The Heavenly Empire extended from the first to the ninth layer of heaven, but most of the heavenly creatures lived in the first layer of the heavenly realm, just over the human realm. In the human realm, there were a few scenic spots that were overflowing with natural qi.
These scenic spots were usually located in remote areas, away from human beings. As nature ran its course in the uninhabited land, spiritual power accumulated and saturated the area.
Such spots were not only good for those who planned to start cultivating, but also for those who planned to advance their cultivation.
If done right, a day’s meditation was more useful than pumping one’s body with medicinal pills or elixirs.
One such cultivation spot was the Maiden Tears Lake.
It was too bad that Zhang Fengxi found out too late in his previous life. He had to settle for the second best, all the while grunting about losing the best cultivation spot.
Early the next morning, Zhang Fengxi arrived at Maiden Tears Lake.
The lake was located in the middle of a dense forest. Zhang Fengxi rode his spiritual tiger all the way to the spot and landed just by the lake.
He marveled at the beautiful turquoise color of the lake. It was still as beautiful as in his previous life.
One deep breath filled his entire body with rich spiritual power.
Even his spiritual mount was happy to be there. The tiger pranced around the shallow water and tried to catch a fish for fun.
"Hey, Xiao Huang, stop that," Zhang Fengxi scolded his tiger. The tiger recoiled at his master’s voice and stopped clawing into the water.
"This is a sacred place for recovery and meditation," he explained while patting his tiger’s back. "The animals here are blessed by the gods. If you kill them, you are going to gather bad karma. Do you want to be reborn in the human realm in your next life?"
Xiao Huang growled and shook his head fervently.
Zhang Fengxi snickered. "I knew it."
Zhang Fengxi and his tiger stood by the lake. The young alpha stretched his body and let out a satisfied groan. He had a lot of time. Let’s just enjoy the beautiful view for a while before finding the best cultivation spot in the area.
He was so engrossed in the beautiful scenery and fresh air that he did not notice someone creeping close to him.
"Yo, Zhang Fengxi."
Zhang Fengxi turned his head around in bewilderment and gazed into Zhou Guiying’s grinning face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in a hollow voice.
"The same as you?" came the answer.
"..."
"The same as everyone," Zhou Guiying corrected his answer.
Wait, everyone?
Seeing Zhang Fengxi’s doubtful expression, Zhou Guiying could not help but laugh out loud.
"Hahahahaha!!! Brother Fengxi, do you think that you are the only one who knows about this magnificent place?"
Uhh, yes?
"Of course not! Heck, my brother told me a long time ago. So did the other parents! Didn’t your father tell you?"
"...."
No.
Zhang Zhiyuan was a through and through honest man. He did not appreciate cultivators who advanced their cultivation by harvesting spiritual power without much effort.
He wanted his son to excel, but he also did not want his son to cheat.
"You need to be more like the Crown Prince," he often said. "The Crown Prince is younger than you by two years, but he is the most hardworking young man I know! His cultivation level is a lot higher than yours. And he did it all without external help."
Yeah, yeah.
Xie Jianyu is simply -- the best -- in everything.
"Come, come," Zhou Guiying said once he was done laughing out loud. "Let me take you to the best cultivation spots here. Lucky for you, there are still some left."
Sigh.
Never mind about the best cultivation spot.
He might not even have the second-best or the third-best.
Zhang Fengxi trotted toward an empty stone platform. He then sat there and started to meditate.
Although he did not end up with the best spot, he reaped a lot of benefits by just meditating there for hours.
By the time he was done, his back was as stiff as iron and his rear side as hard as two shapely boulders. His legs were numb. When Zhang Fengxi tried to move them, he was overcome with a prickly sensation all over his legs.
"Gaaaaaah...!!!"
Zhang Fengxi did not want to meditate anymore. Enough cultivation for the day. All he wanted to do at the moment was go home and eat something delicious.
Most cultivators had already left. Save for two people who were strolling by the lake.
Zhang Fengxi narrowed his eyes at them.
Who were they?
Why were they holding each other’s hands?
Blood rushed to his head when he recognized the high ponytail hairstyle and the dragon-shaped crown that adorned his hair.
Xie Jianyu!
And next to him, the eager-looking young man could only be Jiang Muchen!
Hard work, his ass!
No external help, his foot!
Xie Jianyu was also benefiting from the abundant natural spiritual power! Oh, Zhang Fengxi could not wait to tell his father about this amazing discovery. His father was going to regret his words immensely.
"Xie Jianyu!"
Xie Jianyu and Jiang Muchen turned their heads and loosened their hands from each other’s grip. Zhang Fengxi approached them with a scary expression.
"What are you doing here? I thought that you advanced your cultivation without any help?"
The one who answered him was not Xie Jianyu, but Jiang Muchen.
"Not that it is any of your business," Jiang Muchen said with an irksome voice. "Little Uncle is just helping me to overcome my bottleneck*."
Zhang Fengxi furrowed his brows at Jiang Muchen.
"Help you? How?"
Everyone was responsible for their own cultivation progress.
"He helped me through dual cultivation**."
Zhang Fengxi’s soul almost left his body when he heard Jiang Muchen’s answer.
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Author’s note :
*A bottleneck means a hurdle to overcome before clearing a cultivation stage. It happens from time to time, more often in later cultivation stages.
**Dual cultivation usually refers to cultivation between two consenting partners who engage in sexual intercourse at the same time.