"Heh, this Dong Chunyan is quite the benefactor, delivering equipment from a thousand miles away! Truly amazing."
Yang Hong read Dong Chunyan's cultivation notes and was genuinely impressed by her. A lowly courtesan, someone from the dust, was able to cultivate to the peak of the Fusion stage. This couldn't be explained by luck alone; it was a testament to her cunning, methods, and ruthlessness. In her notes, Dong Chunyan recorded killing 82,712 people. Upon seeing this number, Yang Hong's very perception of reality wavered. Over eighty thousand people, over eighty thousand lives! This number was comparable to the entire population of a small county in the Great Sui Dynasty. A seemingly delicate woman like this had personally killed 82,712 people. And this was just the number Dong Chunyan recorded; there might have been countless more lives extinguished without her documentation. The thought alone sent a chill down his spine.
However, Dong Chunyan had truly walked through a gauntlet of life and death. In her notes, she documented 628 incidents of life-threatening peril. In her sixty-plus years of cultivation, encountering 628 life-or-death crises was an extraordinarily high ratio. From these records, Yang Hong understood one crucial principle: before gaining sufficient strength, one must remain hidden. Even with strength, one must continue to lie low, because you never knew if the seemingly insignificant opponent you encountered had a towering figure backing them. If you offend someone, you must cut the grass by the roots, exterminating them mercilessly and without hesitation!
The remaining eleven cultivation insights and notes were also filled with bloody battles. Among the eleven cultivators who left behind insights, the highest cultivation was a Nascent Soul realm True Master, who recorded killing 6,582 people. The unrecorded ones were anyone's guess. The lowest cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment stage, with fewer recorded kills, but still a significant 1,524. The higher the cultivation, the more kills. Among them, the most prolific was the insight from a demonic cultivator at the Fusion stage, who had killed over 700,000 people.
Seeing these numbers, Yang Hong had only one thought: the cultivation world is too dangerous, I want to return to Blue Star. He completely overlooked the fact that he himself was a ruthless killer. He had already killed four Fusion stage cultivators, one seventh-tier Integration stage wolf demon, and one eighth-tier Tribulation Transcension stage tiger demon. If his combat record were to spread throughout the cultivation world, it would undoubtedly terrify many cultivators, especially those below the seventh-tier Integration stage. It was simply that Yang Hong himself was unaware of it.
After reading those cultivation insights, Yang Hong did not remember the most crucial cultivation methods or precautions for cultivators. He only remembered one thing: one must lie low! "Before I am invincible under heaven, I absolutely cannot be reckless!" "There are nine stages of cultivation; I must at least cultivate to the eighth-tier Tribulation Transcension stage before revealing my cultivation. I must be cautious at all times." "Right, these cultivation notes should also be shown to Song Yuzhi and the others so they can understand the dangers of cultivation and absolutely not be reckless."
The thought of a group of naive girls around him gave Yang Hong a headache. He wasn't worried about them being killed, but rather about them accidentally exposing themselves. "No, they must first improve their cultivation before they can go out. They must possess the strength to sweep aside all opposition." "Then I'll set a small goal: they can only leave the imperial palace once they reach the Golden Core stage." Do you think Yang Hong was truly concerned for the safety of Song Yuzhi and the others? It was because once their cultivation reached the Golden Core stage, they would have the ability to self-detonate. A self-detonation would result in mutual destruction, unleashing ten times the destructive power of a Golden Core stage cultivator. Even if it couldn't kill the enemy, it could injure a Nascent Soul cultivator. Most importantly, a Golden Core self-detonation allowed for the deliberate destruction of one's divine sense. This way, the enemy could not extract information about the mastermind from the deceased. It was merely a final failsafe.
With his decision made, Yang Hong glanced at the rising sun and walked towards Yadulou.
"Husband, are these all true?"
"So the cultivation world is so dangerous!"
"Are all cultivators so indifferent to life, treating human lives as mere grass?"
"Cultivators are truly cruel!"
Looking at the cultivation insights, Song Yuzhi and the others let out exclamations similar to Yang Hong's, all lamenting the cruelty of cultivators. There were no condemnations; they had long known that cultivators were beings of high standing. It was acceptable for cultivators to occasionally kill to establish their authority, but to kill so frequently was unacceptable. This was the most fundamental mindset of all mortals.
"That's why you must be careful. You must diligently practice the Breath Concealment techniques I taught you, so that no one can discern you are cultivating, or you might be inexplicably killed by other cultivators." Yang Hong seized the opportunity to lecture them.
"Husband, rest assured, we will definitely conceal our cultivation. We will always appear as Grandmasters of martial arts," Jia Yuanchun, the one with the highest cultivation among them, pledged first. Despite her superior cultivation, she was the kindest among the eight, and also the most timid.
"Husband, I will definitely cultivate diligently and will never put myself in danger." Song Yuzhi also pledged, her attitude much more proactive.
"I want to cultivate diligently too～～"
"Yes, only by becoming strong ourselves is the most important thing."
"Mhm mhm~ Cultivate, cultivate~"
The others also clenched their fists, their faces filled with excitement as they swore oaths, akin to a pre-battle rally. This was exactly what Yang Hong wanted to see. Although the doctrine of lying low couldn't be promoted openly for now, stimulating these women's desire to cultivate was already half the battle won.
"Very good. I am very pleased you have this aspiration. Since you are cultivating, you will naturally need spells. I will first impart to you a few basic spells."
"Ah, we can learn spells too?"
"Can we also fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, becoming omnipotent?"
"I want to ride the clouds and mist."
"I want to..."
Upon hearing that they could learn spells, these women abandoned their composure and forgot their previous fear, excitedly talking about the spells they wished to learn.
"Ahem cough~ I don't have such high-level spells, and even if I did, you wouldn't be able to practice them with your current cultivation. Here are eight first-tier spells." Yang Hong interrupted their fantasies and directly produced eight jade slips, all containing first-tier, minor spell level techniques. Having just started interacting with spells, even Yang Hong couldn't use them yet. Learning advanced spells was still a long way off.
Seeing the disappointment and disdain on Song Yuzhi and the others' faces, Yang Hong explained, "First-tier spells are fundamental, and you all must learn them. Master these few spells first, and I have other spells too. However, you must cultivate the existing spells to the point of perfection before learning the next one. Remember, it's better to master a few than to know many." As he spoke, Yang Hong's tone grew more serious, and Song Yuzhi and the others stopped their fanciful thoughts.
"These eight spells have different focuses. In addition to the elemental attributes, there are also focuses on character and temperament. You can all take a look and then decide which spell to cultivate." Without waiting for Song Yuzhi and the others to object, Yang Hong handed the eight jade slips to the eight women, allowing them to pass them around. Unlike Yang Hong, who possessed the talent of photographic memory, even after reading the jade slips, Song Yuzhi and the others would not be able to learn the spells immediately. They would need to constantly ponder and comprehend before they could successfully cultivate. Yang Hong's cultivation was incredibly simple, practically cheating. He only needed to glance at a jade slip and memorize its contents. The system would then automatically acknowledge that he had learned the spell, granting him level 1 proficiency. Then, it was off to farming! The Endowment Return system could not only return cultivation but also provide insights into spell cultivation. By farming and bestowing endowments to plants, Yang Hong could quickly master any spell. And the endowment system wasn't limited to just these abilities.