Yang Jing sat cross-legged on the giant rock. Since he and Iron Head had spent months practicing the True Yang Body here, the rock itself had absorbed a small amount of the gathering Celestial Yang Qi, and its composition had begun to subtly change.
With the aid of the Bone Marrow Transformation Pill, the Celestial True Yang he had accumulated was nearing the limit of his Shenque Acupoint. He had to open the next Acupoint.
He chose the Yangchi Acupoint on his palm. This was the most crucial Acupoint on the hands. Once opened, it would allow him to generate Yang Qi and link his inner and outer body.
Yang Jing's Celestial True Yang was far purer and more abundant than that of an ordinary True Yang Body practitioner, flowing without end. Combined with his thorough understanding of the technique, he faced almost no resistance and broke through the Yangchi Acupoint naturally.
When he channeled his True Yang, the dense Celestial True Yang flickered and burned upon his palm like a flame.
Any ordinary ghost he grabbed would be instantly reduced to ash.
Yang Jing sat cross-legged on the giant rock, persistently channeling his Celestial True Yang to refine his right hand. An amber-like True Yang enveloped his palm, tempering it as one would refine a Spirit Medicine with Spiritual Fire.
Most ordinary Body Refining Techniques required various Spirit Ointments and Spirit Pills, taken internally and applied externally, to aid the process. Otherwise, it was very easy for the practitioner to end up harming themself.
The True Yang Body, however, required none of that. Celestial True Yang was itself the finest Body Refining Elixir. All one had to do was continuously refine their hands with it, following the prescribed stances of the technique.
Thanks to his experience with Alchemy, he made rapid progress in refining his hand. However, because he had only opened two Acupoints, his Celestial True Yang was limited. After just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, most of his True Yang was depleted, leaving him unable to continue.
Yang Jing was about to practice the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Swordsmanship to hone his physique when a Communication Talisman suddenly flew in from outside the Array. He crushed it open and saw it was from the Village Chief, Li Yuanqing, who was waiting outside with a new resident of San Yuanli.
He peered out through the Fog Concealment Array and confirmed that it was indeed Li Yuanqing, standing outside with an unfamiliar middle-aged Cultivator.
Yang Jing focused Magical Power into his eyes, using his Bright Qi Talent to confirm no one was lying in ambush before stepping out of the Fog Concealment Array.
"Elder Li, and this is?"
"Ah, Little Brother Yang, this is Zhang Rongxing. He'll be cultivating Qian Xian and his wife's Spirit Field from now on."
Li Yuanqing said.
"Little Brother Zhang here is quite the people person. He insisted that I introduce him to every Cultivator in the village."
"Fellow Daoist Yang, these are some Talismans I crafted. A small gift, just a token of my respect."
Zhang Rongxing enthusiastically produced a Wooden Box.
Yang Jing accepted it but remained outside the Array, exchanging only a few pleasantries. He clearly had no intention of inviting them in. However, with Village Chief Li Yuanqing adeptly keeping the conversation going, the atmosphere didn't grow cold.
Back inside his Cave Mansion, Yang Jing opened the Wooden Box. Inside were two Red Fire Talismans. When activated, they could unleash a ball of Red Fire of considerable power. In the Marketplace, they would sell for five Spirit Stones apiece.
His eyes narrowed as he put the box away.
A welcoming gift worth ten Spirit Stones was quite extravagant.
To have secured Qian Xian and his wife's Spirit Field amidst such fierce competition meant Zhang Rongxing's background was anything but simple. He might even have the backing of a Foundation Establishment Great Power.
'With his status, even if he wanted to be friendly, he only needed to offer a small gift at the monthly gathering. There was no need to personally visit every single neighbor.'
'He was being a little too eager to please.'
Suspicion toward Zhang Rongxing took root in Yang Jing's mind.
At this month's gathering, Yang Jing brought two bottles of Blood Circulation Pills and two bottles of Water Cloud Pills, as was his custom. The Blood Circulation Pills were divided among several people, while Wang Da bought all of the Water Cloud Pills.
In turn, he purchased a few useful Spirit Medicines for himself.
Due to the deaths of Qian Xian and his wife, the mood at the gathering was somber. The only exception was the very enthusiastic Zhang Rongxing, who first sold a few Talismans at a low price before fawning over the Female Cultivator Song.
After the gathering, Yang Jing stopped Village Chief Li Yuanqing and led him to a secluded spot.
"Elder Li, do you know anything about that Zhang Rongxing's background?"
He slipped a few Spirit Crystals into Li Yuanqing's hand. Given the current circumstances, for someone to maneuver their way into San Yuanli, the faction backing Zhang Rongxing must have exerted considerable influence. As the Village Chief, Li Yuanqing was bound to know something.
Li Yuanqing refused to take them. As Village Chief, he had some principles. Besides, if something were to happen and he got implicated, he would likely lose his position.
The benefits that came with the position of Village Chief were considerable, and he planned to pass it down to his descendants. Perhaps in a hundred years, the Li Family could even become a proper Immortally Cultivation Clan.
Yang Jing grit his teeth.
"I saw how Zhang Rongxing was fawning all over Fairy Song, and I just can't stand it anymore! If he has a powerful backer, fine. But if he doesn't have any connections, I'm definitely going to compete with him for her affections!"
Having seen Zhang Rongxing fawning over the Female Cultivator Song at the gathering, he had come up with this perfect excuse.
There wasn't a single young Qi Cultivator in San Yuanli who wasn't smitten with the Female Cultivator Song. Two years ago, Qian Xian and his wife had a huge fight over her, and Qian Xian had even gotten his face scratched.
Li Yuanqing sighed. He knew there was no reasoning with youthful infatuation, and the Female Cultivator Song was, in fact, a stunning beauty. If he didn't say anything, Yang Jing would surely investigate on his own, get himself into serious trouble, and perhaps even get killed.
He had a high opinion of Yang Jing and couldn't bear to see him come to harm.
"Sigh... Zhang Rongxing got in through the Wu Family's connections. The Wu Family's ancestor only reached Foundation Establishment forty years ago; he's in his prime. You absolutely must not provoke him. Besides, I can tell Fairy Song has high standards; she won't necessarily be interested in Zhang Rongxing. You're a handsome lad—you even have a bit of my charm from when I was young. Why would you have trouble finding a Daoist companion? Why get hung up on Fairy Song? How many men have fawned over her these past few years? Has she ever given a single one of them the time of day? Her standards are sky-high."
Yang Jing stood rooted to the spot, looking utterly devastated. A chill crept into his heart. 'So, now I've finally confirmed who the enemy is.'
Li Yuanqing discreetly took the Spirit Crystals from Yang Jing's hand and left, shaking his head. Although he was a wily old fox himself, the gap in information meant he hadn't sensed anything amiss about Zhang Rongxing at all.
Yang Jing, however, was different. He knew that the Wu Family was the very same clan that would seize the Spiritual Spring in the future.
'The Wu Family had first annihilated Qian Xian's family in San Yuanli. The most likely reason was that, on the surface, Qian Xian's Cave Mansion had the most abundant Spiritual Mechanism in the entire village, making it the most probable location for the Spiritual Spring.'
'After searching the Cave Mansion and finding no Spiritual Spring, they decided to plant someone else inside San Yuanli.'
'A single Spiritual Spring was definitely not worth a Foundation Establishment Clan plotting so meticulously, and in such secrecy,' Yang Jing mused. He recalled the old unresolved case. 'Perhaps what the Wu Family was truly after... was the Crown Prince of the Qi Kingdom.'
'Is it possible the Crown Prince of the Qi Kingdom is hiding beneath the spring itself? But how did the Wu Family learn of this? And what is the connection between the Wu Family's ancestor and the Biyuan Ancestor?'
Yang Jing recalled the Earth Element Nether Qi that had surged from the spring's eye. That kind of nether qi could only be found deep underground, which meant the water vein beneath the spring was extremely deep.
And in a water vein that deep, it wasn't entirely impossible for a Flood Dragon to be hiding.