When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

"Senior! Impressive! May I ask if you are still looking for an adopted son?"

"Wow! I can actually join the Zhang family! That's a family of cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining!"

"Why am I not so lucky?"

Aside from the cheers and envy, several cultivators exchanged glances and silently memorized Song Chen's appearance.

A group of envious and jealous eyes were cast over Song Chen.

Unmoved.

The reactions of others are meaningless and need not be paid any attention to; it is his current situation that he needs to think about carefully.

Song Chen's mind was churning with thoughts that flashed like lightning.

I feel dizzy and lightheaded.

The true meaning behind those words is hard to find, so don't look back.

What is the true status of Blood Spirit Root in the eyes of righteous cultivators? A calamity? An omen of misfortune? Or perhaps a symbol of demonic cultivation?

What is the basis for this?

The incredible speed of improvement from the Blood Bath?

The speed at which blood baths can elevate one's cultivation is indeed astonishing, but Song Chen does not believe that this can be regarded as a symbol of the demonic path.

after all.

The cultivation speed of a Heavenly Spiritual Root is definitely much faster than that of Blood Bath.

We can't just condemn Song Chen to death based on his cultivation speed alone, can we?

"There must be other reasons, perhaps related to the refining method of the Blood Spirit Root?"

However, Blood Spirit Root is not Blood Soul Pill; it only requires four corpses with remnants of Blood Spirit Root to refine.

That already shows a great deal of human compassion.

They didn't use living people, they used corpses, what more do they want?

Compared to those truly wicked and heretical practices that involve tearing out tendons and bones, the refining of blood spirit roots is truly the righteous path.

"If that's the case, it can only mean one thing: the Blood Spirit Root may have other uses, and these uses are very attractive to Qi Refining Peak cultivators."

What do peak Qi Refining cultivators want?

Foundation building and hard power.

These were the only two things Song Chen could think of.

The peak of Qi Refining Realm has another name—the Pseudo-Foundation Realm. In the classification of the cultivation system, it is located between the Qi Refining Realm and the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Cultivators at this level are only interested in Foundation Establishment and their own raw strength.

"Foundation Building..."

Song Chen frowned.

If the Blood Spirit Root is related to Foundation Establishment, then that would be terrible.

This means he will stand in opposition to all cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining, hiding all day long, never seeing the light of day until he reaches the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Why is it the eighth level of Qi Refining?

The effective cultivation range of the Qi Concealing Technique is exactly three levels.

Only then will Song Chen have the freedom to go out. As for now...

The image of Mo Huishou flashed through Song Chen's mind, his Adam's apple bobbed, and a hint of fear flickered in his eyes.

Run! We have to run!

Song Chen vanished from the spot and left this place of trouble without saying a word.

Battle Zone.

Mo glanced sideways, thinking to himself, "Ran away? Not bad, huh!"

His eyes darted around and then looked at the cultivator on the dueling platform who was challenging the puppet at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

The condition for advancing in the combat is to defeat the puppet.

The only drawback of puppets compared to cultivators is their slow movement; otherwise, they are no different.

This puppet possesses three high-grade spells, each corresponding to offense, defense, and movement, making it quite versatile. Even without magical artifacts, it is a formidable opponent.

boom!

The cultivator flew off the dueling platform, his body making intimate contact with the wall of a building.

......

No. 17, South Alley.

The huge hole at the entrance was still there, but there was a perfectly intact road in the corner, so Song Chen ran into the house along this road.

He frantically packed things away; he took what he could carry and burned what he couldn't.

Then, he summoned the Sky-Piercing Boat, stepped onto it, and immediately infused it with spiritual energy.

A rift in the void appeared.

"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment! There is something we need to discuss."

Three cultivators of unfathomable strength appeared at the door and immediately smashed the courtyard gate.

See here.

Song Chen's heart stopped, and cold sweat slid down his forehead, soaking his back in an instant.

A Qi Refining Peak cultivator... noticed it so quickly?

He didn't turn around.

A thought arose.

Song Chen maneuvered the Void Boat into the void, then emerged from the void on the other side.

"Fellow Daoist..."

Several anxious voices came from the void behind them.

Song Chen ignored him and flew straight toward the nearest island.

It flew for a moment.

Song Chen realized something was wrong.

The Void-Transcending Boat is a magic artifact for the late stage of Qi Refining, and it cannot compare to the speed of a peak Qi Refining cultivator.

Running straight won't work.

Song Chen looked around.

A small island with a sharp peak, though not particularly spiritually rich, with a dense and boundless forest and a small rocky mountain in the middle, caught his attention.

"The spiritual energy is sparse, the demonic beasts are weak, it's clearly a secluded, godforsaken place, you're the one!"

To prevent their scent from being tracked.

Song Chen circled in front of the island for a moment before plunging into the forest.

As soon as you enter the forest, a refreshing scent greets you.

Song Chen flew deep into the forest, put away the flying boat, and switched to walking.

In a forest where spiritual energy is scarce, the fluctuations in spiritual energy caused by the flying boat are extremely conspicuous, so it's better to keep a low profile.

The woods were quiet, with a wild rabbit occasionally darting by.

Song Chen walked at a moderate pace, searching for a propitious place to shelter from the wind and rain.

He will likely stay here for the next few days to avoid the limelight.

"If there's really nothing else, we'll just have to make do in the woods."

Song Chen shook his head with a wry smile.

After walking a few more steps, at the junction of the forest and the rocky mountain, there was a hidden cave.

Song Chen briefly explored the interior; it was very spacious and there was no sign of wild animals.

Wild and unclaimed.

Song Chen smirked: "Haven't you heard that there's always a way out?"

He immediately retreated into the cave and pasted a luminous talisman on the wall, instantly filling the cave with light.

Then, Song Chen closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, took out a Spirit Gathering Pill from his storage bag, and began to cultivate, his consciousness sinking into his dantian.

They dared not use blood baths, fearing the smell of blood would spread, nor did they dare use mid-grade spirit stones, fearing the fluctuations of spiritual energy would be detected.

The cultivation technique Song Chen was using was still the mid-grade "Three Thousand Crimson Fire Technique".

Feng Sancai has a high-grade cultivation technique in his storage bag, but he hasn't been able to fully learn it yet.

It can be forced to work.

However, forcibly stimulating such a massive amount of spiritual energy could lead to unforeseen consequences and potentially damage the meridians. It would be safer to use the old cultivation method.

The amount of spiritual liquid in the dantian slowly and steadily increases, gradually taking the shape of an ocean. When the ocean is fully covered, it will be the time to reach the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Their strength is growing little by little.

Song Chen sat there motionless, but he didn't find it boring. On the contrary, he found the feeling addictive and irresistible.

One cycle of the heavens is one hour.

After three cycles, the spiritual liquid in his dantian increased by one and a half drops, bringing him closer to breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

As night was about to fall, Song Chen opened his eyes, looked at the twilight on the horizon, and seemed lost in thought.

......

On the sea.

The three cultivators followed Song Chen's aura out of the city, but they were not fast and did not have the imposing presence of someone at the peak of Qi Refining.

"We're not demonic cultivators, why is he running away?"

"You broke down the door; if I were in your shoes, I would have run too."

"Stop talking, you've stopped breathing."

The long-faced man narrowed his eyes slightly and gave a reminder.

He continued to use his detection techniques and was astonished to find that Song Chen's aura was circling on the surface of the sea, with no exit.

This clearly doesn't conform to the normal logic of a cultivator fleeing.

Are we being deliberately wary?

"It's broken? How is that possible? Wasn't he a Qi Refining Level 6 cultivator? And wasn't the flying boat he was using a mid-grade one?"

"Looks like he's another cultivator with a significant background."

The long-faced man's investigation continued.

Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, his gaze fixed on the lush, green island not far away. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he turned to the two of them, saying:

"I don't know, the breath has definitely stopped."

"...This time, we can't find anyone."

"Let's do it next time, everyone go home first."

The other two nodded in agreement and immediately scattered, steer their flying boats toward different islands.

The long-faced man watched as the two figures completely disappeared into the horizon, then summoned a flying boat and flew towards the island.

On the island, Song Chen's presence was weak yet palpable.

The long-faced man was right.

Although Song Chen's aura at sea was chaotic and cyclical, a very faint part still pointed to this small island.

For a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining to be so cautious, he must either possess a priceless treasure or have a secret.

He licked his lips, his eyes revealing undisguised greed.

They were originally members of the Lower Sword Sect Alliance, and they approached Song Chen hoping to win him over.

But now... the situation has changed.