Chapter 108: The Scarlet Fiend Desert

“The art of fate is vast and profound, mysterious and ever-changing. It is not something I can meddle with at this moment. I must wait until I reach the Spirit Training stage before attempting to comprehend it.”

Peering inward with his divine sense into his dantian, he discovered a strange gray rune slowly rotating amidst six whirlpools. This was the primordial fate talisman from the altar of destiny absorbed and refined by the mysterious sapling in the ‘Tide Listening Pavilion,’ which had been updated fastest that day. After the sapling absorbed and refined it, it unexpectedly produced such a rune.

As his divine sense probed it, an overwhelming force of fate surged ceaselessly within.

Ge Qian thought to himself, “Having such a rune in my dantian feels unsettling. I want to find a way to refine it, but my Six Paths Sword Technique offers no solution. What should I do?”

After much contemplation, suddenly an idea brightened his eyes. He had been cultivating the Calamity God Technique without a suitable vessel—now wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

Without hesitation, he activated the Calamity God Technique, drawing his primordial spirit into his dantian. Facing the fate rune, he executed countless seals.

After a grueling month of refining, he finally assimilated the fate rune for his own use. His primordial spirit and the fate rune fused perfectly, inseparable and mutually dependent.

He then began to cultivate the form of his primordial spirit, which ultimately transformed into a small beast resembling a Hungton creature—fist-sized, with stout limbs, a rounded body, a massive maw with tusks, and atop its head, a vivid likeness of Ge Qian himself. The primordial spirit radiated an eerie power of fate.

The Hungton beast’s forehead bore Ge Qian’s slight smile. His Calamity God Technique differed vastly from that of the Calamity God Sovereign, who used the essence of the Nine Nether Rift’s primordial source as a vessel to cultivate the same technique.

Ge Qian, however, used the primordial power of fate as his vessel, yielding dramatically different results. His primordial spirit could devour other primordial spirits and wield the power of fate.

Everyone is born with fate—some sail smoothly through life, others struggle step by step. This is determined by the strength of their fate’s power.

The power of fate is fortune: Qi is the root of a person, and fortune is the course of life’s experiences. The combination of Qi and fortune constitutes destiny.

Through cultivating the Calamity God Technique, Ge Qian had glimpsed a fragment of fate’s truth. Though superficial, it greatly benefited him.

After the Calamity God Technique reached a minor breakthrough, Ge Qian took out Lv Xin’s storage pouch. Inside were several bottles of “Essence Gathering Pills.” It seemed Lv Xin, fully confident he had Ge Qian trapped, had prepared these pills for foundation-building cultivation. Unbeknownst to him, it was Ge Qian who profited.

Ge Qian smiled faintly and found a jade slip swirling with demonic energy inside—the very “Boundary-Seizing Scripture” Lv Xin relied upon.

This ancient scripture originated in the primordial era, created by a demon ancestor at the tribulation stage who could not transcend and ascend. He devised the “Boundary-Seizing Scripture,” but was slain by enemies before he could cultivate it.

The scripture was only in its embryonic form and had never been practiced. By chance, Lv Xin obtained it and treasured it dearly. Fueled by inner demons, he immediately set his sights on Ge Qian, ending in death and destruction.

Ge Qian was not one to take such risks. One must walk the path step by step and eat the rice grain by grain. Digging a well in one sweep was simply impossible.

Nonetheless, the “Boundary-Seizing Scripture” had its unique merits, bearing resemblance in some ways to “Cutting the Firewood from Under the Cauldron.”

Though unwilling to cultivate this technique, Ge Qian found it worthwhile to borrow some of its insights.

After six months of painstaking refinement and integration, he finally perfected it, much to his delight. This would undoubtedly give his opponents a considerable surprise in battle.

Having filtered through all the Taoist techniques he needed to comprehend, Ge Qian began consuming large quantities of pills and entered seclusion to improve his cultivation.

He sat cross-legged atop the chaotic spiritual energy spring, circulating the Six Paths Sword Technique, embarking on a long and tedious journey of cultivation.

Thanks to the abundant pills and the spiritual energy spring, combined with the feedback of spiritual power from the sapling in his dantian, and Ge Qian’s vastly improved foundation, his cultivation progressed at an astonishing pace.

After six years of arduous cultivation, Ge Qian suddenly grasped the spiritual energy spring with his hand and employed the “Cutting the Firewood from Under the Cauldron” technique, drawing vast quantities of chaotic spiritual energy. He inhaled it fiercely into his dantian, where the sapling decomposed it, converting it into immense true essence.

The whirlpools in his dantian, which had become sluggish, immediately erupted wildly, exploding and reforming into six whirlpools once more, each sword qi thickened and sharpened, evoking a chilling sensation as if a bone were lodged in one’s throat.

Ge Qian’s aura instantly surged, his oppressive might doubling, elevating him to the mid-foundation establishment stage.

This period of seclusion deeply enlightened Ge Qian: the higher one’s realm, the more arduous the cultivation. The Six Paths Sword Technique demanded tremendous magical power—he had exhausted all his pills and drained the spiritual energy spring. It would take at least ten to twenty years to restore it to prior levels.

Yet Ge Qian did not mind. Now at mid-foundation stage, his strength had risen another notch, bringing him closer to the Core Condensation stage.

Ge Qian also devised his own method for advancing his cultivation. Presently, all six whirlpools cultivated simultaneously, but this took too long. It had taken him six years just to reach mid-foundation stage; advancing further would require at least twelve years or more.

He decided to tackle them individually: cultivate one whirlpool to the Core Condensation stage, then move on to the next. This would accelerate his power growth and grant him a better chance of self-preservation against formidable foes.

With this plan settled, Ge Qian carefully pondered and refined his approach.

Meanwhile, in the Ye family’s grand estate, inside the patriarch’s study, a dignified cultivator of mid-foundation stage sat solemnly in a spacious, comfortable chair. Before him knelt a tall, burly figure, an early foundation establishment stage cultivator of near perfection, dressed in the Elder’s robes of the Heavenly Star Sect. His brows were thick, his face square and stern.

He begged desperately, “Father, I implore you—please save my sister. She has sacrificed so much for the Ye family. We all owe her. Now she is poisoned by a strange toxin. I have learned that the Warm-Heart Grass, which grows in the Red Fiend Desert, can cure her. Please, sir, go there!”

His voice broke as tears welled up.

Seated calmly was Ye Batian, head of the Ye family. Raising his sword-like brows, he scolded, “Ye Feng, listen carefully. How many times have I warned her not to venture into the Nine Dragon Valley? Yet she was ambushed. This so-called treasure appearing in Nine Dragon Valley is a ruse—an act of revenge by the Ancient Demon Cult against our Heavenly Star Sect. The Sect Leader has already distributed resources and announced a sect-wide lockdown. If I intervene now, other families will accuse me of defying the Sect Leader’s orders. Besides, the Red Fiend Desert is fraught with peril; the Red Fiend Old Monster, a late-stage Infant Transformation cultivator, guards it. Even if I go, it would be a death sentence. If I die, the Ye family will be swallowed by rival clans. For the sake of the Ye family, we must sacrifice your sister. I hope she will be reborn into an ordinary family next life, spared such suffering.”

“Father, do you really intend to abandon my sister? She is your own flesh and blood. How can you bear it?” Ye Feng said, unwilling to accept this.

Ye Batian slammed the table and commanded, “Enough. Leave.”

Ye Feng lifted his head, pain etched on his face. “Father, I finally understand—you only care about the family, not us. For the family, you already sacrificed my mother, and now you want to sacrifice my sister. I am ashamed of you.”

Hearing this, Ye Batian flung his sleeve with a fierce sweep. A powerful force hurled Ye Feng against the wall, bouncing him back to the floor. He roared in anger, “Mark my words: you may disregard me as your father, but never forget you are a descendant of the Ye family, bearing its blood. I am the head of the Ye family. To me, every member is equal—no distinction of rank. Others have sacrificed for the family; why can’t my daughter? Go back and cultivate well. Once you gain strength, you won’t need to beg me—you can save your sister yourself.”