Over the past month, Zhu Xiaosuo had been training relentlessly.
In the web novels he read in his previous life, cultivation was often described as easy as drinking water.
Once in seclusion, one could cultivate for hundreds or thousands of years without any issues.
Upon emerging, one's realm would have advanced.
It wasn't until he began cultivating himself that he realized.
Continuous seclusion was possible, but endless cultivation was not.
He couldn't cultivate without rest.
Excess leads to failure.
After cultivating for a while, Zhu Xiaosuo would gradually feel intense pain throughout his body.
When the pain became unbearable, continuing to operate the Spirit-Nurturing Technique would actually damage his body.
It would lower his cultivation level.
So he was forced to stop.
After resting for a day or two, the pain would subside, allowing him to continue cultivating.
This cycle repeated itself over and over.
In his spare time, Zhu Xiaosuo became curious again.
What exactly was cultivation?
Zhuang Yun had explained that the process of cultivation involved using spiritual energy to temper the body.
But that explanation wasn't comprehensive.
Zhu Xiaosuo speculated that cultivation was a process of damaging the body and then regenerating it.
That's why he needed time to recover and couldn't cultivate continuously.
From the perspective of modern biology from his previous life, it was like the old mortal cells dying and new cells with cultivator abilities being reborn.
During cultivation, Zhu Xiaosuo felt himself gradually transcending the human category.
No human could jump three or four meters in place.
No human could run a hundred meters in three or four seconds.
No human could shatter a thousand-pound rock with a single punch.
Unless they weren't human.
His body was mutating.
A specific proof was that he discovered spiritual energy could no longer penetrate his body.
Before opening his veins, if he placed his hand between a spirit stone and a spirit testing paper, the paper would still turn blue.
This meant that at that time, his body couldn't block spiritual energy.
Spiritual energy could pass through his body freely.
Like a ghost passing through walls.
This meant his body couldn't absorb spiritual energy.
So he couldn't cultivate.
Now, if he placed his hand between a spirit stone and a spirit testing paper, the paper would show the shadow of his palm.
The part blocked by his palm wouldn't change color.
His body could block spiritual energy and also contain it.
So he could cultivate now.
This discovery led Zhu Xiaosuo into a deep philosophical moment.
It was said that there was a difference between immortals and mortals.
The difference was indeed this profound.
His body had been completely transformed during cultivation.
Strictly speaking, apart from not having reproductive isolation from humans, he had nothing in common with the human body.
Equivalent to a modified human.
Like Captain America, the Winter Soldier, and Wolverine, now there was Zhu Xiaosuo.
Besides the physical changes, there were subtle psychological effects.
The longer he cultivated, the less he felt human.
His power was too strong.
A servant of the Zhu family misspoke, mentioning how great the Second Madam was back in the day.
But it was Zhu Xiaosuo who had ordered Zhu Liude to kill the Second Madam.
Originally, this was a minor issue.
But at that time, a fatigued Zhu Xiaosuo felt his authority was being challenged.
An inexplicable rage suddenly ignited within him.
With a weapon in hand, the urge to kill arose.
He directly struck out with a palm, using the Crumbling Stone Force from a distance on the servant.
The servant immediately shattered into pieces, blood staining the scene.
Afterward, Zhu Qigao quietly sent people to clean up the site.
And all of the Second Madam's servants were dismissed.
The "Second Madam" became a taboo topic in the Zhu household.
From that day on, Zhu Qigao never dared to utter a single unnecessary word in front of Zhu Xiaosuo.
Zhu Qigao understood that the relationship between master and servant could only be that of master and servant.
Especially when the master was an immortal.
There was no room for any insolence.
Zhu Xiaosuo was also somewhat surprised by his own act of killing the servant in anger.
He didn't understand why he had become so brutal.
Killing over a single sentence.
Moreover, he seemed to feel no fear or remorse.
There was even a faint sense of pleasure.
Like a tyrant.
The mutation of his body had granted him new power.
This was different from the power granted by being the head of the Zhu family.
The power of the family head came from recognition from below.
The power of a cultivator came from crushing down from above.
The coupling of these two powers accelerated the mutation of his psyche.
He realized that both his body and mind were advancing in an inhuman direction.
There was no turning back.
He suddenly thought of the cover page of the "Cultivator's Beginner Guide."
"Once you embark on the path of cultivation, there is no turning back. You can no longer live a mortal life, so do not regret."
It had only been a month.
When he reread the words of the first national leader, Cheng Longze, he felt differently.
Zhu Xiaosuo was still Zhu Xiaosuo.
But he would never be Xiaosuo again.
At this point, he also understood why his cheap father had transformed from a nostalgic person who spent thirty spirit stones on a Reflection Pill for his ex-wife to a cold-blooded brute who married and killed concubines.
The more one scrutinizes oneself, the more doubts arise.
So he shifted his attention to studying other spells.
He found that almost all spells could be explained using modern science from his previous life.
Crumbling Stone Force. Essentially, it involved infusing spiritual energy into the arm and striking out at high speed, compressing the air in front to create an effect similar to an air cannon.
Wind-Chasing Steps involved infusing spiritual energy into the legs to enhance their mobility.
The Sound Transmission Talisman was a bit more advanced.
When Zhu Xiaosuo read novels in his previous life, he often wondered how the Sound Transmission Talisman accurately located people.
After coming to this world and learning the "Sound Transmission Talisman," he realized that the spiritual energy within each person had a unique imprint.
Like a fingerprint, it was unique.
As long as you remembered this imprint within your body, you could send messages across thousands of miles.
Moreover, the Sound Transmission Talisman didn't require mutual exchange between two people.
As long as one person had it, when they activated their spiritual energy to send a message to the other party, their own spiritual energy imprint would naturally be attached.
However, Zhu Xiaosuo didn't understand how the Sound Transmission Talisman achieved accurate sending and receiving.
It was as if there were numerous satellites and signal towers managing the communication of the Sound Transmission Talisman in an orderly manner.
If given the chance, Zhu Xiaosuo would also like to study it.
As for the Artifact Control Technique, it was the only spell he couldn't explain.
He could control birds and beasts, as well as metals, stones, and plants.
All of these could be penetrated by spiritual energy.
In other words, spiritual energy was certainly not what helped control them.
As for how the Artifact Control Technique worked, Zhu Xiaosuo had no idea.
It probably required further study and understanding.
This past month, Zhu Xiaosuo had been living leisurely.
But the cultivators of the Niu, Ma, and Yang clans and the County Magistrate were on pins and needles.
The originally lucrative monopoly business of the three great clans and the local authorities had suddenly cooled down.
This move angered the other three great clans and the County Magistrate.
The Four Great Clans and the local authorities had been jointly operating in Mountain Chicken County for many years, and the pie had long been divided.
According to previous agreements, the Zhu family was only responsible for the medicinal herb business.
But now, the Zhu family had overstepped.
However, Zhu Xiaosuo didn't do this under the Zhu family's banner; he used Zhuang Yun's name.
Such rule-breaking behavior caught the Niu, Ma, and Yang clans off guard.
The three clans sought to find out who Zhuang Yun was.
This Zhuang Yun was a disciple of the Immortal Sect, unlike the cultivators of the three great clans, who were abandoned by the Immortal Sect.
Except for Niu Shilin, the head of the Niu family, who passed the first Immortal Sect examination, the other families' cultivators hadn't passed a single examination.
To become a disciple of the Immortal Sect, one had to pass at least three examinations.
This meant that Zhuang Yun, whether in terms of personal resources or background strength, was a dimension-reducing blow in Mountain Chicken County.
Their status was incomparable.
No cultivator in Mountain Chicken County could compete.
With business reduced by nearly seventy percent, they were already operating at a loss.
The cultivators of the Niu, Ma, and Yang clans, along with Qin Ruyu, were forced to sit together and discuss countermeasures.
Three male cultivators from the Niu family, two female cultivators from the Ma family, and two female cultivators from the Yang family.
In the cultivation world, the strong were respected, and there was no notion of male cultivators being more dominant.
For example, the Ma and Yang families were both female-dominated, with the Vein Opening Pill passed down to females but not males.
Even within the family, they practiced polyandry.
As long as a woman from the Ma or Yang family wanted, she could marry and take in young husbands, just like men with three wives and four concubines.
And the men of these two families, if they wanted three wives and four concubines, had to become independent from the family.
Otherwise, they could only marry into the Ma family and spend their lives there.
The balance of yin and yang added a touch of harmony.
Back to the matter at hand.
The forces that had been openly and secretly competing were now sitting together to find a solution.
As Palmerston, who initiated the Opium War, said:
"There are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."
"What are everyone's thoughts? Let's discuss today."
Niu Shilin, the head of the Niu family, presided.
Ma Baoying, the head of the Ma family, snorted lightly:
"What can we do? That Zhu Xiaosuo is causing trouble under Zhuang Yun's banner. Who dares to provoke him? Do you dare, Niu family head?"
"You don't need to be sarcastic with me. We're all being squeezed together by the Zhu family now. You need to recognize the situation!"
Yang Linqiu, the head of the Yang family, said:
"Zhu Xiaosuo is desperately amassing wealth for the Immortal Sect examination. As long as Zhuang Yun is around, no one can touch him."
Qin Ruyu said:
"In that case, let's give him three months. Once Zhuang Yun leaves, he'll be finished."
Ma Baoying raised her delicate eyebrows:
"Three months? County Magistrate, you're cutting the flesh of our three families to curry favor with that bastard Zhu Xiaosuo!"
"Head of the Ma family, what are you saying? If I were currying favor with him, would I need to organize this meeting?"
"Hmph. Do you know how much money he's made this month? At least fifty thousand silver taels, which is five spirit stones. If we let him go for three months, what if Zhuang Yun continues to support him? Will there still be a place for the weak women of my Ma family in Mountain Chicken County?"
Yang Linqiu laughed:
"Your Ma family is weak women? That's laughable."
"Yang, how can you say that? Qin County Magistrate, look at her, is that appropriate?"
Qin Ruyu didn't respond but frowned:
"But I've heard that in all the new businesses of the Zhu family, Zhuang Yun holds ninety percent of the shares, and Zhu Xiaosuo only ten percent."
Niu Shilin sneered:
"He says it's ninety percent, but is it really ninety percent? Who knows how they divide it behind the scenes?"
"Then what do you suggest? Your Niu family has the most influence. Old Niu, whatever you say, our Ma family will follow."
"Don't rush. Let's test the waters first. See if Zhuang Yun truly intends to protect the Zhu family or if Zhu Xiaosuo is just using his name."
"That's a good idea. I was thinking the same. If Zhuang Yun doesn't care about their business, then we'll overturn it. But if Zhuang Yun intervenes, Niu family head, what will you do?"
"Then we'll have to trouble County Magistrate Qin to report that cultivators are disrupting the order of the mortal world."
Qin Ruyu nodded:
"Agreed."