Outside the Ruohai Strait, numerous routed soldiers from Yunxia Mountain City were scattered across the open fields and roadsides.

However, Zong Shou couldn't be bothered to deal with them, and neither did the five thousand accompanying knights. Traveling three horses per person, they hurried onward toward Mount Qiantian, protecting several dozen "Cloud-Turning Carts."

The only change was that Zong Lan had taken over command. Having long experience in warfare and being a personal general under Zong Weiran, his arrangements for lodging, feeding, and formation discipline surpassed Tan Tao’s considerably, keeping Zong Yuan fiercely protected.

Zong Yuan once again retreated into one of the Cloud-Turning Carts. Armed with two Earth Extreme Pills and the two lightning-attribute spirit veins Zong Shou had captured, he attempted another breakthrough within the Mortal Heaven realm.

And Xiong Kui, as expected, had managed to follow. It was unclear where he procured several Wind-Riding Colts, but he trailed behind the main group, completely composed and elegant, enjoying their provisions as if he were an honored guest. There was no hint of the severe beating he had previously received from Zong Shou. Even Chu Xue and Hu Zhongyuan marveled at his utter shamelessness.

Zong Shou himself remained sequestered in his carriage for days on end. Except for occasional stops to make camp and rest, he rarely showed himself. For two consecutive days, he stayed inside his carriage, wholly absorbed in perfecting the Imperial Flame Burning Spirit Art. Not only did he refine it, but he then integrated its true core essence into his own World-Shaking Spirit Art.

Unfortunately, there was very little he could borrow. It was only on the morning of the third day that Zong Shou sensed a spirit energy fluctuation—neither strong nor weak—emanating from the Cloud-Turning Cart behind him.

Without even looking, he knew it must be Zong Yuan, having broken through again and successfully fused with his fifth spirit vein.

Zong Shou couldn't help but give a wry smile, secretly praising the efficacy of the Earth Extreme Pills while sighing for himself. In truth, the Thunder Roc essence within him far surpassed the pills. His physique, tempered beneath the water pool, was already comparable to some weaker Martial Ancestor realm experts, and his martial attainments infinitely surpassed Zong Yuan's.

Yet, because the spiral true energy of the World-Shaking Spirit Art remained incomplete at the Earth Wheel stage, he was utterly stuck at the initial meridian of the Innate realm, forced to watch Zong Yuan’s cultivation soar rapidly.

It seemed even Chu Xue and her two spirit beasts, aided by the Earth Extreme Pills, would likely surpass him within a few days.

With little progress in this area, Zong Shou temporarily shelved the refinement of the World-Shaking Spirit Art after this day. Instead, he picked up the spiritual master secret codices plundered from Xuanshan City and began carefully studying them, actually gaining considerable insight. With Shi Dan, a Returning Yang realm Spiritual Master, nearby for consultation, many confusions were resolved, and he learned several crucial tricks.

Although Shi Dan remained somewhat reserved in her explanations, when Zong Shou cultivated his soul power to condense true talismanic spirit restrictions, his speed increased by a full thirty percent compared to before.

Feeling inspired, Zong Shou also took up talisman drawing. Back in Boundary Floating City, he had already purchased many exquisite spirit talismans. This time, however, with Zong Lan personally slaying forty Spiritual Masters—all of them in the Night Roaming realm—the confiscated talismans constituted a massive haul, greatly replenishing his stock.

But according to Shi Dan’s teachings, when a Spiritual Master draws a talisman, it not only deepens their understanding of the fundamental laws of heaven and earth but is itself a form of cultivation, greatly benefiting the condensation of true talismans. Even after a true talismanic spirit restriction has formed, every successful drawing could enrich and strengthen it, making these restrictions clearer within the Sea of Consciousness. This could shorten the casting time for spirit arts and enhance sensitivity to the world's spiritual energy. This practice was essential even for the sword cultivator lineage among Spiritual Masters.

Zong Shou was initially skeptical, but after a full day of drawing talismans, his mouth turned bitter. The secret techniques of Spiritual Masters were indeed passed down generationally and were incredibly secretive. Such a rudimentary trick had never been recorded in the well-informed latter ages. If he hadn't already been a Talisman Grandmaster himself, he might have suffered from foundational instability at this very first step of Spiritual Master cultivation.

He could only grit his teeth and make up for the lessons he had missed, starting with the 'Lightning' character talisman, then 'Water,' 'Fire,' and 'Metal.' Every morning, he drew a full hundred spirit art talismans of the same element for each character. The tiers progressed from low to high. When Zong Shou began crafting the fourth-tier spirit art talismans, he felt his Sea of Consciousness vortex show signs of expanding again. The connection between the vortex and the Heavenly Talisman Seeds outside it grew increasingly intimate.

He suddenly realized that if he could just draw the fifth-tier spirit talisman, he would likely fuse these Heavenly Talisman Seeds completely. Not only would his soul power surge, but he could also deploy some Heavenly Talisman spirit arts above the seventh tier. With such a glorious prospect, Zong Shou naturally poured his entire focus into the task.

This daily talisman drawing was the epitome of tedium. In the beginning, Chu Xue and Ruo Shui kept him company, allowing him to chat with the two maidens. His exquisite technique even deeply impressed Shi Dan. But later, Chu Xue would flee early every morning, Ruo Shui pretended to sleep all day, and even Shi Dan lost interest and stopped observing.

Out of boredom, Zong Shou found his own amusement. Beyond his required talisman drawing, he would always create ten copies of the 'Fortune' character talisman and then instruct Ruo Shui to quietly affix them onto Xiong Kui. He would then pass the time by observing Xiong Kui's movements, using it to relax his state of mind. His current soul power was nearly a hundred times stronger than when he was below Danling Mountain, so the 'Fortune' talismans he drew were correspondingly more potent. Not only did the effect last longer, but the efficacy also seemed enhanced.

Over two full days, Xiong Kui stumbled on his horse no fewer than ten times. Not only were all three Wind-Riding Colts incapacitated and unable to be ridden for speed in the short term, but he himself was thrown about until dizzy. Despite his nearly Xuanwu Sect realm cultivation, which should have allowed him to easily evade such issues, every time he attempted to leap or dodge, various mishaps occurred. Twice, he faced near-death situations.

However, perhaps because they were in the wilderness rather than a crowded city, or perhaps due to sheer bad luck, Xiong Kui only managed to pick up a few pouches at the very beginning—likely left behind by the routed soldiers from the two cities of Yunxia Flaming Fire—resulting in significant monetary gains. As they moved further away from the escape routes of the defeated soldiers by the fifth day, he gained no more monetary rewards.

But along the way, he found plenty of wild spirit herbs and ores. Once, falling off his horse, he actually struck a cluster of third-tier spirit stone raw ore in the mud. Even his martial path experienced two sudden enlightenments, leading to considerable progress.

This left Xiong Kui immensely delighted, frequently casting fiercely glinting looks toward the two Cloud-Turning Carts carrying Zong Shou. Yet, in the end, he would always let out a sigh. Perhaps recalling the rapid, storm-like spear thrusts from that day, a look of lingering fear would cross his face before he retracted his gaze.

Zong Shou initially approached this task with a mood of experimentation mixed with playfulness, but after the sixth day, his expression gradually became solemn. Each time he drew the 'Fortune' Heavenly Talisman, he put more effort into it, dedicating most of his time to intently observing Xiong Kui.

However, after these consecutive days, not only did Xiong Kui sense something was amiss and become more cautious, perpetually nervous and on guard, but even Chu Xue gradually noticed something odd. After inquiring discreetly with Ruo Shui and recalling her own experience in Xiaoyuan City, she saw a parallel with Xiong Kui’s current state and immediately grasped Zong Shou’s malicious actions.

Naturally, she stormed toward Zong Shou, who was drawing a talisman, radiating killing intent.

"Young Master, that incident in Xiaoyuan City that day—that was your doing too, wasn't it?"

Zong Shou paused, then continued drawing on the talisman paper with his brush, pretending to be engrossed, while inwardly wondering if this little cat had gotten smarter to detect this so quickly. Casually raising his eyes, he saw two balls of fire burning in Chu Xue’s gaze. Zong Shou’s heart gave a slight jolt, and even the hand holding the brush trembled slightly. The perfectly straight vertical stroke skewed wildly to the side.

He could only helplessly crumple the ruined talisman sheet and toss it out the window, affecting an expression of confusion: "What good deed? What happened in Xiaoyuan City that day? Xue'er, I don't understand what you're saying."

Chu Xue snorted, flipped her palm, and presented an unused 'Fortune' character spirit talisman to Zong Shou. Her tone was sharp: "Still denying it! Look here! This is the evidence! I got it from Sister Ruo Shui. I remember you drew the same talisman that day, right? If it weren't for you, Young Master, how could I have fallen for no reason!"

Zong Shou felt a pang of distress, glancing sideways at Ruo Shui, who was draped lazily on the couch, seemingly asleep. Only the slight twitch of her eyelids revealed a tiny gap through which she peeked over at them. But when Zong Shou looked her way, she quickly closed her eyes again, breathing evenly, as if she were truly asleep.

Zong Shou inwardly wrestled with the headache, deciding to continue denying it, shaking his head: "Xue'er, don't wrongly accuse someone. What evidence is this? Just because I asked Ruo Shui to secretly stick it on Xiong Kui? Besides, the talisman I drew that day is long gone. You falling accidentally can't be blamed on anyone else. Your young master doesn't have that much power."

Chu Xue bit her lip with her teeth and interrupted him directly: "I’ve calculated it. Xiong Kui has fallen off his horse fourteen times in the last three days. Once while practicing his fists, he strained a tendon. Three times while drinking water, he choked so badly he almost died. He has picked up sixty fourth-tier beast crystals, twenty-five third-tier spirit stones, two second-tier spirit artifacts, and over thirty other types of spirit herbs. Back in Xiaoyuan City, I fell four times in total, picking up eleven thousand two hundred silver taels, plus two night-glowing pearls. I was hit by a potted plant and ended up with a millennium-old thunder apricot seed in exchange—(To be continued)"