Deep within Profound Leaf Mountain, at the Main Peak, inside a grand hall.
Ye Liang closed his eyes, his face twisted as if enduring great pain, with cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
He sat cross-legged on a Cyan Willow Cushion. Beside him was an elderly man with white hair, who seemed to have not many years left to live, intently examining Ye Liangâs already scabbing broken arm with piercing eyes.
"How did it end up like this?"
At the uppermost position of the grand hall, a middle-aged man in a purple robe with black hair and beard, whose face was stern and upright, frowned slightly and looked at Ye Liang with displeasure.
"According to my son, it happened in the Profound Ice River, ambushed by a sinister and despicable person. That personâs cultivation is likely between Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Tenth Layer, possessing an Earth Wall Technique near Perfection Level. My son was caught off guard, and thatâs why..."
In the center of the hall, a middle-aged man at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer bowed his head, respectfully responding to the purple-robed middle-aged man at the top of the hall, a deep hatred flashing through his lowered eyelids.
His son, Ye Liang, was initially an Upper Third Grade Spirit Root, with exceptional talent, favored by the Ye Clan Leader, granted abundant resources, even a Middle Grade Qiankun Bag, seemingly destined for a bright future. In his view, gaining True Inheritance was not difficult, and the probability of reaching Foundation Establishment was over eighty to ninety percent.
Yet, unexpectedly, he fell in an unexpected mishap at the Profound Ice River... How could his heart not ache, not be ruthless, or not be furious?
If he ever discovered who that person was, he would spare no effort to have them cut to pieces and their body shattered.
However... his son hadnât even seen the other personâs face, couldnât even identify who they were, making revenge impossible!
"Ambushed, lost an arm, and the Middle Grade Qiankun Bag is gone, yet you donât even know who did it? Truly useless!"
Upon hearing Ye Liangâs father narrate for a moment, the purple-robed middle-aged man at the top of the hall coldly rebuked with an expressionless face.
"Useless? My son is an Upper Third Grade Spirit Root, how could he be useless?" Though Ye Liangâs father felt displeased with the Ye Clan Leader for insulting his son in this manner, he dared not show any dissatisfaction openly, only lowering his head further.
Then, he cautiously spoke, "Clan Leader, that Middle Grade Qiankun Bag... is there any way to recover it, perhaps it has some hidden mark..."
"Itâs not a Spiritual Artifact, why would I do such things!" Hearing this, the purple-robed middle-aged man showed a hint of impatience.
Upon hearing the Clan Leaderâs anger, Ye Liang immediately lowered his head in silence, trembling with fear.
At the top of the hall, the purple-robed Ye Clan Leaderâs gaze towards Ye Liang grew increasingly unfavorable.
Originally, he thought Ye Liangâs Spirit Root was good and worth investing in. Unexpectedly, after only a few years in the Inner Sect of the Wind Moon Sect, he ended up in this state.
Even though losing an arm isnât that significant, as it doesnât prevent cultivation, the deeper implication is that this matter reveals some flaw in Ye Liangâs nature or conduct.
In that case, whatâs the use of having a good Spirit Root?
Did he really think that an Upper Third Grade Spirit Root guarantees reaching Foundation Establishment?
"That arm is useless now."
At this moment, the white-haired elder examining Ye Liangâs broken arm stood up and said indifferently.
"... Baiming Ancestor, arenât there certain special Miracle Elixirs that can regenerate flesh and bone? Shouldnât this broken arm also..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Liangâs father in the center of the hall trembled all over and spoke cautiously. The reason for his cautiousness is that this white-haired elder is also one of the three Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators of the Ye Family.
"Indeed, such elixirs exist, but their rarity and preciousness rival that of a Top Grade Spiritual Artifact; can you produce it?" Ye Familyâs Baiming Ancestor cast a cold glance at Ye Liangâs father.
Immediately, Ye Liangâs father dared not speak further, only feeling unwilling in his heart. Would his talented son, almost destined to become a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, remain like this with a broken arm?
"To say restoring the arm is easy doesnât need any precious elixir, just depends on whether your son dares to use it..."
Clap!
At this moment, a young man with half of his face marked by eerie black patterns sat on a golden lounge chair to the upper left of the hall, spoke casually, and then with a wave of his hand, sent an object flying, landing before Ye Liang in the center of the hall.
"What is that, can it really restore the arm so easily? But why does it look like a cultivation method?" Ye Liangâs father directed his gaze there, greatly puzzled.
At this moment, Ye Liang had already opened his eyes. He hadnât spoken earlier, but had been listening to everyoneâs words, and now, hearing about something that could heal his broken arm, he reached out in pain to pick up the object before him.
[Blood Refining Technique]
However, when he slowly unrolled the black scroll before him, Ye Liang saw these three characters. The strokes were in a peculiar blood-black color, exuding a chilling aura. At that moment, he seemed to smell a faint scent of blood in the air.
Upon smelling this faint scent of blood, Ye Liang felt as if the blood within his body began to surge wildly. In an instant, what should have been a foul odor of blood seemed to turn somewhat sweet, causing Ye Liangâs throat to involuntarily move slightly.
"This Blood Refining Technique seems wrong!"
Ye Liang immediately sensed something amiss, yet his gaze fixated on the three cold characters on the black scroll, without the slightest shift.
"I am a born Upper Third Grade Spirit Root, the pride of the Ye Family, an Inner Sect disciple of the Wind Moon Sect, how can I constantly carry this broken arm appearance?"
"This Blood Refining Technique, I must cultivate it!"
Ye Liang stared at the black scroll intently, gripping his hand tightly, with fine blood threads appearing in the whites of his eyes.
"Alright, letâs leave, give him some time."
At the top of the hall, the purple-robed Ye Clan Leader took a look at Ye Liang, spoke these words, and then turned to leave.
Also leaving were the Ye Familyâs Baiming Ancestor and Ye Liangâs fatherâthe former leaving voluntarily, the latter having no choice, while leaving, not daring to stop his steps, just glanced back at his sonâs strange behavior with some unease in his heart.
Bang!
The doors to the hall closed.
In the upper left of the hall, the young man with half of his face covered in black patterns stood up from the lounge chair, descending the steps step by step, his footsteps echoing throughout the hall.
He walked up to Ye Liang, smiling, "Lift your head and look into my eyes."
Hearing these words, Ye Liangâs heart trembled, and then he confusedly lifted his head and looked into the eyes of the black-patterned young man.
He saw, within the youthâs pupils that were originally pitch black, now glimmers of blood-red light began to emerge. Suddenly, within Ye Liangâs own vision, a faint blood hue gradually spread, eventually saturating his entire view in blood red.
Under this blood-red vision, the black patterns on the youthâs face seemed to awaken from a dormant state, slowly wriggling like some bloodthirsty worms, bizarre and frightening.
This chilling and eerie feeling matched exactly the three "Blood Refining Technique" charactersâ inscriptions on Ye Liangâs black scroll.
In an instant, Ye Liang fell into a stupor, his consciousness becoming chaotic.
What he didnât notice was that faint black marks began to emerge on the left side of his face, and meanwhile, his pair of pitch-black pupils began to take on a blood-red hue.
...
Within the Inner Sect of the Wind Moon Sect, inside Tier One Upper Grade Cave Mansion of Qi Chuan at the Profound Leaf Mountain.
Qi Chuan was busy in the Spirit Field Room, using magic to pulverize the soil into fine powder, then digging small pits, and in each pit, placing various Spirit Plant Seeds.
Drip drop drip drop.
Qi Chuan formed seals with one hand, causing droplets of Spirit Water to condense in the air, falling into the small pits. Then his hands shifted seals, causing the surrounding soil to gather towards the pits.
"That should do! From now on, I just need to tend to it every few days, or every week, until itâs time to harvest."
Qi Chuan showed a satisfied smile, wiping away nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
At this time, several lines of text appeared before his eyes. In addition to indications that certain magics received Golden Finger critical strike bonuses and skill level improvements after casting, there was a more unique line.
[Casting magic to loosen the Spirit Field, planting seeds, watering, and closing the soil triggered a sixty-times critical strike, yielding sixty times the harvest. You have gained some experience and skill improvement in Spirit Plant cultivation, advancing to a Tier One Lower Grade Spirit Plant Master.]