10,000x Cultivation: I Gain Power by Adopting Training Acolytes

Zhang Yun retrieved a fresh torch from his spatial ring, its amber glow revealing the subterranean tunnel's jagged contours. The trio advanced cautiously, their footsteps echoing against damp stone. Every shadow seemed to harbor unseen threats—traps left by the long-dead master of this domain. Yet after twenty paces of tense silence, no mechanisms activated, no barriers materialized.

Just as Zhang Yun's shoulders relaxed a fraction, the torchlight illuminated a hunched figure ahead—a robed silhouette unnaturally still.

**[Humanoid Puppet]**​

Combat Strength: Early Golden Core

Description: Cast from obsidian steel, powered by spirit beast cores. No autonomous consciousness detected.

Weakness: Core embedded in forehead. Destroy to disable.

Before the analysis fully registered, the puppet's head jerked upward. Twin ghostly flames ignited in its hollow eye sockets, locking onto the intruders. With a metallic shriek, it yanked a serrated blade from its chest cavity and lunged.

"Back!" Zhang Yun barked. Qingyuan Steps carried him sideways as the blade cleaved air where his neck had been. His fist, wreathed in swirling azure energy, smashed into the puppet's forehead.

CRUNCH!

The steel skull crumpled like parchment, exposing a pulsating crimson core. A follow-up flick of Zhang Yun's fingers reduced it to glittering dust. The puppet collapsed into a lifeless heap, joints screeching in protest.

Xu Ming stared at the mangled metal corpse. "Master, that was..."

"A welcoming gift," Zhang Yun interrupted, eyeing the tunnel ahead. "Our host enjoys theatrics."

They pressed onward, tension thickening with each step. Distant clangs of combat soon reached them—the dissonant symphony of clashing steel and snarled curses.

***​

The tunnel abruptly widened into an underground Eden. Moonmoss clung to terraced rock walls, their bioluminescent glow mingling with the torchlight to illuminate a scene of surreal beauty. A crystalline spring cascaded down mossy stones into a fern-ringed pool, beside which stood a pavilion of polished jade. But the true marvel lay beyond—a spirit herb garden where dozens of century-old specimens radiated elemental auras.

**[Three-Petal Prismbloom]**​

Grade: Superior Spirit Herb (Century Maturation)

Properties: Each petal channels fire/water/earth energies. Critical for multi-element breakthroughs.

**[Violet Auspice Grass]**​

Grade: Superior Spirit Herb (Century Maturation)

Properties: Harbors purple qi essence. Fortifies meridians against backlash.

Zhang Yun's throat went dry. A single plant here could fund a small sect for years.

"Huang Laodao!" roared a familiar voice. "This garden belongs to South Mountain Sect by right of first claim!"

"Lies!" countered a wizened daoist in saffron robes. His banner-swirling strikes clashed against a massive broadsword wielded by none other than South Mountain's Grand Elder. "This humble one's compass led us here!"

Two South Mountain disciples cowered behind a boulder, their faces as pale as the moonmoss.

"Gentlemen!" Zhang Yun called cheerfully, strolling into the clearing with hands raised. "Don't mind us. We'll just..." His boots edged toward the nearest prismbloom.

Twin blasts of golden energy cratered the ground before him.

"Scram, fool!" the Grand Elder snarled, blade tip dripping molten stone. "This is no place for your pathetic..." His insult trailed off as he registered Zhang Yun's disciples. "...sparring practice."

The saffron-robed daoist chuckled. "A foundation-building ant leading two hatchlings. Begone before you're trodden underfoot."

Zhang Yun's smile turned razor-sharp. "How about this—you both roll yourselves out of here? You're blocking the sunlight."

A beat of stunned silence gripped the chamber.

"You dare?!" The Grand Elder's face purpled, veins throbbing at his temples. His blade became a golden meteor streaking toward Zhang Yun's crown.

Xu Ming's warning cry died as his master blurred into motion. Qingyuan Steps carried Zhang Yun under the descending steel, his own sword lashing at the elder's exposed shins.

CLANG!

The forced low parry sent shockwaves up the Grand Elder's arms. "What sorcery is this?!" he bellowed, retreating two steps.

**[South Mountain Grand Elder]**​

Realm: Golden Core Peak

Weakness: Overhead strikes dominate technique. Lower body defense unstable. Force three transformations to expose right shoulder vulnerability.Zhang Yun pressed the advantage, blade dancing like silver serpents at knee height. Each clash forced the elder into awkward crouches, his vaunted broadsword techniques reduced to desperate blocks.

"Enough!" The elder's roar shook stalactites loose. Golden light erupted from his pores—Second Transformation of Adamant Physique. Muscle fibers crackled as his frame expanded, ripping sleeves to reveal stone-like flesh.

Yet Zhang Yun's strike never wavered—a viper's tongue aimed precisely where the glowing meridians converged at the right shoulder.

THUD!

The Grand Elder staggered, transformation unraveling as he clutched the bleeding joint. "H-How...?"

"Master!" The cowering disciples surged forward.

"Stay back!" The elder's bellow froze them mid-step. Rage and shame warred on his face as he locked eyes with the smirking Zhang Yun. "This isn't over, cripple."

The saffron daoist's banner snapped shut. "Fascinating," he murmured, eyes calculating. "A Foundation Building cultivator who reads Golden Core techniques like children's rhymes. What else are you hiding, young man?"

Zhang Yun twirled his blade clean of blood. "Care to find out?"

The chamber hummed with taut silence—three forces now locked in deadlock, the scent of century herbs sweetening the air like poisoned honey.