Qi Cultivation Starting from the Repair Panel

Within the thousand-foot underground tunnel, frost had already formed, and it was extremely cold. Even with Chu Zheng's current cultivation, he needed to circulate his Yuan Qi or allow the beast fire within him to flow to prevent his body from freezing stiff.

After the cold wave had completely arrived, Lie's health deteriorated further; he seldom went out and only moved around inside the hall. Lie pulled several robust youths to dig out another fire pit beneath the great hall and set up a place for ore refining, making the area around the great hall warm as spring.

Despite these efforts, it was difficult to retain the witch's fading life force.

The weight of the words "No way to turn back the heavens" was already enough to explain everything.

Hum—

Lie pushed open the stone door and stepped into the room, his expression somewhat solemn:

"Zheng Chu, the witch has passed away, come with me to send her off."

Chu Zheng was startled for a moment, then nodded his head and followed Lie's steps.

Four warriors from the Wangshan Tribe carried a jade coffin, which was already sealed. Ying stood by with little sadness on her face.

Lie took the lead, walking toward the surface.

As they neared the surface, the temperature around them plummeted rapidly, the ice layers thickening until the tunnel was completely blocked by ice.

Lie's Blood Qi began to surge, generating intense heat that instantaneously melted three meters of ice. The resulting ice water cascaded down the tunnel, forming a small stream that trickled underground.

A moment later, the group reached the surface, where only ice and snow met their eyes.

Chu Zheng set foot on the ground after a long absence, with the howling of the wind and snow echoing between heaven and earth, and saw nothing but a desolate winter devoid of any life.

The former Wangshan Tribe had been completely sealed by heavy snow and hidden under thick ice.

The extreme cold made Chu Zheng feel uncomfortable, prompting him to speed up the circulation of the beast fire inside his body, which made him feel much better.

This extreme cold was somewhat beyond Chu Zheng's expectation. Apart from the howling of the wind and snow, there was no other sound; the tumult was permeated with dead silence, as if even time and space had been brought to a standstill, completely frozen.

Lie led the group forward, walking into a wasteland.

The surrounding ice and snow quickly melted away, revealing a series of graves, as Lie continued towards a tombstone.

The tombstone looked very clean, without any weeds around it, clearly tended to frequently.

"Chu Ming's tomb..."

Chu Zheng looked at the name on the tombstone, his brows slightly furrowed, a surname on the name enough to indicate that this person came from no ordinary background.

"He was once the strongest warrior of the Wangshan Tribe, originally from a large tribe. But for the sake of Luan, he stayed, joined the Wangshan Tribe, and protected the tribe for over four hundred years."

Lie spoke gravely, "The witch's last wish was to be buried next to him."

Being a witch, she could not marry in her lifetime. Chu Ming waited for Luan for over four hundred years, maybe even longer.

Without further explanation about Chu Ming, Lie dug a new grave next to the tomb and buried the jade coffin down.

The witch's funeral was simple, attended only by Lie and Chu Zheng, along with a few of the tribe's strongest warriors and Ying.

Ying was unaffected by the cold, her complexion rosy and her breath steady.

Chu Zheng glanced at her with slight puzzlement, a thought stirring in his mind.

Under his Spiritual Eye, Ying's Divine Soul strength had reached the Third Order, a level of strength attainable only by adult Totem Cultivators and comparable to Great Cultivators in the Immortal Path's Soul Condensing Realm.

Ying was only ten years old so far, her future achievements boundless.

The witch's death did not impact the tribe too severely; everything continued as before.

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Ying succeeded the witch, beginning to prepare medicines for wounded warriors of the tribe and helping newborns with their totem tattoos.

Her current skill level, although incomparable to Luan's, was sufficient; apart from the First Class totem, she had mastered all other totem engraving techniques.

In the eyes of the people of the Wangshan Tribe, she had already become a qualified witch, earning the respect of many of her tribespeople.

Chu Zheng's status within the Wangshan Tribe similarly soared, and the majority of the tribespeople regarded him as a rare genius.

The Formation Patterns he devised greatly enhanced the power of the Rune Soldiers and reduced the losses incurred during their creation.

At the same time, Chu Zheng had begun to teach the tribe's warriors some basic breathing techniques of Qi absorbtion.

This method drew in nature's spiritual energy, and although it fell short of the true Qi-refining Technique, it significantly impacted these warriors, greatly enhancing their battle strength.

Lie did not interfere with this, simply observing in silence, his attitude toward Chu Zheng remained as usual.

...

...

This cold wave lasted a long time, a full half-year longer than usual, persisting for nearly four years.

Had it not been for the ample reserves of Blood Food previously stored, many people in the Wangshan Tribe would likely have suffered from hunger.

After enduring the cold wave, the populations of many tribes entered a period of growth, including the Wangshan Tribe; the number of newborns each year increased over the previous years.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In response, Ying, serving as the witch, became incredibly busy. Day after day, she expended great effort to inscribe totems on newborns and tend to their bodies.

Living underground and lacking in the intake of natural energy, Chu Zheng's cultivation progressed slowly. However, with the help of various Spiritual Medicines, he still managed to aggregate the Dao Embryo and entered the mid-stage of the Dao Embryo Realm.

The growth of his physical body was even more astonishing; his Qi Strength increased several times over, and now it was hard to find a Third Order Savage Beast that could withstand his palm.

In the path of totems, he had reached adulthood. The connection between him and his totem became even tighter, with signs of Divine Skills beginning to manifest.

As the cold wave receded, the temperature underground gradually began to rise. The high temperatures and the moisture from the melting ice layers caused many newborns to suffer greatly, and epidemics occurred from time to time.

However, it was still not advisable to return to the surface just yet; they needed to persevere for a while longer.

Lie had already taken the tribe's top warriors and left the underground ahead of the others. They were tasked with thoroughly cleansing the Wangshan Tribe's territory within ten thousand miles to eliminate any threats.

The aftermath of the cold wave was filled with hungry Savage Beasts. Many powerful beasts, to compensate for their losses during the cold, engaged in frenzied killing and hunting.

This period was even more dangerous than the onset of the cold wave.

It was not until a month after the cold wave had passed that the Wangshan Tribe began migrating and returned to living on the surface.

As soon as he got back to the surface, Chu Zheng eagerly left the tribe and ventured into the wilderness to release the frustrations of having been confined underground.

Along the way, he often saw Savage Beast skeletons, their essence of Blood Qi drained away, evidently sucked dry by the Melting Beads.

The Savage Beasts within ten thousand miles had been swept clear, and Chu Zheng saw no game until he ran over twenty thousand miles out, where he finally spotted traces of Savage Beasts.

At the same time, he discovered traces of a tribe, and the traces were fresh.

A claw print spanning over a hundred miles had obliterated the entire tribe, leaving behind only a deep pit where remnants of some palaces could faintly be seen.

A tremendously powerful Savage Beast had passed by, destroying the entire tribe with a single strike, leaving none alive.

Chu Zheng was slightly startled; such a blow, if it were to fall on the Wangshan Tribe, would result in the same outcome.

The location was merely twenty thousand miles from the Wangshan Tribe, far too close.

Chu Zheng steadied his mind, cleared the remaining traces in the tribe, obtained some fragments of Rune Soldiers and Bone Books, and began his return journey.

...

...

When Chu Zheng returned to the tribe, the Wangshan Tribe was bustling with activity.

After asking a few tribe members, Chu Zheng then learned of the recent events: a few days ago, people from the Wan Tribe had visited, bringing some Savage Beast meat and Spiritual Medicines.

This was a celebration, congratulating the Wangshan Tribe for surviving the cold wave.

Furthermore, the people from the Wan Clan also delivered an invitation concerning the Great Beast Hunting Festival.