Lu Qingshan continued deeper into the forest and found a lake. Growing on top of a little island in the center was a cluster of herbs coined the Blood Vines. The Seven Mysteries Gate had written about it in their records, citing the plant as highly important for all sect members to engrave into their minds.

  Each tendril of these Blood Vines had a multitude of useful options available. They could promote healing, reduce the effects of aging, increase blood essence, improve mobilization of blood energy, cure mortal illnesses, and were generally used as a tonic for all stages of martial arts. Including Viscera Tempering.

  If a sect could secure one head of the Blood Vine’s source plant, they would have a money printer. And there were two of them here.

  The problem was transplanting them into a new place. The older a Blood Vine head, the more ingrained into the soil it would be. He needed to be extremely careful while doing this, or perhaps his sect members could help. The last alternative was to simply move the sect here.

  Insects in the area slowly trickled out their hiding places to follow the hum of the Insect Harmony Mantra. Poisonous beetles, wasps, ants, and centipedes appeared in front of his eyes. He shook his head. This place was still very dangerous for the average disciple, and most of the elders too. One had to be in the mid-Viscera Tempering stage to be able to resist these insect's poisons.

  He called back the Bloodseeker Flies who had just finished consuming the entire toad corpse. Full of energy, the flies began to breed a new generation. Lu Qingshan allowed them to frolic around the lake while he took a rare break.

  Then his eyes automatically made their way onto the stone slab, and he thought the Roaming Tiger and Nimble Deer breathing methods were quite close to the next level. He still had work to do, he told himself.

  A few hours later, when day turned into night and the Bloodseeker Flies had laid their eggs inside his jade boxes, Lu Qingshan continued inside the forest. He was more careful after his battle with the toad. Though his strength was certainly top-notch, there were still situations that could become too dangerous for him to handle.

  The Blood Pulse Technique at the second level gave him a much stronger damaging effect on an opponent's blood energy. It also had a disruptive effect on their three apertures, giving him the battle power of an actual Aperture Tempering expert. Combined with the strength of his physical body and the enhancements given by his other techniques, Lu Qingshan's strength fell squarely in the mid-Aperture Tempering stage.

  Still, he decided to retreat out of caution. That toad had appeared relatively early into the forest and he could tell there was still a lot more land to uncover. It wouldn't do for him to get caught by a particularly powerful monster beast and get chased around for days. He needed to keep steady, develop the sect further, and move his people to watch over the Blood Vines.

  For now, Lu Qingshan grabbed a cluster of blood vines and stored them inside jade, enough to make a few medicinal baths. He rushed back to the sect to get things going. Along the way, he delivered the cluster of flies back to the swarm, deciding to raise the new generation inside his jade boxes.

  Liu Yingting was still pacing around the pavilion with a hand on his chin when Lu Qingshan returned. The Elders of the Seven Mysteries Gate joined them quickly. After Lu Qingshan took out the bloody vines, even Liu Yingting was forced to come to a stop and pay attention.

  “We need to find a way to maximize their effects before the next battle,” Lu Qingshan said.

  They had three options from a quick round of discussions. Lu Qingshan took one portion for his medicinal bath, which Liu Yingting confirmed could happen within a week. Miao Mei and Wu Ruoling had earned enough contributions to the sect for them to receive a portion as well.

  Dong Qianyu and Liu Yingting refused their portions, offering them to the disciples instead. They agreed to turn the remaining two portions of Blood Vines into Blood Strengthening Pills. Backed by a constant stream of medicines from the spiritual land, the sect entered a period of unprecedented development.

  ———

  Four months later, Lu Qingshan emerged from his second medicinal bath after slaying another Aperture Tempering stage monster beast. There was word from Miao Mei about one last expedition gathering due to the Jade Skies Sect’s efforts.

  The Seven Mysteries Gate's strength had risen to another level. Every single martial artist from the past Seven Mysteries Gate had reached Bone Tempering at the minimum. Thus, the minimum qualification to be an Elder had to be raised. Nobody complained though, as the rewards had also gone up a level as well. The Blood Vines had been instrumental in their rapid rise.

  Meng Zhang knocked on the door. Lu Qingshan gazed at the stone slab with a happy smile.

  Lu Qingshan (24 years old)

  Lifespan Remaining: 42 years

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Cultivation: Mortal Shedding - Viscera Tempering

  Techniques: Hundred Beasts Refinement (Level 1, 11/10000), Insect Harmony Mantra (Level 4, 26/10000), Blood Seas Inner Force (Level 4, 7561/10000), Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique (Level 1, 9811/10000), Blood Pulse Technique (Level 2, 29/10000), Red Falcon Breathing Method (Limit), Tiger Fist (Limit), Deer Steps (Limit), Stoneskin Technique (Limit), Great Ape Breathing Method (Level 5, 4599/10000), Seven Steps Technique (Level 3, 3124/10000), Golden Shell Body (Level 1, 2519/10000), Roaming Tiger Breathing Method (Level 3, 4377/10000), Nimble Deer Breathing Method (Level 3, 3981/10000), Golden Drop Inner Force (Level 3, 106/10000), Tiger Roar Technique (Limit), Crane Wings Technique (Limit), Iron Bear Technique (Limit), Viper Strike Technique (Limit), Basic Hand-to-hand (Limit)

  Mystic Jade Essence - Dao Fruit of Sublime Miracles - Condensing... 26%

  Another half year and he might even reach the Aperture Tempering realm, courtesy of the Blood Seas Inner Force combined with the powerful Hundred Beasts Refinement. But the amount of monster beasts with good blood essence had decreased. Lu Qingshan only found one viable choice after a series of battles to defend the Blood Vines.

  The mother bear, toad, and snake he'd fought all shared something in common: the potential to reach the next realm. He didn’t know what it meant, but he guessed they should be able to compete with a Qi Refinement realm cultivator.

  After confirming this, Lu Qingshan no longer dared to go further. The rise in spiritual energy phenomenon, noticed by Qin Ye, might mean the place was already occupied by such monster beasts. These mountain ranges were certainly old enough.

  Leaving the mountains in an emergency was necessary, and so the Elders had already made plans on how to do so with the rest of the disciples in attendance. Lu Qingshan was inclined to take the path to the other spiritual land, but some of his Elders disagreed. If the first camp fell into danger, they doubted a second camp would fare much better.

  Still, he loathed to simply drop everything and run, especially considering the pair of Blood Vines’ heads generating secret medicines for them. The spiritual energy provided by the land made it easier to practice martial arts. Some of the disciples had reported feeling less fatigue than before.

  Lu Qingshan had a sinking feeling about the next battle. The Jade Skies Sect seemed to place great importance on exploring the mountain ranges, and he hadn’t forgotten about their connection with cultivators.

  He decided to come up with some plans of his own. With Insect Harmony Mantra at the fourth level, the amount of Bloodseeker Flies he could control had risen drastically - almost a quarter of the swarm. Flies that had hatched from devoured Aperture Tempering stage monsters were stronger by a small level, with a bite force nearing the peak of what a Flesh Tempering expert could produce.

  And there were a lot of eggs.

  Lu Qingshan met with the Elders and ordered them to begin evacuating. With him as their higher end battle strength, there was no need for anyone else to fight. He alone could slaughter any number of martial artists, and his flies could chase down the rest. An early evacuation would help preserve the sect if something unexpected did really happen.

  As five groups filed out, Qin Ye and Li Fanghua stayed with him. They hadn’t made any big breakthroughs but their methods were greater than the other Elders. Especially Qin Ye.

  Lu Qingshan looked at everything they had built and shrugged. These houses weren’t made to last. With the sect’s martial arts manuals split into six directions, the sect wasn’t likely to have their legacy cut off.

  It was almost time for the enemies to arrive. At the break of dawn, Lu Qingshan put away the Black Fury Inner Force manual in his hand. His breath fell silent.

  The sound of footsteps quickly made their way up the stream. Lu Qingshan followed behind them, using his insects as trackers. At the fourth level of Insect Harmony Mantra, he gained a supernatural sense of any insects under his control, effectively letting him know the forest like the back of his hand.

  One of the martial artists stopped. He lost the spiritual connection with the fly, but this told him they thought it was normal. Lu Qingshan continued to follow at a safe distance while they journeyed deeper into the forest.

  There were about five enemy groups in total that split up to explore. Everything looked fine. The Bloodseeker Flies were buzzing through the forest like normal flies, only stopping when they spotted a martial artist they hadn’t already seen in the past minute. From this, Lu Qingshan had a rough sense of where the five groups were and where they were heading.

  And then an anomaly appeared. All the flies that had flown through one of the areas in between the martial artists had disappeared. He sent another small cluster there a few minutes later, and they vanished once again.

  Lu Qingshan retreated even further away, losing connection to the furthest group of martial artists. He sent a signal to Qin Ye and Li Fanghua to notify the Elders in waiting for a full retreat. They were leaving.

  It was not easy to kill these flies, not even for him, and in such a wide area repeatedly. Lu Qingshan immediately suspected the presence of cultivators. None of the Seven Mysteries Gate would be able to help if he did end up facing them, so they had to be sent away.

  But both of them wanted to stay behind afterwards and broaden their horizons. After a moment of thought, he agreed.

  “Stay calm and don’t do anything I don’t tell you to,” he said. He watched them leave, thinking of the best way to handle this.

  If there were particularly powerful cultivators who had chosen to come here, then they might run into the existence of first rank monster beasts that he’d confirmed existed. They might not even expect there to be such powerful enemies in these mountains. As immortal cultivators, they were weaker physically than their martial counterparts, and were susceptible to ambushes.

  That gave Lu Qingshan an opening to fish in troubled waters. If the sect could gain a true cultivator’s treasure…

  He decided to take the risk. Lu Qingshan kept his Bloodseeker Flies scattered around the area, watching if any large numbers died suddenly. Through this he was able to track and follow the suspected immortal cultivator's movements. After retreating back towards the Bloodseeker Fly Swarm, he replenished his lost flies and continued to watch.