The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

Su Zinong settled down on Xiaoyao Mountain and bought food and supplies.

There are wild animals like pheasants, rabbits, and foxes on the mountain that can be hunted and roasted. As the saying goes, "It is not the height of the mountain that matters, but the presence of immortals that makes it sacred."

Aside from eating and sleeping, all I do is cultivate myself.

With nine hours of cultivation every day, coupled with the blessing of the Heavenly Spirit Stone, progress was indeed rapid. Normally, I only cultivated for one or two hours a day, but now that it had suddenly increased to nine hours, how could my progress not be fast?

After practicing like this for two months, the true energy in his body has become much stronger, and he seems to be not far from the peak of the fourth star.

He has a total of four Heavenly Spirit Stones, and he has already used up one of them, which has become dull and lifeless.

On this day, the small copper bell in front of the cave entrance rang out. Su Zinong, out of curiosity, went to Xiaoyao Manor and listened to the people inside talking from outside the wall.

After the man finished speaking, he left. Suddenly, Su Zinong felt a tightness around the back of his neck and was lifted up.

Su Zinong was startled and tried to turn around to see who it was, but couldn't see anyone. He only heard an old voice say, "Who are you? You little thief, trying to steal money from the donation box?"

"No, no," Su Zinong quickly waved his hand to explain, "I just live in a cave in the back mountain. I heard the bell ring and came to see what was going on inside. I was just curious and came to hear what the people inside were saying."

"What? You stole money from my donation box and occupied my cave?" After saying this, she threw He Xiaoyao to the ground, leaving him bruised and swollen.

He got up and looked up, only to find it was the round-faced old deity from the dilapidated temple on Hat Mountain.

"Ah, it's you, old immortal! It's been so long! How are you doing?" Su Zinong said excitedly.

"How could a deity's body be unhealthy?" the old deity roared. "Quickly move your things out of your cave! That's my old home!"

"Yes, yes, old immortal, I'll go get it right away. What is the relationship between the old immortal and Master Xiaoyao?" Su Zinong asked curiously.

"Why are you so nosy? He was my ancestor. He ascended to immortality after reaching the tenth level of cultivation," the old immortal said.

"Ah, there are people in this world who have reached the tenth star? Isn't it said that the highest level is only nine stars?" Su Zinong was very puzzled.

"That's just what other people say. You're just repeating hearsay. How would you know if you haven't reached that level yourself? Maybe you can even reach the eleventh star." The old immortal was a little impatient.

“That’s right. So, old immortal, what is your cultivation level now?” Su Zinong asked curiously.

"Why should I tell you? I just made my move, and you didn't even feel a thing. Think about what level of cultivation I have," the old immortal said, maintaining his mystique.

Su Zinong thought to himself, it must be at least eight stars, otherwise why wouldn't he have any feeling at all? Normally, even if he couldn't escape seven stars, he would definitely feel it.

Su Zinong returned to the cave, cleared out his belongings, and handed a roasted wild rabbit to the old immortal since he hadn't finished the roasted meat from last night.

The old immortal ate with great relish, clicking his tongue and saying, "My ancestor, Lord Xiaoyao, loved hunting and his roasted meat was unparalleled. You, young man, are quite skilled as well." His ears twitched as he ate.

"If you like it, I'll go get some more later. Freshly baked ones taste even better!" Su Zinong said.

After a while, Su Zinong asked, "Is the medicine at Xiaoyao Manor usually supplied by the old immortal? Before, my friend's brother was poisoned by the Soft Stone Powder and received two precious pills. Were they given to him by you, sir?"

The old immortal took a bite of the roasted meat and said in a good mood, "Of course it was given by me, who else could it be?"

"Could the old immortal tell me if there is any way to restore his previous cultivation level? He has only recovered to about 50% now," Su Zinong asked tentatively.

"That person's meridians were frozen by the cold poison, and the damage was prolonged. They need to have their meridians unblocked and nourished slowly. Once the meridians are almost repaired, their cultivation will naturally return. What's the rush? Even without medicine, they can recover in two or three years. With century-old ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, or other medicinal herbs, they can recover in a year or two."

The old immortal took a few bites and chewed, then said, "The most powerful one is a kind of red crystal fruit. This immortal fruit grows in dark and cold places, but it also has the attribute of fire, so people who eat it are not afraid of the cold."

"What does this red crystal fruit look like? Where can I find it?" Su Zinong asked.

"Many years ago, I saw that tree in the sinkhole of Shennv Mountain, but it didn't bear any fruit. The tree was short, with serrated leaves that shimmered. The fruit was bright red and crystal clear, but I don't know what it tasted like. It is said that it only bears fruit once every hundred years, and the fruiting period is extremely short, only about a month. If it is not picked, it will rot immediately. I am destined to never have this red crystal fruit," the old immortal said with a sigh.

Su Zinong was shocked. Wasn't this the same red wild fruit he had eaten in the sinkhole? He had eaten all the fruit from three trees!

No wonder when I was poisoned by the soft stone powder a while ago, I felt a warm sensation in my stomach after a short while and returned to normal in an instant. Is it because I ate a lot of red crystal fruit?

But if it only bears fruit once every hundred years, I would have eaten all the wild fruit in that sinkhole long ago. How can I get some for Huang Chenghai? Fortunately, the old immortal just said that ordinary century-old ginseng and he shou wu can also speed up the repair of meridians, and it will only take a year or two.

Su Zinong's mind raced.

The old immortal, however, ate with great concentration, clearly very satisfied with the taste of the roast meat.

"Old Immortal, what is your honorable name?" Su Zinong asked, bowing.

“My surname is He, and my given name is unimportant; I’ve even forgotten it myself. People call me a deity, just like you,” the old deity said as he ate.

“Old Immortal, I have another question for you. Last time on Mount Ling, you saw me with a young lady and said that we were destined to meet but our fate was shallow. What did you mean by that?” Su Zinong asked solemnly.

"Even if you meet her and you both like each other, but ultimately can't be together, whether it's the wrong time or the wrong circumstances, it's just not going to work out. She's getting married, and you're still hiding in these mountains, that means it's not meant to be. Am I right? This can't be forced at all..."

"Where will my final destiny lie? And who will it be?" Su Zinong asked nervously.

"That person is in the east... Well, heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. If I say too much, it might change or even ruin your marriage. You will experience it slowly, and it will appear naturally in time," the old immortal said, stroking his beard.

The next morning, Su Zinong hunted two wild rabbits on the mountain, roasted them, and gave them to the old immortal to eat. The immortal ate them with great relish and praised them repeatedly.

Before leaving, the old immortal He said that it was fate and gave Su Zinong a piece of Xuan Jade. Holding it to cultivate can accelerate the absorption of heavenly and earthly energy, and it is especially suitable for cultivating the Water Kidney Meridian.

Su Zinong took a look and saw that the black jade was light ink-colored, with a shimmering, crystal-clear appearance, and water seemed to flow inside.

"Thank you, Immortal Master, for bestowing this jade!" Su Zinong bid farewell to Immortal He and descended the mountain to Yellow River Villa.

Huang Chenghai has fully recovered and his cultivation has returned to the late stage of the three-star level.

The Yellow River Manor has a century-old ginseng, but it cannot be eaten all at once. It must be eaten piece by piece. After eating it for five days in a row, the meridians were repaired and the cultivation level was restored to the peak of the three-star level.

“I met that old immortal who said that even without medicine, I will definitely be able to recover my cultivation in three years. If I eat a hundred-year-old ginseng, I can recover my cultivation in a year or two. Brother Chenghe, you don’t need to worry,” Su Zinong comforted him.

“I’m not worried, especially with you here, why should I worry?” Huang Chenghe was very happy.

“I have another idea, but I don’t know if it will work. I’ll have to try it.” Su Zinong looked down.

"Then try it quickly, I trust you," Huang Chenghe said.

Su Zinong took a sharp knife and drew out a small bowl of blood from his hand.

Huang Chenghe didn't know what he was doing, but he didn't tell him to stop.

Su Zinong handed the small bowl of blood to Huang Chenghai: "Brother, please drink this. I once ate a red crystal fruit in a certain place, which had a great effect on your cold poison."

Huang Chenghai trusted Su Zinong, after all, he had saved his life, so he picked up the bowl and drank without saying a word.

It was indeed miraculously effective. After consuming it, a warm current surged through Huang Chenghai's meridians, flowing freely and circulating throughout them, even circulating several times in the meridians damaged by the cold poison. The next day, his cultivation level actually recovered to the early stage of the fourth star, which was truly astonishing.

Five days later, Huang Chenghe said, "We're about to set off. In ten days, it will be Xiang Xue's wedding."

What was bound to happen will happen...