Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Under the old beggar's guidance, Shi Chuan had progressed rapidly, reaching the second level of Qi Refining. As the beggar put it, this achievement was entirely due to Shi Chuan's innate spiritual roots.
Most cultivators relied on copious amounts of pills and spirit stones to advance. But as an outer sect disciple, Shi Chuan had access to neither—not even pill residue, which was reserved for inner disciples.
There was once an outer disciple who stole a Spirit Nurturing Pill while assisting in the inner sect's alchemy room. When caught, they severed his tendons and hung him at the outer sect's gate for seven days until he died.
Since then, outer disciples were banned from the alchemy workshop, mostly assigned to the artifact forging hall instead.
Visiting Elder Yun on the first of each month had become routine. Yet Shi Chuan never worried about his cultivation being exposed—the Earth Mother Stone concealed his earth-attribute qi perfectly.
Each time, Elder Yun would have Shi Chuan practice the Water Dragon Art, but it remained utterly ineffective. This frustrated Elder Yun to no end, though he could do nothing about it.
Their sessions grew shorter each time. Today, after another fruitless attempt, Elder Yun simply waved Shi Chuan away impatiently.
"Another free day." Emerging from the back mountain, Shi Chuan grinned. Unlike other outer disciples, he was exempt from chores on the first of each month—a privilege granted by Fat Hong, though no one dared question why.
With no hurry to return, Shi Chuan sought a quiet spot to cultivate.
He was nearing a breakthrough to the third level of Qi Refining, though progress was slow. The Earth Mother Stone provided meager spiritual energy, far from sufficient for cultivation. As for pills—they were but a distant dream.
He'd gathered herbs from the mountains, but without alchemy tools or knowledge, concocting pills was impossible.
Finding a secluded grassy area, Shi Chuan sat down to meditate.
After half an hour of breathing exercises, rustling sounds startled him. Alert immediately, Shi Chuan peered through the grass—a male and female inner disciple approached, clad in their distinctive robes.
The man was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, the woman at the fifth.
"Junior Sister Zhang, with this rare spirit herb, Elder Deacon will surely be pleased. He might even take us as nominal disciples!"
"Indeed!" The woman smiled sweetly—then suddenly condensed a silver light sphere in her palm.
Is she about to ambush her own sect brother? Shi Chuan barely stifled a gasp.
True enough, she launched an Ice Spike straight into the man's back!
"Ah!" The man whirled around, drawing a silver shortsword. "Have you gone mad, Junior Sister? Attacking me?!"
"Senior Brother Tian, it's you who's foolish!" she sneered. "This herb should go to my Zhang Family's ancestor first. You'd still get rewards, yet you insist on giving it to the Elder. Since you refuse, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"You overestimate yourself!" Enraged, the man brandished his sword.
"You're only one level higher. Taste this!" She pulled out a yellow talisman.
The man desperately blocked with his sword—BOOM! The blade shattered, his robes torn to shreds as he coughed blood, clearly severely injured.
Shi Chuan held his breath. Both were stronger than him, armed with magic tools and talismans. He stood no chance—he could only pray they'd leave after settling their feud.
"Well, well, well! You'd even use a Heaven-Shaking Talisman," the man spat out three "wells" through gritted teeth. "I'll drag you down with me even if I die here today!"
"Save your strength, Senior Brother." She coldly produced a thick stack of talismans. "Though weaker, I've already wounded you. You can't get close now. These talismans alone will reduce you to dust."
"I'll die before letting you succeed!" Chanting a spell, the man enveloped himself in thick mist that froze into ice armor.
"Ice Armor? That's all?" She scoffed, hurling talismans like they were free.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Though the explosions sounded muted, their power was terrifying. Even from a distance, Shi Chuan felt the shockwaves.
This is a real cultivator's might! He was awestruck. A single Heaven-Shaking Talisman would obliterate him—yet the injured man withstood dozens with his Ice Armor technique.
After half an hour, the battle reached its climax. Both had destroyed four or five magic tools, but the woman's talisman advantage kept her dominant.
Had the man not been ambushed, he might have escaped. Now, his situation looked grim.
"Junior Sister Zhang...we entered the Water Spirit Sect together at eight years old. Over a decade of camaraderie..." Gasping, the collapsed man seemed drained.
"Camaraderie means nothing!" Unmoved, she formed an egg-sized ice spike and shot it through his skull—killing him instantly.
After looting his corpse, she triumphantly held up a palm-sized box. "Finally! My family's ancestor will reward me handsomely! Hahaha!"
Shi Chuan wiped cold sweat from his brow. That duel had been an eye-opener.
Combat wasn't just about cultivation level—magic tools and talismans played crucial roles. Without her talisman stockpile, the woman likely wouldn't have won.
It also revealed cultivation world's brutality: sect siblings of ten years turning murderous over a single spirit herb.
At least I wasn't discovered. Shi Chuan hoped the murderous sister would leave so he could return to the outer sect. This training spot was now compromised—best avoid it to prevent association with the incident.
Just as he relaxed, Zhang started dragging the corpse toward his hiding spot—apparently to dump it in the thick grass.
"Who's there?!" She spotted movement in the grass.
Shi Chuan leapt out and sprinted into the woods.
The woman's initial shock turned to cold amusement upon seeing his outer sect robes. "Running? Not so easy."
Outer disciples rarely cultivated—at most reaching the first level of Qi Refining without learning any techniques. Killing one would be child's play for her.
"Ice Spike Technique!" she chanted—but no silver light appeared.
"Out of spiritual energy!" Annoyed, she realized she'd also exhausted her talismans in the fight.
Shi Chuan sprinted wildly, covering hundreds of zhang in breaths. Since joining the sect, he'd only practiced the Breathing Art—a basic technique with no offensive or defensive spells, but one that greatly enhanced physicality. His current speed rivaled even Speed Talisman users.
Familiarity with the terrain helped too. Weaving through trees, he pushed his limits.
Yet he'd underestimated a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator's speed. Soon, she closed in.
Calculating, Shi Chuan knew she'd catch him within half an hour at this pace. Passing through dense woods, he stopped in a small clearing.
"Done running?" Panting, she brandished her last intact weapon—a standard-issue silver sword (her other tools were destroyed in the fight).
"Senior Sister, spare me! I saw nothing!" Shi Chuan begged fearfully, inching toward a tree.
"Oh?" His terrified act pleased her immensely—as if his life were already hers.
She advanced step by step.
"No...please..." Shi Chuan crouched lower, feigning utter panic.
"Hahaha..." She reveled in his fear, her face twisting into a cruel grin.
If she could kill a ten-year sect brother over an herb, why spare an unknown outer disciple? In her eyes, he was less than nothing.
"Death—your only option."
"Die!" She thrust her sword at Shi Chuan's heart—without hesitation, proving she intended no mercy.
Shi Chuan's face darkened. Having witnessed her viciousness, he knew this was do-or-die.
Dodging behind the tree, he yanked a hidden rope.
"Fast for a mortal!" she remarked, surprised.
A large net dropped from above, entangling her and blocking the sword thrust.
Though ordinary, the net delayed her just enough—before she could slash free, Shi Chuan pulled another rope.
"NO!" She screamed as the ground gave way—a beast-trapping pit opened beneath her!
THUNK! THUNK!
Bamboo spikes impaled her chest and abdomen. After a few death throes, she went still, still clutching her sword.
Until the end, she couldn't fathom how a disregarded outer disciple had outmaneuvered her. Armed with talismans and tools, she'd slain a sixth-level cultivator—only to fall to someone she'd deemed insignificant.
Long after, Shi Chuan emerged from hiding. Seeing her lifeless body, he exhaled shakily. Without his terrain knowledge and this pre-existing trap, he'd be dead instead.
Crucially, her exhausted spiritual energy and talismans had leveled the playing field—otherwise, he'd never have escaped this far.
This ordeal reinforced a truth: In cultivation world, strength reigns supreme. To survive long-term, power is essential.
Equally vital was concealing one's capabilities. Today's victory hinged on her underestimating him—she never imagined an "ordinary" outer disciple had reached the peak of second-level Qi Refining, nearing a breakthrough to the third level.