After bartering away the goods that Liu Xun intended to sell, he had obtained a few of the brown mini-pills used for qi gathering cultivators as well as a few silver taels¹ancient Chinese currency, usually shaped like a sycee. He was unable to obtain anything better as the bear was merely an ordinary beast, its fur may be exquisite and valuable to mortals but it is barely anything in the face of cultivators. It would not even be useful as armor.

Right after, he had brought Suyu with him to see Senior Qin.

Liu Xun did not dare leave the little girl alone. Who knows where she will wander off to and get into trouble? Then he would have to deal with an angry Liu Feng and Yu Wan when he got back home.

Walking up the step, he soon arrived in a room with yellow straw mats. There was a faint incense smelling of lavender wafting in the room, creating a very serene and calm atmosphere as gentle sunlight leaked in through the blinds.

Behind the blinds by the table at the end of the room lay a beautiful women dress in a green silk robe. Qin Yeqian was silently meditating in the darkness. Her face seems peaceful and the surrounding seems to be in harmony with her.

Liu Xun thought it would be best to not interrupt her and patiently wait for her to complete her meditation.

He then guided Suyu with him as they quietly left the room.

"Why are you leaving, Junior Liu? Do you not come seeking this one for something?"

A voice sounded out from his back.

One eye opened, as Yeqian spoke out.

Liu Xun then asked Senior Qin with regards to the usage of beast qi, whether there were any possible skills that a qi gathering cultivator could use to develop such qi.

Senior Qin placed her finger to her nose and gave it a slow thought. She then said based on her experiences that most of the arts she knows such as the 'Iron Tiger Conversion Arts', 'Revolving Turtle Breath Art' and such are all arts that require Essence Foundation cultivation to start learning. Many of these arts would only be available in various sect libraries.

She instead promised Liu Xun that she would be able to join with him to hunt a spiritual beast so he could obtain spirit beast blood qi.

She had previously mentioned that in her offer that while she was still in White Blossom county, she would try to help him as much as possible. The plan was to take a trip into a neighboring hostile zone, the Vermillion Ranges.

The Vermillion Ranges was a 3 days trip from the city and is home to many qi gathering and foundation stage beasts. It was a very popular spot for the local sects to hunt and do missions in. There are the occasional Core Formation beasts located in the deepest regions that may appear. Still, in most cases, this trip would be relatively safe with a mid-Essence Foundation cultivator taking charge.

Senior Qin herself mentions that she needs to enter the ranges to obtain a herb, The White Yin Moon Orchid. It was a particularly rare herb that was required in concocting a Yin Essence Dan which would be beneficial for her cultivation. By doing Liu Xun this favor, she would be able to sever the initial karma that she reaped when she traded for the sword.

This was convenient for Liu Xun since he could also gain more experience under the safety of a senior cultivator. The plan was to go on a journey in 2 days. Before that, he would have the chance to prepare himself for the trip. He would prefer to not be a real burden to Senior Qin throughout the journey, despite her owing him a favor after all.

Little Suyu was just sitting by the side sucking on her stick of haw while watching the discussion between both of the cultivators. She was not able to comprehend a single word.

The chat ended with what Li Xun would be expecting during the trip since grabbing the orchid requires going to an area known as the Yin Frost Basin inside the ranges. The main beasts located there were lizard-shaped spirit beastman and other beasts that drink from the basin.

Liu Xun then asked Senior Qin if he could perform a sign-in in her presence. He felt it was safer to do a sign-in in front of someone he knows rather than being alone due to the public announcement. Knowing Senior Qin's fair and righteous disposition, he would not suffer a loss even if he had to rescind his reward.

Senior Qin just gave a slight smile and nodded as she slowly observed his motions.

"System Sign-in."

[Signing in.]

[Congratulations Host Liu Xun for signing in at the “Opulent Fragrance Pavilion”. You have obtained the white (common) prize - Red Savage Yang Root Dan (Pill)!]

!!

Liu Xun elated.

What kind of bullshit luck was this!?

Just when he needed to obtain materials to collect beast qi, a beast qi-variant cultivation pill just walks up to his doorstep.

Senior Qin herself was slightly surprised by Liu Xun's luck. She even thought to herself the necessity of the trip considering he could just use his luck to sign in every day. After all, there is no need to brave any danger if you can just hide in some cold palace and sign in every day.

Liu Xun would still disagree on that as he was a cultivator. Cultivators need battle experience. He also firmly believes that staying away from visible danger would not suffice considering there could be people with nefarious intentions should he obtain anything good. From his point of view, staying in a jungle of beasts is no different from staying in a family of plotters.

Liu Xun placed the scarlet red pill into his cloth sack, he then bid farewell to Senior Qin as he went off with little Suyu. Bringing her home before returning to the Liu Family house to cultivate. On his way back, he went to a furniture shop just to purchase a wooden tub so that could try out his newly discovered cultivation method— bath cultivating.

--

The next two days were relatively peaceful.

There were not many happenings over the two days as Liu Xun was just resting up, recovering all his energy and qi which he expended on his first hunt.

He also made some purchases around town, buying preserved food, travel essentials like beast repelling pills, nets, and also some cultivation resources like some weak qi gathering pills from an open marketplace.

The other times he was just silently cultivating or practicing the Crimson Beheading Dragon Art in his own courtyard. Occasionally, people like Langsheng or Mushang would come by to have a chat. But otherwise, there were no eventful happenings.

He had also consumed the Red Savage Yang Root Dan the moment he went home to speed up his cultivation rate.

Status.

Cultivator:	Liu Xun
Roots:	Mortal
Cultivation Level:	Qi Gathering Stage 2 [219]↑80
System Credit:	118 ↑19
Inventory:	Cons: 2x Premium Gacha Talisman, 1x Fireball Talisman [SSR] Misc: [System Subscription Channel], [System Rulebook] Active: Purple Heaven Gathering Pill (Duration: 76 days) Red Savage Yang Root Dan (Duration: 2 days)
Skills:	Passive: Minor GuanXin Knowledge Archaic Sun Aura Wisp [5%] (+50% to cultivation speed, minor resistance to yang elements) Weapon: Crimson Dragon Beheading Axe (Incomplete) [10.4%]
Talents:	None

Besides that, his cultivation has been improving rapidly since his hunt. It seems that expanding qi through battles would also help to speed up his cultivation rate. The yang beast pill also helped with his comprehension of the weapon art and provide a substantial boost to his cultivation. Its duration was much shorter than the purple Heaven Gather Pill though, only lasting for about 4 days odd upon consumption.

He had still been having dreams regarding The Million Sun's past every night. They were mostly revolving around her travels with the man Huo Yanyi. They had fought bandits, traveled into beast caves and special realms. Their adventures were at times exciting, other times very relaxing. Liu Xun felt like he was watching a play where he was a spectator and they were actors. Some of their tactics and weapon usages have also given him various insights on how tactics and skills he could use in various situations.

His two days of system sign-ins in the Liu Family were not anything interesting. It was just two grey (trash) prizes—a white slapstick and a rusty iron dagger. These two treasures were nothing special. The white slapstick was given to Langsheng who took a liking to it. The rusty dagger was just a useless item. However, considering it used to be a previously well-made item before corrosion it seemed like an appropriate item to use while dismantling. As the saying goes, there are no real useless items, just inappropriate items for the occasion. The two sign-in prizes also netted him another 14 system points through donations, along with the 5 he had obtained from the bear hunt.

Liu Xun gathered his items and pills and stuffed them in his cloth sack. He took his rusty ax as he walked out of the door. It was time for him to go on his next adventure. This time into the Vermillion Ranges!

Mysticant

The first minor time skip, now onto the next adventure! Time left to Sect Entrance Exam: 56 days.