50: Reaching the Innate Stage and Gaining a Spirit Root

After Meng Xuanji's figure disappeared, the atmosphere inside the carriage immediately became much lighter.

Even the white cat in Ji Dongge's arms let out a long sigh of relief and stretched lazily.

It had been playing dead the whole time when Meng Xuanji was inside the carriage, but now that Meng Xuanji was gone, it finally relaxed.

Song Yongci gently stroked Shen Hao's cheek and, with some confusion, asked, "Young Master, why has your beard grown so quickly? When I wiped your face this morning, there was none, but now it's already grown in the afternoon?"

Hearing this, Shen Hao froze for a moment, then instinctively touched his beard, feeling the roughness.

It had indeed grown.

At first, he was a bit confused, but after a while, he suddenly realized.

Though only a few hours had passed in this world, seven or eight days had passed in the modern world.

Soon, Shen Hao thought of a practical concern:

Even though time stands still in this world when he enters the other world, his personal time doesn't stop.

This meant his lifespan was continuously ticking away.

If he spent 10 days here, and 10 days passed in the other world, that would add up to 20 days in total.

Could it mean he was aging faster than others?

"Damn!" Shen Hao felt a shock, and a sense of urgency crept into his heart.

Then, he sighed in relief, realizing that in a world of cultivation, one's life force could be strengthened.

As long as he kept cultivating with the help of his miraculous devouring space, everything would be fine.

No worries—he would eventually get the bread, the house, and even more time for himself.

He smiled and said, "Perhaps you saw it wrong."

Song Yongci didn't think much of it, nodding and saying apologetically, "Young Master, it was my mistake. Next time, I'll shave it for you right away."

She then comfortably leaned back into Shen Hao's arms.

Shen Hao said, "No need. I can handle it myself from now on."

"That's not right. It's my duty as your maid. Besides, Young Master, you don't like to keep a beard like other men. It's only right for me to shave it for you."

Shen Hao replied, "No need. Let's talk about it later."

"Alright then."

Two days passed quickly. Shen Hao and his group finally arrived at Yangling Prefecture.

Over the past two days, Shen Hao hadn't seen Meng Xuanji coming to bother him about accepting her as a disciple, and he was glad for the peace.

Lu Junchen, the head of the Lu family Escort, cupped his hands toward Shen Hao and said,

"Young Master Shen, I can't thank you enough for saving our lives. If you ever need anything in the future, just send someone my way, and I will definitely do my best to help."

Shen Hao nodded and said, "Head Lu, you're too kind."

"The Escort still has some business to attend to. We'll part ways here today. But if we have the chance in the future, I will definitely invite Young Master to drink and celebrate," Lu Junchen said with a smile.

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Shen Hao agreed.

After parting ways with Lu Junchen and the others, Shen Hao rented a room in a nearby inn.

It was clear that Yangling Prefecture was far more prosperous than Yangguan Town.

He turned to Old Horse, who was beside him, and said, "It's getting late. You should stay here for the night too."

Old Horse immediately shook his head and said, "I can't, Young Master. This inn is too expensive. Even the cheapest room costs three silver. I can't afford it. With that money, I could buy some meat or cloth to take back to my wife and children. They'd be so happy."

Shen Hao patted Old Horse's shoulder and said, "It's alright. Stay here tonight. I'll pay for your room."

Old Horse quickly waved his hands, saying, "I can't accept that, Young Master. Because of me, you got into danger. I feel guilty enough. Besides, you gave me a warhorse from the bandits. I'm already so grateful. How can I let you pay for my stay?"

Shen Hao replied, "Don't worry about it. Tonight, just relax. I'll take care of the payment."

Old Horse hesitated but still smiled widely. "Alright, if you insist. But I'll take care of the horses. It's getting late, and the new horse needs food. That will cost a bit more."

Old Horse gave one last wave and left, his steps light with joy.

Seeing him so happy, Shen Hao couldn't help but smile. His mood lightened as well.

After entering the inn, the waiter showed Shen Hao to a top-tier room.

Since money was no issue, Shen Hao wasn't about to put himself in a subpar room.

It was already near evening. After having dinner and washing up, Shen Hao lay down, with Song Yongci and Ji Dongge in his arms.

However, despite the beauty in his arms, Shen Hao had no interest in them at the moment. His mind was eager to enter the space.

Half an hour later, after a tiring journey and the excitement of the day, both Ji Dongge and Song Yongci fell asleep, breathing evenly.

At that moment, Shen Hao quietly slipped into his space without them noticing.

As soon as he entered the space, vast and chaotic white mist, tinged with a hint of red light, rushed toward him as though it had found an outlet.

This time, Shen Hao absorbed it at a much slower pace, taking an entire hour to finish.

By the end, Shen Hao was drenched in sweat, his head aching terribly, and his entire body felt as though he had just been through a sauna.

It took several minutes for him to recover.

However, there was no sign of pain on his face—instead, he was filled with joy.

It turned out that the bandit leader was a Wanfu Commander from the Northern Wilderness.

He was the adopted son of Shentu Jiao, a powerful practitioner in the True Yuan realm.

Shentu Jiao's adopted son, Shentu Lie, was a powerful Innate Realm expert, at the 7th level.

His martial arts focused on heavy, sweeping movements, not particularly agile, but incredibly effective on the battlefield.

What surprised Shen Hao even more was that Shentu Lie had a fire spirit root—an intermediate-grade one.

Because of this, Shentu Jiao had taken him in as an adopted son, naming him Shentu Lie.

It was clear that as long as Shentu Lie reached the peak of the Innate Realm and obtained a fire-type beast's inner core, he would break through to the True Yuan realm, which was why Shentu Jiao treated him with such care.

This time, Shentu Lie had been sent to Yangling Prefecture to make a name for himself and gain favor with his father, but he ended up dying at Shen Hao's hands.

Shen Hao also discovered the backstory of why Shentu Lie had been sent to kill his old acquaintance, Wenren Yiyi.

The next part of the story is where Shen Hao's gains become significant.

Not only did he receive a large amount of true energy after absorbing Shentu Lie's essence, but he also gained a fire spirit root for himself—although it was a lower-grade one.

This fire spirit root would help him immensely in cultivation, and if he found more fire-type experts to absorb, he could eventually reach a higher grade.

Shen Hao was overjoyed, especially since just a couple of days ago, he had been deeply affected by Meng Xuanji's remark about him not having a spirit root.

Now, fate had delivered him exactly what he needed.

His miraculous devouring space had proven to be invaluable.