Two more days passed, and Ling Xiao's Falling Star Fist had been cultivated to the level of Great Perfection, a realm where he could unleash and retract the technique effortlessly.
According to the standards of the Mountain and River Martial Soul, his movements were flawless.
The Crimson Sun Technique also progressed rapidly and finally reached the ninth level of Great Perfection, significantly increasing his True Qi once more.
At the same time, his cultivation level had smoothly reached the peak of the Martial Veins Second Layer, with both of his Martial Veins refined to be extremely robust.
Now the density of True Qi in his body, his strength, and his physical resilience were all comparable to that of a Martial Artist at the Martial Veins Third Layer.
In just about a week, he had gone from being deemed trash by others to reaching the peak of a Martial Veins Second Layer Martial Artist, increasing his strength many times over.
The source of all these changes, naturally, was the awakening of the Mountain and River Martial Soul.
Up to now, his interest in this Mountain and River Martial Soul had grown stronger and more intense.
However, breaking through to the Martial Veins Third Layer encountered a minor trouble; progressing to the next stage required the assistance of certain external substances.
Not only would this make the breakthrough easier, but it would also help prevent demonic deviation.
To put it bluntly, he needed pills!
Pills like the Breakthrough Pill, Heart-protecting Pill, and Vessel-protecting Pill.
Currently, he only had one Breakthrough Pill on hand—a far cry from enough. To safely break through, both the Heart-protecting Pill and the Vessel-protecting Pill were essential.
Since he only had one life to live and no one to guard him during the breakthrough, he had to protect himself.
After returning home and dining, Ling Xiao did not continue to cultivate but entered his room to plan his future.
In the past, he didn't even dare to think about the annual competition.
But now things were different. He was confident that on the day of the annual competition, he could successfully break through to the Martial Veins Third Layer.
As long as he performed well in the competition, he would become a key disciple the Ling Family would focus on nurturing.
From then on, he wouldn't need to worry about many things himself, he would have access to more resources, and he might even receive a monthly stipend, a complete contrast to his present situation.
By then, not to mention Ling Feng or Ling Fei, even Ling Yixue and the talented disciples from the other families in Tianfeng City, he planned to surpass them all.
"The effects of the Mountain and River Martial Soul seem to be not just practice and analysis. There are villages and lands inside, and perhaps I can cultivate medicinal herbs and raise fierce beasts!"
There are essentially two sources for pill materials: one is plants, and the other is animals.
If he wanted pills, he had to gather enough materials first. If he could cultivate plants and breed Monster Beasts in the Mountain and River Map, that would be marvelous.
Exceptional analysis and practice effects, coupled with the ability to cultivate cultivation resources—this was simply perfect!
He must give it a try!
Ling Xiao looked outside his room, his gaze falling on the vast expanse of lush forest on the hill behind the Ling Family's residence.
Tianfeng City was surrounded by mountains on all sides, these mountains were known as the Fulong Mountain Range.
The Fulong Mountain Range was dense with forests and had complex terrain. The highest peak stood over 8,000 meters tall, shrouded in snow year-round, a magnificent sight indeed.
Just how vast the Fulong Mountain Range was remained a mystery, for even from the highest peak, one could not see across the entire range.
Legend has it that a dragon lay stretched out among the mountains, though no one had ever seen it; instead, there were plenty of Monster Beasts in the mountains, beings both feared and sought after by Martial Artists.
They feared them because Monster Beasts were powerful and terrifying.
They sought after them because many materials from Monster Beasts could be sold for money and used in alchemy.
Monster Beasts had been categorized into ten levels by people.
These were the data collected by Martial Artists through their blood and experience.
Generally, the level of Monster Beasts corresponded with the cultivation level of Martial Artists, for example, a level one Monster Beast was basically equivalent to a Martial Artist at the Martial Veins First Layer.
But as Monster Beasts have natural advantages, they tend to be stronger than most Martial Artists at the Martial Veins First Layer in actual combat.
Legend has it that a level ten Beast King could easily destroy an entire nation, and certainly no one wished to come across such a Monster Beast.
Ling Xiao headed to the Fulong Mountain Range, not to make money or hunt Monster Beasts, but to look for some special herbs and the young cubs of Monster Beasts, trying to see if he could plant and raise them within the Mountain and River Map.
Once successful, he would be able to breed those rare plants and animals himself in the future, and that would be a tremendous advantage indeed.
He leaped over the walls of the Ling Family compound and poised himself, employing the Soaring Cloud Step as he darted towards the Fulong Mountain Range.
The Soaring Cloud Step was faster than riding a horse even without using the Bursting Qi Technique, and with it, it would be even more terrifying.
Although it consumed True Qi, Ling Xiao had cultivated the Qi Recovery Technique, which essentially ensured that his True Qi consumption would not be too great.
Besides, using a Lightweight Body Technique itself was a form of cultivation.
Before long, Ling Xiao had already reached the periphery of the Fulong Mountain Range.
He didn't dare to venture too deep into the forest. If he encountered a ferocious Monster Beast, or even a Beast King, ten lives wouldn't be enough to escape death.
Anyway, he had only two purposes for coming here this time, one was to experiment, to see if the Mountain and River Map could be used for planting and breeding.
The other was to collect materials for alchemy.
The Pharmacy Hall of the Ling Family had specialized alchemists and masters of alchemy; as long as you provided the materials and paid a certain labor fee, they would concoct pills for you.
Of course, you had to be a disciple of the Ling Family as a prerequisite.
The moment he entered the thicket, Ling Xiao suddenly laughed.
Because he had found another benefit of the Mountain and River Map.
On the map, clouds scattered to reveal a jungle, and upon careful observation, it was not hard to see that this was the Fulong Mountain Range.
However, the map only showed the Fulong Mountain Range within about a kilometer radius with Ling Xiao as the center.
If it was just showing a map, there wouldn't be anything so astonishing about it, but the key was that the map also displayed several options.
These options were selectable, and once chosen, they would appear on the map.
Herbs were represented as green dots; after clicking on them, you could see what kind of herb it was, with a simple information display.
Wild beasts were marked with yellow dots, Monster Beasts with red dots; after clicking on them, their level would be displayed. Humans were marked with white dots, and after clicking on them, a simple analysis of data would appear, although it was not as detailed as that of the Monster Beasts.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao almost laughed out loud with excitement, as he increasingly felt the marvel of his Mountain and River Martial Soul.
This map seemed to contain the whole world, only requiring some event to trigger it for the display to unfold.
But as thrilled as he was, he didn't forget what he came to do today, and now with this display, it would be convenient.
Ling Xiao's primary targets were herbs and Monster Beasts below Level Three.
Ling Xiao checked one of the green dots, then leaped up into the air and dashed toward the direction of the green dot.
The green dot represented a plant called "Heavenly Fragrance Grass," which was the most important herb for concocting Vessel-protecting Pills.
The trouble was that this herb usually grew on cliffs and steep rock faces tens or even hundreds of meters high.
If it had been before, Ling Xiao himself collecting it?
He wouldn't even dare to think about it.
But now there were no worries, with the Soaring Cloud Step activated, stepping on the cliffs, even at heights of one to two hundred meters, was very easy.