“Caw! Caw!”

Fresh from their advancement, the two crows fluttered down, nuzzling affectionately against Han Yu’s shoulders.

The larger raven now boasted a wingspan of over four chi, while even the smaller one measured three chi in length. Infused with Spiritual Qi, their bodies had transformed; their ebony feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen, and their claws and beaks looked sharp enough to shear through iron. They were sleek, powerful, and repelled all dust and grime.

For the past six months, the flock had scoured the vicinity of Wanchun Valley. They hadn’t discovered any new varieties of spirit fruit, though they did stumble upon one Mystic Heart Fruit, two Spirit Blood Vines, and two Moon Gazing Herbs. Since Han Yu had an ample supply of these, he allowed the flock to consume them to bolster their own growth.

“Have there been any unusual movements from the disciples at the Spirit Field Department?” Han Yu asked, glancing between the two birds. “Specifically, Zhu Laosan.”

The smaller crow, while not telepathically linked, understood human speech perfectly. It let out a series of low, rhythmic caws. The larger crow, acting as the conduit, instantly relayed the message to Han Yu’s mind.

Because the larger crow spent most of its time guarding Han Yu, its knowledge of the daily gossip in the fields was inferior to the smaller scout.

Han Yu’s network had grown. Originally, he had eleven crows possessing Spiritual Qi and human-like intelligence. Over the last half-year, three more had awakened, gaining the ability to cast the Wind Blade Technique.

This gave Han Yu a squad of sixteen aerial combatants and scavengers, but more importantly, it gave him sixteen pairs of eyes watching every shadow in the spirit fields.

Perhaps due to the strict management of Wanchun Valley or the genuine loyalty of the remaining disciples, the crows had reported nothing suspicious for a long time.

This report was no different, save for one mundane detail: one of Zhu Laosan’s women was pregnant.

Zhu Laosan is going to be a father?

Han Yu raised an eyebrow.

The man had a history of malice. Even though Han Yu employed him, he never fully lowered his guard.

If he has a child on the way… perhaps he’ll start acting with a bit more caution. Maybe he’ll even try to accumulate some virtue for his descendant’s sake.

Eight days passed in a flash.

The great harvest of Green Grain Spirit Rice at the Spirit Field Department finally concluded. Han Yu’s ten mu of fields yielded a bumper crop. After turning over the required quota to the Sect, he kept two hundred and fifty-six jin of Spirit Rice and recorded ten Minor Merits.

For supervising the fields for six months, he received another ten Minor Merits and a bottle of Qi Condensation Pills.

Senior Sister Li and Hua Qi received similar rewards.

Leveraging their positions as managers, the trio had collectively raked in nearly two hundred and sixty jin of Spirit Rice, a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, and twenty Minor Merits.

It was a staggering fortune for a Laborer Disciple.

“It’s ridiculous,” Senior Sister Li had remarked, shaking her head with a smile. “Back in the day, I’d have to risk my life slaying demons to earn this much. Here, there’s no risk, and the Sect has even lowered the merit cost for techniques. They really are desperate for us to get stronger.”

Han Yu checked his token. His balance had hit forty Minor Merits.

He didn’t hesitate. He went straight to the Deacon’s Office and spent thirty-five Minor Merits.

In exchange, he received two potent life-saving treasures: a Foundation Establishment realm Geng Metal Talisman and a Foundation Establishment realm Thunder Lightning Talisman.

Previously, he had avoided such purchases to prevent suspicion. But the winds had changed. The Sect was pressuring Elders to break through to Golden Core and forcing disciples to enhance their combat prowess. For a “trusted” disciple like Han Yu, who was known for his dedication to spellcraft, buying high-tier defensive items was now seen as prudent, not suspicious.

Aside from Deacon Liu, who warned him not to use such devastating talismans on fellow disciples, no one else knew of his purchase.

With his remaining five Minor Merits, Han Yu visited the Technique Pavilion and exchanged them for a basic jade slip on Artifact Refining. He had read the introductory primer before; this was the next step up. Once he mastered the theory, he could begin practicing with actual materials.

Back in the safety of his quarters, Han Yu immediately attempted to use his mystic ability on the new talismans.

As expected, the replication was sluggish.

Physically, the paper strips were small, but the materials were extraordinary—far beyond what a Qi Refining cultivator usually handled. The complex runic patterns inscribed upon them were equally profound.

It would take seven days of accumulated charge to replicate a single Thunder Lightning Talisman or Geng Metal Talisman. The energy cost was roughly equivalent to replicating a Storage Bag.

Han Yu patiently waited, replicating one of each. Afterward, he stopped.

His daily cultivation consumed a massive amount of replication power—Qi Gathering Pills, Mystic Heart Fruits, essence blood, and the Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart left him with little surplus. For now, two trump cards were enough.

He spent the downtime studying the artifact refining slip.

First, waste materials to get a feel for the fire. Second, master the hand seals. Third, learn to stabilize shape and function simultaneously.

It was a deep ocean of knowledge, but Han Yu wasn’t in a rush. He would learn it piece by piece.

Night fell, and Han Yu began his cultivation routine.

He held a piece of Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart in each hand. As he circulated the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method, he simultaneously activated the Green Wood Protection Technique to siphon the ancient wood aura from the materials.

Slowly, his consciousness drifted.

He felt as though he were sinking into the very center of a colossal, ancient tree.

Time lost its meaning. The circulation of his Qi became automatic, a rhythmic tide breathing in the world’s energy.

A profound sense of comfort washed over him. It was a primal peace, like resting in a fetal womb, untouched by the worries of the world. He felt entirely whole, his spirit achieving a state the classics described as a “Golden Bowl Without Defects”—flawless and complete.

When Han Yu dazed blinked his eyes open, sunlight was streaming through the window.

Dawn had broken.

He sat there for a moment, feeling a mixture of joy and sudden clarity.

The Green Wood Protection Technique… he had mastered it. Last night, the spell had reached its absolute zenith.

It seemed that the synergy between his cultivation method, the defensive spell, the Sunkwood Heart, and his own Wood Spirit Root had triggered a rare epiphany.

He took a deep breath. The air tasted sweeter. His body, his Spirit Breath, his Dantian, and even the flow of his circulation felt indescribably smooth. The rugged edges of his cultivation had been polished down to a perfect sphere.

He looked inward. The second leaf sprouting in his Dantian had unfurled significantly, extending outward by a length that would normally require a month of hard labor.

He circulated his Spirit Breath. It flowed out of his Dantian and through his meridians with a lightness he had never felt before. It moved sui xin er zhi—freely, naturally, arriving wherever his mind directed it without the slightest resistance.

This was a massive boon.

But Han Yu sensed something even more profound.

The deep-seated damage to his foundation caused by the Spirit Root Refining Art… a portion of it had been healed.

While the Blood Refining Art had patched the cracks enough to preserve his life and cultivation speed, the core origin damage was a permanent scar. He had long assumed he would need the transformative, world-shaking energy of “Leaping Over the Dragon Gate”—the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment—to truly fix it.

Yet, this epiphany, born from the perfection of the Green Wood Protection Technique, had acted as a miniature breakthrough. It had poured molten gold into the cracks of his foundation.

It was a pity such an opportunity was a one-time occurrence in the Qi Refining stage.

The Green Wood Protection Technique was now capped. Absorbing any more wood aura would overload his meridians and cause harm rather than good. Just as he would eventually need a new cultivation method for Foundation Establishment, this spell also had advanced variations that were currently beyond his reach.

He looked down at his hands.

The two pieces of Thousand-Year Sunkwood Heart were gray and brittle. Their spirit wood aura had been completely devoured, leaving them as mere raw materials for artifact refining.

On the bright side, Han Yu thought, tossing the wood into his storage bag, I won’t need to replicate these for the spell anymore. That frees up a significant amount of charge.

He could now stockpile that energy to mass-produce Foundation Establishment talismans. Those would be devastating weapons in the hands of a Qi Refining cultivator.

There was only one small regret.

He had planned to break through to the fifth layer of Blood Refining last night. The epiphany had completely derailed that schedule.

Han Yu glanced at the brightening sky. It was too late to start now. If he generated a massive blood aura in broad daylight, Senior Sister Li or Hua Qi might notice while passing by.

He stood up, dusting off his robes, and made a mental note.

I need a Formation.

Something that could conceal his aura, block prying eyes, and secure his privacy. In these chaotic times, a simple locked door was no longer enough.