Chapter 166: Breakthrough Again: Late Stage of the Third Layer of the Hunyuan Dao Scripture

Five days have passed.

Shang Hongxue went up the mountain again, searched around, didn't find Chen Chuyang, and was full of doubt.

She went to ask Zhang Nongqian, and the little girl Zhang Nongqian replied, "Sister Hongxue, brother Chuyang has been in seclusion for some days; now is not the right time for you to come."

Liu Yuer beside her explained, "Right, since you went down the mountain, Chuyang has been in seclusion and hasn't emerged; maybe he'll emerge in the next few days?"

Actually she didn't know when he'd emerge; she gave an approximate time, not knowing if it was accurate, just to keep Shang Hongxue steady. After all, Chen Chuyang hadn't said when he'd emerge when he entered seclusion, and this was their first time seeing him in seclusion, so they didn't know the situation, nor exactly how many years.

"Is that so, is he in seclusion?"

Shang Hongxue looked toward the house; the Formation was activated, and she saw it as soon as she went up the mountain, though she wasn't certain. After Liu Yuer and her daughter confirmed, she was convinced, squatted beside them, and helped watch the Dragon Tooth Rice. In about ten days, the Dragon Tooth Rice grew a bit, taller than when she went down, and turned green.

The whole Spirit Field was green, not yet at its most beautiful stage. Shang Hongxue saw big brother Chen Chusheng still continuing to clear the land, still not having come down, staying on the mountain. Back then he had been crying and shouting to go down, and after so many days he was still working here—how strange.

But that's also true; those who keep saying they'll leave actually never do, like some people who always say they'll resign—after a while you find they stay the longest, while others have gone, they are still there.

"Big brother, why haven't you come down yet?"

Chen Chusheng stopped clearing the land, grinned, and said, "You like it so much when I come down? Sister Hongxue."

He wasn't calling her 'younger sister-in-law'; he wanted to call her that but worried about Sister Hongxue's feelings, so he changed to just 'sister'.

Shang Hongxue flushed red, quickly waved her hand, "No, no, it's you, big brother, who kept insisting on coming down. After so many days you're still up here; I just find it odd."

Chen Chusheng said slowly, "Actually that kid Chuyang asked me to watch the two of them, not let them wander. The mountain is dangerous; they don't have Formation talismans, and if they wander into the Formation below the mountain, it would be dangerous."

"I also want to come down, but Chuyang won't let me; he says I'm still too weak. Only when I gain his approval will he let me go down."

The Formation changed; he wants to go down, but it's not easy. Without a younger brother, it's impossible to leave.

Entering is easy; leaving, however, is difficult.

In Chen Chuyang's words, for you, I've wasted so many materials; the work doesn't offset that amount of money, it needs to be repaid.

If there's no money, then you must find me money before I can go down, or sign an IOU, before I'm allowed to go down.

"Huh?"

Shang Hongxue blinked; indeed, only brother Chuyang could say that, even to a close big brother, one must settle accounts clearly.

"Sister Hongxue, how about this: you take me down the mountain, okay?"

"No."

Shang Hongxue refused immediately; she didn't want to do such a thing. She wouldn't do anything that offends brother Chuyang, and certainly wouldn't do anything that harms his interests, since that is a shared interest for her and brother Chuyang; she couldn't let the creditor leave.

That sum of money, she couldn't repay, so she thought big brother should stay and work.

"Sister Hongxue, don't go."

"Hey, hey, Sister Hongxue, come over, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Chen Chusheng watched Shang Hongxue disappear, shook his head, and picked up the hoe to continue working.

Their conversation, without a single word omitted, entered the ears of Liu Yuer and her daughter; the two women exchanged a glance and shook their heads.

They continued with their own tasks; other matters were none of their business, they didn't intervene, just watched.

Shang Hongxue returned to the mountain, sat outside the doorway, waited about an hour, and the Formation vanished.

She instantly jumped up, excitedly waiting at the doorway, rubbing her hands, her heart racing.

"Creak—."

The door opened, and brother Chuyang emerged from seclusion.

"Brother Chuyang."

Shang Hongxue rushed forward, clinging to Chen Chuyang's body like a sloth.

She held Chen Chuyang's neck with both hands, gripping tightly as if afraid to fall.

Her feet wrapped around Chen Chuyang's waist; fortunately his waist was sturdy enough to bear the impact.

The little girl surged forward; this force wasn't weak—another person might have collapsed to the ground.

"Brother Chuyang, have you emerged?"

"Hmm, you get down first; there's a smell on me, I need to take a bath."

Chen Chuyang had refined himself for several days; the blood of a furnace's worth of Wild Dragon Snake had been completely absorbed, and his body transformed.

His cultivation level rose along with it.

The Hunyuan Dao Scripture breakthrough reached the late stage of the third layer; this breakthrough was indeed massive.

The gains were naturally huge; the accumulation over these days, combined with the stimulation of Wild Dragon Snake blood, caused the Golden Core to expand a layer, reaching the size of a fist.

It was overfilled and not fully digested yet; after digestion completes, the Golden Core will shrink back to its normal form.

Outside his body, a layer of grime and a faint scent of blood lingered.

Chen Chuyang set Shang Hongxue down and hurried to wash; Shang Hongxue also smelled a scent on herself, felt a bit shocked, and followed him to bathe, the smell making her uncomfortable.

An hour later.

After both finished washing, Shang Hongxue pursed her lips and said, "Brother Chuyang, what exactly did you do? Why is that smell so strong, even after washing for so long it still won't go away?"

The smell remained; Shang Hongxue tried many methods but couldn't wash it away.

Of course it's hard to clean; it's the smell of Wild Dragon Snake blood, and after refinement the odor is even stronger.

It can't be removed in a short time, but the smell on Chen Chuyang faded a lot; the grime was washed clean, and his skin regained its whiteness, even whiter than Shang Hongxue's.

"Wow, brother Chuyang, you're whiter than me now; your skin is so smooth. How did you do it?"

Chen Chuyang looked at the little girl like a curious baby, grasped her hand, looked down, pinched, touched, feeling her skin, utterly speechless.

"After your breakthrough, this is natural; no need for a big fuss."

"Brother Chuyang, you seem different now."

Suddenly, Shang Hongxue looked up and said this sentence.

"Where is it different?" Chen Chuyang asked with a smile.

"Hmm?" The little girl lowered her head, thought for a moment, and couldn't find the right words, then said, "It's just… very different. The whole person is different, and there's a fragrant scent on you that feels very pleasant."

Speaking, the girl moved closer to Chen Chuyang's body.

That scent fascinated her.

Chen Chuyang sniffed, but he didn't smell that scent; there was no difference, no change.

After a moment's thought, he understood; likely the change came from the Wild Dragon Snake's blood—so much blood, merging into every part of his body, thoroughly altering his physique, naturally taking on the Wild Dragon Snake's scent; this is quite normal.

Any?

Yes, it's fragrant, smells great, I really like it. The little girl clung to Chen Chuyang's side, refusing to let go.