Breaking through to the second layer of Qi Refining brought a richer, more robust flow of Spirit Breath through Han Yu’s meridians. He could feel his muscles and sinews tightening, tempered by the increased spiritual pressure.

To his surprise, the nine drops of Blood Essence he once thought were his absolute limit had expanded. With his advancement, his body’s capacity for vital energy had grown. His original nine drops grew to ten, and he sensed there was still room for more.

His replication ability, tied to his own strength, had also quietly improved.

Where he could once only replicate a single drop of Blood Essence a day, he could now produce two. This meant he could unleash his Blood Droplet technique twelve times in rapid succession. Such lethality likely far outstripped any ordinary Laborer Disciple in the early stages of Qi Refining.

The Mystic Heart Fruit was harder to duplicate. He couldn’t quite manage two a day yet, but he could now produce four fruits every three days.

Han Yu felt a surge of quiet confidence. According to the Green Grain Qi Cultivation Method, once the spirit seed in his dantian fully sprouted, he would reach the third layer. When that sprout unfurled its first true leaf, he would reach the fourth layer—the threshold to become an Outer Disciple of Wanchun Valley.

It was time to return to the Green Grain Market. He needed a body refining manual or other treasures to sustain this explosive growth.

“Caw!”

Two sharp cries—one deep, one shrill—pierced the night. The big and little ravens, looking more intelligent and spirited than ever, flitted through the darkness and landed before him.

They hadn’t found any spirit fruits today, but that was to be expected. The lands surrounding Wanchun Valley were teeming with cultivators; any sign of spiritual flora was usually snatched up the moment it bloomed. His previous finds of Mystic Heart Fruit and Spirit Blood Vine had been strokes of pure luck.

“Caw!”

The larger raven nudged him, tilting its head toward the window.

“Something’s happening outside?” Han Yu whispered.

He crept to the window. Under the pale moonlight, a graceful figure was making her way toward Steward Wang’s residence. Han Yu suppressed a chuckle. It was Senior Sister Wei.

He had known about her “private business” with the Steward for months. It held no interest for him. However, as he watched, he noticed a second shape moving in the shadows.

A figure was crouching, creeping along the boundary of Han Yu’s and Old Li’s spirit fields. The intruder paused, did something in the dirt, and then scurried away into the night.

Once the figure stood up to run, Han Yu recognized him instantly.

It was Zhang Shan.

Han Yu didn’t leave his house. He was about to command the ravens to investigate when Old Li’s door creaked open.

The old man moved with a swiftness that bordered on predatory. He reached the spirit field, flicked his wrist, and sent a Blood Droplet whistling through the air. A moment later, he reached into the stalks and pulled out the limp corpse of a Spirit-Stealing Rat.

Old Li let out a low, chilling laugh and retreated back into his stone house.

Han Yu watched the exchange, his mind racing. It confirmed his theory—Zhang Shan was indeed the one breeding the rats to rob his peers. But why release one now? The Green Grain Spirit Rice was still nearly fifty days from harvest. And how had Old Li known exactly when to strike?

The old Daoist had been playing the sycophant to Zhang Shan lately. Clearly, the game they were playing was deeper and more dangerous than simple theft.

The next morning, Han Yu was inspecting his crop when he saw Zhang Shan arrive at Li Quan’s door. After a hushed, intense conversation, the two of them shouldered their baskets and set off for the Green Grain Market together.

Han Yu watched their retreating backs. Scheming against each other by night, walking together by day. Strange.

“Junior Brother Han…”

A dejected voice broke his thoughts. Senior Brother Sun Kang was trudging over from the direction of Liu Lan’s house, his face a mask of misery.

“What’s wrong, Senior Brother Sun?” Han Yu asked.

Sun Kang sighed, his shoulders slumped. “Ever since the harvest, Zhang Shan has been ‘lending’ Liu Lan spirit rice for her cultivation. Now she won’t even look at me. She’s become so cold.”

He kicked at the dirt. “I thought we were close. But I’m on the verge of breaking through to the third layer myself. I can’t just give her my own rice and sacrifice my future, can I?”

Han Yu looked at the kind-hearted man. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that their “friendship” was likely a lie fueled by Zhang Shan’s manipulation. Zhang Shan had likely used the rats to ruin Liu Lan’s harvest specifically so she would be forced to depend on him.

Night fell, the sunset staining the sky a deep, visceral crimson. Han Yu sat in his house, centering his mind for his own trip to the market the next day.

Suddenly, footsteps halted outside his door. With them came a heavy, metallic scent—the overwhelming stench of fresh blood.

Han Yu’s eyes snapped open. Several drops of Blood Essence surged in his veins, and a Blood Droplet hummed with lethal intent behind his back.

“Little brat.”

It was Old Li’s raspy voice. Han Yu opened the door.

Li Quan was dressed in black instead of his usual grey rags. Though there was no visible gore on his clothes, the smell of blood was suffocating. Most shocking of all, the old man’s snow-white hair was now streaked with vivid, blood-red strands.

“Master Daoist, you—”

Li Quan ignored the question, staring at Han Yu with a gaze that was both hungry and piercing. “You little brat… were you born a demonic cultivator?”

The old man stepped inside. “I climbed through mountains of corpses to finally reach the first layer of Blood Refining. Yet you, practicing nothing but that ‘blood slave’ Pseudo-Immortal Method, possess blood qi as potent as mine?”

Han Yu’s heart hammered against his ribs. “Master Daoist, you reached the first layer of Blood Refining? Isn’t that a realm used by the Demon Blood Sect?”

Old Li grinned, showing yellowed teeth. “Exactly! The Demon Blood Sect!”

“I have finally obtained the true manual of the Blood Refining Technique. I am no longer a mere laborer. I am a true cultivator!”