Qin Yujian left the Cihong Island and returned directly to his cave on the Dahuang Island. Upon returning, he immediately retrieved the heavy iron chest from his storage pouch and opened it carefully to examine the Bai tribe's sacred artifact - the Xueling fruit.

Inside the black-iron box stood a low shrub. However, contrary to Qin Yujian's expectation of crimson leaves, its foliage was an emerald green. Five small immature fruits, each about the size of one's index finger, clustered on the branches. A faint verdant mist encased the plant, slowly seeping from the fruits in eerie undulations.

The moment he inhaled a wisp of this verdant fog into his body, Qin Yujian felt an immediate surge through his sinews and bones as if some dormant power within him had awakened. "Could this Xueling fruit truly enhance divine strength? Is it what the Bai tribe's elite warriors use to concoct their legendary blood pills... and can cultivators benefit from it?" He stood in bright daylight, staring intently at the plant.

If genuine, such a discovery would be extraordinary. A cultivator possessing godlike might could remain formidable even without artifacts or cultivated energy. The implications for battlefields were terrifying. Yet Qin Yujian refrained from tasting any fruit - while earthborn warriors knew its effects, no records existed of its consequences on cultivators.

He decided to attempt cultivating it in his Purple Palace estate instead. With a sweep of his sleeve, both the shrub and its mist vanished into thin air. In the secluded fields of his estate's Wood Palace, the emerald plant now took root.

Cultivated using wood-based cultivation techniques and nourished by hundreds of inferior-grade Wood Spirit Stones, the green fruits gradually turned blue as their mist adopted the same hue. Further growth demanded exponentially more resources - nearly a thousand spirit stones were required to finally transform the fruits into blood-red coloration with concomitant crimson mist.

When five ruby-red fruits matured and fell from the branch, several new emerald ones already began regenerating on the shrub. Qin Yujian's fingers tightened unconsciously at his pouch - this harvest had nearly depleted half of his remaining spirit stones.

Three days later in Cihong Island's Stone Hall, as dusk painted the western sky:

"Xiu'er," Bai Yun, the clan's Grand Elder, called forth two other elders and their most gifted descendant. "Our people have drifted for a century through these eastern waters, our strength waning. With fewer warriors born each year, you - my granddaughter who has shown unprecedented potential in over three centuries - cannot remain here any longer."

"Your excellency," White Xiu'er sat playing with her obsidian iron forks while the Grand Elder spoke. At his words she suddenly leapt to her feet, "Our ancestors were driven from our homeland by those cultivators! Why would I serve this cold-hearted man? As clan heir I should stand with my people!"

"Middle-earth's cultivators are unstoppable," Bai Yun continued wearily. "Even the once-mighty demon clans have been pushed back. Without protection from these powerful beings, no earthbound tribe can survive in these eastern seas."

As Qin Yujian arrived at Cihong Island three days later to return the sacred artifact, he found himself entangled in an unexpected dilemma - Bai Yun had arranged for White Xiu'er's apprenticeship under him.

Qin studied the pouting girl coldly. "I borrowed your tribe's treasure for three days; as compensation I can forge a superior obsidian spear or high-grade talisman. But taking on an apprentice is impractical - my seclusion leaves no time to care for her."

"Bah! Who needs you to take care of me?" White Xiu'er snapped, recalling the Grand Elder's desperate pleas before finally securing this arrangement against her will.

The journey across the eastern seas proved grueling beyond expectations. For over fifteen days they traveled without pause through boundless blue waters and endless sky. White Xiu'er lay on their obsidian cloud platform, gazing down at the monotonous ocean below as boredom settled in.

Most irritating was the young man seated ahead - Qin Yujian, protected by a faint golden aura, who had refused every request to take her as apprentice despite Bai Yun's pleas.

"Master," White Xiu'er suddenly said with an insincere smile, inching toward him. Her eyes sparkled with mischief while her fingers hovered near her iron fork, "I heard many cultivators use maidens as..."

A glacial gaze halted her mid-sentence. With a swift movement, Qin Yujian seized her wrist before she could draw the weapon.

"If you point that iron fork at me," he warned coldly, "I'll carve you into eight pieces and feed them to the sea." His cultivation required no female crucibles.

Stunned by his piercing gaze, White Xiu'er backed away muttering complaints about her sore wrist.

"Are you practicing immortals arts?" she asked later as boredom returned.

Qin's one-word answer remained unchanged: "Yes."

"We earthbound warriors never sit like this," she continued proudly. "We lie on the ground absorbing natural energies to strengthen our divine might through blood pills. The Grand Elder called me the most gifted warrior in three centuries - I became a mid-tier warrior at twenty!"

Qin's silent mockery lingered unspoken, remembering the prodigious fire-root disciple of Qingdan Sect who had died ignominiously despite his cultivation potential.

While White Xiu'er rambled on about earthbound warriors taming sea monsters and challenging demons, Qin closed his eyes again. With a jade tablet in hand, he let his spirit sink into ancient cultivation techniques, completely indifferent to the girl's self-congratulatory boasts.