no match for his son, but the multitude of experiences from his past life made him understand that cultivation isn't about advancing as quickly as possible.

It's like an ordinary person suddenly winning millions in a lottery.

Unexpected windfalls, not money earned through hard work, are never cherished, only leading to arrogance and eventual dissipation.

In cultivation, this is akin to what cultivators often refer to as "Heart Demon."

Shen Wen'an nodded slightly, "Rest assured, Father, I have it under control."

Shen Yuan nodded.

Shen Wenxing, next to him, looked over and asked, "Father, how do you plan to handle He Zishi?"

"Is it possible He Yan left him with us for some other purpose?"

Shen Yuan pondered for a moment before responding, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

During the day, he felt that the grandfather and grandson didn't seem to be acting, but care was still warranted in this matter.

At present, the relationship between the two families seems good.

But no one can guarantee, if tempted by sufficient interests, whether the He Family might scheme something.

"Elder Brother, what do you think?"

Shen Wenxing considered for a moment and said, "To be cautious, I believe it's best not to keep He Zishi at the Black Water Pool."

"How about I take him to Anyang City in a couple of days and buy a house for him there?"

Shen Yuan shook his head upon hearing this.

"That approach is not ideal; Anyang City has other Immortal Sect's Ascension Pavilions. He Zishi is from the He Family, so if other forces have designs against the He Family, they might target him."

Shen Wenxing nodded, then thought for a while and said, "Then how about sending him to Yunshui Town?"

"He could help our youngest sister manage a shop?"

Shen Yuan didn't answer immediately. After a moment of thought, he said, "You could ask him tomorrow if he's willing to go."

"Otherwise, I plan to have him assist at the academy, which will also help keep him safe."

Shen Wenxing nodded and kept the matter in mind.

"How is everything at the Martial Arts Hall?"

Shen Yuan asked.

He hadn't visited the Martial Arts Hall during the day and didn't know if there were any issues after its opening.

Shen Wenxing replied, "I was just about to tell Father, the common people in the village have saved some money over the years and are willing to spend it for their children's success."

"I heard from my father-in-law that on the first day of opening, the Martial Arts Hall recruited more than eighty disciples, all of whom are willing to use medicinal diets."

"Father-in-law is worried that the prepared medicinal diets won't last long, and we need to find a solution quickly."

Hearing this, Shen Yuan let out a heavy sigh.

He had anticipated this issue before, which was why he had Huang Qingzhou start collecting Blood Toad's Shedding early on.

Now, with two thousand pieces of Blood Toad's Shedding in hand, eighty disciples needing medicinal diets for body refining, three servings a month, won't last a year before running out.

These kids mostly don't have Spirit Roots, so their cultivation won't be too quick. If their body refining foundation isn't solid, in the end, even breaking through to Innate and starting Qi Cultivation will be tough.

Postnatal Martial Artists may still be of some use for now, but as time advances and more cultivators emerge,

Postnatal Martial Artists will inevitably become mere cannon fodder.

As things progress, their leading edge will gradually be eroded.

"Father, I've heard of an elixir called the Body Tempering Pill in Qiyun Valley."

At this moment, Shen Wen'an suddenly spoke up.

Body Tempering Pill?

Shen Wenxing was slightly taken aback, recalling the time when his son Shen Chongming's full moon feast was held, and Li Heshan had given him three Body Tempering Pills.

It's known to be a kind of elixir several times more effective than medicinal diets.

"The Body Tempering Pill is a good thing." Shen Yuan pondered for a moment and spoke.

Back then, his wife Hu Yufen used the Body Tempering Pill and Qi Nourishing Pill to break through to the Postnatal Martial Artist Realm.

However, not to mention refining them, but they didn't even know the basic alchemy ingredients right now.

Seeing his father's helplessness, Shen Wen'an contemplated for a while, stood up, and headed upstairs.

After a long time, he came back down, holding a letter in his hand.

"Big Brother, send this letter to Senior Sister Pei tomorrow."

Shen Wenxing took the letter, somewhat astonished, and said, "You're not planning to directly ask Fairy Pei for the Body Tempering Pills, are you?"

Their relationship with Qiyun Valley is a bit delicate at the moment.

This matter was somewhat inappropriate in the past, let alone now.

Shen Wen'an gently shook his head, "Big brother can just send someone there."

Shen Wenxing said nothing and looked up at his father.

Shen Yuan, after pondering for a long while over the documents in front of him, said, "Let's try it first. If it doesn't work, we'll think of another way."

"By the way, tomorrow, while you're at it, go and find Lingxiu's father. It's high time we started preparing for raising the Blood Toad."

"Body Tempering Pill is ultimately an Immortal Elixir, so we have to figure out the arrangements for medicinal meals ourselves."

Shen Wenxing nodded.

Early the next morning, he first asked He Zishi if he would be willing to go to Yunshui Town to help take care of the shop.

Although He Zishi was a bit worried that he wouldn't do well, he still agreed.

Shen Wenxing discussed this with his sister and reminded her not to forget to bring He Zishi along when leaving, and not to bully him when they reached the shop. Then he went to the Martial Arts Hall.

Early in the morning, many disciples in the Martial Arts Hall had already started training enthusiastically.

The common people of Jinliu Village were well aware of the Shen Family's history of rising to prominence, and hence they paid particularly close attention to cultivation matters.

Most of them might not have dreams of gaining the Immortal Sect's favor like the Shen Family, but they hoped that their children could become Martial Artists, become cultivators, and be valued by the Shen Family.

In the Martial Arts Arena, two men in their thirties, who looked somewhat alike, were earnestly instructing the disciples in posture training.

Upon Shen Wenxing's arrival, he clasped his hands towards the two, "Brother Qi, Brother Lin."

These two were Huang Yunxiao's sons.

The brothers were originally Hundred Generals of the Yunzhong Border Army. Before the Immortal Sect's descent, Huang Yunxiao had been trying to get them transferred back from the Border Army.

Now, things had changed dramatically; both Yu Country and the Western Wilderness Barbarian Race had fallen under the control of the Immortal Sect.

The military forces of Yu Country no longer held any significance.

Returning home amid the chaos, the brothers found themselves without an immediate course of action.

Invited by Huang Qingzhou to assist, they finally found something to do.

The two brothers smiled and clasped hands, "Shi Tou, are you here to see Uncle?"

Shen Wenxing nodded.

The elder, Huang Qi, spoke, "Uncle is in the inner courtyard. You may go in."

Shen Wenxing clasped his hands again and walked towards the inner courtyard.

In the courtyard, Huang Qingzhou was also cultivating.

A few days ago, Shen Yuan had given him five Qi Nourishing Pills.

Although Huang Qingzhou said that there was no longer hope for a breakthrough in Martial Dao, he had not entirely given up and planned to give it another try.

"Father-in-law,"

Shen Wenxing clasped his hands.

Huang Qingzhou ended his cultivation and slowly opened his eyes.

"Shi Tou, you came just in time."

"In these past few days of cultivation, I've often felt some peculiar energies fluctuating around me. Is this what they refer to as Spiritual Qi?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing's face lit up with joy.

"Congratulations, father-in-law, this is a sign that you are about to enter the Qi Refining Stage."

"Oh!?"

Huang Qingzhou stood up excitedly, "Is that really the case?"

Shen Wenxing nodded, "Martial Arts Innate and Immortal Cultivation's Qi Refining Stage are essentially two sides of the same coin. They both involve sensing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, Qi absorption, and concealment."

"This process is similar to the breakthrough from the Postnatal Realm, sensing the Qi Blood power."

"There exists a Qi Sensing Realm."

"Father-in-law's ability to sense Spiritual Qi means you're not far from breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Realm."

Shen Wenxing said happily.

He was naturally delighted at the prospect of Huang Qingzhou breaking through to the Qi Refining Stage.

After all, he was both his mentor and father-in-law.

"Haha..." Huang Qingzhou laughed while stroking his beard, "I never imagined I'd have a chance to break through to the Innate in this life."

"This time, I really have to thank your father."

"Right, is there something you need?"

Shen Wenxing nodded, "It's about the matter of raising Blood Toads."

Huang Qingzhou nodded slightly, "Indeed, this is an urgent matter."

"Luckily, I've already arranged for someone to contact two families experienced in raising Blood Toads. Since there's nothing else today, we can visit them directly."

The two walked out from the inner courtyard.

"Qi'er, Lin'er, I'm going out with Shi Tou for a bit; the matters here are temporarily entrusted to you two."

Huang Qi and Huang Lin nodded.

On the official road, the father-in-law and son-in-law each rode a fast horse.

Shen Wenxing asked, "Father-in-law, which family are we visiting this time?"

Huang Qingzhou smiled and replied, "You might remember, the Xu Family in Chunshui Town."

The Xu Family in Chunshui Town...

After pondering for a moment, Shen Wenxing suddenly realized.

He did indeed have an impression of this Xu Family.

Back when the Ascension Pavilion had just been established, Anyang County had discovered a total of three Immortal Seedlings, one of whom, Xu Jing, came from the Xu Family in Chunshui Town.

He recalled that there was also a little girl named Bai Yue who was an Immortal Seedling, and when the three were sent to the Commandery City Ascension Pavilion, the Xu Family's Elder Patriarch personally came to Anyang City, deeply reluctant to part.

He never would have thought that the Xu family also had the skill of raising Blood Toads.

"Chunshui Town and Yunshui Town are quite far apart; we need to hurry up," Huang Qingzhou remarked.

Though both towns are under Anyang County, Chunshui Town lies at the very western edge, while Yunshui Town is at its eastern end. Given Anyang County's vast and sparsely populated lands, the two towns are two to three hundred li apart, indeed quite distant.

The two exchanged no further words and immediately spurred their horses towards Chunshui Town.

By the time it reached the late afternoon, they arrived at Chunshui Town.

They found a roadside tea shop to drink some cool tea and rest.

The tea shopkeeper was an elderly man in his sixties.

While serving tea, Shen Wenxing asked, "Old man, could you tell me how far we are from the Xu Family in Chunshui Town?"

Upon hearing the words "Xu Family," the elderly man's hand trembled slightly, spilling the tea in the bowl onto the table.

Noticing this, Shen Wenxing raised an eyebrow, "Old man, has something happened to the Xu Family?"

Hurriedly, the elder wiped the table with a cloth draped over his shoulder, cautiously glancing at the surrounding patrons, lowering his voice to say, "The Xu Family suffered a catastrophe three days ago, and over a hundred members of their family... were all killed!"

The Xu Family was exterminated!?

Shen Wenxing and Huang Qingzhou exchanged a glance, both with solemn expressions.

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