Chapter 397: Cultivation Breakthrough to Qi Refining

Every little bit adds up. No gain is too small.

Wan Ze didn’t dare go toward the mountain forest.

The ancient forest was on the other side of the stone path. In truth, one could enter the woods by heading about a hundred meters down from the cliff.

Wan Ze stood by the railing of the stone path and glanced down.

The canopies of the ancient trees blotted out the sky. Their trunks were so thick, it would take several people to encircle one. Roots jutted from the soil like giant serpents coiled on the ground.

The forest was dark. The blood-red moonlight was blocked by the canopy, barely penetrating the gloom. Between the trunks was only pitch-blackness, like a gaping maw waiting for prey to wander in.

He had crept a little closer earlier and instantly felt the hair on his neck stand up.

The sense of crisis was so intense it gave him the illusion that he wouldn’t even have time to sever his Spiritual Form.

So Wan Ze deliberately avoided it, keeping his distance.

The stone houses were simple, but they were safe—safer than that forest, at least.

BOOM!!!

Just then, a nearby stone cave-dwelling exploded.

Flames burst from the stone door. The instant they erupted, a heatwave washed over the area. The entire cliff face trembled, and loose stones tumbled from the edge of the path, clattering down into the abyss below. The sound echoed from the valley floor for a long time.

But as the explosion’s shockwave and flames rushed toward the forest, they were blocked by a peculiar Power.

A pale blue barrier of light suddenly appeared, like a transparent wall, containing all the flames and the shockwave behind it.

The barrier flickered slightly before stabilizing. Behind it, the fire billowed, burned, and then died out, but the Tree Tower on the other side remained completely unaffected.

The explosion occurred in the stone-house area of the cliff, still several dozen meters away from the Tree Tower District, separated by a few ridges and a dense canopy of trees.

Even so, someone from the Tree Tower peeked out for a look before quickly retracting their head, as if this sort of thing happened so often it wasn’t worth the fuss.

An angry roar came from the exploded stone house. “Why did it fail! I don’t believe it! Senior Sister Chen, lend me three more Spirit Crystals! I’ll pay you back next month with interest!”

Wan Ze ignored the shrill cry, his gaze fixed on the Tree Tower. He had seen it clearly. He blinked.

‘So, that’s… an Array?’

Just now, the flames had burned behind the barrier for several seconds, yet it hadn’t even shimmered.

The people in the Tree Towers had an Array for protection; the people in the stone houses did not.

‘A place protected by an Array must be full of riches. If only I could get a touch…’

Wan Ze reluctantly tore his gaze away.

He glanced around, confirmed the stone path was empty, and then quietly moved away from the blast zone.

He snuck up to a door.

Walking up to the door, he reached out and touched it.

He pressed his ear against it and heard movement inside.

THUD—CRASH—

Something fell over, followed by the sound of shattering porcelain.

Then came a person’s footsteps—heavy and hurried—pacing back and forth inside the stone house, as if searching for something.

Wan Ze quickly retreated, ducking into the shadows to the side.

The stone door opened.

A young woman in a green robe stepped out of the stone house, frowning. She stood in the doorway, her hair tied back with a Jade Hairpin, a few loose strands falling from her temples to frame her face.

She stood at the entrance, her gaze sweeping over the stone path, the houses on either side, and the shadows behind a stone pillar.

“Who’s there? Who’s messing with me? Show your face, and I’ll cut you down!”

As she spoke, her right hand emerged from her sleeve. She opened her five fingers, palm facing up. A wisp of pale green light gathered in her palm, rapidly forming a translucent blade that looked as if it were forged from light.

The green-robed woman stood in the doorway and waited another two seconds.

There was no response from the stone path, only the humming from the dome above and the chirping of insects in the distant ancient forest.

Her frown deepened. Her lips moved as if muttering another curse. Then she retracted the Light Saber, turned, and went back inside. The stone door slammed shut behind her with a BANG.

Wan Ze peeked out from behind the stone pillar. Only after confirming the woman wasn’t coming back out did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He took a deep breath, letting his breathing return to normal, and stepped out from behind the pillar.

‘The Stealing Celestial Secret was a success anyway. Time for a new target.’

He proceeded to go through the entire area, checking every stone house.

Wan Ze discovered that he couldn’t successfully use Stealing Celestial Secret on every stone door; about thirty percent of them offered no opportunity.

He walked to the door of the last stone house in the distance.

He reached out and touched it.

[Exorcism +5%]

Wan Ze stood at the door, looked around, and then pressed his ear against it to listen for any sound. It was quiet. No voices.

He waited a few more seconds, and after confirming no one was inside, he pushed the door.

The door was heavy, just as heavy as the last one.

He used the same method as before, infusing his arms with Qi and using brute force to push the door open just a crack. Then he slipped inside sideways.

Reaching back, he pulled the door mostly shut.

The stone house was pitch-black.

There were no windows, so the blood-red moonlight from outside couldn’t get in. Wan Ze’s eyes needed time to adjust to the darkness. For the first few seconds, he could see nothing, only sensing a damp, chilly smell in the air, like walking into a basement.

Wan Ze stood perfectly still, waiting for his eyes to slowly adapt to the dark.

After about five seconds, he could faintly make out some shapes.

The layout of the stone house was similar to the one he had been in before, but this one had extra items.

The walls were covered in talismans.

Yellow Talismans with Cinnabar script were tied with red string, hanging down one by one. The red strings stretched from the walls to the ceiling, from the ceiling to the floor, and from the floor to the corners, crisscrossing the room in a web.