Secluded cultivation was, in truth, just as tedious and dull for Cultivators as for anyone else. Only those with immense fortitude could endure it year after year.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many Cultivators who, feeling their hopes were slim, would abandon the Great Dao, marry several beautiful Mortal women, raise a family, and simply enjoy life.

Since embarking on his Cultivation, Bai Zichen had yet to encounter a true bottleneck. At worst, he had just been a bit slow to get started on new things.

He had even managed to master the Divine Casting Technique in just three years—a technique that even a Nascent Soul Major Sect like the Naihe Sect advised its Qi Refining Disciples against practicing.

He had successfully developed his Divine Sense while still in the Mid-Stage of Qi Refining.

This was an accomplishment that few, even within the Naihe Sect, could claim.

Since every session of seclusion yielded results, Bai Zichen naturally had the patience to stay cooped up in his prison-like Quiet Chamber.

’It takes me about half a month to complete the Refinement of a single Qi Replenishing Pill right now. If I threw caution to the wind, I could probably reach the Peak of Fifth-Layer Qi Refining in just three months...’

After completing a full Circulation of his Chang Chun Skill and ending his session, Bai Zichen assessed his Magical Power and made a rough estimate.

’I’d better take it a bit slower... There are no shortcuts to consolidating Magical Power and expelling Erysipelas. The only way is to cultivate over and over, a process that can take months. Any time I save by taking too many Elixirs at once will just have to be paid back later.’

For the next ten days or so, Bai Zichen focused solely on his own Cultivation. Only after the very last trace of residual Pill Power from the Qi Replenishing Pill had dissipated from his body did he consume a second one.

Divine Sense had another marvelous function: the ability to look inward and inspect one’s own body.

His meridians, the flow of his qi and blood, the Magical Power in his Dantian—all were rendered with perfect clarity under the internal inspection of his Divine Sense.

Every step of his Cultivation Technique’s circulation was executed perfectly. He could immediately detect any hidden injuries in his physical body or blockages in his meridians.

Thanks to this, Bai Zichen could consume the Qi Replenishing Pills with maximum efficiency, ensuring he neither wasted time nor allowed any Erysipelas to accumulate in his body.

He repeated this cycle until the first bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills was empty. By then, nearly half a year had passed.

Bai Zichen stretched his limbs and pushed open the door to his Quiet Chamber. It was covered in a thin layer of dust. In the courtyard, the peach tree was in full, vibrant bloom.

A breeze swept through, scattering peach blossoms across the ground until it was covered in a thick carpet of petals.

Four letters sat in the mailbox outside his courtyard gate. Bai Zichen performed a simple Technique, and the mailbox automatically spat them out.

He sat on a stone bench and began to read them one by one.

One was from his uncle. He wrote that his Cultivation had progressed after taking the Purple Ginseng Pill. He had also befriended a Steward from the Qingfeng Sect, and the two got along splendidly. This connection could be a source of support for his nephew in the future, should he join the Sect.

Bai Zichen had already told his uncle about Sect Leader Wei’s promise of a position as an Inner Sect Disciple. Bai Jiu’an’s stance was unequivocal: if the opportunity was there, he had to take it.

In Bai Jiu’an’s opinion, achieving Foundation Establishment would require the resources of the Qingfeng Sect.

Two were from Chubby. According to the letters, he hadn’t been back at Hanxiu Peak for long before setting out with a caravan again. This time, he was traveling with a party from the Qingfeng Sect, heading outside Black Mountain County. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The journey was long; even with the aid of a Qingfeng Sect Spirit Ship, a round trip would take two to three months.

The Bai Family had brought a large batch of Demon Beast Materials and several Ink Bamboo Swords. Elder Honggu was leading the group personally, apparently to purchase some major, valuable item.

According to Chubby, the value of the goods the caravan was carrying this time was tens of times greater than usual.

Fortunately, since they were traveling with the Qingfeng Sect, security was not a concern.

The final letter was from Bai Chongwu.

It seemed the Second Elder had really done Bai Zichen a favor. When Bai Chongwu went to receive his Clan missions this time, he had been offered a selection of relatively easy ones.

’The Bai Family’s income is still far too low. Besides Bai Ling and me, I expect all the other Clan members have to fend for themselves, constantly completing missions just to secure basic Cultivation Resources... Chongwu reached the Qi Refining Fourth Layer years ago, and he’s been treading water ever since.’

Bai Zichen sighed. This was not a problem he could solve.

He himself was a beneficiary of the Clan’s system, relying on the large number of contribution points granted by the Clan Leader to focus entirely on his Cultivation.

Otherwise, bogged down by mundane tasks every day, where would he find the energy to cultivate properly?

For example, if he were to have a sudden epiphany—a breakthrough in his Cultivation Technique or a new insight into a Magic spell—he would need to immediately sit down and meditate. But if he was out on a mission in the desolate wilderness without a suitable environment, such a rare and precious opportunity would be completely wasted.

The next time such an opportunity arose might not be for months, or even years.

’The number of Loose Cultivators flocking to Black Mountain County has increased recently, and some Cultivation Families have even relocated here entirely... Something like this is happening? I wonder what the Qingfeng Sect’s stance on this is.’

In his letter, aside from thanking Bai Zichen, Bai Chongwu also mentioned a fierce conflict that had broken out several months ago in the Mizhou Cultivation Realm between the Righteous and Demonic Dao. The flames of war had already engulfed more than ten Sects.

Black Mountain County, being a relatively barren land, had ironically become a haven from the chaos. Great numbers of Loose Cultivators, fearing they would be forcibly conscripted as cannon fodder by the Sects of the Righteous and Demonic Dao, flocked to the county for safety.

This influx even included a few Cultivation Families and some Foundation Establishment Level Minor Sects.

Spirit Veins were already scarce in Black Mountain County. An influx of so many different powers was bound to create conflict with the existing Black Mountain Cultivation Families.

Of course, that all depended on whether the Qingfeng Sect permitted them to settle in Black Mountain County.

Otherwise, it was all a moot point.

Bai Zichen suddenly realized that there was a major drawback to cultivating in solitude within the Clan all day: he was completely ignorant of events in the outside world.

He had to rely on a message in Bai Chongwu’s letter just to learn of news that could affect the entire balance of power in Black Mountain County.

’I don’t have many close allies within the Clan. My network is small, and I’ve done a poor job of establishing channels for information... It’s not like with Bai Ling. The clansmen in Elder Honggu’s faction are her natural supporters. Someone will inform her at the first sign of any news or trouble.’

Bai Zichen set the letters down and paced back and forth in his courtyard.

’If I put the word out, people would probably start to align with me. After all, I am one of the Clan’s Foundation Establishment Seeds... Moreover, if I were willing to lean toward the Second Elder, I could probably borrow some of his faction’s influence.’

Having realized his previous shortcomings in this area, Bai Zichen resolved to start building up a network within the Clan.

It wasn’t that he wanted to fight for power or engage in petty scheming and intrigue. He just wanted people who could handle the mundane tasks of running errands, relaying messages, and gathering information for him.

The idea had taken root, but Bai Zichen first took half a day to relax, enjoying a sumptuous dinner. He tidied up the courtyard with a cleaning spell before returning once more to his Quiet Chamber.

’There are still two Five Elements Magic spells that I’m not very proficient with. I’ll use the downtime between taking Qi Replenishing Pills during this seclusion to practice my Magic...’

The Magical Power cultivated from the Chang Chun Skill was mediocre, offering no advantage in Combat.

Bai Zichen’s plan was to overwhelm opponents with his higher Realm for now. He would switch his Cultivation Technique after reaching Foundation Establishment; until then, his only option was to learn a few more spells.

Ever since he acquired Divine Sense, his speed at learning spells had increased dramatically. When combining and weaving the Five Elements Magic spells, new inspirations would come to him naturally, making his casting feel seamless and innate.