Chapter 2 – One Year of Cultivation Complete, Preparing to Condense Qi in the Back Mountain
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The moon hung bright in a sparse sky; no one knew when the heavy rain had stopped.
Was it a dream?
Xiao Xian suddenly pulled open his shirt with force.
In the center of his chest, a very small elm tree-shaped mark glowed faintly.
Not a dream!
Xiao Xian jumped off the tree stump and began digging frantically at the spot his “mother” had pointed out.
The rain- and blood-soaked mud quickly gave way. About a foot deep, a jade slip suddenly appeared!
“Basic Elm Heart Qi Refining Method”
The jade slip glowed softly. Xiao Xian lifted it gently, holding it close to his chest.
Wiping away tears with his sleeve, he knelt before the great elm stump. He tried to be strong, but tears still streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably.
After all, he was still just a thirteen-year-old child.
After a long cry, he wiped his face dry again, kowtowed several times toward the stump, and stood up.
He still didn’t quite understand what spiritual roots, cultivation, or techniques meant.
But he knew that the woman who looked exactly like his mother had given him unimaginable kindness!
As if she had rebirthed him.
She was his mother!
“I, Yu Xian, swear—I will avenge you… Mother…”
Muttering these words, Yu Xian seemed to mature overnight. The words left in his mind by his mother would remain with him forever!
Clutching the jade slip, Yu Xian quickly ran back home.
That “home” was nothing more than a small thatched hut, surrounded by a simple wooden fence.
In the years his mother was ill, everything that could be sold had been sold.
Inside, only a wooden bed, two stools, and a dining table remained.
To be fair, the villagers weren’t bad people.
Even though Xiao Xian had lost his parents, he was still cared for by the villagers—someone always gave him food, a chicken egg, or helped patch the roof when it leaked.
That’s how a ten-year-old child had managed to survive to thirteen or fourteen—fishing, hunting, gathering herbs and wild fruit to live independently.
But today, the soldiers had come.
In the eyes of common folk, soldiers were people who stood above the heavens!
They came to cut the tree. How could the villagers dare stop them? Did they want to die?
Commoners only sought to live peacefully.
Yu Xian didn’t hate the villagers.
He only hated the soldiers who chopped down the sacred tree—and the old Daoist who took its roots and core!
Sitting on his wooden bed, Yu Xian took a deep breath and slowly opened the jade slip left by his mother.
The first thing he saw inside was a jade pendant, tied with a vibrant green silk thread.
On the pendant, written in ancient script, were the characters: “Yu Sheng”.
Remembering his mother’s words, Yu Xian knew this must be the life-saving amulet she mentioned.
He reached out and touched the grime on his skin—it was sticky and stank oddly.
Yu Xian smiled and murmured,
“So this is the impurity inside my body, huh?”
The Qi Introduction Chapter mentioned that the human body contains many impurities, which block spiritual roots, meridians, and the Qi Sea.
Only by continuously washing the body with spiritual energy could one achieve a transparent physique and begin to condense Qi, allowing the body to retain spiritual energy and manifest wondrous abilities—
Such as spells!
So even though he looked filthy, Yu Xian felt genuinely happy.
He went outside and easily lifted a full bucket of water. Compared to before, his strength had at least doubled!
Holding the bucket one-handed—something that previously required two—his eyes grew resolute.
“I’ll become stronger… Stronger than even that old Daoist!”
After thoroughly washing himself, the sun began to rise slowly in the east.
A new day had begun.
And so had Yu Xian’s new life.
The sacred elm tree was gone.
But the village of Great Elm Tree remained unchanged.
However, the boy had changed immensely.
He could now easily go up the mountains to gather herbs, hunt, pick mushrooms and wild fruits, or catch fish in the river.
With increasing strength, he could even plow the half-acre of mountain farmland his parents left behind—without cattle!
He borrowed some seeds and planted grain himself.
Finally, he could eat three full meals a day without going hungry!
Day after day.
Unknowingly, a whole year passed.
He was in the middle of a growth spurt. With proper nutrition and self-sufficiency, he’d shot up—already just half a head shorter than grown men at only fourteen or fifteen.
Yu Xian never missed a single day of his twice-daily Qi Introduction practice.
Inside the hut, he was now performing his 731st session of spiritual energy intake.
The spiritual energy continued to purify his body.
But now, the expelled impurities were minuscule, almost non-existent.
Within his body, his meridians were fully open, bones resilient, and a faintly glowing green spiritual root ran from his Dantian (Qi Sea) up to his spiritual consciousness.
He had long realized—
His mother had used her divine power to forge this very spiritual root for him.
A spiritual root that should have only been gifted at birth!
His Qi Sea now shimmered like crystal—fully ready for Qi Condensation!
If Yu Xian wished, he could immediately begin gathering spiritual energy into the Qi Sea, stepping into the first realm of cultivation:
The Qi Condensation Realm!
At that point, with spiritual energy under his control, he wouldn’t just be stronger or faster than normal people.
He could manipulate Qi, cast minor spells, and even leap several meters into the air!
But instead of condensing his Qi, Yu Xian opened his eyes.
Qi Condensation wasn’t like Qi Introduction.
Gathering a large amount of spiritual energy and compressing it into the Qi Sea required absolute focus and mental clarity.
Otherwise, if he failed, the volatile energy could explode inside him, destroying his Qi Sea and turning him into a cripple—or worse, killing him on the spot!
This was the first real hurdle in the path of cultivation.
So he had to be extremely careful.
He couldn’t break through while at home. If a villager interrupted him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Though his body was clean, he habitually washed again, then shut the door, grabbed his machete, and strode out.
Great Elm Tree Village was nestled in the mountains.
Only two roads led in or out.
After greeting the few villagers he passed, Yu Xian headed straight toward the back mountain.
Three months ago, while hunting, he had discovered a cave deep in the mountains.
It wasn’t a den, nor did it house any large beasts.
A perfect place to break through safely.
He followed the narrow hunting path worn by villagers, then veered off once the trail grew faint, heading deeper into the untouched wilderness—a place even seasoned hunters rarely dared enter.
The deep forest was home to wild beasts, venomous insects, and unexpected dangers.
But since starting Qi Introduction, Yu Xian’s strength and speed far exceeded that of ordinary men.
That giant millstone which usually required two men to lift? Yu Xian could raise it by himself!
So he felt far more confident.
Places once considered dangerous now seemed conquerable, and that’s how he’d discovered the hidden cave.
After trekking for another two hours, through thick foliage and dark woods, surrounded by bird calls and buzzing insects, Yu Xian finally arrived at the cave.
Standing before it, he grew alert and tightened his grip on the machete.
He hadn’t visited in three months—who knew if something had moved in?
Yet there was no foul scent, no signs of tigers, leopards, or wolves—putting him slightly at ease.
But he still remained cautious.
Venomous creatures like to dwell in dark caves like this too.
He stepped carefully inside. It was still dry, clean, and free of nests or beasts.
But Yu Xian suddenly froze.
He snapped back to awareness.
Caves in remote forests weren’t uncommon.
But a cave this clean, dry, and secluded—without any animals taking it over—was abnormal!
This cave… might already be occupied!
Realizing this, Yu Xian immediately turned to leave.
But just as he moved, his now-enhanced hearing picked up faint footsteps outside the cave.
So fast!?
The moment he thought about leaving, someone else showed up!?
Yu Xian’s brows furrowed. He didn’t know who the newcomer was.
But he was certain—it wasn’t a village hunter. No one came this far into the forest.
If he left now, he would definitely run into them.
And anyone who could set up such a cave deep in the wilderness… was no ordinary person.
Eyes sharp, Yu Xian gripped his machete tightly.
He slowly retreated to the cave’s deepest part.
