Chapter 253: Chapter 218: Tier 2 Resources, Secluded Cultivation

「Three months later.」

Outside Broken River Castle, Lu Zhao returned from the depths of the Wilderness.

His profound Daoist robe was stained with a few splatters of dark brown blood, still wet. A heavy aura clung to him, thick with the lingering stench of blood and Evil Qi.

The moment he stepped into the castle and reached his cave residence, he saw Xu Wei already standing there respectfully. On the ground beside him, six jade boxes and beast hide bags of varying sizes were neatly arranged.

"Senior."

Seeing Lu Zhao return, Xu Wei immediately bowed, his voice holding a barely perceptible trace of nervousness and anticipation.

Lu Zhao’s gaze swept over the materials on the ground. A quick scan with his Divine Sense instantly confirmed their type and quality. They were the six items from the list he had provided. While not the absolute best, they all met the required standard, and the quality of two even slightly exceeded his expectations.

His face remained impassive as he gave a slight nod. "Since you’ve gathered more than five of the required materials, I won’t go back on my word," he said, his voice flat. "From now on, you will follow me."

Xu Wei’s body jolted. An irrepressible joy erupted across his face, and he bowed deeply until he touched the ground. His voice trembled with excitement. "Thank you, Senior! Thank you for this life-changing opportunity! I, Xu Wei, swear to serve you with my life and dedicate myself completely to your cause!"

Lu Zhao watched the man’s tearful display of gratitude, but his heart remained unmoved.

’I’m only taking him in because he’s proven competent and managed to gather the materials. It’s simply a matter of fulfilling my end of the bargain.’

’Still, I do need more capable hands here in Broken River Castle.’

"Mm."

He grunted in acknowledgment, then paused in thought before continuing, "The affairs within the castle are many and complex. Since you’re new here, you’ll start by working under Little Shu to familiarize yourself with the situation."

"In a few months, Wang Hui’s merchant caravan will pay a visit. When they do, you will be responsible for liaising with them and managing the exchange of goods."

Xu Wei immediately straightened his spine and answered with conviction, "Yes! Rest assured, Senior! I will learn diligently from Fellow Daoist Zhao and carry out my duties with all my heart."

"When the caravan arrives, I will do everything in my power to ensure a flawless exchange and not betray the trust you have placed in me!"

Lu Zhao nodded and waved him away. "I understand. You’re dismissed. Little Shu will make arrangements for you."

"Yes! I will take my leave! Thank you, Senior!" Xu Wei bowed deeply once more before carefully departing, his steps light, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The stone door slowly sealed shut, cutting off the outside world. Lu Zhao returned to the center of his cave residence. Instead of immediately inspecting the materials Xu Wei had brought, he first retrieved a massive Demon Beast corpse from his Storage Bag.

The corpse landed with a heavy THUD, crashing onto the cold stone floor with a muffled boom.

It was a Demon Beast that resembled a Giant Ape, its back covered in a thick, rock-like carapace—a Tier Two Middle Stage Iron-Backed Mountain Demon.

Its body was burly and its muscles were knotted. Even in death, it still radiated a ferocious aura.

However, a gaping hole now marred its savage head, the result of Lu Zhao striking a fatal blow with lightning speed and precision.

Looking at the valuable corpse, a satisfied smile touched Lu Zhao’s lips.

This Mountain Demon possessed immense strength and astonishing defense. Its Demon Pill, Essence Blood, skeleton, and back armor were all superior materials for refining Puppets.

However, a hint of regret soon tainted his smile.

’It’s a shame that feathered beast still got away...’ he muttered to himself.

Three days earlier, he had planned to ambush an even more valuable creature: a Tier Two Middle Stage Cyan Feather Wind Eagle.

The Wind Eagle’s speed was unparalleled among its peers, making it a Top Grade material for refining Flying Spiritual Artifacts and Flying Puppets.

He had meticulously set a trap and landed a devastating, lightning-fast blow on one of the Wind Eagle’s wings. He’d thought its capture was all but guaranteed.

But unexpectedly, despite its severe injury, the beast’s speed didn’t decrease—it actually increased. Its wings whipped up a violent Gang Wind, transforming it into a blurry cyan shadow that tore through the sky in an instant. Its escape speed far surpassed that of an ordinary Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Even when pushing his Escape Technique to its limits, Lu Zhao could only watch helplessly as it vanished over the horizon, his frustrated shout swallowed by the wind.

"The speed of a Tier Two Middle Stage Flying Demon Beast is truly insane," Lu Zhao muttered, shaking his head. He suppressed his regret and his gaze fell back upon the Mountain Demon’s corpse. ’Well, this Iron-Backed Mountain Demon isn’t a bad haul, either.’

He crouched, gathered Magical Power at his fingertips until it formed a sharp blade, and began to skillfully butcher the corpse.

First, he stripped away the tenacious hide, then carefully carved out the thick bones, and finally, he removed the most precious part: the heavy back armor.

His movements were fluid, precise, and efficient. Yet, as he worked, Lu Zhao’s brow furrowed slightly.

’This Iron-Backed Mountain Demon was a real pauper!’ he couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

Aside from the materials harvested from its own body, he had scoured the area around its lair, digging three feet deep, but hadn’t found a single decent Tier Two Spiritual Object.

There were no companion ores, no guarded Spirit Grasses. The lair was empty save for some leftover gnawed bones. Compared to the other Tier Two Demon Beasts he had hunted—which all had at least some ’nest egg’—this one was pathetically poor.

He had expended considerable effort to kill it, only for the reward to be limited to the materials from its body. The return on his investment was severely diminished.

After sealing the last piece of the Mountain Demon’s heart—rich in Earth Spirit Qi—into a jade box, Lu Zhao looked at the sorted materials on the ground and sighed. ’Near Broken River Castle, all the known Tier Two Demon Beasts are either dead or have fled.’

’The rest are either impossible to track or are tough nuts to crack with very little reward.’

The shadow of resource scarcity once again weighed heavily on his mind.

He couldn’t help but think of the exploration teams he had dispatched.

The team that encountered the Iron-Clawed Rock Wolf pack and suffered heavy losses had been ordered to rest and recuperate. He couldn’t count on them anytime soon.

Another team, the one that brought back reports of a roar suspected to belong to an even more powerful Tier Two Demon Beast, had been sent straight back into the depths of the Wilderness with strict orders not to return without a conclusive finding.

The other two teams had returned successively over the past three months.

One of them had been particularly unlucky.

They had wandered the Wilderness for months, encountering a number of dangers, big and small. While they suffered no major casualties, their supplies were depleted, and they had failed to find even a single valuable lead.

Faced with this team that had returned with virtually nothing, Lu Zhao was displeased but didn’t reprimand them too harshly. Exploring the Wilderness was, after all, fraught with uncertainty. He could only sternly order them to rest, replenish their supplies, and then set out again.

The other team, however, did bring back concrete information. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about a Demon Beast, but a terrifying Demon Vine.

According to the team captain’s description, they had risked climbing to the summit of a lone peak. Looking down, they saw a horrifying sight: a sizable mountain below was completely engulfed by countless vines, each as thick as a giant python.

The vines were a tangled mess, rooted deep within the mountain as if feeding on the very rock. They covered an area stretching for several miles, a landscape that was lush yet deathly still, emanating a sinister and heart-pounding aura.

Merely observing it from the distant peak, they felt a crushing pressure that seemed to emanate from a higher order of life. Terrified, they had retreated immediately, not daring to linger for a second.

Based on their description and his knowledge of ancient texts, Lu Zhao was almost certain that it had to be, at a minimum, a Tier Two High-Grade Demon Plant.

Furthermore, Demon Plants were different from Demon Beasts. Their life force was exceptionally tenacious, their roots buried deep within the earth, and vines in particular possessed terrifying regenerative abilities.

Completely eradicating such a Demon Vine would be no easy feat. Lu Zhao estimated it would require at least three Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators skilled in powerful Fire Magic working in concert. They would have to spend more than half a year continuously whittling away at its Origin to even have a chance of success.

Moreover, even if they succeeded, the reward would likely be far less than the effort expended. The core of a Demon Plant might be valuable, but processing its massive body was exceedingly troublesome for a relatively limited return.

The cost-benefit ratio was simply too low!

In the end, Lu Zhao could only suppress any ideas about the Demon Vine. He awarded the team that brought back the information a considerable Minor Merit as encouragement.

’You can’t make bricks without straw...’ Lu Zhao rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over him. Advancing his Puppetry required a massive amount of Tier Two materials, and his Cultivation also needed vast resources. It seemed he had truly scraped clean all the "surface-level" resources near Broken River Castle.

He sank into thought for a moment, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes. ’For now, my only option is to shift the pressure onto the vassal families outside the castle.’

Soon, a command issued forth from the Commander’s cave residence: all families and Wanderer factions outside the castle were required to organize at least two new exploration teams within two months. They were to venture deep into the Wilderness to search for new Demon Beast lairs and resource nodes.

The teams were required to be led by someone with a Cultivation of at least Late-stage Qi Cultivation. The rewards would be generous, but any half-hearted efforts would be met with severe punishment!

To Lu Zhao’s surprise, the families’ responses were far more prompt this time, their resistance noticeably weaker.

The leading Patriarchs, such as Hann Song and Xu Kui, hesitated only briefly upon receiving the order before bowing in acceptance. They even showed a hint of eagerness.

A moment’s thought was all it took for Lu Zhao to understand the reason. Although the previous teams had suffered significant casualties, those that successfully returned with information or resources had been handsomely rewarded with Merit. They had exchanged it for tangible Cultivation Techniques, Pills, and even Magical Artifacts.

This enormous potential for profit had clearly galvanized the others.

Risk and reward go hand in hand. In the Cultivation Realm, there was never a shortage of desperados willing to risk their lives for resources. These families had gotten a taste of the rewards and now saw a path to greater hope.

’Good. Great rewards will always attract brave men,’ Lu Zhao thought, his mind somewhat at ease.

’Using these local powers to scout ahead is better than me searching for a needle in the haystack of the vast Wilderness.’

Having dealt with these trivial matters, Lu Zhao’s gaze finally fell upon the six materials brought by Xu Wei. He opened the jade boxes and parcels one by one, carefully inspecting and sorting the contents before putting them away.

These materials, combined with the Iron-Backed Mountain Demon, were enough for him to refine a new Tier Two Lower Grade Puppet, or at least to prepare for an attempt to reach a High Tier of Puppetry.

But right now, Puppet Refining was not his most pressing concern.

He walked to the meditation cushion in the center of the Quiet Chamber and sat down cross-legged.

’My Cultivation... is still the foundation of everything.’ Lu Zhao closed his eyes, his awareness turning inward to his Dantian.

Within his Dantian Qi Sea, twenty-seven drops of pale blue Liquid Magical Power flowed slowly like a miniature star river, emitting a potent aura.

With resource acquisition at another impasse, the most practical choice was to enter seclusion and focus on increasing his Magical Power through diligent cultivation.

WHOOSH...

With a long exhale of turbid air, Lu Zhao cleared his mind of all stray thoughts, his consciousness sinking completely into his Sea of Consciousness.

The Mantra of the True Water Spirit Transformation Skill flowed through his mind like a clear spring. The pores all over his body opened, greedily absorbing the dense Spiritual Qi within the Quiet Chamber.

He then raised a hand, produced a Jade Bottle, and swallowed a Water Jade Green Radiance Pill. Threads of the Pill’s medicinal power traveled along specific meridians, where they were slowly refined and purified before finally flowing into his Dantian to nourish that star river of twenty-seven pale blue drops.

Silence returned to the cave residence, broken only by the faint hum of flowing Spiritual Qi and the sound of Lu Zhao’s long, steady breaths.

He would remain in seclusion, accumulating Magical Power, waiting for the right moment to break through his chrysalis... or for the next opportunity to arrive.

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