Raise a sword!

Inside the cultivation room on Azure Mist Peak.

Jiang Peng sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, and the temperature around him suddenly rose. The dust in the air spontaneously combusted, turning into sparks.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Peng suddenly opened her eyes, a flash of purple fire in them.

"The foundation has been laid to its third level, and today it is complete."

After a moment of calming her spiritual energy, Jiang Peng exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling little joy at her progress in cultivation.

If he hadn't been restricted by the sect's fortune, and had formed his own foundation without any bottlenecks, he should have already reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment and become a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The current progress in cultivation is simply a natural result of the end of the mountain closure.

After finishing her cultivation, Jiang Peng did not rush to get up, but first used her divine sense to examine herself.

During this cultivation session, he clearly felt that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was becoming increasingly affinity towards him.

"As expected, my spiritual root has advanced."

Given Mei Jinhe's precedent, Jiang Peng wasn't too surprised by this.

Moreover, for Foundation Establishment cultivators, spiritual roots are merely icing on the cake, and no longer completely determine a cultivator's future potential as they do in the Qi Refining stage.

A moment later, Jiang Peng confirmed the benefits of advancing to a superior-grade spiritual root.

"The power of fire magic has increased slightly." The spiritual energy has eased a bit, which is not bad.

...

With the end of the mountain closure, Cangshan Sect quickly recovered from its previous lifelessness.

The disciples went out to travel and gain experience, and many elders also couldn't stand the loneliness and left the mountain gate, either because of the sect's entrustment or simply to visit friends.

Inside the main hall of the Cangshan Sect, on the main peak.

Jiang Peng received a message from Sect Master Chu Chun'an and came at his invitation.

"During the ten years of the mountain's closure, two true disciples failed to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage," Chu Chun'an said regretfully. "Both of them were considered to be talented juniors, but unfortunately they were a bit older and encountered this mountain closure."

"I tried to persuade them, but the idea that one should reach the Foundation Establishment stage at sixty was too deeply ingrained in their minds. They were both terrified of missing the opportunity to establish their foundation, and it was this impatience that ultimately led to their failure to do so."

"Just as the Taoist priest Zhang of Longshe Temple said... the mountain was closed for ten years, and a generation of cultivators were indeed slowed down."

After saying this, Chu Chun'an said to Jiang Peng, "The reason I summoned you here is to send you to the Southern Mountain to visit the Liu family and retrieve the Xuanxin Leaf to refine Foundation Establishment Pills for the sect."

Jiang Peng had anticipated this when he arrived, and immediately agreed upon hearing the news.

This was simply his duty as the Grand Elder of the Pill Hall.

"Junior Brother intends to visit Jade Pavilion Sword Pavilion." Jiang Peng brought up this matter that had been suppressed for ten years.

"Let's go after we've refined the pills," Chu Chun'an suggested.

Jiang Peng had no objection to this.

If the trip to the southern foothills goes smoothly, this matter can be resolved within half a month.

However, visiting the Jade Pavilion Sword Pavilion to borrow the weapon-refining furnace to upgrade the magic sword is still a long and complicated process.

"Junior brother will set off tomorrow."

"Thank you for your hard work." Chu Chun'an nodded gently.

...

Back at Biwu Peak, Jiang Peng summoned Liu Linong, who was preparing to go to Ling Shan Fang.

"I'm going to visit the Liu family. Would you like to come with me?"

Ten years have passed, and Liu Linong is now in his early twenties, but his figure remains as plump as ever.

"No, I'm not going. It would interfere with my cooking at Ling Shan Fang. The business depends on me to keep it afloat," Liu Linong said, shaking his head.

"You're quite pleased with yourself."

Jiang Peng was speechless, but he didn't insist on bringing Liu Linong along, so he waved his hand and sent him away.

He then found Ah Huang in the back mountain.

Although Ah Huang, who broke through to the second tier, did not show any extraordinary bloodline abilities, it seemed that he only gained the ability to change size.

But ultimately, they are second-tier demons, comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Jiang Peng no longer lets it run rampant in the mountains and forests as she did before.

When they met Ah Huang, the guy was cuddling two female weasels he'd found somewhere, lying on the boulder where Jiang Peng usually liked to hang out, basking in the sun.

On the left is a wine pot, and on the right are several plates of snacks to accompany the wine.

Upon seeing Jiang Peng appear, Ah Huang showed no intention of getting up, only waving its little paws.

"Hey bro, got something to drink?"

Jiang Peng sometimes wondered if he was too unpretentious, so that the people around him were all unrestrained and didn't take him, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, seriously at all.

But then I thought about it again, and it didn't seem like a big deal.

"Come with me on a trip tomorrow."

"Okay."

Seeing that Ah Huang readily agreed, Jiang Peng didn't say anything more and turned to leave.

Since Ah Huang broke through to the second tier, the Beast Taming Tokens he bought from the Beast Taming Pavilion have become useless.

Jiang Peng also asked Ah Huang if he wanted to stay by his side.

Ah Huang's answer was also very straightforward.

Only a fool would leave if there was food and drink to be had.

Therefore, there was no longer any bond between Jiang Peng and Ah Huang through the spirit pet contract. Jiang Peng was unwilling to treat Ah Huang as a spirit pet inferior to herself and did not try to restrict it in any way.

...

This time, on his way to the southern foothills, Jiang Peng did not take the western route through Chen State or the eastern trade route, but instead took a detour through the middle layer of the Diming Mountains.

With the speed of the Gale Step and Ah Huang's scouting, Jiang Peng can now move freely through the Earth Howling Mountains.

Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to venture deeper; he would simply go a little deeper than the outer perimeter.

Along the way, they casually killed some valuable monsters and collected a few rare spiritual materials. When they got tired, they would sit down and rest for a while, which was quite pleasant.

Three days passed in this way, and Jiang Peng estimated that they were not far from the southern foothills.

In a clearing in the mountains and forests.

Jiang Peng is dissecting a massive bull demon.

This bull demon is at the late stage of the first rank and is a genuine demon beast. Relying on its bravery and fierceness, and having no useful materials, it has made a good living in the mountains and forests.

Unfortunately, it ran into Jiang Peng and before it could even react to what was happening, it heard a voice beside it saying "top-quality beef" and then lost its life.

Just as Jiang Peng was preparing the beef, Ah Huang, who had been running around somewhere, suddenly popped out of the ground.

"Brother, something's happened up ahead. There's a magical duel going on."

Jiang Peng raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Be more specific."

"Three against one, all of them are at the Foundation Establishment stage. The one with more people doesn't seem like the good guys."

Jiang Peng initially thought she had encountered a calamity cultivator on business and had no intention of interfering.

People die every day in the Earth-Ringing Mountains. He's not a bodhisattva who can't bear suffering, so why should he rush to save people?

But not long after, Jiang Peng, who was cutting up beef, suddenly stopped and looked up into the distance.

"They've reached this side," Ah Huang said.

Jiang Peng nodded slightly, gazing at the distant battle raging on.

"Something seems off."

Jiang Peng frowned.

Just as Ah Huang said, there were four Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting over there, three attacking one at once.

The side with more people clearly belonged to the same faction.

But what bothered Jiang Peng the most was the ominous aura emanating from the three men's every move.