The years of war passed swiftly, and several months flew by in a flash.
The border camp where Li Yuanhu was stationed had long shed its former chaos and decline.
Xu Hanzhou governed the army with strict discipline, clear rewards and punishments. After several well-executed ambushes, they forcibly suppressed the arrogant might of the Great Qian Dynasty’s Crimson Flame Cavalry.
With victory reports arriving one after another, the morale of the Great Yu army soared to unprecedented heights.
Li Yuanhu, once a rookie commandant, had quickly become somewhat famous across the entire border, his forces swelling to three thousand troops. He became Xu Hanzhou’s most trusted right-hand man.
That day, he had just returned from a military meeting in the central command tent when Wang Lie came rushing up, carrying his fiery greatsword, face glowing with excitement.
“Yuanhu, did you hear? The higher-ups are going to credit us with first merit!”
Wang Lie was now Li Yuanhu’s most capable deputy under the demon’s command. “Lord Xu already reported you as ‘brave and wise, a pillar of the nation’! Now, you’re going to be known even in the capital!”
“It’s all thanks to the brothers who risk their lives.”
Li Yuanhu’s face showed little joy. He gazed out at the endless rows of military tents and the faint beacons of war flickering in the distance, then sighed softly.War never truly has winners.
Behind every military achievement lies a mound of bones.
Seeing his expression, Wang Lie’s smile dimmed somewhat. He patted Li Yuanhu’s shoulder and said gravely, “I know what you’re thinking, but this is the life of a soldier. If we don’t kill a few enemies, those who die will be our own brothers. Their families at home will suffer too. Yuanhu, you’ve already done better than anyone else.”
Li Yuanhu nodded and said no more, his gaze drifting into the far distance.
He missed the hot noodle soup Sun Zhi made with her own hands.
...........
Spirit Mountain cave dwelling, spring all year round.
Li Pingcan sat cross-legged beneath the Mulberry Spirit Tree, deeply focused on cultivation, undisturbed by anything else.
[You cast the first-level spell Plant Growth, proficiency +1, total proficiency 1999]
[You cast the first-level spell Thunderclap Wave, proficiency +1, total proficiency 1999]
With two clear notification sounds, he slowly opened his eyes, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
“Finally, both are max level.”
On the status panel, the descriptions of the two skills had completely refreshed.
[Plant Growth (First-Level · Max): You can freely induce the growth of most mundane plants. Gains max-level trait: Spiritual Plant Illumination.]
[Spiritual Plant Illumination: You can consume vast natural mana to forcibly enhance a plant with potential, elevating its grade and with a very low chance to cause beneficial mutations, transforming it into a true ‘spiritual plant’.]
[Thunderclap Wave (First-Level · Max): Your thunder shockwave has a wider range and greater power. Gains max-level trait: Paralysis Shock.]
[Paralysis Shock: Targets hit by Thunderclap Wave are forcibly knocked back and fall into a brief paralysis state, body limp, mana sluggish, lasting one to three breaths.]
Besides these, the zero-level spell he acquired earliest, Breath of the Tree, finally reached true perfection after long, painstaking practice.
[Breath of the Tree (Zero-Level): He has completely fused this technique with himself. Every breath exchanges energy with nature at the deepest level. Gains max-level trait: Evergreen.]
[Evergreen: He is perfectly attuned to nature, gaining a slight increase to his lifespan lower limit. His appearance will forever remain at the current age, youth eternal until lifespan is exhausted.]
Feeling the ceaseless vitality within, as if connected to the entire Spirit Mountain’s vast power, Li Pingcan’s mood was extraordinarily pleasant.
These months of seclusion had brought rewards far beyond his expectations.
Not only had his cultivation stabilized at the peak of Refining Qi Stage Six, ready to break through to the late stage at any time, but his physical body, nourished by the massive amounts of demonic beast flesh and blood, had become even tougher.
What delighted him even more was the change in the Emerald Dream.
With the spreading branches of the Li family bloodline, especially the vigorous growth of Li Mengze, Li Mengjin, and Li Mengyue, their divine soul powers flowed like invisible streams into this spiritual homeland, making the entire dream world gradually more condensed, stable, and solid.
The white jade holy lotus at the lake’s center had already bloomed five petals, its sacred radiance enveloping the entire lake surface, transforming this dream into a genuine blessed realm.
“About time.”
Li Pingcan felt a stir in his heart. His control over the Emerald Dream had reached a new level.
Before, he could only passively receive the children’s emotions or perform simple ‘dream delivery.’
Now, he felt as if he had become the true ‘creator’ of this dream world.
He could, by will alone, construct here for the children a unique ‘trial ground’!
..........
Prefectural academy at night, deep silence.
Li Mengze lay in bed and quickly fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, the familiar green world did not appear. Instead, he found himself in a strange mountainous landscape he had never seen before.
Within the valley, exotic flowers and strange grasses were everywhere. Many plants appeared far older and more mysterious than anything he had ever seen in ancient texts.
Beside a small grass blade, crystal clear like carved jade, wisps of chill lingered.
Not far off, a flower burning with faint golden flames quietly bloomed, the surrounding air subtly warped by the heat.
“This place is...”
Li Mengze’s eyes shone with shock and ecstatic joy.
This was practically a tailor-made paradise for alchemists!
[Welcome to the Hundred Herbs Spiritual Realm, your exclusive trial ground.]
A gentle thought flowed in Li Mengze’s mind.
“I-it’s... Dream Senior!”
Li Mengze did not ask about the origin of this spiritual realm but bowed respectfully to the void.
This was definitely a chance prepared by the mysterious ‘Dream Senior’ for him.
[Trial Task: Refine the Yin-Yang Reversal Pill.]
A pill recipe shimmering with faint light appeared before him out of thin air.
Li Mengze leaned in for a glance and gasped in shock.
“Using the ‘Nine Yang Herb’ of utmost yang combined with the ‘Profound Nether Flower’ of utmost yin? How... how is this possible?!”
Most of the dozens of required herbs were ones he had seen in ancient books, but the two main herbs were natural enemies.
Nine Yang Herb grew at a volcano’s mouth, red throughout, with explosively strong medicinal properties.
Profound Nether Flower grew in the Nine Nether Cold Pool, its petals like ice crystals, with chilling and piercing yin nature.
Putting two completely opposing medicinal forces into one pill furnace wasn’t pill refining—it was an explosion waiting to happen!
Li Mengze said no more and took a deep breath, starting to search the endless herb fields for the necessary ingredients.
The first attempt was cautious; he added the Nine Yang Herb powder into the furnace, but the explosive medicinal force immediately detonated the furnace fire, causing the entire pill furnace to emit a mournful “buzz.”
The second time, he tried neutralizing with the cold energy of the Profound Nether Flower first, but the two energies clashed like ice and fire, instantly blowing the furnace into a burst of multicolored fireworks.
“This won’t do.”
With scorched, smoke-blackened curly hair, Li Mengze took out paper and pen and began carefully recording and analyzing.
“Nine Yang Herb is fierce and ignites with fire. Profound Nether Flower is cold and melts with heat. Suppressing or neutralizing will only cause stronger rebounds. Blocking isn’t as good as channeling... channeling...”
A sudden flash of insight hit him. He remembered his father’s teachings on the Five Elements Play outline.
“Water and fire complement each other, earth and wood generate each other... got it!”
He slapped his thigh excitedly.
On the third furnace opening, he no longer rushed to fuse the two main herbs but first took the mildest ‘Thick King Ganoderma,’ ground it into powder, and used its generous kingly power to construct a small ‘transfer station’ inside the pill furnace.
Then, like two reluctant dragons, he carefully guided the two medicinal forces, strand by strand, thread by thread, inside.
“Buzz!”
The pill furnace violently shook again but did not explode.
Those two wild medicinal forces, harmonized by the Thick King Ganoderma, miraculously reached a subtle balance.
Sweat beaded on Li Mengze’s forehead as he pushed his divine sense to the limit, carefully maintaining this hard-won equilibrium, his mind clear as a bright sky.
Time passed unknowingly until the final trace of medicinal force perfectly fused, and a strange pill fragrance slowly wafted out of the furnace.
He shouted and, without dodging, counterattacked head-on!
His “Shadow Fang” carried an unstoppable domineering momentum. The sword tip faintly sounded like wind and thunder—this was the strongest offensive move in the Thirteen Wind Returning Swords!
“Clang!”
As the twin swords clashed, Li Mengjin felt a massive force hit him, knocking him back repeatedly. Yet his opponent’s divine consciousness was also pushed back half a step by his fierce, fearless strike!
“Got an opening!”
Li Mengjin’s heart leapt with joy as his assault grew fiercer.
He fully integrated the newly learned principle from his father of “overcoming hardness with softness, using force against force” into his swordplay.
Sometimes like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, ferocious and unrelenting; sometimes like a nimble monkey climbing branches, sly and tricky.
The divine consciousness’s “program” obviously hadn’t encountered such unpredictable tactics before, and the fixed sword moves first showed signs of hesitation.
“Now!”
Seizing this fleeting flaw, Li Mengjin thrust his sword!
“Pfft!”
A soft sound as his “Shadow Fang” accurately pierced the divine consciousness’s chest.
The figure shook violently, slowly nodded at him as if approving, then dissolved into a myriad of glowing particles, vanishing without a trace.
Li Mengjin stared at his sword in disbelief.
I... I won?
An unprecedented flood of joy instantly overwhelmed him.
.............
Li Family Mansion, inner courtyard.
“The young miss is missing!”
“Quick, tell Third Madam, the young miss is missing again!”
Seeing the maids rush off in panic, Li Mengyue emerged from behind an artificial hill, giggling, still holding a large green frog with a hurt leg.
She stretched out her chubby little hand and gently pressed it on the frog’s leg.
Under her palm, a soft moon-white glow, like flowing moonlight, slowly merged into the frog’s wound.
The once bloody, mangled injury visibly began to heal.
After a moment, the frog croaked once, then hopped away lively into the grass.
“Hehe.”
Li Mengyue laughed happily, revealing two small tiger teeth.
Every night recently, she entered a wondrous dream.
In the dream was a spring that always emitted gentle moonlight.
She often played and bathed in its cool water, which always made her feel extremely comfortable and safe.
She gradually discovered she could control that moonlight-like spring water to heal the injured little animals in the dream.
Though she did not yet understand what it meant, helping others gave her immense joy.
This trial ground called the “Moon Goddess’s Spring” gently guided her to awaken and master her innate healing and purifying power.
Li Pingcan stood before the cave dwelling, quietly observing all this through the Emerald Dream, a proud smile like an old father on his face.
“Little ones, don’t disappoint your father.”
He muttered softly, “This world is still very vast. The road ahead is still long.”
The shadow of war still loomed over this land. The ruthless struggle of the strong devouring the weak seemed never-ending.