The next day, Chen Xun bid farewell to Ning Si and left to go back to the smithery, their true home in Panning City.

The trip took a few days, and they finally reached the smithery. Looking at the closed door that collected spots of dust, Chen Xun mouth rose to a happy curve. He pushed open the door, and the dust-filled air invaded his nostrils, causing him to start coughing.

After a while, his coughing fit ceased, and he scanned with eyes until it rested on an empty seat in a corner, and greeted, Were back, Master Sun

"Moo~" The big black ox also called out a couple of times.

"Old ox, lets start cleaning up." Chen Xun said.

"Moo!"

They started cleaning up the place, and as the duo worked, the passerby in the street were surprised to see the smithery open again. They quickly spread the news.

As for the smithery, with the help of a broom and a few rags, it wasnt long before it looked completely clean and tidy.

Their neighbors as well as the people who lived close by came flocking in, some were familiar faces and others were relatively unfamiliar to the two. They sang praise of Chen Xuns great craft and said that he was the best blacksmith in town. They didnt forget to shame the other smitheries, which deemed high prices in return for lower quality goods.

"You haven't changed at all! No, you look even younger!" said one of the neighbors.

Chen Xun explained, "I've been studying medicine with a master, and I've learned the art of health preservation."

"Really?" the neighbor exclaimed, clearly impressed.

"If you dont believe me, you can sneak into my bed tonight. We can tussle together and straighten it out. He teased, causing everyone to burst into laughter. The air was filled with joy.

The other blacksmiths around were furious when they heard that Chen Xun returned.

When the smithery was finally opened for business and the prices were released. They noticed how low they were and were quick to lower theirs, too. However, that didnt matter. Chen Xuns smithery was only open for business for half a day before they had to flip their sign since they had already reached the quota.

Inside the shop's backyard, Chen Xun and big black ox were working with medicinal herbs. They discovered that the herbs didnt have to be in the soil when the Essence of All Things was used.

With that discovery the duo were elated. They then calmed down and started cultivating. A while later, however, stopped and exchanged a look, they seemed confused.

"Do you feel that we've hit a bottleneck at the second level of Qi Refining? I cant absorb spiritual energy as smoothly as before. I might need to spend a lot of time to breakthrough at this rate."

The big black ox mooed in agreement.

Chen Xun continued, "But have you considered that, without external help or opportunities, we may get stuck in our current realm forever? This is what they call talent, and it cannot be obtained just by grinding away with time."

The animal seemed to understand the point and was shocked by the realization.

Chen Xun thought of the geniuses he had read of in the novels back on earth. He knew that certain things couldn't be achieved even with time. Some people could live a long life, yet they could never catch up to the heights of those true geniuses. This was the harsh reality of talent.

Both of them looked at each other with a teasing smile on their face. "So, we are just nobodies, " Chen Xun teased.

A moment later, he frowned and said, his expression turning serious "On another note, we need to be careful. This whole thing at the mountain seems weird. We didn't do anything, and yet we managed to offend someone. Something is definitely not right. Better not stick our nose around and stay out of this."

"Moo moo!" the big black ox agreed, looking up to Chen Xun. This time it was really convinced that Chen Xun was really smart.

Back when they were in the village, when someone asked Old Li for his secret to a long life, he replied, "I never meddle in other people's business."

It didn't understand those words back then, but now that it had experienced it first hand, it finally understood. The ox suddenly felt excited. Life is all about experience after all!

"I will stand by what I said before. Even if the Ningyun Mountain Range has ten thousand-year old spiritual herbs, we wont delve deep to search for those. We would never risk our lives to snatch opportunities. We have to stay rational."

"Moo moo~"

The ox nodded, feeling the same. It had grown more daring since they started cultivating.

"Don't get things mixed up. Even if one were to become an immortal on the path of cultivation, he must practice a calm, peaceful mind. After all, one thought can destroy the world. " Chen Xun explained.

"We just have to live our lives and cherish the process we go through. Its not about the realm, its about the process. In the end, it doesn't matter how high our realm is. One slip up due to bad luck can still ruin everything." Chen Xun continued.

"Moo moo moo moo!!"

The big black ox nodded as if it had suddenly understood; the process was indeed important.

"Still, who knows, maybe we offended some powerful being, and with a wave of their hand, they could wipe us out. Anyway, even if we were to die together, we can still continue in the next life, right?" Chen Xun said, showing his casual attitude towards life and death.

The ox felt enlightened and rushed to Chen Xuns side as if it was prepared to die together if any powerful being arrived.

"Hahaha..." Chen Xun laughed heartily and tried to push his companion away playfully, but it kept coming back.

...

Six months had passed since. And one day, a deafening boom shattered the tranquility of Panning City as numerous cultivators stood tall in the sky.

"My god! Old ox, come quickly. There are people flying!" Chen Xun shouted, grabbing a handful of melon seeds and rushing outside with a stool.

"Moo moo!" The big black ox lept happily and followed Chen Xun. It also started munching on melon seeds with its eyes focused on the distant sky, seemingly impressed.

People flocked to the streets, and some even kneeled, praying for blessings.

Chen Xun and the big black ox had much better eyesight than the ordinary people and could see far, as if they had a built-in telescope.

"What's going on? Are they fighting?" Chen Xun asked while sitting on the stool and enjoying his melon seeds. "Why is everyone standing together? Shouldn't they form a formation?"

"Moo?" The animal didn't whats happening and continued eating melon seeds while lying on the ground.

Suddenly, a rainbow light flashed, followed by a fierce explosion that shook the heavens. The sight scared countless people. They quickly scurried to the ground and started murmuring words under their breath.

"Wow, this must be at least the Foundation Building stage," Chen Xun exclaimed, thoroughly impressed. "Do you think we'll be able to fly in the future? That would be incredibly awesome. A flying ox would be quite the sight as well. Haha"

"Moo moo!" Hearing Chen Xuns teasing words, the ox got mad and stood up before snatching the melon seeds from his hands in its mouth.

He quickly got up and pried open its mouth to take them back

On the other hand, the battle in the sky became more intense, with various magical spells flying in the air with colorful lights that shined. Some cultivators even started falling during the intense fight, creating a splendid and breathtaking scene.

Chen Xun and the ox couldn't help but applaud. This was much more enjoyable than watching acrobatics.

"Thats amazing! These guys are like human-shaped artillery," Chen Xun said, stunned. "No matter how skilled a mortal's martial arts are, when those laser-like magical spells come flying at them, how could they resist?"

"Moo!" the big black ox agreed, thinking it was truly outrageous.

The people in the city looked at the sky with awe.

This was the power of cultivators, the ultimate height that mortals couldn't reach.

The battle of the cultivators ended as quickly as it started. They turned into rays of bright colors that shot into the sky, disappearing from sight.

"Huh? Its over so soon? I haven't had enough yet," Chen Xun was left unsatisfied.

"Moo~~" the big black ox couldnt agree more, it could keep on watching for at least a month.

"Whatever. Old ox, let's get back to work."

"Moo!"

This fight had nothing to do with them, but Chen Xun couldn't help but fantasize about entering the world of cultivation, where he could watch these battles every day.