Chapter 57: Precious Time

After Xu Chen woke up, he did not continue lying on the bed, but instead hurried to the cave dwelling of his Master, Xuanhe Zhenren.

Xuanhe Zhenren had already received the Divine Sense Transmission and was meditating; seeing Xu Chen enter, he opened his eyes, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he said, "For your recovery, you must thank the Third Elder. You must go and pay your respects later; do not neglect the proper etiquette."

Xu Chen's eyes turned slightly red, and he cupped his hands, saying, "This disciple understands, but I was worried about Master's injuries, which is why I came to visit first."

Xuanhe Zhenren waved his hand and said, "My injuries are not considered heavy; I will recover after resting for a year or two. You need not worry."

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen knew something was wrong. For a cultivator at the peak of the Zhenyuan Realm, an injury requiring one or two years of rest was no longer just an injury, but a shaking of his Dao foundation. Just like when he was injured in the past, even if his Soul was damaged, as long as he had medicinal pills and Soul Beads, he would surely be mostly recovered within a few days. Only injuries like Zhao Xuan's, which damaged the meridians, could not be recovered in the short term and might even permanently cause one's cultivation to stall or regress.

Seeing Xu Chen's emotional state, Xuanhe Zhenren smiled and said, "You need not be sad; this is my fate. Seeing you recover, I am actually already very satisfied. Whether the Taiyuan Sect can escape this calamity depends entirely on the Great Elder's progress in Spirit Transformation. You should go now; I need to rest quietly. As long as there is even a sliver of a chance, I will not give up on forming the Golden Core. In cultivating the Dao, perseverance and determination are most important; the greatest taboo is a restless and impatient heart. You must remember this."

"Yes, this disciple will keep Master's teachings in mind. This disciple takes his leave!"

Xu Chen cupped his hands in a salute, exited the cave chamber, and then went to the Third Elder's Danyuan.

The Third Elder looked quite disheveled, but it did not seem serious; it was just a few flesh wounds contaminated by Black Mist, which were healing very slowly. However, after taking several types of medicinal pills, his injuries had stabilized, and he appeared to be in no major danger.

Xu Chen paid a visit, asked a few simple questions, and then retreated, inquiring about the situation at Black Wind Ridge from the Jiu Shixiong who was guarding outside.

However, after listening, he was very surprised.

Because according to the Jiu Shixiong, the range of the Black Wind at Black Wind Ridge had expanded quite a bit, and the number of Soul Beasts in the fissures also seemed to have increased significantly. However, just as Lin Qiuya had said, there were not many Soul Beasts with Soul Beads, and those with formidable strength were in the very depths. Even with the Third Elder's late-stage Zhenyuan Realm cultivation, he could not enter too deep, nor did he dare to stay inside for too long.

The Third Elder had entered the fissures several times and generally had to come out after two or three hours, because according to the Third Elder's observations and experience, the longer one stayed inside, the greater the influence of the Black Mist on the Soul. Without realizing it, one's Divine Sense would slowly be weakened, and one would get lost inside if not careful.

The only good news was that the Third Elder did not encounter the kind of Soul Beast that could enter the Sea of Consciousness to attack the Soul this time. Moreover, the Divine Sense strength of a late-stage Zhenyuan Realm cultivator was indeed much stronger than the group of Kaiyuan Realm dregs they had been back then; at least he could penetrate about two miles deep and still exert strong combat power.

However, the situation inside was too complex. The Third Elder spent three days killing more than ten Soul Beasts, but in the end, he only obtained eight Soul Beads.

Yet it was these eight Soul Beads that pulled Xu Chen back from the edge of death.

Bidding farewell to the Jiu Shixiong, Xu Chen went to take a look at Qingyunzi.

Up to this point, Qingyunzi remained in a state of deep coma and showed no signs of waking up. It seemed his Soul had been heavily damaged, and his dantian was also sealed by a Magic Spell; even if he woke up, he would not be a threat without the ability to mobilize his vital energy.

The Eldest Senior Brother sat cross-legged nearby, keeping watch, with an Array Disk on his head emitting a dim green light, enveloping Qingyunzi within it.

Seeing Xu Chen enter, the Eldest Senior Brother, a middle-aged man with stubble, wore a strange expression, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Xu Chen laughed dryly: "Eldest Senior Brother, why that expression? Why do you look like you're constipated?"

The Eldest Senior Brother glared at him, and after a long while, shook his head and said, "Junior Brother's strength is truly formidable. Even a mid-stage Danyuan Realm cultivator could be knocked unconscious by you. I am starting to believe that Liang Feng and the others were indeed finished off by you all."

Xu Chen stared and said, "Eldest Senior Brother, don't go around framing me. Aside from Yulong Zhenren, whom I did indeed knock out using a Soul attack, the deaths of the others really have nothing to do with me. You've seen it too; the aftereffects of using this Magic Spell are severe. If I hadn't occasionally discovered the use of the Soul Beads, I would have died several times over."

The Eldest Senior Brother was silent for a moment and nodded: "That is true. However, I fear this great calamity of the Taiyuan Sect will not be easy to survive. Junior Brother, you must leave quickly. Take the Thirteenth Senior Sister and go; the further you escape, the better!"

Xu Chen curled his lip: "Do I look like someone who fears death? We originally had no grievances with Longmen Mountain, but that Guo Ming killed Liang Feng and then wanted to kill us, inciting a war between the two sects so he could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Unfortunately, his own strength was insufficient, and he was killed by people from the Ziyang Sect. This is called karmic retribution. Qingyunzi has yet to pay for injuring my Master; how could I just let it go?"

The Eldest Senior Brother smiled bitterly: "You just have to be capable, and your tail starts wagging. You can knock out a Danyuan Realm cultivator because the Danyuan Realm is still in the stage of Refining Essence into Qi, and their Soul is not much different from us in the Zhenyuan Realm; their strength lies only in having more abundant vital energy. But if you underestimate a Spirit Transformation Realm Great Cultivator because of this, you are gravely mistaken. Vital energy transforming into spirit, the Soul forming an infant—these are two completely different realms of heaven and earth. In front of a Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator, ten or a hundred Danyuan Realm cultivators are not enough to look at. And ordinary Soul attacks are meaningless to a Great Cultivator. To injure a Great Cultivator, one needs a Great Cultivator; to injure a Primordial Spirit, one needs a Primordial Spirit Magic Treasure nurtured by a Primordial Spirit. Junior Brother, do you understand what I mean? You possess a rare destiny; your future path will surely be vast. As long as you preserve your life, it will not be too late to take revenge for us after you advance to Spirit Transformation."

Xu Chen was moved, but he stubbornly shook his head: "Eldest Senior Brother, do not try to persuade me. I am a person of the Taiyuan Sect in life, and a ghost of the Taiyuan Sect in death. We will bear life and death together. Besides, the Great Elder is currently attempting to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm; even if we only have a sliver of a chance, we must persist and never give up. What's more, we still have Qingyunzi in our hands. Even if True Monarch Taiwu from Longmen Mountain comes, he will still have to act with caution. Eldest Senior Brother, remember, once things change, you must control Qingyunzi well; perhaps he is our last hope for survival."

After listening, the Eldest Senior Brother could only nod: "Since Junior Brother's mind is made up, I will not persuade you further. Qingyunzi is indeed a good card in our hands. Rest assured, I will keep a close eye on him and will absolutely not let him escape."

"Alright then, I'm heading back!"

Xu Chen came out of the cave and went straight back to Zhao Xuan's small courtyard.

With Xu Chen awake, Zhao Xuan's mood was much better. After supervising him as he drank a bowl of medicinal soup, the two sat cross-legged in the room and each began to circulate their energy.

Time was pressing; every minute was precious.

Although they were useless against Spirit Transformation True Monarchs, being mere Kaiyuan Realm dregs, having a bit more strength meant that even if they had to curse, their voices would be a few decibels louder.

However, only Xu Chen knew that his body had undergone some significant changes.

The Blue Jade Bead that had previously been suspended in his Sea of Consciousness had now turned into a blinding blue light, like a small sun, completely impossible to see through.

Furthermore, the Sea of Consciousness, which had been pitch black, now, under the illumination of the blue light, resembled a semi-transparent jade bottle filled with blue light, suspended in the empty darkness, glowing with a hazy luster, beautiful and surreal, with a sense of unreality.

In other words, his Sea of Consciousness had completely changed; it was as if an extra bottle filled with blue light had appeared.

And this bottle also blocked Divine Sense. He could no longer touch the Blue Jade Bead he had previously been able to interact with; as soon as his Divine Sense touched this illusory bottle, it would be bounced back.

The only place his Divine Sense could enter was the mouth of the bottle, but his cultivation was completely unable to probe his Divine Sense inside. As soon as it reached the mouth, he felt as if it were a giant black hole, unfathomable. Even if he used all his vital energy to drive it, his Divine Sense would fall into an abyss upon entering the bottle's mouth, instantly losing all perception.

The blue light filling the bottle seen from the outside by Divine Sense turned into pitch-black darkness once inside.

It was precisely because of this change that Xu Chen knew his previous method of using the Jade Bead to launch Soul attacks had completely failed.

In other words, he could no longer use this skill.

To him, this was bad news, but of course, it was also good news.

The bad news was that without such a powerful skill to rely on, he would be unable to deal with danger in the future.

The good news was that it seemed the Blue Jade Bead had undergone a mutation and might have advanced. As long as he continued to study it and his cultivation increased, he would surely discover more secrets.

By persisting, one day he would unveil the mysterious veil of the Blue Jade Bead.

……

At Longmen Mountain, a large number of disciples were clearing away a vast area of collapsed palaces and Daoist temples near the summit.

This was caused by True Monarch Yuyang of the Yuqing Hall, who had come to demand an explanation not long ago.

On the snow-capped summit, there was a magnificent palace situated on the highest peak. Under the bright sunlight, the accumulated snow and ice crystals emitted colorful, hazy halos. Clouds and mist rolled around, and as the wind blew, the sea of clouds rippled, resembling a fairyland.

"Screech..."

Accompanied by several long cries, several huge Spirit Cranes spread their wings and flew out from the clouds and mist, played for a while above the sea of clouds, and finally landed on the snow-covered roof of the palace to preen each other's feathers.

These Spirit Cranes were not simple; they were second-tier and third-tier spirit birds, and traveling a thousand miles in a day by riding them was effortless.

Inside the palace, a cultivator with silver hair and a beard and the face of an infant was sitting cross-legged. Hearing the crane cries, he slowly opened his eyes and then sent out a Divine Sense Transmission: "Where is Xuanyunzi?"

"Supreme Elder, what do you summon this disciple for?" A moment later, a Divine Sense Transmission replied.

"How many days has Qingyunzi been at the Taiyuan Sect? Why has he not yet returned to the mountain to report?"

"The Second Elder has been out for five days; I imagine he will be back soon!" Xuanyunzi replied, but his tone was somewhat uncertain.

The old man's fingers flexed inside his sleeves a few times, and slowly a look of surprise appeared on his face. A moment later, he stood up abruptly, took a light step forward, and saw a cold wind swirl, snowflakes falling, but the person had instantly disappeared.

A cultivator who has reached the stage of Refining Qi into Spirit has long since transcended the realm of ordinary cultivators. With their Soul formed into an infant and their vital energy transformed into spirit, they have already begun to touch the Great Dao of heaven and earth. Every word, every action, and every movement secretly conforms to the Heavenly Dao. Therefore, where the mind reaches, heaven and earth naturally expand. When cultivated to the extreme, one can shrink the ground to an inch, covering ten miles in a single step, taking a person's head from a thousand miles away, truly becoming a terrestrial immortal capable of flying through the heavens, escaping the earth, and moving mountains to fill the seas.