Entering The Forest Of Fate

Several hundred meters from his home, there existed a lake. For ordinary people, it was not a special place. However, for cultivators, it was a place with the most abundant spiritual energy in this region.

Ordinary cultivators had no need for such a place because they won't have the problem of lacking spiritual energy in any surrounding.

As for Tian Feng, he was already considered an abnormal cultivator.

Even so, some cultivators would still go there to cultivate. From time to time, some disciples from the great sect would enter seclusion nearby the lakeside to hastened their cultivation speed.

At the same time, although the spiritual energy was abundant for those of Mortal Realm, it was quite lacking for the Spiritual Realm cultivators. Coupled with the fact that there weren't that many cultivators in this region, the area was considerably peaceful.

Besides, there was a deep forest surrounding half the lakeside. Rumors had it that there were many monster beasts inside that forest. As a result, ordinary people also stayed away from that lake.

However, Hong Xing still didn't allow her little son to cultivate there by himself.

In her words, one was most vulnerable while cultivating. Furthermore, Tian Feng was merely a two years old kid.

Under Tian Feng's relentlessly pestering, Hong Xing finally compromised and agreed with one condition that someone must accompany him to cultivate by the lakeside.

Tian Lang quickly rejected the responsibility as he had to manage the restaurant for their living. As a result, Hong Xing received the job of accompanying Tian Feng to cultivate.

However, she still had to go to the market to buy ingredients for cooking. Tian Feng didn't have anything to do as the Qi around his house was already exhausted. Thus he also tagged along with his mother to the market.

The market was not too far from their house and given that both of them were cultivators, so walking surely wasn't an issue. Tian Feng rarely came outside, much less interacting with other people. Taking this chance, he stared at the people who were walking to and fro with gleaming eyes.

It didn't take long before the duo mother and son arrived at the market. Hong Xing began her shopping spree, leaving Tian Feng running along with her. If not for him having such a small body, she would even ask him to carry all the stuff she bought.

At first, Tian Feng was looking at everything happily, but after circling the market a few rounds, he began to feel bored. He noticed that his mother already started having trouble carrying all those things.

At this moment, Hong Xing was bargaining for some white clothes. Tian Feng stood by her side and looked at everything passively. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Does mom not have a storage ring of some sort? Is she always buying this many things?"

One thought triggered another, the chain of thoughts soon caused Tian Feng to drift into a daze.

"Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng! What's wrong? Let's go!"

Upon being woken up from his random thoughts, he replied automatically. "Nothing."

After walking a few steps, he couldn't hold his curiosity anymore. "Mom! Why are you buying so many things today?"

"Your aunt is visiting today." Hong Xing replied casually.

"So it was because of this." Tian Feng thought as he finally made sense of the situation, and he didn't pay much attention to this anymore.

As far as he was concerned, he has never met that aunt before. It was highly likely that she'd also look the same as his aunt from the previous life. Following this pattern, his little sister would probably be born next year. He can't wait to teach her cultivation.

"Ding...Switched to regular mode."

"Finally." Tian Feng thought excitedly.

He had been furiously charging the system this whole time, and it finally switched back to the 'regular' mode. After several hours of practice, he was already capable of absorbing Qi while moving, albeit it's a bit slower.

Tian Feng immediately learned the Qi Condensation Technique and the Wind Movement Technique in case the system suddenly goes stand-by again.

However, there was still some power left even after he learned the two techniques. Tian Feng thought of putting everything his mother was carrying into the system inventory, but he decided otherwise. If the system suddenly goes stand-by, then they wouldn't have anything to eat.

There was still one pill left in the system inventory.

According to the system description, he should consume it during his breakthrough to Qi Condensation Stage to enhance his constitution. Otherwise, if his body was too weak to host the overwhelming Qi, he might just explode and die.

It was almost noon when Hong Xing was done with her shopping. Tian Feng knew that his mother wouldn't be able to accompany him to cultivate anymore as she would have to prepare lunch.

For a moment, he was wondering whether he should just go alone.

As soon as they returned home, Hong Xing immediately went to prepare lunch as expected, leaving Tian Feng to cultivate in the backyard. It took one whole morning for the Qi in the surroundings to recovered, but Tian Feng heartlessly exhausted it again in an hour or so.

Other cultivators would explode if they absorbed so much Qi, but Tian Feng had the system, which was like a bottomless pit.

Having nothing to do, he took out the Body Tempering Pill. A sturdy body required a powerful mind, and vice versa. Qi capacity depended on the body.

"System! Any efficient way to use this Body Tempering Pill?"

"Host could dissolve it into the water and soak in it for two hours. Recommended to use it before breaking through to Qi Condensation Stage."

Tian Feng followed the system's suggestion and soaked himself in a pail of water for two hours. The clear water gradually turned black.

A refreshing feeling permeated every inch of his body, and his meridians became a bit more apparent.

With this, he was sure that he can make a breakthrough after lunch. The only thing holding him back now was the lack of spiritual Qi in the surrounding. It would take a few hours before it'll be replenished.

"I'll breakthrough after lunch."

---

Beside the lake, a few Mortal Stage Five cultivators were cultivating in tranquility.

As they were cultivating in the open space, they kept their sense of their surroundings. As a result, a few of them were alerted upon Tian Feng and his mother's entry in the area.

The cultivators opened their eyes to look at the intruders. Meng Li was one of those cultivators. He was cultivating on a big lotus, which made him looked like a mighty deity in meditation. Upon seeing the woman and a kid, he smiled warmly at them before resuming his cultivation.

A few other cultivators also repeated the same actions. However, some other cultivators simply went back to their cultivation after throwing a glance at the duo.

Amongst the many cultivators, they had one thought in common. The woman and the kid were probably just here for the scenery. They were cultivators, and in a small region like this, they should be revered as wise people. Hence their earlier display of magnanimous wise man.

Hong Xing returned her smile casually, while Tian Feng was just taking the beautiful scene into his mind. They were only able to come here today due to his aunt delayed her visit. Apparently, her husband had something to take care of on the way.

Soon after, they found an empty space.

Tian Feng swiftly assumed the lotus position on a big boulder by the lakeside. Hong Xing took a few steps back and sat on a nearby lotus leaf hovering over the water surface.

Meng Li was a little surprised at this sight. He didn't expect that the woman was also a cultivator. He decided to halt his cultivation and observe the duo first. After all, taking a break was also part of the training.

As soon as Tian Feng closed his eyes, spiritual energy was drawn toward him furiously, causing the wind to blow, and huge waves to appear on the calm lake. However, despite his insane absorption speed, Tian Feng found that the spiritual energy around him kept replenishing like there was a sea of Qi under the lake.

At this moment, all cultivators opened their eyes wide in shock. "Holy heaven! What just happened?"

Meng Li stood up and walked toward the kid who was in the center of the Qi storm. The other cultivators also swiftly followed. At this point, they can no longer cultivate.

Although the Qi wasn't exhausted, none of them could absorb anything due to the extremely high speed it was moving.

One cultivator coldly suggested, "Shall we chase them away? After all, we have an advantage in number."

"He's right. I agree."

"Haha. That's what I thought as well."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get it done!"

Just as they were about to take action, Meng Li suddenly stopped them. "Everyone, please wait!"

"What?" the cultivator who suggested the idea earlier said coldly.

"I seemed to have seen that woman somewhere before."

Another cultivator chimed in, "Now that you mentioned it, I also felt like I have seen her somewhere."

As the group of cultivators was discussing where had they seen this woman, Meng Li suddenly shouted. "I remembered."

"That's Madam Tian from the Hong Tian restaurant."

A man shuddered as he felt shiver ran down his spine. "She's Madam Tian!?"

The cultivator who suggested the idea earlier smiled and said, "Since you guys know her, this makes it easier to chase her away."

Meng Li smiled wryly, "Chase her away? Don't you know that she's a Spiritual Realm cultivator?"

"Huh? So what? Are we gonna just stop our cultivation then? There's only one of her."

"Wanna chase me away?" A chilling voice echoed from behind.

It was unknown when Hong Xing managed to slip behind the group of cultivators.

Meng Li felt a shiver ran down his spine as he hurriedly protested.

"No, no! Nobody wants to chase you away. hehe."

Taking several steps back, he said, "I felt rather tired after cultivating for so long. I shall leave to rest for now."

After randomly given his excuse, Meng Li quickly ran away.

The remaining cultivators felt the suppressive aura of a Spiritual Realm cultivator, and also followed Meng Li's footsteps as well.

Looking at the bunch of cultivators fleeing in fear, Hong Xing sighed in resignation. If possible, she didn't want to do this at all.

Tian Feng was absorbing Qi at a frightening speed. If she didn't know about this beforehand, she would also be shocked speechless.

Hong Xing looked at her son with a complicated gaze and shook her head lightly before returning back to her place.

Just as she was about to sit down, she saw Meng Li running back toward her. Hong Xing stepped out of her lotus once more with her guard up.

Although she had a higher cultivation stage, she had stopped fighting for a long time. If they had to cross their blow, it would become a tough fight.

Contrary to her thought, Meng Li slowed down and gently walked toward Hong Xing with a gentleman smile on his face. Out of all the cultivators earlier, he was the youngest, around 20 years of age.

He stopped ten steps before Hong Xing and introduced himself.

"Meng Clan, Meng Li, paying respect to Madam Tian. I have long heard of your unparalleled beauty."

Hong Xing was surprised at his action, but she still returned the courtesy. "Why have you returned?"

"I have nothing better to do, so I decided to accompany you lest you feel bored."

"Humph!"

Hong Xing's expression turned icy cold. "That's my son! If you dare to try anything, don't blame me for not warning you."

"Haha. I won't dare. I won't dare."

He took a few steps forward, prompting Hong Xing to tense up greatly.

"Actually, I just want to witness this incredible happening. You can be at ease."

At this moment, the flow of Qi suddenly slowed down. The duo turned to look at Tian Feng.

Hong Xing knew that the Qi Gathering Stage has reached its limit, and it was time to push for a breakthrough.

It hasn't been an hour yet, but her son had already reached the peak of the Qi Gathering Stage.

If Meng Li knew that it hasn't been 24 hours yet since Tian Feng started cultivating, he would lose his Dao spirit, unable to advance his cultivation any further—although it was already weak.

Even so, he was still dumbfounded at the happening around him. Considering the speed and density of Qi, a vast amount had been stuffed into that small body.

How powerful would that kid become after his breakthrough?

Thinking about this, he can't wait to request for a spar.

Tian Feng could have taken a shorter time to absorb enough Qi for his breakthrough, but he decided to let that vast amount of Qi flowing through his body to clear the Qi pathways first before passing it onto the system.

After several rounds of cleaning, it was no longer as effective as the first time. So he decided to push for a breakthrough to the Qi Condensation Stage.

In this stage, practitioners needed to condense the Qi inside their body into a droplet of liquidated Qi before storing it in their Dantian.

Tian Feng opened the system inventory and took out the Constitution Enhancing Pill.

After devised a breakthrough strategy inside his mind, he swallowed the pill and followed the technique he learned from the system.

As soon as the pill entered his mouth, he felt a warm power coursing through his body, strengthening his veins and muscles before pushing through to his Dantian and finally expand it.

His muscles became more robust.

His blood veins became larger.

His Qi pathways became more spacious.

His Dantian expanded threefold.

Even his skin has become smoother and more elastic.

Overall, he felt much stronger and comfortable.

Using the residual power of the medicine, Tian Feng began to construct a Qi whirlpool inside his body. This will passively gather Qi and liquidate it automatically.

In other words, he would still get stronger even if all he did was sleeping, except that would be extremely slow. And he would probably die before he made a breakthrough to the next stage.

This wasn't something every Qi Condensation Stage cultivator would have. It was only through the combination of the pill and system's technique that he can achieve this.

"Ding...Congratulations! Host reached Qi Level 1."

At this moment, the medicinal effect started to wear off. Tian Feng felt excruciating pain all over his body. This pain was caused by the enhancement of his body constitution. It was previously held off by the medicinal effect.

He turned his attention toward the single droplet of Qi within his Dantian. He wasn't only absorbing the five elements of Qi but everything, including vital Qi. Tian Feng guided the droplet of Qi out of his Dantian and spread it over his body.

Instantly, he felt a soothing sensation. The pain faded away, and he found his injuries healing itself at a fast speed.

To the two onlookers, Tian Feng's aura has changed, which meant he had become a Mortal Realm Stage One cultivator.

Hong Xing was about to walk toward her son when she felt a light breeze brushing her face, and she noticed that the Qi flow has become chaotic again. This time, it was even faster than earlier.

Meng Li was also excited. Although Tian Feng's aura was that of a Mortal Realm Stage One cultivator, it was so refined and pure, almost comparable to a cultivator at Mortal Realm Stage Five's.

He was determined to have a spar with Tian Feng today.

A while later, Tian Feng halted his cultivation. Hong Xing heaved a sigh of relief before walking toward him. No matter how strong he had become, he was still a weak child in her eyes.

"Good child! You've become a cultivator now."

Feeling the power coursing through his body, Tian Feng had an urge to punch something. However, there was only his mother here, and he wouldn't hit his own mother for fun.

"System! Can I impart my technique to others?"

"The technique from the system is only compatible with the host's body constitution. It's not recommended to share the technique with others."

"Then, is there any technique for my mom?"

"Host needed to reach a higher level to tailor a technique for others."

It was a pity that he can't share the technique with his parents now.

But with his current speed, it won't be long before he reached a higher level, and it won't be too late to impart the technique to them then.

Glancing around, he was a bit surprised to see that everyone has left. "How long did I cultivated here?"

Meng Li was standing a bit further behind Hong Xing, effectively hiding from Tian Feng's line of sight. It took him some time to prepare himself to meet Tian Feng.

He wasn't an idiot. He knew that Tian Feng was definitely a prodigy.

If he could befriend such a person, it would be hard for him to have a boring time.

With this thought in mind, he presented himself in front of Tian Feng elegantly.

"Hi, little brother! Would you spar with me to test out your newfound strength?"

Before Tian Feng could say anything, Hong Xing rejected Meng Li flatly. "No! Please leave."

However, Meng Li wasn't discouraged as he was still waiting for Tian Feng's decision.

Tian Feng thought for a moment and said, "I indeed wanted to test my strenght, but I haven't learned any battle technique yet."

He paused and looked at his own body for a second before continued. "My small body was also inconvenient for me to fight."

Meng Li's eyes lit up upon noticing Tian Feng's desire to spar.

"How about this? I'll teach you some basic punching technique. Then I'll stand still to let you punch me. If you can make me scream, I'll consider it my loss."

"What if I can't master the technique by today?"

"You will master it instantly. Don't worry. Haha. 😆"

Meng Li didn't exaggerate at all. It was really a basic punching technique. You just have to punch forward.

The only thing valuable here was how to make use of the Qi droplet to increase the power of the punch.

After teaching Tian Feng his basic punching technique, Meng Li found a high boulder for Tian Feng to stand on so that he can hit him conveniently.

Meng Li wasn't a masochist. He simply wanted to see the power level of a prodigy.

After everything was ready, Tian Feng used one droplet of his Qi to increase his punching power as he was taught.

Peng!

Meng Li's jaw dropped, and his eyes widen in shock. However, he forgot to scream. The punch earlier had the power equal to a Mortal Realm Stage Four cultivator, and it was only a basic punching technique.

Had Tian Feng know any better technique, he would probably lose for real. This was a bridge of four stages.

However, Tian Feng didn't know how much strength his punch has.

"Hais!" Seeing that Meng Li didn't scream, his punch might not have been painful at all. Then a thought suddenly came to his mind.

"Wind Movement Technique."

The Wind Movement Technique came from the system, so it can be anything but ordinary.

The prerequisite of the Wind Movement Technique was for him to reach Qi Level 1 first because he had to use the liquidated Qi to activate the technique.

"Big brother! I lost. How about we compete in another aspect?"

Meng Li finally recovered his senses and mindlessly nodded.

"Alright! What do you want to compete in now?"

"Let's race! If you can catch me, it'll be my loss." Tian Feng suggested with a sly smile.

Meng Li didn't think that he would lose to a kid with such short legs, so he readily agreed to appease his potential friend.

Hong Xing stood by the side, and watch everything unfolding with interests. She was amazed at how strong her son was.

To have the strength of a Fourth Stage cultivator at First Stage. This is simply unheard of. She can't wait to relay this news to Tian Lang this evening.

After a series of discussions, Hong Xing reluctantly agreed to be the referee for the race because Tian Feng secretly told her that he was just going to practice his movement technique for a while.

"On the count of three!"

"Three"

"Two"

"One. Go!"

Tian Feng immediately executed the Wind Movement Technique by pumping a whole droplet of Qi for it lest he loses again.

But he underestimated the power of the Wind Movement Technique. The instant he executed the technique, his body shot straight forward, leaving Meng Li in the dust.

Tian Feng panicked by the speed, his mind went blank, and he forgot how to stop. By the greater force, he was controlled by the technique and had no choice but to continue running into the forest.

Only after the final droplet of Qi in his body was depleted did his speed gradually slowed down.

Tian Feng regained some degree of control over his movement, but he was too exhausted to move. As a result, he bumped into several branches of trees.

Hong Xing and Meng Li had sensed that something went wrong, they wanted to stop Tian Feng, but none of them could catch up with his speed.

A short while later, Tian Feng finally came to a stop, sustaining some injuries in the process.

Burh! Bulg!

The sound of vomiting reverberated throughout the forest.