By mortal standards, Rising Sun City was a lively and bustling place. The streets and buildings were clear of snow. Crowds filled the city, traveling the streets and going about their own business. Some walked, others rode in carriages, and a few rode atop spirit beast mounts.

Most of the buildings were residential, though there was an entire district set aside for shopping and trading. The stores there sold all kinds of goods, offering a wide selection. However, the prices were a little high.

There was also a large open-air market where various cultivators set up stalls. While the selection of items wasn’t as large or varied as with the shops, the prices were much cheaper. Besides, there was always the chance of finding a rare, but overlooked, treasure.

Aside from the shops and the open-air market, there were other businesses that catered to traveling cultivators. Inns, restaurants, tea houses, music halls, and more. There were even brothels, though Yue Xing never visited one before, nor did he intend to.

On the other hand, by cultivator standards, Rising Sun City was rather lacking. The city lord was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, everyone else was at Qi Refining. So, the goods and items available were only suited for Qi Refining cultivators.

This was because Rising Sun City didn’t have any special resources or a hidden realm nearby. Few cultivators had reason to visit other than the beautiful sights. Instead, it catered to Qi Refining cultivators traveling over land. It didn’t even have any transportation services.

Those at higher realms never bothered with Rising Sun City, since they could just fly, unless they wanted to sleep at an inn for some reason. That was why Yue Xing stayed in the city last time.

However, the kids didn’t care about any of that. They stared at everything with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open. From what Yue Xing had gathered, the three of them had spent their entire lives in their small village. They hadn’t even visited the nearest mortal town. To them, Rising Sun City was a strange and wondrous place, full of new sights, sounds, and smells.

It was a little after noon, so the streets were busy. To avoid losing the children in the crowd, Yue Xing held Xu Liang and Xu Shu’s hands, while he carried Xu Zhen on his shoulders.

He hadn’t intended to at first. However, after they stepped outside of their inn, Xu Zhen looked at Yue Xing and held his hands up.

“He does this when he wants an adult to carry him,” Xu Liang said in an exasperated tone. “You don’t have to indulge him.”

Yue Xing chuckled.

“It’s no trouble,” he said. “Besides, this works out. After all, I only have two hands.”

So, he picked up Xu Zhen and placed the little boy atop his shoulders. After that, the four of them went on a shopping spree.

First, Yue Xing brought the children to a clothing shop. He bought several outfits for each of them. At first Xu Liang tried to object, saying they didn’t need so many clothes, but Yue Xing insisted. In the end, the eldest Xu sibling gave up.

The clothes were enchanted to warm their wearers in the winter, and cool them in the summer. They also adjusted themselves to perfectly fit their wearers, within certain limits.

Afterwards, the children changed clothes and left the shop wearing their favorite outfits. Xu Liang wore a set of simple blue robes, Xu Shu wore a yellow dress that made her look like a little fairy, and Xu Zhen wore a set of elaborate green robes.

As for Yue Xing, he bought a few outfits for everyday wear. However, his biggest purchase was a set of gray robes that were a defensive artifact. In addition to the warming, cooling, and adjustment enchantments, the robes also summoned a barrier that protected its wearer.

After they left the clothing store, Yue Xing brought the children to a talisman store. There, he bought several barrier talismans, attack talismans, and movement talismans. These would help in case he ever ended up in a dire situation.

Yue Xing also bought a few communication talismans. They could send messages over long-distances, though they were one-use only. He gave the children a few each.

“Use these to send a message to me,” he said in a solemn voice. “Just in case we ever get separated.”

The children nodded in understanding.

Still worried, Yue Xing gave the children some barrier talismans and taught them how to use them. That way they would be safe in case something happened.

After the talisman shop, Yue Xing took the children to a formation shop. There he bought the formation flags and formation plates for two different kinds of formations: the Tortoise Shell Formation and the Slaughtering Sword Formation. The former was a defensive formation, while the latter was a powerful attack formation.

While Yue Xing doubted he would need either of them, he felt it was better to be prepared than not. Besides, if he ever gained any disciples of his own, he could give the formations to them as gifts.

On a whim, Yue Xing visited a book store to buy a few introductory books for smithing, alchemy, and spirit beast taming, as well as formations, puppetry, and spirit cooking. He doubted he had any talent for all, or even most, of them. However, he figured he might as well give them a try. He had the supplies for it. After holding himself back in the past, he wanted to expand his horizons and explore.

Yue Xing also made sure to buy several story books for the children. Their eyes lit up excitement, including Xu Liang’s, though he acted indifferent and aloof. The younger two made no pretense. They hugged their favorite books to their chests.

Last of all, Yue Xing made sure to buy enough food and supplies to last him and the children a long time. While he wasn’t a spirit chef, he knew how to cook simple dishes. This would do for now.

All in all, this shopping spree cost Yue Xing most of his spirit stones. However, that was fine. His mother left him a small fortune in materials and spirit herbs. He could sell some of it if need be.

As for the storage pouches he looted from the demonic cultivators, most of them contained trash. The only useful things he found were a handful of spirit stones, which mitigated his expenses, and a talisman that he didn’t recognize. He planned on studying it when he had the time.

Yue Xing saved his remaining spirit stones to buy transportation to the Myriad Path Sect’s territory for him and the children. He planned on checking the three of them, to see if they had spirit roots, which was necessary for cultivation.

If they did, he would try and get them into the Myriad Path Sect. If they didn’t, he would find some other way to take care of them. Either way, they would all go to the Myriad Path Sect together. From Yue Xing’s perspective, this was the best way to keep them safe.

It was late afternoon by the time they finished buying everything. The four of them were tired and hungry, so they returned to their inn to eat an early dinner. Afterwards, they headed upstairs to their room.

After activating the room’s formations, Yue Xing turned to the children.

“Now,” he said. “I’m about to enter seclusion. Don’t disturb me unless it’s an emergency.”

Like most with inns that catered to cultivators, their room had a meditation chamber with a small formation in it to gather spiritual energy.

“I don’t know how long it will take, so here.” He gave one of his storage pouches to Xu Liang. This one contained all of their supplies as well as the story books. “If you get bored or hungry, take what you need from this.”

Xu Liang took the storage pouch and gave him a solemn nod. The other children looked worried.

“Are you going to be alright?” Xu Shu asked.

Xu Zhen nodded in agreement. Yue Xing smiled at them.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

While reluctant, the children accepted this. They must’ve grown more attached to him than he realized. He was just going to be in the next room, but that still made them anxious. Then again, they had no one else to rely on but him. In their shoes, he’d feel the same way.

After reassuring the children some more, Yue Xing went into the meditation chamber and sealed it behind him. He then took out the manual for the Soul Nourishing Sutra and skimmed it. While he had already memorized it, he wanted to give it another look just in case.

Fighting the demonic cultivators last night had taught Yue Xing that he couldn’t just rely on his body cultivation. He needed spiritual energy or soul cultivation as well. The lack of versatility irked him. While he was good at fighting, that was it.

Besides, he needed to use spiritual energy and soul sense to check if the children had spirit roots or not. Even as a soul cultivator he could use spiritual energy, though not to the same degree as a spiritual energy cultivator. It was similar to how spiritual energy cultivators could still use soul sense, but they weren’t as adept as soul cultivators.

When Yue Xing finished skimming through the manual, he put it away before he sat down to meditate. He breathed in the nearby spiritual energy according to the method listed in the manual. Like with the Verdant Spring Art, he expected it to take a day to reach the first layer of the Soul Nourishing Sutra, maybe longer.

To Yue Xing’s surprise, cultivating with the Soul Nourishing Art proved easier than expected. He experienced no difficulties or bottlenecks. It was as if it were made for him, as if he were always meant to cultivate with this technique and similar ones.

It turned out that he indeed had a talent for soul cultivation. Considering his heritage, this didn’t surprise him.

What did surprise Yue Xing, however, was that he felt the Soul Nourishing Sutra resonate with the seed of the Divine Vitality Lotus in his dantian. With the Verdant Spring Art, this made sense. It was a body cultivation technique created for those with wood and water spirit roots. This matched the Divine Vitality Lotus’ properties.

Why would the seed resonate with the Soul Nourishing Sutra?

As far as Yue Xing knew, the Divine Vitality Lotus had nothing to do with the soul. Its effects, while miraculous, affected just the body. Perhaps his knowledge about the Divine Vitality Lotus was limited, or maybe it had effects that no one knew about.

Yue Xing decided to put his questions aside for another time. Right now, cultivating the first layer of the Soul Nourishing Sutra took priority. He could figure out the rest later.

With his natural talent in soul cultivation, and the resonance with the seed in his dantian, it took less time to reach the first layer of the Soul Nourishing Sutra than it had for the Verdant Spring Art.

His dantian ignited, transforming into a vessel to hold spiritual energy. The spiritual energy he took in gathered there, forming a small pool. This also nourished and refined his body, though not to the same degree as the Verdant Spring Art. However, the greatest change was to his soul.

He became aware of his Sea of Consciousness, the center of his soul and the seat of his mind. It expanded and became stronger, forming into its own miniature world. He also gained the ability to use soul sense, allowing him to perceive and affect the world with the power of his soul alone.

Yue Xing had expected this. However, he hadn’t expected his soul’s strength to go from mid Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment. Was this a result of the Soul Nourishing Sutra or the seed of the Divine Vitality Lotus? Perhaps both. It was impossible to tell. Regardless, his soul became an order of magnitude stronger than before.

Yue Xing cycled through the Soul Nourishing Sutra a few times to stabilize his new realm, before examining his own Sea of Consciousness. Inside, he found that the seed of the Divine Vitality Lotus had taken root.

This made little sense. How was the seed inside both his dantian and his Sea of Consciousness at the same time? Unless the seed was both physical and ephemeral in nature.

Regardless of the reason, it was clear that the Divine Vitality Lotus contained more mysteries than Yue Xing previously believed. He intended to unravel those mysteries.

However, for now, he decided to focus on the present.

Yue Xing’s body didn’t expel any impurities this time around, so he stood up and left the meditation chamber.

***

Light from the late afternoon sun shone down on Li Zhanhao as glared at the corpses of his subordinates. Rage burned inside his heart, so hot that he didn’t even feel the cold winter wind. Killing intent rolled off of him in waves. It was so strong that any mortal caught in it would’ve instantly died.

Even weaker cultivators found it difficult to stay near Li Zhanhao. His subordinates, all at Qi Refining, stood a fair distance away from him. They knew what he was like when he grew angry, and none of them wanted to suffer for it.

After several moments, Li Zhanhao reined in his anger and regained his composure, at least enough to think clearly. He took a closer look at his dead subordinates’ camp to figure out what happened.

It looked like that whoever killed them had waited until late at night, when they were all asleep. Four of his subordinates died in their tents, those useless wretches. At least two of them managed to put up a fight, not that it mattered. They still died in the end.

That was bad enough. However, the children were missing, which was even worse. Li Zhanhao could afford to lose subordinates. Their lives mattered little to him anyway. He could always find more. At worst, it was a loss of face.

Losing the children, on the other hand, would lead to his death. The person who hired him wasn’t the forgiving sort and didn’t tolerate failure. He needed to find the children as soon as possible, or he’d find himself refined into a pill.

“Boss!” one of his subordinates called out.

Li Zhanhao looked over. It was the one from before, the woman who reported the matter to him in the first place.

“What?” he snapped.

“I found tracks!”

That caught Li Zhanhao’s attention. He rushed over to his subordinates’ side. She stood not too far from the campsite, pointing to a set of footprints in the snow. They led off into the distance.

“These must belong to the bastard that killed our people, Boss!”

Li Zhanhao nodded, feeling much calmer.

“Let’s see where they lead.”

With that, Li Zhanhao and his subordinates followed the tracks.”