Chapter Seventy-Eight: Adding One More Brick
“Xingshan was captured?”
Though the note was brief, its contents left Song Tingye visibly shocked.
Anyone sent out from home was a carefully selected seed. Though not yet initiated into the Dao, if it came to a desperate fight, once the Dormant Dragon Qi-nurturing Method was unleashed, even a cultivator at the threshold could hold their own. What manner of demon could it be, to seize Xingshan alive?
Turning to Jia Yufei, Song Tingye spoke in a low voice, “Sister, I may need you to make this trip. I suspect the family sent the blood letter because they knew you were here.”
When it came to her own kin, even Jia Yufei, usually so unruly, set aside her playful temperament and nodded. “Understood. Just my luck—I finally get a chance to come out, and I haven’t even had two days’ peace.” Muttering complaints under her breath, she went to sit by herself, hugging her knees and grumbling softly, “Just wait till I get my hands on you… I’ll skin you alive… tear your tendons out…”
Holding the blood letter, Song Tingye frowned slightly. It seemed that more and more powerful demons were fleeing into the great provinces of Dian and Chuan, raising the overall threat. He had to accelerate his cultivation and step into the Dao as soon as possible. Dongli County was not far from Baohe. Otherwise, Xingshan’s fate would be a warning to him.
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“Master Song, there are now more than twelve thousand refugees gathered outside the city. Our remaining grain stores will last no more than three days at most. I’ve sent men to neighboring counties to buy supplies, but all of Huangtan Prefecture is in chaos lately—trade convoys can barely operate, and every county is suffering food shortages. I fear it will be difficult to purchase enough grain.”
The Agricultural Register handed a ledger of grain supplies to Song Tingye. It clearly recorded the county’s recent intake and outflow. Simply put, expenses far exceeded income. The influx of refugees, coupled with Song Tingye’s many soup kitchens, had brought the city’s reserves to a dangerous low. If this continued, not only the refugees—Baohe County itself would soon face a crisis.
“I understand. You may go,” Song Tingye replied, dismissing the official before calling for Sun Yueting. “How long until our family’s grain arrives?”
“It was due in two days, but now the convoy is stuck at Tiger’s Roar Pass. Some rebel disciples of the Golden Mother Cult are entrenched there. If we force our way through, we may lose both men and grain,” Sun Yueting explained.
“Is there no way around?”
“Huangtan Prefecture is in utter chaos. Demonic blights have spread everywhere. To take a detour would add ten days’ travel—and there’s no guarantee we wouldn’t face other dangers along the way.”
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Sun Yueting hesitated. “Young master, perhaps…”
“Speak your mind.”
“We could ask Master Ye to escort the convoy. With his prowess, no ordinary rebel could stand against him. He’d surely get the grain through safely.”
“Ye Wen?” Song Tingye’s brow arched and he fell silent, pondering. Ever since Jia Yufei warned him that this man was extremely dangerous and should not be provoked, he had limited his contact with Ye Wen. The awkwardness of marrying into the family had only deepened the distance between them. They hadn’t met in nearly ten days.
“Go invite Master Ye,” Song Tingye finally said after a pause, signaling Sun Yueting to fetch Qi Xiu.
Food was the most urgent issue now. With enough grain, he could absorb the refugees into the city, making them citizens of Baohe and advancing his own cultivation. With a force of over ten thousand at his side, achieving Dao attainment was within reach. For that, some risk was acceptable.
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“Escort the grain convoy?” Qi Xiu was momentarily surprised by Song Tingye’s request. Was this what the magistrate wanted him for?
“If it wasn’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t trouble you, sir. I still feel guilty about my elder sister’s previous offense,” Song Tingye said with a hint of apology, hoping to ease the tension between them.
“It’s all in the past. No need for concern.” To Qi Xiu, it was always a matter of mutual benefit—he needed Song Tingye’s support for his cultivation, while Song needed his strength as a protector. Both got what they needed. Only Jia Yufei’s abrupt arrival had complicated things.
“That’s good, then. This grain transport concerns the lives of tens of thousands of refugees outside the city. It’s urgent and cannot be delayed, so I must ask you to make the journey. Of course, I won’t let you go unrewarded. If you have any requests, speak them, and I will do everything in my power to fulfill them.”
It was clear—Song Tingye intended to hire him to escort the grain. With things laid out so plainly, Qi Xiu saw no reason to feign ignorance and produced a prepared list. Besides some medicinal herbs, it included specific requirements for genuine cultivation manuals.
Glancing at the list, Song Tingye’s eyes paused on the mention of true cultivation methods, then he looked up at Qi Xiu with concealed meaning. So, he was still trying. But if things were truly so easy, the great noble sects and schools would not exist.
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When terms were settled, Qi Xiu left holding a scroll—a genuine cultivation method, the “Great Scarlet Tiger Form True Method” practiced by Sun Yueting, Song Tingye’s personal guard. It was the down payment for this escort.
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Back home with the secret scroll, Qi Xiu began training immediately. The “Great Scarlet Tiger Form True Method,” superior to any other method he’d acquired, was also of the yang aspect. As the full contents etched themselves into his mind, a faint reddish aura shimmered over his skin.
On his skill panel, the proficiency of the Tiger Method climbed rapidly. Nearly a year of relentless training had given Qi Xiu a terrifyingly solid foundation. With two Dao seeds and the core tenets of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture, his cultivation was now accelerating at an astonishing pace.
Despite its high quality, the Tiger Method was no longer a challenge for someone of Qi Xiu’s current level—it was as if a mathematics doctoral candidate were solving high school equations: not only did he see more possible solutions, but his techniques were also far more advanced. What once took days of agonizing effort to grasp now felt like biting into a soft, sweet pastry—understanding came in a single chew.
After just six hours, Qi Xiu’s aura surged; a sound like a tiger’s roar echoed from within, shaking the void with awe-inspiring might. At the same moment, a crimson, nebula-like well of qi formed in his lower dantian.
The Great Scarlet Tiger Form True Method.
Qi Condensation Realm.
As soon as the qi spring was born, Qi Xiu focused his mind inward, wary of the Violet Extreme Dao Seed reacting in some petty way. But after a quarter of an hour, his core remained calm. The Dao Seed sat unmoving, entirely uninterested in its new neighbor.
Seeing this, Qi Xiu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Now, he only needed to continue building, brick by brick, until the secret essence of his Primordial Dragon-Tiger Scripture was fully forged.
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