"Baka! You pervert! You idiot!"
Even though she bit her lip to stop herself from making strange noises, Jing Liuli kept cursing Xu Yuan in her mind.
Unfortunately, it had no effect on Xu Yuan at all.
It only made Xu Yuan show her even less mercy. He
tortured her, this female spy, like a madman.
At the same time, he also confirmed that she was indeed a virgin.
Outside the room.
Yun Xiangrong and Liu Qingge exchanged a glance.
Instead of feeling sorry for their good friend, they seemed to be happy for her.
Just afraid that Jing Liuli couldn't hold on, the two exchanged glances, and finally Yun Xiangrong took the initiative to go in.
Evening.
"It seems that not only are there fewer people attacking the city, but the total number of enemy troops is also decreasing."
Yun Mochen looked outside the city with a solemn expression.
Xu Yuan: "So?"
"I guess either they have divided their troops to attack other places, or... the Celestial Dynasty's reinforcements have arrived." "
But Guanlan City is now surrounded on all sides. No matter whether the enemy has divided their troops to attack other places or the Celestial Dynasty's reinforcements have arrived, we are powerless."
Yun Mochen shook his head.
"If the enemy attacks other cities, we are indeed powerless to stop them. But if reinforcements arrive, we can launch a preemptive strike and attack from both sides, defeating the enemy decisively. This is probably why the enemy is so fixated on Guanlan City."
Xu Yuan thought for a moment, but remained pessimistic.
Guanlan City had been besieged for so long; the Immortal Dynasty must have known about it long ago.
They couldn't possibly let the Japanese invaders remain unchecked.
However, Guanlan City was surrounded on all sides, and no matter which direction the reinforcements came from, they would have to engage the enemy first.
If they could determine the direction of the reinforcements and launch a preemptive strike, they could indeed achieve a pincer attack, potentially inflicting heavy losses
on the enemy .
But what if it was a ruse?
If they were lured away from their stronghold, how could they defend the Immortal City?
Without the natural barrier of the Immortal City, with such a large numerical disadvantage, how could they fight the enemy in the open?
Even if it were real, they couldn't rashly leave the city.
The enemy army included Core Formation True Monarchs.
To ensure safety, at least one Core Formation True Monarch was needed to accompany the city.
Without a Core Formation True Monarch and most of the garrison, the enemy might directly deploy two Core Formation True Monarchs and the rest of their army to launch an attack.
After all, judging from the enemy's previous apparent decision not to besiege the city, seemingly letting people escape, they clearly wanted the city more.
Could the remaining troops hold out then?
"But if we don't let reinforcements know the Immortal City hasn't fallen, they probably won't come to the easily defensible Immortal City immediately. Without reinforcements, how long can we hold out?"
Yun Mochen worried.
They now only had one isolated city left, and they lacked more than just spirit stones.
Food and manpower were also major problems.
And if the enemy could truly cultivate using Blood Spirit Pills obtained through blood sacrifices of ordinary people, how many cultivators and soldiers could they create after conquering so many prefectures and counties?
However, realizing that this was not something he could decide, Xu Yuan simply left the problem to the city lord.
Let them worry about it.
Ultimately, it is said that the decision was overwhelmingly made to defend the Immortal City.
And this defense lasted for several more months.
Aside from the Yunyuan War Division and a dedicated garrison composed of martial artists, the other garrison forces were essentially all cultivators with cultivation but no spiritual power, only slightly stronger than ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the Yunyuan War Division had expanded to 12,000 men! With
such a large number of people, even if they could share their battle formation's spiritual power to farm spirit stones, the rate of consumption still exceeded the rate of spirit stone acquisition.
After all, the spiritual power of only a dozen or so people like Jiang Xuansu simply couldn't sustain the consumption of tens of thousands.
Finally, the Yunyuan War Division was split into three branches, led by Yun Mochen, Xu Yuan, and Jiang Zhuohua, respectively, to guard the South, North, and West gates.
Jiang Zhuohua, under the intensive tutelage of Yun Mochen, coupled with frequent sand table chess matches and the military books given to her by Xu Yuan, quickly demonstrated her military talent.
Now, she could even achieve a win-loss record against Yun Mochen in sand table chess matches.
With the assistance of her sister Jiang Xuansu and other women like Gu Hongyi, her lone force guarding a gate was enough to prevent the enemy from crossing the line!
During this period, Xu Yuan's spiritual power had successfully broken through the 180,000 mark! He
was only less than 10,000 spiritual power away from the completion of the Qi Chain stage.
At his current cultivation speed, it would only take him a dozen days.
West Gate Tower.
"Bring men to the South Gate!"
Xuan Lie's voice transmission rang in his ears, and Xu Yuan subconsciously frowned.
His provision of spirit stones to the Yun Yuan War Division over the past few months had ultimately aroused suspicion from others.
As a result, several members of the Yun Yuan War Division had mysteriously disappeared.
Xuan Lie had even personally questioned Xu Yuan about the matter. He had
also hinted that Xu Yuan should provide more spirit stones to help the Immortal City overcome its difficulties.
He only stopped after Xu Yuan took out his storage ring for him to check.
But whether it was because the suspicion had truly been dispelled, or because the Immortal City could no longer do without Xu Yuan, only Xuan Lie himself knew.
Thinking about how he had gone from nearly five million spirit stones to less than five hundred thousand spirit stones in the past few months in order to maintain the combat strength of the Yun Yuan War Division, all
he had given in return was suspicion, envy, and greed...
He was momentarily filled with mixed emotions and some confusion.
He didn't know whether to stay in the Immortal City or simply leave with his men.
But when he thought of the Core Formation True Monarch from Haiqi Kingdom outside the city, he suppressed the idea of leaving.
"Wait a little longer. As long as I successfully establish my foundation, with my own strength and the support of the War Department, a Core Formation True Monarch is not invincible!"
Even if the city fell, he was confident he could lead his army out!
Noticing that Xuan Lie and Luo Bingli were also heading towards the South Gate, Xu Yuan didn't delay any longer.
With a command, everyone followed him in unison towards the South Gate.
The fact that Xuan Lie had sent him a telepathic message ordering him to lead his men to support the South Gate proved that the South Gate must have been under a large-scale attack.
And the enemy hadn't launched a major attack for over a month.
Today's sudden large-scale attack...
something was definitely amiss.
On the way,
"General Xu is mighty!"
"General Xu will be victorious!"
"General, you must win!"
"General, I want to marry you and have your children!"
...
People on both sides waved and cheered for him.
For the past few months, at least 70% of the city's population has relied on his porridge distribution for survival.
It's fair to say that among the ordinary people of Guanlan City, his words carry more weight than those of the city lord or a Core Formation True Monarch.
Just look at any woman's profile; their favorability rating is at least 60 or 70
, some even exceeding 90!
Seeing the genuine excitement, trust, and fervor on their faces…
Xu Yuan felt an even heavier burden on his shoulders.
He feared he couldn't remain a deserter! He led
his team to the South Gate.
The enemy army hadn't arrived yet.
But Foundation Establishment True Monarchs were already engaged in battle in the sky,
including the one-eyed, tailless demon snake!
Both sides' Core Formation True Monarchs were present this time, though they hadn't yet made a move, merely providing support from the sidelines.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan immediately took out the Moonflower Bow, drew it to its full extent, and aimed at the demon snake that was suppressing Ji Linyuan, Yun Mochen, and several other Foundation Establishment True Monarchs.
With four Core Formation True Monarchs facing him, he didn't use his divine sense to attack, but he still managed to injure the demon snake.
His attack seemed to have enraged the Core Formation True Monarch, who, without warning, unleashed a palm strike directly at a group of Foundation Establishment True Immortals.
This sent Luo Feiyang, Ling Xuan, and Nangong Ming, who were relatively close, flying backward, coughing up blood.
"Shameless!"
Xuan Lie roared, forcing the Core Formation True Monarch back with a single palm strike.
He then caught Nangong Ming, who was flying towards him.
Luo Bingli also wanted to catch Luo Feiyang, but seeing that Nangong Ming was also flying towards another Core Formation True Monarch,
she instantly remembered Ji Linxiao's warning about Luo Feiyang and Nangong Ming, relayed by Xu Yuan.
Therefore, she didn't catch him directly, but used gentle force to stop Luo Feiyang from a distance.
Just as she finished doing this, she heard Xuan Lie's angry shout suddenly ring out beside her.
"You dare, you brat!"
After Xuan Lie's angry shout, everyone looked at him.
Then they saw Nangong Ming seemingly trying to escape, but after flying less than ten feet, Xuan Lie reached out and he was seemingly imprisoned in mid-air, unable to move an inch.
"How dare you harm me, you brat?"
Xuan Lie's voice was filled with barely concealed anger. As
he
spoke, he circulated his spiritual power, and a silver needle, invisible to the naked eye, was forced out of his body.
It was actually a magic weapon-grade poison needle!
"Naturally, it's because I want to live,"
Nangong Ming "kindly" advised, "The poison that True Lord has been afflicted with is the Soul-Devouring Heart-Corroding Powder. The more spiritual power you use, the faster it takes effect. I advise True Lord not to act rashly."
What?!
True Lord was actually poisoned?
The head of the Nangong family actually betrayed him?!
What on earth happened?
Many people were stunned on the spot.
Nangong Ming... that was the head of the Nangong family who had shed the most blood, on par with General Xu Yuan, who had contributed the most!
He actually betrayed him?
Those near the Nangong family members instinctively distanced themselves from them.
Luo Bingli immediately looked at Luo Feiyang, only to find he had already run far away. He
seemed to be continuing his fight with the Foundation Establishment True Person of Haiqi Kingdom, but in reality, he had reached an ambiguous distance, closer to the Core Formation True Monarch of Haiqi Kingdom than to herself.
This further convinced her that Luo Feiyang was suspicious. She
secretly rejoiced at Xu Yuan and Ji Linxiao's warning.
Soul-Devouring Heart-Corroding Powder…
that was a deadly poison even for Core Formation True Monarchs!
If she had been ambushed by Luo Feiyang…
she would have had no antidote except to freeze herself using her special technique. She
glanced at Xu Yuan with her divine sense and, as expected, saw no surprise on his face.
Xu Yuan wasn't surprised by Nangong Ming's betrayal.
He just hadn't expected that a Core Formation True Monarch would fall for it so easily.
Soul-Devouring Heart-Corroding Powder…
Xu Yuan had never heard of this poison.
But since it could be used on a Core Formation True Monarch, it must be effective against them.
If Xuan Lie could no longer intervene, could Luo Bingli alone hold off two Core Formation True Monarchs?
In fact, Xuan Lie's problem might not be simply a matter of being unable to attack.
With Guanlan City besieged, even if he didn't intervene, he would likely struggle to find an antidote.
And if it was a poison that could kill him…
Just as he was worrying, Xuan Lie struck out with a palm.
Bang!
A deafening roar followed, and Nangong Ming, a dignified Foundation Establishment True Monarch, was unable to resist at all; he exploded in mid-air, leaving no trace of his body.
Then, instead of returning to the city to recuperate and detoxify, True Monarch Xuan Lie headed straight for the two Core Formation True Monarchs of Haiqi Kingdom.
"Hehehe! Old man Xuan Lie, even in your prime you couldn't do anything to us, and now, poisoned by our deadly poison, you dare to deliver yourself to our doorstep?"
"Since you're courting death, we'll send you on your way!"
The two confronted Xuan Lie directly.
However, the two, who had initially been confident of victory and had everything under control, quickly showed expressions of shock on their faces.
"You're actually going to self-destruct?!"
"No! Run!"
But it was too late.
A blinding golden light suddenly shone from Xuan Lie's chest as he laughed.
The next instant, the world seemed to be compressed and violently torn apart by an invisible giant hand…
There was no loud noise; it was as if the sound of the entire world had been taken away. Only
a point of golden light could be seen transforming into a raging inferno, carrying the power to instantly incinerate everything, engulfing everything in its path.
Centered on Xuan Lie, shockwaves spread rapidly outwards like ripples.
The earth trembled, and the trees groaned.
Even several miles away, Xu Yuan, standing on the city wall, could feel the chilling aftershocks of the heatwave.
Some cowardly individuals or those whose spiritual energy was exhausted collapsed to the ground.
The Haiqi Kingdom soldiers who had just arrived, directly below True Monarch Xuan Lie, were instantly killed—at least tens of thousands!
Countless others were blown away or injured.
As the flames subsided, the two Core Formation True Monarchs of Haiqi Kingdom at the center of the explosion finally revealed themselves.
One of them was blasted, his robes torn to shreds, his hair singed, blood trickling from his mouth. He was even unsteady in the air, a truly wretched sight.
The other was in even worse shape, blasted into a deep crater, motionless, his fate unknown.
A gentle breeze blew by.
Everyone, both in Haiqi Kingdom and Guanlan City, fell silent.
Was this the self-destruction of a Core Formation True Monarch?
Absolutely terrifying!
Even Foundation Establishment True Monarchs felt a profound sense of powerlessness and insignificance.
While everyone was stunned,
Luo Bingli moved.
She swiftly flew towards the Core Formation True Monarch in the crater, his fate uncertain.
"Not good!"
Sensing her intention, another Core Formation True Monarch used his spiritual power to envelop the one in the crater and fled.
In no time, the three Core Formation True Monarchs had vanished into the horizon.
Seeing that the heavily damaged Haiqi Kingdom army had given up on attacking the city, Xu Yuan drew his spirit sword and flew to Yun Mochen's side.
He planned to join forces with him to slay the serpent!
Previously, he had been hiding his strength, mainly because he was wary of Xuan Lie.
After several interactions with Luo Bingli, his impression of her was quite good.
With the system panel showing his favorability rating, Xu Yuan wasn't as wary of her.
Now that Xuan Lie had self-destructed, it was certainly not good news for Guanlan City, but for Xu Yuan, it allowed him to act freely.
Upon receiving his telepathic message, Yun Mochen, Gao
Yunmiao, and Ji Linyuan immediately launched an attack on the demonic serpent to prevent its escape. After arriving, Xu Yuan instructed Gao Yunmiao and Ji Linyuan to block the other Haiqi Kingdom Foundation Establishment cultivators who wanted to help, leaving only Yun Mochen to fight the demonic serpent with him.
However, unlike before in the sea, the main force was now Xu Yuan.
It wasn't just about attracting the serpent's attention and dodging its attacks like Yun Mochen did; it was about directly confronting it head-on!
Facing the serpent's sweeping tail, Xu Yuan didn't retreat a single step, meeting it head-on with his spear.
Clang!
The sound of spear and scales clashing rang out.
The expected knockback didn't happen.
To everyone's astonishment, Xu Yuan, at the Qi Refining stage, actually withstood the serpent's attack without retreating an inch!
Even the people from Guanlan City were dumbfounded and speechless.
After recovering, the soldiers below cheered for Xu Yuan's bravery.
The morale that had been low due to the fall of the Core Formation True Monarch was greatly restored.
Feeling that his spiritual power exceeded 180,000 and his body was comparable to a late-stage Qi Refining demon beast, he was no less powerful than the serpent.
Xu Yuan's confidence soared, and his spear technique, carrying the force of mountains and rivers, directly overwhelmed the serpent.
After suddenly unleashing the Divine Thrust, he even blinded the serpent's remaining vertical pupil with a single thrust.
With perfect coordination, Yun Mochen seized the opportunity to plunge his sword into the serpent's vital spot, leaving a long gash before withdrawing.
"Hiss—Roar!!"
The serpent roared to the sky, its condition writhing terribly.
Xu Yuan, however, showed no mercy, summoning a mid-grade second-tier spirit talisman and waiting for the right moment.
"Go!"
The golden sword transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the wound Yun Mochen had just inflicted.
Instantly,
the serpent's entire body stiffened.
Then, under the wide-eyed gazes of countless onlookers, it fell helplessly from the sky.
The demonic serpent… is dead?!
The demonic serpent that had plagued Guanlan City for so many years was actually killed by two people working together?
One of them was even at the Qi Refining stage?!
The people of Guanlan City were so shocked that they forgot to cheer.
Luo Feiyang, who had been hesitant about whether to stay or defect, chose to flee without hesitation.
After Xu Yuan and Yun Mochen jointly killed another Foundation Establishment cultivator from Haiqi Kingdom, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators belatedly realized that
their side was now at a disadvantage in terms of both numbers and strength.
They dared not linger and turned to run.
The soldiers who were preparing to attack the city didn't even touch the city walls before they began to retreat, crying and screaming.
After firing a few more arrows into the enemy ranks, Xu Yuan put away his bow and landed below where the demonic serpent had fallen.
He finished off the enemy and collected the spoils of war.
Second-tier demonic beasts have many useful parts: demonic cores, venomous fangs, scales, snake tendons, snake gallbladders…
Snake meat can also be kept to farm for higher-tier demonic beast meat.
After dividing the spoils with Yun Mochen, Xu Yuan flew to the city tower on his sword.
Due to the fall of True Monarch Lieyang, the atmosphere wasn't overly enthusiastic despite the great victory.
However, the gazes directed at Xu Yuan were more intense than ever before.
That was the demonic snake that had ravaged Guanlan City for so many years without being able to subdue it!
Xu Yuan had almost single-handedly suppressed it.
And with Yun Mochen's assistance, he had successfully killed it!
Just how strong was he?
He could even fly on a sword…
Could it be that he had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage and had been hiding his true strength?
Xuan Cang patted Xu Yuan's shoulder with satisfaction: "Not bad, well done! When you return to the Immortal Capital, you'll surely impress your family!"
Xu Yuan didn't care what others thought. He turned to look at Nangong Wentian and the other members of the Nangong family, who were already under control.
He didn't see Yu Gonglan among them.
At this moment, their faces were filled with confusion, desolation, and utter despair.
They didn't even utter a word of protest.
They probably all knew what their fate would be.
After all, their patriarch had betrayed and ambushed a Core Formation True Monarch in front of so many people; no matter how you looked at it, the Nangong family was doomed.
"Take them away!" Xuan Cang
truly had no intention of letting them go.
If he had trusted the Nangong family before, he now hated their betrayal as much as he had before.
"Wait!"
Xu Yuan stopped them, carefully considering his words, "They should be unaware of this."
Not only did the female cultivators have feelings for him, but they had also shared life and death for months. He couldn't just stand by and watch them fight so hard to defend the city, only to be unjustly killed.
After all, Jing Liuli in his family had been disciplined by him for months, and even now she still had negative feelings towards him.
This comparison alone was enough to confirm that those with positive feelings towards him couldn't possibly be spies from the Haiqi Kingdom.
Thinking of Amamiya Ran, the only one who harbored negative feelings towards him, Xu Yuan shared his speculation with Xuan Cang.
The gist was that Nangong Ming's identity had likely been stolen by someone from the Haiqi Kingdom, and he hadn't suddenly betrayed them; he had always been a spy for the enemy.
That's why he didn't take the Nangong family seriously, ordering them to do their utmost to resist the Haiqi Kingdom in exchange for the city lord and True Lord Lieyang's trust.
Based on their previous behavior, he also suspected that Nangong Ming's daughter, Nangong Yu, was involved.
Xuan Cang immediately sent men to the Nangong family to arrest them, but they found nothing.
Nangong Yu had already escaped through another city gate.
However, this alone wasn't enough to dispel Xuan Cang's and the others' suspicions.
No one dared to fight alongside the Nangong family anymore.
After all, no one wanted to be stabbed in the back on the battlefield.
Even Xu Yuan couldn't guarantee that there weren't any spies among the men on the panel.
So, in the end, the Nangong family members were all imprisoned, but at least their lives were spared.
"Thank you, General, for saving our lives!"
Before being taken away, led by Nangong Wentian, all the members of the Nangong family knelt before Xu Yuan.
"Thank you, General, for saving our lives!"
Their grateful eyes made the others in the Yunyuan Battle Department look at Xu Yuan with even more fervor.
"Regardless of what others think, please believe me, General, that I, Nangong Wentian, am an enemy of the Haiqi Kingdom. Even if I die, I will never be a lackey of the Haiqi Kingdom!"
Nangong Wentian's eyes dimmed as he spoke: "It's a pity I can no longer fight alongside you, General."
That evening,
Luo Bingli returned,
bringing back good news and bad news. The
bad news was that the two Core Formation True Monarchs from the Haiqi Kingdom were alive and had successfully escaped from her grasp.
The good news was that one of them was seriously injured and would definitely not be able to fight again for at least ten days to half a month.
It would take at least several months for him to fully recover.
Xu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this news.
This time was enough for him to cultivate to the peak of Qi Chain.
As long as he can successfully establish his foundation...
a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
The others, however, were not happy about this good news. Even if
the enemy's Core Formation True Monarch was severely injured, he would eventually recover.
But they had truly lost a Core Formation True Monarch!
How would they cope once the enemy's Core Formation True Monarch recovered?
After discussing the matter, they returned to Bamboo Heart Garden.
Hundreds of porridge sheds had already been set up nearby.
Thousands of people volunteered to help cook and distribute porridge.
Upon seeing Xu Yuan, they greeted him with either excitement or gratitude.
Entering the Li residence, Zhong Keke said with a worried expression,
"Brother Xu Yuan, we're almost out of rice again." Xu Yuan then led Gao Yunmiao to the granary specifically designated for storing rice. After filling it with pseudo-spiritual rice, he had Gao Yunmiao sit inside and begin cultivating using the spiritual energy within the pseudo-spiritual rice. Like spirit stones, as long as the spiritual energy within the pseudo-spiritual rice met the system's requirements for his woman to absorb, the rice would still be returned normally. However, pseudo-spiritual rice was different from spirit stones. Its spiritual energy had already combined with the other components of the pseudo-spiritual rice. If cooked into rice and eaten, the spiritual energy within it is easier to absorb and refine than that within spirit stones. However, forcibly extracting and absorbing the spiritual energy is far more laborious than with spirit stones. Ordinary Qi-building cultivators can only absorb about 70-80% with great effort. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Gao Yunmiao would find it difficult to absorb 100%. Pseudo-spirit rice will also break into small grains or even powder due to the forced extraction of spiritual energy. But being able to fill one's stomach is good enough; at this point, who cares if the rice is broken? In comparison, since Bigu Pills can no longer be obtained through transfers, they are now rarely added to porridge. After dinner, Xu Yuan called Shen Meiqing to his room. As one of the earliest followers, thanks to the unlimited supply of pills, her cultivation had reached the sixth level of Qi-building. The sixth level of Qi-building with four spiritual roots requires approximately 1,600 spiritual energy. After confirming that her spiritual energy was over 2,000, Xu Yuan took out the Yiyuan Pill he had previously acquired at the auction. "Here, take your medicine."
"What is this?" Although
Shen
Meiqing didn't know what kind of pill Xu Yuan held, she obediently opened her mouth.
Xu Yuan personally fed it to her: "Yi Yuan Pill, to improve cultivation."
Shen Meiqing's watery eyes softened with tenderness as she swallowed the pill, quickly feeling a surge of medicinal power.
She sat cross-legged and began refining it.
"Successfully gifted 1 Yi Yuan Pill (fragmented). Current number of women is 20. You can choose to return 20 Yi Yuan Pills (fragmented), or return 2 Yi Yuan Pills."
Xu Yuan still had more than ten Yi Yuan Pills with diminished medicinal power, so this time he chose the normal-powered ones.
Previously, Chu Yun had said at the auction that, according to records, one Yi Yuan Pill was equivalent to several years of secluded cultivation.
However, the auction house appraiser's actual assessment was that it could increase spiritual power by about a thousand.
This thousand spiritual power was clearly not the full effect of the medicine.
This indicates that the normal effect of the Qi-Boosting Pill would be greater.
However, since they are all Qi-Boosting Pills, they shouldn't be able to overcome the limitation that only the first three pills are effective.
Seeing that Shen Meiqing had recovered from the initial pain on her face and her breathing was becoming stable, and since she wouldn't finish refining the pills anytime soon, Xu Yuan went to Yan Jiu's room.
"Huh? Why is Shen Meiqing so fast tonight?"
Yan Jiu was surprised.
Her hair was still a little damp, and her skin carried a misty aura, clearly indicating that she had just taken a bath.
Her hot figure was faintly visible under her silk red dress.
"She's cultivating."
Xu Yuan said, glancing at her panel.
[Name: Yan Jiu]
[Age: 37]
[Talent: Three Spiritual Roots]
[Favorability: 95]
[Appearance: 89]
[Figure: 95]
[Temperament: 86]
[Holiness: 90]
[Total Score: 89.8]
Just a little short of meeting the standard.
"Cultivating?"
Yan Jiu asked suspiciously.
Did Shen Meiqing seem like such a diligent person?
She often monopolized Xu Yuan's attention all night, and now it was finally her turn. Would she give up the prize that was already in her grasp and cultivate alone?
Xu Yuan tossed her a Yuan-Boosting Pill whose medicinal effects had been depleted.
"This is a pill that can directly increase cultivation. How much spiritual energy do you have now?"
"Around two thousand."
Yan Jiu took the pill, examining it with a puzzled look.
Thanks to Xu Yuan's abundant pills and active help, her spiritual energy channel had finally widened, almost returning to the level of a normal three-spiritual-root cultivator. Her
cultivation speed had also gradually increased.
It was just that she couldn't enjoy the bonus effect of dual cultivation.
Although her total spiritual energy was about the same as Shen Meiqing's, her actual cultivation level was still slightly higher.
After all, Shen Meiqing needed more than 1,600 spiritual energy to reach the sixth level of Qi Chain,
while she only needed more than 1,300.
Now, with nearly two thousand spiritual energy, it was equivalent to only needing more than six hundred spiritual energy to reach the perfect sixth level of Qi Chain.
The Yuan-Boosting Pill whose medicinal effects had been depleted was more than enough.
Judging from Shen Meiqing's experience using the Yiyuan Pill, it's not that one can't use it without at least two thousand spiritual power.
It's just that they might not be able to withstand it.
The less spiritual power one has, the lower the intensity they can withstand, and the higher the risk.
But with him protecting her, Xu Yuan was confident he could keep her safe.
After Xu Yuan explained the pill's effects to her, Yan Jiu swallowed it whole.
She sat cross-legged on the ground, and soon, pain appeared on her face.
Xu Yuan stayed by her side, ready to intervene at any moment.
However, Yan Jiu managed to pull through on her own without Xu Yuan's intervention.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan silently left the room.
After looking around, he finally went to Jiang Xuansu's room.
Enjoying the double boost effect, Jiang Xuansu gained the equivalent of half a day's cultivation in just half an evening.
The next day,
Xu Yuan inquired about and checked on Shen Meiqing and Yan Jiu.
Both had successfully refined the Yiyuan Pill's medicinal power.
Yan Jiu had successfully reached the sixth level of Qi Chain perfection, but unfortunately, she hadn't used this to break through to the late stage of Qi Chain.
Xu Yuan still needs to help her loosen the bottleneck.
Shen Meiqing is only about a hundred spiritual energy points away from the perfect sixth level of Qi Chain.
Using the Qi-Boosting Pill now would be too wasteful.
After breakfast,
Xu Yuan headed to the City Lord's Mansion. Walking through the streets of the Immortal City, people greeted him along the way.
Some even gave him various gifts to thank him:
flower wreaths woven from wildflowers, trinkets woven from bamboo, osmanthus flowers he had collected…
and even a little girl a few years old ran up to him saying she wanted to marry him when she grew up.
It was as if the entire Immortal City, from the old to the young, knew that he liked pretty girls.
He arrived at the City Lord's Mansion
to continue discussing the matters they hadn't finished discussing the day before.
Compared to yesterday, when everyone seemed lost and unsure of what to do,
most of the patriarchs of various families and presidents of major chambers of commerce attending today's meeting appeared to have already discussed and reached a consensus, proposing to abandon Guanlan City.
They wanted to take advantage of the fact that both of the enemy's Core Formation True Monarchs were injured, with Luo Bingli leading the charge to break out of Guanlan City.
Clearly, they feared that once the enemy's Core Formation True Monarchs recovered, Luo Bingli alone wouldn't be able to defend Guanlan City.
However, while they claimed Luo Bingli would lead the charge, they actually just wanted her as their bodyguard.
Luo Bingli didn't comment on this.
City Lord Xuan Cang neither agreed nor refused, but instead posed the question to Xu Yuan.
"Xiao Yuan, what do you think?"
Xu Yuan didn't give a direct answer, but instead looked at Zai Yong, the president of the Chamber of Commerce Alliance and the only Foundation Establishment True Monarch who explicitly supported the proposal.
"Chairman Zai said he wanted to fight his way out, but now we're surrounded on all sides. Which direction does he plan to break out in? What are his plans after that? What will happen to the people inside the city?"
Zai Yong, an old man with a white beard and a round face, spoke eloquently:
"Since the goal is to break out, the natural direction is the west gate, where the enemy's forces are weakest and where reinforcements are most likely to arrive. Once out, head west. If we're lucky, we might even be able to launch a pincer attack on the enemy with the reinforcements. If we achieve a great victory, General Xu will have made an unparalleled contribution, and being promoted to a high-
ranking position will be just around the corner. As for the people inside the city... take them if you can, and leave the rest to fate." Xu Yuan shook his head: "I'm not interested in any of that. Anyone who wants to leave the city to earn merit and try for a promotion can do so on their own. I won't stop them."
Zai Yong frowned. Without Xu Yuan's Yunyuan War Department, how would they break out?
How could Luo Bingli protect them all by herself?
He looked at Yun Mochen: "General Yun, what do you think?"
He knew that Yun Mochen had previously suggested breaking out of the siege, as he had no family members left in Guanlan City.
Yun Mochen simply smiled: "Brother Xu's meaning is my meaning."
His previous suggestion to break out was to attract reinforcements to relieve Guanlan City's predicament, not to abandon it.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ji family quickly expressed their support for Xu Yuan.
Following them, Gao Yunmiao, Ling Xuan, Wei Zhiming, Xuan Cang, and other influential Foundation Establishment cultivators also expressed their support for Xu Yuan.
Finally, even Luo Bingli spoke sparingly: "Stay."
For her, a dignified Core Formation True Monarch, leaving was not a problem.
In her eyes, these important figures from families or chambers of commerce were no different from ordinary people.
Either everyone should protect
them, or none should be protected, leaving alone without any burden.
This way, she would be safer.
How could she abandon one group to protect another?
Seeing that Xu Yuan, a mere Qi Chain cultivator, wielded such influence—winning the support of everyone at the Foundation Establishment stage and above except for Zai Yong with just a few words—everyone understood at that moment.
Xu Yuan was no longer the insignificant Qi Chain cultivator he once was.
Through countless hard-fought battles and the accumulation of numerous military achievements, this outsider had now gained considerable influence in Guanlan City, even rivaling that of the City Lord, Xuan Cang!
A few days later.
After reducing his time on guard duty and focusing more on cultivation,
Xu Yuan finally achieved the Qi Chain Perfection.
His total spiritual power had reached 192,000!
At the same time, he finally encountered his first bottleneck since beginning his cultivation. He
tried to break through the bottleneck, and it wasn't unbreakable.
A hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.
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He tallied his remaining spirit stones.
He had over 100,000 low-grade spirit stones left.
He had over 20,000 non-refundable mid-grade
spirit stones. He had over 10,000 refundable mid-grade spirit stones.
Converted, this was roughly equivalent to over 300,000 low-grade spirit stones' worth of spiritual energy.
For others, this would be enough for several or even dozens of Foundation Establishment attempts.
But for him, it might not be enough.
The spiritual energy consumed during Foundation Establishment isn't affected by the number of meridians opened.
It's only related to talent, cultivation techniques, and Foundation Establishment spiritual items.
Without using Foundation Establishment spiritual items, the spiritual energy from over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones should be enough for him to establish his foundation.
However, the foundation he would achieve would most likely be a low-grade mortal foundation.
His upper limit would be limited, and he might never hope to form a core in this lifetime.
He might even have an unstable foundation due to too much spiritual energy and a weak foundation.
Therefore, Foundation Establishment spiritual items are definitely necessary.
He's still hesitant about how many to use.
Having finally collected all five types of spiritual items, he would naturally prefer to use all five if possible.
But firstly, there are no successful precedents.
According to records, at most, someone has successfully established their foundation using only three types of spiritual items.
And those were extremely rare, all occurring before the spiritual energy was depleted.
This shows how difficult it is.
Secondly, using all five types of spiritual items requires an astonishing amount of spiritual energy.
One element requires 20,000 spirit stones, two elements require 40,000, three elements require 80,000…
five elements would require a whopping 320,000!
Top-tier materials like Breath Soil and Primordial Spirit Water Embryo might require even more.
For example, Gao Yunmiao normally only needs about 20,000 spirit stones to establish her foundation using a single-element foundation-building material.
However, when she used Breath Soil, she consumed over 30,000 spirit stones!
That's about 1.6 times the normal amount.
An extra 0.6 from the base of 20,000 only adds up to over 10,000 spirit stones.
He himself has a base of 320,000!
If it were an extra 0.5 or 0.6, that would be over 100,000 spirit stones!
If the Primordial Spirit Water Embryo were a fraction of a second more, the total required spirit energy would approach 500,000.
Could his body really withstand such a massive influx of spirit energy?
If time allowed, Xu Yuan wanted to wait for Jiang Yue to use the Primordial Spirit Water Embryo to establish her foundation and see how it went before making a decision.
It would be best to wait until his demonic body refinement reached the second level before attempting Foundation Establishment.
His demonic body refinement had already successfully entered a stage equivalent to the late Qi Chain stage.
However, he didn't know when he could advance, or even how to help his demonic body refinement advance.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan temporarily suppressed the idea of immediately establishing his foundation. He changed his appearance and went to Dragon Elephant Market.
However, all the shops were already closed.
He spread his divine sense and searched around, but couldn't find Geng Long.
He did find the woman nearby who had gotten the tattoo from Geng Long during his last visit.
Xu Yuan went over and inquired with her.
Learning that Geng Long had been conscripted, he changed back to his original appearance and went to the city defense force to which Geng Long belonged.
"General Xu, what brings you here?"
Li Wu, the city defense general, greeted Xu Yuan with a tone of respect.
Xu Yuan said, "I'm looking for someone."
"Who does the general want to see?"
"A man named Geng Long."
Li Wu, seeing that he recognized Geng Long, hesitated and said, "I wonder what General Xu wants with Geng Long? If he has offended you in any way, I'll apologize on his behalf."
Xu Yuan shook his head: "General Li, don't worry, I just need to speak with him."
Li Wu breathed a sigh of relief and said to his guards, "Go, bring Geng Long here."
A short while later,
Geng Long, dressed in the armor of an eighth-rank banner officer, was brought over.
"Old Li, you wanted to see me?"
He seemed quite casual, and it appeared he had a good relationship with Li Wu.
Li Wu coughed twice, gesturing to Xu Yuan: "This is General Xu Yuan of the Yunyuan War Department. He wants to see you."
Geng Long's casual expression was immediately replaced by excitement, and he looked at Xu Yuan with admiration and even fanaticism: "General Xu, what do you want to see me about?"
Xu Yuan looked at Li Wu: "I want to speak with him alone."
Li Wu then tactfully led his men away.
There was no one else around.
"General Xu, how do you know me?"
Geng Long asked curiously.
Xu Yuan put on a mask in front of him, changing his appearance.
Geng Long's eyes widened instantly: "It's you?!"
That war god-like figure was actually his former guest?
After a brief shock, he quickly became somewhat guilty.
Could it be that he's here to cause trouble because of that demonic body refinement technique?
Xu Yuan removed his mask: "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause you trouble. I just want to ask you how to advance your family's demonic body refinement technique."
Geng Long breathed a sigh of relief.
Phew~ It's good that he's not here to cause trouble.
Then, still somewhat incredulous, he asked, "I wonder what stage General has cultivated your demonic body refinement technique to?"
Xu Yuan: "It's roughly equivalent to the late stage of Qi Chain."
"Hmm? So fast?!"
Geng Long couldn't hide his shock.
It's only been about a year since he engraved the demonic pattern, right?
He's already at the late stage of Qi Chain and preparing to advance?
Could it be that he really has a chance to see someone advance to the second stage using their family's demonic body refinement technique?
"General is simply a peerless genius!"
Geng Long exclaimed before mentioning the advancement.
The gist is that you need to take a second-tier or higher demon core into your body and let the demon pattern refine you automatically absorb and refine it.
During this process, the demon pattern refinement will automatically extract the demon patterns from the demon core.
The more demon cores, the better. This
is because it's not that extracting a demon pattern will automatically advance to that demon pattern.
Rather, the demon pattern refinement will automatically select and integrate the most suitable demon patterns for advancement.
Geng Long's ancestor who successfully advanced consumed four different second-tier demon cores before he succeeded.
None of the four demon cores consumed resulted in the final Howling Moon Wolf demon core.
After Geng Long finished speaking, Xu Yuan said,
"Remember not to spread the word about what I asked you to do." Geng Long agreed and then rubbed his hands together, saying, "Um, I have another favor to ask, but I don't know if I should say it." "Go ahead." "I want to be transferred to the Cloud Abyss War Department." "Okay." Xu Yuan agreed to this small matter without much hesitation. Geng Long couldn't hide his excitement: "Really?!" "Just go report in a bit." "Yes! I, Geng Long, will follow General Xu to the death from now on!" After Xu Yuan left, "Old Geng, what did General Xu want to see you about?" Li Wu casually inquired. Reminded by Xu Yuan, Geng Long naturally didn't dare to tell the truth. Since Li Wu had been quite nice to him, he was really embarrassed to say that he had volunteered to leave. So he simply shifted the blame to Xu Yuan, and could also put on a show. "General Xu thinks I'm a talent and plans to recruit me to the Yunyuan War Department." "Really?" Li Wu's personal guard looked at Geng Long with a mixture of suspicion and envy. Geng Long, chin in hand, said, "Of course it's true. General Xu said I can report for duty today." Li Wu looked reluctant: "Are you really planning to leave?" Geng Long scratched his beard sheepishly: "Well, General Xu has already spoken, I can't very well refuse." "If you're too embarrassed to speak up, I can put in a good word for you." "No! I've already agreed." Seeing his somewhat anxious expression, Li Wu stopped teasing him and burst into laughter. He had just heard Geng Long shouting that he would follow so-and-so to the death. The Yunyuan War Division, whether from the perspective of achieving merit or the chance of survival, far surpassed ordinary city defense. Naturally, he wouldn't really stop Geng Long. He was even a little envious. If he could, he would want to join the Yunyuan War Division.