The scene fell into utter silence, but the middle-aged man shamelessly sat back down as if nothing had happened. He was not even blushing or flustered in the slightest. That was the kind of thick skin one developed after living so many years!
Zhou Ji held his forehead. An eighth-rank cultivator had actually shown up. It seemed they had no choice but to retreat in the opposite direction now.
As for fighting? What a joke. Even with all of them combined, they weren’t enough to make that person even stretch a muscle.
Before Zhou Ji could give any orders, the ground suddenly shook, followed by a voice echoing through the cave:
“Zhou Ji, if you come out now and hand over the Holy Master’s daughter, I might consider giving you a lighter punishment.”
The voice passed through the rock and reverberated inside the cave.
“Big Brother, let’s retreat for now. As long as the green hills remain, we won’t have to worry about firewood!”
The middle-aged man suggested.
Not a single person present objected. In the face of absolute power, any scheme was just a joke.
Since someone had offered them a way out, Zhou Ji naturally went along with it.
“Fine! Let’s temporarily retreat and launch a reverse attack later!”
***
Silence. The atmosphere was deathly still. Like a self-study session back in school, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Of course, this was definitely not a study session.
Chu Feng glanced at [Liu Xueyao], who was currently sitting beside him in quiet meditation. He didn’t dare disturb her cultivation with any noise.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since he last cultivated. Ever since that cold yin energy had entered his body, every time he tried to circulate his true qi, his meridians would be corroded.
Looking at the now much-diminished purple mark on his chest, he closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and attempted to circulate his qi once more.
Sure enough, as soon as the true qi began to flow, the residual yin energy started to stir restlessly.
However, before the yin energy could cause any damage this time, a multicolored light suddenly formed a barrier, like a five-colored ring, that securely sealed the yin energy within.
Not only that, as the true qi continued to circulate, the five-colored light flowed through all his meridians, making Chu Feng feel a wave of comforting warmth throughout his body. In the next instant, he naturally broke through to the middle stage Second Rank.
And it didn’t stop there. Suddenly, the Yin-Yang spiritual root within him surged, releasing a refined burst of Yin-Yang energy that allowed him to advance yet another minor stage, reaching late stage Second Rank.
Just then, [Liu Xueyao], who had been meditating not far away, suddenly opened her eyes.
Sensing that Chu Feng had broken through two minor stages in a row, a flicker of astonishment flashed through her beautiful eyes.
Did this brat take some rare and powerful elixir? And why did the energy in his breakthrough aura… seem to contain traces of her own aura?
Curiosity piqued, [Liu Xueyao] walked over to Chu Feng’s side.
Staring carefully at the handsome young man before her, she suddenly recalled the pure sword intent he had unleashed back in the stone chamber. That kind of sword intent… surely only a fifth-rank cultivator could possibly wield something like that.
Moreover, this brat had even been acknowledged by the legendary Five Colored Stone. Back then, even she hadn’t been confident about that. After all, when it came to such a mystical treasure, it wasn’t about choosing it… it chose you. If you weren’t fated with it, there was no way it would recognize you as its master.
Now, seeing Chu Feng break through two minor stages in a row, she couldn’t help but start viewing him in a new light.
Thinking back to her first time, which had actually been with this young brat, she felt a bit dazed.
She had once believed she’d live her whole life without ever being involved with a man.
And so, she silently gazed at Chu Feng, murmuring softly to herself:
“Looking at him like this… While this brat isn’t exactly handsome, he is kind of pleasant to look at. And… not all that annoying, either.”
When Chu Feng finished his cultivation, he was overjoyed. He had broken through two minor stages in one go.
But the moment he opened his eyes, he was startled. [Liu Xueyao] was right in front of his face.
“S-Sister Saintess….no, senior, why are you…”
Before Chu Feng could finish, [Liu Xueyao] asked first:
“Brat, why do you have traces of my aura inside your body?”
Liu Shijing’s aura?
Chu Feng was momentarily confused. Could it be… because of his spiritual root? He remembered that the Yin-Yang spiritual root could only be cultivated through dual cultivation, and the only person he had done that with recently… was Liu Shijing.
“Senior, my spiritual root is a Yin-Yang root. That might be the reason,” he explained.
When she heard the words “Yin-Yang spiritual root,” a faint blush appeared on [Liu Xueyao]’s pretty face.
She had only heard of this type of spiritual root before. It was said that it required a strong fusion of yin and yang energies to awaken. However, such spiritual roots were extremely rare….mainly because they were incredibly difficult to awaken. Without the help of a high-level cultivator, it was practically impossible.
In contrast, mastering yin and yang energies was much easier. Possessing such energies allowed one to cultivate both yin- and yang-based techniques, greatly enhancing one’s power.
Wait a second! If that’s the case, then didn’t she just provide this brat with a massive amount of pure yin energy all at once?!
Just then, Chu Feng saw a pigeon fly in. It looked exactly like the messenger pigeon he had eaten before.
Seeing [Liu Xueyao] in a daze, Chu Feng had no choice but to wave his hand in front of her face and call out, “Senior! Senior!”
Snapped out of her thoughts by Chu Feng’s voice, [Liu Xueyao] quickly came back to her senses. Realizing her moment of distraction, she gave a light cough to cover up her embarrassment.
“Senior, look…it’s the same pigeon as before. There’s even a message tied to its leg.”
[Liu Xueyao] lifted her gaze. Sure enough, there was a pigeon. With a wave of her slender hand, a strand of true qi turned into a rope and bound the bird.
Chu Feng walked over, picked up the pigeon, and asked, “Senior, why would this pigeon come here?”
Looking at the pigeon, [Liu Xueyao] explained, “This is a special kind of messenger pigeon used for secret communication. Once someone comes into contact with another of its kind, it can pick up on that person’s scent and fly to their location. You little rascal, you just ate a lot of its meat, so naturally you ended up covered in messenger pigeon scent.”
So that’s how it works!
Chu Feng looked at the pigeon in his hand and smacked his lips. He had to admit, once stewed, the pigeon tasted pretty good.
“Senior, what does the message say?”
He untied the note from the pigeon’s leg. [Liu Xueyao] took it and read aloud:
“I’ve been discovered. Brother Mei, let’s regroup at the root system of the Spirit Vein Tree.”
After hearing that, Chu Feng couldn’t help but ask:
“The Spirit Vein Tree…what’s that?”
“The Spirit Vein Tree…”
Reading the contents of the note, [Liu Xueyao] felt a jolt in her heart.
The Spirit Vein Tree was the very foundation upon which the Yaochi Holy Land had been built. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that Zhou Ji’s true target was the Spirit Vein Tree.
The tree only produced a single drop of Spirit Vein Essence every hundred years. If Zhou Ji managed to seize it, the spiritual energy of the entire Yaochi Holy Land would be diminished for the next century!
“You little brat! Come with me!”
[Liu Xueyao] quickly stood up.
“Huh? Me?”
Before Chu Feng could react, [Liu Xueyao] grabbed him and pulled him out of the cave dwelling.
The Spirit Vein Tree was a great secret treasure of heaven and earth, and within the outer sect, there was only one node connected to it.
Liu Shijing, being the elder in charge, naturally knew its location. However, she was currently in Xueyao’s body and couldn’t open it. Only someone with seventh-rank cultivation or higher could do so. With Zhou Ji’s cultivation level, he would be able to force it open with ease.
But when she saw Chu Feng, she suddenly recalled that he had been acknowledged by the Five-Colored Stone. With the stone’s power, there might be a chance to force the node open.
Although the Spirit Vein Tree was also a great secret treasure, it still paled in comparison to the legendary Five-Colored Stone said to be capable of mending the heavens. Of course, throughout the entire cultivation world, treasures that could rival the Five-Colored Stone were almost nonexistent.
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