Was it "source"?


    Or perhaps "origin"?


    Lu Qingmo wasn’t quite sure what Han meant—or rather, she could scarcely believe what she was hearing.


    So many fortunate events in a single day?


    Han pulled out a fist-sized stone and set it on the table.


    “This stone contains source energy—the exact kind required for the Heavenly Saint Revival Elixir.”


    Lu Qingmo’s heart jolted. She couldn’t resist asking, “Is it really source energy?”


    “Absolutely, no question about it,” Han replied with a confident nod. Shu Ge would never steer him wrong—if it said this was the source, then it was the real deal.


    Lu Qingmo reached for the source stone, probing it with her senses, but nothing extraordinary stood out to her.


    Han piped up, “Aunt Mo, you’re forgetting what the Heavenly Saint Revival Elixir notes say. Only Yin Spirit cultivators or True Blood warriors can detect source energy.”


    “…”


    The words had barely left his mouth when Han inwardly winced. Wait—if that was true, how had he identified it as a source energy stone?


    Oh well, he’d just toss out a quick excuse. It wasn’t a big deal anyway.


    “I found this source stone in Black Mountain,” Han explained. “The moment I laid eyes on it, I knew it held source energy. It’s… intuition.”


    Yep, intuition. Pretty incredible, huh?


    In the distance, An Lang scratched her head, puzzled. How did I miss this?


    Whether An Lang knew or not didn’t matter—she wouldn’t call him out. Han had been meaning to reveal the source stone for a while, but the timing hadn’t been right before. After all, pulling out a rare treasure like this out of nowhere while lazing around at home would’ve looked suspicious.


    Now, though, he had the perfect chance to bring it into the light.


    “Aunt Mo, you could have Master verify it. He’d be able to confirm if it’s source energy.”


    “I trust you,” Lu Qingmo said firmly. “If you say it is, then it is.”


    Han grinned. “Good to know you’ve got faith in me.”


    “With two of the three treasures for the Heavenly Saint Revival Elixir secured, our odds of refining it have shot up. Aunt Mo, it might not be long before you’re back in top form—maybe even stronger than ever.”


    “Speaking of which, any word on cracking the info about the third treasure?”


    Lu Qingmo shook her head. “Not yet. Junior Brother Song hasn’t sent any updates.”


    “No hurry,” Han said breezily. “Two out of three puts us ahead of the game.”


    “The Heavenly Saint Revival Elixir…” Lu Qingmo murmured, her thumb brushing lightly over the source stone. “I never thought we’d get this close so soon.”


    She paused, then added, “The Sky-Mending Vine and this source energy—you found them both for me. I…”


    Han cut in with a playful smirk. “What’s this, Aunt Mo? Are you about to get all formal with me?”


    “Who said anything about formalities?” Lu Qingmo shot back, a rare spark of mischief in her eyes. “If I really wanted to thank you, I’d just hurry up and teach you the Thunder Seal.”


    Han laughed. “I’m already counting the seconds.”


    Without [Dream Enlightenment], passing down the Thunder and Earthfire Seals would have to happen in the real world now. Recalling the last inheritance session, Han fought to keep his grin from spreading too wide.


    “Oh, by the way—Aunt Mo, could you check out these treasures I nabbed from Black Mountain?”


    He spread them out: Sky Serpent Vine, an unknown rare flower, odd bee honey, Molten Ruins Gold, Mysterious Vine, Mysterious Vine Wood Bead, a purple stone, Guardian Stone, and Radiant Grass.


    There were other spiritual plants and treasures too, but none matched these in value, and Han could identify those himself.


    “The Sky Serpent Vine flower—did you harvest blood, gall, and bones from a serpent beast?” Lu Qingmo asked.


    “Yeah,” Han replied. “I took down a serpent beast on my way out of Black Mountain.”


    The Sky Serpent Vine flower needed a serpent beast’s blood, gall, and bones to be effective, and Han hadn’t overlooked that. On his way out, he’d burned some lifespan and ambushed a giant snake to secure them.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    “Excellent,” Lu Qingmo said. “Once you hit the Bone Refining Realm and start cultivating vitality, you can put it to use.”


    “This flower, though—I don’t recognize it. I’ll ask Junior Brother Song later to see if he can figure it out.”


    “The bee honey’s quality is solid. It can boost true essence and strengthen the body. Plus…” She scooped up a soybean-sized dab and popped it into her mouth. “No effect on the soul, but it does restore physical energy. A pretty decent find.”


    In short, it was great for recovering vitality after using lifespan-draining techniques or moves like the selfless sword strike.


    “If you want to use it for cultivation now, dilute it with water first,” she advised. The bees that produced it were tough, so the honey was suited for the Bone Refining and Marrow Cleansing Realm. With only true qi and no true essence, Han would need to thin it out.


    “The Molten Ruins Gold—yep, I’m right—can be forged into a True Martial Weapon,” Lu Qingmo continued.


    “And this purple stone? No clue what it is. We’ll check with Junior Brother Song, but it’s probably another martial forging material, likely as good as the Molten Ruins Gold.”


    “A True Martial Weapon?” Han asked, curious.


    “A weapon crafted by True Blood warriors, refined with their inner true qi and blood,” Lu Qingmo explained. “Nurtured by martial true blood, it’s like a life-bound weapon—though it doesn’t have the free-moving spirit of a divine artifact.”


    “Then it’s useless to me for now,” Han said, shaking his head. Whatever the purple stone was, if it rivaled Molten Ruins Gold, he couldn’t make use of it yet. True Weapons weren’t something Master Yuan from the county city could forge.


    “The Guardian Stone’s a neat one. Three pieces can grant Stone Skin,” Lu Qingmo noted.


    “I’m planning to give three to Senior Sister,” Han said. He’d collected eight Guardian Stones total. Refining three unlocked the Stone Skin ability, but refining more after that only aided healing—an effect he didn’t need, given his other recovery options. Letting Bai Ruoyue gain Stone Skin would make the most of it.


    “As for the Mysterious Vine Armor…” Lu Qingmo studied the Mysterious Vine and its Wood Bead, then reviewed the crafting method Han got from the Light Fox Clan. “If I’m guessing right, forging a True Weapon-grade Mysterious Vine Divine Armor depends on this bead.”


    Inner armor that could withstand True Blood power would definitely be True Weapon-tier.


    “This bead clearly holds more of the treasure tree’s essence than the vine—maybe even the tree’s core,” she mused.


    “But the Mysterious Vine Divine Armor…” She shook her head. “You’d need at least a True Blood-level forger to even try crafting it.”


    In this world, a strong cultivator wasn’t always a master forger, but a master forger was always a strong cultivator. Whether it was enchanting divine artifacts or nurturing weapons with true blood, realm was everything.


    “Sky Moon County doesn’t have a forger like that,” Han said, glancing at An Lang in the distance with a sigh.


    What a waste. She couldn’t even refine divine pills or incense yet. Counting on An Lang was a fool’s errand.


    An Lang felt a sudden chill run down her spine.


    “These treasures you’ve gathered—Sky Serpent Vine, rare flowers, bee honey, Molten Ruins Gold, Guardian Stones—they’re the kind of stuff Manifestation and Marrow Cleansing cultivators would spend years roaming far and wide to find,” Lu Qingmo said, genuinely impressed. “Your luck is unreal.”


    “All thanks to the Mountain God’s pointers,” Han said with a grin. “The spots it picks out—how could the loot there be anything less than top-notch?”


    “Speaking of which, Black Cloud Town’s been buzzing these past seven days, hasn’t it?”


    Lu Qingmo nodded. “Several new factions have rolled in. The big players are the Flying Immortal Sect and the Cui Family.”


    “The Flying Immortal Sect? The one tied to Lingxuan Daoist Temple?”


    “Yep,” Lu Qingmo confirmed. “They’re the top dogs in Dao Prefecture, the state south of Sky Prefecture. They’ve produced Immortal Realm masters before and still house the immortal artifact, the Celestial Pot. The last sect leader—who tried and failed to talk Emperor Sui out of wiping out the Ancient Divine Palace—was one of their Immortal Realm experts. He passed over four hundred years ago.”


    Han paused. If he did the math, the Great Qi Dynasty popped up not long after that sect leader’s death.


    “The Cui Family rules Qing Prefecture. No Immortal Realm experts, but they’ve got the immortal artifact Purple Qi Banner holding things down, and they’ve churned out powerhouses generation after generation,” she went on.


    “Sky Prefecture borders three states, and now all three of their hegemons are in Black Cloud Town, each led by Yin Spirit or True Blood-level venerables.”


    The Heavenly Dragon Sect ruled Sea Prefecture. Not a top-tier faction, just first-rate, but Sea Prefecture was an oddball with no supreme lineages. Tied tightly to the Western Sea, they were the undisputed champs there.


    All the states in Qi territory were technically under Great Qi, but sometimes these local hegemons had more sway than the dynasty. Still, unless pushed, they wouldn’t pick a fight with Great Qi. Dynasties rose and fell, but these factions stood firm.


    “Besides those two top-tier groups, a few first-rate factions have shown up too,” Lu Qingmo added.


    “From Sea Prefecture, there’s the Primordial Ocean Domain—a local outfit that doesn’t get along with the Heavenly Dragon Sect or the Western Sea. Then you’ve got Sky Prefecture’s Ten Paths Hall, Dao Prefecture’s Qingyuan Monastery, and Qing Prefecture’s Sky Sound Valley.”


    “Five first-rate factions, three top-tier lineages—all converging here.”


    Han whistled. “That’s a crowd. Enough to split between them?”


    “Eight factions, plus the Mountain God and Black Mountain itself—is it really that big a draw?”


    “A blessed cave-heaven land is worth it,” Lu Qingmo said. “Claim it, and you could easily start a new branch, with endless resources to churn out powerhouses. Black Mountain’s a prize worth the trip.”


    “Whoever takes it could climb a whole rung higher in a century.”


    That “rung higher” didn’t mean jumping from first-rate to top-tier—just going from average first-rate to a stronger one.


    “For these ancient factions, it’s rarely about short-term wins,” she explained. “They’re all about the long game—securing their lineage’s future.”


    “Owning a cave-heaven land, given enough time, brings benefits beyond imagination. It’s a different beast compared to what it means for an individual.”


    Han rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “Guess if I ever start my own sect, I’ll need to snag a cave-heaven land too.”


    “…” Lu Qingmo stared at him, speechless. Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself?


    “But these factions don’t have much to do with me. How many prodigies did they bring?”


    The younger generation—those were the ones Han needed to watch.


    “A few true disciples and dao seeds, for sure,” Lu Qingmo said.


    “The Flying Immortal Sect’s Suo Immortal Dao Child, the fourth son of the Cui Family’s current head, a true disciple from the Heavenly Dragon Sect…”


    “And then there’s the Saintess of the Pure Truth Palace. She’s the one to keep an eye on.”


    “The Pure Truth Palace has more than one true disciple dao seed, but only one Saintess. She’s the one who outshone all the others and earned the approval of their immortal artifact.”


    Han nodded silently. Perfect—his blood was already starting to boil.