The day after Xiao Chen obtained the Spirit-Nurturing Technique, his new courtyard in Cuiwei Valley was completed.
Disciples within the sect who specialized in architectural magic built with incredible speed, and the courtyards they created were both beautiful and elegant.
Since there were still so details being debated regarding the sect’s Demon Extermination Hall, it had yet to begin operations.
So, Xiao Chen simply shut his main gate and began to cultivate in seclusion within the valley.
During this ti, as news of his Foundation Establishnt spread, many people ca to visit.
They wanted to invite him to a al at Baiyu Studio or to be a guest in their clans.
From families large and small to the nurous disciples of the Inner and Outer Sects, the stream of visitors was endlessly troubleso.
Because of this, Xiao Chen made a special trip to Bishui Peak to find Shen Siyue and ask her to act as his Gate God.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
After finally getting a day of peace, he cultivated until evening.
When Xiao Chen stepped outside to thank Shen Siyue, he was surprised to find Su Wanqing sitting in the chair by the door instead.
"Junior Martial Master Xiao! Aren’t you surprised to see !"
"What are you doing here?"
"I’m here to help Senior Sister Shen out."
"Help her out? What do you an?"
"Oh, Junior Martial Master Xiao, you have no idea how many people ca looking for you today. There were even representatives from various families. Turning people like that away is a thankless job that’s bound to offend soone."
Su Wanqing put her hands on her hips, looking smug. "Senior Sister Shen found it awkward to turn them down, so I took her place."
"Even if I stop them, they wouldn’t dare hold a grudge against ."
’Hmm, she’s actually got a point.’
Su Wanqing started fishing for praise. "Junior Martial Master Xiao, I turned all those people away for Senior Sister Shen. It was a win-win, don’t you think? You should probably thank ."
Xiao Chen nodded. "Yes, that was an oversight on my part. Thank you."
"So!"
Su Wanqing batted her eyelashes. "In that case, Junior Martial Master Xiao, could you do a tiny little favor?"
Xiao Chen frowned. "Tell what it is first."
Su Wanqing took out an invitation. "Hehehe, my family is hosting a Grand Fish Feast in October, and my great-grandfather would like to et you."
Xiao Chen took the invitation in surprise. "But this seems to say the Zhou Family?"
"Oops, wrong one!"
Su Wanqing hastily snatched the invitation back and pulled a whole stack of them from her Storage Bag.
She then fished out another one—an invitation from the Su Family, nearly identical in color to the Zhou Family’s. "This is the one."
Xiao Chen took it and confird the contents.
"The tenth of October, a fish feast at South Lake. Got it. If nothing unexpected cos up, I’ll be there."
"Also, here’s a bottle of Five-Colored Essence Pills as a thank-you gift for your help."
While Five-Colored Essence Pills were useful for Qi Refining Cultivators, they were rely better than nothing for a Foundation Establishnt Cultivator, which made them a perfect reward.
Over the next two days, as word spread that Xiao Chen was in seclusion, the number of visitors gradually dwindled.
However, no sooner had Su Wanqing left than an unexpected guest arrived.
The visitor was the Foundation Establishnt Patriarch of the Jing Family from Jingchuan County, located five hundred li west of the Li Huo Sect.
After entering, he took out an Upper Grade Magic Sword with a smile. "Congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishnt, Xiao."
"A fine sword belongs with a hero. Please, you must accept this Cangmu Sword."
Xiao Chen didn’t take it. Instead, he asked, "Jing, a gift this generous... you’re not just here to offer congratulations, are you?"
Gifts had ranged from small items worth a dozen or so Spirit Stones—like embroidery, decorative trinkets, and various plants—to large ones worth hundreds, such as Spirit Fruits, Spirit Tea, and Spirit Wine. The variety was endless.
However, Xiao Chen had instructed Su Wanqing to refuse them all. Thanks to the "generosity" of the Hundred Poison Demon and the Black Wind Wanderer, he was in no short supply of Spirit Stones.
But even great clans like the Song Family and the Su Family had not been as generous as the Jing Family.
This was too good to be true; sothing was definitely afoot.
The Jing Patriarch maintained his smile. "Xiao, to be perfectly honest, the Jiang Family entrusted with a ssage for you."
"He said..."
"Save it." Xiao Chen cut him off, pointing to the gate. "Take your sword and get out."
The Jing Patriarch was clearly taken aback, not expecting Xiao Chen to be so dismissive of an Upper Grade Magical Artifact. "Xiao, this is..."
Xiao Chen raised a hand, cutting him off. "I don’t want to say it a third ti. Get out."
Seeing the surrounding Spiritual Qi begin to gather, the Jing Patriarch hastily retreated with the Flying Sword.
Later, another of the Sect Elders ca to act as a diator, but was similarly thrown out by Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s stance was clear: the matter was not up for discussion.
However, he also learned why the Jiang Family’s attitude had suddenly changed.
It turned out that the news of him killing the Hundred Poison Demon had, for so unknown reason, spread far and wide.
No wonder the Jiang Family had suddenly sent soone to seek reconciliation. They were afraid.
「A month passed.」
Within the sect, the jurisdiction of the Demon Extermination Hall was endlessly debated.
i Yong was pushing hard to expand the Demon Extermination Hall’s power, wanting to bring all matters related to Demon Cultivators under its jurisdiction.
Many of the Honored Guest Elders supported this as well, since they were, after all, unaffiliated individuals.
However, the cultivators from the various families were strongly opposed.
They argued that they should be allowed to handle matters within their own family territories themselves.
i Yong had even approached Xiao Chen once, hoping he would step forward and help him fight for more authority.
But for one, the Chen Family naturally did not want the Demon Extermination Hall to expand.
For another, Xiao Chen wasn’t interested in such things; he only cared about his own Cultivation Realm.
In fact, he was even hoping the argunts over the Demon Extermination Hall would drag on forever so that no missions would ever be assigned.
That way, he could collect his double cultivation stipend and just stay in the valley to cultivate every day.
So he did not participate in the discussions, instead continuing to wholeheartedly cultivate the Spirit-Nurturing Technique in Cuiwei Valley.
By now, he had already nurtured his own Spirit Seed and was diligently using his Magical Power to irrigate and nourish it.
After a month, his efforts had shown considerable results.
The Spirit Seed was already a full three sizes larger than it was at the beginning.
Finally, on the afternoon of the thirty-first day, it successfully sprouted.
Using Divine Sense Internal Observation on his Dantian, Xiao Chen saw it: the faint, illusory image of a tiny seedling.
It had two small leaves that stretched out joyfully to either side, rapidly absorbing his surrounding Magical Power.
He hurriedly took out several Spirit Stones, drawing out the Spiritual Qi to replenish his own Magical Power.
The seedling only quieted down again once the two leaves were fully grown.
In the process, as the Spirit Flower sprouted, his Realm smoothly broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishnt.
The capacity of his Dantian increased directly to forty-two streams of Magical Power, while his Inner Core’s capacity grew in tandem to forty-five streams.
"This Spirit-Nurturing Technique really is incredibly fast to cultivate," Xiao Chen marveled, feeling his progress.
Normally, the higher a Cultivator’s Realm, the slower their cultivation speed.
But with the Spirit-Nurturing Technique, he had nearly matched his previous pace of cultivation.
’Finally, I can set aside so ti to practice my Magic.’
In truth, the overall efficiency of cultivating two or three techniques in rotation was higher than focusing on a single one all day.
It was just that the Spirit-Nurturing Technique was rather special.
Before the Spirit Seed sprouted, cultivating other magic could easily affect the seed’s stability.
Now that the seedling had successfully taken root, he could resu practicing his Eye of Truth and Sky-Filling Fla Radiance.
He spent another half a month cultivating these skills in rotation.
Before he knew it, the tenth of October—the day of the Su Family’s Grand Fish Feast—had arrived.
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