Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

Valley of Truth Seeking.

Moonlight, like water, spilled into the valley.

Qiu Zhen sat cross-legged in front of his living room, his eyes shining inward, his Yuan Shen Dharma Body glowing brightly with golden light.

In the space of a few breaths, the thirteen demonic thoughts transformed into pure spiritual Qi essence.

Qiu Zhen didn't break his word. With a thought, he reached out and grabbed.

A ball of radiant 'spiritual Qi essence' appeared in his hand.

"Little Zaozi, a reward for you."

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Little Zaozi, holding the 'spiritual Qi essence,' happily ran to Bai Shu:

"Boss, eat it quickly, become a great demon sooner."

"Little Zaozi, I didn't raise you for nothing!"

Bai Shu glanced at Qiu Zhen. Seeing that the Young Master didn't object, it happily accepted the 'spiritual Qi essence,' its small hand turning into a claw, dividing it in half:

"Here, this half is for you."

"Thank you, Boss!"

Bai Shu rolled its eyes:

"You stupid woodhead, you should be thanking me."

"Bai Shu Boss, the spiritual Qi essence is so fragrant..."

"Heh heh ~"

Qiu Zhen, seeing the conversation between the two little fellows, felt the loneliness in his heart lessen a lot.

He still had twelve portions of spiritual Qi essence, but he didn't reward Bai Shu with them, not because he was stingy.

If Bai Shu made a great discovery while treasure hunting, or made a contribution, he would naturally find an opportunity to reward it.

Even if the reason was far-fetched, he had to find a reason. Rewarding it for no reason was not acceptable; rules were important.

Qiu Zhen ignored the two little fellows and began to refine the 'spiritual Qi essence,' internally cultivating the [Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Method] from the 《Qingwei Dan诀》.

The 'Innate' realm of an Innate Martial Master originated from cultivation, different paths leading to the same destination.

Cultivators who cultivated the Lower Pass immortal technique of 'Refining Essence into Qi' were harmonizing the acquired Kan and Li water and fire, cooking and refining them. The void Innate Qi from the beginning of Qi acceptance was born from the 'Profound Female Gate'.

In the acquired realm, it was difficult to break through to the Innate realm, or it was difficult for cultivators to 'build the foundation in a hundred days.' The bottleneck was in the inability to open the 'Profound Pass One Aperture,' making it difficult to understand the realm.

The 'Profound Pass One Aperture' was mysterious and abstruse. Even martial arts grandmasters, martial saints, or old cultivation monsters couldn't point it out with words; they could only rely on their own comprehension.

How many people were trapped in this step?

Qiu Zhen didn't have any bottlenecks. He visualized the Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Diagram, refining the 'spiritual Qi essence' into a great medicine for cultivation.

A white-faced young man rode a white tiger, a green-clothed woman rode a green dragon.

The dragon called out to the tiger, the tiger absorbed the dragon's essence.

Capturing Kan and filling Li, harmonizing water and fire.

The dragon and tiger Qi intertwined, like the intercourse of heaven and earth, the intersection of the sun and moon, swirling in the dantian, cooking and refining it, giving birth to Innate Qi.

The next day.

"One night of hard cultivation is equivalent to eight months of ordinary hard cultivation."

Qiu Zhen looked inward at himself, feeling quite emotional.

The [Night Wandering God] required six years of hard cultivation, and his cultivation progress had suddenly increased by a large margin.

He finally understood why the sudden enlightenment method of Dan Dao, the mind seal of the Buddha, and the supreme learning of the saints were called methods of ascending to heaven in one step.

Presumably, when the ancient sages cultivated this method, the demons, not knowing how powerful it was, rolled in to kill them. In the process of the sages and immortals using their wisdom swords to slay demons, their divine powers and magic powers became stronger and stronger. They attained the Dao fruit in slaying demons and ascended to heaven in one step.

His cultivation had skyrocketed now, which was considered low compared to the ancient sages.

Little Zaozi and Bai Shu, who were tending the herbs in the medicine field, saw him come out of seclusion and rushed over.

"Young Master, are you going to the Demon Suppression Division to exorcise evil today?"

"Yes."

Qiu Zhen nodded. Yesterday, he was going to exorcise evil for the Demon Suppression Martial Masters. Regardless of whether the Demon Suppression Division had any opportunities today, he had to go there.

"Bai Shu, the Qingmu region has been uneasy recently. Don't follow me today; stay in Qiu Family Village and take good care of it."

Bai Shu also wanted to follow, but upon hearing that the Young Master had entrusted it with the important task of protecting the clan, it nodded obediently:

"Young Master, don't worry, I will definitely guard the home well."

"Good!"

Qiu Zhen stroked Bai Shu's furry little head and left the valley with Little Zaozi.

After morning exercises and morning classes, and after breakfast, Qiu Zhen rode his horse swiftly to Qingmu County Town.

Today, he didn't go to the An Mansion, but went straight to the Demon Suppression Division, wanting to see how the situation was.

He already had a good idea before he even arrived at the Demon Suppression Division.

The reason was that early in the morning, on the main street in front of the Demon Suppression Division Yamen, ox carts and flatbed carts were dragging listless people towards the Demon Suppression Division, a very spectacular scene.

In the crowd, Demon Suppression Commandant Wu Chuanfeng saw Qiu Zhen and his eyes lit up, revealing joy:

"Divine Doctor Qiu, I just sent someone to Qiu Family Village to find you."

Qiu Zhen looked at the patients around him, his expression serious:

"Commandant Wu, did demons cause trouble again last night?"

"That's right. This demon case is very strange. A demonic disaster broke out inexplicably, and an entire village was wiped out, all infected with evil demonic Qi."

Wu Chuanfeng frowned and said:

"I'm afraid some demon people are deliberately spreading the demonic disaster. I don't know what they intend to do."

Saying that, Wu Chuanfeng sighed and said:

"In addition, there have been many cases of people disappearing for no reason in the Qingmu region. This world is getting more and more chaotic."

Qiu Zhen nodded slightly.

The appearance of immortal traces, if it were placed in the ancient cultivation world, would be a great happy event, but the current world is a mixture of joy and sorrow. Behind the immortal traces, there must be a demonic disaster, and in addition, a group of monsters, ghosts, and snakes will be attracted.

The chaos in the Qingmu region now is expected.

The imperial court gathered the people in Qingmu County, not simply because they had no way to deal with the beast tide, but because they were worried about the demonic disaster behind it.

Of course, Qiu Zhen didn't need to worry about the cases of demons and evil spirits. After a brief exchange with Commandant Wu, he began to exorcise evil for the villagers again.

The situation was similar to yesterday.

Among the people infected with 'evil demonic Qi,' the proportion of those with 'demonic thoughts' was very high.

Throughout the day, he gained ten more demonic thoughts.

Over the next few days, Qiu Zhen traveled back and forth between Qiu Family Village and the Qingmu Town Demon Suppression Division every day, exorcising evil and treating illnesses.

In this process, with the help of Little Zaozi, he conveniently took the opportunity to collect demonic thoughts.

That night, Valley of Truth Seeking.

"The [Night Wandering God] is expected to be completed in three years and one month..."

Qiu Zhen finished exorcising evil at the Demon Suppression Division, rushed back to Qiu Family Village, adjusted his breath and recovered, and then looked inward at himself, his heart full of emotion.

In the past few days, the speed of his cultivation improvement had surprised even himself.

Refining these demonic thoughts, using the 'spiritual Qi essence' as a great medicine for cultivation, after a few days, he had successfully cultivated the [Dragon-Tiger Intercourse Method]. His cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, the Innate Qi solidified, and the [Night Wandering God] realm had achieved minor success.

The [Night Wandering God] realm could only be completed in six years, and now the cultivation progress was almost half.

Not to mention that he had harvested nine 'demonic thoughts' again today.

He was now increasingly aware of the 'one-step ascent to heaven' of the sudden enlightenment method of Dan Dao.

Take An Kang, the chief steward of the An Mansion, whom he was most familiar with, for example.

Innate Martial Masters were divided into 'True Qi Realm,' 'True Gang Realm,' and 'Inner Scene Realm,' corresponding to the 'Night Wandering God,' 'Day Wandering God,' and 'Qi Driving Wandering God' of cultivators.

An Kang's current realm was the completion of the [True Qi Realm], corresponding to the 'Night Wandering God' realm. It took him a full ten years from the initial entry into the Innate Martial Master to the completion of the [True Qi Realm].

In just a few days, he had completed the hard cultivation of a top genius for three years, or an ordinary cultivator for ten years.

Not to mention that the difficulty of cultivating immortals was much higher than that of today's martial arts.

"So this is the legendary method of ascending to heaven in one step."

Qiu Zhen felt emotional in his heart. For him, the Yuan Shen Dharma Body was the greatest immortal fate. No immortal fate could compare to this.

Perhaps, with his current Dao cultivation, he was not as good as the legendary Heavenly Immortals and Buddhas, and he was still slightly lacking in temperament in the process of using his wisdom sword to slay demons. His cultivation had improved too quickly, and his Dao cultivation was somewhat superficial.

In the future, he would probably need to temper his temperament and internally cultivate it before his cultivation could be completely stabilized.

However, these were not problems.

The current cultivation speed was already extremely amazing.

Cultivating the truth and asking about the Dao, there was a balance.

Qiu Zhen felt that his cultivation was somewhat superficial, so he did not forcibly improve his cultivation. His eyes fell on Bai Shu and Little Zaozi, who were busy in the medicine field.

"You two, come over here."

Upon hearing this, Bai Shu and Little Zaozi ran over happily.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

"Naturally, there is something good."

Qiu Zhen smiled slightly and said to Bai Shu:

"Bai Shu, you have been guarding the home and protecting the clan these past few days, and you have made contributions. I will reward you with a ball of [spiritual Qi essence]."

Upon hearing this, Bai Shu was stunned for a moment, and then overjoyed. It immediately plopped down.

"Dong dong dong ~"

"Thank you, Young Master, for your generous reward. This humble general Bai Shu is willing to go up the mountain of knives and down the sea of fire for the Young Master, capturing wolves in the front and hunting tigers in the back, exhausting himself to the fullest and dying only after his task is completed."

"Dong dong dong!"

Qiu Zhen smiled, held out a ball of 'spiritual Qi essence,' and said to Little Zaozi:

"Little Zaozi, you have been following me to exorcise evil these past few days, and you have worked hard. I will also reward you with a portion of spiritual Qi essence."

"I have one too!"

Little Zaozi was very surprised. It had just received a reward a few days ago, and now there was another reward, which made it very happy. It also learned from Bai Shu and kowtowed.

"Dong dong dong!"

"Thank you, Young Master, for your generous reward. This humble general Little Cub is willing..."

Little Zaozi was clumsy and couldn't say everything completely even when copying it. After holding it back for a long time:

"Young Master, I'm the same too."

"Dong dong dong ~"

"You silly fool!"

Qiu Zhen shook his head and passed over a ball of 'spiritual Qi essence.'

Both of his demon pets were at the 'Demon General' level and had the potential to be cultivated.

Not to mention Little Zaozi, the jujube tree struck by lightning had come back to life, and its nature was sincere, its roots were excellent, and its potential was great.

Bai Shu's initial talent was average, but after he enlightened it, it had the talent of 'Wind-Thunder Spirit Fox'.

However, Bai Shu excelled in its intelligence and hard work. Over the past year, Bai Shu had learned the art of planting herbs and preparing them very well, catching up with most of the apprentices in the Qingmu medicine shops. Currently, it had also begun to dabble in the art of alchemy.

It was a proper 'Immortal Dao Child Holy Body.'

In the future, as long as Qiu Zhen could become an immortal ancestor, Bai Shu would be a proper immortal Dao child.

After Qiu Zhen bestowed the 'spiritual Qi essence,' he sealed the remaining seven groups of spiritual Qi essence in his sea of consciousness. He did not absorb and refine them for the time being, but entered stillness and meditation, internally cultivating himself and stabilizing his cultivation.

Night fell, the moon hid and the stars were scarce, and it was pitch black.

Two figures were as swift as the wind, running on the country roads.

"Damn it, we don't get any of the good things, and we always get stuck with the hard work of running errands. There are more and more patrolling martial masters in the mountains, and the work is getting harder and harder to do."

"Alright, this matter is related to the important affairs of the sect master, and it is extraordinary. We share honor and disgrace. If the sect master can advance to the [Refining Qi into Spirit] realm, we can also benefit. The future is bright. If we fail, we will be rats crossing the street for the rest of our lives and will never be able to turn ourselves over."

The old cultivation monster in the [Refining Qi into Spirit] realm was equivalent to a martial arts grandmaster in realm, but his methods were more mysterious and amazing.

Under normal circumstances, a Spirit Transformation old monster could steadily suppress a martial arts grandmaster.

If they laid out a formation and cast spells in advance, it would be difficult for a martial arts grandmaster to gain any advantage.

Before becoming a "Nascent Soul Old Monster," cultivators were like rats scurrying across the street, hunted by everyone. But once they became Nascent Soul Old Monsters, the balance of power would shift. Without the certainty of complete annihilation, the imperial court wouldn't dare provoke them easily, forming a delicate equilibrium.

"That's right, the most important thing is for the Sect Leader to achieve the [Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation] realm."

Among them, a middle-aged man with a scar on his head sighed, his face full of emotion:

"Who told me to be called Mu Gu, and you to be called Mu Chang? As direct descendants of the Sect Leader, we have an inescapable duty."

The tall, thin man, "Mu Chang," shook his head and sneered:

"This matter is all the fault of that idiot Mu Sheng. Tasking him with gathering young boys and girls, such a trivial matter, and he couldn't even do it right. If it weren't for his mistake, which made the imperial court and the Demon Suppression Division become wary and take the opportunity to destroy the Kidnapping Gate within the Chang Le Prefecture, we would have already collected enough young boys and girls to set up a grand formation to resolve the demonic disaster. This forced the Sect Leader to change his plans, and we brothers wouldn't have to risk attracting demons everywhere."

"That bastard Mu Sheng deserved to die. He was blinded by lust, his death was only a matter of time."

The two men cursed as they walked, their footsteps unceasing as they traveled along the country path.

It was unknown how long had passed.

In the wilderness, the two men saw lights burning brightly at the foot of a distant small mountain.

"Senior Brother Mu Chang, there's a village ahead. How about we choose this one? We won't have to go too far."

The scarred-faced "Mu Gu" looked at the brightly lit village at the foot of the mountain, eager to try.

Mu Chang nodded slightly. If they went another ten miles or so, they would be near the outskirts of Qingmu, which would be even more dangerous.

"Junior Brother, let's follow the previous plan. The Yin Spirit goes out of the body to scout the area. Tonight, will you go or will I?"

"Senior Brother Mu Chang, I'll go. You've been scouting the area for the past few days."

Immediately, the two men didn't continue on their way. Instead, they found a hidden mound in the wilderness and sat down.

Mu Gu sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state.

Before long, a gust of Yin wind blew, and a blood-red figure flew out from the top of Mu Gu's head, floating lightly.

At first, the figure could still be seen, but as the Yin wind blew, Mu Gu's figure became illusory and invisible to the naked eye.

This was because Mu Gu had successfully refined his Qi, and his Yin Spirit had entered the [Night Wanderer] realm. The Yin Spirit was between reality and illusion.

It could manifest to move objects, and it could also become illusory like a ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace, making it most suitable for scouting.

If there were Demon Suppression Division martial artists or martial arts experts lying in ambush in the village, the Yin Spirit could sneak in to scout, and generally, they could foresee it in advance, avoiding being ambushed.

This was considered an advantage of "cultivators."

Their methods were much more sophisticated than those of crude martial artists.

"Swoosh!"

About a quarter of an hour later.

On the ridge of the field, a gust of Yin wind blew.

Mu Chang guarded his Junior Brother Mu Gu, his divine sense probing in all directions. When he sensed the Yin wind blowing, his tense expression relaxed slightly. He frowned and said to the flying "Yin wind":

"Junior Brother, what happened? Why did it take so long? I thought you were ambushed by the Demon Suppression Division!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The Yin wind howled, and a blood-red Yin Spirit phantom swayed and leaped into its own body.

Soon, Mu Gu, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, opened his eyes, his face showing a hint of excitement:

"Senior Brother, it's not an ambush, it's an opportunity! There's an opportunity in this village!"

"What opportunity?"

Mu Chang was a little surprised. How could there be any opportunity in a remote village in the wilderness?

"What happened? Tell me in detail."

Mu Gu calmed his mind and explained with a happy face:

"Senior Brother, it's like this. Just now, when my Yin Spirit sneaked into this village, in order to search for innate experts lying in wait, I spied around everywhere, very carefully, and I happened to encounter a large natural illusion formation."

Mu Gu paused, his expression excited:

"In my experience, that illusion formation doesn't seem to be artificially arranged. Instead, it's like a natural blindfold formed by spiritual herbs, precious medicines, and blessed lands."

Having said that, Mu Gu didn't speak any further.

All cultivators, or martial artists, knew what kind of opportunity this was.

If they encountered a mature blessed land, they could make a fortune.

The four great treasures of cultivation were Dharma, Companions, Land, and Wealth.

"Wealth" has always been the most important thing.

"This..."

When Mu Chang heard this good news, there wasn't much joy on his face. Instead, he frowned slightly:

"Junior Brother, could this blessed land be owned by someone? If you and I break in rashly, will we offend some powerful fellow Daoists? Will we bring trouble for no reason?"

"Senior Brother, you're overthinking it."

Mu Gu shook his head:

"Originally, I also had this concern. As soon as I came into contact with the illusion formation, I immediately retreated, not daring to go any deeper. However, I went back and lurked in the village and quietly listened to the villagers' chatter, and I discovered something strange."

Mu Chang became interested:

"What's strange?"

"I learned from the villagers' chatter that when the beast tide broke out a year ago, they moved here. It was an outstanding young man in the village who chose this place, saying that this place was a blessed land, and strongly recommended that the villagers settle here."

Mu Chang still didn't think it was reliable, and he didn't have any confidence in his heart:

"What's wrong with that?"

"A big problem."

Mu Gu's face was full of excitement:

"I just discovered that the young men in the village are actually taking pills made from spiritual herbs and precious medicines to improve their skills. Do you know who gave them these pills?"

"Who gave them?"

"It was the outstanding young man in their village. Listening to the villagers' chatter, this son seems to possess a destiny. In the past year or two, his martial arts have improved extremely rapidly, and he has risen sharply."

As Mu Gu spoke, he became more and more excited:

"Senior Brother, hearing this, you must be able to imagine what happened. This young man in the village possessed luck and unintentionally discovered this blessed land. He suddenly obtained countless spiritual herbs and precious medicines, turned the tables, and changed his destiny against the heavens. His martial arts became vigorous and精进, and later, he used his clansmen as a cover to completely occupy this blessed land."

"Senior Brother, that young man hasn't entered the Xiantian realm. To us, he is like a child holding a gold ingot on the street. If we don't take it, we'll be condemned by the heavens!"

Mu Gu was talking non-stop, his eyes were a little red, and his whole person was caught up in excitement and madness.

"This..."

On the other side, Mu Chang didn't have much joy on his face after listening to Mu Gu's words.

On the contrary, a look of worry appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but ask:

"Junior Brother, don't you think that the deeds of this outstanding young man in the village sound a little familiar?"

Mu Gu was stunned: "What sounds familiar?"

"Does this village have villagers with the surname Qiu living in it?"

Mu Gu was a little surprised. He paid attention to it before he knew it, but his Senior Brother was prophetic:

"Senior Brother, how do you know?"

"It's really Qiu Family Village, it's really him, things are bad."

"A year ago, that old man Yuan Hua disappeared. It is said that he went to find a young country doctor with excellent medical skills to suppress the evil demonic energy for him, but he never returned."

Mu Chang took a deep breath, a look of horror on his face:

"I thought that the old man Yuan Hua was unlucky and met a powerful expert on the road and died inexplicably at the hands of others, but now, listening to you talk about the young man in this village, and there is a blessed land..."

Mu Gu's mind was full of "opportunities" just now, immersed in them, and he didn't think much. But when he heard his Senior Brother mention this, he was suddenly stunned:

"Senior Brother, do you mean that the Divine Doctor Qiu is from this village?"

Because of Yuan Hua's mysterious disappearance, they had secretly investigated this Divine Doctor Qiu.

However, due to the pressure from the imperial court and the Demon Suppression Division, they only inquired about the Divine Doctor Qiu's affairs in general, without specific investigation. No one really cared about this matter, and all their thoughts were focused on the Sect Leader's impact on the [Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation].

Now, the news of the rumored "destined genius" is confirmed with the mountain's strange fate, and a flash of inspiration flashed in their minds, and they suddenly guessed something.

This Divine Doctor Qiu is definitely not simple.

Not only is he a "destined genius", but behind him, in addition to the Apothecary An in the city, there must be experts protecting him.

Otherwise, how could a young man in the countryside have the ability to occupy the blessed land and rise so quickly.

At this thought, Mu Gu's face, which was still excited just now, became a little ugly:

"So, Yuan Hua may have died in this kid's hands?"

"That's right!"

Mu Chang nodded, a trace of anxiety flashed in his heart, and he quickly asked:

"Junior Brother, you sneaked in just now, didn't you attract anyone's attention? Did you see that young man?"

Mu Gu shook his head:

"No, my divine sense peeked at the illusion formation, and I retreated at the first time without causing any disturbance."

"That's good!"

Mu Chang breathed a sigh of relief, and after pondering for a while, he said:

"Junior Brother, although Yuan Hua was injured, his methods were not weak. Only Xiantian martial artists and Yin Spirit experts above can take him down. The other party's details are unknown, so let's forget about this opportunity and don't cause trouble."

Mu Gu hesitated when he heard this, his face struggling and reluctant:

"Such an opportunity, are we just giving it up like this? Our combined strength is not weak..."

"There's no need to take risks!"

Mu Chang shook his head:

"The situation is tight right now. Even if we can win in a fight, it would be extremely dangerous if we were left behind. The Sect Leader's matter is more important!"

"This..."

Mu Gu sighed, and after some deliberation, he nodded slightly:

"That's right, the Sect Leader's matter is of utmost importance. After the Sect Leader becomes [Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation] in the future, this place will definitely belong to our Mu Puppet Sect."

"Great!"

Seeing that his Junior Brother listened to his advice, Mu Chang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately planned to call his Junior Brother to leave this place.

"Junior Brother, let's go and change to another village."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Just as the two men were about to set off and leave Qiu Family Village, they keenly sensed something.

Their divine sense swept over.

At some unknown time, on the road they were leaving, a pink-cheeked and jade-carved child sneaked over.

"Where did this child come from..."

Mu Gu cursed casually, but when his divine sense probed and he saw the child's true form, his expression changed slightly.

This was not a human child at all, but a proper demon general comparable to a Xiantian martial artist and a Yin Spirit expert.

What was even more surprising was that a strong wind suddenly rose in the wilderness, and clouds and mist rose.

In the strong wind, lightning flashed.

A small tree stump appeared in front of them.

The faces of Mu Gu and Mu Chang, the Senior and Junior Brothers, changed slightly.

"Another demon general-level Wood Sprite!"