Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Xia planned to take advantage of the miraculous phenomenon of the giant snake swallowing and spitting out moonlight tonight to thoroughly cleanse the magical power within her body, and also let the newly cultivated spiritual field bathe in the nourishment of moonlight. After all this was accomplished, she would set off to return to the city early tomorrow morning.

Of course, during this period, in his spare time, he also refined another batch of regular Qi Gathering Pills. In addition, he also drew more than a dozen low-level talismans such as "Dust-Avoiding Talisman", "Fireball Talisman", and "Lightness Talisman".

The scraps of the giant snake's molted skin hadn't been used to make talismans in summer and winter.

He planned to use the talisman seed to create a more powerful talisman after it condensed, as his trump card for survival.

Night fell again, and the mountains and forests were silent.

Xia Dong took out two Profound Yin Gathering Qi Pills and handed them to the giant snake beside him. The giant snake put the pills in its mouth but did not swallow them immediately.

Just like last time, it lay dormant until the moon climbed to the center of the night sky before flicking out its tongue and beginning a new round of swallowing and exhaling moonlight.

Having learned from the previous experience, the giant serpent was much more skilled at inhaling and exhaling the moonlight this time.

Not only that, but Xia Dong's cooperation on the sidelines was also more seamless.

A man and a snake, one still and one in motion, Xia Dong struck a crane-shaped pose, and with the rise and fall of the snake's breath, they subtly created a wondrous artistic conception of "snake and crane in pairs".

At this moment, a surprising scene happened.

Above the spiritual field that Xia Dong had just cultivated, there was originally a thin layer of spiritual mist floating on it.

At this moment, these spiritual mists seemed to be summoned by some powerful force, and were all drawn towards the unformed demon core that the giant snake had spat out.

White spiritual mist rapidly gathered, swirling around the giant serpent's massive body, eventually condensing into a pair of thin spiritual mist wings on either side. With a gentle flap of these "mist wings," the giant serpent's enormous, heavy body lifted off the ground and slowly rose into the air!

"This is... riding the mist!" Xia Dong was suddenly startled, and the legends he had seen immediately came to mind. Strange beasts often had innate supernatural abilities.

Using its supernatural ability to ride the mist, the giant serpent hovered in mid-air. As a result, the moonlight it drew down resembled a silver waterfall, much richer than before.

Moonlight, accompanied by spiritual energy, poured down from the sky. Xia Dong bathed in it, and the Xuan Yin magic power within his body was as if it were being washed by a clear spring, undergoing another deep cleansing and becoming even purer and more solid.

Moreover, under the nourishment of the moonlight, the kidney water palace within his body seemed to have been reinforced.

As Xia Dong absorbed the moonlight, a sudden inspiration flashed through his mind.

He suddenly realized that the Xuan Yin Scripture's effects were so astonishing because of the giant snake's assistance. Could it be that the founding patriarch of the Xuan Yin Sect was able to become the sect's leader because he kept a black water snake by his side to aid his cultivation?

It seems that the connection between the Xuan Yin Scripture and the Black Water Serpent is far deeper than recorded on the jade slip.

Xia Dong then thought of himself. He was completely different from the ordinary Xuan Yin Sect disciples.

Those demonic cultivators, in their pursuit of rapid advancement, often use the demonic arts within the Profound Yin Scripture to harm others, devouring the essence of others' blood and qi to increase their cultivation, or using the Profound Yin Refining Divine Technique to devour yin spirits to strengthen their divine consciousness.

But Xia Dong had never done any of these things.

For this reason, his profound Yin magic power and divine consciousness were not only free of any resentment or bloodshed, but were also exceptionally clear and pure.

Upon closer examination, the "Mysterious Yin Scripture" may, in essence, be a righteous and orthodox cultivation method that directly points to the Great Dao.

However, later generations of practitioners were corrupt and went astray in their pursuit of shortcuts and quick results, which led them to distort the practice of the Xuan Yin Scripture, causing it to be seen as a demonic art by the righteous path.

The night of meditation passed quickly.

As dawn broke, Xia Dong relived the scene from the previous night and became absolutely certain that the Great Serpent's awakened innate divine power was indeed "riding the mist."

With this supernatural power, the giant serpent can now not only fly at low altitudes.

Xia Dong secretly guessed that "riding the fog" might have other wonderful uses, such as combining its own toxicity to form a deadly poisonous miasma around the body, which would definitely be a major killing move.

"The bloodline of this Blackwater Serpent is indeed extraordinary," Xia Dong thought to himself as he looked at the giant serpent.

Although Brother Snake is only at the late stage of Qi Refining, with its powerful innate abilities and a physical body that is no weaker than that of a Martial Dao Transcendent Realm cultivator, even ordinary human Foundation Establishment cultivators would be unable to defeat it.

Or rather, even if one wanted to deal with it, one would have to pay an extremely heavy price.

This also made Xia Dong more clearly realize a fact: without the help of external objects, human cultivators would indeed find it difficult to fight against demonic beasts of the same level head-on, relying solely on their own combat strength.

Therefore, the higher the level of a cultivator, the more they need to find powerful treasures to protect themselves.

On the other side, looking at the spiritual field brimming with spiritual energy before him, Xia Dong nodded in satisfaction. This auspicious land had finally been completely developed.

If it were an ordinary rogue cultivator, they would be on tenterhooks if they were to cultivate spiritual fields in these deep mountains and forests, fearing that some petty thief would seize their nest, or that their hard work would be wasted by wild boars or spirit birds in the mountains.

But Xia Dong doesn't have this problem. With the Great Serpent, a late-stage Qi Refining overlord, entrenched here, who would dare to cause trouble!

In addition, once spiritual creatures are planted in a spiritual field, it often attracts some spiritual insects and rats that have grown to a certain size. These small animals spend their days in the mountains eating wild fruits imbued with spiritual energy, and their bodies contain spiritual power.

But to the giant snake, these insects and rats that came to cause trouble were simply a delicious meal delivered to its doorstep.

Xia Dong carefully instructed the giant snake on all matters concerning the care of the spirit field, and the giant snake lazily flicked its tongue in agreement.

After making the arrangements, Xia Dong made a hand seal, and a gentle breeze suddenly rose around him. He then used his Wind Riding Technique to soar into the air and disappear.

During this period, Xia Dong used the giant snake as a sparring partner. Under the pressure of life and death, the practical application of the Crane Shadow Step underwent a qualitative transformation.

This extreme control over airflow changes and movement techniques subtly influenced the cultivation of the Wind Control Technique.

As Xia Dong sped through the air, he could clearly feel that his Wind Control Technique was not far from reaching true "perfection".

What surprised and delighted him even more was that, as his understanding of the spirit of wind deepened, he had a strong intuition: beyond perfection, the Wind Control Technique truly possessed a "limit-breaking" aspect. He wondered what kind of earth-shattering mysteries this breakthrough in a basic spell would bring.

As summer and winter approached, a sense of anticipation rose in their hearts.

Using the Wind-Riding Technique to travel, Xia Dong returned to Pingyang County in no time and went straight to the Hundred Household Office to find Zhao Ting.

After exchanging pleasantries and taking their seats, Xia Dong cut to the chase and said directly that he wanted to get some low-grade spiritual herbs and spiritual rice seeds.

"Spiritual herbs and grain seeds?" Zhao Ting frowned slightly upon hearing this, his face showing difficulty. "Brother Xia, these things are not easy to obtain. The higher-ups have always maintained extremely strict control over these kinds of cultivation resources, and they are not easily allowed to leak out."

However, after learning that Xia Dong's demand was not large and that he just wanted to get a little to test the waters, Zhao Ting did not refuse outright. He stroked his chin and pondered, "If it were a large quantity, I really wouldn't dare to guarantee it. But for this little bit... it's not impossible. It's not easy to handle accounts within the Eagle Wolf Guard, but I can secretly spare a little from the caravans and channels under my Zhao family's name."

Xia Dong was naturally pleased to see that Zhao Ting indeed had connections, and thanked him repeatedly.

Before he came, he had planned that if Zhao Ting couldn't handle it, he would have to go to the He family for help.

Although the He family is a major local medicinal herb merchant, they mainly deal in martial arts medicinal herbs. They ultimately lack the resources to deal with matters related to the cultivation world.

But precisely because of this, the He family has no backing in the cultivation world, and will inevitably need to rely on Xia Dong's strength even more urgently in the future, so they will naturally work harder to help Xia Dong.

Having finalized the seed arrangement, Xia Dong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then casually asked, "Brother, you're well-informed. Do you know of a place called the 'Yinling Mine' under the Qixia Immortal Sect?"

Zhao Ting was initially surprised, then his expression showed realization. After all, Xia Dong and the Qixia Immortal Sect had some unclear entanglements, so it wasn't surprising that he knew about this.

"I know, I do. Our Eagle Wolf Guard and Qixia Immortal Sect have always cooperated on mining," Zhao Ting smacked his lips and shook his head. "But the Yin Spirit Mine is the harshest and most difficult place of all the mines. The Yin energy inside is extremely heavy, and the higher-ups have absolutely no interest in it, even shirking their duties as garrison commanders. Why are you suddenly asking about this, brother?"

Xia Dong sighed softly, a hint of worry on his face: "To be honest, brother, I have a... a good friend of a good friend, a cultivator from the Qixia Immortal Sect. Recently, for some reason, he was sent to do hard labor at the Yinling Mine. I was thinking that the conditions there are tough, so I was wondering if I could find a reason to send some supplies over to offer some support and help."

Zhao Ting clicked his tongue twice with deep sympathy, "Your friend's friend is really unlucky. That wretched place, a pure Yin energy zone, is too harsh for us cultivators. If we're not careful, the evil energy will enter our bodies and delay our path to immortality."

Xia Dong: "So I plan to go there myself to provide support. Brother, could you perhaps coordinate with the garrison to issue me an official document for my official business at the Yinling Mine?"

Xia Dong's plan was clear: as long as he could enter openly under the guise of being an official member of the Eagle Wolf Guard, and with Qin Wan inside to assist him, he could easily conduct his private business deep in the mine without anyone noticing.

Zhao Ting was taken aback when he saw Xia Dong go to such lengths to visit a desolate place that even dogs wouldn't bother with. Then, his old eyes darted around, and after staring at Xia Dong for a while, he suddenly leaned forward, winking and whispering with a chuckle, "Brother, tell me the truth, this 'friend of a friend' you went to visit despite the dangers... could she be a female cultivator?"

Xia Dong's thoughts were seen through, so he coughed strategically, touched his nose, and vaguely acquiesced.

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Ting laughed knowingly at the sight, slapping Xia Dong on the shoulder. "Got it. I totally understand, brother. Even heroes have their weaknesses when it comes to beautiful women! Don't worry, little brother, I'll handle this perfectly for you!"

Xia Dong smiled, cupped his hands in thanks repeatedly, and then left behind a package containing cultivation supplies.

Xia Dong was in a great mood after leaving Zhao Ting's place.

The next plan was crystal clear: once he had the seeds of the spirit herbs and spirit grains, he would plant them and then use the name of the garrison to go to the Yin Spirit Mine. With Qin Wan's cooperation, he could secretly condense the talisman seeds and should be very confident.