The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

That noon, Li Yi finished his physical training and thought that Zhang Junyi's overnight stays were getting longer and longer, and that dragging it on would always be a problem. Before any rumors spread, it was time to persuade her to go home.

He waited for Zhang Junyi to stop his cultivation, then tentatively asked:

"Junyi, you've been back in the city for over three days. Why don't I accompany you for a stroll around the city, and then we can go back to the mansion to visit your uncle and aunt?"

Zhang Junyi remained silent for a long time, making Li Yi uneasy. Fortunately, she was not angry and whispered:

"After killing Zhang Lingbao, I packed my bags and returned to Qishan the next day. I only visited my mother this time. I don't know how to face my father. I'm even more afraid that if I stay at Zhang's residence, he will catch me leaving work early."

It is only natural and human nature.

Li Yi's earlier unease stemmed from his awareness of the estrangement between her and her biological father, though he simply chose not to dwell on it.

Zhang Junyi's expression was calm, but she gripped her dress tightly with both hands, which made Li Yi's heart skip a beat.

"Then forget it—weren't you going to teach me a method for storing things? I happen to have some free time."

Zhang Junyi immediately smiled and replied "Okay," then used her water energy to probe the young man's meridians, guiding and explaining as she went:

"We cultivators naturally possess the ability to store things within our spiritual caves. We don't need any wondrous methods; we just need to let our spiritual energy come into contact with objects and find the feeling of storing them."

If Brother Yi has a spiritual cave nurturing an innate spiritual treasure, he can comprehend it even faster.

No sooner had Zhang Junyi finished speaking than Li Yi reached out and grabbed the wolf-hair brush, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The wolf-hair brush appeared in the Tongziliao acupoint, but was sensed by the Investiture of the Gods and thrown away to the Shangguan acupoint.

A thought struck Li Yi, and he flipped the brush over, smiling as he said, "Is that so?"

Zhang Junyi was already used to his quick wit and praised, "That's right. It took my daughter several hours to master the technique; she's definitely not as good as Yi-ge'er."

Li Yi was like someone who had acquired a new toy, and he was having a great time fiddling with all sorts of things in the room, from small items like calligraphy brushes to large items like eight-immortal tables. When it came to larger items, such as wardrobes and bed frames, he didn't know where to begin.

"Since the Qi Refining stage focuses on nourishing the spiritual acupoints, once one reaches a certain level of cultivation, will one be able to swallow mountains and seas?"

Zhang Junyi smiled faintly and said, "I haven't heard of it, but... it should be possible."

Li Yi exclaimed in surprise, "Is there such a thing as dual cultivation of qi and blood in this world?"

"Of course, predecessors have tried it." Zhang Junyi said with certainty.

"I've never heard of any Foundation Establishment senior who cultivates both Qi and Qi."

I reckon he either died before reaching the Qi Refining stage, or he decided halfway through his cultivation to choose either Qi or Body Refinement, thus managing to establish his foundation before his lifespan ended. Alternatively, he may have simply lacked natural talent, making any progress in his cultivation impossible.

Li Yi nodded thoughtfully.

Even if one were to control the Investiture of the Gods and receive daily incense offerings to enhance one's cultivation, the wood energy within one's body would not be sufficient to divide into two portions to simultaneously temper the body and nourish the acupoints, let alone for ordinary Qi-refining cultivators.

Both gas-based methods have their merits, but unfortunately, one cannot have both.

Seeing the regret on Li Yi's face, Zhang Junyi gently advised, "Brother Yi, don't be too ambitious. Right now, you should focus on improving your cultivation. That way, you'll have a better chance of survival when you join the battle."

Li Yi nodded repeatedly, composed himself, and was about to go to the courtyard to train his still-developing Jiamu strength when Li Erhu rushed into the official residence, shouting:

"Yi-ge'er, I've caught a cold! Yi-ge'er, I've caught a cold!"

The voices grew louder with each sentence, and Li Yi immediately perked up. He rushed out of the house, grabbed Li Erhu's arms, and asked:

"Which auspicious burial site?"

"Yangming Stomach Meridian, Chengqi (ST1)!"

Chengqi acupoint, located directly below the pupil in the eye socket when looking straight ahead, is a point that is considered beneficial for eyesight.

Li Erhu called out to Old Wang, "Old Wang, quickly prepare some meat for me! I'll be a cultivator soon!"

"Look how arrogant you are." Li Yi couldn't hide his smile. When he saw Old Wang's questioning look, he nodded slightly and urged him to do it.

Zhang Junyi slowly walked up to Li Erhu and praised him, "Compared to the other five elements, the Earth element cultivators have the strongest physique. Brother Erhu, if you diligently cultivate in the future, you will surely achieve great things."

Li Erhu chuckled, "Thank you for your kind words, sister-in-law!"

As a water-elemental cultivator, Zhang Junyi is a much more reliable protector than Li Yi.

Li Erhu, without any restraint, focused all his energy on opening the acupoints. After accumulating energy for more than two hours, he finally opened the spiritual acupoint in one fell swoop. He felt an inexplicable stinging pain in his lower eye socket, but then he felt a flow of water energy, which made him feel much more comfortable.

His stomach growled loudly, and like a starving ghost reincarnated, he ran to the main room, grabbed a pig's trotter from the table, and began to devour it with gusto, his mouth dripping with oil.

There was still a lot of meat stored in the warehouse, but Qin Kaixian's side was still sending in river delicacies. So Old Wang only steamed two pig trotters, and the rest were all fish, meat and steamed buns.

Li Yi told Wang Ling to put on his cotton-padded coat, then instructed him to run and call Guan Tian and Liu Zhi over. He also invited the Qin family mother and daughter out to celebrate together.

When Li Erhu first opened his spiritual acupoint, his appetite increased dramatically, almost matching that of Li Yi now. A whole table of meat was devoured by everyone.

He wiped his mouth and couldn't help but sigh:

"Back then, Yi-ge'er caught a cold very easily, and Xiao Guan only took a little over five days, but it took me, Li Erhu, almost two months."

Madam Qin smiled and said, "Don't underestimate yourselves. My husband took three or four months to cultivate his Qi. The Erhu brothers' aptitude for cultivation is also considered excellent even among soldiers."

Upon hearing that even the Earth God had suffered from a severe external illness, Li Erhu could not hide his joy and waved his hand, saying, "I am already content that I was able to successfully absorb the Qi."

He raised his glass, brimming with enthusiasm, and declared, "Come on! I'll drink this, you guys can drink as you please!"

Li Yi downed a cup of rice wine and didn't drink any more.

He didn't like drinking before, and he's not used to it now.

Compared to Li Erhu, Li Yi was secretly observing Liu Zhi, looking him over and over again. He showed no jealousy or urgency, only pure envy in his eyes.

He couldn't help but grab Liu Zhi's hand and sighed, "Of all the brothers here, you're the only one who hasn't caught a cold yet. You'd better hurry up."

Liu Zhi could only awkwardly agree, saying with a wry smile, "This can't be rushed..."

Li Yi feared that going too far would be counterproductive and that his hopes would be dashed, so he stopped pursuing the matter. He then stared at Li Yi with a furrowed brow, seemingly lost in thought.

"Why aren't you gaining weight? Is it possible that some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight?"

Liu Zhi looked embarrassed. "Look at what you're saying, I have to work on weekdays too."

Li Yi shook his head, not taking it to heart, and simply raised his wine glass:

"There are only so many people in our village, so there's no need to address each other as adults or children in private."

He glanced at Qin Shi with a smile, "We're all men, no one is inferior to the other. Even I, a mere shrimp in the early stages of Qi Refining, shamelessly call the Earth God my brother, don't I?"

A burst of laughter filled the dining table. After they had almost finished eating, Li Yi asked Qin to test Li Erhu and Liu Zhi's surveying and reading skills. Although Qin frowned at their answers, they were still quite good for soldiers.

These past two days, Li Erhu went to the county town to obtain the basic body-forging method for wood-elemental body cultivation. He focused on consolidating his cultivation, which inevitably squeezed out his time for practicing surveying.

Li Yi and the others remained the same, practicing Qi cultivation and the four arts of scouts every day. Before they knew it, the day of the examination arrived.