Chapter 292: Cheap Master and Disciple

Outside Taiyuan Hall, a young Daoist with delicate features peeked into the main hall. Seeing Xu Chen eating with both hands and no regard for decorum, he was overjoyed and excited, yet dared not disturb him.

Xu Chen ate for a full quarter of an hour. After sweeping clean the fruits, pastries, and a pot of tea before him, he rubbed his belly and let out a satisfied burp, saying, "Although I can't eat any more, I still want to..."

As he spoke, he raised his eyes and saw a shadow outside the door; his face twitched slightly, and he sat up straight.

He had almost forgotten that he had taken on a little disciple.

On the very day he took the disciple, he had gone to Black Wind Ridge and was then swept into a grand formation by an octopus Nether Beast.

It seemed that he, this "cheap" Master, had been of no use whatsoever until now.

Feeling a sudden pang of shame, he beckoned toward the gate: "Is that you, Su Zhao? Come in!"

Su Zhao hurried in, his eyes reddening as he plopped down on his knees before Xu Chen and kowtowed.

"Disciple Su Zhao pays respects to Master!"

"Uh, no need for formalities, get up!" Xu Chen was so embarrassed he wished he could dig a hole in the floor and crawl into it.

Su Zhao kowtowed respectfully three times before scrambling up. He stood with his hands at his sides, looking at Xu Chen with a face full of excitement and reverence.

Master had been missing for over half a year, and upon his return, his cultivation seemed to have grown much stronger.

Although he could not see through it, he could sense a peerless, faint aura in Xu Chen's every movement that actually made him feel short of breath.

As for the tall, thin, yellow-haired old man beside him, he had just heard a group of Junior Uncles and Aunts mention that he was a True Monarch.

He had heard of a True Monarch for the first time, but it was said that there wasn't even one in the entire Great Song, and very few in the entire Divine Continent.

While Su Zhao was looking at his "cheap" Master Xu Chen, Xu Chen was likewise looking at this "cheap" disciple he had picked up.

After the two stared at each other for a moment, Xu Chen chuckled dryly: "Not bad. Half a year has passed, and your cultivation has made significant progress; you have already entered the Kaiyuan Realm. It seems you haven't been slacking off."

Su Zhao hurriedly cupped his hands and replied: "The Sect Leader and Grandmaster have been teaching me to cultivate, which is why I was able to enter the realm so quickly."

Beside them, Xuanhe Zhenren interjected: "Although Zhao'er's aptitude is not the best, his comprehension is very good. Once his Qi cultivation stabilizes, we can assist him in improving his aptitude with the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill; I imagine his future path will be quite vast."

Xu Chen nodded and said: "Master, rest assured. I will refine another batch of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills as soon as possible to ensure the sect's supply. However, the supply of this pill will decrease in the future, so the sect should stop selling it externally. By the way, this time I brought back something very special from Minghuang. It is said to have the effect of opening wisdom and purifying the Soul and physical body. Master and the Third Elder can have a taste..."

As Xu Chen spoke, his Divine Sense probed into the Void of the Heaven-Suppressing Divine Stele. He quickly found a pool of Ghost Soul Water hidden within a nebula of light and mist. With a flick of his Divine Sense, a thin stream of spring water flew out of thin air and poured into the teacups in front of everyone. Then, with a gentle wave of his hand, the teacup in front of him floated over to Su Zhao.

"Thank you, Master!" Su Zhao hurriedly held the teacup with both hands, his expression becoming even more reverent.

Xu Chen's fluid display of skill, while seemingly simple, actually required precise control of Divine Sense and Yuan Qi for every movement, allowing for not the slightest error.

Compared to manipulating solid objects, the requirements for manipulating water and fire were much higher.

Even the two True Persons, Xuanhe and Xuanfeng, felt their hearts thumping.

If it were the two of them, they feared their control over water would not reach such a refined and effortless level.

It was evident that during the months Xu Chen was missing, his strength had grown by a large margin and could no longer be measured by the ordinary Zhenyuan Realm.

Before he disappeared last time, Xu Chen had actually already possessed the strength of the early Danyuan Realm.

Now that he had returned, the two of them could no longer see through Xu Chen's realm or cultivation; he was like a great mountain, his every move filled with powerful pressure and aura.

Ghost Soul Water was an important resource used by the Nether Human Race to purify Blood Poison and maintain their wisdom.

Xu Chen had tasted it; the flavor was mild and cool, carrying a faint, fresh fragrance. It felt completely out of place with the pitch-black, cold world of the Underworld. It was truly marvelous, and after drinking it, one did indeed feel as if their Soul and body were soaking in a clear spring—pure, transparent, and extremely comfortable.

For something that had miraculous effects on powerful Nether Beasts and the Nether Human Race, the effect on ordinary human cultivators would surely be even more magical.

Sure enough, after everyone took a sip, they all revealed looks of extreme surprise. Especially Xuanfeng Zhenren, who closed his eyes to circulate his energy and contemplate for a full cup of tea's time before opening his eyes and saying excitedly:

"This item is indeed extraordinarily magical. After I succeeded in forming my Golden Core with the Seven Spirit Pill, my Soul had remained in a weakened state and had not recovered. I never expected that after this mouthful of water, I would instantly feel my energy and spirit much fuller, as if I were in a state of renewed vigor."

"Indeed, I have the same feeling. It seems that some long-accumulated strain in my meridians is showing signs of repair!" Xuanhe Zhenren also nodded with a look of astonishment.

"Disciple feels as if I have suddenly become much smarter; some things I couldn't understand while practicing before have now become clear!" Su Zhao said in a low voice.

"Hahahaha!"

The whole group burst into laughter.

Xu Chen stifled a laugh and said: "It definitely has some effect, but surely not that quickly. This item is a specialty of Minghuang and is not easy to carry, so I didn't bring back much. Later, I will give some to Master, the Third Elder, and all the Senior Brothers and Sisters as a welcoming gift. Oh, right, since we are tasting things, I have another strange item here, but Su Zhao cannot drink it. You should go back first; Master will call for you later!"

"Yes, this disciple takes his leave!" Su Zhao placed the empty teacup on the table in front of Xu Chen, bowed, and withdrew.

Xu Chen took a jar of Divine Blood Paste from his Storage Bracelet and, wrapping it in Yuan Qi, sent it to Xuanhe Zhenren, saying: "Master, this is called Divine Blood Paste. It can be considered a weakened version of Blood God Grass. Although it is not as heaven-defying as Blood God Grass, taking more of it will not only clear away the Nether Qi accumulated in the body but also stimulate and strengthen the Soul and the circulation of Yuan Qi, achieving the effect of accelerating advancement."

Xuanhe and Xuanfeng were shocked upon hearing this, and almost simultaneously, they cast their Divine Sense onto the clay jar.

This jar of crimson liquid did indeed emit a slightly familiar aura, vaguely similar to the Blood God Grass from before.

"The aura of this item is not simple; I fear it truly has extraordinary effects!" Xuanfeng Zhenren's voice trembled with excitement.

"Indeed, if it truly has even a fraction of the efficacy of Blood God Grass, it must also be a heaven-defying item!" Xuanhe Zhenren nodded, his beard and eyebrows trembling slightly with equal excitement.

"The two Daoist Friends need not doubt. I have already experienced the efficacy of this item; it is indeed extraordinary and can rapidly increase cultivation. If the two of you refine this entire jar, supplemented with Spirit Stones and Spirit Pills, I imagine reaching the mid-Danyuan Realm will be no problem. However, the medicinal properties of this item are violent; do not be too hasty in taking and refining it, or it will be very painful!" Guiling Zhenjun said, holding his teapot to his mouth and drinking while offering a warning.

For the Nether Human Race, Divine Blood Paste was also considered quite violent, but they had been exposed to the aura of Divine Blood Paste since birth, so their tolerance was very high.

After drinking this stuff, it would feel like swallowing a mouthful of magma, burning away and clearing out the waste remaining in the bones, flesh, and blood, and stimulating the Three Spirits and Seven Souls and the boiling of Yuan Qi.

Because the Nether Human Race did not understand cultivation, they could only endure this transformation of their bodies by the aura, but cultivators were different; they could use cultivation techniques to circulate and make more rational use of this powerful energy aura to cultivate with purpose.

The most intuitive situation was using the aura of the Divine Blood Paste to accelerate the circulation of Yuan Qi.

The biggest difference between the Danyuan Realm and the Zhenyuan Realm was that a major change occurred in the nature of refining Yuan Qi.

Previously, it was purely refining and storing Yuan Qi, but the Danyuan Realm involved continuously refining the Yuan Qi within the body until it turned into Yuan liquid, forming a liquid inner core—this is what is most commonly referred to in the Immortal World as "Nine Turns to Form a Pill."

The so-called "Nine Turns to Form a Pill" means that Yuan Qi must undergo nine complete Great Cycles of circulation within the meridians and dantian before a single strand of Yuan Qi can be liquefied.

Generally speaking, one Great Cycle lasts at least one hour; if there are too many distracting thoughts or the Dao Heart is unstable, this process might take a day or even longer.

Of course, as cultivation continuously increases, this process also changes, but it is basically based on one hour.

In one meditation session, three to five Great Cycles usually lead to exhaustion of the Soul; those who can persist for more than ten Great Cycles are definitely of superior aptitude.

And the amount of Yuan liquid refined in one Great Cycle is merely a single drop.

Therefore, to accumulate enough Yuan liquid to reach Spirit Transformation, this process is measured in decades—it is a long, slow accumulation, like water dripping through stone, until one finally reaches the critical value for Golden Core Spirit Transformation.

Xuanhe and Xuanfeng had only formed their cores a year or half a year ago and were currently just at the entry level of the Danyuan Realm.

Coupled with the fact that affairs had been complicated and chaotic over the past year due to the invasion of Black Mist, the two had hardly had much time to cultivate in peace since stabilizing their realms after forming their cores. Thus, among the Danyuan Realm cultivators of the Great Song Immortal World, they could only be considered bottom-tier.

However, very quickly, after the two of them each swallowed a mouthful of Divine Blood Paste, while enduring the violent, scorching impact and stimulation of the Divine Blood Paste, they felt extreme pain, yet at the same time, they also felt an irrepressible madness and extreme surprise.

The terrifying energy brought by the Divine Blood Paste was almost enough to push the speed at which they circulated and refined their primordial energy to more than ten times faster.

Furthermore, the Divine Blood Paste itself also possessed the powerful effect of strengthening the Soul and the physical body, so this feeling was just like swallowing a Spirit Pill with potent breakthrough effects, making them feel their entire being boiling with hot blood and primordial energy surging, with a sound like muffled thunder erupting from within their bodies.

(End of this chapter)