"What an utterly exasperating man."
After the man had left, Ye Tian said, "Han Zhengyun, with a scoundrel like him, don't tell me you never had any way to deal with him before?"
Han Zhengyun replied, "Well, he used to come around and make trouble, but he never actually did anything to me. Besides, with someone like him—if he really wanted to harm me—there's nothing I could've done anyway, don't you think?"
It seemed she had indeed suffered quite a bit in the past. But at that moment, Ye Tian said, "It doesn't matter now. I'll be staying here for the time being. If he dares lay a hand on you again, I'll stand up for you. But you'll need to improve your strength too. That way, if you run into him again, you won't be helpless against him."
"How am I supposed to improve my strength?"
"With me around, what do you have to worry about?"
Ye Tian wiped his space ring, and a cultivation manual flew out from it. It was a technique from the Journey to the West world. Smiling, Ye Tian said, "Here, take this Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage. You must cultivate it diligently."
"Ten Thousand Buddhas Pay Homage?"
"That's right. You must cultivate it well. Once you've mastered it, if someone like Wang Tianhu ever bothers you again, you'll be able to deal with him easily. By then, he won't be a match for you anymore!"
Though this technique was exceptionally powerful, Ye Tian didn't hold back at all. Since fate had brought them together, and considering he would eventually return to the Journey to the West world, his time on the Tianwu Continent was limited—so he didn't mind giving it away.
Besides, he'd eventually acquire even more powerful techniques. This one was simply a gift for someone destined to receive it.
After receiving the technique, Han Zhengyun began reading it seriously. If she could successfully cultivate it, she would no longer have to fear Wang Tianhu.
But once she started cultivating, she realized her progress was terribly slow. Ye Tian quickly noticed something was off—why was her cultivation speed so sluggish? After a thorough check, he discovered that the spiritual energy in this world was extremely thin, and on top of that, her natural aptitude for cultivation wasn't great. That was why she was making such slow progress!
"So that's the reason!"
Ye Tian realized that if she wanted to improve more quickly, she'd need to take spirit-enhancing pills—only then could her strength improve at a reasonable pace.
If she only absorbed spiritual energy through cultivation, her progress would be far too slow.
"I've already checked—you don't have much talent for cultivation, and more importantly, the spiritual energy in this world is too thin. Naturally, your cultivation speed is going to be slow."
"What should I do then?"
Han Zhengyun genuinely wanted to grow stronger, but hearing Ye Tian say this made her worry. What if she couldn't improve her strength at all?
"But I've already thought of a solution. First, I'll help you unblock your meridians and reopen your acupoints. That'll boost your talent somewhat. Also, if you want to improve faster, you should take some pills that can quickly increase your spiritual energy. That's the best way to cultivate."
"But… aren't those pills really expensive?"
The moment she heard she needed pills, Han Zhengyun's heart sank. Typically, only the children of powerful clans could afford such luxuries.
"You're worried you can't afford them?"
"Yes… our family is so poor, there's no way we could afford something like that."
Ye Tian handed her a pouch and said, "Remember this—don't ever say your family is poor again, because one day, you'll break free from that fate."
"These are spirit stones."
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Though she had read about spirit stones in books, this was her first time seeing real ones. She couldn't help but feel a bit amazed. She looked up at Ye Tian and asked, "Why are you being so good to me?"
"I'm good to you because we're fated to meet. Since I've given them to you, just take them. Today, there's something else we need to do—come with me to gather some herbs for pill refinement."
"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."
If she wanted to cultivate, she had to be prepared to suffer. Without hardship now, there'd be no strength later.
If Wang Tianhu came looking for trouble again, she wouldn't stand a chance unless she grew stronger.
Time waited for no one. They needed to use what time they had to improve their strength quickly.
Ye Tian also wanted to explore this world while he was here, hoping to find a way back. If he could find that path, he knew he had to return right away—because in that other world, Di Jun and the others were still waiting for him.
Soon, they arrived at a nearby forest. Ye Tian sensed that the spiritual energy here was more concentrated, which meant there were likely spirit herbs growing nearby. He turned to Han Zhengyun and said, "What we need to do now is search this area for spirit herbs."
Ye Tian waved his hand through the air, and patterns of various herbs appeared in midair. He said, "See these? These are the herbs we're looking for today. You have to search carefully. I can help you now, but once I'm gone, you'll be on your own."
"You mean… you're going to leave me one day?"
"Of course. I don't belong to this world in the first place. So while I'll stay with you for now, I will leave eventually. But before I go, I'll teach you everything I can. You must study hard—don't let me down."
"Okay! I'll do exactly as you say. I won't disappoint you!"
The two of them each carried a wooden stick, sweeping through the underbrush as they walked, hoping to uncover spirit herbs hidden among the common foliage. Many of these herbs grew among regular plants, making them easy to miss if they weren't careful.
They kept moving forward, but even after a while, they still hadn't found anything. Han Zhengyun wiped the sweat from her face. With nothing to show for their efforts so far, she was starting to feel a little discouraged…