"Huu..."

The instant he circulated the Remnant Glow breathing mantra, a gentle breeze swept through the small courtyard. Wisps of heaven and earth Spiritual Qi drifted into his body through his newly opened acupoints.

The Meridians and acupoints that had always eluded his perception were now as clear as day. Even the process of guiding the Spiritual Qi into his Meridians for refinement proceeded without a hitch.

After half an incense stick of time, Xu Taiping successfully refined a single strand of True Qi and guided it into his Dantian.

"Half an incense stick of time just for one strand of True Qi. I'm practically a snail compared to the geniuses Perfected Lord Ziyang talked about. But still... this means I've finally set foot on the path of cultivation."

He didn't let the sluggish refinement speed discourage him.

"Grandpa always said hard work makes up for a lack of talent. If they practice for two hours a day, I'll practice for four. If they practice for four, I'll put in eight. One day, I'll definitely catch up!"

He silently reaffirmed his resolve.

"Right, I still have those soybean-sized Spirit Crystals. Fairy Lingyue said holding one while cultivating would double the results for half the effort."

Remembering the few Spirit Crystals that had formed within the Earth Treasury Fruit, he immediately retrieved one and began circulating his True Qi once more.

Aided by the tiny Spirit Crystal, his refinement of heaven and earth Spiritual Qi skyrocketed to at least three times its previous speed.

"Fairy Lingyue really didn't lie to me. This Spirit Crystal is a massive boost. At this rate, breaking through to the Door Opening Realm within half a year might actually be possible!"

Joy flushed his face as he felt the surge in his cultivation speed.

With the Spirit Crystal's assistance, his pace finally matched that of an ordinary cultivator.

Over the following days, apart from dedicating two hours a day to tending his medicinal field, Xu Taiping spent every waking moment cultivating. He didn't dare waste a single second.

...

Time flew by, and three months vanished in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Xu Taiping felt the True Qi within his Dantian growing increasingly dense. He sensed that he was on the verge of breaking through to the Dew Condensation Phase.

The Dew Condensation Phase was a specific term from the Remnant Glow Sutra. It measured the depth of a cultivator's True Qi before they managed to break through to the Door Opening Realm.

According to the sutra, this pre-breakthrough True Qi was categorized into three distinct phases: Dew Condensation, Frost Transformation, and Ice Formation.

A cultivator could only attempt to breach the Door Opening Realm after their True Qi surpassed the Ice Formation Phase.

Interestingly, once a cultivator reached the Frost Transformation Phase, circulating the Remnant Glow Sutra would conjure a layer of icy True Qi around their body. This barrier was as resilient as Top Grade wrought iron armor.

But even before reaching Dew Condensation, the burgeoning True Qi in his Dantian had already brought about striking physical changes.

For one, his senses of sight and hearing had sharpened dramatically compared to three months prior.

He could now clearly spot a sparrow resting on a branch over five hundred yards away. As for his hearing, he could pinpoint and identify wild beasts roaming the mountains within a half-mile radius purely by the rustling of leaves.

Furthermore, his physical strength and sprinting speed had vastly improved.

Though he still appeared scrawny, Xu Taiping could easily heft a two-hundred-pound stone mill with a single hand. As for his speed, he had recently chased down a wild deer through the rugged mountain terrain without breaking a sweat.

Growing up in Qingniu Village, he had frequently followed his grandfather into the mountains to hunt. His proficiency with a bow and traps meant he had enjoyed fresh game every single day for the past month.

Purple perilla leaves paired with roasted venison or rabbit meat—it was a feast he never grew tired of.

"Speaking of which, it's about time I checked the snares I set in the back mountain a few days ago. Maybe I'll get lucky and bag another yellow sheep for dinner."

Around noon, after wrapping up a grueling three-hour cultivation session, Xu Taiping rubbed his growling stomach and hopped off the bed.

Since his rigorous cultivation schedule left him little time for active hunting, he had spent the last three months scattering traps across the neighboring peaks. Now, he only needed to do occasional rounds to reap the rewards.

But before heading out, he had a far more pressing errand...

Selling his medicinal herbs.

Three months had passed since he sowed the first batch of Nine-leaf White Perilla seeds. Xu Taiping had harvested over three hundred pounds of roots and stems, and over sixty pounds of seeds. True to Fairy Lingyue's word, it was exactly triple the yield of a standard medicinal field.

"Going by weight alone, this batch should net me at least ninety-six Merit Coins. That's triple my initial estimates."

After hauling the bundled herbs to the courtyard entrance and stacking them neatly, Xu Taiping retrieved the bone flute provided by the West Wind Pavilion and blew a sharp note.

"Screech!..."

A moment later, a majestic bald eagle with a wingspan of over ten feet swooped down and landed outside the small courtyard.

"Uncle White Eagle, please deliver these herbs to the Hundred Herbs Hall to be sold. Once the transaction is complete, you may deduct three Merit Coins for your trouble."

Xu Taiping respectfully cupped his fists toward the massive avian.

Outsourcing the sale of common herbs to spirit avians was a convenient trick he had gleaned from the transmission jade slip. It saved precious time and effort, costing only a modest three Merit Coins per trip.

"I shall return with your funds tomorrow."

The eagle wasted no words. It gave a curt nod, clamped its massive talons around the bundled herbs, and launched itself into the sky.

"By tomorrow, I'll finally have enough cash to buy some proper cultivation techniques and martial arts from the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion."

Watching the eagle disappear over the horizon, Xu Taiping interlocked his fingers and stretched his stiff muscles with a satisfying groan.

Though saving up for True Fire Talismans remained a priority, a defensive martial skill was an absolute necessity. He had nearly been gored by a pack of wild boars during his last hunting trip.

He currently possessed a Dantian brimming with True Qi, yet completely lacked the knowledge of how to wield it.

Ideally, he would purchase a spell manual. Unfortunately, his pockets were too light for such luxuries; he had no choice but to settle for mortal martial arts while he saved up.

Besides, until he broke through to the Door Opening Realm, his True Qi reserves—even when bolstered by the Remnant Glow Sutra—were far too shallow to sustain proper spellcasting anyway.

"I really need to replace this bow and hunting knife, too."

He retrieved the battered weapons from his hut, strapping them on in preparation for his trek to the back mountain.

Both items had belonged to the previous tenant of the Green Bamboo Residence. The hunting knife’s edge was hopelessly chipped, and he had barely managed to knot the snapped bowstring back together.

Living alone in a wilderness crawling with wild beasts, basic self-defense was non-negotiable.

...

Half an incense stick of time later.

At the back mountain.

While Xu Taiping informally called it the "back mountain," the jade slip's map identified it as Yanglu Mountain, a name derived from the abundance of yellow sheep and elk that supposedly roamed its peaks.

In reality, his frequent excursions had revealed a distinct lack of both. Instead, the woods were infested with massive, aggressive sounders of wild boar.

"Bagging a boar wouldn't be so bad. It would sort out my meals for the next half month."

Xu Taiping muttered under his breath, his eyes darting warily as he navigated the dense underbrush.

While it was true that cultivators could practice Inedia to sustain themselves on ambient energy, doing so required reaching the Door Opening Realm. As a mere mortal on the cusp of cultivation, Xu Taiping was entirely dependent on vast quantities of meat to replenish the grueling physical toll of his training.