Chapter 35

By then, there will inevitably be a fierce struggle on the island.

With his current strength at the peak of Postnatal First Grade, although he boasts that he can already face Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng together without fear, and even has confidence to suppress them.

But the advantage is not large enough, and there are too many variables.

If Huang Yaoshi suddenly returns, or some other accident occurs, he is very likely to fall into a dangerous situation.

"I still need greater strength!"

Ning Chuan made up his mind in his heart.

However, he was not particularly anxious.

On Taohuadao, besides Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, there are also Qu Lingfeng, Lu Chengfeng, and others.

These few are Huang Yaoshi's favored disciples; their Wu Gong is not weak, and their character is considered upright.

With them present, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng probably won't succeed so easily; before acting, they must calculate extensively and will not move so quickly.

He still has time.

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

One person and one snake would either chase and play among the peach groves, or listen to the waves and watch the tides by the seaside, or study together those "beast cultivation insights" that seemed simple to Ning Chuan but incredibly novel to Huang Rong.

Huang Rong's dependence on Ning Chuan also grew day by day.

In her heart, this black giant snake, which understood human nature and was incredibly powerful, had long been not just a playmate, but more like an elder brother she could confide in and trust.

She would often hold Ning Chuan's huge snake head, which was cold yet full of a sense of power, and whisper her inner thoughts softly.

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

"Father treats me very well, but he always fails to understand what I want."

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

"Sometimes, I truly wish you could become human too..."

In the young girl's voice, there was a trace of faint melancholy and expectation.

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

A slight smile rose in his heart, and then, using a voice that was somewhat awkward yet crystal clear, he slowly spoke:

"There will be such a day."

Inside the cave, silence instantly fell.

The small hand Huang Rong held on Ning Chuan's head suddenly froze.

She slowly raised her head in disbelief, her pair of watery, bright eyes widening to roundness, her small mouth forming a cute "O" shape, staring blankly at the black giant snake before her.

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

"Bro... Brother Ning Chuan... y-you... you can speak?!"

Huang Rong's voice trembled slightly due to extreme shock, her tone filled with incredulous joy.

Ning Chuan looked at Huang Rong's adorable, stunned appearance and spoke again in that somewhat strange accent:

"Mm, recently... I have gained some slight understanding."

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

"Wow!!!"

After a brief moment of呆滞，Huang Rong let out a scream of extreme joy.

She suddenly threw herself onto Ning Chuan, jumping and bouncing excitedly, her small face overflowing with indescribable joy:

"Great! Great! Brother Ning Chuan! You really can speak! I knew you were the most powerful!"

She was so excited that she spoke incoherently, hugging Ning Chuan's neck while laughing and shouting.

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

"Rong'er, regarding this matter... please keep it secret for me for now."

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

"Mm! Brother Ning Chuan, rest assured! I will tell absolutely no one! This is a little secret between us!"

Excitement sparkled in her eyes, as if she were participating in a huge secret mission.

On this day, Ning Chuan once again dove into the deep sea.

After accumulating strength during this period, he felt the energy within his body had reached a critical point; it was time to attempt breaking through to the Innate Realm.

He skillfully hunted a medium-sized gray shark.

After finishing the consumption, a pure energy surged within his body.

However, he did not immediately begin to refine it.

A feeling of sudden enlightenment suddenly rose 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 hesitated no more; his massive snake body swayed, and he dove toward the deeper, darker seabed.

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

That all-penetrating squeezing sensation made his body feel slightly uncomfortable.

But Ning Chuan gritted his teeth and continued to descend.

He could feel that the Black Water Mystic Snake internal energy within his body, under this extreme pressure, circulated even more rapidly, as if searching for an outlet to vent.

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

He suddenly activated the Water Mystic Snake Method — Innate Chapter!

Mobilizing all the vast energy accumulated within his body for a long time, as well as that pure internal energy at the peak of Postnatal First Grade!

"Boom!"

It was as if some invisible shackles had shattered with a thunderous crash within his body!

An energy far more pure, far more agile, and far more imbued with the flavor of heaven and earth than before erupted from within him!

Innate True Qi!

He had succeeded!

Moreover, it was not merely a simple breakthrough.

Under the impact of that vast energy, aided by the crushing pressure of the deep sea,

the snake orifices within his body were blasted open one after another, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

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

Twenty major snake orifices blasted open in a single burst!

This meant that he had not only broken through to the Innate realm, but had directly reached a height that an ordinary martial artist just entering the Innate realm would need to cultivate bitterly for several years, or even over a decade, to achieve!

Ning Chuan felt the Innate True Qi surging ceaselessly within him, filled with explosive power, and his perception, sharpened and made more transparent by the opening of the orifices; his heart was filled with heroic ambition!

He slowly rose to the surface and returned to Taohuadao.

Just as he approached the island's edge, he saw Huang Rong waiting there anxiously.

Seeing Ning Chuan appear safe and sound, Huang Rong finally breathed a sigh of relief, only for a strange expression to appear on her face immediately after.

"Brother Chuan, you've finally returned!" Huang Rong rushed forward, saying with some worry.

"What's wrong?" Ning Chuan asked in a slightly rough voice; he could sense that Huang Rong's emotions were somewhat off.

Huang Rong pouted and said, "It's Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng. They... they said they are holding a banquet tonight, inviting all the senior and junior brothers on the island, and you... saying they want to welcome you home and thank you for saving me."

Upon hearing this, a flash of cold light passed through Ning Chuan's snake pupils.

Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng, holding a banquet?

A weasel paying New Year's respects to a chicken—no good intentions!