Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

When Li Xiao was twenty-one years old, a major event occurred that changed the course of his cultivation.

The Luoyun Sect issued a mission to wipe out a group of bandits entrenched in Black Wind Ridge.

The leader of this group of thieves was a rogue cultivator at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, known as the Black Wind Ancestor. He had more than twenty subordinates, most of whom were at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining. They robbed caravans of affiliated families of the Falling Cloud Sect year after year, using cruel methods and leaving no survivors.

The sect once sent outer disciples to besiege them, but they failed due to the complex terrain and unpredictable formations of Black Wind Ridge, and instead lost three people.

This mission is classified as a lower-level B-grade mission, requiring disciples with Qi Refining Level 10 or above to accept it. The reward is 300 contribution points and two bottles of Qi-strengthening pills.

Song Zhi assigned this task to Li Xiao.

"If I want to break through to the Pseudo-Core Realm, I need to go into seclusion for about ten years."

As Song Zhi spoke, her eyes were filled with reluctance and expectation. "You'll have to take care of yourself for the next ten years. The mission at Black Wind Ridge is dangerous, but you can use this experience to gain insights between life and death and break through to the eleventh level of Qi Refining. Remember, coming back alive is more important than anything else."

Li Xiao accepted the mission and went down the mountain alone.

He did not go directly to Black Wind Ridge, but stayed in Black Stone Town at the foot of the mountain for three days.

The town is named after its abundant black stone mines, and its inhabitants are mostly miners and merchants, a diverse mix of people.

Li Xiao suppressed his cultivation to the level of a rogue cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining. He drank at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in town, chatted with the guests, and quickly figured out the patterns of the Tribulation Cultivator.

They would descend the mountain to plunder every five days, mostly targeting merchant caravans belonging to the Zhao family, which was affiliated with the Luoyun Sect.

The cultivators were elusive, but they always left five people to guard the stronghold. Two of these five were confidants of the Black Wind Ancestor, and their cultivation was around the sixth level of Qi Refining.

On the fourth night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Li Xiao shed his disguise, changed into a black outfit, slung his knife across his back, and sneaked into Black Wind Ridge like a ghost.

He used the Breath Concealment Technique to suppress his aura to the fifth level of Qi Refining, and his figure drifted through the forest like a falling leaf.

Black Wind Ridge is a strategically important location. The mountain stronghold is built halfway up the mountain, surrounded by cliffs, and accessible only by a narrow, winding path.

The stronghold is surrounded by a maze that can disorient intruders.

However, Li Xiao had studied formations for three years and could spot the key point of the formation at a glance.

He took out a formation-breaking nail, a treasure given to him by Elder Bai, specifically designed to break low-level formations.

The formation-breaking nail was driven into the formation's core, instantly rendering the bewitching formation ineffective.

He scaled the wall like a ghost and entered, unleashing the ultimate power of the Gale-Splitting Golden Blade.

The blade flashed in golden arcs through the night, each strike precisely severing the throat of a cultivator.

Li Xiao's chosen goal was clear—kill those with low cultivation levels first, then deal with the experts.

His swordsmanship was too fast and too accurate. Among the five guards, the strongest was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining. They were decapitated before they could even scream.

Five heads rolled to the ground, their eyes still showing shock.

While looting the spoils, Li Xiao discovered a secret room.

The entrance to the secret chamber was hidden behind the statue in the main hall of the mountain stronghold. If his divine sense had not reached a range of ten zhang, he would have been almost unable to detect it.

He used his knife to split open the stone door and found that it was a prison cell where three female cultivators were imprisoned.

They were all at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, dressed in rags and looking haggard, clearly having been abducted by the Jie cultivators to be used as furnaces and subjected to inhuman torture.

The leading female cultivator was named Bai Su, and she was the legitimate daughter of a small family in the town.

Her original cultivation level of the seventh level of Qi Refining had dropped to the fifth level due to being forcibly drained of her energy by a traitorous cultivator. Her foundation was damaged, and if she did not receive timely treatment, she would have no hope of establishing her foundation in this lifetime.

"Thank you for saving me, fellow Daoist."

Bai Su bowed gracefully, tears streaming down her face. "I am willing to offer the recipe for my family's secret elixir as payment, only asking that you escort my two sisters and me back to town."

Li Xiao initially wanted to refuse, as he had not saved the person for any reward.

But when he heard that their secret-made pills could aid in the cultivation of metal-elemental techniques, his heart stirred.

He recalled the dangers he faced when trying to fuse with the fire elemental root. If he could have the aid of elixirs to harmonize it, he might be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

He accepted the jade slip, glanced at it briefly, and found that the ingredients needed for the elixir were all common and not difficult to collect. He could entrust the disciples of Tianquan Peak to refine it.

He escorted the three female cultivators to a safe area outside the mountain stronghold.

Li Xiao did not leave Black Wind Ridge, but returned to the stronghold alone, where he set up multiple arrays to await the return of the main force of the calamity cultivators.

He buried twelve array flags around the mountain stronghold to form a killing array, and set up a simple illusion array at the gate of the stronghold to temporarily trap any cultivators who might try to escape.

Finally, he crouched on the rooftop, knife across his lap, his mind as still as water, waiting for his prey to fall into his trap.

On the fifth day at dusk, the cultivators returned home laden with spoils.

They plundered a caravan belonging to the Zhao family, seizing over a thousand spirit stones and dozens of medicinal herbs, and were now excitedly discussing how to distribute them.

Black Wind Ancestor walked at the front. He was dressed in a black robe, his face was gaunt, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. His cultivation had reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the thirteenth level of Qi Cultivation.

However, his spiritual roots were mixed and he had no hope of establishing a foundation in this life, so he became an outlaw and relied on female cultivators to maintain his cultivation.

The moment they stepped into the mountain stronghold, Li Xiao activated the killing formation he had already laid out.

Twelve golden beams shot into the sky, enveloping the mountain stronghold. Golden attacks from within the formation rushed towards the cultivators, and those with lower cultivation levels were severely injured and fell to the ground.

"kill!"

Li Xiao leaped off the roof, and the Gale-Splitting Golden Blade transformed into a sky full of golden light.

Caught off guard, the three cultivators at the back were instantly killed, their heads flying off and blood splattering everywhere.

But the remaining people quickly realized what was happening and unleashed their magical artifacts.

Black Wind Ancestor even summoned a blood-red shield, which was the Blood Soul Shield, a top-grade magic weapon he obtained by killing and robbing. It required human blood to refine and had extremely strong defensive capabilities.

The shield swelled in the wind, growing to a length of ten feet, blocking Li Xiao's blade.

"A mere fifth-level Qi Refining brat dares to come here to die!" The leader sneered, his voice as piercing as an owl's. "Brothers, surround him! I want him alive! I'll turn him into a blood puppet, so he'll never be reincarnated!"

The seven cultivators quickly formed an encirclement, unleashing a barrage of spells.

Fireballs, ice arrows, wind blades, earth spikes... Li Xiao was overwhelmed and could only rely on the agile movements of the Wild Goose Technique to dodge.

He moved like a fallen leaf, navigating the gaps in the spells with extreme danger, while simultaneously killing five Tribulation cultivators.

A fireball grazed his shoulder, scorching a patch of his clothing; an ice arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody mark.

He knew he couldn't keep going like this; the cultivators were numerous and powerful, and their total magical power far exceeded his.

"We can't keep going like this!" Li Xiao's mind was clear. The nine drops of liquid mana in his dantian burned wildly, and his Qi Refining level 10 cultivation exploded instantly. He could feel that every drop of mana was evaporating rapidly.

He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto the blade. The blood essence was immediately absorbed by the longsword upon contact with the blade, and the blade emitted a clear and melodious sound, like a dragon's roar in the heavens.

The golden and red light intensified, and the blade seemed to transform into a small golden and red sun.

"Golden Flame Slash!"

This is a killing move created by Li Xiao by fusing the dual spiritual roots of gold and fire. It unleashes three times the power at the cost of burning his essence blood and liquid mana.

The blade's light transformed into a three-zhang-long golden-red blade, sweeping across the area and cutting black cracks in the air wherever it passed.

"what!"

Screams rose and fell as seven mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were cut in half at the waist, their upper bodies flying into the air while their lower bodies remained standing for a moment before collapsing. Black Wind Ancestor also suffered considerable injuries.

But Li Xiao was also in bad shape. His magical power was instantly exhausted, and his meridians were in excruciating pain, as if they were being burned by raging fire.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Black Wind Ancestor closed in and struck him in the chest with a palm. The palm was bluish-black, with three-inch-long fingernails that shimmered with an eerie light, clearly a poison technique. Anyone struck by it would have their heart and meridians rotted away, beyond any cure.

At the critical moment, a blue water curtain appeared out of thin air, blocking Li Xiao's way.

The water curtain was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet incredibly strong.

The poisonous palm collided with the water curtain, producing a hissing, corrosive sound, and the bluish-black poisonous gas was completely purified.

"Senior brother, I'm late."

Song Yu's cold voice rang out. She held a deep blue magic sword in her hand, its blade as clear as autumn water, named Azure Wave.

She shouldn't have come; Li Xiao had repeatedly told her to stay in the sect before he left.

But she was still worried and secretly followed him out, remaining hidden for ten miles.

She only rushed over when she sensed the violent golden fire spiritual energy erupting from the direction of the mountain stronghold, realizing that her senior brother was in a fierce battle.

"Why are you here?" Li Xiao was both surprised and delighted, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

"I'm still worried about leaving you alone, senior brother."

Song Yu thrust out his sword, and a water dragon roared as it rushed toward the black-robed leader. "Although you have rich combat experience, your cultivation is ultimately your weakness. A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, but my senior brother always likes to push himself into a corner."

With the addition of Song Yu, who had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, the battle situation was instantly reversed.

Although the Black Wind Ancestor was strong, he only managed to reach the twelfth level of Qi Refining by absorbing the essence of female cultivators. His magical power was weak and his foundation was unstable.

Fearing that things might get complicated, Song Yu activated the Mysterious Water True Dragon Sword, a magical artifact. A water dragon instantly engulfed the Black Wind Ancestor, who was killed before he could even withstand a single move.

When the water dragon dissipated, only a skeleton riddled with corrosion remained on the spot.

After the battle, Li Xiao was seriously injured and lay in bed for three months.

His meridians were severely damaged in seven places, and his internal organs were displaced.

If it weren't for Song Yu using his magic to soothe his meridians every day and treating his injuries with Bai Fengfeng's elixirs...

During her recovery, the Bai family sent a large quantity of healing medicines, and Bai Su even came to visit her personally, her eyes filled with gratitude.

But the gains were also enormous.

His insights into life and death gave him a new understanding of the fusion of the metal and fire spiritual roots.

He understood that fusion was not about forcibly suppressing, but about finding a balance point so that the sharpness of the metal elemental energy and the ferocity of the fire elemental energy complemented each other, like the relationship between a sword and its sheath.

During his recovery, he circulated the Golden Essence Technique daily and discovered that the recovery speed of his liquid spiritual energy was 50% faster than before. His meridians also became more resilient through repeated tearing and repair.

That year, in late autumn, leaves were falling everywhere.

Li Xiao went into seclusion to attempt to reach the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

He set up an array outside the quiet room and had Song Yu protect him from outside.

For this seclusion, he prepared three bottles of Qi Condensation Pills, three bottles of Qi Strengthening Pills, and the Ice Heart Grass he obtained from the Bai family, which could suppress his inner fire and prevent him from going astray.

He incorporated the teachings of Song Yu into the Jin Yuan Jue, using the method of condensing water to compress liquid magical power.

This is a bold idea. Nine drops of liquid mana are already the ultimate compression of gaseous mana. To compress the mana further is like sharpening a blade to its limit, and it will break if there is the slightest mistake.

But Li Xiao had no choice but to proceed step by step. He had no hope of forming his core in this lifetime, so he could only hone his Qi cultivation foundation to the extreme and maximize his potential.

Nine drops of liquid spiritual energy spun wildly in his dantian, the sharpness of the golden spiritual energy colliding with the ferocity of the fire spiritual energy.

Li Xiao gritted his teeth, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He used his divine sense as a guide and his will as a hammer to forcibly condense another drop of magic power.

"boom!"

With the bottleneck broken, Li Xiao successfully broke through to the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

Looking inward at the dantian, ten drops of golden magic power, compressed to the extreme, floated within. Each drop was only the size of a grain of rice, solid as a substance, with golden and red light flowing across its surface, and its sharp aura almost pierced through the dantian.

His meridians widened again, becoming as tough as metal, and his spiritual sense expanded from a range of ten zhang to thirty zhang, allowing him to probe outwards.

He opened his eyes, a flash of golden light appearing briefly in them, dimming the candlelight in the quiet room.

He knew that from this moment on, he had truly entered the ranks of experts in the late stage of Qi Refining, and was one step closer to Foundation Establishment.

Outside the window, Song Yu sensed the powerful aura emanating from the quiet room, and a relieved smile appeared on her lips.