The sun set in the west, and the dispirited villagers of Zhang Village suddenly saw a group of people coming from the east.

Under the setting sun, Shangguan Ruolin's small figure cast a long shadow. Behind her was a group of children, slowly moving towards Zhang Village.

At this moment, Shangguan Ruolin was indeed the child king of Zhang Village. All the children followed quietly behind her, without crying or making noise.

The villagers were overjoyed and cried when they saw the children miraculously return. They rushed to find their own children in the group.

Madam Song was weeping as she held her child and Shangguan Ruolin, unwilling to let go.

The village was instantly filled with cries of joy as the villagers wept for happiness.

The village elder looked at this scene with tears streaming down his face. Although he didn't understand what had happened, the return of the children meant that Zhang Village had hope for the future.

After a while, Shu Han brought a cart filled with frozen bodies into Zhang Village.

Shu Han explained to the village elder that they had encountered a fairy on their way who had heard their cry for help. The fairy had helped them eradicate the Whirlwind Gang, save the children, and found the bodies of the missing villagers in the snow mountain.

Although the story was strange, all the children told the same story. They all said a beautiful fairy sister had come to the cellar to save them. The villagers believed the story since all the children said the same thing, no matter how bizarre it sounded.

Moreover, with the eradication of the troublesome Whirlwind Gang, a massive burden was lifted off the villagers' minds. This caused the once-troubled Zhang Village to instantly become cheerful.

Shangguan Ruolin stood next to Shu Han, watching as each family joyously took their children back home. She said, "The happiness of mortals is so simple."

"Because their hardships come easily, their happiness also comes simply. A small cultivator at the eleventh level of Qi Refining can disturb the peace of thousands of households," Shu Han replied.

Shangguan Ruolin looked at the burned ruins and asked, "What should we do about these burned houses, should we use magic power to help rebuild them?"

Shu Han patted his chest and laughed, "Why use magic power for such a small matter? As a well-known young man in the area, I'll help them rebuild. Based on our schedule, we will still live in Zhang Village for more than half a year."

Shangguan Ruolin gave a sweet smile, "Then you better work quickly. This time I want to sleep in a big bed."

………

So, a new phase of cultivation began for Shu Han in Zhang Village.

One of his avatars started replicating Thousand-year Snow Lotus with the black jar, mass-producing Clear Bright Spiritual Eye elixir, while another avatar found a cave on Willow Mountain, took out the body of the old man in grey from the storage bag, and started creating an external incarnation, following the form of Xu Zimo and combining various materials.

Meanwhile, the main body stayed by Shangguan Ruolin's side, protecting her, and with her assistance, continued to digest the fragments of the Golden Core.

The External Incarnation Technique was very extraordinary. During the cultivation process, Shu Han felt his mental power growing rapidly. This was different from his avatar technique, where both avatars were operating on the main body's mental power, whereas the external incarnation technique first doubled the mental power before transferring it to the incarnation.

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Once the incarnation was successfully cultivated, it was as if Shu Han had an extra life.

On the other hand, the Clear Bright Spiritual Eye elixir showed its magical effects when the Thousand-year Snow Lotus was added. Upon the first use, Shu Han felt as if his eyes had been reborn, with a faint divine light emerging, and his spiritual consciousness also benefited from the elixir.

After using it continuously for ninety-nine days, not only could his eyes see through illusions, but they could also see through objects! He thought to himself, no wonder he couldn't hide his true face from Chen Yuehua with the mask, the Clear Bright Spiritual Eye was so miraculous even at the minor achievement stage!

However, when his eyes looked at Shangguan Ruolin, he received a hard slap.

These days, Shangguan Ruolin had also been using the elixir to cultivate Clear Bright Spiritual Eye and had reached the same level.

"If you use these thieving eyes to look at other women, be careful, I might gouge them out!"

Shu Han: ...

However, Shangguan Ruolin still highly praised this eye technique, stating that it could be on par with the insight of a magic treasure at the Nascent Soul stage if further refined.

However, after reaching the minor achievement stage of Clear Bright Spiritual Eye, the effect of the Thousand-year Snow Lotus was not as potent, and continued use did not bring about the rapid progress as at the beginning.

With the two avatars handling all tasks, Shu Han's main body during this period, aside from helping villagers build houses and plow fields, wholeheartedly devoted himself to his cultivation. With the help of Shangguan Ruolin, his cultivation level approached the initial peak of the Foundation Establishment stage in less than half a year.

His body, under the tempering of the ten thousand years of profound ice, became increasingly robust and sturdy. Although far from reaching the state of Heavenly Cold Body, it exceeded cultivators of the same or even higher stages.

Life in Zhang Village was tranquil and peaceful. Time flew, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

One day, Shu Han was teaching Shangguan Ruolin how to fish by the riverbank. His fishing hook hit the mark frequently, and he often hooked a big fish. However, Shangguan Ruolin's side was deserted, only catching a small fish in half a day. This made Shangguan Ruolin's little face turn red.

"I don't understand why we are not cultivating during the day and instead doing this!"

Shu Han laughed and said, "I've reached a minor bottleneck now. With your Golden Core fragments in my body, I have plenty of spiritual energy, but I still haven't broken through. I think I need to free my mind. Over-focusing on cultivation may backfire."

Pointing at the fishing rod, Shangguan Ruolin said, "Is that an excuse for your lack of talent? Even with my Golden Core's assistance, you can't break through the bottleneck of the initial peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. How will you survive in the cultivation world in the future?"

Whoosh!

As they spoke, Shu Han hooked another big fish. This made Shangguan Ruolin grit her teeth in annoyance. She said angrily, "If you want to eat fish, just say so!" Then she slapped her palm on the water, causing high splashes, and a bunch of fish floated up with their bellies upturned.

Shu Han: ... I was baiting the hook, and you're just blasting them!

Over the past half year, under Shu Han's nurturing with spirit stones and elixirs, Shangguan Ruolin finally managed to restore her cultivation to the Qi Refining stage. Seeing her annoyed, Shu Han could only give a wry smile, walked over, and personally instructed her on fishing techniques.

Shu Han moved closer to Shangguan Ruolin and said, "Linlin, my cultivation level is not as high as yours, but I believe that cultivation is like fishing. It requires a balance of tension and relaxation, enough patience, and only then can you see the moon when the clouds clear."

Shangguan Ruolin snorted disdainfully, "Humph! A Foundation Establishment stage kid teaching me cultivation..."

Suddenly, the fishing rod in Shangguan Ruolin's tight grip vibrated. She immediately became excited and said with a flushed face, "I've got a bite! I've got one! It's a big fish!"

As she was about to quickly reel in the line, Shu Han held her back, saying, "Don't rush. Keep your patience and tire it out! Use a combination of loosening and tightening, fight against it, wear out its strength, and reel it in when it's tired."

In the end, Shangguan Ruolin reeled in the line, pulling a big fish that weighed more than ten pounds onto the shore. She joyously hugged the struggling big fish and proudly said, "Shu Han, look! This one is bigger than yours!"

However, at this moment, Shu Han was completely lost in his thoughts.

"Shu Han? What's wrong with you?"

After a long time, Shu Han came back to his senses, looking somewhat perplexed, and said to Shangguan Ruolin, "I've suddenly broken through to the initial peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and... I've also completed my external incarnation."