Chapter 273 - 195: Rescue, Focused Time Enhancement

Chapter 273: Chapter 195: Rescue, Focused Time Enhancement

All was silent, as if the world itself had faded.

Zhao Zuo’s thoughts seemed to accelerate a hundredfold. Silvery-white threads of Mana, glowing faintly, began to emerge from his fingertips.

They danced in the air, moving with the slightest current, like tiny hairs or tentacles. Their surfaces were perfectly smooth. The threads from his left and right hands connected, drifting through the air with the sway of his arms.

After a few seconds, the entire bedroom was filled with these silvery-white threads, reminiscent of a spider demon’s lair. Upon closer inspection... the silver threads were actually in a constant state of dissipation, only to be rapidly replaced by new ones emerging from his fingers.

When the speed of their creation matched the speed of their dissipation, it formed the continuous spectacle before him. Each silver thread was as fine and translucent as silk, emitting a crystalline Spiritual Light.

This was the sign that his Cloud Manipulation technique was approaching the Great Success stage. When the threads were indistinguishable from silk in thickness, continuous, and tough enough to slice through paper, it would signify he had officially reached Great Success.

Furthermore, at the Perfection stage of Cloud Manipulation, these Mana-condensed threads could even sever steel with ease. At that point... this auxiliary Cultivation Technique would become a combat Secret Technique.

According to the records in the Moyun Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, in the last thousand years, about eight hundred people had achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment. However, only thirty-four had cultivated the Cloud Manipulation technique to the Perfection stage, and only a single person had reached the Extreme Realm!

’Perfection is still too far off,’ Zhao Zuo thought. ’My current goal is Great Success!’

An hour later, Zhao Zuo emerged from his focused state, his eyes filled with exhaustion. They looked vacant and lifeless. Within that hour, his mind and Mana had been completely drained.

His body slowly fell backward onto the bed. He closed his eyes again, absorbing the experience he had just gained with the Cloud Manipulation technique. His control over his Mana had improved by leaps and bounds.

Nearly half an hour passed before Zhao Zuo recovered. The duration of his focused state had now increased to one hour. Furthermore, his learning ability during that focus had also slightly improved.

Zhao Zuo had originally estimated that his focused state granted him ten times the efficiency. After this advancement, however, the efficiency had likely increased to about fourteen times.

This meant that his daily one-hour practice session was actually equivalent to fourteen hours of study. It was like spending more than half a day immersed in research, and considering that a person’s attention is limited...

It was impossible for anyone to stay completely focused for fourteen hours straight. This meant the progress made in his focused state far exceeded what could be achieved in fourteen hours of normal Cultivation.

Zhao Zuo rested with his eyes closed for a while, then got up and went to the Forging Chamber to start the day’s Refining of Middle-Grade Magical Artifacts. He spent five hours and had a one hundred percent success rate. One of the artifacts was similar in shape to the Sky-Breaking Saber, with internal Spirit Patterns of Heavy Mountain and Controlling Objects, and was imbued with the wind attribute.

The other was a Curved Moon Saber with a gold attribute.

After many attempts and repetitions, fusing attribute Energy was no longer as difficult as it had been at the beginning. After every Refining session... Zhao Zuo would summarize his process, identifying any oversights or weaknesses.

It was for this reason that Zhao Zuo’s Artifact Refining skills could steadily improve.

Research, analysis, and reflection all yielded valuable rewards.

As the sky gradually dimmed, Zhao Zuo pushed open his door and left the core area. At a way station in Clear Water Lane, he changed into night-crawling clothes and adjusted his aura and Cultivation fluctuations before stepping into the darkness.

The new day’s hunt had officially begun. Until he possessed the strength to match Chu Yijie, Zhao Zuo would not slack off in the slightest. Since he didn’t need to spend time absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power, he would earn as many Spirit Stones as possible.

After a night of hunting, Zhao Zuo had successfully killed two First-Tier High-Level Demon Beasts. If he sold the materials obtained from them at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, he could earn roughly six to eight thousand Spirit Stones.

Although this method of earning Spirit Stones was faster than Artifact Refining, it came with the risk of failure—or even death. It was not a long-term solution either. As the weather warmed, the number of Demon Beasts in the area had already shown a noticeable decline.

Although it was already April, the thick branches were still covered in a heavy crust of snow. Even though it was warming up, it would take a long time for all this snow to melt.

With each stride, Zhao Zuo could cover a distance of six or seven meters, yet he left no tracks in the snow. He had become incredibly light; this was an effect of Cloud Manipulation.

Previously, the flow of his Mana was like a raging river, unable to turn back or change direction easily—it was violent. Now, however, he could adjust his Mana to be as light as a cloud while moving, and his body naturally became lighter as well.

Suddenly, Zhao Zuo heard the roar of a Demon Beast. It was like a sudden clap of thunder, carrying a heart-shaking power. He also sensed two weak Mana fluctuations echoing through the forest.

’Those two auras...’ he thought. ’They’re very familiar.’

Zhao Zuo paused, flexing his hands and feet. The cloud-like Mana inside him began to transform, now roaring like a river, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

He thought for a moment and made a decision. ’I’ll go take a look first.’

Then... he rushed in the direction of the Demon Beast’s roar. The Sky-Breaking Saber emerged naturally from his Dantian.

SWISH.

When Zhao Zuo arrived, the Loose Cultivators and the Demon Beast were still locked in combat, neither side able to gain the upper hand. The Demon Beast was a giant snake, close to the First-Tier High-Level, though Zhao Zuo didn’t know its name.

Most Demon Beasts were quite... indiscriminate. As long as they were of a similar size and species, there was likely no reproductive isolation. This meant that in the Cultivation Realm, it was impossible to fully categorize the races of Demon Beasts.

At this moment, the two Loose Cultivators were already at a disadvantage.

Zhao Zuo observed their attacks. They had no structure and were utterly chaotic. Clearly, they were not Loose Cultivators skilled in combat. Moreover, one of them barely had a Cultivation of the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

Both were wearing night-crawling clothes, their faces covered with black cloths to hide their true identities as much as possible. This was a standard method for Loose Cultivators to protect themselves.

One of them had eyes that seemed to faintly glow and looked quite beautiful. Her graceful figure suggested she was a mature woman. These two were the very couple from whom Zhao Zuo had bought Spiritual Medicine. They also had a baby less than a year old.

Zhao Zuo hadn’t intended to meddle in others’ affairs. But for some reason, after sensing those two familiar auras, the image of a crying infant and a pair of eyes full of hope kept flashing in his mind.

The situation on the battlefield suddenly changed. Those eyes, once filled with hope and a will to live, now showed a hint of resolve. She knew that for the sake of their child, one of them—she or her husband—had to survive.

As the weaker one, she was the more suitable choice for the sacrifice.

Zhao Zuo didn’t act yet. He could smell the scent of the Demon Beast in the air, the scent of blood, and the scent of death. The giant snake had lost its patience, and these scents all pointed to one outcome.

Zhao Zuo continued to observe the changes in their expressions. It wasn’t just the woman; her husband was also preparing to hold back the Demon Beast and face death himself.

At that moment, he finally stopped hiding and decided to intervene.

’These Loose Cultivators are worth saving.’

Even in the darkest of worlds, light can still exist.

Zhao Zuo took a few steps forward, entering the battlefield. With a casual wave of his hand, the Sky-Breaking Saber transformed into a streak of azure light, piercing through the giant serpent’s head like the Grim Reaper’s scythe, destroying its brain and spinal cord.

The massive snake head fell lifelessly to the ground with a heavy THUD, sending snowflakes scattering. Foul-smelling, searingly hot Snake Blood gushed from the wound in its head. Looking through the wound, one could see the snow on the ground stained red.

The Sky-Breaking Saber didn’t just pierce it; it simultaneously unleashed its own Energy, which, combined with Zhao Zuo’s Mana, blasted a through-and-through wound nearly thirty centimeters in diameter.

Blood splattered, landing on the snow like plum blossoms blooming in defiance of winter.

The couple stood stunned, doubting what they were seeing. Several seconds passed before they could finally confirm that the Demon Beast that had driven them to desperation was dead.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives!"

The middle-aged man, a long-time Medicine Gatherer, was the first to react. He dropped to his knees before Zhao Zuo and kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude. He appeared incredibly humble and sincere, clearly understanding how to interact with an expert who could easily take his life.

The woman beside him, realizing a moment later, immediately knelt and kowtowed as well.

Zhao Zuo sighed internally but did not step aside to avoid the man’s kowtow. After all, having saved their lives twice, he deserved this gesture of respect.

Standing his ground, he watched the two continue to kowtow. Zhao Zuo understood that the Medicine Gatherer was also worried he might turn on them and kill them, but he didn’t offer an explanation.

Cultivating the Dao, cultivating immortality, was also about Cultivating Heart, cultivating one’s own Pure Quiet.

Zhao Zuo casually took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and handed it over.

"If you encounter an emergency, you can use this Sound Transmission Talisman to contact me. However, I don’t guarantee that I will respond. Don’t waste this opportunity."

With that said, Zhao Zuo walked right past them. Initially, he had planned to leave directly, but on some impulse, he had given them the Sound Transmission Talisman. He was curious... what kind of fruit would these two good deeds bear?

After carefully returning to the core area, Zhao Zuo first took a comfortable hot bath, then recovered his spent spiritual energy through meditation before heading to the Forging Chamber to refine Middle-Grade Magical Artifacts.

For the next period of time, Zhao Zuo maintained his disciplined routine: Artifact Refining and practicing his Cultivation Technique during the day, and hunting outside at night.

Unfortunately, the number of Demon Beasts in the valley had indeed decreased significantly. His income had dropped from two Demon Beasts per night to only encountering a target once every few days.

Left with no choice, Zhao Zuo had to start targeting First-Tier Mid-Level and Low-Level Demon Beasts. Although their materials weren’t very valuable, every little bit counted.

Through this high-intensity effort, Zhao Zuo gathered the Spiritual Objects needed to advance his Spirit Wood Bead, enough to upgrade it to an Upper-Grade Spiritual Object.

He even managed to gather the Spiritual Objects needed to advance his Gold Essence Bead and Thick Earth Bead. However, because those two lacked sufficient experience, he could only upgrade them once.

This was because the Thick Earth Bead and Gold Essence Bead were Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects that needed to be actively used to gain experience. Their rate of experience gain was naturally slower than the Spirit Wood Bead, which gained experience around the clock.

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