Chapter Three: Plunder

  It was already evening when I returned to the former blacksmith's shop, now a grocery store.

  A strong gust of wind howled, and yellow sand filled the sky. Yang Yunqiu took off his cloak and shook it out, shaking off a pile of sand and gravel. He closed the shop door, sealed all the windows, lit the lamps, and started up the two large heaters in the house. Only then did he take a deep breath, open the porcelain bottle, and swallow a calming pill.

  A large bucket of bath water had been prepared long ago, but it was not hot, on the contrary, it was cold to the extreme. If an ordinary person even slightly touched it, they would probably freeze their fingers off.

  Yang Yunqiu put on a loose hemp robe, sat down, and the icy water submerged his head and face. His whole body sank into the water, and his breathing naturally switched to internal breathing. The cold water was bone-chilling, but his body was emitting hot air without realizing it, and his limbs were faintly turning red.

  The cultivation methods of the masters are different, and the big families and gateways have their own secret techniques. However, Yan Guo encourages cultivation, and ordinary guiding techniques are widely spread. Generally, after becoming a master, one can easily obtain it by registering at the government office.

  Yang Yunqiu learned only ordinary guiding techniques passed down by Fangzhou in the barbarous forest, which were orthodox and not easy to go wrong. The disadvantage is that the effect is slow.

  Although it is occasionally heard that some extraordinary geniuses can enter the seventh rank within twenty years by practicing ordinary Daoyin techniques, this is only a minority. Most people without background cannot find a master to apprentice with and become a cultivator who can barely make a living, becoming the lowest foundation of the Great Yan State's cultivators after reaching the second rank.

  Yang Yunqiu's experience was different.

  The doll knows many profound methods of practice, in the future of this world, except for some traditional family secrets, all the profound methods can be used by anyone at will, and there is a large pile in the central computer of that interstellar frontier base.

  Those exercises are indeed profound, but the requirements are also high, and they need to be assisted by various spiritual elixirs. In the future, many cultivators like to calculate their own exercises that suit themselves best. These secret recipes can only serve as references when one's cultivation reaches a certain level.

  Wa Wa suggested that Yang Yunqiu didn't need to go out of her way to practice overly complex secret techniques, the current guiding technique was already quite good.

  Moreover, even if it's just this ordinary guiding method, after being optimized by the doll's calculations, it will be most in line with his needs. The toxins accumulated in his body will have less and less impact on him. In just over two years, he relied on squeezing out a little time every day to practice, and actually entered the third rank, which can be seen.

  It was fine before, but since entering the third rank, Yang Yunqiu also started to feel that every step was difficult and understood the difficulties of cultivators.

  The five major tribulations of cultivation include the transition from the second stage to the third, where one is still a worldly person before reaching the third stage, and only upon entering it can they be said to have caught a glimpse of the path of cultivation.

  Eighty percent of the two products are discounted here.

  The second major tribulation is entering from the sixth stage to the seventh stage. Once you enter the seventh stage, that's when you can be considered as having established a foundation and can be called a cultivator.

  Ninety percent of the six-grade cultivators found it difficult to cross this threshold.

  The third great tribulation is the nine grades entering the Tao, and when one reaches the ninth grade, they can already roughly glimpse the Heavenly Tao.

  The fourth tribulation is above the nine grades, and it is a test of the heart demon before achieving the earth immortal.

  Although this trial is difficult, compared to the fifth tribulation, it's child's play before reaching longevity and long vision, which must go through the 'ascension of the heavenly ladder'.

  According to records, there have been only a dozen or so cultivators who have achieved the state of longevity and long-sightedness over the past thousand years. None of them have survived to this day. After all, every step of cultivation is fraught with difficulties, and each entry into the product is extremely difficult. It's not that passing through the five great calamities safely will necessarily lead to a smooth journey.

  He is very self-aware and never greedy.

  Even if the doll knew countless elixir formulas of later generations, except for those that didn't require precious medicinal materials and were easily available in this era, and were useful to him, he would take them out and ask others to help refine them. Otherwise, he wouldn't even glance at them, let alone pay more attention to formation diagrams and equipment refinement techniques, which was also an interest cultivated under the intimidation of Fang Zhong.

  Although there are countless paths of cultivation, they all lead to the same ultimate goal. As a small cultivator who knows his own abilities and is not against heaven's will, he should still focus on one path.

  Yang Yunqiu spat out a mouthful of turbid air, and his whole body gradually began to heat up, turning bright red. As he was splashed with cold water, mist rose, and black spots appeared on his body, moving with his breath, finally gathering at his left wrist. He casually made a cut, and a stream of black blood spurted out, falling into the ceramic basin outside.

  "Ah!"

  The doll finally relaxed, and even the collar it was attached to shook slightly.

  Yang Yunqiu stuck his head out, and the whole person leaned on the edge of the wooden bucket, closed his eyes to rest, sweat gathered on his forehead, dripping down, making a ringing sound as it hit the water surface.

  Paralyzed for a long time, Yang Yunqiu heard the noise outside and struggled to crawl out to wipe her body clean and change her clothes.

  "I'm afraid it won't be until you reach the seventh rank and solidify your foundation that the toxins in your body can be completely expelled. Until then, just consider it a way to temper your spiritual energy."

  The doll's voice was relaxed, as if she hadn't taken Yang Yunqiu's physical problems to heart at all. "When we have the chance, let's return to the Savage Forest and get back to base. It'll be greatly beneficial for both you and me. Also, Autumn, hurry up and merge me into your divine soul. That way, I can protect you without leaving your side."

  Yang Yunqiu ignored it, changed her clothes, poured the dirty water in the ceramic basin into the toilet, watched it disappear, and then exercised her stiff hands and feet before opening the door.

  As soon as the door opened, he saw his mother, Zhou Lan Zhi, cooking in the kitchen, and his footsteps paused involuntarily.

  Zhou Lan Zhi was only thirty-six years old, in a country like Yan Guo where the average lifespan is one hundred and fifty years, she could still be considered to be in her prime. However, after many years of hardship, fatigue had already etched fine lines on her beautiful face, between the corners of her eyes and eyebrows. Nevertheless, she remained elegant and refined, and when standing with women of similar age living here, at a glance, she stood out like a crane among chickens.

  "Xiao Qiu?" Zhou Lan Zhi saw her son and smiled, "Come quick and eat."

  It was just ordinary pancakes and the specialty roasted pork of Changshu Town, Yang Yunqiu swallowed three large pancakes in one breath, eating with sweat all over her body, making Zhou Lanxi laugh with joy.

  Yang Yunqiu would still be willing to coax his own mother to open her heart, even if he wasn't hungry. In the 21st century, he was an orphan, and although he had a grandmother to take care of him, he couldn't help but yearn for his parents. Coming to this world, having a mother and sister, he could be considered as having his wish fulfilled.

  "Is Ah Yan still sleeping?" Yang Yunqiu asked with a smile, helping her mother wash the bowls and chopsticks clean, and heating up the leftover rice in the pot.

  "Let her sleep, she's still young, it's normal for her to be sleepy."

  The mother and son sat down around the stove, the fire burning brightly, blocking out the cold air that was rushing in. Although there were still several energy storage crystals at home, Zhou Lan Zhi was always frugal and would not waste them if she didn't have to. The stove could burn firewood, so it wasn't necessary to use the crystals. Yang Yun Qiu was always obedient when it came to such small matters.

  The flames cast a reddish glow on the faces of the mother and son, Zhou Lanxi's hands deftly sewing the leather collar, Yang Yunqiu closed her eyes, recalling in detail the structure of several array diagrams.

  The doll instantly displayed a formation chart in front of Yang Yunqiu with great eyesight.

  That array diagram is different from the commonly used array diagrams now, and does not have a colorful color, but silver lines, shining, sometimes appearing and disappearing, and unlike the current array diagrams, it is very complex, with many structures that make people feel confused.

  The grade of this array diagram is about second-rate, and its effect is not great, it's just a very ordinary energy gathering array diagram. However, the gathered energy can be selected and purified, which is generally only possible with array diagrams above sixth-rate. The metal medium used to engrave the array diagram has special requirements, and several types in this world are extremely rare and expensive.

  I don't know if I can find a cheaper alloy formula next time I return to Earth.

  The monks of Yan Guo almost only use natural materials, but Yang Yunqiu's world is dominated by alloy materials.

  The doll obviously thought so too: "In a few more days, it will be the full moon again. This time I must go with Ah Qiu together." As soon as she thought of those stories Yang Yunque told, she became excited beyond control.