You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 258 The Terrifying Power of the Emperor's Conferment of Gods Technique

Looking at the utterly destroyed courtyard, Nie Feng felt a pang of frustration. He had put in so much effort to fence off the courtyard with bamboo poles, and now it was all ruined. All his hard work had been for nothing.

"It's all that little witch's fault. Just wait until I get the chance to teach her a lesson." Nie Feng muttered angrily as he tidied up the yard.

"Feng'er, what happened?" Just as Nie Feng was cleaning up the dilapidated courtyard with a frustrated expression, he heard the Third Elder's voice.

Nie Feng turned around and saw that the Third Elder was already standing behind him. "Uncle Tong, what brings you here?"

"Let me tell you, three days from now is the annual day to enter the Spirit Medicine Mountain to gather herbs. You're going this time too." The Third Elder glanced around and frowned. "Is it another disciple causing trouble here?"

"No, no, it was because I couldn't control my energy while cultivating just now." Knowing that the Third Elder would never allow anyone to cause trouble here, Nie Feng quickly lied. He didn't want this matter to become any more complicated.

The Third Elder frowned even more deeply, somewhat disbelieving Nie Feng's words. Even if he couldn't control his Yuan Qi, it wouldn't cause such widespread destruction; it was clearly something someone had done on purpose.

Seeing the Third Elder's doubts, Nie Feng quickly changed the subject: "Uncle Tong, don't you only have one spot to go into Lingyao Mountain to collect herbs every year? What will happen to Senior Sister Han if I go?"

Nie Feng knew that the Spirit Herb Mountain of the Qingyun Sect was open to its disciples once a year to meet their needs for cultivation resources. However, not all disciples could enter; there was a quota. Because the Third Elder only had two disciples, one of whom was a good-for-nothing who hadn't even reached the Body Tempering stage in ten years, he only had one spot to enter the Spirit Herb Mountain to collect herbs each year.

In addition to the quota limit, all disciples who enter the Spirit Medicine Mountain must have a cultivation level of at least the third level of Body Tempering. This is because in addition to spiritual herbs, there are also demonic beasts in the Spirit Medicine Mountain. Disciples who enter must not only have the ability to protect themselves, but also must form a team to ensure their safety.

Each team is formed independently, but the number of members must be no less than five. Nie Feng had been in the Qingyun Sect for ten years and had never entered the Spirit Medicine Mountain; he had only heard this from others by chance.

"Han Yue is no longer my disciple. You are my only disciple now. This is your pass to enter Spirit Medicine Mountain in three days. Remember, you must team up with other disciples to enter the mountain. If you encounter any danger, come out immediately." The Third Elder tossed a token to Nie Feng and repeatedly gave him these instructions.

He was indeed very worried about what dangers Nie Feng might encounter on his way into the mountains, especially given the constant conflicts Nie Feng had had with the disciples in the sect over the years. He feared that no one would be willing to team up with him, and if that happened, it would be very dangerous for him to go into the mountains alone.

However, the Third Elder understood that if Nie Feng wasn't allowed to go into the mountains to gather spiritual herbs, he wouldn't have many cultivation resources, and his cultivation speed would be much slower than others. So, after much deliberation, he decided to let Nie Feng go into the mountains to gather spiritual herbs.

Nie Feng accepted the token to enter the mountain and examined it curiously. To his surprise, the token was not made of wood or iron, but rather formed from human vital energy.

What level of cultivation would it take to accomplish this? Just as Nie Feng was pondering this question, the Third Elder tossed him something else.

"This is a storage ring. Now that you've entered the Body Tempering stage and become a true cultivator, you can't be without this. So I'm giving it to you."

Nie Feng accepted the ring with a happy expression. He knew that this storage ring could hold a lot of things, so he wouldn't have to worry about not having a place to put his things anymore.

Nie Feng opened the storage ring with a look of delight. When he saw what was inside, he froze, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes shining. Inside were many crystals, spiritual herbs, talismans, and other things that he had always longed for but could never obtain.

Crystals are naturally formed stones containing a special energy. They are a resource in the cultivation world, essential for the operation of formations, the flight of artifacts, and the crafting of tools. Furthermore, they serve as a form of currency in the cultivation world; crystals can be used to buy and sell desired items at any auction or exchange event.

Crystals are classified into three grades—superior, medium, and inferior—based on the amount of special energy they contain. There is also a special type of crystal called the ultimate crystal. This type of crystal contains more energy than all other crystals, making it the finest among crystals and a rare resource.

Elixirs are naturally formed medicines in the world, without any refining or processing. They can be directly refined and absorbed, helping cultivators improve their cultivation.

Spiritual herbs are also classified into three levels—Human, Earth, and Heaven—based on their potency. Each level is further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. The higher the grade, the stronger the medicinal properties, unlike the pills refined by alchemists.

As for talismans, they are tools crafted by weapon refiners. They are classified into nine grades based on the refiner's level, and further divided into attack talismans, flight talismans, defense talismans, invisibility talismans, etc., according to their different functions. They are the rarest items in the cultivation world.

Looking at the things in the storage ring, Nie Feng was so excited that he couldn't speak. Although there weren't many things inside, it was already considered a fortune for Nie Feng.

"Uncle Tong, this..." After looking at the contents of the storage ring, Nie Feng looked at the Third Elder, unsure of what to say. Although these items were few in number and of low quality, they were definitely treasures for cultivators, especially the talismans, which were the rarest items. The Third Elder had taken out more than a dozen talismans at once, which was probably all he had in his possessions.

"Feng'er, your master doesn't need these things, so I'm giving them to you. The talismans inside are for you when you go into the mountains. You can use the talismans if you encounter danger. There are ten attack talismans, five flight talismans, and three invisibility talismans. That should be enough for you." The Third Elder smiled and said nonchalantly.

This was indeed part of his wealth, especially the talismans. He only had about twenty of them, and he gave most of them to Nie Feng. As for the crystals and spiritual herbs, he never cared about these material possessions. Moreover, with his current cultivation level, these low-level spiritual herbs were of little use to him, so he gave them all to Nie Feng.

Nie Feng looked at the Third Elder with great gratitude and said, "Uncle Tong, if it weren't for you, I probably would have died at the hands of those people ten years ago!"

"Sigh." The Third Elder sighed, looked up at the sky, and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Feng'er, you must remember that you are now the only hope of the Nie family. All the blood debts of the Nie family will have to be avenged by you in the future."

"Uncle Tong, what about you? Can you tell me why you have the same mark on your body as my father, belonging to the Nie family?" Nie Feng asked a question that had puzzled him for a long time. He really couldn't understand how Uncle Tong could have the same mark on his body as his father, belonging to the Nie family.

Upon hearing Nie Feng's words, the Third Elder suddenly turned around, staring at him with a terrifying expression, releasing the aura of a powerful Earth-rank expert. Nie Feng was so frightened that he quickly took several steps back; he had never seen Uncle Tong like this before.

"Don't ask such questions again." The Third Elder glared fiercely at Nie Feng, uttered these words, and left with a gloomy aura. Nie Feng's back was also soaked with sweat. That aura just now was too terrifying; even now, thinking about it, he felt a chill. For the first time, he felt the terror of a Earth-rank expert. However, he was certain of one thing: this Uncle Tong must be related to their Nie family; otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so excessively.

"What exactly is their relationship?" Nie Feng pondered this question as he watched the Third Elder's departing figure. A voice from the shadow echoed in his mind: "If you want to know, I have a way."

"What method?" Nie Feng asked hurriedly.

"Search for souls."

"Soul search?" Upon hearing the words "soul search" from the shadow, Nie Feng looked puzzled. "How do you do that?"

“Soul Searching is a low-level cultivation technique. It can control a person’s mind, bewitch their intellect, and search their memories, so that you can know everything you want to know,” Shadow explained.

"Isn't that an evil technique?" Upon hearing this, Nie Feng knew that such a technique was definitely not from the orthodox school. "No, how can I practice an evil technique? Besides, I don't even know how to do it."

"Then I have no way to help you. However, there is no inherent good or evil in the path of cultivation; it is only a matter of one's own heart. Even if you cultivate the Soul Searching technique, with your current cultivation level, it is impossible for you to search for the memories of a Earth-rank expert."

"Isn't this the same as saying nothing at all?" Nie Feng was speechless. The shadow had been talking nonsense all along. In the end, wasn't it just saying that his cultivation level was low?
Nie Feng suddenly thought of the spiritual herbs in his storage ring, and a special smile immediately appeared on his face. With these spiritual herbs as cultivation resources, even if he couldn't draw out the spiritual energy stored in his body, and even if the spiritual energy here was too little to meet his needs, he should still be able to break through the fifth level and step into the sixth level!

Thinking of this, Nie Feng immediately dropped what he was doing and ran into the bamboo house to begin cultivating. He desperately wanted to improve his cultivation level as soon as possible so that he wouldn't be afraid if he encountered Yan Qingwu and that little witch teaming up against him again.

Moreover, he was burdened with a blood feud. If he didn't quickly improve his cultivation, he really didn't know when he would be able to take revenge and let the seventy-two souls of the Nie family rest in peace.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Nie Feng cultivated in his dilapidated bamboo hut for three whole days, refining all the spiritual herbs given to him by the Third Elder, but he still hadn't reached the sixth level of Body Tempering. He was just a little bit short.

This frustrated Nie Feng greatly. If he had given so many spiritual herbs to someone else, they could probably have broken through three or more levels of cultivation in a row. But he hadn't even broken through one level. The demand was terrifying. Even if he was genuinely cultivating compared to others, his need for cultivation resources couldn't be this astronomical!

"It's that terrifying. If you can fight across four heavens, you should have thought of the advantages, but there must also be drawbacks. The drawback is that you need a lot of cultivation resources. As your cultivation level increases, you will need more and more cultivation resources." The shadow's voice rang in Nie Feng's mind.

"According to what you're saying, I'll need even more cultivation resources in the future. Where am I supposed to find so many cultivation resources?" Nie Feng replied to Shadow with a helpless expression. These spiritual herbs were given to him by the Third Elder, and he only had one chance to enter the Spirit Herb Mountain each year. Where was he supposed to find so many cultivation resources to satisfy his cultivation needs?

"That's your problem, but I know that if you keep delaying, you'll miss your chance to enter the Spirit Medicine Mountain this year."

Hearing Shadow's words, Nie Feng suddenly remembered that today was the day Spirit Medicine Mountain opened to disciples. If Shadow hadn't reminded him, he would have almost forgotten. Nie Feng hurriedly ran out of the bamboo house and headed towards the entrance of the Spirit Medicine Valley on Qingyun Peak.

At this time, a large number of disciples had gathered at the entrance of the Spirit Medicine Valley, numbering around a hundred. However, the vast majority were inner sect disciples, with only a small portion being outer sect disciples from Misty Peak and Heavenly Stone Peak.

When Nie Feng arrived at the entrance of Lingyao Valley, he saw a large number of disciples gathered in the empty space at the entrance. The entrance array to Lingyao Mountain was not open. He patted himself with some relief, thinking that he was lucky he hadn't arrived too late, otherwise he would have missed this great day of entering Lingyao Mountain to find cultivation resources once a year.

"Hey, look! Isn't that that good-for-nothing who hasn't even reached the Body Tempering stage in ten years?"

"Yeah! It really is that good-for-nothing. Why would he come?"

"Could it be that he's also going to the Spirit Medicine Mountain?"

"No way! That good-for-nothing of his hasn't even reached the Body Tempering stage. Wouldn't he be courting death if he went in?"

..........................................

Nie Feng's sudden appearance caused a stir among the disciples gathered at the valley entrance. They all looked at him with strange eyes, pointed at him, and showed disdain and mockery.

Hearing the constant taunts and disdainful looks, Nie Feng smiled indifferently. This mockery and contempt had been going on for ten years; he was long since used to it and numb to it. Perhaps he had felt anger and sadness upon hearing it before, but not now.

If there had to be a change in mindset, it was only in one way: an arrogant yet composed demeanor. Looking at all the disciples present, who could rival him? To mock him? To disdain him? It was utterly laughable; only those with true strength had that right. And they didn't.

Nie Feng found a quiet spot and stood there silently. Ignoring the strange looks and mocking words from everyone, he maintained his composure and calmness.

He doesn't need to prove to anyone whether he's useless or not, because there's no need; he only needs to know it in his own heart. As for what others say, that's their business. No one can silence the gossip.

In a casual glance, Nie Feng spotted a familiar face walking towards him. It was Zhang Heng, the man he had brutally beaten up in the bamboo forest a few days ago. Beside him was another person, whose cultivation was at the fifth level of Body Tempering, two levels higher than Zhang Heng's; it seemed they had come to seek revenge for what happened that day.

(End of this chapter)