Chapter 9: Three Years Later

On this day, Zhang Nuo was cultivating inside his Stone Chamber when suddenly the stone door opened and Gao Dakuan walked in. Hearing the sound, Zhang Nuo ended his cultivation technique and hurried down from the stone bed to welcome his Senior Brother.

"Junior Brother, no need for formalities! This is what Master asked me to give you!"

As he spoke, Gao Dakuan handed over a small Jade Bottle. The bottle was pale green all over and looked extremely beautiful.

"This is..."

Zhang Nuo hesitated for a moment and did not reach out to take it.

"Master saw that you cultivate diligently, so he specifically gave you a bottle of Pill. This will be helpful for your cultivation!"

Upon hearing that it would help his cultivation, Zhang Nuo immediately took it and then carefully examined the Jade Bottle.

"Take one pill before each cultivation session; don't waste them!"

After Gao Dakuan gave a few simple instructions, he left Zhang Nuo's Stone Chamber. Looking at the Jade Bottle in his hand, Zhang Nuo couldn't wait to open it. A refreshing medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out; just smelling that fragrance made his mind feel clear.

He poured a pill out from the bottle. The pill was pitch black all over, and one could not see anything special about it at all. He threw it into his mouth and swallowed it. A moment later, Zhang Nuo felt his whole body full of energy, so he did not hesitate any longer and continued his cultivation.

With the help of this pill, Zhang Nuo indeed did not feel fatigued as quickly when cultivating, and his cultivation speed also improved significantly. However, this improvement in speed was relative, not absolute.

Three years later, when Zhou Yi was fifteen years old, he had cultivated the "Sword Control Art" to the Third Layer, which was equivalent to the Third Layer of the Qi Refining Stage. This speed still made Gao Dakuan and the others frown; with the help of the pill, their Junior Brother's cultivation speed was still as slow as a turtle crawling. It seemed he was beyond saving.

The fact that Zhang Nuo's cultivation speed was slow had already spread throughout the Divine Sword Sect. Occasionally, other disciples in the sect would even tell this matter as a joke. Zhang Nuo, who was always in closed-door cultivation, knew nothing of this. Gao Dakuan and the others were afraid of hurting his self-esteem, so they did not bring it up in front of him either.

On this day, Gao Dakuan took Zhang Nuo to the sect's market to buy some things. As soon as the two of them appeared in the market, several disciples immediately cast their gazes over.

"That's the kid; it took him four years to cultivate to the Third Layer of the Qi Refining Stage!"

"Oh! Really? Elder Lin has misjudged this time!"

"Isn't that so? With this kind of aptitude, what is there to cultivate? Better to go down the mountain and farm!"

The whispering of the few people did not escape Gao Dakuan's ears. He was terrified that Zhang Nuo would hear it, so he hurriedly finished buying the items and left the market.

On the way back, Zhang Nuo suddenly stopped and asked with a serious face:

"Senior Brother, is my cultivation speed very slow?"

"This... haha, it's like this for everyone when they first start cultivating. Don't take it to heart!"

With a faint smile, Gao Dakuan was still comforting Zhang Nuo.

"In the market, I heard everything they said. I have brought shame to Master!"

Although Gao Dakuan did not say it explicitly, Zhang Nuo still understood the meaning behind his words, and his expression became very dejected.

"Junior Brother, don't overthink it. Look at me; I've cultivated for decades and only barely reached the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. By that count, your speed isn't slow!"

"Senior Brother, don't lie to me. The Qi Refining Stage is the most basic. Third Senior Sister started two years after me, and she is already at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage. I only have the Third Layer; I can feel it as soon as I compare. Furthermore, the first five layers of the Qi Refining Stage are very easy to cultivate through!"

With one sentence, Zhang Nuo left Gao Dakuan speechless. He was a person who was naturally clumsy with words, and since everything Zhang Nuo said was the truth, he was even more unable to retort.

The two of them returned to Lin Dan's Cave Abode in silence. As soon as they returned, Zhang Nuo ducked into his Stone Chamber and locked the stone door, refusing to come out.

Seeing this, Qu Yuan asked Gao Dakuan what had happened. Gao Dakuan shook his head while telling him about the trip to the market. He had originally wanted to take Zhang Nuo out to relax, but who would have thought that these disciples in the sect would treat Zhang Nuo as a joke.

Hearing this, Qu Yuan also shook his head incessantly. On the surface, although Zhang Nuo's aptitude was a bit poor, it definitely shouldn't be this slow to cultivate, even with the pills given by Lin Fan, it was much slower than a normal person.

After returning to the Stone Chamber, Zhang Nuo lay on the bed the whole time. He hated himself for being so incompetent. Back then, the two Elders Shi and Xiao of the Divine Sword Sect were unwilling to accept him, and only Lin Fan agreed to take him in. Yet, for these four years, all he had brought Lin Fan and his fellow senior brothers was humiliation.

Although Lin Fan did not say it on the surface, he had likely already given up on him in his heart. Just as he was filled with remorse, a sudden, intense pain shot through his left arm. Zhang Nuo gritted his teeth and sat up from the bed.

He saw that his left arm was blood-red, looking extremely terrifying! Zhang Nuo's first thought was of the "Mysterious Heaven Spirit Insect" cocoon that Zhu Tong had planted in his arm.

He originally wanted to run out immediately to find Master Lin Fan for help, but Zhu Tong's words from back then rang in his ears again. He gritted his teeth; for the sake of his life, Zhang Nuo ultimately did not go to find Lin Fan.

The blood color in his left arm grew thicker and thicker, as if all the blood in his body had flowed there, and his body felt the pain of being drained. Just at this moment, the place where the "Mysterious Heaven Spirit Insect" cocoon had been planted suddenly moved.

Zhang Nuo's heart trembled slightly, his gaze fixed intently on that spot. A moment later, the blood-red color of the entire left arm began to gather toward the place where the "Mysterious Heaven Spirit Insect" cocoon was planted. In the blink of an eye, the blood-red color vanished, and the entire arm turned deathly pale—a truly horrifying sight!