Cultivation begins with forming a bond with a spirit bee.

Chapter 62 Standoff

Qu Ye rushed to the market without stopping and soon returned to his courtyard in the market.

He had just severed his spiritual contract with the Hou family, and the other party's verification and follow-up arrangements would probably take some time, so he could stay in this courtyard for a while longer.

His decision not to leave immediately was also based on careful consideration.

As this time approached, countless cultivators from other markets flocked to Yumen Market.

He went to pay the spirit tax and even encountered a robber who killed someone.

If one were to flee directly to distant lands, and were to encounter a high-level cultivator lying in ambush along the way, it would be too late for regrets.

As for the market area, it is actually safer.

Even if the Sun family wants to wipe out the Hou family, it's for greater profits.

How could they have put the cart before the horse and plunged Yumen Market, the cash cow of the Sun family, into chaos?

Besides, the Yang family wouldn't just stand by and watch the market riots, since this property is jointly owned by the three families.

Therefore, it's better to stay in the market and wait for things to calm down before leaving.

It was the third day that Qu Ye was cultivating in the market.

Behind Cicada Mountain, in a spacious cave.

Hou Zhilan sat cross-legged, her brows furrowed. The surrounding spiritual energy was drawn into her body like swirling waves, condensing into a distinct vortex above her head.

As her spiritual energy accumulated to perfection, she emerged from the light with unwavering resolve, took out a round pill, tilted her head back, and swallowed it.

Foundation Building Pill!

The pill melted instantly upon entering her mouth, and an extremely pure spiritual energy poured into her meridians from her throat, like a bucket of boiling oil being poured into ice water, exploding violently within her body.

Hou Zhilan groaned, made hand seals, and activated the Ancient Wood Ginseng Spirit Technique, channeling streams of spiritual energy into her dantian.

Her advantage in cultivating the Ancient Tree Spirit Technique was fully utilized at this moment.

The immense medicinal power was repeatedly impacted within her meridians, but it was all blocked by her resilient meridians and gradually refined away.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt that her meridians were being stretched and expanding, and the magical power in her dantian was so thick that it was almost impossible to dissolve.

The magic barrier has been overcome!

Next comes the physical challenge.

She opened her eyes and took out a transparent porcelain bottle from her storage bag.

The bottle was crystal clear, and inside, a ball of black and red gas was constantly churning and flowing. It was the very bottle of Earth Fire Mystic Fiend that had been auctioned at a high price at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

Hou Zhilan took a deep breath, uncorked the bottle, and guided the dark red evil energy to her dantian.

There is another pale green oval-shaped wood species in the dantian, and the two coexist peacefully.

According to the ancient records of the Spiritual Manual of Wood Ginseng, during the physical body's transformation, wood seeds can provide spiritual energy and have a certain effect of protecting the physical body.

It complements the earth fire and mysterious evil spirits perfectly.

Once the physical body is fully developed, the foundation building is more than halfway complete.

She focused her mind and spirit, gradually dispersing the earth fire and mystical energy into her physical body.

A burning sensation mixed with a stinging pain came over me.

She could clearly feel her physical strength increasing, so she gritted her teeth and continued to guide it.

Soon, the Earth Fire Mystic Fiend was reduced to a tiny clump.

Just one step away.

Hou Zhilan's gaze sharpened, and she released the suppression of the wood seed in her dantian.

Without the suppression, the wood seeds could no longer maintain their shape and scattered with a crash.

Next, all you need to do is guide the scattered wood seeds into your physical body, and you'll be almost there after passing the physical body test.

Everything is going smooth.

Just as a wisp of wood approached that small ball of earth fire and mystic energy...

The Earth Fire Mystic Demon suddenly stirred.

A tiny, fiery red thread, so fine that she wouldn't have been able to detect it if it weren't inside Hou Zhilan's body, peeked out.

As if drawn by something, it suddenly crashed into the scattered wood seeds.

Hou Zhilan didn't even have time to react.

The pale green aura emanating from the wood was ignited the moment it came into contact with the fire.

The green faded in the blink of an eye, replaced by a shocking dark red.

The dark red color, fueled by wood seeds, spread outwards along the veins at an extremely rapid pace.

Wherever it passed, the spiritual light on the meridian walls was peeled off layer by layer, and the flesh and blood shriveled in the high temperature, emitting a faint sizzling sound.

"wrong!"

Hou Zhilan only then realized what was happening, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

The blood droplet landed on the floor, and a wisp of white smoke rose up.

Within moments, her skin turned an unnatural flush, and tiny beads of blood seeped from her pores, staining her plain robe with red spots.

In desperation, she tried to use the Ancient Wood Spirit Technique to bring the out-of-control wood seed back under control.

But as soon as the magic power was mobilized, the dark red burning sensation flowed back into the dantian through the meridians.

Hou Zhilan let out a muffled groan and arched her back.

The ancient tree spirit technique she had cultivated for decades had now become fuel for the fire poison!

In just a few breaths, her meridians turned into charred charcoal, and she lost all her magical power.

"Gong-sun--"

She opened her mouth, her eyes filled with hatred, but before she could finish speaking, the fire poison spread into her brain, burning it to ashes.

The vortex of spiritual energy within the entire cave suddenly dissipated.

All that remained was a fallen porcelain bottle and swirling white dust.

A quarter of an hour ago.

Just as Hou Zhilan attempted to break through, a vortex of spiritual energy condensed in mid-air.

The mountain was suddenly filled with spiritual energy, and a layer of white mist quickly spread out, enveloping the entire mountain.

After the white mist enveloped the area, most of the spiritual energy fluctuations were contained within the great formation, with only a small portion still spreading outwards to the surrounding areas of Cicada Cry Mountain.

Deep within the Cicada's Song Mountain, a powerful spiritual pressure surged into the sky!

Like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, it was initially dull and oppressive, but then it rose layer by layer, stirring up the spirits of all directions.

The owner of this spiritual pressure was none other than Hou Yuankui, the patriarch of the Hou family.

He hovered in mid-air, his expression indifferent.

"Fatty Sun, you've come from afar, why hide?"

As soon as he uttered those words, another figure appeared in the sky above the east side of Cicada's Cry Mountain, releasing the same spiritual pressure.

The two spiritual pressures collided, creating an invisible shockwave.

"Hahaha, Old Ghost Hou, nothing can be hidden from you after all."

The newcomer was slightly overweight, dressed in a dark gold brocade robe, with a round face and a smile on his face, looking like a kind and wealthy old man.

The patriarch of the Sun family, Sun Chengyun!

His gaze lingered on Hou Yuankui for a moment, then moved over his shoulder and looked toward the Cicada's Cry Mountain shrouded in white mist behind him.

"Judging from this momentum, a breakthrough seems inevitable," Sun Chengyun said, his eyes narrowed, his tone tinged with a hint of admiration.

"I remember that girl Zhilan used to play with Shaofeng when they were little. If she can really achieve Foundation Establishment this time, your Hou family will have a worthy successor."

Hou Yuankui looked coldly at Sun Chengyun.

"Pretending to be something you're not."

Sun Chengyun showed no embarrassment, only sighed slightly: "Old Ghost Hou, after all these years, you are still so outspoken."

Hou Yuankui snorted coldly.

"You, Fatty Sun, are notorious and your motives are obvious to everyone. Why should we bother with your pretense?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chengyun still smiled and said, "Old man Hou, you've really misunderstood me. I've come to see you off."

"Since you won't live much longer anyway, and we won't see each other many times, why not take this opportunity to catch up?"

"Oh, right."

Sun Chengyun paused, then his smile deepened.

"There'll be another surprise for you later, Old Man Hou."

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