Chapter 137: Changes in the Tribe

When Yi Tian returned home, his mother had already prepared a table full of delicious dishes, waiting for his arrival.

Xiao Long and Xiao Ting had grown into a handsome young man and a beautiful, ethereal young woman. They radiated auras that were by no means weak, both having already reached the eighth stage of cultivation. Seeing Yi Tian, they were overjoyed and called out to their elder brother with great affection.

Yi Tian was equally happy. He took two storage rings from his own and gifted them to Xiao Long and Xiao Ting. Inside the rings were several dragon crystals, a large pile of premium-grade essence stones, spiritual elixirs, and a collection of mortal-grade treasure talismans. Among these talismans, most were of low quality; there were only three or four of middle quality and one of high quality, intended for their self-defense. Even so, given their current cultivation levels, they could only activate the low-quality ones.

"Hurry up and eat!" their mother, Su Yue’e, chided, gently interrupting their reunion. She pulled Yi Tian to the table, and the family enjoyed a joyful and hearty feast together.

During the meal, through his conversation with his mother, Xiao Long, and Xiao Ting, Yi Tian learned of the tremendous changes the Yi Tribe had undergone over the past year. Since the discovery of the large-scale essence mineral vein, the tribe had been completely transformed.

In nearly a year, eleven warriors had broken through to the mortal stage. Besides the tribal chief and the elders, the head leader, vice-leaders, and several senior warriors had also achieved this breakthrough. As for those at the peak of the ninth stage, there were over thirty, all ready to ascend to the mortal stage at any moment. Had the chief and elders not strictly regulated the distribution of essence crystals, the tribe would likely have produced dozens or even hundreds of mortal-stage experts in a short time, instantly becoming a formidable power within the Tianfeng Kingdom.

Furthermore, with the abundance of essence stones, the cultivation speed of the tribe's youth had increased dozens of times over; after only a year or two, many were already third or fourth-stage warriors. In the entire tribe, the only warriors below the middle stages were those who had just begun their training. Xiao Long and Xiao Ting were exceptionally dazzling, having reached the eighth stage in just one year—a staggering rate of progress, all thanks to the essence crystals Yi Tian had left them.

The most visible change in the tribe was the food; the staple had shifted from ordinary beast meat to that of low-level ferocious beasts, with occasional portions of mid-level ferocious beast meat being distributed. Moreover, almost the entire tribe was now in training. The "Essence Cultivation Technique" Yi Tian had developed allowed everyone, including the elderly, the weak, and the women, to step into the realm of warriors, strengthening their physical bodies tenfold. With the large essence vein, the chief was generous, granting every person ten low-grade essence stones each month, with higher quotas for those with higher cultivation. While the Essence Cultivation Technique was a ground-tier art theoretically capable of leading one to the ground-tier realm, reaching that level was difficult even with the best techniques. However, for those with even mediocre aptitude, the abundance of essence stones made reaching the mortal stage a very achievable goal.

Upon learning about the outside world from Yi Tian, the chief and the tribal leaders spent the next day deliberating. They decided to take one-tenth of the stored essence crystals to help the ninth-stage warriors make their breakthroughs. They were particularly anxious after Yi Tian and his companions revealed that a great demon was sealed deep beneath Black Dragon City.

That day, Yi Tian was relaxing in the courtyard, basking in the sun. The warm rays caused his "Great Sun Heavenly Technique" to circulate autonomously, bringing him great comfort as the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.

Just then, a black shadow rushed over. "Woof! Woof woof!" Xiao Black, its massive, ten-foot-long body sitting beside Yi Tian, looked at him with an aggrieved expression. It had been left behind by its master for nearly a year and had not eaten a single essence crystal in that time, receiving only occasional essence stones from Xiao Ting. For a true Three-Headed Demon Hound, devouring dozens of low-level ferocious beasts in one meal was no challenge, so Xiao Black had been perpetually hungry, only kept going by its ability to absorb heaven and earth essence. Because Yi Tian had ordered it to stay by his mother and siblings, it never had the chance to leave the tribe to hunt.

Seeing Xiao Black’s grievance, Yi Tian felt a pang of guilt. He took a dragon crystal from his storage ring and tossed it over. Xiao Black gulped it down. The massive energy of the crystal caused it no discomfort, and in less than half a stick of incense's time, it had completely digested it. It looked at Yi Tian expectantly again. To Xiao Black, one dragon crystal was like a piece of candy. To make up for its loyal service, Yi Tian fed it twenty more.

Because of their mysterious connection, Yi Tian could sense the sheer scale of energy building inside Xiao Black—it was perhaps even greater than that of Mo Tianhua, who had once suppressed Yi Tian. Even so, Xiao Black had yet to grow its third head, which was required for it to reach its original, complete form. Yi Tian sensed that the day it grew that third head was still a long way off.

To accelerate Xiao Black's growth, Yi Tian went to the ancestral temple and secured seven hundred dragon crystals from the chief and the elders. Though the leaders were pained to part with them, they had no choice; with a great demon sealed beneath their feet, they had to be prepared for any catastrophe. With this supply, Xiao Black consumed twenty to thirty crystals every day.

After eating, it would lie in the courtyard to digest. Every day, visible changes occurred: its silk-like fur became increasingly lustrous and supple, and its body grew larger, even though it was trying to restrain its size. Eventually, Yi Tian began to feel alarmed. He could sense the energy within Xiao Black becoming terrifying, surpassing even the peak of his own power when he transformed into a Three-Headed Demon Hound using his star-dust mud clone, and it was still growing.

How could this be? Yi Tian was puzzled. Xiao Black had not yet evolved into its complete three-headed form, yet it was already stronger than his own incarnation. He fell into deep thought, analyzing past details.

Finally, a lightbulb went off. He understood. His own transformations into the Three-Headed Demon Hound had varied in size, from forty or fifty zhang to sixty or seventy. It was because his own strength was too weak; as the master of the consciousness, he could not support a more powerful or terrifying physical form.

Understanding this, Yi Tian became even more motivated. After returning to the tribe, aside from guiding his mother and siblings, he spent all his time attempting to break through to the "Essence Law" level. Once there, his "Great Sun True Essence" could manifest the true "Great Sun Fire." The transition from "Essence Gale" to "Essence Law" was a true metamorphosis.

In his spare time, Yi Tian passed on the cultivation method of the "Firmament Sword Qi" to the other members of the Samsara Team, which would greatly bolster their strength. Since they had brought back a vast amount of resources, they would not need to venture out again for some time. Yi Tian focused on his breakthrough and continued to refine the dozen ground-tier techniques he had purchased in Huangqin City.