9ooo9[o]1327 Chapter 248 The Fat Man is Under Great Pressure
Qingban ignored Zhang Guodong's frustration. He stood there, seemingly lost in thought, continuing his self-inflicted wound. His cultivation was recovering; abundant life force surged from the crystals on the ground, flowing into Xuan Qingrui's body, where it was absorbed and refined.
Building a small spirit-gathering array may seem simple, but it actually requires extremely precise control over one's life force and demonic energy. Otherwise, it's easy to melt it down into a failed array base, and all the materials might be wasted. Fortunately, this time the small spirit-gathering array was successfully built!
Zhang Guodong, Qingzhu, and Li Yun dared not disturb their senior sister's recovery of her cultivation, so the three of them quietly went into the courtyard.
Qingzhu rolled her eyes and said, "Of course this small spirit-gathering array can't disappear. In fact, Senior Sister added a concealment talisman inside. It won't appear unless the life force of the demon is stimulated, and ordinary mortals can't detect it! Apart from that, it's no different from a regular spirit-gathering array, hehe!"
"You scared me! I thought you'd disappeared too!" Li Yun said, patting her chest. No need to pat, this girl's chest was quite ample.
Zhang Guodong withdrew his lecherous gaze and glanced at Qingzhu. She was quite handsome and robust, and not exactly small.
"It's good that it didn't disappear. Qingjiu, will it reappear once the Spirit Gathering Array is activated? Will it be able to move?" Zhang Guodong asked, still a little uneasy, after clearing his throat.
“Of course, the Spirit Gathering Array is made of fine materials, it’s not invisible, so it will naturally appear. However, with your current cultivation level, it’s probably impossible for you to move the Spirit Gathering Array!” Qingzhu said.
"Can't it fit in the storage bag?" Zhang Guodong asked in surprise.
Qingzhu looked at Zhang Guodong with a hint of disbelief: "A Spirit Gathering Array isn't a magic artifact, so how can you put it in a storage bag? My master said that a Spirit Gathering Array might be able to be refined into a magic artifact array plate that can be carried around. But I've never seen anyone actually refine one!"
Zhang Guodong opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Should he directly store the small spirit-gathering array into Peach Blossom Spring? He hesitated. Peach Blossom Spring was currently his biggest secret, one that even Li Yun didn't know.
Although Xuan Qingbo and Qingzhu got along well with him, they were far from trusting each other. If the Grand Elder and the others knew about Zhang Guodong's secrets, Zhang Guodong was certain that Xuan Qingbo wouldn't reveal everything, which would put him in a very difficult position.
Therefore, they must not know this secret!
"Never mind then, we can just build it directly into my bedroom later," Zhang Guodong said thoughtfully.
The bedroom was upstairs. Li Yun had tried to go in several times, and this time she finally had the chance. Zhang Guodong had already put away Zheng Le and his wedding photo to prevent the two from bumping into each other.
"Wow, this room is so much bigger and nicer than the ones downstairs! I want to stay here!" Qingzhu loved it the moment she stepped inside. It was clearly a cozy little nest. The rooms downstairs were much simpler.
How could Zhang Guodong possibly let her move in? This is his place. No one else has a share except his woman!
“No! This is where I live!” Zhang Guodong refused without hesitation.
Li Yun looked at Zhang Guodong with tender affection, holding his hand and silently pleading.
“However, Li Yun can stay, I mean while I’m here!” Zhang Guodong coughed and added. Li Yun, upon hearing this, didn’t seem to care about the ambiguity at all, and was extremely pleased with herself.
"Stingy!" Qingzhu blushed upon seeing their expressions and muttered the same thing. This was Zhang Guodong and his girlfriend's bedroom! She realized she couldn't argue anymore and felt resentful.
Li Yun gave Zhang Guodong a gleeful glare, and then the three of them decided on the location where Xuan Qingban would build the array – in the living room! The living room was big enough. The other areas were already decorated, so it wouldn't be good to disturb them.
Actually, the location doesn't matter to Zhang Guodong. As long as Xuan Qingbo leaves, he'll put the Spirit Gathering Array into Peach Blossom Spring and place it in the hundred-fold concentration zone of Mountain and River Peak. At that time, the spiritual energy concentration there will reach three thousand times that of the outside world!
It is twice as high as the area around the Elder Hall, which is a thousand times higher than the area around the Great Elder's Cultivation Forest, but it cannot compare to the area around the Great Elder's cultivation forest, which is ten thousand times higher. However, in the outside world, Zhang Guodong is probably the only one of his kind! For now, it is enough for Zhang Guodong.
If he produces more materials for the Spirit Gathering Array, Xuan Qingban might become suspicious!
After a tour, the three of them came down only after Xuan Qingban's cultivation had recovered.
Xuan Qingbo was indeed true to his word. He spent two hours restoring his cultivation to its peak state and then kept building spirit-gathering arrays for Zhang Guodong. Zhang Guodong's heart was pounding in his throat, but after an hour, this time it went smoothly as well.
The moment the Minor Spirit Gathering Array succeeded, the concentration of spiritual energy within a 20-meter radius of the Peach Blossom Abode villa doubled again, reaching 60 times that of the outside world! At the same time, the range also doubled.
But that's impossible!
When the three women returned to their room on the first floor, Zhang Guodong activated the life force array, making it a real and tangible force, which is why he immediately deactivated the small spirit-gathering array. Downstairs, Xuan Qingban and Qingzhu both noticed that the spiritual energy concentration had dropped again, returning to about thirty times that of the outside world.
"Huh? The two small spirit-gathering arrays haven't reached their limit yet, so why has the other one stopped working?" Qingzhu asked bluntly.
Xuan Qingwei also frowned. Even though she suspected it was related to Zhang Guodong, no one would have guessed that Zhang Guodong possessed a space capable of sustaining life!
"Alright, the spiritual energy concentration has increased considerably now. In a moment, I will implant the soul into Li Yun, and then everyone can focus on quiet cultivation!" Xuan Qingban stopped Qingzhu from going upstairs to check and said to Li Yun.
"Thank you, Senior Sister!" Li Yun said happily.
The matter was thus suppressed.
Before the Mountain and River Peak, a spirit-gathering array, two meters high, appeared out of thin air and quickly connected with the energy veins of the land. Zhang Guodong then appeared there as well. Endless spiritual energy surged in from all around, the green energy so dense that a single breath could add a year to one's life!
"Roar!" The sleeping Golden Horn was also awakened. The spiritual energy suddenly became much denser, which was perfect for these demon beasts that had not yet formed their demon cores. The benefits to Big Black and the others were also extremely obvious!
"Awoo!" Several low cries rang out, and Fu Hei, Er Hei, the four brothers Da Qing, Da Sha and his wife, and Lao Qing all gathered around.
Zhang Guodong then realized that Dahei and the others had grown significantly larger, as strong as bulls. These were no longer the Tibetan wolves and blue foals of Earth; they were showing signs of evolving into demonic beasts. The four blue brothers and Lao Qing were the same. Compared to them, the adult lions looked like the eldest brothers, while the lions became the younger ones. If this were to go out, it would probably shock many people. Such a massive Tibetan wolves and blue foals?
The two silly animals have grown enormous, almost reaching the size of a brown bear. Standing up, they are incredibly imposing. These are monsters, no longer pets. Clearly, their transformation is largely due to the elixirs they've taken. Zhang Guodong fed them quite a few substandard elixirs.
However, these pills were extremely effective for Dahei and the others. Compared to the might of Da Jinjiao, they were still far behind. Feng Jiuyi should already be at level eighteen! Once he breaks through to level twenty, he might be able to form a demon core, at which point his evolution and cultivation would be greatly accelerated!
Feeling their joy, Zhang Guodong immediately sat down cross-legged without saying a word and began to cultivate the "Qingxuan Heart Method".
In such an environment, with nothing much to do lately, it would be a real waste not to cultivate! Countless streams of spiritual energy surged into his body, which he absorbed and refined, making him feel incredibly comfortable. In fact, while his cultivation level was gradually increasing, his physical strength was also growing at the same time.
However, compared to dedicated body tempering, plant cultivation only provides a minor, not significant, refinement of the body.
It is obvious.
Therefore, neither can replace the other. Neither body refinement nor plant cultivation can be abandoned!
A week passed in the blink of an eye. In Peach Blossom Spring, Zhang Guodong wore a smile, but remained immersed in absorbing and refining spiritual energy. Enjoying the smooth progress in his cultivation, his entire mind was in a state of emptiness and clarity—the optimal state for cultivation.
Under such circumstances, cultivation level increases the fastest, and the growth of the natal demon vine and the soul is the most rapid!
Within a week, Li Yun successfully implanted her soul. Her talent was unexpectedly high, so the fusion of the Martian Grass demon seed went smoothly. It didn't significantly affect her cultivation speed, leaving her only slightly behind Qingzhu. She is now a stable Level 1 minor cultivator!
Qingzhu remains at level 28, showing no signs of breaking through. However, Xuanqingban is still in seclusion. Constructing two small spirit-gathering arrays in succession has greatly depleted his life force and demonic energy, causing his long-stagnant cultivation level bottleneck to show signs of loosening; reaching level 33 is now within reach!
Qingzhu persisted for three days before getting up. She chatted with Li Yun, but without the two of them, it always felt a bit dull.
To the two women's surprise, Zhang Guodong had been staying indoors on the second floor since he set up the spirit-gathering array a week ago. He hasn't shown up since.
Fortunately, Qin Lina, the neighbor next door, was also a young woman. The two women would visit each other from time to time, and they became familiar with each other, which helped alleviate their loneliness.
"How much time has passed?" Xuan Qingwei suddenly appeared while the two women were online.
"Ah, Senior Sister has finally finished her seclusion. Seven days have passed. Senior Sister, have you reached level thirty-three yet?" Qingzhu turned around and exclaimed with delight.
Xuan Qingbo smiled slightly and said, "It's alright, the network breakthrough only took a little time to stabilize!"
"Seven days have passed already? Time flies!" she said again.
"Li Yun, your first-level cultivation has stabilized. It seems you haven't been slacking off these past few days!" Xuan Qingxuan said, glancing at Li Yun again.
"As for you, Qingzhu, you're probably dragging Li Yun along to play again. Li Yun is only at level one now, and it will take her a lot of time to cultivate. We can't delay her cultivation!"
"Understood, Senior Sister!" Qingzhu stuck out her tongue and bowed her head in apology. "By the way, Senior Sister, that brat Zhang Guodong hasn't come out for seven days; he's still cultivating!"
"Yeah?"
"Please excuse my poor performance, Senior Sister!" Just then, Xuan Qingying looked outside and saw Zhang Guodong's figure appear at the doorway as he walked in. "The Spirit Gathering Array is complete. The spiritual energy is quite dense, and I couldn't stand it for long; I didn't expect to sit here for seven days!"
"Huh, level seven already?" Qingzhu, with her sharp eyes, noticed that Zhang Guodong had actually leveled up in seven days and exclaimed in surprise.
Even Xuan Qingban was astonished. Seven days in the outside world is only equivalent to three and a half days in the Plant Cultivation World. To advance one level in three and a half days is indeed incredibly fast!
Moreover, the concentration of spiritual energy outside is nowhere near as high as the cultivation forest where the disciples cultivate. A difference of thirty times versus a hundred times!
"Originally at the peak of level six. I actually broke through after sitting down, it was just luck! Senior Sister, are you hungry?" Zhang Guodong yawned and changed the subject.
The speed didn't seem slow, but the spiritual energy concentration three thousand times that of the outside world wasn't just talk! The area around the Elder Hall was only a thousand times that of the outside world. One thousand compared to three thousand—that was the difference. Even if Zhang Guodong's talent was low, his cultivation speed was like a rocket. Zhang Guodong couldn't help but feel a little proud.
When Zhang Guodong spoke, everyone felt a bit hungry. Xuan Qingban was in meditation. Qingzhu and Li Yun had been just getting by these past few days. They didn't dare make too much noise in the kitchen, so the food was naturally bland.
After finishing his meal, Zhang Guodong left alone.
He hadn't expected that a whole week would pass in the blink of an eye while he was sitting there; indeed, cultivation knows no time. During this time, Zhang Guodong passed by the Zhangba Township government without stopping, unaware of the fat man's current situation. If Zhang Guodong didn't show up soon, the fat man would probably explode.
Upon arriving in the township, the streets were much cleaner than before, but some hooligans were still loitering around. He smiled slightly, imagining the fat man probably having a major headache. He strode towards the township government compound.
"What do you do?" Before Zhang Guodong even entered the door, he was stopped by an older man who looked at him warily.
"Uncle, I heard the township head here is a young man?" Zhang Guodong took out a Zhonghua cigarette and handed it over, asking casually.
"Young man, who are you looking for?" Seeing it was a Zhonghua cigarette, the middle-aged man didn't hesitate, taking the cigarette but remained wary, though much more amiable than Wang Cai. "I'm from Jixing Village! I rarely get to come back, and I had nothing to do today, so I came out for a walk," Zhang Guodong said casually.
Upon hearing that Zhang Guodong was from Jixing Village, the uncle immediately relaxed. However, he couldn't remember who Zhang Guodong was. Perhaps he had left many years ago? Seeing that Zhang Guodong was clean, dressed in ordinary clothes, and smoking Zhonghua cigarettes, he didn't seem like someone from the village, so the uncle began to believe him.
"You're smoking nice cigarettes. You're doing well out there, aren't you?" the middle-aged man said, lighting his cigarette and nodding.
"It's alright. The village has changed a lot since I came back this time. The streets are much cleaner!" Zhang Guodong said.
"Hey, this is all the work of that young township head. He said he wanted to attract investors. At least the township should have a good appearance. The sanitation has to be improved. Although it cost some money, it's clean now, and people feel more comfortable walking on the streets. The officials have finally done something good!" the uncle said.
"Oh? It was this township head who did it? That's right, well done! So this young township head is quite capable!" Zhang Guodong laughed upon hearing this.
"The young man has energy. But he's still a bit young," the older man said.
But he stopped there. Zhang Guodong also thought that the fat man might be under a lot of pressure right now.
Zhang Guodong chatted for a few more minutes, learning the general outline of some unpleasant rumors. Then he got up to leave. He had found out that the fat man wasn't in the office; apparently, he had gone to inspect a village down in the countryside.
Editor's Note: This is the second update, and it's a bit longer, with 4,000 words of text. Heaven is working hard; whether there will be a third update depends on the situation.
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