Hermit in the Mountains

秦岭

Su Xinghe carried a sword and rode a majestic golden shaggy dog.

Beside him, Yang Xiaoshan held a black iron rod, and a golden monkey perched on his shoulder, looking around.

Two teenagers, around ten years old, made a pact to go into the mountains for training.

Despite their young age, the two of them are growing taller by leaps and bounds due to the nourishment of spiritual energy and the tempering of their bodies with magical power.

The two men had slightly youthful faces; one was 1.6 meters tall and the other was 1.7 meters tall.

Their cultivation levels are not to be underestimated either; one is at the sixth stage of the Dao Seed Transformation, and the other at the ninth stage of the Dao Root Transformation.

If the outside world were to learn of their cultivation levels, countless people would be shocked.

Both of them, if they were to exert their abilities in the outside world, could create a top-tier force.

The six disciples, all of whom had at least a Dao Root Transformation stage or higher, were registered under the name of Dao.

Each individual could establish a Foundation Establishment family in the outside world;

Based on combat strength, many of them could be considered members of families at the Golden Core stage.

He cultivated himself in the Kuru Rong Mountain, a place comparable to a blessed land, living day and night in an environment rich in spiritual energy.

It contains a complete system of cultivation techniques and methods for reference.

There are also experienced people I can learn from.

They lack nothing in the four treasures of spiritual practice: wealth, companions, Dharma, and land.

Even if they don't have access to top-tier resources, living in such an environment is better than the cultivation environment of 90% of the lower-level cultivators.

Even a casual word of guidance from a close disciple, senior uncle, or elder, or a reward of a weapon or treasure, is a level of treatment that outsiders cannot even imagine.

The spiritual plants on the mountain that have awakened their wisdom each condense their own unique Dao seeds and possess the rudiments of innate array origins, demonstrating a profound understanding of a particular Dao principle.

Their true forms are spiritual plants, and each of them possesses a precious cultivation resource.

For example, the sap of the Mulberry King contains fire attributes and is the best treasure for tempering the body;

The sap of the King of Laurel Trees, containing the power of the moon, is a top-grade treasure for nourishing the soul.

There are those that temper the body, those that nourish the spirit, those that cleanse the marrow and essence, those that strengthen the foundation and cultivate vitality, and those that heal injuries...

The branches that fell from their bodies were all excellent materials for crafting magical artifacts.

It can be described as a treasure trove.

Plants and trees seem to be more compatible with the cultivation system of one's natal Dao seed. In addition, each of them has an array pattern engraved inside their body, so their cultivation speed is no less than that of personal disciples.

Each spiritual plant that serves as the core of the array, once it awakens its intelligence, becomes a senior master or elder.

Unity, Yin and Yang, the Three Powers, the Four Seasons, the Nine Spiritual Plants, plus a special life form, the Mountain Spirit.

The nine spiritual plants are basically at the peak of the Dao Seedling Realm, and may break through the realm at any time.

Needless to say, the mountain spirit, as the spirit of the Kuru Mountain, has a strength roughly at the fourth transformation of the Dao Tree realm, but his defensive power is comparable to the peak of the Dao Tree realm.

Its defensive capabilities are that strong, because the mountain spirit itself is a 15,000-meter-high spiritual mountain.

If the mountain spirit were to activate the protective array with all its might, Gu Changsheng would be powerless to do anything and would be unable to shake the array at all.

Unless Gu Changsheng uses the innate treasure embryo - the World of Withering and Flourishing Pearl.

As for using the Ku Rong Geng Jin Sword and the Water and Fire Spirit Pearl, they are of little use.

After all, each spiritual plant has a spiritual energy node at its root, comparable to a low-grade innate spiritual treasure embryo with innate restrictions.

All nine spiritual plants have the potential to evolve into innate spiritual roots in the future.

As the core of the mountain-protecting array, each time a spiritual energy tide descends, a spiritual energy node is generated, which can gradually enhance their potential.

Externally, there was also Gu Changsheng, the "Hanging Emperor," who fed several streams of his surplus innate immortal spiritual light essence.

They still have a chance to advance to the middle-grade innate spiritual root.

This is the benefit of having the right boss; it can completely change one's fate.

The nine spiritual plants were originally just ordinary trees, but because they were planted on Longevity Peak, they had the opportunity to be selected as the Tree King.

Step by step, I progressed alongside my boss, nourished by the tides of spiritual energy, giving birth to spirituality, awakening intelligence, and acquiring cultivation techniques...

Outsiders, everyone who sees him must respectfully call him "Ancestor".

Reaching the peak of its growth!

That's an understatement; it means the trees, rocks, water buffalo, and herbs have all ascended to heaven.

Ordinary saplings and a barren mountain have all come to life, becoming the most resilient representatives of defying fate.

They were fortunate to evolve into spirit trees next to Gu Changsheng, the "Cheating Emperor." If they had evolved into spirit trees in the hands of other cultivators, they wouldn't have been so lucky.

Some were used as rare and precious materials to exchange for cultivation resources;

Some were used as materials to refine into magical artifacts.

In other words, Gu Changsheng, the chosen one, the invincible overlord, and the pioneer, has had such a smooth journey that expectations have been raised time and time again, and he no longer looks down on ordinary spirit trees and treasures.

Gu Changsheng's current goals are all;

Top-grade innate spiritual root potential

Top-grade innate spiritual treasure embryo

Miniature innate spiritual veins

The origin of the innate grand formation

Various nascent, innate, indestructible spiritual energies,

Refined from the three paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man, a treasure of destiny.

As Su Xinghe and Yang Xiaoshan walked through the mountains, they suddenly heard the roar of a tiger.

The two, one a tiger and the other a monkey, stealthily crept over following the sound.

They hid in a thick patch of grass, four pairs of eyes, large and small, peering through the gaps in the grass to watch the fight between the tigers and wolves ahead.

The four of them watched with great interest, almost to the point of pulling out a handful of sunflower seeds from their pockets.

Hundreds of meters away, a ten-foot-tall white tiger was being attacked by a pack of wolf demons.

Behind the white tiger was a tree bearing bright red fruit.

The tigers and wolves were probably fighting over the spirit fruit.

Yang Xiaoshan pointed to the fruit tree and said softly, "Brother Su, they must be fighting over that tree."

"Should we play the role of the oriole unaware of the bird's song?"

"Although the concentration of spiritual energy in that spiritual fruit wasn't as good as the fruit Xiao Jin picked;"

"But it should be a lot of fun."

The golden monkey on Yang Xiaoshan's shoulder heard the sound, its eyes lit up, and it chirped softly a few times.

Su Xinghe suddenly turned to look at Tiger King on his left and asked seriously, "Tiger, do you want a wife?"

Su Xinghe's words came out so fast that Yang Xiaoshan, the golden monkey, and the tiger king were stunned for a few seconds.

The golden-shaded tiger king looked up and glanced at the white tiger in front of him, speaking in a straightforward, masculine way, "She's too weak."

Su Xinghe was speechless; the White Tiger's mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation was indeed somewhat weak.

Tiger has already reached the Dao Miao realm, so he needs to find at least a late-stage Golden Core tigress to be worthy of him.

The tigress, in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, switched to cultivating the Dao Seed method, reaching approximately the first transformation stage of the Dao Seed, and was at the same level as the tiger cub.

Su Xinghe saw the white tiger unleash a golden light, instantly killing a wolf demon in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

He sensed the power of Geng metal from the golden light.

"Tiger, did you notice?"

"With the power of Geng metal, that white tiger has good potential; it wouldn't be beneath you to have her as your wife."

Yang Xiaoshan, standing to the side, had a sudden inspiration: "Brother Tiger, you've raised your wife to be someone you're close to, you have a deep bond with her."

"Tiger, if you play the hero and save the damsel in distress later, our relationship will deepen even more!"

"This is called repaying a life-saving debt with one's own body."

Suddenly, a tiger's roar broke the conversation between Su Xinghe and the others.

They looked ahead and saw a long gash on the white tiger's abdomen, with blood dripping onto the ground.

The grass on the ground was stained red.

The wolf pack also suffered heavy losses, with one-third of its members killed.

Seeing this, Su Xinghe patted Tiger's head with his left hand, "Tiger, your chance has come, go!"

"Your entrance pose needs to be cool and imposing; first impressions are very important."

"You have to make the tigress fall in love with you at first sight."

The tiger king reluctantly stood up, leaped out of the grass, and howled at the wolf pack.

"Aww—"

The tiger's roar was long and resonant, echoing through the mountains.

Within a radius of several kilometers, countless birds and beasts were startled and scattered in all directions.

The king of the forest is a force to be reckoned with; he has an extremely strong deterrent effect on birds and beasts.

Moreover, it was a Spirit Tiger King at the Dao Miao Realm, whose aura was already imposing.

A hundred meters away, the entire pack of wolf demons went limp. When they turned around and saw the figure of the mountain overlord, they had only one thought.

"run--"

The wolf demon leader let out a long howl and fled in the opposite direction from the tiger king;

The wolf demons followed closely behind and fled.

The two people, one a tiger and the other a monkey, walked towards the white tiger.

The white tiger lay weakly beneath the fruit tree, only able to let out a low, long roar as a warning.