Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Lu Qian only came to his senses when the formation was triggered again. He saw several empty porcelain bottles beside him, scratched his head, and hurried down to greet the guests.

It was Mu Xue who arrived. She had changed into a black dress, her figure was slender and her features were exquisite. Like a rare orchid in a secluded valley, her presence made this ordinary cave dwelling shine.

However, upon seeing Lu Qian, Mu Xue frowned, cast a purification spell to dispel the surrounding odor, and then spoke, "What did you do? Why does it smell so bad?"

Lu Qian then realized that he hadn't even washed himself after expelling the poison from the pill before rushing downstairs. It seemed he would have to be more careful in the future.

That wasn't all. Mu Xue conjured a water mirror and placed it in front of Lu Qian. The person in the mirror had dry, yellow hair, bloodshot eyes, and a haggard face. He didn't look well at all.

Before Lu Qian could say anything, Mu Xue suddenly conjured up a large water sphere, the water inside seemingly still rotating. She gave Lu Qian a look, signaling him to jump in.

Although somewhat reluctant, Lu Qian obediently went inside. The water inside churned rapidly, washing him clean, and the water gradually became murky.

When Lu Qian felt it was time to come out, he was still dry, without a trace of moisture.

At this moment, Mu Xue manipulated the water flow to make it smaller and smaller, eventually shrinking it into a tiny water droplet, which she then threw outside the cave.

"What exactly happened?"

Mu Xue asked, somewhat amused and exasperated, "How did you become like this?"

"Your magical abilities seem to have improved a lot."

Lu Qian, having fought alongside Mu Xue, quickly realized this and replied, "I've only been busy cultivating these past few days; nothing else has happened."

Having frantically refined pills, Lu Qian's cultivation level was also advancing by leaps and bounds. He felt that this would at least save him a month from breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Although a month may not seem like much, Lu Qian can continue refining pills in the future.

As long as there are no problems in this process, Lu Qian can rapidly increase his cultivation level by taking pills, which is more important than anything else.

As for Mu Xue's demonstrated control over magic, Lu Qian immediately realized that she must have been practicing the Heart Demon Manual for some time.

The Heart Demon Manual essentially cultivates divine thought, which can be divided into countless divine thoughts, naturally enhancing the ability to control spells.

If Mu Xue were to go to the Tower of Ten Thousand Laws now, she would definitely perform better than before. Even the same spells would have greater power in her hands.

Mu Xue didn't continue with the pleasantries, frowning as she asked, "I heard from my brother that you asked him for a lot of pills, and you just smelled strongly of medicine on you. You should know that refining too many pills can accumulate toxins, right?"

Lu Qian nodded and found a seat. "Of course I know, but I have a special method to neutralize the poison. I can't tell you the specifics. You just need to know that I have three spiritual roots and care about this even more than you do. I would never joke about my future path."

Despite Lu Qian's words, Mu Xue didn't seem to agree, pouting as she said, "You've probably forgotten how slovenly you were just now. You can't even tidy yourself up, how can I be at ease?"

Helpless, Lu Qian could only say, "Don't forget, you still have to call me Brother Lu. Is this how you talk to your elder brother?"

"You're not that much older than me!"

Mu Xue immediately retorted, but her face turned slightly red. She quickly took out a soundproof talisman and activated it before changing the subject, saying, "I've been inquiring about Yun Shanchuan these past few days. He himself isn't too difficult to deal with. Although he has a special physique called the Divine Body, it doesn't help much in battle. Moreover, he's a loner and rarely interacts with others. But his master is no simple character."

When it came to serious matters, Lu Qian became a bit more earnest. "Is his master very powerful?"

"His master was also a genius, named Yun Jianshen. He was a formation cultivator, but he could also refine weapons. He was known as a master of both formations and weapons, which was somewhat similar to his mastery of both pills and formations."

Mu Xue showed a slightly disdainful expression, "However, to be honest, his master's talent is far inferior to his. The so-called mastery of both array formations and artifacts is only good in array formations. His artifact crafting skills are only enough to repair war artifacts. He can't compare to a proper artifact crafter."

Lu Qian's expression turned serious. "If that's the case, his master must value him highly, right? And these two both have the surname Yun, could they be related by blood?"

Although Mu Xue commented that Yun Jianshen's weapon-refining skills were average, Lu Qian was someone who had truly seen war artifacts and was able to repair them. This level of skill was definitely not average. It could not be compared with a proper weapon refiner, but it could only be said that everyone has their own expertise. It did not prove that Yun Jianshen was really not skilled.

"They have no blood relation. The reason they have the surname Yun is simply because they were orphans and were adopted by Yunxiao Palace. Who knows what the people in Yunxiao Palace are thinking? They're always doing strange things."

As a true member of the Holy Land, Mu Xue already harbored some prejudice against Yunxiao Palace. Now that she had made an enemy in Yunxiao Palace, she naturally had nothing nice to say.

"However, even without blood ties, Yun Jianshen treats him better than his own son! Yun Jianshen was also a genius of the Holy Land and a Nascent Soul seed back then, but after he lost an arm, his path to cultivation became hopeless. He began to focus on nurturing Yun Shanchuan, treating him like a precious gem."

"When Yun Shanchuan first learned the Dao of Arrays, he wanted to get involved in the Dao of Alchemy. Many people objected, but Yun Jianshen specially found his alchemist friend Su Ningxiang to teach him the Dao of Alchemy. Yun Jianshen has a special physique and is valued by the Holy Land, but his cultivation level is not very high, which is also partly due to his distraction from the Dao of Alchemy."

Lu Qian was somewhat speechless, and asked, "So, he also has a master alchemist?"

Mu Xue smiled and shook her head. "Su Ningxiang only taught Yun Shanchuan because she valued Yun Jianshen's personal relationship with her. Whether she truly cared for him is another matter. So, we only need to consider Yun Jianshen. He made significant contributions controlling the war artifacts back then, and he has many friends. Most importantly, he's extremely protective of his own!"

"If something happens to Yun Shanchuan, Yun Jianshen will likely keep pestering him, and might even disregard the Holy Land's punishment and take drastic action! However, neither you nor I need to worry. If he dares to do that, it's tantamount to betraying the sect. If he uses underhanded means to suppress us, it won't work. My ancestor and Elder Tao are not to be trifled with."

"Most importantly, the Holy Land will not let him run rampant! Between a Golden Core elder whose path to enlightenment has been severed and a brilliant genius who has performed exceptionally well, the Holy Land can easily make a choice! Even if the matter of dealing with Yun Shanchuan is exposed, as long as we are still alive, I believe no outsider will go to great lengths for a dead genius!"

In her words, Mu Xue already regarded Yun Shanchuan as a dead man.

Even though Lu Qian knew that Yun Shanchuan's master was somewhat protective of his own, he had no intention of backing down. From the moment Yun Shanchuan came to his door, there was only one choice left, and no other possibility.

No matter how powerful Yun Jianshen is, he can't be more powerful than the entire Holy Land. Once Lu Qian and Mu Xue's affair is exposed, they will likely face punishment from the Holy Land. It's easy to tell which is more serious.

However, the two were mainly concerned about the consequences of dealing with Yun Shanchuan. As for Yun Shanchuan himself, he was just a genius who was obsessed with alchemy and array formation and wasted his talent.

The Holy Land is never short of geniuses, and Yun Shanchuan is a loner, making it difficult for him to find others to help him. His Divine Body has some amazing aspects, but it is difficult to show them in battle.

The two men's conversation was rather superficial.

Before they actually headed to the Western Continent, there was little they could do; all their plans had to wait until then to be realized.

Before that, it was just theoretical talk and didn't mean much.

After a brief discussion, Mu Xue put down a storage bag and chose to leave.

Lu Qian stood still for a long time.

He suddenly sighed softly, "Why force me?"

If possible, Lu Qian would not want to get involved in any disputes.

Unfortunately, the world of cultivation is always full of troubles and conflicts, never leaving anyone room to back down.

This is true in the Canghai Sect, and it is also true in the Holy Land.

Lu Qian originally thought that the Holy Land was rich in resources and there shouldn't be much infighting, but at that time he hadn't truly integrated into the Holy Land and was just an outsider.

Only after Lu Qian truly befriended the disciples of the Holy Land did he realize how superficial his original thoughts were. The disciples of the Holy Land were not all-encompassing, and human greed is never satisfied.

For fame and fortune, for those precious resources, the disciples of the Holy Land will also compete, only the things that catch their eye and the benefits that they value are several levels higher than those of the Canghai Sect.

Apart from that, it's no different from the Canghai Sect.

"That's human nature; it's something you can never avoid!"

Lu Qian was too lazy to think too much. He would deal with whatever came his way; that was all he could do.

The path to immortality is within his grasp; he cannot give it up. He can only throw himself into this mortal world and fight for a future!

There were more than a dozen bottles of Peiyuan Pills in the storage bag.

Although the disciples of the Holy Land try to reduce the frequency of taking pills, they still do take them, but not all of them. It is already quite remarkable that Mu Dong and Mu Xue were able to find these pills.

In other words, they came from good families and didn't need to sell these useless pills; otherwise, they might not have been able to stay.

"This should be enough for my cultivation before I go to the Western Continent. As for the rest, I'll figure out what to do with it once I get there!"

Lu Qian immediately went into seclusion again, this time to refine the pills. He felt he was getting closer and closer to the fifth level of Qi Refining, and with enough pills, he should be able to break through soon.

However, two days later, when there were only eight bottles of pills left, Lu Qian was forced to come out of seclusion. At this time, he felt like he had nowhere to release his energy, and every part of his body felt like it was full. Even when he swallowed pills to refine them, he felt like he couldn't absorb the medicinal power.

He understood in his heart, "It seems that even the Undying Star Body has its limits, and so does my body. Ultimately, I cannot truly refine pills without limit. It seems I need to digest them for a while before I can continue!"

Simply clearing erysipelas only removes the hidden dangers of taking large amounts of pills; it doesn't mean that those pills will have no effect after being ingested.

Lu Qian's meridians could withstand it, but his body couldn't. It was like a person who had eaten too much at once. Even if the food he ate wasn't poisonous and was very nutritious, he was still too full and couldn't continue eating. He needed to digest it first.

"I always have this urge to fight, a feeling of restless energy coursing through my body!"

He understood somewhat why cultivators would choose to fight when they encountered a bottleneck, because only through fighting could they truly develop their body's potential and digest what they had gained from cultivation.