Chapter 19: Fulong Mountains

Two more days passed, and Ling Xiao's "Meteor Fist" had already reached the Great Perfection stage, a realm of effortless control and release.

Following the standard movements within the Mountain and River Martial Soul, it was executed without a single flaw.

The "Crimson Sun Art" was also progressing rapidly, finally reaching the Great Perfection of the ninth layer, causing his true qi to surge once again.

At the same time, his cultivation smoothly reached the peak of the second level of the Martial Vein stage, and his two martial veins had been tempered to be extremely robust.

Now, the density of his true qi, the intensity of his strength, and the toughness of his body were no match for a martial artist at the third level of the Martial Vein stage.

In just about a single week, he had leaped from being a "trash" and "useless waste" in the mouths of others to a peak second-level Martial Vein martial artist, his strength increasing several times over.

The source of all this was, naturally, the awakening of the Mountain and River Martial Soul.

By now, his interest in this Mountain and River Martial Soul was growing deeper and deeper.

However, breaking through to the third level of the Martial Vein stage presented a bit of trouble; a breakthrough in realm required certain external aids.

This would not only make the breakthrough easier but also prevent him from suffering qi deviation.

To put it bluntly, he needed medicinal pills!

Pills such as Breakthrough Pills, Heart-Protecting Pills, and Vein-Protecting Pills.

He currently only had one Breakthrough Pill in his hands, which was far from enough. To break through safely, Heart-Protecting and Vein-Protecting Pills were essential.

Because he only had one life, and there would be no one to protect his cultivation during the breakthrough process, he could only protect himself.

Returning home and eating, Ling Xiao did not go to cultivate further but instead entered his room to begin planning his future.

In the past, the Annual Competition was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of.

But things were different now. He was certain that on the day of the Annual Competition, he would definitely be able to smoothly break through to the third level of the Martial Vein stage.

As long as he could achieve good results in the competition, he would become a key disciple cultivated by the Ling family.

From then on, many things would no longer require his own worry; he would obtain more resources and might even receive a monthly allowance, which was a complete departure from his current situation.

By that time, let alone people like Ling Feng or Ling Fei, he would surpass even Ling Yixue and the genius disciples of the other families in Tianfeng City.

"The effect of the Mountain and River Martial Soul seems to be more than just practicing and analyzing. There are villages and land inside; perhaps I can even grow medicinal herbs and raise fierce beasts!"

The materials for medicinal pills come from two sources: plants and animals.

If he wanted pills, he had to first gather sufficient materials. If he could grow plants and breed demon beasts within the Mountain and River Map, that would be wonderful.

The powerful analysis and practice effects, combined with the ability to cultivate cultivation resources—it was simply perfect!

He had to try it!

Ling Xiao looked outside toward the vast, dense forest in the Ling family's back mountains.

Tianfeng City was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the mountain range was known as the "Dragon-Subduing Mountains."

The Dragon-Subduing Mountains were densely forested with complex terrain. The highest peaks reached over eight thousand meters, covered in year-round snow, creating a magnificent sight.

No one knew exactly how large the Dragon-Subduing Mountains were, because even standing on the highest peak, one could not see through the entire range.

Legend had it that a dragon resided within the mountains, though no one had ever seen it. However, there were many demon beasts in the mountains, which had always been both feared and loved by martial artists.

They were feared because demon beasts were powerful and terrifying.

They were loved because many materials from demon beasts could be sold for money or used to refine medicine and pills.

Demon beasts were artificially divided into ten grades.

This was data obtained by martial artists through their own blood and experience.

Generally speaking, the grade of a demon beast is comparable to a martial artist's cultivation. For example, a first-grade demon beast is basically equivalent to a first-level Martial Vein martial artist.

However, because demon beasts are naturally special, in actual combat, a first-grade demon beast is stronger than most first-level Martial Vein martial artists.

The legendary tenth-grade Beast King could easily destroy a nation; no one truly wanted to encounter such a beast.

Ling Xiao's trip to the Dragon-Subduing Mountains was not to make money or hunt demon beasts, but to find some special medicinal herbs and some demon beast cubs to see if he could grow and breed them within the Mountain and River Map.

Once successful, whenever he encountered rare plants or animals in the future, he could raise them himself. This would be a massive advantage.

*Whoosh!*

Leaping directly over the Ling family's courtyard wall, Ling Xiao took a stance and used the "Cloud-Soaring Steps" to dash toward the Dragon-Subduing Mountains.

The "Cloud-Soaring Steps" were faster than riding a horse even without using the "Qi-Bursting Art"; if he used the "Qi-Bursting Art," it would be even more terrifying.

Although it would consume true qi, Ling Xiao had practiced the "Qi-Recovery Art," which could basically ensure his true qi consumption would not be too great.

Besides, practicing movement techniques was itself a form of cultivation.

Before long, Ling Xiao arrived at the outskirts of the Dragon-Subduing Mountains.

He did not dare to enter the forest too deeply; if he encountered a ferocious demon beast or even a Beast King, ten of his lives would not be enough.

In any case, he had only two purposes for coming here: one was to conduct an experiment to see if he could plant and breed things in the Mountain and River Map, and the other was to collect materials for pill refining.

The Ling family's pharmacy had specialized medicine and pill refining masters. As long as you provided the materials and paid a certain labor fee, they would refine the pills for you.

Of course, the prerequisite was that you had to be a member of the Ling family.

The moment he entered the jungle, Ling Xiao suddenly smiled.

Because he had discovered another benefit of the Mountain and River Map.

On the map, a patch of clouds dispersed to reveal a forest. Looking closely, it was not difficult to see that this was exactly the Dragon-Subduing Mountains.

However, the Dragon-Subduing Mountains shown on this map only covered a radius of about one kilometer with Ling Xiao as the center.

If it were just a map, it wouldn't be surprising, but the key was that the map also displayed several options.

"Medicinal Herbs!" "Wild Beasts!" "Demon Beasts!" "Humans!"

These options could be selected, and once selected, they would be displayed on the map.

Medicinal herbs appeared as green dots; upon clicking one, you could see what kind of herb it was, accompanied by simple information.

Wild beasts appeared as yellow dots, demon beasts as red dots, which would show their grade upon clicking, and humans appeared as white dots, which also provided simple data analysis, though not as detailed as the demon beasts.

Seeing this, Ling Xiao almost laughed out loud in excitement; he felt the Mountain and River Martial Soul was becoming increasingly miraculous.

This map seemed to encompass the entire world, though certain things needed to be triggered to reveal it.

However, despite his excitement, he did not forget why he had come today. Since he had this display, things would be much more convenient.

Ling Xiao's main targets were medicinal herbs and demon beasts below the third grade.

"Let's begin!"

Ling Xiao checked one of the green dots, then leaped into the air, dashing toward the direction of the green dot.

The plant indicated by the green dot was a species called "Heavenly Fragrance Grass."

This herb was the most important ingredient for refining "Vein-Protecting Pills."

The trouble was that this herb basically grew on cliffs dozens or even hundreds of meters high.

If it were before, would Ling Xiao have dared to collect it himself?

That would have been unthinkable.

But now, it was no problem. With the "Cloud-Soaring Steps" activated, he could easily scale cliffs even a hundred or two hundred meters high.