Chapter 65 The Final Kick

The Northwest border of the Human Race is adjacent to the territory of the Demon Race.

The Demon Race is restless, and there are frequent frictions along the border line.

Recently, the Demon Race has been particularly active.

Heading Northwest from Chu Prefecture City, one reaches Huangyang Town, and further west from Huangyang Town lies the Cang Plains.

The Cang Plains is a flatland surrounded by mountains on three sides, like a pocket. The opening of the pocket is only on the east side, which is the direction of Huangyang Town, where the terrain is relatively flat.

The border line between the two races is defined by the western mountains of the Cang Plains.

This is precisely why there are Demon Monsters everywhere on the Cang Plains.

The Devilish Qi leaking from the Demon Realm, the pollution caused by the two races' perennial warfare, and the small, frequent actions of the Demon Race—all these factors combined have made the Cang Plains a natural, excellent hunting ground for Human Race Cultivators during ceasefires and times of peace.

Now, the behemoth known as the State Religion has finally found the time to extend its reach to Chu Prefecture City.

Large-scale infrastructure by the State Religion, specifically building the Spiritual Qi network, is of utmost importance.

On the Cang Plains, a spirit connection platform has already begun construction.

Countless laborers, Loose Cultivators, armies, and all sorts of people have begun to flood into Huangyang Town, this vital transportation hub.

The originally poor and remote town has become unprecedentedly lively.

In just one month, Squad Yi-34 has lost count of how many times they have stepped into the temporary camp of the State Religion in Huangyang Town.

Yun Bai now genuinely likes the Cang Plains, this hunting ground filled with Demon Monsters—this place is practically his vault; as long as he is willing to put in the effort, money just pours into his pockets.

In this month, Yun Bai earned over 200,000 Spirit Stones.

They have never encountered Demon Monsters like the "Fate-Fallen Demon Monster" they met on their first mission again, and the "nails" on the Cang Plains that required their Xinyue Hall squad to specifically remove are also decreasing, so the speed of earning money has slowed down.

On the Cang Plains, there are over thirty teams like theirs from the State Religion's Xinyue Hall and the military's Huben Army. With large units clearing the front lines, their combined cleanup speed can be described as unstoppable.

Captain Zeng Fu estimates that this cleanup of the Cang Plains is expected to be completed within two months.

The site for the spirit connection platform has also begun to be selected, and a large number of geomancers from the State Religion have flooded into the Cang Plains.

Some are happy, some are worried.

Progress on the ground is rapid, but unexpectedly, the cleanup of the Cang Plains' skies is progressing slowly.

The number of Demon Monsters in the skies above the Cang Plains is extremely vast, and coupled with the fact that there are not many Cultivators capable of aerial combat, this has led to a phenomenon where ground Cultivators often have to deal with attacks from aerial Demon Monsters while executing missions.

Yun Bai can still clearly recall the harassment from the large flock of Demon Birds they encountered when they hunted the Fate-Fallen Demon Monster.

Field squads lacking aerial strike capabilities, if they haven't made sufficient preparations, are very likely to suffer significant losses as a result.

At this moment, the members of Squad Yi-34 are all sitting cross-legged in the "Healing Pool," quietly breathing and regulating their Qi.

Suddenly, a significant fluctuation of Spiritual Qi disturbed everyone.

Captain Zeng Fu, Du San, Fu Lianchuan, and Li Ying opened their eyes in surprise and turned to look at the source of the spiritual power fluctuation.

It was actually Yun Bai.

"Hey, this kid, it looks like he's about to condense his Golden Core," Du San clicked his tongue. "What a fast speed. It's only been a month, right? Is he about to catch up to us?"

"It really looks like he's about to break through to the Late Stage of the First Realm," Captain Zeng Fu nodded. "That's good news. After Yun Bai breaks through, Fu Lianchuan, you can teach him some Five Elements Spells."

Five Elements Spells, the world-renowned Spell System of the Dao school.

The concept of the "Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth" Five Elements of the Universe—who in this world doesn't know it?

From the Innate First Realm Cultivators at the bottom to the legendary Saints at the top, everyone loves Five Elements Spells.

Because this embodies an understanding of all things in the Universe and is an interaction with the Universe itself.

From a practical perspective, if used properly, Five Elements Spells are enough to multiply a Cultivator's combat power several times over!

Fu Lianchuan is the expert in this area within the squad, especially skilled in Water and Fire Spells.

Now, Captain Zeng Fu has been able to fully accept Yun Bai's position within the team as a Genius specially cultivated by the State Religion.

That is, a student.

Captain Zeng Fu knows that his squad cannot keep Yun Bai forever, even though Yun Bai has already made this place his home.

Because the space an ordinary Grade-B Xinyue Hall squad can provide for someone like Yun Bai is simply too small.

Therefore, Captain Zeng Fu tries to teach Yun Bai as much as possible.

Yun Bai comes from a background as a Loose Cultivator and has not received systematic cultivation education.

After joining the State Religion, he was primarily trained in actual combat, so many fundamental things still need to be taught to Yun Bai within the squad, laying a solid foundation for Yun Bai to study in the Holy City in the future.

This way, when Captain Zeng Fu brags in the future, he can say without shame that Yun Bai was cultivated by their team!

Previously, when Yun Bai was fighting Demon Monsters, he once mentioned that he wanted to study Five Elements Spells.

But at that time, Fu Lianchuan said that Yun Bai's cultivation of the Middle Stage of the First Realm was too low, and using Spells in actual combat wouldn't be very effective, and without actual combat, he wouldn't get the training.

It would be easier to start studying once Yun Bai breaks through to the Late Stage of the First Realm.

Unexpectedly, Yun Bai is about to break through so quickly!

With everyone's eyes focused on him, Yun Bai is anxiously trying to condense his Golden Core.

As long as he successfully condenses this complete Golden Core, he will officially step into the Late Stage of the First Realm.

However, no matter how he compresses it, that liquid-like Spiritual Qi cannot be condensed into a "solid" sphere.

This is because of insufficient absorption of Spiritual Qi.

Thus, Yun Bai frantically operates his Guiding Technique, and the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth around his body is torn into Yun Bai's Meridians, finally flowing into his Dantian.

At this moment, the surface of the Golden Core that is about to form is uneven; while Spiritual Qi is constantly pouring in, it is also constantly leaking out!

This has reached a balance.

It's just like a tug-of-war; whoever gives up first falls down.

Only if the Spiritual Qi pouring in is greater than the Spiritual Qi leaking out can the Golden Core possibly become further solidified and become a true Golden Core!

However, things go against his wishes.

Yun Bai has already tried his best to snatch Spiritual Qi from heaven and earth, but it is still insufficient.

He even feels that for a moment, the nearby Spiritual Qi has been drained by him!

He feels that he really is a black hole that mercilessly devours everything; no matter how much he eats, it's not enough, and he wishes he could eat everything.

But unfortunately, there is nothing left to eat nearby.

"Whew—" Yun Bai opens his eyes and lets out a long breath.

"Is it over?"

"This... didn't succeed?"

The four people surrounding Yun Bai stare at him intently, looking him up and down.

Yun Bai is startled.

"This aura, there's no change," Du San strokes his chin. "Yun Bai, didn't you break through?"

"No," Yun Bai says with a wry smile.

"What happened?" Captain Zeng Fu asks.

"Sigh, the Spiritual Qi I absorbed was insufficient, not enough to condense into a core," Yun Bai says.

"Hiss, so that's the case. What is the reason? Is it because your Cultivation Technique is sluggish, causing you to be unable to absorb enough Spiritual Qi; or is it because the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth is not enough for you to use?" Captain Zeng Fu asks further.

The other three understand upon hearing this.

They were violently interrupted from their breathing by Yun Bai's commotion because they felt the surrounding Spiritual Qi suddenly dry up.

"It's the latter," Yun Bai says without hesitation.

"If it's just a problem of insufficient Spiritual Qi, then that's easy to solve," Captain Zeng Fu says with a smile.

The others also smile.

Li Ying, the Spirit Official of the State Religion, speaks up: "This is precisely the reason why our State Religion wants to build a spirit connection platform here to connect the entire Human Race's Spiritual Qi network!"

The Spiritual Qi in the world of Chu Prefecture City cannot be called thin, but it definitely cannot be considered dense either.

"Is that so?" Yun Bai is surprised. "Then how did those local Innate Second Realm Cultivators in Chu Prefecture City come to be? The Chen family's? And the military's, for example, General Yang Cang?"

"Hahaha. They all used Medicinal Pills to push themselves up!" Du San laughs.

"You mean I have to wait until the spirit connection platform is built before I can break through?" Yun Bai asks again.

"It doesn't have to be that way. Our State Religion has a Spiritual Spring that connects to the Bange Spiritual Vein south of Chu Prefecture City. Every Cultivator can go there when they are breaking through. I will register it for you, saying that you want to break through to the Late Stage of the First Realm. After you return to Chu Prefecture City next time, you can just go there."

"Under normal circumstances, you should have a quota of 100 units of Spiritual Qi, free of charge. Any more than that will cost money. Uh, 1 unit of Spiritual Qi is equivalent to the amount contained in a standard Spirit Stone." Captain Zeng Fu explains patiently.

"Is that so?" Yun Bai is surprised.