Five months later.

  "The Primordial Chaos is the essence of vitality, undivided, a single unity of chaos, the beginning of vitality. Vital energy is born within chaos, bright on the outside, dark on the inside…"

  Leo sat cross-legged on a grass mat in the clearing before the cave dwelling, silently circulating the technique from The Primordial Chaos Scripture. He focused his mind, held his breath, and maintained perfect concentration. After guiding that sliver of vital energy within his body through its second major cycle, he exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. Before reaching the first layer of Qi Refining, the air expelled from his lungs would simply dissipate. Now, the stream of air he exhaled shot out like a short arrow.

  It had taken nearly four months for Leo to reach the first layer of Qi Refining, and this past month had been spent slightly consolidating his progress.

  "Oh no, I almost forgot to feed the Verdant Ants the Beast Spirit Pills!"

  Leo slapped his forehead. The spiritual energy outside the cave was richer, which was why he had cultivated a bit longer. Coming back to his senses, he scrambled to his feet and hurriedly ran into the cave dwelling on his young legs. The massive black bear lying at the entrance cracked open an eye, saw it was Leo, and listlessly closed it again, resuming its loud snores.

  Leo skillfully ran to the hidden chamber within the alchemy room, retrieved a small white bottle, and then went to the spirit beast room inside the dwelling. In the relatively spacious room, a jade pool about ten feet square was scattered with leaves of Glimmer-grass, a low-grade spiritual plant whose leaf surfaces shimmered with a faint white light. Occasionally, faint rustling sounds came from within the Glimmer-grass leaves.

  Leo poured out over a dozen dark, aromatic pills from the white bottle and scattered them on the leaves.

  Hiss, rustle...

  The jade pool immediately stirred. Over twenty green ants, each five to six times larger than normal ants, crawled out from the leaves, scrambling to pounce on the Beast Spirit Pills and chew them voraciously.

  "One, two..."

  While the Verdant Ants ate, Leo repeatedly counted their number. Confirming none were missing, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Over the past half-year, the black-robed elder had been leaving more and more frequently. Besides cultivating, Leo was responsible for helping the elder care for these small green ants.

  These little green ants were low-level spirit insects, difficult to raise. It had taken nearly half a year to cultivate just these twenty or so. Without sufficient food, the ants would cannibalize each other.

  Two months ago, due to a delay in feeding, two of the ants had been killed and devoured by their stronger companions. For this, Leo had received twenty lashes from the black-robed elder, a pain so excruciating he thought he might die. It took him over three days of rest before he could get up and move around again. After that lesson, Leo had become extra cautious.

  Leo was about to stopper the white bottle with its peach-wood cork when a long, narrow shadow suddenly fell across the floor. Leo’s heart tightened, then relaxed just as quickly. He turned around. Sure enough, it was the black-robed elder.

  "Elder Ragnar!" Leo bowed respectfully.

  "You knew it was me?" The elder was somewhat surprised. His cultivation was far above Leo's, and he had only just appeared at the spirit beast room's entrance. Yet Leo seemed to have sensed him.

  "There's a faint shadow on the floor. The black bear guards the cave entrance. The only one who could enter silently is you, Elder Ragnar," Leo answered truthfully.

  "Not bad. For one so young to possess such awareness and wit truly stands out among his peers." The elder gave a slight nod, inwardly thinking it a shame the boy's spiritual root potential was rather poor. Nearly half a year of cultivating the Primordial Chaos Scripture had yielded little significant progress. In the past, taking him on as a disciple wouldn't have been out of the question. But ever since the Earth Fire Sect was annihilated, the very thought of the word "disciple" made the elder's face darken with a stormy expression.

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  "The Shadow Ants are also being fed well. This is a Qi Gathering Pill. A reward for you." The elder took a pill bottle from his person, held out his palm, and the bottle floated over to hover before Leo.

  Leo took the bottle, uncorked it, and a refreshing, aromatic scent wafted out. He couldn't help but break into a smile. Qi Gathering Pills were used by cultivators in the early Qi Refining stages, offering good effects from the first to the third layer. For him, barely at the first layer, one such pill was worth three months of arduous cultivation.

  "Thank you, Elder Ragnar, for bestowing this pill." After carefully storing the precious pill away, Leo promptly expressed his gratitude.

  "As long as you perform your tasks well, I am not stingy with rewards," the elder nodded. He then produced a small jade gourd. "In the future, I may be away from the cave dwelling for even longer periods. Once the Shadow Ants in the jade pool mature, if I have not yet returned, you are to place the mature ants into this jade gourd."

  Now Leo finally learned these little green ants were called Shadow Ants. However, his expression became somewhat troubled. These green ants were low-level spirit insects. Their direct killing power wasn't great, but they possessed a potent paralyzing venom. Two months ago—the same time as the delayed feeding—he had accidentally reached into the jade pool and been bitten by one. His movements became much slower than usual. He collapsed onto his animal skin bed and slept for two hours longer than normal that night. By the time he woke, the ants in the pool had already begun cannibalizing each other.

  "Elder Ragnar, after being bitten by a Shadow Ant, the paralysis lasts for nearly a day. Without preventive measures, I'm afraid it might delay the task you've entrusted to me."

  Leo spoke cautiously, fearing he might provoke the elder's displeasure.

  "This bottle contains an antidote for the Shadow Ant's paralytic venom. You only need to take the antidote before handling the ants," the elder said, handing Leo another small medicine bottle.

  "Yes, Elder Ragnar."

  Taking the antidote, Leo thought to himself: No wonder the usually stern elder just rewarded me with a Qi Gathering Pill. It was to make me do this kind of laborious work. Even with the antidote, being bitten by those little green ants is still quite painful. However, the elder's arrangement left no room for refusal.

  "I leave tomorrow. I'll be taking the main alchemy cauldron with me," the elder stated regarding his time.

  "But if the Beast Spirit Pills run out and you haven't returned, Elder, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of all these Shadow Ants," Leo said honestly.

  "I have a smaller cauldron here. Although not of great quality, it is sufficient for refining Beast Spirit Pills."

  The elder produced another small cauldron, pitch-black all over as if forged from dark iron. Judging by its appearance alone, it was far inferior to the one the elder had been using. Leo, who possessed no other formulas or spiritual materials, didn't mind this. However, he thought about his current lack of any means of self-defense. From overhearing conversations between the elder and the others, Leo knew that cultivators needed not only cultivation techniques but also to practice spells or combat arts to possess any real fighting capability.

  Back at the Thunder Blade Sect, Brother Felix had also needed to practice martial arts after cultivating his internal energy before being considered a true warrior. Therefore, Leo reasoned there must be parallels between martial artists and immortal cultivators.

  Since the black-robed elder's absences were growing progressively longer, Leo gathered his courage after a moment's thought. "Elder Ragnar, if you are delayed in returning and I must go out to gather herbs for the Beast Spirit Pills... If I take the black bear with me, and some demonic beast were to break into the cave dwelling, it might damage the things inside. If I don't take the black bear, and I encounter danger outside... my own safety is a small matter, but if I fail to return, failing in your task of raising these Shadow Ants would be a grave disappointment to you."

  "So, you're angling for benefits from me?" Elder Ragnar gave a sinister smile, his triangular eyes glinting with a coldness akin to a venomous snake's.

  "N-No, I wouldn't dare."

  A cold sweat instantly broke out on Leo's forehead. The pressure emanating from the high-level cultivator made his legs tremble. Remaining standing and not kneeling was already quite an effort.

  Elder Ragnar's face shifted through several expressions. The spiritual treasures discovered in the canyon were something he absolutely had to obtain. And the Shadow Ants were one of his trump cards, though individually their killing power wasn't strong. Several fierce battles with disciples of the Palace of the Heavenly Apex had destroyed most of his previous stock. This little brat before him did have his uses. If the situation Leo described actually occurred, it would indeed be troublesome.

  After brief consideration, Elder Ragnar's expression softened slightly. A flicker of something akin to amusement passed through his eyes. He then tossed Leo a small, ancient-looking silver ring and a booklet.

  "This is a Spirit Beast Ring. The booklet contains Beast Taming Arts. You may take the black bear with you to subdue a low-level spirit beast."

  "Thank you, Elder Ragnar."

  Leo finally let out a sigh of relief. He held a deep-seated fear of the black-robed elder. If not absolutely necessary, he would never willingly subject himself to such pressure. However, if the elder left him alone to gather herbs for Beast Spirit Pills, the danger would be far too great. For the sake of his own life, he had no choice but to act this way.