Highway Robbery (1)

Half a year went by in a blink of an eye.

In between this period, not a single day of Qin Lan has gone to waste. But that's in terms of managing the Qin Household. Right now, Qin Lan's cultivation still remained in between the third and the fourth-level, showing no hint of breaking through.

As for the trio, Lu Yi, Lu Qing Yun, and Huo Zunjie, their cultivation achievement is now getting closer to the fifth-level. Stepping into the Middle-Attainment Rank is just a matter of time for them.

They weren't the only few who benefitted from hugging Qin Lan's thigh.

Throughout these seven months, the Fu-Rong Town, Hu Household, and Chu Household all had their fortuituous moment. Aligning themselves with Qin Lan was one of the best decisions they've ever made in their life.

The Chu Household Security Escort Business expands across three human settlements. The Hu's Spiritual Concentrating Incense is just as sought-after as the Qin's Wound Mending Pill and Spiritual Gathering Dew.

And by relying on the three treasures, cash kept flowing into their coffer voluntarily. But then, a word from Qin Lan surprised the old and young members of the Qin Household.

"The Qin Household will relocate itself to the Northwest section of the Fu-Rong Town." his word is as simple as that. No one dares to question him and the decision he made.

Two-third of the Qin Family's savings were poured into making this relocation a reality. Their number of servants doubled from the initial 500 men to 1,000 people. From there, they started the project by reclaiming unused land around that area.

His reason for this decision is simple and straightforward.

Qin Lan is doing his best to leave a lifeline to the Qin Household before leaving the nest to groom the next generation. At the same time, it would also put his heart at ease after he left the mundane mortal life aside in the future.

Of course, there's a limitation on what he can implement in creating this sanctuary for the Qins. First of all, material availability. Although the piece of land they're at is fertile and rich with resources, it was limited to the Precelestial Realm.

With what he has in hand, erecting a proper "dwelling" like those commonly seen in the Cloud Plucking Sect is already counted as a miraculous feat. And to compensate for the lack of material, Qin Lan applied a unique layer of blessing in between.

The buildings were built according to the "Big Dipper" formation. It was also one of the least demanding Heaven's Blessings that could yield him the most benefit right now.

Separated into the "handle" and the "bowl," Qin Lan arranged the three smaller branches to be established in the three stars within the handle, while the patriarch's direct descendent to reside inside the bowl.

And as there were four stars positioned in the bowl of "Big Dipper" formation, a garden, a library, and a courtyard are added together to complete the seven-stars constellation.

"Continue with your work. Qing Yun, I'll go for a seclusive retreat for now to rejuvenate myself. If there's anything, look for me using this key." Qin Lan gave the only key to access his dwelling to Lu Qing Yun as he stepped into the chamber with a heavy stone door.

"Qing Yun understands. We'll manage it, don't worry." Lu Qing Yun nodded.

...

...

...

(Finally... Some time for myself to a break)

A mechanism within the spacious chamber is activated with a pull by Qin Lan's hand. Two additional ponds with exotic looking aquatic animals quickly joined together with this room.

Emerald-bluish gases filtered from the water spread around the two corners of this chamber. And with a flick of a finger, Qin Lan ignited a stick of Spiritual Concentrating Incense.

The three sources of gaseous substance soon mixed together as it was absorbed by Qin Lan.

(I wonder how long would it takes if I continue to rely on the inferior resources to consolidate my cultivation...)

Qin Lan patiently refined the essence using his body as the container. The process was more tedious than anything he had been doing so far. But in return, all his effort will be rewarded handsomely as long he managed to pull this through.

Through the Big-Dipper formation as the base of his Heaven's Blessing, Qin Lan added two adjustments to fit it to his own needs. The first is the star of Fu-Kuang, the sign of Mulberry Leaf. As for the second adjustment, Qin Lan used the constellation of Jiu, which signifies the meaning of a mortar.

Big-Dipper as the spoon. Mulberry leaf as the sieve. And the Mortar as the refiner.

Close to fifteen medicinal and treasures were added into the two ponds to kickstart the process like two pots of broths. They include the Golden Yew Tree's Spiritual Sap, Spiritual Serenity Grass, Blood from Fourth-Level Demon Beast, and more.

The moment the first stick of Spiritual Concentrating Incense is burnt out, another one took its place. This process continues from the morning till night before Qin Lan finally succeeded in refining the first drop.

"Finally!" the drop of treasured essence seeps out from Qin Lan's palm as it sat on top of the leaf on a bamboo plant. It was a drop of liquid with the consistency of milk.

(Heh... To think that the sect leader of the glorious Kuangshan Lu Sect would have to do what the sect used to test the disciples in Pericelestial Cultivation...)

Qin Lan chuckled.

This treasure he just made is known as Precelestial Milk or Xiatian-Ru. Like the Changshen Dew, they're one of the treasures cultivators in the Precelestial Realm sought after. The reason behind this is because a drop of Xiatian-Ru is equivalent to a thousand Flesh Foundation Pills.

That's how much Spiritual Energy is inside the drop of milky liquid. As it was capable of solidifying itself to retain the spiritual energy, the Xiatian-Ru is also used as a currency.

Furthermore, since the Precelestial Milk required no medicinal ingredient to be refined, they're much more widely accepted amongst the cultivators due to their usefulness.

Particularly in the battle between two experts that exhaust all their available Spiritual Energy. Because the Spiritual Energy inside this piece of currency was naturally formed, a cultivator could immediately digest them and converted them into their own without meditation.

It was a time-consuming process for him right now, but all the effort will repay itself at the end of the day when his cultivation advanced to the next level.

The pot of cute bamboo plant returned into the Purple-Dragon Storage Jade as Qin Lan went to the door. Picking up the dishes prepared by the kitchen, Qin Lan returned to his seclusion once again.

...

...

"Protect the carriage!" a scream from the middle of the night wakes up everyone resting in this camp. His cry managed to wakes the others from their slumber as they quickly deploy to protect their merchandise.

But at the same time, it alarmed their enemies as well.

"Which fool dares to come and try to rob our Chu Family Security Agency? Come out here and get ready to die under my sword!" Chu Liang, the elder brother of Chu Xiang, the one known as Righteous Spear, said.

The flail hammer in his hand smashed two bandit's head into pulps after he's finished with his sentence. Like his younger brother, Chu Liang has a moniker given by the people who seem him fighting in the front line.

(Golden Flail of Chu Household)

"Move forward..." a silhouette hidden in the darkness ordered without revealing his position. What's followed after his order is over fifty bandits dressed in plain commoners clothing charging out from the woods.

The battle quickly went from heated to deadly as more blood is spilled. Although the bandit's side hardly has a high leveled cultivator, their sheer numbers still prove to be a threat as close to half of the guards fell to their mixture of blunt and sharp weaponry.

"Release the dogs..." the silhouette delivered another order. The roaring of three Demon Beasts quickly attracts their attention as Chu Liang ordered his men to come closer to his position.

"Come back to my side! That roar and voice... It's the Oak Puppet Hound!" there was no doubt that Chu Liang is a skillful cultivator in his trade. Only through listening to the sound is enough for him to guess the identity of his opponent correctly.

But that wasn't enough.

Managed to identity does not mean one could come up with a method to immediately counter the threat. And like a dagger hiding in the darkness, three security guards fell as they failed to respond to his order instantly.

"Aargh!" Chu Liang is furious. Although none of them carries the surname Chu, they're just like a part of his family. The pain of having a friend as close as a family member slaughtered before your eyes are not something to be underestimated.

"Violent Whirlwind!" Chu Liang unleashed the strength of a fifth-level Flesh Refining Cultivator as he executes his signature move. One of the Oak Puppet Hounds was unluckily sandwiched in between the trees he was going to hit.

The wounded hound lies on the ground, dying. But instead of vomiting red blood like all demon beast, it was green.

"Fire the (Liang) signal." Chu Liang ordered. With close to twenty teams of escorts roaming around this Yunshan Province, the possibility of having another team nearby is highly likely.

"Yes, leader! Urgh!" the subordinate took a firework out from his pocket. But before he managed to use it, a flying dagger is stuck on his forehead.

"No!" the death of another close companion disturbs Chu Liang's concentration. Upon turning around, the two remaining Oak Puppet Hounds attacked. Out of a sudden, two deep wounds appeared on his back and leg due to his carelessness.

Chu Liang immediately swallowed a few Flesh Mending Pills to ease the pain that bothering him from fighting with all his might.

"Everyone, fight to the end of your life! Protect our cargo!" Chu Liang yelled.

"Yes, sir!" the remaining eleven subordinates of his acknowledged his words and determined to fight till the last drop of their blood.