In the vast expanse of greenery, Lin Xuanhao swiftly moved over the grassland as he rushed towards the great mountain range before laying before him.
As he went deeper and deeper towards the mountain range, the surrounding creatures slowly started to disappear. From small rabbits to larger animals such as mountain lions, all of them were decreasing by the distance.
Only the biggest and strongest of them could still be seen from time to time.
Lin Xuanhao guessed from this that he was getting closer and closer to the cultivation world.
The Spirit Qi of the cultivation world had countless benefits, but the dangers in there were equal to the benefits as well. No matter how big of an animal it was, it's senses must have indicated that predators far greater than it were residing in the Red Dragon Mountain Range.
They couldn't compare with Spirit Beasts or Demon Beasts at all.
Soon enough, the sun had already started to set as a golden hue covered the horizon. The moon became more visible on the other side of the sky.
Lin Xuanhao had already entered the Red Dragon Mountain Range and was dashing towards the tallest mountain peak visible. He could already sense the surrounding Spirit Qi become more dense as he moved forward.
The Spirit Qi on the outskirts of the Red Dragon Mountain Range was enough to nurture a few Meridian Connecting Realm cultivators.
This must be how that fellow from before was able to cultivate to the Sixth Stage of Body Forging Realm despite not having any special talent and living in the outskirts.
Lin Xuanhao concluded silently in his mind as he continued moving forward, his feet barely touching the ground, making it look like he was floating in the air.
His Spirit Qi control was extremely precise and countless times more efficient than any regular Meridian Connecting Realm cultivator, allowing him to do that.
Despite that, the Red Dragon Mountain Range spread out to hundreds of miles. By the time he reached the foot of the tallest mountain peak, the sun had already started to set and even larger normal animals were no longer within his line of sight.
"Should I just find a place to spend the night or continue forward..."
He muttered to himself as his eyes darted around, trying to find a good enough place to sit and cultivate in, preferably a small cave or something similar.
As a Meridian Connecting Realm cultivator, he could survive without sleep for quite a long time. By then, he might have already reached the Qi Refining Realm.
I can breakthrough to the Second Stage of Meridian Connecting Realm by morning and perhaps even reach the peak of Second Stage. It's not a bad idea to rest here for tonight.
Thinking of this, Lin Xuanhao began moving forward as he searched for any small cave around the foot of the mountain.
Yes, he wasn't going to sleep, but cultivate instead.
Cultivation was considered a form of rest for Immortal Cultivators.
Soon enough, he finally found a small crack among tall trees in going slightly up the mountain. The sun had almost set by now.
He got inside of the crack and sat down cross-legged before closing his eyes and starting to cultivate using the Dao Fragment.
...
"Hey, are you sure this is the right way? If it isn't, I'll be certain to report your negligence back to the sect!"
"Yes, young master, I'm sure this is the right way. The Tracking Talisman imbued with your father's Spiritual Energy cannot possibly be wrong. It's just that it's so late at night that we can't navigate through these forests."
The sound of two people talking could be heard from the dark forest as they passed through it quickly.
One if them sounded young, while the other voice seemed to belong to an old man in his sixties.
It wasn't long before they reached the foot of the tallest mountain in the Red Dragon Mountain Range.
The moonlight casted a glow on the young man's face, revealing his sharp features and a slightly irritated expression on his face.
Besides him was an old man, seemingly in his twilight years, a calm and collected expression on his face.
After some time, as they continued rushing towards the top of the mountain blindly, the old man suddenly noticed a light coming from a crack located almost a hundred meters away from their position.
"Young master, it seems someone is already here."
The old man said to the young man besides him before pointing towards the direction of the light.
The reason he was being cautious and not directly approaching the light was because he sensed that the source of the light had Spirit Qi continously rush towards it.
There was a high chance that it was another cultivator of at least the Meridian Connecting Realm in that place!
The old man, having lived for a long time and being a Meridian Connecting Realm himself, didn't want to risk anything, whether it was his life or the person's who came with him this time.
"What do you mean someone is already here? Every cultivator in the Red Dragon City knows who I am. No matter who it is, they won't dare to mess with me. Let's go and check it out."
As soon as he said this, the young man quickly started running towards the direction where the old man had pointed to.
"Young master!"
The old man cried out in surprise and slight frustration before following the young man.
Damn it, if I don't listen to him, then he will tell his father. I really don't know what to do with this dumb fellow. Why am I even serving him at this point?
He couldn't help but curse inwardly, however, he dared not say such words to the young man in reality.
This young man was called Meng Zhong, and he was the youngest son of a Qi Refining Realm expert who was also an Outer Sect Elder of the Immortal Sect.
That person had many sons and daughters, but Meng Zhong in particular was extremely talented, possessing Heavenly Spirit Roots of Five Elements. He was the only one among his descendents who could certainly enter the Qi Refining Realm and even reach its peak.
Spirit Roots were divided into Five Elements, the more elements they had, the slower one's cultivation was. However, a cultivator with Spirit Roots of Five Elements was much stronger than those with Spirit Root of any single element at the same realm.
However, those with Spirit Root of a single element were still more valued as their cultivation speed was extremely fast, combined with the fact that those with Spirit Roots of Five Elements still couldn't cross major realms to fight their opponents unless they were special in some other way as well, it made those with a single elemental Spirit Roots the most sought after and valuable geniuses.
Further on, Spirit Roots were divided into three more grades, False Spirit Roots, True Spirit Roots, and Heavenly Spirit Roots.
Most mortals didn't possess Spirit Roots, while some possessed False Spirit Roots of Five Elements, thus only capable of cultivating up to the peak of Meridian Connecting Realm.
Mortals with True Spirit Roots of Five Elements were only 1 in ten thousand.
Normally, offsprings of cultivators had more chances of bearing Spirit Roots around the same level as their parents and even higher by a stroke of heavenly luck or Providence.
But those were rare cases, after all.
Soon, both of them reached the place where the light originated from.
The old man carefully moved towards the small cave where the light was coming from before shouting in a low voice, "Fellow daoist, can you step out of this cave to meet us? My young master here belongs to the lineage of a Qi Refining Realm great senior from the Immortal Sect."
The old man's voice retained a sense of politeness as he spoke, not wanting to appear rude while also addressing their identity.
On the other hand, the young man by his side seemed slightly displeased but remained quiet.
Meanwhile, inside of the cave.
As Lin Xuanhao was cultivating, he suddenly heard the old man's words from the outside and raised his brows.
It had been over 6 hours since he began cultivating here, and was inching closer to the Second Stage of Meridian Connecting Realm. He speculated that he would breakthrough by the time morning arrived.
Hearing the voice calling out to him, he didn't stand up but instead said in a calm voice that echoed outside of the cave.
"Fellow daoist, it's not nice to tell someone to come out and meet you when you're the one who disturbed their cultivation session, and that too so late at night, you know?"
The thing he disliked the most was when people interrupted him during his cultivation.
Many of the major conflicts he had been in throughout his entire life originated from this personality of his.