Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Having grown somewhat scared of recklessly approaching another forest after the brief life and death encounter with two mysterious seniors, Chen Qiu had ended up deciding to remain on a well-traveled path far from any large forests. His brother, also having experienced what he had, happily agreed to this change.

Even if it might end up lengthening their journey to the Shattered Star Peaks by another month, it did help them keep calm along the way and enjoy the journey without needlessly worrying about some random vines suddenly emerging from a nearby forest to grab them and drag them along.

Another outcome of this change in path was that the two of them now found themselves interacting with other wandering cultivators and natives to the Star Shattering Sect’s territory far more regularly. Allowing the two of them to learn far more about the Star Shattering Sect and just how recently it had risen to power, while at the same time also learning more about the different powers that existed under the Star Shattering Sect.

After travelling like this with little to no danger along the way for half a year, the two brothers found themselves inside the territory of one of the slightly stronger powers under the Star Shattering Sect, a sect called the Flowing Cloud Sect.

From what they had managed to learn about this sect, it had apparently ended up gaining a lot more influence after the Star Shattering Sect took over the region and chose them over the former kingdom in control of the region to be the one in charge. Not that the old kingdom had been destroyed completely or anything along that line, just that the territory under the control of this old kingdom known as the Cloud Sky Kingdom had ended up shrinking a lot over the past few years along with the rise of the Star Shattering Sect.

Although it seemed to have nothing to do with the Flowing Cloud Sect on the surface, the locals of the region were confident that the decline of the Cloud Sky Kingdom had to do with the Flowing Cloud Sect.

Not that this kind of hidden struggle had anything to do with the two of them, it was just that it was better to know which side to take in case one ended up in a situation where such a choice had to be made and also the simple reason that it was nice to know who to avoid offending. After all, these powerful local powers could undoubtedly make small wandering cultivators like themselves disappear with ease.

So, without thinking too much about the Flowing Cloud Sect and the Cloud Sky Kingdom after gaining some general knowledge about the two largest local powers, the two brothers continued their journey towards the Shattered Star Peaks. Only being a few months away from reaching their goal. Far earlier than they had originally expected, as they had been lucky enough to join a group of stronger wandering cultivators in control of a flying boat for a few days. Covering what would have normally taken them between two or three months to cover on their own.

…

”Brother, do you really think we will be able to get our hands on a Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra when we reach Bright Stone City?” As the two brothers made their way through a narrow canyon with a river that looked like it was just about to dry up next to them, Mo He, Chen Qiu’s brother, asked with a look of longing visible in his eyes. A longing that Chen Qiu himself understood all too well.

”Yes, from what that Core Formation Realm cultivator told us a few weeks earlier, one of the shops run by the Star Shattering Sect inside the Bright Stone City sells Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra far cheaper than what one can find at a cultivation market.

And… Compared to those cultivation markets where quality is difficult to guarantee, the ones sold by a large power like the Star Shattering Sect shouldn’t have any problems.” Nodding his head in response, Chen Qiu could not help feeling himself looking forward to reaching the Shattered Star Peaks as he thought about finally getting his hands on a Core Formation Realm Cultivation mantra.

Originally, their goal in reaching the Shattered Star Peaks had been to take advantage of the spiritually rich environment of the place to enhance their cultivation. But after having learnt that they would be able to buy a Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra directly from a major power like the Star Shattering Sect, the two shifted their goal entirely to obtaining said Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra.

After all, even if the two of them were to reach the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, it would be difficult for them to breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm without a Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra.

Not that they didn’t have a Core Formation Realm Cultivation Mantra… It was just… Of rather questionable quality…

Shaking his head as he remembered the cultivation mantra that the two of them had bought for a fortune in the past, Chen Qiu could not help silently shaking his head as he looked at his brother who was smiling from ear to ear after hearing what he said.

Even if the chance of either of them reaching the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm was low given that they were both around a hundred years old, having hope at reaching the Core Formation Realm was still a significant boost to not only Mo He’s drive for cultivation, but also Chen Qiu…

Rustle~

And it was during this shared excitement as they made their way through the peaceful canyon, that two small yet strong vines descended from above without giving the two any time to react before the vines had already entangled the two.

”Huh?”

”B-Brother! T-These vines are-”

Whooosh-!

”Waaaah-!?”

”Not agaaaain…!”

Screaming loudly as they found themselves being dragged up and out of the canyon before being dragged into a forest that was located just a few meters away. Having been invisible to the two of them while they had been traveling through the canyon.

The only sense of reassurance that the two brothers felt was the fact that they knew with certainty that these vines weren’t from some kind of unique plant-based monster or demon beast but instead came from the creation of those two seniors they had encountered half a year ago.

So, with that in mind, Chen Qiu braced himself to face those two seniors once again, while Mo He slowly began calming down after realizing that the vines weren’t squeezing him to death this time around, or maybe it would be more accurate to say that these vines were far weaker than the ones that had captured them before.

Although they were still strong, it should be possible to break them with enough time.

However, knowing the owners of these vines, neither of the two brothers dared to destroy them carelessly. Fearing that doing so might offend the two seniors…

”Huh? It- It’s you again! How did you find us again!?”

And so, Chen Qiu and Mo He found themselves face to face with Mui and Song Jia once again. Only this time around, the two discovered them immediately, one having a look of absolute disbelief on her face, while the other merely observed the two of them with curiosity.

”We need to get out of-”

”Mui… Didn’t you say the experiment succeeded this time around? Are you going to leave it behind?”

Already about to run or rather fly away again, the senior called Mui suddenly froze on the spot after hearing the words of her companion. Looking torn as she kept glancing back at what looked like a one-meter-tall plant that seemed composed of several different materials ranging from different kinds of spiritual wood, metals and even a few bits of dirt that made up one of the small branches of the plant.

But maybe the most shocking thing about the abomination of a plant, was the fact that Chen Qiu clearly noticed that the vines that had captured him and his brother came from this strange small plant. Not just that, but at the end of the vine that had captured the two of them, he also noticed two spiritual fruits that seemed to almost call out to him. Making him forget his surroundings for a brief second before being brought right back to reality by the vines stopping him from reaching out towards the two tempting spiritual fruits calling out to him.

”That… I… I understand…”

”Good, that little spiritual fruit creator of yours can’t be moved easily and don’t just drag me away again like you did last time, we didn’t even manage to confirm if they were really from the Servant Quarters in the first place… And from the fact that grandpa haven’t contacted me during the last year, I find it unlikely they are from the Servant Quarters.”

At the same time Chen Qiu found himself struggling in the face of the spiritual fruits, Song Jia just barely managed to stop Mui from dragging her off again, though the main reason for her success was because the spiritual fruit creator as Mui had named it, couldn’t be easily moved and with the effort that Mui had put into creating it, there was no way she would just give it up after finally succeeding.

Even if Chen Qiu and Mo He were really from the Servant Quarters and had contacted Elder Song about the situation and he was on his way, Song Jia understood that Mui wouldn’t leave behind the spiritual fruit creator, something that could in a sense be considered an infinite snack machine…