Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

"Meteor? Black Kill Pavilion?"

Lu Chen wrapped himself up tightly with energy, hiding by a wall, listening to the conversation between Qingzhu and the other two in the alley, seemingly lost in thought.

"I really have a deep connection with the Black Killing Pavilion!" Lu Chen shook his head and quietly followed.

Ever since Yang Ce inexplicably discovered his whereabouts, he has been extra careful about how well he hides himself. He pays attention not only to the sounds of blood flowing, heartbeat, and breathing, but also to his own scent, fearing that someone might discover him through these things.

So he came up with the idea of ​​enveloping his entire body in energy.

It is indeed very effective.

He has not yet developed even 1% of his ability to utilize this energy.

They followed quietly for a distance of about a hundred meters, and the road was full of people, so they had no idea that someone was following them. They arrived at a quiet temple.

There was no signboard; it was quite ordinary, just a high wall.

After they knocked on the door, someone came out to greet them.

Lu Chen simply noted down the address, then circled the area twice to familiarize himself with the surrounding environment and terrain before turning back to the inn.

Hu Bufan hasn't returned yet; he's busy settling the children.

He didn't waste any time. After saying a word to one of Hu Bufan's attendants, he returned to his room and began to cultivate.

That meteor possessed the strength of a fully-developed innate master, far surpassing Yang Ce and Qing Zhu. If he were truly summoned to deal with me, even with the added power of energy, I might not be able to escape.

"Perfect timing! The child has been rescued, so they won't be able to refine pills so quickly. Let's take this opportunity to intensify our cultivation!"

Lu Chen's mind was clear, and he quickly fell into meditation.

A few wisps of golden light appeared and disappeared, barely noticeable under the sunlight, gradually disappearing into Lu Chen's body as his chest rose and fell.

Lu Chen looked inward at himself and saw five threads of energy slowly rotating in his dantian.

The mist-like specks of light wandered in his dantian, circulating through the meridians, passing through the twelve regular meridians, the Ren and Du meridians, and then through the other six extraordinary meridians, finally returning to his dantian.

Another energy thread slowly took shape.

Over the past few days, his proficiency has increased significantly, and it only takes him two hours to condense a single energy thread.

"We have six now. Let's go all out and gather four more to make a total of ten. Let's see if we can unlock the entry!"

Lu Chen did not stop and continued cultivating.

The sun gradually set.

The moon rises.

At dawn the next day, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Lu Chen faced east.

A wisp of purple mist rose, and then, on the distant horizon, a golden line seemed to divide the sky in two. Immediately afterward, countless bolts of golden light poured out, the golden crow leaped up, and the clouds stretched for thousands of miles like a blazing fire, turning the mountains and rivers into a golden glow.

Within Lu Chen's body, a faint purple light seeped into his limbs and bones.

[The system detected that the host was repeatedly breathing and refining the energy of heaven and earth, generating a new entry.]

[Breathing Techniques (Beginner)]

Before Lu Chen could react, another notification sounded.

[A potential fusion of breathing techniques with visualization, meditation, reverse abdominal breathing, abdominal breathing, and guided breathing techniques was detected. Should it be fused?]

A bright smile appeared on his face.

finally come!

"Yes! Merge!"

Breathing Techniques + Visualization + Meditation + Breathing Methods + Breathing Guidance Techniques → Qi Cultivation (Beginner Level 50%)

[Effects: Observe the shapes of the sun and moon, absorb their essence, and gather the pure energy of heaven and earth to replenish your own vital energy. In the morning, consume the essence of the sun; in the evening, consume the radiance of the moon. Those who consume it will live long; those who practice it will become immortals.]

Luck value -100.

"Damn, my luck stat dropped by 100 points? Luckily I've earned quite a bit recently, otherwise I wouldn't be able to fuse it!"

Lu Chen felt somewhat fortunate.

"Qi cultivation? Give me some points!"

He had been eagerly anticipating it for a long time.

Qi Refining Technique (Minor Success 1%)

Life value -5000.

Almost instantly, he felt a fullness coming from his dantian.

A vast amount of golden energy emanated from the void. Outside, the sun had just risen, and countless invisible golden rays surrounded Lu Chen, flowing in through every pore and being inhaled through his mouth and nose, nourishing every inch of his skin, bones, muscles, and blood.

The fiery sensation spread throughout my body, as if every cell was being scorched by the sun's true fire, yet it caused no damage. Instead, it was tempering the impurities in my body, burning away all the impurities and waste.

Lu Chen exhaled breaths of stale air, which were then dispersed without a trace by the wind.

His physique was slowly getting stronger, his body seemed to grow larger as if he were inflating, his muscles bulged, his body became taller and stronger, and his bones became thicker and harder. Then he slowly shrank and condensed, repeating this process until it finally settled.

The heat within Lu Chen's body gradually subsided. In his dantian, 1000 silk threads, like intertwined threads of fate, shone with golden light and swam freely in the dantian pool like a fish.

"Am I... born with this condition?"

Lu Chen didn't know.

He has completely embarked on a different path, a completely different road.

Spread your fingers wide, then clench them tightly.

"Bang!"

The air seemed to explode from his grip.

"Without anything to measure strength, I have no idea how strong I am right now!"

Lu Chen just felt that his strength was probably no less than 200,000 jin!

He believes it has increased at least fivefold compared to before!

He stood up, his muscular body exposed to the air.

He was already 1.8 meters tall with a large frame, but his muscles did not look exaggerated or ugly. He had a thick head of black hair, fair skin, a handsome face, bright eyes, and a dignified and elegant appearance.

The turbid air and impurities in the body are cleansed and burned off, like a cleansing of the marrow and bones, making the body feel much lighter and more agile, as if an invisible burden has been lifted.

"When you first start, you have 10 strands of energy. A minor achievement requires 1000 strands. So how many strands would a major achievement require? It takes 5000 points to progress from 50% to 1% of minor achievement. A normal upgrade would take 1 points. How many life points would it take to reach perfection?"

Lu Chen felt that his life points were running out again!

"I still need Qingzhu and the others to be my power banks!"

Lu Chen remembered the Black Killing Pavilion's headquarters.

He hadn't originally intended to cause trouble for the Black Killing Pavilion.

But as luck would have it, Qingzhu came knocking on his door, demanding money to buy his life.

To make matters worse, Lu Chen overheard their plan and found out about it.

"Since we're all acting on behalf of Heaven, and Confucius's profound saying 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening' is not to be disobeyed!"

Lu Chen got dressed and went to Hu Bufan's door to knock.

"Old Hu, time to get up!"

After a while, Hu Bufan rubbed his eyes and opened the door, letting Lu Chen in: "I wanted to look for you yesterday, but you stayed inside and didn't come out, so I didn't bother you."

"I'm currently cultivating. Did you find the message I asked your subordinate to deliver yesterday? What are the residences of the abbot of the Sanyuan Temple?"

"I've looked, these are all of them." Hu Bufan took out a piece of paper with several addresses written on it.

Lu Chen glanced at it, folded the paper and put it away, then asked, "How are the children?"

"Sigh!" Hu Bufan sighed. "Some of the children are very young and don't remember anything yet. They don't know where they live. Most of them are children from the counties under Shanyang Prefecture. I will take care of these."

He looked at Lu Chen and felt that this kid seemed a little different.

"Also, a fellow disciple of mine told me yesterday that the people you're dealing with have quite a background, and they're under a lot of pressure. They might not be able to help you anymore. Be careful from now on!"

Lu Chen nodded.

I didn't really have high hopes for them anyway.

In a prefecture like this, so many children go missing every year. They couldn't possibly be unaware of this. To tolerate people like Qingzhu for so many years, even if they're not complicit, they're certainly just holding positions without doing their jobs.

He had very low expectations of these people.

"Alright, you've already helped a lot with the child's matter. Don't get involved in the rest, lest you get caught in the crossfire."

"I can't help even if I wanted to. As the county magistrate, I can't be away from my post for long. I have to go back."

Hu Bufan shook his head.

"You're not getting a promotion this time, are you?" Lu Chen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This time, thanks to my mentor's help and the many things that have happened in the county lately, I was able to get promoted," Hu Bufan said, gesturing towards Lu Chen. "It's mainly thanks to you!"

"That has nothing to do with me!" Lu Chen waved his hand. "Alright, since you're leaving, I won't see you off. I have some things to take care of. Goodbye!"

After saying that, Lu Chen turned and left.