Chapter 542: Long Time No See (10/10, Autumn Subscription)

Fang Yue chuckled foolishly; with his extraordinary comprehension, he truly mastered the Pan Shu Heart Method in less than one night.

The secret manual simply implanted all knowledge directly into his mind—just follow the cultivation.

But to fully integrate it into an Internal Energy Heart Method, you must personally cultivate it to the First Layer—only then is it truly learned.

Glancing outside at the sky, Fang Yue decided to push harder and learn the second Heart Method tonight.

Then tomorrow, master two more Innate Martial Arts; by the third day, refine them, and he'd be ready to fight!

Fang Yue's fantasies about the future were very pleasant.

But just as he was about to enter meditation, a searing heat flared again on his dorsal hand.

The Xinghong Banyue Yinjie on his hand burned so fiercely his brows knitted tight; his skin crackled as if his flesh were charring.

Yet under 【Night of Breathing】, it healed instantly.

Fang Yue even suspected that if this flared during daylight, it could burn straight through his hand.

"Could it be… this is the effect of the 【Wu Yu】 curse? So childish?"

Yes, it was childish—this seemingly brutal burn meant nothing to Fang Yue.

Even if it appeared in daylight, he could swallow pills and apply ointments to endure it—no real problem.

But with the 【Wu Yu】 curse persisting like this, he couldn't properly meditate.

After waiting a long while, the burning sensation gradually faded, becoming tolerable even without 【Night of Breathing】, as if turned into a constant ambient warmth—perhaps even warming his hands in winter.

Of course, that was just sarcasm; if there was any way to remove the 【Wu Yu】 curse, Fang Yue wouldn't hesitate.

In fact, Fang Yue had tried severing his palm—but the Xinghong Banyue Yinjie of the 【Wu Yu】 curse, once detached from his body, left his hand and appeared on his chest.

When Fang Yue reattached his palm using 【Night of Breathing】, the Xinghong Yinjie of the 【Wu Yu】 curse returned to his hand.

So with no other options, Fang Yue could only ignore it and continue his seclusion cultivation.

This time, his target was… the Night Flow Mental Method!

…

Boom—

Inside the cloud, thunder roared; in the night, the once-invisible white cloud transformed into pitch-black, crackling with electric light—a storm-black thundercloud.

This thundercloud still had a long way to go before reaching Qingsi County.

But ahead of it floated earlier thunderclouds, already drawn toward Qingsi County like veterans on the path.

Against the wind, against the clouds, defying natural law, they surged straight toward Qingsi County.

Cloud Cloud Cloud.

At this moment, if one raised the perspective to the entire Heiqing Shanmai, black clouds from every direction and angle were converging on Qingsi County.

The nearest black cloud was now barely any distance from Qingsi County.

The Qing Guard on watch, stationed high up, spotted this black cloud at once, blinked in surprise, and muttered grumpily: "Surely… it can't be this coincidental? If Night Rain comes…"

A black cloud is merely a precursor to rain; one drifting cloud means nothing.

But as dawn brightened, as the first ray of morning sunlight fell, and as the Qing Guard saw all other clouds drifting in the same direction—except the nearest black cloud, which defied the wind to approach Qingsi County—he finally panicked and rang the alarm bell.

Dong—

Dong—

Dong—

…

System Prompt: Congratulations, player 【Yese Liming】, your cultivation has borne fruit! 【Night Flow Mental Method】 has reached First Layer! Internal Power increased by 1400 points, Control Value increased by 330 points.

System Prompt: Congratulations, player 【Yese Liming】, your cultivation has borne fruit! Internal Power has reached 5000 points! Your realm has met the Xiantian Realm threshold! You have unlocked 【Innate Qi Shield】.

As Fang Yue felt the morning sunlight stream through the window onto his face and opened his eyes, the system prompt appeared.

Got it!

Fang Yue's face lit up with joy.

One night, two Heart Methods—both fully cultivated! Who dares say I'm not a genius!

Fang Yue couldn't resist the urge to laugh triumphantly—but before he could even open his mouth—

Dong—

Dong—

Dong—

The alarm bell rang?!

Fang Yue's expression changed; he glanced at his stats and rushed out in haste.

His hand's Yinjie continued to burn.

Name: Yese Liming.

Control: 2080 【Base: 2100】 【Status/Bonus: -20】.

Disperse: 1900 【Base: 1920】 【Status/Bonus: -20】.

Skills: Innate Qi Shield, Aura, Night Flow Mental Method 【Xiantian Third-Rate】, Pan Shu Heart Method 【Xiantian Third-Rate】,

Lifespan: 22 years, 5 months.

Rapid cultivation comes with a rapid cost.

These two Heart Methods had one striking trait: they burned Lifespan like mad.

Multiple-fold efficiency in burning, combined with Fang Yue's use of Blood Stone and pills, allowed him to complete cultivation so swiftly and reach First Layer.

But reaching Second Layer? The difficulty changes entirely—no chance in the short term.

Last night's results already satisfied Fang Yue completely. With only two Innate Martial Arts left, he decided to first see what was happening outside before making plans.

Rushing to the alarm bell, Fang Yue found You Sisi had arrived even earlier; besides her, several others in colorful attire stood beside her, pointing at the distance.

"Over here!" You Sisi's expression had been very ugly, but upon seeing Fang Yue she quickly composed herself and beckoned him over.

Those people in strange attire glanced at Fang Yue oddly, but didn't pay him much mind.

But when Fang Yue walked over to You Sisi naturally, chatting with her as though they were equals, these people were instantly stunned.

"This person is…"

"He is the one I told you about."

The moment the crowd heard this, their gazes toward Fang Yue instantly changed.

"I've long admired you. So this is Ye Baiyi, Lord Ye."

"We've heard Lord Ye once single-handedly slew the Horse Seat, one of the Phoenix Organization's Twelve Seats, at their Underground Stronghold, and afterward repelled a large number of anomalies. Such strength is beyond comprehension. Seeing you today, you truly are a man of outstanding bearing."

The way they're kissing up…

Fang Yue glanced at these people strangely: "They are…"

"People from the various sects," You Sisi said concisely.

This made the sect people a bit awkward. A middle-aged man whose clothes were dyed black on the left and white on the right, forming a taiji pattern, lightly cupped his fist in greeting.

"Minor Taiji Sect's Sect Master, Cun Yue."

Seeing this, the others also reported their affiliations one after another.

"Cilin Gate's Gate Master, Fan Ci!"

"Matou Gate's Gate Master, Mazi!"

"Owu Gate's Gate Master…"

A person who could cut down one of the Phoenix Organization's Twelve Seats — no matter what, was worth befriending.

Fang Yue listened to these people's ridiculously flashy prefixes and felt a surge of emotion.

Holy crap! Did they invite every sect expert? That was fast!

"Where's Lord Jun? Did he come back with you?" Fang Yue couldn't help but ask, glancing left and right.

That question, however, made all these people freeze awkwardly.

Only You Sisi said calmly: "They are small sects from nearby; some of their sect residences are all in Qingsi County. Tian Erjun won't be back until tomorrow morning at the earliest."

(End of chapter)