Chapter 49: Wilderness Love Story (Part 1)

  Li Ran Dao repeatedly declined the good intentions of these men, saying that he was busy now and would go to find Xiao Hu later when he had time, and then visit them along the way. The enthusiastic Wang Da Hu and others only let him leave after hearing this.

  Li Ran carried the medicine he had bought on his back and hurried all the way, turning out of Wanghe Village into the suburbs, and arrived at the back mountain of Shan Yuan.

  Behind the mountain, the wild grass was knee-deep, and the small path was submerged in the grass thicket, almost invisible. The forest was quiet and secluded, with few human footprints. Li Ran cut through the wild grass with his knife and walked quickly forward, turning around a cliff, and stopped at a hidden place on the mountain waist. He forced open the thick wisteria, and behind the wisteria, a dark cave entrance appeared.

  A warm feeling surged up in Li Ran's heart.

  This was where he played as a child, the cave was so secluded that Li Ran had never told anyone about this hideout of his. He still remembered when he was nine years old, he and his father had a falling out and ran away from home, hiding here for three days, at which time his father was worried sick.

  Li Ruo ran out with a clear conscience, but was severely beaten by his father, yet still didn't reveal where Li Ruo Knife was hidden.

  Thinking of those childhood fun things, Li Ruo's heart was filled with waves of tender feelings.

  After rebirth, Li Ran returned to the cave mansion, feeling a bit nostalgic, and walked through the mountain vines into it.

  The cave is not big, inside a pile of mountain rocks built into a stove, small pots and bowls are still there, only covered with dust. In the corner of the cave, there is also a pile of wild fruits that have rotted and gone bad, on the other side, there is a slingshot and a rusty little knife.

  Li Ruo remembered that at that time, he had once sworn to himself that the secret of this cave would not be told to anyone, even his father. He wouldn't say a word until he found the girl with whom he could share all his innermost thoughts and then bring her here to share all his secrets.

  Memories of childhood worries suddenly brought a sharp pang of sadness to Li Ran's heart.

  That girl, he really found her later, but in his previous life, he didn't even have the courage to bring her to this cave. In the end, Su died in his arms, and this wish was forever gone with the wind. From then on, the secret of the cave was no longer shared by anyone.

  With a heavy heart, Li Ran took a deep breath and strode into the cave with large strides.

  Take the pot and bowl to the outside mountain stream to rinse clean, then scoop back water to flush away the strange smell in the cave. Li Ran Dao swept the cave completely with a broom, feeling satisfied, picked up firewood and lit a fire under the stone stove.

  Flickering flames, the cave was bright and warm, with a hint of home atmosphere.

  Li Ruo took down the gourd and wrapping, looked at the boiling water vapor in the pot, carefully selected a few herbs from the wrapping and poured them into the pot, then dripped a few drops of Ling honey. Before long, the clear water in the pot turned into a light golden color, and a fragrance wafted up to his nose.

  Li Ran Dao smashed the iron beast's demon core on the mountain stone, dividing it into eight portions. He put away the others and left only one portion, continuing to grind it into powder on the mountain stone. Then he poured the powder into the pot in one go.

  A pot of medicinal broth had been simmered for a long time, and the liquid in the pot gradually became thick and sticky, like half a pot of golden medicinal paste. The fragrance had faded a lot.

  Li Ruo was delighted in his heart, knowing that it was done, he took the pot off the fire and set it aside to cool.

  The energy required to break through from the fifth level to the sixth is not trivial. A genius like Qin Fengchuan can clearly sense the trajectory of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, absorbing it as easily as drinking water, but Li Ruo is far from being able to do so.

  If you cultivate by absorbing spiritual energy, from the fifth level to the sixth level, there is no hope without more than ten years.

  The thick medicinal soup was like vegetable oil, condensed and not scattered, emitting a faint fragrance. Li Ran picked up the small pot with his knife and took a light sip, then sat cross-legged on the dry grass, his hands forming a seal as he entered meditation.

  The spiritual energy contained in the elixir is far stronger than that of the Red Refining Lotus. Li Ran's knife moved swiftly, circulating around his body, forcibly drawing countless threads of energy into his meridians, refining them into his own power and storing it in his dantian.

  The energy in his dantian grew more and more abundant, Li Rou's knife was immersed in his cultivation, every breath of time was progressing at a visible speed, his heart was full of fulfillment and joy.

  On the mountain wall, a short line was drawn more than 20 times, and after more than 20 days of dawn and dusk alternation, Li Ranno completely drank up a pot of medicinal soup. Having consumed so much, Li Ranno secretly felt heartache, and upon examining his internal energy, he discovered that after more than 20 days of uninterrupted refinement of the demon pellet's energy, his power had risen from initial entry into the fifth stage to the high rank of the fifth stage.

  The energy in the alchemy pill took more than twenty days to reach this point, and Li Ran's expression darkened with a frown.

  For this Mystic Sect disciple selection, Li Ruo's determination is unshakeable. If he can successfully enter the Sixth Layer of Essence before the competition, I believe he will be even more confident during the match.

  There are only nine days left before the unified departure from Lishan Institute to Xuánjī Mountain, and in these nine days, can he make a breakthrough? Li Rándāo was not confident.

  Waking up from meditation, he took out the demon pill again and decocted several pots of medicinal broth. Then, he poured the medicinal broth into another calabash that had been prepared long ago.

  If they can't break through in these few days, it will take more than 20 days to get from Wanghe Village to Xuánjī Mountain. During those 20 or so days, he can use the medicinal soup in the gourd to continue his cultivation at night when resting.

  Next to it was a small pot with half of the divine medicine left, shining with a faint golden light in the dimly lit cave.

  The fire had gone out, and through the gaps in the mountain vines, a few rays of sunlight illuminated the cave, making it seem even more quiet and dark. The small pot had cooled down, Li Ran picked up the pot with his knife and took another sip, just as he was about to sit cross-legged in meditation, he suddenly heard faint footsteps outside.

  Li Ran's knife slightly stunned, not knowing who was passing by, quietly walked to the entrance of the cave, and looked out from the dense mountain vines. From a distance, he saw a faint purple figure walking through the weeds, looking around left and right as it moved.

  It's Wang Wanyuan.

  Wearing a full set of purple armor, she exuded an air of elegance and charm. At this moment, Wang Wanyue appeared somewhat anxious yet excited as she walked closer from afar.

  Li Ran's heart skipped a beat, and he furrowed his brow, unsure what this girl was doing running alone to such a desolate mountain.

  Not far away, the stream was clear and gentle. Wang Wanxuan found a rock and sat down slowly, biting her lip, pulling a strand of hair, and staring blankly, with a hint of shyness and sweetness in her eyes.

  "Could it be..."

  Li Ruo saw this scene and was even more surprised, feeling both interesting and funny. This girl obviously had a romantic and sentimental look, running alone to the desolate mountain and sitting there. Was it possible that she was on a date?

  Li Ran's eyes gleamed with a strange, dark smile in his heart. He didn't know which family this friend of his belonged to. Suddenly, he heard a swift whistling sound coming from afar, and Wang Wenyuan also heard the sound, excitedly jumping up from the rock to gaze into the distance.

  A faint cyan figure approached swiftly through a patch of flowing light.

  "Huh? Is it Qin Fengchuan?"

  Li Ran Dao saw the figure clearly and found it more interesting. Thinking back to Wang Wenyu's gaze at this senior brother, everything before and after was self-evident.