Chapter 35: The Seven Mysterious Lights of Chuhe

Ji You resumed his cultivation routine, causing more people to gradually gather at the Awakening Ground.

Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi, Bai Rulong, and the other five who had delivered the sword that day also came to the Awakening Ground, continuing their deep cultivation.

Yet seeing him constantly slipping in and out of the awakened state, everyone felt deeply confused.

Why is this Dao so intoxicating?

“Yan Shuyi, if you kick me again, I’ll open my mouth!”

“You dare!”

Beneath Xuwu Mountain, Ji You sullenly hid behind a nearby black rock, staring at the icy-faced immortal lady with frustration.

Beautiful women truly hinder cultivation!

Five days have passed since the attack, and he has barely gathered the sixth spiritual light—all the rest were rewards.

Ji You didn’t understand; he had clearly calmed her down already.

Moreover, over these five days, the two had Moqi ly coordinated their cultivation schedules, occasionally exchanging a few words.

Why did she fly into such a rage just because a woman had gifted him a sword?

Ji You’s spirit returned to his body and turned to Bai Rulong beside him: “I ask you—what does it mean when a woman gives a man a sword?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Rulong had not yet reacted, but behind him, Lu Qingqiu, Lou Siyi, and Sun Zhi had already turned red-faced.

“Legend says that during the chaotic late ancient era, two human sages—a man and a woman—exchanged their swords in a battle they knew would be fatal; when they died, they embraced each other, their souls returning to the Dao. Since then, gifting a sword between genders has become a gesture of intent to become cultivation partners.”

Bai Rulong explained: “If a man accepts a sword gifted by a woman, the two may form a dual-cultivation bond.”

Ji You opened his mouth: Damn!

He thought he understood this world well enough, but now he realized he had only been here three years.

Master Chen of Yuyang County was an old bachelor; his library certainly contained no such love stories.

Thus, the world he had learned from him had been filtered.

This meant some common legends and tales everyone else knew, he had never heard.

Lu Qingqiu was now watching Ji You, wondering how she would refuse his offer of dual-cultivation if he misunderstood her motive for gifting the sword.

He wasn’t from a prominent clan—he was just a rural self-cultivator; she could never choose him.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted from behind the Awakening Ground, accompanied by rustling and shifting sounds.

“It’s Chu He…”

“Chu He has emerged?”

Ji You and the others turned to look and saw Chu He—ever since the night he sensed the Heavenly Book, he had vanished, avoiding everyone—now standing among the crowd.

He wore a brocade pear-blossom robe, his hairpin neatly arranged, his gaze cool as he entered the Awakening Ground.

No one could hide indoors forever; the outer court had expected he would eventually emerge.

But in their guesses, Chu He should have appeared disheveled and shattered—not like this, composed and elegant.

“Brother Chu, are you coming to awaken?”

“Just finished closing, came out to breathe.”

Chu He spoke without expression, then sat cross-legged on the ground, smoothing his robe.

Right before all eyes, the second son of the Chu family slowly closed his eyes and entered the awakened state—and gasps instantly spread through the Awakening Ground.

For at that moment, seven mysterious lights glowed on Chu He’s forehead.

Most stunned was Lu Qingqiu, who stared at Chu He’s seven mysterious lights with utter disbelief.

Before Ji You sensed the Heavenly Book, their cultivation advancement had been nearly identical.

After Ji You sensed the Heavenly Book, Chu He, unable to bear the blow, hid away and refused to see anyone, while Lu Qingqiu had persistently pushed to break through.

Now, she had only gathered her third light, yet Chu He had seven—more than Ji You, who had sensed the Heavenly Book.

“So Chu He wasn’t broken by the blow—he was in seclusion all along!”

“Without sensing the Heavenly Book, he’s already nearing the threshold of the Upper Five Realms—I can’t believe it!”

“This is the Chu family’s talent—truly terrifying.”

“I thought Ji You’s entry into the inner court was certain, yet this twist is unexpected!”

Chu He’s appearance, with seven mysterious lights already formed, surpassing Ji You who had sensed the Heavenly Book—this news spread rapidly through the outer court.

The entire outer court buzzed with chatter, as if hot oil had been poured into cold water.

Since autumn turned to winter, everyone had accepted the tale of a fallen prodigy and a rural self-cultivator’s comeback—but no one expected such a twist.

The incident even shook the outer court instructors, who hurried to the Awakening Ground.

Indeed, Chu He was in the awakened state, his seven mysterious lights shining brilliantly, with the faint trace of an eighth already forming!

“Did he sense the Heavenly Book?”

“No—there’s no sign of heavenly light here.”

“This makes no sense—how could he advance faster than Ji You, who sensed the Heavenly Book?”

Cao Jingsong and the other instructors stood at the edge of the Biwater Lake, watching the scene, deeply puzzled.

Sensing the Heavenly Book is difficult, yet occasionally some disciples manage it.

But never before had a disciple who did not sense the Heavenly Book advanced faster than one who had.

Could the Chu family truly be as invincible in cultivation talent as the world claimed?

Meanwhile, in a quiet, empty chamber, Du Zhu of Liangzhou, listening to the commotion outside, clenched his fists tightly.

He was also a renowned scion of a Liangzhou immortal clan, reaching the Upper Realm of Condensation before turning twenty, just one step away from completing the Lower Three Realms.

But since arriving at the Heavenly Book Academy, all his glory had been swallowed by Chu He and Ji You; he went from a celebrated prodigy to an unnoticed nobody.

Could he accept it?

No—he could not.

Du Zhu lowered his head and looked at a letter in his hand.

It was written by his father, earnestly telling Du Zhu that the Du family’s honor rested entirely on him.

Along with the letter came a brocade box; when opened, it held ten crimson elixirs, with a note attached detailing their consumption method.

Du Zhu picked up one elixir, remained silent for a long while, then swallowed it.

As the elixir dissolved in his belly, a wild force surged through his limbs and meridians, as if bursting toward his crown, then surged back again!

To complete the Upper Realm of Condensation, one must fully solidify the spiritual essence within.

Du Zhu’s spiritual essence had always been milky, stubbornly refusing to solidify—but as the force poured in, his essence instantly hardened.

At this moment, he finally understood why his father’s letter carried a tone of sorrow.

Such elixirs, capable of directly triggering breakthroughs, came in a full set of ten—only possible if the entire family fortune had been spent.

His father had poured the entire Du family’s strength into him; he was the Du family’s only hope, the embodiment of their honor.

(End of Chapter)