The sect officially issued wanted posters for Chen Mo, offering a bounty of 1,000 spirit stones. Killing a sect disciple was a direct affront to the sect’s prestige and absolutely intolerable, so law enforcement and bounty hunters sprang into action immediately. Deng Wu was already leading his team to track Chen Mo, while other pursuit teams departed the city in organized waves.

  Within the outer sect region, Li Yuxue’s face darkened when Sheng Xia delivered the news, instructing her to stop pursuing the boy and focus on her cultivation. Sheng Xia had already broken through to the 7th level of Qi Condensation and was set to join the inner sect disciples the following day after passing the necessary tests.

  Li Yuxue, however, could not shake her unease. She had always sensed that Chen Mo was unusual—cunning, unpredictable, and not someone who could be easily defeated. Determined to grow stronger, she resolved to refine her skills and bide her time, planning to personally crush him when the opportunity arose. Unbeknownst to her, every effort she made only fueled Chen Mo’s unprecedented resolve, sharpening his own desire to confront her in return.

  Chen Mo’s cultivation advanced at an astonishing rate thanks to the dense spiritual qi of the hidden lake. Each day, he gained 15 points, and within twenty days, he smoothly broke through to the 3rd level of Qi Condensation.

  Realm: Qi Condensation Level 3 – 5/300

  He studied his panel with a sharp gaze. At this rate, he would reach the middle stage of Qi Condensation and finally unlock his spiritual senses within another twenty days. That would open the door to his spoils of war, the legacy jade slips, and powers he had long hungered for.

  But a new problem pressed heavily on his mind: his rations and pills had completely run out. For the past twenty days, he had scouted the lake carefully, observing its surface, inspecting the shores, and scanning for any hidden threats or resources, yet nothing unusual appeared. The serene waters offered no help, no spirit creatures to capture, nothing but the still, glimmering reflection of the luminous gems overhead. The calm beauty of the lake now felt more like a prison than a sanctuary.

  Chen Mo’s jaw tightened. He had grown stronger here, yes, but survival depended on more than just cultivation—he would have to find food soon, or even his accelerated progress would be brought to a grinding halt.

  Deng Wu’s gaze swept over the jagged ridges and thick, twisting vegetation of the valley. He stood with his team, alert and calculating, while one of the trackers he had hired spoke up, voice low but firm.

  “Boss, this is the Poisonous Blood Vines Valley,” the tracker said, pointing toward the dense, crimson-tinged thickets below. “It’s extremely dangerous. Even a 9th-level Qi Condensation cultivator would have trouble surviving if they got entangled in those vines.”

  Deng Wu’s expression remained calm, but his eyes narrowed. “I know… Do you think that boy would dare enter this place?”

  The tracker let out a short, humorless laugh. “That’s a death trap, boss. If he missteps and gets caught in there, we won’t even be able to find his corpse.”

  A tense silence followed, broken only by the whisper of wind through the treetops.

  After a moment of weighing the risks, Deng Wu raised his hand and gave a sharp signal.

  “Move out,” he commanded. “The Poisonous Blood Vines Valley is too dangerous. We’ll search another region—keep alert for any traces of him.”

  His team nodded, spreading out in coordinated formations as they disappeared along the ridges and valleys. The trackers glanced warily at the infamous blood vines one last time, muttering about the hazards, while Deng Wu’s gaze lingered on the treacherous valley, mind still calculating the unpredictable movements of the boy they sought.

  Chen Mo crouched by the lake shore, the plump fish wriggling faintly in his grasp. His chest heaved, each breath deep and measured as he let the adrenaline slowly ebb. The water he drank earlier still tingled on his tongue, sharp and sweet, a rare comfort in this perilous wilderness.

  His eyes scanned every ripple, every flicker of light across the lake, every shadow along the cavern walls. For a tense moment, it felt as if the entire underground world held its breath with him. Then, seeing nothing stirring from the depths, he finally allowed himself a small, wary smile. The fish would be his first meal in days, a lifeline that would sustain him as he continued his cultivation in this hidden sanctuary.

  Still, his senses didn’t relax fully. Even with the immediate danger passed, Chen Mo knew that in this place, beauty often disguised lethal threats—and every shadow could hide the next challenge. Carefully, he adjusted his grip on the struggling fish.

  Chen Mo held the fish firmly, its scales slick and cool against his palms. He didn’t bother with fire or seasoning—raw meat was nothing to an Innate Body cultivator like him. With a single bite, the tender flesh slid down his throat, cold and iron-tanged, and immediately he felt a surge ripple through his body.

  It was subtle at first—a warmth in his dantian, a humming in his meridians—but it quickly escalated. Qi reacted violently, as if the life force of the fish had been a spark that ignited a small storm inside him. His muscles twitched with barely contained energy, his veins pulsed with a strength that had been lying dormant, and his body seemed to hum in perfect harmony with the spiritual qi in the cave.

  Without hesitation, he sank into a cross-legged stance, letting the energy flow freely, circulating it through his dantian and meridians. The raw fish, so simple and unassuming, became the catalyst for an explosive cultivation session. Hours—or maybe minutes, time was warped in his focus—passed as Chen Mo’s body absorbed the energy, tempering it, refining it, and expanding his qi reservoirs.

  When he finally opened his eyes, his panel flickered slightly, and he leaned forward to check.

  Realm: Qi Condensation level 3 25/300

  Twenty points gained in a single session. Even his body felt subtly firmer, stronger, as if each fiber had been reinforced. He let out a slow, satisfied breath, the corners of his lips twitching into a small, rare smile. The wilderness, the poisonous vines, the endless vigilance—they all suddenly seemed worth it. This simple fish had propelled him forward, and Chen Mo knew this was only the beginning.

  For the next two weeks, Chen Mo’s routine persisted with relentless precision. Each day he caught the plump spirit fish from the lake, consumed it raw, and poured his will into cultivating the energy surging within him. The wilderness became his silent mentor, the cave walls his patient observers, and the spiritual qi in the lake his unyielding teacher.

  Then, one morning, as he sat cross-legged by the lake, his consciousness was unexpectedly drawn inward—pulled into that familiar space where he had first meditated and refined his qi for countless years. The sensation was unlike anything before: his dantian trembled and a rush of heat and energy coiled inside him, twisting and snapping like a storm finally finding its center. Pain, pressure, and tension all merged into a single piercing clarity. Chen Mo gritted his teeth, focusing every ounce of will, and felt his body align perfectly with the flow of Heaven and Earth qi.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  When he opened his eyes, the world itself seemed different. The qi in his body no longer throbbed uncomfortably; it flowed smoothly through every meridian, perfectly balanced and responsive. His muscles felt like tempered steel, his breath calm yet powerful. But the most extraordinary change was the birth of his spiritual senses. The energy around him was no longer an abstract hum—he could see it, faint currents dancing in the air, vibrating with life. Instinctively, he extended his perception, and the cave, the lake, the faintest movement in the waters… everything within fifty meters snapped sharply into focus.

  He could sense even the subtle ripple of the lake’s water as the spirit fishes moved, the faint shifting of stones beneath the soil, and the tiniest twitch of nearby plants swaying in the breeze. Chen Mo’s heart raced with exhilaration. His eyes darted around, taking in the unseen threads of life and qi that had always surrounded him, and finally, after months of grinding in solitude, he knew: he had crossed into a new stage.

  Realm: Qi Condensation Level 4 0/400

  A low-level cultivator now would have felt nothing, but to Chen Mo, this awakening was monumental. His spiritual senses had been born, and with them, the wilderness itself seemed alive, responding to his gaze. For the first time, he was not just a body refining cultivator forcing qi into his dantian—he was a predator in a world of energy, a master of perception, ready to test the limits of his newfound power.

  Chen Mo’s thoughts raced as he sat cross-legged, feeling the steady hum of spiritual qi threading through every meridian. Spiritual senses… without them, a cultivator is basically blind, he reflected. Ordinary sight, hearing, or even heightened reflexes could never compare to this. Now, he could literally see the flow of qi around him, feel the life of everything within a fifty-meter radius—the subtle pulse of trees, the faint vibration of soil, even the tiniest flicker of a fish in the water.

  A surge of relief and exhilaration coursed through him. He felt fortunate—no, lucky beyond reason—that he had survived that day, escaping the relentless pursuit of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator. Without his newly awakened spiritual senses, the odds of fleeing unscathed would have been near zero. Now, for the first time, Chen Mo truly understood the invisible edge this ability gave him: knowledge of his surroundings not by sight alone, but by the very essence of life and qi vibrating around him.

  He allowed himself a brief, sharp smile. The game has changed… and now, I am no longer blind.

  Chen Mo’s hands trembled slightly as he unfolded the two jade slips, the cold smooth surface reflecting the faint glow of the cave’s luminous gems. For three years, these jade slips had been a constant companion—mysterious, silent, and impossible to decipher… until now.

  He took a deep breath, focusing his newly awakened spiritual senses to its fullest. The Qi around the jade slips pulsed faintly, almost as if they were alive, resonating with a pattern only someone at the Fourth Level of Qi Condensation could finally perceive. Chen Mo’s eyes widened as lines of clear, resonant message appeared directly in his mind, bypassing his eyes entirely. It was as if the jade slips themselves were speaking to him, revealing the long-hidden secrets of the legacy he had carried for three years.

  As the message flowed into Chen Mo’s mind, his heart skipped a beat. Every word resonated with a strange familiarity, as if it were written not just for him, but through him. The jade slip pulsed faintly beneath his fingertips, its energy brushing against his consciousness like a whisper of the past.

  "To the one who carries the blood of the Xuan family..."

  The words painted a vivid history of glory and betrayal: a family unmatched in the Spirit Realm, masters of space itself, brought low by envy and treachery. And now, after centuries, their remnant had come into his hands.

  The instructions were as chilling as they were thrilling. The Spatial Dominion Art—an ability to bend the very fabric of space—demanded a body tempered beyond ordinary limits and a Sea of Consciousness capable of sustaining the strain. Yet it promised unimaginable power: moving unseen, passing through defenses, touching distant objects as though the world obeyed thought alone.

  Chen Mo’s eyes narrowed. He felt the weight of the legacy pressing on him, but also the thrill of potential. This was beyond mere cultivation; it was a rebirth of the Xuan family’s dominion, and he was the first to wield it fully. His fingers gripped the jade slip tighter as the words faded, leaving a ringing clarity in his mind: to survive, to grow, to master… he alone would awaken this legacy.

  Chen Mo’s brow furrowed as he closed his eyes, letting the weight of the revelation settle in. Celestial Void Sect… Xuan family… destroyed because of this technique… He replayed the message in his mind, trying to piece it together.

  “The Spatial Dominion Art…” he muttered softly. 2500 years ago… that’s how long this legacy has been buried… and now it’s in my hands.

  The enormity of it hit him. This was no ordinary inheritance—this was a lost pinnacle of cultivation, powerful enough to topple families and even sects. The thought made his heart race, both in awe and a tinge of caution. Such power, if misused—or mishandled—had the potential to bring destruction, just as it had centuries ago.

  Chen Mo paused, letting the words sink in as he recapitulated the details in his mind. The Celestial Void Sect… the Xuan family destroyed because of this very technique… the year 10,345… that’s over 2,500 years ago!

  It became clear why, when he first discovered the legacy, Jian Han had left a message: this power could only be entrusted to a Xuan family descendant, the sole bearers capable of manifesting an innate exotic attribute like space.

  Chen Mo’s eyes scanned the jade slip carefully, absorbing every word:

  *“Within this jade slip rests the Spatial Dominion Art, an inheritance meant only for those born of Xuan blood. None without the rare attribute of space can hope to cultivate it. This art bends space to the will of its bearer: movement unseen, passage through the defenses of men and sects, manipulation of objects and anchored spaces that others consider untouchable. It can probe the contents of space pouches and bypass formations thought impregnable.

  Its practice demands more than courage: a body tempered by the Primordial Body Art, and a Sea of Consciousness capable of withstanding the strain of bending reality itself. Few in history even attempted it, and none completed it; the weight of its power broke all before it. Should you endure and prevail, your dominion over space will awaken what the Xuan family once commanded, and the legacy of our line may yet rise again.”*

  Chen Mo’s mind raced. This was no ordinary technique—its mastery required both innate talent and absolute resilience. Yet, the potential it offered… the very thought of commanding space itself made his pulse quicken.

  Chen Mo closed his eyes, committing every detail of the Spatial Dominion Art to memory, his mind turning over its possibilities. I have no innate exotic attribute like space… but what if the panel can guide me? A slow, calculating smile spread across his face. If it works, then not only can I survive this chaos, I can rise beyond it—prosper even.

  As for the jade slip’s insistence that the legacy was meant for a Xuan family descendant, Chen Mo didn’t give it a second thought. His goals were simple: power, freedom, and mastery—and nothing else would matter.