Cultivation: I can see the proficiency level

Just as Wang Mian had killed Bi Si, Bai Jiu Niang's figure soared into the sky. She broke the limbs of the monkey-faced cultivator, injured his spine, and then bound him several times with her demonic energy.

He was thrown down from a height of more than ten feet. His protective magic was smashed and rippled. He felt dizzy and in excruciating pain all over his body.

When he came to his senses, the sharp sword energy was already pressed against his neck. He felt a great terror as if his body was about to be torn apart. In the midst of the shock, the pain and dizziness were instantly cured.

"Fellow Daoist, spare my life! Fellow Daoist, spare my life! I am the sixth disciple of the White-Browed Old Mother of Maple Forest."

"I was forced to help them find you by coercion and threats from those three. I am willing to give everything I have to beg for your mercy and spare my life."

He was bent over, kowtowing repeatedly, utterly lacking any dignity, his mouth full of pleas for mercy.

When faced with death, cultivators are not much different from ordinary people, or even from ants. At the moment of death, they all want to live.

His appearance made Wang Mian curl his lip in disdain. He was so afraid of death! Wang Mian asked, "Fengxianglin, a disciple of the White-Browed Old Mother?"

Since she is a disciple of the White-Browed Old Mother, that's even better.

It's because he's been busy lately, either being killed or killing people, and hasn't been able to find time to investigate the situation in Maple Forest. He only knows that the White-Browed Old Mother is a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator.

Hou Cheng is currently a disciple of the White-Browed Old Mother, and coincidentally, the person in front of him is also a disciple of the White-Browed Old Mother, saving him the trouble of making a trip and allowing him to cultivate for a few more days.

"My master is none other than the White-Browed Old Mother of Maple Forest. I am honored by my master's favor and am doing some work for her, such as searching for spirits, objects, and people," the white-haired rat replied.

Wang Mian ignored the underlying meaning of his words, which implied a false claim. He wasn't particularly afraid of the White-Browed Old Mother's reputation; he couldn't defeat her at the sixth level of Qi Refining now, but things might change in time.

"Let me ask you, do you recognize Hou Cheng?" Wang Mian asked.

The white-haired rat nodded. As fellow disciples in the cave, they had spent several months together, so he was naturally familiar with Hou Cheng. He was surprised that Wang Mian also knew Hou Cheng.

So, are they enemies or friends?

Feeling the sharp sword energy at his neck, which seemed capable of severing his head with the slightest movement, the white-haired rat continued, "Fellow Daoist, although I don't know what grudge you have with Junior Brother Hou, he is now an important furnace for my master!"

This is the secret of the Maple Forest. Most of the disciples accepted by the White-Browed Old Mother are not disciples, but rather subordinates and furnaces.

Those with the ability to track and find traces, like him, are useful subordinates who are also taken as disciples. In addition, there is another type of disciple, who is a furnace or cauldron.

"A furnace?" Wang Mian murmured.

He knew very little about the White-Browed Old Mother. If this were true, then the Marquis's life was probably not very good either.

The white-haired rat nodded: "I was found by my master a few months ago. I just finished switching my cultivation techniques and now I'm considered a favorite of my master."

Hearing these confident words, Wang Mian believed them to some extent.

If that's the case, our earlier simplistic thinking will have to be overturned. After all, the White-Browed Old Mother possesses profound magical power, and with his and Bai Jiuniang's current cultivation levels, they cannot defeat her.

"Does that mean Hou Cheng only spends his time in the maple forest?" Wang Mian continued to ask.

The white-haired rat also deduced that Wang Mian and Junior Brother Hou clearly had a grudge, which was why he went to the trouble of inquiring about their whereabouts.

Clearly, he knew nothing about the maple forest.

"Junior Brother Hou lives in his cave, and henchmen like me are not often seen. Perhaps... Master will gain some freedom only after breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining, or perhaps he will die and his cultivation will dissipate," the white-haired rat replied.

There used to be several junior brothers and sisters who lived in the same maple forest, but they rarely saw each other. Hou Cheng is the same now; he has only met him and exchanged greetings with him.

These people are all the White-Browed Old Mother's precious darlings. If they talk too much or ask too many questions, they are likely to be scolded by the White-Browed Old Mother.

"Is the White-Browed Old Mother about to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining?" Wang Mian asked in surprise.

Each breakthrough in the Qi Refining Path brings significant benefits, just like how Wang Mian's mana in his dantian increased several times over each time he broke through.

When a major hurdle is overcome, such as breaking through three or four barriers in the early to mid-stages, or breaking through six or seven barriers in the mid-to-late stages, the difference can often reach nearly tenfold, resulting in a surge in combat power.

This is why cultivators at the first, second, and third levels of Qi Refining rarely fly, while mid-stage cultivators at the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels can fly – all due to the varying depths of their magical power.

On Mount Luopo, there are countless cultivators at the early stage of Qi Refining, one in a hundred at the middle stage, and one in ten thousand at the late stage.

"He's already at the limit of the sixth level of Qi Refining. Perhaps he only needs Junior Brother Hou's strong assistance to break through." The white-haired rat recalled the scene of Hou Cheng being favored: "That's why he is so favored by the master."

The White-Browed Old Mother's cultivation level had been stuck at the sixth level of Qi Refining for many years. The White-Haired Rat personally witnessed her taking in several disciples, all of whom she used as furnaces for cultivation.

Her once gloomy expression has recently been replaced by a smile.

"Fellow Daoist, have mercy! I have a young daughter at home. Please spare my life. I can act as a spy and help you find out about the situation in Maple Forest," the white-haired rat begged for.

He's been a dog for the White-Browed Old Mother for so many years because of his young daughter, he doesn't mind being a dog for someone else, as long as he can live.

Wang Mian did not agree.

After a moment's thought, he slashed the other man's neck with his longsword, and looked at the face that was filled with pleading, reluctance, longing, and resentment, and sighed softly.

"Fellow Daoist, I'm sorry. I can't rest easy until you die," Wang Mian said softly, sheathing his sword.

The demonic energy intertwined and gathered the corpse together. He put away several magical artifacts one by one and then took off the storage bag.

Bai Jiuniang breathed out demonic fire, burning several corpses. Before long, only ashes remained. Then she blew a demonic wind, scattering the ashes around the gap-toothed cave, where they gradually disappeared into the grass and bushes.

Thus, the ancestral feud with Zhou Shang and Bi Si, the long-standing humiliation and scheming by Luo Yi, and the revenge for being ambushed by that stranger fellow Daoist...

Report all of them!

In this battle, he relied entirely on the power of his sword energy. Despite the significant difference in cultivation level between himself and his opponent, he still lost several talismans and a Yin Thunder Seed that could severely injure someone at the fifth level of Qi cultivation.

Several fine cracks have appeared on the longsword he wields, and it will surely be unable to withstand any more intense combat.

After rummaging through several storage bags, Wang Mian found not a single spirit stone in Zhou Shang's and Bi Si's bags, only a few miscellaneous items, all clean as if they had been gnawed by mice, which made Wang Mian's face turn ashen with anger.

The martial arts techniques in Luopo Mountain are passed down orally, and even minor spells are rarely found in storage bags. It's no wonder that no disciple dares to accept them, given how poor they are.

Those two wasted several of his talismans; they truly deserve to die.

Wang Mian's face darkened further as he searched through the storage bag of the Fengxiang Forest cultivator. There were barely any spirit rice in the man's bag, let alone any talismans or pills.

There were only twenty spirit stones, packed in a purse embroidered with green bamboo. It's not hard to guess that they were the funds given by Luo Yi of the Green Bamboo Forest to help him find someone.

The mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator on this desolate mountain is actually not as wealthy as the two third-stage Qi Refining cultivators from the Bian family.

"The Cui Zhu Lin family is so wealthy and powerful, surely Luo Yi wouldn't be in such dire straits?" Wang Mian opened the last storage bag, examined it, and a smile appeared on his face.

Fifty or sixty spirit stones, a bottle of Qi-boosting pills, no talismans, a few spirit herbs, and two booklets.

They got quite a few spirit stones and some pills, so they broke even.

He took out a booklet and opened one of them. Inside the booklet were several ancient prescriptions, most of which were for treating erections that were not firm enough or that were firm but not long-lasting. Wang Mian burned them.

Another booklet also contains an ancient recipe, which details the proportions, processing methods, drying and extraction techniques, and the cooking temperature.

Its name is Soul-Tearing Ointment, which is specifically designed to poison the three souls of cultivators.

Those below the third level of Qi Refining will inevitably die from a soul-shattering explosion if they are hit; those below the sixth level of Qi Refining will suffer severe damage to their spirit and soul if they are hit; and those below the ninth level of Qi Refining will experience a chaotic state of their spirit and soul if they are hit.

"So this is what's in the jar." Such a vicious thing made Wang Mian glad that he still had a Yin Lei Zi left, and even more glad that he hadn't been stingy with his use of it.

After carefully placing the jar of Soul-Tearing Ointment in the corner of his storage bag and arranging the rest of his loot, Wang Mian took out the emerald green ruler magic weapon.

The ruler was less than an inch thick and more than three feet long; it resembled iron but was not iron, jade but was not jade, and wood but was not wood.

Wang Mian found the handle very comfortable to hold, so he spent some time refining the magic weapon and tried to absorb and release sword energy. The magic weapon was unharmed, but the large amount of energy consumed was a drawback.

With the mid-grade magic weapon and the sword's edge, the magic power in his dantian surged out and gradually depleted. Wang Mian was not sad but happy. Such a huge consumption was more conducive to his cyclical cultivation.

"Secluded cultivation!" Wang Mian turned and returned to the gap-toothed cave.

After giving both bottles of Qi-boosting pills to Bai Jiuniang, Wang Mian resumed his sword practice.

After putting away the two bottles of Qi-boosting pills, Bai Jiuniang looked at them for a moment, then went straight into the kitchen to light the stove, boil water to make tea, and sent it to Wang Mian. She then added firewood, washed rice, and steamed it.

It was busy washing, chopping, and cooking vegetables, occasionally wagging its bushy tail, looking quite happy.

After Wang Mian finished his cultivation, a soup of fatty fish, autumn vegetables, and spiritual rice were laid out on the stone table.