Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Ning Che stood still.

The shadows of the trees crisscrossed eerily, casting long shadows on his shoulders. He stared at the severed tail of the rat demon in the corner of the courtyard; the purplish-black blood had dried to a dark brown.

Many details surfaced in her mind, those that had been overlooked before, or those that she had been aware of but hadn't dared to think about deeply, all came to mind as Zhong Lingsu mentioned Zhong Siqi.

He suddenly had an absurd thought: Could Zhong Siqi be someone he knew in a past life?

Fate intertwined in an instant, but Black Rock Village had already been destroyed, and he could only look back on the road he had traveled.

Time travel... but what was the reason for it?

If this isn't an isolated case, does it mean that even his time travel wasn't an accident?

What could it be related to, that so-called old stone pillar?

Ning Che knew about this thing; it had stood in the wilderness for thousands of years, and the dust on its surface had accumulated into a harder substance.

Over such a long period of time, it's no surprise that powerful cultivators would be interested. However, the results of their investigations were consistent: it was simply a stone pillar connected to the earth's veins, nothing more special.

Perhaps long ago, it was a node in some grand formation. But the formation was clearly destroyed long ago, and only this stone pillar is exceptionally sturdy, which is probably why it has survived to this day.

This is something Shi Meng once told me. At the time, it sounded like a myth, so fragmented it seemed unreal. But when it's connected to the current situation, it takes on a new interpretation.

Could it be that the so-called great formation from back then was not destroyed, and even has the miraculous effect of allowing people to travel through time?

Ning Che looked up at the moon and couldn't help but smile.

That's thinking too far ahead; empirical evidence is needed for effective deduction. Right now, he should focus on spiritual practice.

When I concentrate on my practice, I feel that dawn breaks very quickly.

When Ning Che opened his eyes, there was already movement in the courtyard. Zhao He was dozing against the wall, his knife across his lap. Hearing the noise, he immediately opened his eyes, his hand already gripping the hilt of his knife.

"It's me." Ning Che stood up and stretched his limbs.

The changes in his body were more pronounced than he had anticipated. The feeling of fullness he had experienced when breaking through to the next realm last night had subsided, replaced by a sense of clarity and openness.

The magical power flowed through his meridians like a rushing river, bringing an indescribable sense of exhilaration. He tried using his magical power to throw a punch, which surprisingly produced a loud bang.

He was overjoyed, thinking he had created a sonic boom, but after trying a few more times, he discovered that the sound was coming from his sleeve.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed, but clearly, his strength had increased dramatically, giving him an overwhelming advantage compared to before his breakthrough, and probably even more so than a typical eighth-rank cultivator.

Zhao He leaned closer and lowered his voice: "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad." Ning Che finished speaking, looked at Zhao He's expectant expression, and added, "You've made great progress. I'm a true eighth-rank now. You need to work hard too."

Zhao He agreed wholeheartedly and immediately began his cultivation, ignoring the breakfast the village had prepared for them.

Ning Che felt rather guilty. He had only intended to encourage Zhao He, but he had gone too far and made him refuse to eat. He had no choice but to borrow some bowls and chopsticks from the villagers and bring him a meal.

After much persuasion, he finally managed to get him to finish his meal, but then he kept pestering Ning Che for details about his breakthrough.

Ning Che said that his cultivation method was different from his, and their cultivation methods were also very different. This kid even came up with the idea that "stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade," saying that only by exchanging knowledge and skills can one make progress.

The breakthrough he experienced was not part of the "Jieming Shuanghua Jue" (劫明霜华诀), but rather his own enlightenment, which was not bound by the blood oath and therefore could be passed on to others.

Helpless, he could only tell Zhao He in detail about the feeling of breaking through.

"That shadow you saw last night..." Zhao He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask, "Who was that person? Their attire was so strange. Is that some kind of custom?"

"I don't know." Ning Che really didn't know who that was, and he didn't really want to talk about his past life here.

It's not that I'm afraid of leaking information, but it's mainly that it's hard to explain, and even if I do explain, the other party might not believe me, and even if they do believe me, it won't be of much use.

The figure appeared for too short a time; he didn't even have time to see the face clearly. But the sense of familiarity was real, like seeing another version of himself from a great distance.

He didn't continue thinking about it.

Don't rush to think about things you can't guess. As long as you keep going, the truth will eventually come to light.

"Do you think it might be some kind of Dharma manifestation?" Zhao He persisted. "I've heard that some powerful beings manifest unusual phenomena when they break through to a higher realm—"

"Eighth rank," Ning Che interrupted him.

"what?"

"I'm only an eighth-rank official, what kind of great power am I? You can't brag like that."

Zhao He thought about it and agreed, then reluctantly shut up.

The door to the side room opened, and Zhong Lingsu came out.

She changed into clean clothes, tied her hair back up, and looked better than the night before, but her eyes were still dark and swollen, indicating she hadn't slept much. She was holding a medicine bowl in her hand, with brownish dregs in it, clearly indicating that she had fed medicine to a patient.

She glanced at Ning Che, her gaze lingering on his left hand for a moment before looking away, making sure there was nothing amiss.

"How is the patient?" Ning Che asked.

"The fever has subsided, but I'm severely depleted and will need at least half a month to recover."

She placed the medicine bowl on the stone table, then went to get the medicine box, unfastened the clasp, and began to organize the bottles and jars inside.

Her movements were practiced and fluid, each bottle placed with meticulous care, creating a unique beauty that complemented her delicate features: "If you're leaving, just leave two people to look after it. I'll write down the recipe."

Ning Che nodded, not in a hurry to leave. He had a question he wanted to ask, but wasn't sure if he should bring it up at this moment.

Zhong Lingsu spoke first: "I've thought about your poison, and there's still something wrong with it."

"What's wrong?"

"Too clean." She unscrewed a porcelain bottle, brought it close to her nose to smell it, frowned, then closed it again and switched to another one. "Even if the demonic poison is forced out of the body, there will still be traces left in the meridians, whether it's stagnation or burns. Yours—"

She paused, then looked up and sized him up.

"It's like they've never been inside."

Ning Che remained silent for a moment.

He knew the reason. His magical power came from the Taiyin realm, his foundation was different from that of ordinary cultivators, his cultivation technique was powerful enough, and with sufficient accumulation, the magical power that surged forth when he broke through to a higher realm was extremely abundant. That ball of black energy had no chance to resist such magical power and was directly crushed and expelled, leaving not even a trace.

But saying this was tantamount to telling her that she was no ordinary eighth-rank official.

It's not that I'm afraid she'll guess anything related to the Taiyin. It's just that... saying that sounds a bit like bragging.

"Perhaps it's because you have good acupuncture skills," he said.

Zhong Lingsu looked up at him, staring at him with the whites of her eyes.

But she didn't press further. Instead, she took a small porcelain bottle from her medicine box and pushed it over: "I've already prepared the medicine for the villagers. If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any problems. I also brought a martial arts master from the Zhong family. He will stay here for ten days to ensure the villagers' safety."

Take this with you; it's for calming your mind and focusing your spirit. Next time you encounter that black fog, cover your mouth and nose first.

Ning Che reached out and took it, praising, "Thank you, you're so thoughtful."

"You're welcome." She withdrew her hand, her eyes revealing an undeniable weariness.

Ning Che tucked the porcelain bottle into his robes, hesitated for a moment, and then asked the somewhat presumptuous question: "What kind of person is your third brother?"

Zhong Lingsu paused for a moment while tidying up the medicine box, clearly not expecting him to ask about it. She paused as if thinking, and then continued.

"Missing."

Her tone was flat.

"When the drought struck, he took on a job that nobody wanted to do: to be stationed in a place called Black Rock Village. Before he left, he told me to bring him some local candied fruit when he came back. He said that the village had a kind of jujube paste cake that tasted different from the ones in the city."

"City?"

"Yes, the city, that's what he always likes to call it."

She fastened the medicine box, and the clasp clicked shut.

"Then he never came back, not even a letter, only the mountain keeper's relief payment arrived at his home."

Ning Che didn't say anything like "please accept my condolences." She had already accepted everything, and offering more comfort would only reopen old wounds.

He only said, "If I have any news, if I know who killed him, I will tell you."

Zhong Lingsu clenched her hand on the handle of the medicine box for a moment, then let go.

"Who wants you—" she began, then swallowed back, "Never mind, whatever."

She picked up her medicine box and walked out, slowing her pace as she passed Ning Che. Suddenly, she turned back and asked, "What realm are you at now? Most eighth-rank cultivators aren't like this. You didn't break through to the seventh rank last night, did you?"

"I am a Taoist talisman practitioner, and I have just opened my dantian, so I should be considered an eighth-grade practitioner."

"The Daoist sect? You really are..."

She didn't finish the sentence. She picked up her medicine box and walked towards the direction where the carriages and horses were tethered.

Ning Che didn't press the matter. He turned to look at Zhao He, who was pretending to study a crack in the wall, his head practically pressed against the wall, his ears perked up and facing them.

"Have you seen enough?"

Zhao He turned his head seriously: "This wall isn't sturdy; I'll have to tell the homeowner about it later."

"Pack your things, get ready to leave."

"Where to?"

"Let's go back and explain the situation, and also check on how the free clinic is going." Ning Che hung the Crescent Moon Blade back on his waist.

Zhao He responded and turned to get his horse, preparing to leave with Zhong Lingsu and her group.

But after taking a couple of steps, he turned back, his playful grin vanishing, replaced by a serious expression. He then spoke hesitantly, "Brother Xing, you mean that Master Xian—"

"What's wrong?"

"Since it can command demons to deliver poison, it means it knows where you are." Zhao He's expression was unusually serious. "You didn't use its things to break through your cultivation level, and you even expelled its poison. Could it be...?"

He didn't finish his sentence, but he conveyed the meaning.

Ning Che thought for a moment.

"Then let it be unhappy." He stroked the hilt of his sword. "It's just a demon."

Zhao He grinned, said nothing more, and turned to untie the horse's reins.

The sound of horses' hooves gradually rose. The group left the courtyard and walked back along the mountain path. The morning light spread across the road, and the eerie, intertwined shadows of the trees from last night now appeared to be nothing more than ordinary pines and cypresses, with dew still clinging to their branches and leaves.

Ning Che sat in the carriage, his left hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword. His dantian was brimming with magical power, quietly waiting to be mobilized at any moment.

Since Zhao He encountered some trouble on his way back, their return journey might not be peaceful.

Zhao He's concerns were not unfounded. It knew where he was, knew he was about to break through his current realm, and had even sent him a "gift" in advance. This indicated that it had been aware of the situation here through some means, including their current actions.

It's unpleasant to be stared at. Especially when it's something staring at Ning Che, something he doesn't even know what it looks like.

But at this point, all we can do is react passively.

The group slowly made their way along the mountain path. Ning Che quietly activated his Six Ears Listening to the Moon technique, but unexpectedly, after the breakthrough, the range of this technique was nearly a hundred meters. Countless taunts made him feel like his head was about to explode. He quickly adjusted the range again before he felt a little more comfortable.

Before dawn, a thick layer of gray fog shrouded the mountains and forests. The Zhong family's coachman, Old Li, a ninth-rank cultivator, was chatting with Zhao He.

"Thirty steps ahead, underground," Ning Che suddenly shouted.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the soil in front of him exploded with a deafening roar.

Using the mud as cover, three dark figures shot towards the group.

They moved extremely fast, leaving afterimages in the mist.

Old Li shouted, drew his long sword, and a sharp blade of light slashed towards the dark figure at the front.

"when!"

The sound of metal clashing together rang out.

Old Li grunted and took two steps back, horse and all.

The dark figure was shaken back and landed on the ground, revealing its true form.

They were three demonic creatures draped in tattered raincoats. They had no legs, their lower bodies were thick snake tails, but their upper bodies had torsos similar to humans, with unusually long arms, and they held pale white bone blades in their hands.

The bone blade gleamed with a ghostly green light, clearly indicating that it had been coated with a potent poison.

"A monstrous snake demon, or even half-human?" Old Li's face was grim. "How could such a thing exist in this desolate wilderness!"

The largest snake demon in the middle ignored Old Li. Its pair of inverted triangular vertical pupils were fixed on the carriage, meeting Ning Che's gaze as he poked his head out from inside.

Ning Che remained expressionless, and the Moon Rabbit Breathing Technique was already in operation.

"hiss--"

The three snake demons opened their mouths at the same time, spewing out a large cloud of pale green poisonous mist.

The poisonous fog instantly merged with the surrounding gray fog and swept towards the team.

Plants exposed to the toxic fumes quickly wither and turn yellow or black.

"Hold your breath!" Old Li roared, tearing off a strip of cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

Zhao He quickly did as instructed.

Ning Che leaped out of the carriage window, performed a clean backflip, and landed steadily.

He watched the swirling poisonous mist approach and placed his right hand on the hilt of the Crescent Moon Blade.

Draw your sword.

Clang!

The clear, resonant sound of a blade shattered the oppressive silence.

A chilling aura erupted from Ning Che's body.

The Yin energy was poured into the Crescent Moon Blade without reservation. The originally dark blade was now covered with a layer of ethereal blue frost.

Great Snow Knife Technique.

Ning Che slashed down with his sword.

There was no dazzling glint of blades, only a chilling aura visible to the naked eye.

A cold front crashed into the toxic fog.

The deadly poison, capable of instantly corroding even vegetation, was frozen into tiny ice crystals the moment it came into contact with the cold air.

Ice crystals fluttered down, hitting the soil with a soft, crisp sound.

One strike breaks the spell.