Chapter 936: Inviting the Sister Duo

He Lingchuan felt extremely comfortable as his spiritual sense entered the newly opened Mud Pill Palace, as if soaking in a hot spring, filled with cozy warmth. However, this was at odds with what A Luo’s master, Helian Chen, had originally claimed; this Upper Dantian barely stored any true qi, but was instead the dwelling place of the primordial spirit! The old man had likely never opened his own Upper Dantian, which was why his explanation to He Lingchuan was incorrect.

Once the Mud Pill Palace is opened, it merges with the sea of consciousness, also known as the "Spirit Mansion." This is not the acupoint in the upper abdomen, but the place for nourishing the primordial spirit.

In ancient times, immortals who could project their primordial spirits and travel a hundred miles by night all had to start by opening the Spirit Mansion.

At the same time, he discovered that the upper, middle, and lower dantian are one entity; move one part, and the whole body is affected.

By opening the three dantian, the circulation of true qi became far more efficient, more than doubling compared to before.

Only when the soul is more stable can the upper limit of one's cultivation base be raised.

Body and soul complete each other; originally, neither can do without the other.

From this point of view, the opening of the Upper Dantian is a stumbling block for the vast majority of practitioners.

In the ancient era when spiritual energy was abundant, this would have been equivalent to laying a solid foundation, finally taking a crucial step toward the supreme Dao; in the future, the sky would be vast and the sea wide, with limitless prospects.

But constrained by this current era and this environment...

Without a great wind, the roc cannot soar.

He would sooner or later feel the constraints and limitations that the environment placed on his cultivation.

Of course, that was a matter for later; He Lingchuan realized he still had room for improvement.

Tomorrow's troubles are for tomorrow.

He slowly withdrew his cultivation, but instead of standing up, he let out a yawn.

The Soul-Gathering Mirror immediately sensed it: "Wow, you’ve finally come out of seclusion? You were in there for three days this time. I saw your body shaking several times; was that qi deviation?"

"Almost," He Lingchuan said nonchalantly, "I opened my Upper Dantian."

"Oh," the Soul-Gathering Mirror took a long moment to react, "Oh? You what?"

Without any fanfare or display, he just opened it like that?

He Lingchuan climbed up and stretched, found some hot water to wash his face, and then went to a restaurant to have a big meal.

His consumption over these three days and nights had been too great; his stomach was like a bottomless pit, and his appetite was at least twice his usual, and he was already a big eater to begin with.

Just for the purple-gold, glistening braised pork trotters, he devoured five in one go.

He also polished off two whole lamb legs boiled in spring water by himself.

Seaweed fried rice, shrimp fried rice—the bowls were bigger than his face, and he ate eight of them.

Other seafood, staples, and fruits were countless.

Seven or eight hungry dock workers didn't eat as much as he did alone.

After he ordered extra food twice, the restaurant's cook refused to believe this was one person eating and insisted on running out to see for himself.

With this look, he and the other diners witnessed He Lingchuan’s whirlwind-like consumption.

They had never seen anyone eat like that! The Soul-Gathering Mirror couldn't help but say: "Hey, is the benefit of opening your Upper Dantian just to stuff your face?"

The benefit of opening the Upper Dantian is to stabilize the soul and integrate the primordial essence. He Lingchuan cracked open a crab shell with a snap—whoa, it was bursting with fat! "If you had walked back and forth in front of the gates of hell dozens of times, I guarantee you'd eat even more than me."

This breakthrough lasted three days and three nights; both his soul and body were exhausted.

The joy of the breakthrough could not offset this physical and mental fatigue.

Full of food and drink, he walked back to the inn and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

A good sleep is the best way to restore one's vitality.

￥￥￥￥￥

Dong Rui found He Lingchuan and handed him a black wine jar: "The things you wanted!"

The wine jar was still sealed with wax and talismans. He Lingchuan weighed it; there were some tiny things inside.

This was the divine bone after Dong Rui had cut and processed it.

It is not easy to keep the divine bone active after it is removed from the graveyard; he wondered how Dong Rui managed it.

As soon as He Lingchuan took the jar, Dong Rui spread his hands toward him: "What about my island? When are you giving it to me?"

"There is still one hurdle to clear," He Lingchuan sighed, "I still haven't figured out the bottom line of that monster on Dragon Spine Island. I've sent people everywhere to ask these past few days, including the old-timers at Blade Harbor, but no one has ever seen this King of Yin Serpents."

He asked Zhu Xiuer beside him: "Has Madam ever heard of this kind of monster before?"

"Rarely," Zhu Xiuer was a straightforward person, "Earth evil is not strange; usually, it means no grass grows and neither people nor livestock can survive. But an earth evil yin vein like the Yangshan Archipelago is actually very rare."

He Lingchuan recalled the Panlong Desert and the former lands of the Yuan Kingdom; they were indeed typical characteristics of so-called "lands of divine punishment."

Dong Rui was puzzled: "Are earth evil yin veins rare?"

"Earth evil yin veins like this one are rare!" Zhu Xiuer emphasized the word "this," "The Yangshan Archipelago is bathed in sunlight during the day, and the earth evil in the exposed areas is all scorched away, only to regenerate every seven days. Most other earth evil yin veins are in places of extreme yin, where they never see sunlight for years."

"Although Yin Serpents live in places of yin evil, to them, yin evil is like air to us; it can maintain their normal breathing. But apart from that, they also need to eat."

He Lingchuan understood: "The Yangshan Archipelago has yin evil and also ordinary living creatures; it is an ideal habitat for Yin Serpents."

"Yes, there are fish in the water, and they taste good." Zhu Xiuer had caught a few while on the boat, "That's why Yin Serpents are rarely seen. But if the King of Yin Serpents on the island were a great demon left over from ancient times, we shouldn't have been able to escape so easily when we first landed on Dragon Spine Island."

"Don't Yin Serpents fear light?"

"Great demons of many years have plenty of ways to temporarily avoid the sun," Zhu Xiuer said, "Besides, Dragon Spine Island is its lair, and the underground tunnels are connected; even if it avoids the sun, it should have had a way to intercept us."

Although Zhu Xiuer had rich combat experience, she also knew the principle that a strong dragon does not bully the local snake. As a monster nourished by earth energy, if the one at Xushan was so difficult to deal with, this King of Yin Serpents shouldn't be any worse.

"You mean?" He Lingchuan was thoughtful.

"Either it's not that strong, or... there's some hidden reason."

"I hadn't thought of that," He Lingchuan's eyes lit up, "But your theory, Madam, makes a lot of sense! We sucked away the archipelago's yin evil and turbid qi twice, and the entire Yin Serpent population was in danger, but this big guy didn't take action itself; it only sent giant serpents ashore to find us."

Why didn't it leave Dragon Spine Island? If the King of Yin Serpents hadn't reached the level of an ancient demon immortal, his subsequent negotiations should be much easier.

"Uh-huh," Zhu Xiuer hugged a large jar of fine wine and pierced the mud seal to sip from it.

That posture was very much like how He Lingchuan drank milk tea in his original world... He asked casually: "By the way, where has Second Sister reached?"

"She has passed Hundred-Man Ridge; she can reach Blade Harbor in another four or five days."

Dong Rui heard something wrong: "Wait, Second Sister? Second Sister is coming?"

He glared at Zhu Xiuer: "How long have we been living together, and you never mentioned it?"

"Did I not?" Zhu Xiuer raised her front claw and scratched her mouth.

He Lingchuan coughed: "I forgot to tell you, I also invited Second Sister to settle in the Yangshan Archipelago."

Zhu Erniang had arrived in the eastern part of the Mou Kingdom two months earlier than him, living in a canyon.

These spider demon sisters had a strange way of telepathy and could communicate in real-time. He Lingchuan had used Zhu Xiuer to invite Zhu Erniang to settle in his new territory, the Yangshan Archipelago.

"Why?" Dong Rui was unconvinced, "I contributed the divine bone; what does she have?"

"She has output," He Lingchuan counted on his fingers for him, "Fluorescent spores, spider silk, aphid honey... if I missed anything, you can add it."

"Mushrooms," Dong Rui said sullenly, "Is she also on an island by herself?"

"Yes, she has many offspring, and the island is too small for them to live on." Unlike her sister who likes to fight alone, she brings her whole family wherever she goes.

Moving house was not easy for her. So Zhu Erniang had carefully considered He Lingchuan's invitation, weighing it heavily for several days before nodding in agreement.

He Lingchuan seemed to smell a hint of reluctance.

But it didn't matter; he didn't care.

The Yangshan Archipelago was much more suitable as a cozy nest for Zhu Erniang than any deep ravine. If she wanted to, she could even build herself a Cave of Silk.

With this farming expert, the produce of He Lingchuan's territory would be greatly enriched.

In the early stages, this was an important resource.

Dong Rui snorted and stopped dwelling on this issue: "By the way, didn't you subdue a nest of pirates?"

"Yes, I'll be meeting the leader of another nest of pirates for a meal soon." Min Tianxi, the Second Master, acted as a go-between to arrange a meeting for him with the First Master, Huang Zhao, at the Yellow Fish Tavern in Blade Harbor.

Both sides had, of course, already been notified.

Min Tianxi had a good personal relationship with Huang Zhao and had told Huang Zhao what he had seen and heard on Dragon Spine Island.

After some careful consideration, Huang Zhao decided to meet with He Lingchuan.

Hearing is believing, but seeing is reality.

He Lingchuan remembered one thing: "By the way, the Child-Devouring Ghoul Beast I gave you, have you awakened it yet?"

He had used one Child-Devouring Ghoul Beast produced by the Heavenly Palace plus Alfalfa Island to exchange for Dong Rui's forty active divine bones; speaking of which, he had definitely made a huge profit.

"Not yet," Dong Rui said seriously, "It's not ready yet."

Ready? Does waking up a Ghoul Beast require such a big fuss? He Lingchuan was not familiar with this, but seeing Dong Rui so solemn, he let it be: "Be careful, don't get swallowed by it in one bite."

"Me, swallowed?" Dong Rui cast a look of contempt at him, "Do you know what you're saying?"

He Lingchuan shrugged: "If you need help, just ask; no need to be shy."

Zhu Xiuer: "Ditto."

At this time, Wang Fubao, a Rongshan man, came to report: "Young Master, the notice for recruiting craftsmen was posted in Blade Harbor four days ago, and so far two hundred people have come to sign up; some even brought their entire work teams."

Dong Rui said happily: "So fast? I thought no one would dare to go to the Yangshan Archipelago."

Wang Fubao scratched his head: "The wages we offered are higher."

"The Yangshan Archipelago is not scary; being poor is scary," He Lingchuan smiled, "A few days ago, Steward Ding had already recruited many tenant farmers and laborers to go to the island to work, mostly from the Qing Kingdom and Bailie."

He praised: "The Free Port is truly a good place; one can recruit many useful people."

The next day was clear, and He Lingchuan explored the waters of Dragon Spine Island again. This time, not only were Zhu Xiuer and the Rongshan disciples accompanying him, but Dong Rui was there too.

However, Dong Rui and Qiu Hu were on another boat.

(End of chapter)