A few days have passed since the death of their alpha. The howl of the black guardian had broken their wills and on the following days, the wolves who waited around that peak stepped down one-by-one until their new alpha had decided to migrate.
Throughout their year-long stay in this mountain, they had scavenged almost anything in these ruins. The decomposed and burnt bones of the deceased disciples and elders of this sect had been chewed and swallowed by these dire wolves. There was nothing else in this mountain other than that. The only meals available in this mountain were critters or the occasional small animals like squirrels and rabbits that found themselves in this ruin. Their numbers had grown since their stay here so the wolves couldn't sustain themselves with such small prey.
So they would migrate. The mountain had nothing else in it. The qi within it were mostly yin in nature and was quite gloomy. Only those who played with the dead could find this place as a paradise. This wasn't it for the size of their pack. They needed an environment that could sustain their numbers.
With the loss of their alpha, some of their members with ego had separated from them along with their small followers, further fracturing their once large pack. This migration was inevitable because there wasn't anything for them in this mountain.
So within the next two weeks, the sight of dire wolves from the mountains were reported ascending in groups, separated and hostile and unfriendly with each other. Other demonic beast factions within this forest took note of it, and took advantage of this.
This part of the Green Wind Forest was populated by 1st Grade and 2nd Grade Demonic Beasts. 2nd Grade Demonic Beasts were considered the king of this particular part of the forest. Going beyond the forest would be suicide as 3rd Grade and 4th Grade beasts lurked within it. At the heart of this uncivilized region was a place where 5th and 6th Grade ruled amongst everyone with the ancient beast from the 7th Grade slumbering within.
This nameless mountain was located at the shallower parts of the northern side of this forest. Even if it was the shallower part, this entire area alone covered thousands of miles. It was large enough for a diverse ecosystem to develop.
This also meant that many factions of demonic beasts have formed, even a collection of 1st Stage Demonic Beasts were grouped up so they could survive better in this diverse area. It was normal in this world. Many uninhabited places were filled with nature, and with nature came with raw and abundant qi that animals could evolve into, further bolstering the numbers of demonic beasts that roamed it. This was also why rogue cultivators came here to acquire opportunities. Most insights and fortuitous encounters occurred during life and death scenarios. There were many beasts that cultivators could choose in this place.
The current status of the fractured dire wolf pack was noticed by these many factions along with some rogue cultivators who hunted here. While some chose this time to hunt these fragmented packs, there were a few who saw this as an opportunity.
One of those was an alliance of 1st Stage Demonic Beasts. This alliance was composed of pig and boar demons. They had a grudge against these dire wolves. They were always bullied by their pack along with their strong alpha. Now that they have lost their pillar and their unity is broken, these beasts are confident with their chances.
At the same time as these alliances of boar and pig demons made their moves towards the mountain, a few rogue cultivators had seen the changes in their behaviour. One person named Du Ming looked at the marching demon boars at a distance, and felt it was disturbing enough to turn around and report it.
Just beyond this forest is a city called Windy City. Many rogue cultivators and other outer disciples from nearby sects gather here to benefit from this dangerous forest and their beasts. With this particular area being crowded with 1st Stage and 2nd Stage beasts, it's a great training spot for outer disciples and lone cultivators who have no backing.
Humans and demon beasts alike were shaken just by this simple change alone, and different factions tried to cover this gap with their own agendas. The loner at the top of the nameless mountain was unaware of it, his concentration was entirely on his own cultivation.
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A few weeks have passed since that surprise attack, things have calmed down a lot. There are still the occasional monstrous birds coming at us but we are dealing with them easily and they are generally non-threatening anymore.
I didn't slack off after getting my new cultivation method. Whenever I am done with my daily five resets, I keep reviewing Xie Wen's memories and thinking of ways to improve my cultivation speed. One of the ways I manage to implement is to change the effect of the array in my room and the effects of my environment in general.
This idea comes to me after recalling about some special cultivation areas for people with special affinities, and using these special cultivation areas for a boost on their cultivation speed and gaining insights. That gives me an idea.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
What if I make this area specifically produce Earth Qi?
Due to me generally owning the entire area of this peak, I can buy and install stuff in this place with my Prestige Points. My cheat ability automatically makes the changes if I am buying cosmetics for the environment or other special stuff like formations or arrays.
Surprisingly, turning this area into a space that can produce Earth Qi is cheap. It only cost me 100 points to implement that on the entirety of this peak excluding the pond area. I didn't touch the pond area because I don't really have any plans from there.
Now there is a formation around my place that converts pure qi into earth qi, and then it synergizes with the improvements I make with the array installed inside my room. Now instead of being a simple Qi Gathering Array, that room has become an Earth-Affinity Qi Gathering Array. The synergy is that, with the effects of the array, the earth qi that now naturally forms with the formation around me becomes purer and whenever I absorb it, I barely have to do any cycling before I consolidate it in my core.
My cultivation speed increases tremendously because of these additions. Now instead of me managing to reach the 5th Stage Foundation Establishment within two hours, it has now become easier for me to reach 7th Stage within that same timescale.
But that's not all!
My cheat ability considers this entire area as my possession so I can improve anything in this place. This includes the formation I install in this peak and the array inside my room. Both of these upgrades costs 1,000 points each but that cost isn't a concern anymore due to the speed of my cultivation. I can gather that amount within a week from my prior boost.
Resetting from the 7th Stage gives me 28 points and because I can reset five times maximum before feeling nauseous enough to stop, I can get a total of 140 points in a single day!
Adding the points I have before all of these boosts gives me more than enough points to upgrade the formation and the array after two weeks. My cultivation speed has undergone another terrific boost. A week after the improvements from my cultivation spot, I can easily reach 9th Stage Foundation Establishment within 3 hours of passive cultivation!
It made me understand how much I am wasting the potential of my power. I should have done this a long time ago!
It makes sense too. A proper cultivation area for my own affinity will naturally boost my cultivation speed. With the right cultivation method and environment, it will complement each other and give a qualitative boost to my progress. It is so obvious in hindsight but I haven't seen it because of my complacency and stupidity!
Really, I can only shake my head discovering it this late!
Anyway, other than that, I can't think of anything else that will help me with the speed of my cultivation. Those are the only ideas I can get through Xie Wen's memories, so there is nothing else I can do. If I find another way to further boost my cultivation speed, then I will take it so long as it won't put me in a life or death situation.
[Reset detected, calculating... successful!]
[Spiritual Roots increased by 9!]
[Cultivation Speed multiplier increased by 0.45!]
[You gain a total of 45 Prestige Points!]
That's the final reset for today. I stand up and stretch my arms, loosening up my muscles. I always do this since the day I start my daily manual cultivation that always last six hours. I move my legs, stretch my arms, and roll them around for a bit to give them life. These action might not really do anything. Xie Wen's memories says we won't feel any numbness even if we sit for a long time due to the boost our cultivation gives us. Though I don't care. I think its a good trait to always loosen up the muscles so I won't feel any cramps if I ever have to suddenly do any strenous activity for some reason.
I look at my status after I am done loosening up my muscles.
[STATUS]
Cultivation Stage: 8th Stage Foundation Establishment Realm
Spiritual Root: 7,919
Root Quality: Intermediate
Cultivation Speed: 146.56x
Prestige Points: 2,156
(Affinity)
Earth (E-)
(Talent)
Gun (E-)
Sword (F)
(Technique)
Gunslinger (Completion)
Iron Edge (Small - Success)
True Shot (Completion)
(Auxiliary)
Cooking (Initiate)
Dismantling (Initiate)
In just ten seconds, my passive cultivation let me reach the 8th Stage. It just shows how much I gain by just staying in my room. If I leave my room, I will only be able to reach 6th Stage in an instant. Staying here gives me the most boost.
It tells me that the environment matters as much as my own affinity and root quality. This also strengthens my resolve to not leave this place and silently cultivate to my heart's content.
While thinking like that, I can feel a sense of disturbance in the hearts of my pets. I feel curious so I look at the laptop first to look at the feeds of my security cameras.
Since the day those wolves left the area below this place, I managed to descend and install more security cameras so I will know whether someone is coming closer to my side or not. These wireless security cameras have a long reception range and the laptop I have can easily connect to them even if they are more than a hundred feet away from it.
There are a lot of cameras so I bought a large flat screen monitor to accommodate the additional security cameras I added around this peak.
"Huh...?"
In one of the screens that shows the furthest point from my location, on a spot where it is hidden amongst the trees overlooking the broken stone stairs leading to this peak, I can see a group of demonic beasts marching leisurely towards this direction.
It seems like Kuro notices them with its sharp nose and perception. They are still far but it is weird that another group of demonic beasts are coming here a few weeks after those wolves leave us alone.
Why are they coming here? Should I be concerned?
I prepare myself. Taking my gun and wearing my tactical belt so I can react quickly when these demon beasts somehow manage to climb up to this spot.