Chapter 154: The Withered and the Flourishing Transform Anew

Peaceful Sect, Wooden Fish Island. Looking at the incoming intelligence, a look of surprise appeared on Jiang Chen's face.

He had once been to the borders of Changfeng County and was somewhat aware of the turmoil within, but he had not expected things to develop at such a rapid pace.

"County Governor Lu Ran has fallen, the Yellow Wind is raging, and the entire Changfeng County is done for..."

Beneath the withered peach tree, gazing into the distance, Jiang Chen fell into deep contemplation.

He did not know if there were any hidden reasons behind the drastic changes in Changfeng County, but he knew that once chaos was released from its cage, putting it back was no easy feat. It had to be dyed red with blood and built upon a pile of corpses.

"Yellow Wind Scatter, an unidentified practitioner at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement. First, he injured Lu Yongnian, the ancestor of the Lu family, and now he has even slain Lu Ran, the Governor of Changfeng County. This is definitely not something an ordinary rogue cultivator could pull off."

"Either he possesses truly peerless talent and great fortuitous encounters, or someone is backing him. Compared to the former, I actually believe the latter, because true prodigies are exceedingly rare, while the latter is far more common."

"Looking back at the history of the Southern Jing Kingdom over the years, rebellious forces similar to the Yellow Wind Cult have actually emerged more than once. Every time, the timing roughly coincides with the moment when the conflicts between the imperial court and the local immortal clans reach their peak."

"Either the local immortal clans use the rebel forces to weaken the imperial court's control over the regions, even harboring bandits to secure their own positions, or the imperial court takes action to suppress the local immortal clans, feeling they have gone too far."

Thoughts collided in his mind as Jiang Chen deduced various possibilities.

The national conditions of the Southern Jing Kingdom were unique, entirely different from his experiences in his past life. Power was not truly centralized; although a gap existed between the status of the imperial court and the local immortal clans, it was not overwhelmingly stark. To a certain extent, the imperial family was simply the largest cultivating clan in the Southern Jing Kingdom.

Furthermore, although the external environment of the Southern Jing Kingdom was relatively relaxed nowadays, it was ultimately situated in a remote area, and external enemies were constantly eyeing it. Under such circumstances, neither the imperial court nor the local immortal clans were willing to completely tear off their facades. Thus, rebel forces had become a channel for both sides to vent their dissatisfaction.

"The chaos in Changfeng County is now a foregone conclusion. Next, it all depends on the attitudes of the imperial court and Qingteng County. If both sides can reach a consensus, the chaos should be quelled swiftly. However, the probability of this is low; after all, a governor at the peak of Qi Refinement has fallen this time, which can no longer be considered a minor disturbance."

"Before the chaos spreads to Qingyuan County, I must further enhance my own strength."

"The mist python is one aspect, and my own strength is another. Perhaps those two portions of Frost Spirit Water should also be handed over to the mist python to refine. Although it has already cultivated supreme-grade True Qi and will not undergo any qualitative transformation even after refining these two portions of Frost Spirit Water, they can enhance its freezing power, elevating the might of its breath to the next level and further boosting its combat prowess."

Thoughts drifting, Jiang Chen brought his attention back to himself, though the events in Changfeng County had sent a bad signal.

Right at that moment, a surging burst of vitality erupted, instantly catching his attention.

"Is it reviving?"

Directing his gaze toward the dead peach tree, Jiang Chen guessed what was happening.

Back when he had gathered sufficient spiritual energy from the water vein node and poured it into the spiritual grotto, he had vaguely sensed changes in Taoyao. Now, Taoyao's revival could be said to be a matter of natural course.

As the aura of vitality grew increasingly dense, Taoyao's originally withered trunk began to transition from dead to thriving.

It stretched out its trunk, shooting forth branches and sprouting buds. In the blink of an eye, it grew lush foliage, verdant and vibrant, with every single peach leaf shimmering with a faint spiritual light.

"Compared to the past, it seems even more extraordinary."

With this thought, Jiang Chen reached out and touched Taoyao's trunk.

The next instant, Taoyao's newly awakened consciousness surged forward. The two fused naturally, and in an instant, Jiang Chen comprehended Taoyao's transformation. The Formless True Qi within his body also stirred naturally, intertwining with Taoyao's Withering-Thriving True Qi.

Time passed. After about an hour, Jiang Chen withdrew his consciousness.

"Withering and thriving are both forms of cultivation. Completing a cycle of withering and thriving has not only significantly strengthened my True Qi, reaching the level of fifteen apertures, but also achieved a qualitative transformation, elevating it from inferior-grade True Qi to mid-grade True Qi."

Sensing Taoyao's transformation, Jiang Chen was quite amazed.

By now, he had come into contact with quite a few cultivators and absorbed the memories of many, but he had never seen, let alone heard of, such a bizarre cultivation method.

One had to know that for the vast majority of cultivators, the quality of True Qi was extremely difficult to improve, usually requiring fortuitous encounters. Taoyao, however, was different. A single cycle of withering and thriving had successfully elevated the quality of its True Qi, and this was not even its limit.

Rustle, rustle—as if sensing Jiang Chen's amazement, Taoyao shook its branches, appearing proud and showy.

Seeing this, a smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face. Compared to before, Taoyao's sentience had also increased slightly, though it was still minimal.

"The Withering-Thriving Art is Taoyao's cultivation method, and every cycle of withering and thriving brings considerable improvement. However, there are conditions for undergoing this transformation, and the most fundamental and crucial point is spiritual energy."

"The main reason Taoyao was able to undergo the withering-thriving transformation upon its birth was that it absorbed the spiritual energy that erupted when the spiritual grotto manifested, giving it sufficient accumulation. Its ability to revive so quickly now is thanks to the spiritual energy I brought back successively from the An family's spiritual spring and the water vein node."

"If I want to support Taoyao's continued evolution next, I must obtain even more spiritual energy."

Watching the newly revived peach tree casually shaking its branches, Jiang Chen maintained a calm expression on the outside while various thoughts flashed through his mind.

To him, Taoyao remained exceptionally important. Putting everything else aside, simply its ability to hone his True Qi and slowly elevate its quality was enough for him to increase his investment in nurturing Taoyao.

The higher one went, the harder it was to improve the quality of True Qi. At least up until now, he knew of no cultivation method in the cultivation world capable of upgrading supreme-grade True Qi. No matter the place, supreme-grade True Qi seemed to be the ultimate limit, impossible to raise or elevate further.

Precisely because of this, Taoyao's ability appeared exceptionally precious. Most importantly, through the recent trial, Jiang Chen clearly felt that compared to the inferior-grade Withering-Thriving True Qi, the mid-grade version had a much better honing effect on him.

"One day, if you manage to cultivate supreme-grade True Qi, perhaps I truly can push my Formless True Qi a step further."

Gazing at Taoyao, a hint of anticipation rose in Jiang Chen's heart. He had a premonition that if he could take this step, it would yield immense benefits for his own cultivation.