Many woodcutters, just like Jiang Feng, dragged carts over to collect firewood, or loaded some charcoal to take back. In fact, finished charcoal was more expensive than firewood.

Two months ago, people were already coming up the mountain to pick out charcoal.

Jiang Feng, wary of the Six-armed Divine Emperor, had never dared to leave the city. He could only find excuses to go to Black Iron Mountain to chop some firewood. Fortunately, he brought back something each day, which didn’t arouse suspicion from his neighbors.

Now that things were calm, he pulled the cart toward Laojun Mountain, drawing even less attention from everyone.

Arriving at Laojun Mountain, Jiang Feng spotted many fellow workers.

Among them were the hunters from Hippo Village—Zhang Family’s Three Brothers.

Laojun Mountain had been burned clean. As hunters, they either had to hunt in other mountains or find new livelihoods.

There was still some charcoal left on the mountain, which could be hauled to the city and sold to inns or wealthy families.

Zhang Family’s Three Brothers had also joined the ranks of those picking out charcoal.

The three brothers worked together, and being hunters and villagers from Hippo Village, they were very familiar with the terrain here.

So they staked out a large area of the mountain, not allowing others to enter and pick firewood. Anyone caught by them would have to hand over all their firewood.

Relying on their martial skills as hunters, they made many people keep quiet about their anger.

When Jiang Feng dragged his cart past them, his cart was kicked a few times, and they shouted at him to get lost, to go collect firewood at the back of the mountain instead.

Jiang Feng and a few fellow woodcutters left with dark faces, heading together to the back mountain. Soon after, they split up to pick out charcoal and firewood in the pitch-dark woods.

"Old Qin, don’t go too far. The Hippo Village folks are awfully domineering. Let’s sleep together tonight, pick some more tomorrow, then head back to the city."

Old Liu called out to Jiang Feng.

"Alright, I’ll just look around nearby."

Jiang Feng replied, and before he realized it, he had disappeared from everyone’s sight.

He left Laojun Mountain, heading north and arriving at a small valley fifty li away from Laojun Mountain.

This place had escaped the commotion.

A large number of creatures had run here from Laojun Mountain. In the valley, Jiang Feng ran into a group of rabbits that scattered the moment they saw him.

"Let’s break through right here!"

Jiang Feng glanced around at his surroundings.

Hardly any people nearby. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Only the occasional hunter passed through. The disturbance from a breakthrough wouldn’t attract much attention.

Thinking about how it took two hundred and fifty thousand Fortune Points to go from beginner to proficient in the Yangchun Technique last time, Jiang Feng now added five hundred thousand Fortune Points to the Yangchun Technique according to the doubling rule.

The status panel changed.

Name: Jiang Feng

Fortune: 828,756

Cultivation Technique: Yangchun Technique (Minor Achievement)

Skills: Loulan Slash (Perfection+) Wind Palm (Minor Achievement+) Three-legged Body Technique (Minor Achievement+)

Realm: Qi Condensation (Second Layer)

Divine Power: Immortality

Jiang Feng felt a cool force above his head pour straight in, and the power inside him, as if frozen by cold, changed from transparent to silvery white.

Perfect Perception Power was transforming into Spiritual Sense, finally breaking through the barrier. A marvelous sense of insight appeared in Jiang Feng; even with eyes closed, he could clearly "see" everything in the valley.

It was no longer just sensing auras.

Now, the entire scene was displayed in his mind.

His Spiritual Sense could completely cover the valley and even sift pure Spiritual Qi from the Power of Heaven and Earth in the air, refining it into a stream of pure force.

He opened his hand.

Silver-white armor appeared in his palm.

This was tangible Spiritual Power.

The power that belonged to a cultivator.

He had finally broken through to the Innate Realm, stepped onto the path of cultivation, and become a cultivator; every strand of Spiritual Power in his body could heavily injure an Innate Powerhouse.

Even if Xiao Zhan’s cultivation techniques and attributes were special, surpassing Celestial Extreme, a surge of Jiang Feng’s Spiritual Power could easily pierce Xiao Zhan’s defenses.

Faced with Xiao Zhan, he no longer needed to skulk and hide. Any random palm strike could severely hurt him—this was the difference between a cultivator and a martial arts powerhouse.

It was Spiritual Power crushing True Essence.

No ordinary cultivation technique level could bridge this gap.

Even if Xiao Zhan and the Second Prince joined forces, Jiang Feng would not fear them; he was confident he could lay both of them out in a short time.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Suddenly, there was a disturbance.

Jiang Feng spread his Spiritual Sense outward, extending it beyond the valley. The scene outside appeared in his mind.

A Cyan Python had appeared outside the valley.

During Jiang Feng’s breakthrough, Spiritual Qi surged all around, and the shifts in the Power of Heaven and Earth were as dramatic as the battle between the Six-armed Divine Emperor and the Blood Wolf King. The Cyan Python, cultivating nearby, thought a powerful foe had arrived and came over to investigate.

"It’s that one!"

Jiang Feng recognized it.

It was the very Cyan Python guarding Tiger Fang Manor that had nearly frozen him last time.

Jiang Feng remembered the extremely cold aura emanating from its body.

Back when he was at the Innate Realm, a single look from the other’s eyes had him fleeing desperately, his clothes covered in frost afterwards, and even the place where he had stood was frozen over.

Now he had broken through the Innate Realm.

As a second-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, Jiang Feng finally didn’t need to panic in front of this Cyan Python like before.

He stood up.

His body technique activated.

Augmented by Spiritual Power.

It was as if a Golden Road appeared beneath his feet; with one leap, he vaulted over the small valley and dashed into the distance.

He had long considered that the disturbance from his breakthrough might draw attention.

But he truly hadn’t expected it.

That even after running fifty li from Laojun Mountain to the valley, he could still attract the Cyan Python from Tiger Fang Manor.

Who knows if the enemy had been lurking nearby all along.