Chapter 142: Breaking Through to the Mid-stage (Part 1)

When Zhang Nuo returned to his residence, he saw Xun Zhen standing in the center of the courtyard, as if waiting for his return.

"Senior Brother, you've finally returned! Senior Brother Chu has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Upon seeing Zhang Nuo walk in, the young woman ran quickly to his side.

"Oh! Is that so? He's here!"

After a brief moment of thought, Zhang Nuo knew who had come; within the Nanxuan Sect, he only knew one person with the surname Chu, and that was Chu Budong.

He immediately strode toward the room. Before he could even enter, a hearty laugh rang out, followed by a flash of a figure, and Chu Budong rushed out of the room!

"Good lad! You've finally returned!"

He patted Zhang Nuo's shoulder lightly, and the two were like good friends who hadn't seen each other for years. Zhang Nuo liked being with Chu Budong very much; this person's conduct was always upright and honorable, and he never played tricks, which made him somewhat similar to Gao Dakuan.

After the two entered the room and sat down, they began to talk about matters in the Trial Ground. Not long after, Chu Budong slapped his forehead, as if suddenly remembering something, and said:

"Look at my memory, I almost forgot the main business!"

Zhang Nuo was stunned; he really didn't know what important business he could have with him.

"In three months, a large-scale trade fair will be held on the Tianjiang Plain. The cultivators coming this time are not just from the Four Great Sects, but also from many other places. We have all just come out of the Trial Ground and obtained quite a few Spiritual Medicines. If we take them to the trade fair to sell, we might be able to get a good price and earn more Spirit Stones!"

Seeing Zhang Nuo's blank expression, Chu Budong didn't keep him in suspense and said it straight. Upon hearing the name of the trade fair, Zhang Nuo's eyes lit up. He had heard people say that such large-scale trade fairs had more items than ordinary shops, and the prices were also very cheap. If the opportunity was good, it was not impossible to obtain a few rare items.

However, judging by Chu Budong's intention, it seemed he just wanted to sell some Spiritual Medicines to exchange for Spirit Stones. Zhang Nuo regarded the Spiritual Medicines he had gathered from the Trial Ground as treasures and had never thought of selling them!

"Since that's the case, come find me in three months, and we'll go to the trade fair together!"

Zhang Nuo and Chu Budong reached a consensus and agreed to go to the trade fair together in three months. The two chatted about other things, and only then did Chu Budong rise to take his leave. Zhang Nuo did not ask him to stay and saw him all the way to the main gate before returning!

As soon as he returned to the room, Zhang Nuo closed the door, then sat cross-legged on the bed. Reflecting on what Nanxuan Laozu had said to him today, he felt a lingering fear in his heart! He really hadn't expected that he would have the 'Seven Kill, Broken Army, Greedy Wolf' destiny.

Taking the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case' out of his Storage Bag, Zhang Nuo softly called out Chunyangzi's name. After a long while, Chunyangzi finally answered him.

When asked how he had evaded the Divine Sense search of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, Chunyangzi just glossed over it and didn't explain it to him in detail at all.

"Lad Zhang, what exactly did that fellow want with you?"

Because the Nine Dragon Sword Case had been kept in Zhang Nuo's Storage Bag, Chunyangzi knew nothing of what had happened outside. One must know that a Storage Bag can isolate everything; even Spirit Power cannot penetrate it, let alone sound.

Since Chunyangzi asked, Zhang Nuo did not hide it and told him about his 'Seven Kill, Broken Army, Greedy Wolf' destiny. After listening, Chunyangzi was not as surprised as Zhang Nuo had imagined, but there was silence in the sword case for a long time before a voice came out!

"Lad Zhang, one cannot ignore the matter of destiny, but one must not believe in it blindly either! In the Immortal World, there have been cultivators who painstakingly studied the methods of divination and calculation, but those who achieved success were few and far between. As for those great beings mentioned by that so-called Laozu, I think they are not even as good as those people in the Immortal World!"

With one sentence, Chunyangzi dismissed everything that had happened before!

"I think you should hurry up and cultivate, and strive to advance to the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage as soon as possible. That is the hard truth!"

Urged by Chunyangzi, Zhang Nuo finally remembered this matter. From the Trial Ground, he had a feeling that he was within reach of the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, but the situation at the time did not allow him to cultivate, so he had to wait until he left the Trial Ground.

Chunyangzi taught him some more cultivation insights before hiding back into the sword case. Zhang Nuo sat alone on the bed with his eyes slightly closed, reorganizing his thoughts. Late at night, the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case' began to gather Spiritual Qi, and taking this opportunity, Zhang Nuo began to charge toward the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage.

Three days later, when Zhuge Qing appeared at Zhang Nuo's residence, she learned from Bai Xiu that Zhang Nuo had already begun closed-door cultivation! Flashing her beautiful eyes, the young girl looked at the room where Zhang Nuo was; she hadn't expected that on the fifth day after returning from the Trial Ground, he would start closed-door cultivation.

Feeling suspicious for a moment, she left with some reluctance. Ever since Zhuge An told her about what happened after Zhang Nuo met the Laozu, the young girl had made up her mind that no matter what method she used, she had to keep Zhang Nuo in the Nanxuan Sect.

On the eighth day of closed-door cultivation, Zhang Nuo opened his eyes, his face full of confusion. He took the Jade Slip of the 'Shangqing Sword Art' technique from his Storage Bag, and after his Divine Sense sank into it, he watched for nearly an hour before withdrawing his Divine Sense.

Just as this technique was at its most critical moment, Zhang Nuo could not break through this barrier no matter what. After repeatedly studying the Jade Slip, he felt he had done nothing wrong. A few days ago, he had felt completely confident, but in the blink of an eye, he was at a loss for what to do.

When he asked Chunyangzi, what this fellow said left Zhang Nuo dumbfounded: every technique reaches a bottleneck at a certain stage, and where Zhang Nuo was now was exactly a bottleneck of the third layer of the 'Shangqing Sword Art'! If he wanted to break through, he either had to rely on the power of a Pill or endure it himself until the bottleneck was broken.

Zhang Nuo didn't even have to think about a Pill; he didn't have one at all, so he could only endure it. After confirming the contents recorded in the technique Jade Slip once more, Zhang Nuo began to charge at the bottleneck again.

Late at night, the sky was filled with stars, but Zhang Nuo's room was filled with Spiritual Qi. The Spiritual Qi gathered by the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case' was being greedily absorbed by Zhang Nuo. At the same time, a dazzling white light erupted in his Divine Sea, and liquid Spiritual Qi like flowing water circulated in his meridians in waves.

According to what was recorded in the 'Shangqing Sword Art', Zhang Nuo tried no less than a hundred times, but every time he returned without success. His body was buffeted by the powerful Spirit Power, and he actually felt bursts of pain.

"I don't believe it! I can't even break through a third-layer bottleneck!"

A look of determination appeared in his eyes. Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth, and his body began to rapidly absorb the surrounding Spiritual Qi. At the same time, he pointed a hand quickly at the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case'. The two dragon carvings seemed to come alive, leaping from the surface of the sword case. With their mouths wide open, streams of pure Spirit Power sprayed out from them.

Zhang Nuo did not stand on ceremony; he opened his mouth wide and instantly inhaled all this Spiritual Qi into his mouth!

"Lad Zhang, are you tired of living! Absorbing so much Spirit Power all at once, if you're not careful, you'll explode and die!"

Inside the sword case, Chunyangzi felt this scene and quickly sent a voice transmission, but Zhang Nuo acted as if he hadn't heard. He closed his eyes and merged the Spirit Power he had just inhaled with the original Spirit Power in his body, condensing a massive Spirit Power vortex at his dantian.

If someone were to scan Zhang Nuo with Divine Sense at this moment, they would be shocked to find that the Spiritual Pressure emanating from him had the power of the Golden Core Stage.

The Spirit Power vortex spun rapidly at the dantian, continuously drawing Spirit Power from the double Divine Sea, and only stopped absorbing when both Divine Seas were drained of all light!

"You brat, you're crazy!"

Chunyangzi's voice was trembling. Even when he was in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage back in the day, he hadn't dared to do this. Once the Spirit Power vortex at the dantian lost control, the consequences would be unimaginable. At best, his internal organs would be damaged; at worst, he would explode and die!

Although Zhang Nuo's eyes were tightly closed and his face looked extremely strained, when he heard Chunyangzi's voice, a cold sneer suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After a low shout, the vortex at his dantian spun a few times and actually began to compress rapidly, finally turning into a tiny point the size of a sesame seed!

At this, even Chunyangzi didn't dare to speak. Zhang Nuo was currently at the most critical moment; the slightest distraction would lead to failure!

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Nuo controlled this aggregate of Spirit Power and charged toward a meridian in his body.

'Bang!'

A dull sound suddenly came from his body. Zhang Nuo, who had his eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them, and his eyeballs almost popped out. This charge, although it opened a meridian, also made him feel a tremendous pain, as if all the flesh and blood in his body had been torn apart.

Spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, Zhang Nuo kept one hand in a hand seal while the other wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to charge at the second barrier!

While closing his eyes, Zhang Nuo performed an internal inspection and saw the sesame-seed-sized Spirit Power vortex spinning rapidly within his body, while the Spirit Power throughout his body was still being continuously absorbed into it.

"Bottleneck! Let's see how long you can stop me!"

Saying this in a voice almost too low to hear, Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth and charged toward a meridian in his body.

With a 'Bang!', it was as if an explosion had occurred inside Zhang Nuo's body. The skin exposed to the air instantly turned blood-red. The tremendous pain from the collision caused him to open his eyes all at once, and streaks of blood rapidly occupied his eyeballs at a speed visible to the naked eye!

His mouth puffed out slightly, and Zhang Nuo spat out several mouthfuls of fresh blood in succession. Just at this moment, he felt his body swelling. Suddenly, upon internal inspection, he gasped!

He saw that the Spirit Power vortex, which had originally been the size of a sesame seed, had now become the size of a mung bean!

"Not good!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Nuo secretly thought to himself. Due to the impact on the previous meridian, his body had suffered great damage and could no longer maintain the compressed state of the Spirit Power. The Spirit Power vortex was on the verge of exploding inside his body!