Chapter 18: Innate!

Huang Huang Yaoshi leaving the island was undoubtedly a significant signal.

Ning Chuan pondered inwardly; this might be his opportunity to legitimately come into contact with the Nine Yin Manual.

If he could fish in troubled waters during that chaos, even if he only saw a portion of the scriptures, his heaven-defying comprehension would allow him to deduce quite a lot.

However, he also knew that to pull chestnuts from the fire, he had to possess sufficient strength.

How important was the Nine Yin Manual?

Huang Huang Yaoshi would surely treasure it as his own life.

Chen Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Mei Chaofeng would certainly spare no cost to obtain it. ===== CHAPTER 35 =====

When the time came, there would inevitably be a fierce struggle on the island.

With his current peak Postnatal First Grade strength, although he boasted that he no longer feared the combined efforts of Chen Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Mei Chaofeng, and even had the confidence to suppress them,

his advantage was not yet great enough, and there were too many variables.

If Huang Huang Yaoshi were to suddenly return, or if other accidents occurred, he could easily fall into a dangerous situation.

"I need even greater strength!"

Ning Chuan made up his mind.

However, he was not particularly anxious.

On Peach Blossom Island, besides Chen Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Mei Chaofeng, there were also Qu Qu Lingfeng, Lu Lu Chengfeng, and others.

These individuals were all proud disciples of Huang Huang Yaoshi; their Wu Gong was not weak, and they were relatively upright people.

With them around, Chen Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Mei Chaofeng would likely not find it easy to succeed; they would surely have to calculate extensively before acting and would not move so quickly.

He still had time.

During this period of consolidating his internal energy and preparing to break through to the Innate realm, Ning Chuan also had more time to accompany Huang Rong in play.

One person and one snake would either chase and frolic among the peach trees, listen to the waves and watch the tides by the sea, or study together those "Monster Beast Cultivation Insights" that seemed simple to Ning Chuan but were incredibly novel to Huang Rong.

Huang Rong’s reliance on Ning Chuan grew with each passing day.

In her heart, this black giant snake, which understood human nature and was incredibly powerful, was no longer just a playmate, but more like a trustworthy older brother to whom she could confide her secrets.

She would often hold Ning Chuan’s cold yet powerful giant snake head, whispering her thoughts to him.

"Brother Chuan, tell me, why do people have so many troubles?"

"Father is very good to me, but he never understands what I want."

"The senior brothers and sisters are also very good, but they all have their own things to do and cannot play with me all the time."

"Sometimes, I really wish you could turn into a human..."

The young girl’s voice carried a hint of faint melancholy and expectation.

Ning Chuan listened quietly, feeling the sensation of Huang Rong’s soft hair brushing against his scales.

He smiled slightly in his heart, and then, in a voice that was slightly awkward yet incredibly clear, he spoke slowly:

"There will be such a day."

Inside the cave, silence fell instantly.

Huang Rong’s small hands, which were holding Ning Chuan’s head, stiffened abruptly.

She raised her head in disbelief, her large, watery eyes wide open, her small mouth forming a cute "O" shape, staring blankly at the black giant snake before her.

Just now... just now... was Brother Chuan speaking?!

"Br... Brother Chuan... you... you can speak?!"

Huang Rong’s voice trembled slightly from extreme shock, her tone filled with incredulous joy.

Ning Chuan looked at Huang Rong’s cute, stunned expression and spoke again in that slightly strange tone:

"Mm, recently... I have gained some insight."

He did not explain too much; for some things, maintaining a sense of mystery was better.

"Wow!!!"

After a brief moment of stagnation, Huang Rong erupted into a scream of extreme joy.

She lunged at Ning Chuan, jumping up and down with excitement, her small face overflowing with indescribable delight:

"That’s great! That’s great! Brother Chuan! You really can speak! I knew you were the most amazing!"

She was so excited she was incoherent, hugging Ning Chuan’s neck and laughing and shouting.

Ning Chuan let Huang Rong "frolic" on him, and only after she calmed down a little did he speak:

"Rong'er, please... keep this a secret for me for now."

Upon hearing this, Huang Rong nodded vigorously, her small face filled with solemnity:

"Mm! Don't worry, Brother Chuan! I won't tell anyone! This is our little secret!"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she were participating in a top-secret mission.

……

That day, Ning Chuan dived into the deep sea once again.

After this period of accumulation, he felt that the energy within his body had reached a critical point; it was time to attempt to break through to the Innate realm.

He skillfully hunted a medium-sized gray shark.

After devouring it, a surge of pure energy flowed within his body.

However, he did not begin refining it immediately.

A feeling of divine inspiration suddenly welled up in his heart.

He seemed to sense that in the deeper seabed, there was an invisible pressure that might help him break through the bottleneck.

Ning Chuan did not hesitate; his massive snake body swayed, and he dived toward the deeper, darker seabed.

As the depth increased, the pressure of the surrounding seawater grew greater.

That pervasive crushing sensation made his body feel slightly uncomfortable.

But Ning Chuan gritted his teeth and continued to dive.

He could feel that the Black Water Mysterious Snake internal energy within his body was circulating more violently under this extreme pressure, as if searching for an outlet.

Finally, when he dived to an unimaginable depth, where it was pitch black and the pressure was almost enough to flatten his body,

he suddenly activated the Black Water Mysterious Snake Art—Innate Chapter!

He mobilized all the vast energy he had accumulated, along with that pure internal energy of the peak Postnatal First Grade!

"Boom!"

It was as if some invisible shackle had shattered within his body!

A surge of energy, far purer, more agile, and more imbued with the rhythm of heaven and earth, erupted from within him!

Innate true qi!

He had succeeded!

And it was not just a simple breakthrough.

Under the impact of that vast energy and the assistance of the deep-sea pressure,

the snake apertures in his body were opened one after another like bamboo shoots after a rain!

One, two, five... ten... twenty!

He had broken through twenty major snake apertures at once!

This meant that he had not only broken through to the Innate realm but had directly reached a height that an ordinary martial artist who had just entered the Innate realm would need years or even over a decade of hard cultivation to achieve!

Ning Chuan felt the surging, explosive Innate true qi within his body, as well as his perception, which had become clearer and sharper due to the opening of the apertures, and his heart was filled with grand aspirations!

He slowly floated up and returned to Peach Blossom Island.

Just as he approached the shore, he saw Huang Rong waiting there anxiously.

Seeing Ning Chuan appear safe and sound, Huang Rong let out a sigh of relief, but then a strange expression appeared on her face.

"Brother Chuan, you’re finally back!" Huang Rong greeted him, saying with some concern.

"What’s wrong?" Ning Chuan asked in that slightly awkward voice; he could feel that Huang Rong’s mood was off.

Huang Rong pouted and said: "It’s Senior Brother Chen and Senior Sister Mei; they... they said they want to host a banquet tonight, inviting all the senior brothers on the island, and you... saying they want to welcome you and thank you for saving me."

Upon hearing this, a cold light flashed in Ning Chuan’s snake eyes.

Chen Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Mei Chaofeng, hosting a banquet?

A weasel paying respects to a chicken—they have no good intentions! ===== CHAPTER 36 =====