The two of them cultivated for an entire day and night, only stirring when Qiu Xia finished preparing breakfast the following morning.
Catching the familiar scent of vegetable porridge, Qiu Sheng and Wencai scrambled to their feet. "Junior Brother, I didn't expect you to make another batch right after we finished the last one. Just as well, I'm starving. I feel like I could eat a whole pot."
Hearing this, Qiu Xia replied, "Senior Brother, it's not that I just made more. After you finished your porridge yesterday, you began cultivating. An entire day and night have passed since then."
"What? That long?" Qiu Sheng's eyes went wide with shock.
Qiu Xia nodded. "Indeed. If you don't believe me, feel your own mana. Before this, you were only in the Warlock realm. Now, you've condensed your mana and become true Taoist Priests. You can finally learn real spells and arts from Master."
"That's right! I can finally learn Taoist magic!" Qiu Sheng cheered. "I've wanted to cast spells forever, but I never had the mana to pull them off. Now that I have it, I can finally do it!"
Just then, Uncle Jiu walked in from outside. "What's all this shouting? Hurry up and eat. Once you're done, refine your Spiritual Qi and get back to your studies."
"Yes, Master!"
Because they had just broken through to the Taoist Priest realm and Qiu Xia hadn't gathered extra Spiritual Qi for them this time, plus Uncle Jiu was breathing down their necks, it took the two of them less than an hour to exhaust the ambient Qi. After they finished, the strands of mana in their bodies increased from five to seven.
Once the refinement ended, their "miserable" life truly began. To polish his disciples into proper talents, Uncle Jiu had them drawing talismans all morning. In the afternoon, they practiced Taoist spells and studied ghost-catching lore. In the evening, they trained in martial arts for a while before Qiu Sheng returned to his aunt's house, while Wencai stayed behind to cultivate through the night.
Though their daily schedule was grueling, their mana growth was staggering. Relying on the vegetables brought by Qiu Xia, their progress was comparable to someone gorging on celestial treasures every day, yet without any of the volatile side effects.
Uncle Jiu, having his own specialized meals, only needed a few days to temper his Divine Soul to the Earth Soul level, marking a significant step forward in his cultivation. At this rate, he estimated it would take only a few months to wash his soul into a Heaven Soul, allowing him to break through to become a Heavenly Master within the year.
Under Uncle Jiu's leadership, Qiu Sheng and Wencai had begun to drive each other with intense competition. Qiu Xia didn't spend all his time idling around the Yi Zhuang either. Since Uncle Jiu had no new Taoist arts to teach him yet, Qiu Xia used what he had already learned, combined with his own inspiration, to research Astral Taoist Arts.
For simpler concepts, Qiu Xia could rely on his own insight and cultivation. For more difficult theories, he utilized his Origin Power to enhance his deduction. Whether through self-creation or Origin-boosted deduction, the number of Astral Taoist Arts listed in his data grew steadily. If Qiu Xia ever wanted to take on disciples, he could simply find a place, show off his strength, and establish a sect in no time.
However, he had no intention of doing so. Qiu Xia was someone who hated trouble. He found it bothersome enough when people he didn't like sought him out; the idea of teaching a horde of disciples was out of the question.
Qiu Xia stayed at the Yi Zhuang for a month before deciding to return to the Naruto World. Although he wanted to experiment with whether time in the Naruto World would pass at a 1:1 ratio if he stayed in the Zombie World for a year, he couldn't leave his affairs there unattended for too long.
If an entire year passed in the Naruto World while he was away, a mountain of trouble would surely arise. There was a risk of his "home" being snatched away. After all, history had a way of correcting itself.
What if the Uchiha were wiped out anyway? Itachi Uchiha was dead, but Fugaku Uchiha remained. With Fugaku's Mangekyo and his personal strength, if he ever decided to purge the Uchiha clan himself, it would be much easier for him than it had been for Itachi.
And so, Qiu Xia traveled back and forth between the Zombie World and the Naruto World. He researched Astral Taoist Arts in the former and cultivated diligently in the latter. In the blink of an eye, six months passed.
To better enhance the strength of Uncle Jiu and the others, Qiu Xia suggested planting cherry tomatoes in the Naruto World, nurtured daily with Spiritual Qi. This way, when he brought them back to the Zombie World,
Uncle Jiu wouldn't have to suffer through eating a massive, standard tomato. Uncle Jiu's mastery of the Sage's Theft was simply not high enough; if he were an expert, he could have digested several large tomatoes easily, but everyone had their strengths and weaknesses.
Although Sage's Theft was derived from the Grain Clothing Heart Method, they were distinct. The entry level was easy, but true mastery was difficult. Uncle Jiu had only scratched the surface, while Qiu Sheng and Wencai hadn't even reached the entry level. Unable to learn Sage's Theft, the two could only stick to the Grain Clothing Heart Method.
However, with the high-quality food Qiu Xia provided, their cultivation speed was like a rising rocket. In half a year, they had accumulated nearly five hundred strands of mana the same level Uncle Jiu had previously occupied. Without practicing body-refining techniques, this was essentially their limit.
After a month of consuming Qiu Xia's spiritual vegetables, Uncle Jiu's soul had been successfully tempered, and his cultivation advanced to the 10th Heaven Earth Master rank. To make his breakthrough into the Heavenly Master realm easier,
he spent his time washing his soul using spiritual energy and Visualization Methods. As for how long this would take, Uncle Jiu decided to wait until his two "troublesome" disciples broke through to the Human Master rank before he advanced.
With Qiu Sheng and Wencai's natural aptitude, such progress would normally have taken decades. With Qiu Xia's spiritual vegetables, it took only months.
Returning to the Zombie World once more at dawn, Qiu Xia checked the two disciples as usual. Finding that Qiu Sheng had reached 520 strands and Wencai had hit 505, he immediately went to share the good news with Uncle Jiu.
"Master, both senior brothers have reached five hundred strands. It is time to break through to the Human Master rank!"
Hearing this, Uncle Jiu couldn't hide his excitement. "Good, the day has finally come. Qiu Xia, prepare a fine meal to help them with the breakthrough. I will explain the insights and methods for the transition shortly."
The impending breakthrough of Qiu Sheng and Wencai wasn't just a testament to Uncle Jiu's teaching; it also signaled the time for Uncle Jiu himself to ascend to the rank of Heavenly Master.
Uncle Jiu had a premonition that when he broke through, the Three Tribulations of Heaven, Earth, and Man would appear. The Heavenly Tribulation was a trial by Heavenly Lightning that any ordinary person must endure to become a Heavenly Master. If one survived the lightning, they could condense a Golden Core and gain five hundred years of longevity. If they failed, they would simply perish.
According to Maoshan records, the severity of the lightning tribulation depended on one's aptitude and strength. The stronger the cultivator, the more powerful the lightning. After surviving, one would be rewarded with Spiritual Qi to improve the quality of their Golden Core. Golden Cores were ranked from the 1st Revolution to the peak 9th Revolution.
As for why Qiu Xia hadn't faced a tribulation earlier, it was simple: he was in the Naruto World at the time, which had no tribulation clouds. After coming to this world, he hadn't used the specific powers of a Heavenly Master, and with the system's concealment, the Heavenly Dao of the Zombie World had no idea he was a Heavenly Master.
If it did know...
The Heavenly Dao of the Zombie World would likely think: Heh, kid, you're in for it now. How dare you dodge the fare? Come here and pay up. Since you've caused such a bad precedent by skipping out, you're paying extra. Normally, someone with good talent gets one or two bolts, but for you? I'll give you a few dozen.
When Qiu Sheng and Wencai finished their morning practice, they saw the table laden with an enormous feast prepared by Qiu Xia. Just as they were about to dive in, Uncle Jiu called them aside. He began to explain the methods of breaking through to the Human Master rank and the vital precautions they needed to take.
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