Volume 1, Chapter 221 – Leaving Home

Inside this patrol craft, aside from that robot which had already been scrapped, there were also several sets of weapons and equipment.

For the first time in a long while, Shi Lan saw firearms similar to those in her memory.

They were laser weapons powered by a type of energy crystal.

There were also metal exoskeleton battle suits resembling armor, likewise powered by energy crystals.

After testing the power of the weapons, Shi Lan was somewhat surprised to find that these guns were already enough to threaten martial artists or demon beasts below the fourth stage of the Innate Realm.

Even mortals could use these guns without the slightest problem. If this kind of weapon could be produced in large quantities, the threat posed by low-level demon beasts would be reduced to almost nothing.

Unfortunately, that idea was basically impossible to realize.

When Shi Lan touched the energy crystals embedded in those weapons and battle suits, her expression shifted.

The energy contained within these energy crystals was incomparably pure, even somewhat purer than the spiritual qi in high-grade spirit crystals, but the amount was far smaller by comparison, differing by nearly ten thousand times.

At most, the energy contained in these crystals was only equivalent to low-grade spirit crystals.

But this energy was far too pure. It could be converted into true qi and increase one’s cultivation with almost no effort at all.

Shi Lan removed all the energy crystals and devoured them in the blink of an eye. Because the amount of energy was too scant, her cultivation increased by only a few traces.

Feeling a little regretful, Shi Lan gave the patrol craft one final search, then cleaned up the courtyard, stored all the miscellaneous items in her Qiankun Bracelet, and turned back to her room.

…

Early the next morning, before the sky had even begun to brighten, Shi Lan left her room and came to a somewhat cramped practice ground. It was only six zhang across, more than a hundred times smaller than the one in the Shi Residence.

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The practice ground was empty. Shi Lan stood in the middle with her hands hanging at her sides, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm as she expelled all the turbid air that had been stifling her through the night.

A thread of sunlight tore through the darkness before dawn and illuminated the sky. At the same time, a vast surge of spiritual qi arose and began to drift through heaven and earth.

Shi Lan lifted her head slightly and parted her lips, swallowing endless spiritual qi like a great whale drawing in water, stirring up a dark current of spiritual qi in the air with a rushing sound.

As the spiritual qi entered her body and nourished her true qi, Shi Lan let it roam through her meridians. Her thoughts gradually emptied, and every technique and move she had ever learned passed through her mind one by one.

With her spirit clear and her thoughts stilled, Shi Lan seemed to sink into a mysterious state, and her understanding of the Martial Dao began to advance at a rapid pace.

Move after move was deduced in her mind. With every breath of time that passed, her understanding deepened another degree.

At the edge of the practice ground, Shi Qinghu stared at Shi Lan, his pupils contracting.

In his eyes, Shi Lan’s not particularly tall figure kept rising higher and higher, like a towering mountain range pressing down before him until he could barely breathe.

After watching for a while, Shi Qinghu became a little dazed and unconsciously edged toward the center of the field.

Tap… tap…

The light footsteps fell into Shi Lan’s ears like thunder, startling her awake in an instant and pulling her out of that wondrous state.

After letting out a long breath, Shi Lan closed her eyes and reflected, sorting through what she had gained.

A long while later, Shi Lan opened her eyes with some regret. If she had been given just a little more time, she might have been able to thoroughly grasp the basics of the Heaven Extremity Seal.

“Big Sister…”

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Seeing Shi Lan open her eyes, Shi Qinghu called out in a low, nervous voice.

Shi Lan looked toward Shi Qinghu. Though she had been interrupted, she had no intention of blaming him. It was not his fault; it could only be said that the timing had been too coincidental.

Shi Lan exhaled softly, nodded to Shi Qinghu, and was just about to leave.

“Big Sister…”

Shi Qinghu called out to stop her and said somewhat stiffly, “Father… is healing, so it wouldn’t be convenient to disturb him. So… I wanted to ask Big Sister to guide my cultivation…”

Shi Lan lifted a brow, then directly stepped back and beckoned with one hand. Giving him a little guidance would not waste much time or effort, so naturally she would not refuse.

Shi Qinghu froze for a moment, then quickly reacted. He seized his palm into a fist, set his stance, forced a low roar from his throat, slid forward, and threw a plain, unadorned straight punch.

His long arm stretched like a great bow drawn open, and his muscles and bones cracked explosively, giving the strike considerable force.

Shi Qinghu was not yet seventeen, yet his strength had already reached the peak of the ninth stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Among ordinary people, his talent was enough to be called genius.

Shi Lan’s cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Earth Fiend Realm, surpassing Shi Qinghu by hundreds or thousands of times. Even if she did not quite understand how to teach others, from such a lofty vantage point she could still spot several of his problems at a glance.

She did not point them out immediately. Instead, she began sparring with Shi Qinghu, letting him discover the issues himself in the course of their exchange.

Shi Qinghu truly was intelligent and gifted. He quickly noticed them and began trying to correct them.

After a little less than half an hour, Shi Qinghu was drenched in sweat from head to toe. His face was flushed, his clothes were soaked through, and harsh breaths rasped from his throat.

Seeing that it was about enough, Shi Lan stopped and tapped a finger against Shi Qinghu’s forehead.

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Shi Qinghu’s body tilted backward. He staggered back several steps, then dropped onto the ground.

Shi Lan withdrew her finger and turned to leave. That tap just now had carried a thread of pure true qi. Besides nurturing Shi Qinghu’s body, it could also help him touch the threshold of the Innate Realm ahead of time.

“Thank you, Sis!”

The voice that came from behind her was thick with excitement.

Sensing the change in the way the boy addressed her, Shi Lan shook her head slightly, and for some reason her heart felt much lighter.

…

The next day, Shi Lan came to the practice ground again, and Shi Qinghu had already been waiting there early.

…

After resting at home for a few days, another military order came through the Demon-Suppressing Token.

Shi Lan left the house together with Shi Tianlu, and the whole family came to see them off.

“Husband, take care.”

After saying that, Su Lanyue looked at Shi Lan. A thousand instructions and ten thousand admonitions lingered behind her teeth, but in the end she only held Shi Lan’s not particularly broad shoulders and said, “Take good care of yourself.”

Shi Lan was no longer that soft daughter who could only hide behind her. Some things did not need to be said too plainly.

Shen Mingqiu stood to one side and only said softly, “Come back early.”

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Shi Yiming and Shi Qinghu stood behind her in silence.

Most of Shi Tianlu’s white hair had already turned black again, with only a few silver strands mixed in. His sturdy body stood straight, his blood and qi were vigorous, his gaze was sharp as lightning, and his essence, qi, and spirit had clearly reached their peak.

“Go back. There’s no need to see us off any farther.”

Shi Tianlu waved a hand and swung himself up onto the flood-dragon horse.

“Rest easy, Mother. We’ll be back before long.”

Shi Lan slowly removed Su Lanyue’s hand from her shoulder, nodded with a faint smile, and then leaped up onto the flood-dragon horse as well.

“Father… Sis.”

Shi Qinghu stepped forward, his expression serious as he said, “Come back safe soon.”

“Practice your martial arts properly at home. When I return, if I don’t see any improvement, you’ll have a hard time of it.”

The corners of Shi Lan’s lips lifted. She tugged lightly on the reins and rode away.

Watching this scene, Shi Yiming was utterly puzzled. “Since when did you become so close with her?”

Shi Qinghu grinned. His brows and eyes, almost identical to Shi Tianlu’s, relaxed and opened, but he said nothing.