Chapter 299: Breakthrough in the Underground

Late at night, at the hour of the third watch.

Luo Zijun performed Soul Out-of-Body and came to the back garden, waiting with complex emotions.

Once, his relationship with the Moon Palace Fairy was that of both teacher and friend.

Now, another layer of relationship had been added.

Recalling every detail from the moment they met until now, as well as the gradual change in their relationship, he could not help but feel as if it were a dream.

"It is a pity that I have not been able to see her true face..."

"Actually, whether she is beautiful or ugly, by now, I don't really care anymore..."

As he let his thoughts wander, he soon saw a familiar snow-white figure appear against the full moon in the night sky, and in the blink of an eye, she arrived nearby.

It was as if she were truly a fairy who had flown down from the Moon Palace.

The Moon Palace Fairy landed before him with her robes fluttering; she did not change her attitude because of that relationship between them, still maintaining a cold demeanor: "Has your physical body advanced?"

Luo Zijun said: "It has advanced, to the Martial Artist Seventh Realm. I feel my soul has also strengthened quite a bit, so I decided to go to Diyuan tonight to attempt the breakthrough."

The Moon Palace Fairy said nothing more, turned, walked to the entrance, and opened the array.

Luo Zijun hurriedly followed.

The two stood facing each other, seemingly looking at one another, yet neither spoke.

The atmosphere seemed somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, at this moment, a pillar of light appeared.

"Whoosh!"

The two were sucked into the pillar of light and soon arrived at Diyuan.

As they walked onto the stone bridge, the Moon Palace Fairy finally spoke: "Swallow that Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed in a moment and begin the breakthrough. I will guard you from outside the cave."

Luo Zijun said: "So urgent? Do I not need to prepare?"

The Moon Palace Fairy turned her head to look at him and said: "What else is there to prepare?"

Luo Zijun said: "At the very least, I should carefully check every part of my soul to see if there are any hidden ailments, or if my Soul Power is sufficient for the breakthrough, or..."

"I have already checked them all."

The Moon Palace Fairy interrupted him in a flat tone.

Luo Zijun was stunned: "Ah? When did the Fairy check? Why didn't I know?"

The Moon Palace Fairy did not answer immediately; she continued walking forward, and only after entering the pitch-black tunnel did she speak: "When I was treating your poison."

Luo Zijun: "..."

Oh, so it was when the Fairy was repaying his kindness with her own body.

The two exited the tunnel and soon arrived at the cave.

Luo Zijun entered the cave, walked to a corner, sat cross-legged, and after calming himself slightly, he took out the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed and swallowed it directly.

A distinct chill immediately flowed from the throat of his soul down into his abdomen.

Instantly, his Soul Sea surged with waves, and his Soul Power churned.

Then, with a "Boom," an explosive force emerged, nearly shattering his Soul Sea, and immediately that force, like a furious beast, roared as it charged toward the meridians throughout his soul.

Luo Zijun's entire body shook; the fluorescent light on the surface of his soul flickered rapidly, and he felt his entire soul beginning to swell, as if it were about to explode.

"Fairy, what is happening? I feel like my body is about to explode!"

He realized the situation was wrong; he had not even refined it yet, so why had the energy brought by the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed exploded and begun to rampage wildly everywhere?

The Moon Palace Fairy leaned against the entrance, looking unruffled, and said in a flat tone: "Attempt the breakthrough directly; there is no need to refine it. The power contained within the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed is inherently similar to Soul Power. It does not need to be refined; you only need to mobilize the Soul Power in your Soul Sea and lead them together to attempt the breakthrough."

Luo Zijun felt this power was too overbearing and worriedly asked: "Will my meridians be unable to withstand it and suddenly rupture?"

The Moon Palace Fairy said: "They will."

"Ah?"

"Or they might not."

The Moon Palace Fairy said flatly: "That depends on the strength of your own soul. If they rupture, the breakthrough fails, and you may need a year or two before you can attempt it again; if you can withstand this power, then you should be able to succeed."

Luo Zijun did not speak again, because at this moment, he was unable to speak.

The power unleashed by the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed had already begun to run wild everywhere, like demonic beasts that had lost their restraints, beginning to fiercely strike and destroy the meridians throughout his body.

He immediately circulated his cultivation art, driving the Soul Power in his Soul Sea to pursue them and quickly suppress them.

Fortunately, this was his own territory; no matter how overbearing these external energies were, they could not contend with his own Soul Power. After several suppressions, those irritable forces were successfully enveloped by his Soul Power and sent back to the Soul Sea.

When all the power returned to the Soul Sea, the entire Soul Sea was surging with dark tides.

Luo Zijun did not hesitate at all; he immediately drove all his power, gathering it into a torrent, and charged toward that barrier not far away that was already very clear!

"Boom!"

The Soul Power, carrying the force brought by the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed, fiercely slammed into that barrier.

However, that barrier, which looked thin, only trembled slightly and remained completely unharmed.

Luo Zijun did not stop and began the second strike.

Then, the third, the fourth...

Until it was almost dawn outside, that barrier remained as steady as Mount Tai, without even a trace of a crack.

By this time, Luo Zijun's soul had dim fluorescent light, his meridians were in pain, and most of his Soul Power had been consumed.

He felt that tonight was definitely not going to work, but how should he deal with the restless power brought by the Fire Lotus Seed inside his body? It seemed it could only assist in the breakthrough and could not be refined for his own use. If he brought it back to the Human Realm and back into his physical body, would his physical body be unable to withstand it and burst to death?

"Fairy!"

Luo Zijun slowly ceased his cultivation and explained his current situation to the Moon Palace Fairy.

After listening, the Moon Palace Fairy said flatly: "To break through to the Fen Shen Realm, you need at least five nights of breakthrough attempts... As for the power of the Fire Lotus Seed, not much has been consumed. Having lost the restraint of the seed, it is extremely irritable. Naturally, you cannot bring it back to the Human Realm, and even less can you bring it back into your physical body."

Luo Zijun said: "Then what should I do?" The Moon Palace Fairy was silent for a moment and said: "You can choose not to go back and stay here to cultivate and attempt the breakthrough."

"Ah? Then what should I do about my physical body?"

"Just let it hold on up there for five days."

"..."

Luo Zijun was instantly dumbfounded; without his soul, he was to let his physical body persist in the Human Realm by itself for five days?

"Fairy, that definitely won't work. My physical body isn't strong enough to that extent, and besides, if I don't go out for five days, someone will break into my room to check. When they find my body unmoving and think I'm dead, and then put me in a coffin to be cremated or buried, wouldn't that be a disaster?"

The Moon Palace Fairy pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "That is indeed a possibility."

Luo Zijun said: "Fairy, is there any other way? Think again!"

The Moon Palace Fairy pondered for a long time before looking at him and saying: "Then there is only one way."

Luo Zijun hurriedly asked: "What way?"

"Transfer that power to me; I can keep it for you temporarily, and tomorrow night, I will transfer it back to you."

"Ah? How do I transfer it?"

The Moon Palace Fairy turned around, her gaze fixed on the distance, and did not answer.

Luo Zijun immediately said anxiously: "Fairy, speak quickly, how do I transfer it? I can punch out other powers with a single blow, but I feel that this power simply cannot be transferred out..."

The Moon Palace Fairy remained silent for a while longer before saying: "Only... by connecting acupoint to acupoint can it be transferred..."

"Acupoint to acupoint?"

Luo Zijun was stunned and hurriedly asked: "How do I connect acupoint to acupoint?"

Then he suddenly realized: "Palm to palm?"

The Moon Palace Fairy stood at the cave entrance with her back to him, cold and aloof, her gaze looking into the distance as she shook her head slightly: "It requires special acupoints."

Luo Zijun asked curiously: "What are these special acupoints? Where are they?"

The Moon Palace Fairy fell silent again.

Luo Zijun had no choice but to stand up, come behind her, and bow: "Fairy, this matter is imminent, please point the way! Where exactly are those special acupoints, and how should I transfer it to you?"

The Moon Palace Fairy was silent for another moment before saying two words coldly: "Detoxification."

"Detoxification?"

Hearing this, Luo Zijun was stunned, not understanding what she meant. What did acupoints have to do with detoxification? He was transferring the energy of the Samadhi Fire Lotus Seed, not suffering from poison.

The Moon Palace Fairy, however, was looking into the distance and said no more.

"Detoxification... acupoints..."

"Acupoint to acupoint... transferring energy... detoxification... detoxification..."

Luo Zijun racked his brains.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked through his mind, and he was enlightened!

"Detoxification... detoxification!"

"You helped me detoxify, so naturally I must repay the kindness by helping you detoxify..."

Luo Zijun finally understood.

So it turned out that only that method could transfer the energy of the Fire Lotus Seed within his body.

"Fairy, this..."

He felt it was somewhat absurd.

The Moon Palace Fairy said coldly: "I think you should just try continuing your cultivation and breakthrough here, and let your physical body hold on up there for five days."

Luo Zijun immediately rejected it: "Absolutely not!"

That would really kill someone!

The Moon Palace Fairy turned her head to look at him and said: "Then what is your intention? Let me tell you, it was only because of detoxification that I... humph, do you think I would let you dirty my body now?"

Luo Zijun said: "But Fairy, I..."

"Impossible!"

The Moon Palace Fairy turned her face away, her gaze returning to the distance, and she said in a cold tone: "I have already helped you enough; it is impossible for me to do that again just to help you... humph!"

Luo Zijun could only say: "Fairy, we have already... already done that anyway..."

"Humph!"

The Moon Palace Fairy turned her face to the right again and said coldly: "I said, impossible!"

Seeing that it was almost dawn outside and time was running out, Luo Zijun had to plead: "Fairy, help me one more time. In the future, I will be your beast of burden, at your beck and call!"

"Beast of burden?"

The Moon Palace Fairy turned her head to look at him.

Luo Zijun immediately said: "Yes, a beast of burden! I will do anything!"

He thought to himself: I've already been a beast of burden so many times, what harm is there in doing it again?

The Moon Palace Fairy seemed to hesitate for a long time, staring at him for a long while, before she snorted coldly and said: "Since you are begging so humbly, then I will... reluctantly help you one more time... remember, only this once!"

After speaking, she twisted her body and entered the cave.

Then, just like when she had detoxified him before, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

Seeing her in this state, at this moment, Luo Zijun suddenly felt a bit suspicious: was this "detoxification" really the only way to transfer the energy of the Fire Lotus Seed? Or was it that someone had developed a taste for it and was doing it on purpose...

Forget it, at this point, why think about these things?

Just do it!

(End of chapter)