His breathing seemed to connect heaven and earth. In a rhythm of three long and two short breaths, a faint white mist rose from his body.

If a discerning Martial Artist were present, they would see that the mist was actually sweat, expelled from his pores and condensing in the cold air—a sign that his Blood Qi circulation had reached its peak.

Before he knew it, the dawn’s first light broke over the horizon. Xu Yunfan pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth, and a long, draconic hum escaped from between his teeth.

Wisps of Pure Yang Inner Breath emerged from the depths of his flesh and blood, a scorching current plowing furrows through his muscles.

Wherever it passed, the muscles in his arms suddenly tensed like a fully drawn bull-horn bow, each fiber distinct and taut as twisted steel strings.

The moment the morning glow washed over the mountain ridge and onto his body, his Adam’s apple bobbed as if he were a swordsman swallowing a nine-foot-long blade.

A sudden cool, crisp sensation flooded his throat, like snowmelt seeping through thousand-year-old moss. It snaked down his esophagus as an ice-blue stream, fell into his stomach, and then rapidly dispersed into his flesh and blood, where it was assimilated by the circulating Pure Yang Inner Breath.

The instant it entered his mouth, his chest abruptly expanded by three inches, and the intercostal muscles on his ribs bulged like iron bars.

The mouthful of Dawn Purple Qi he had absorbed, carrying a quantity of Primordial Spirit far greater than ever before, rushed into his body, forming scorching vortexes within his muscles and membranes.

If one could peel back his skin and look closely, they would see his muscle fibers vibrating at a high frequency, imperceptible to the naked eye, as impurities were expelled from his pores as black sweat.

"Hah!"

As the sun fully crested the horizon, Xu Yunfan slowly relaxed his stance. The Pure Yang Inner Breath in his body, which had been mostly depleted, was now completely replenished. It was even a fair bit thicker than before.

The gentle aura of the Pure Yang Inner Breath, roaming through his flesh and blood, flowed through his sinews, bones, and skin like winter snow melting in spring, nourishing him to the point that even his bones emitted a faint cicada-like hum.

The cicada-song of sinews and bones!

Even after he relaxed his stance, the Anomaly around him had not faded. The rising heat waves vaporized the morning dew into a swirling mist, and his exposed skin glowed with the dull, dark luster of tempered bronze.

’You have cultivated the Pure Yang Qi Skill at a place where the mountain’s ley lines converge. Your Cultivation has been blessed. Each circulation of the Pure Yang Qi Skill has acquired far more Primordial Spirit Breath than before. Your Pure Yang Qi Skill Skill Points have greatly increased.’

"You have cultivated at a place..."

Three notifications. A twelve-point increase!

’Pure Yang Qi Skill, 42/1000 (Minor Achievement)

Effects: Pure Yang Purple Qi (Stage 1), Qi Armor (Stage 1), Recovery (Stage 2)’

Seeing the Skill Level for his Pure Yang Qi Skill jump on the Attribute Panel, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but grin. ’If I’d known about this, I would have leveled my mining skill to Great Success sooner.’

’Look at this. If my Cultivation of the Pure Yang Qi Skill had always been this effective, I’d probably be thirty percent of the way there by now.’

’What a waste of time.’

’I’ll keep that in mind for next time.’ 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Xu Yunfan’s ears twitched, and his gaze shifted downwards.

From the southeast, the sound of metal striking rock suddenly echoed.

Someone was disrupting the flow of the Earth Vein in this area. If it was broken, the Earth Vein would be cut off, the mountain’s magnetic properties would shift, and the Primordial Spirit Qi accumulated here would likely dissipate in an instant.

This spot was the best and closest one to the Celestial Craft Cave. If someone dug it up, the next comparable location along the mountain range was almost a hundred li away.

He leaped off the cliff. His landing was completely silent, as if a willow catkin had drifted to the ground.

He saw seven bare-chested men digging into the rock face. Xu Yunfan’s eyes scanned over the men, who were HUFFING AND PUFFING as they worked.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

’Those vultures from Bei Mang Mountain in Yanbei Dao... they really are all over the place.’

These Tufu Zi, though considered one of the Mortal Martial Sects, spent all their time burrowing underground and almost never roamed the Mortal World. He had met one before outside the Ghost Market of Beiye City in Qingzhou, who seemed to have stuck around because an artifact had been unearthed there. In the end, though, that man had inexplicably tried to double-cross him.

Xu Yunfan’s gaze swept over the crisscrossing red strings coated in Cinnabar in the rock crevices. Three-inch iron nails were driven in at the points of the Nine Palaces, and a Bronze Bell was tied to each red string.

Although he didn’t recognize the specific Array Formation, with his current insight, he could tell that such extensive preparations were clearly meant to trap something.

"Earth Fire sulfur mixed with the scent of Cinnabar. Aren’t you all afraid of blood-poison attacking your hearts?"

The sole of Xu Yunfan’s boot crushed a few bits of sulfurous rock, the soft crunching sound echoing clearly in the cave.

The leader, a middle-aged man known as the Lamp Master, spun around at the sound. He watched as Xu Yunfan landed silently behind his men. A centipede-like scar on the man’s left cheek twitched and twisted with his facial muscles, and the seven Refined Steel Piercing Claws at his waist trembled slightly with each breath.

In the northwest corner, a broken hemp rope suddenly went taut, and the Bronze Bell attached to it abruptly chimed.

"Reinforce the southeast corner with three more red strings! The Eight Gates Escape Armor over there is failing!"

The scar-faced man barked the order. A pockmarked man dared not hesitate, immediately throwing out a barbed net made of three copper spikes wrapped in red thread.

Xu Yunfan noticed faint green smoke rising from the rock crevices—a sign of sulfur powder mixed with saltpeter.

The so-called "Eight Gates Escape Armor" was actually a chain-trap mechanism commonly used by those from Bei Mang Mountain. Gunpowder fuses were hidden where the red strings crossed, and the Bronze Bells were filled with Sedative Powder.

Seeing the Array Formation was secure, the Lamp Master finally let out a breath of relief. He straightened up and cupped his hands toward Xu Yunfan. "Sir from the Celestial Craft Cave, we’ve only come to dig for some wild ginseng. I apologize for the disturbance!"

Seeing that the other man had identified his origins so quickly and was speaking politely, Xu Yunfan naturally wouldn’t be rude.

He said calmly, "The thirty-li radius around the Ghostly Wail Abyss all falls under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Craft Cave. Surely you are aware, Sir, that just a few days ago, Rong City, the State City of Shuzhou, posted notices all over the various prefectures of Lingnan Dao."

Seeing the middle-aged man’s expression darken, Xu Yunfan changed his tune. "I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. It’s just digging for some wild ginseng, after all.

"But this place happens to be a convergence point for the mountain’s energy. It’s rather unethical for you to disrupt the terrain and sever an Earth Vein node. To put it more seriously... you’re destroying the Celestial Craft Cave’s feng shui!"

Having such a serious accusation leveled at him, even the experienced Lamp Master’s expression couldn’t help but shift slightly.

"A three-hundred-year-old wild ginseng. It can be used as a tonic to replenish Blood Qi and save a life. I have a brother lying on his deathbed, and this is the one medicine he lacks. I hope, Sir, you can be lenient."

As the Lamp Master spoke, he pulled a stack of Silver Notes from his robes. A quick glance suggested it was nearly a thousand taels of silver.

A flicker of movement in Xu Yunfan’s eyes. ’These guys who burrow into the ground are all incredibly wealthy.’ His expression softened, and he was just about to speak.

A sudden RUSTLING came from deep within the rock formation, and a few small pebbles fell from the ceiling.

The shell of Xu Yunfan’s ear twitched. He identified it as the sound of a small animal scurrying through the cracks in the rock.

But the Lamp Master had no time to say more. He immediately took a step forward and threw out three Piercing Claws. The Refined Steel tips dug into the rock crevices, pulling out a silk net soaked in anesthetic. A delicate, palm-sized figure was suddenly caught by this net of unknown material, its form revealed.

Xu Yunfan saw it clearly. Wrapped in the silk net was a tiny doll-like figure, wearing a red dudou, with a few blades of grass sprouting from its head. Its four wrists were covered in Ginseng Threads, and its whole body looked as if it were carved from exquisite jade.