Chapter 220: Meridian Passage Peak

Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Meridian Passage Peak

"You’re still laughing?"

Liu Chen helplessly took the Purple Bamboo Grass from Junior Sister Suyao’s hands. As for the Purple Cloud Grass, he dealt with it directly using the Withering Skill. Just as he finished, Liu Chen saw Junior Sister Linglong standing to the side, covering her mouth and snickering. A wave of helplessness washed over him.

"It’s been a while since she’s dealt with them. It’s normal that she can’t tell them apart."

Ye Linglong’s smile faded a little as she tried to speak up. Having spent so much time with her, Ye Linglong had long since understood her close friend’s personality. When it came to things she didn’t care about, she’d forget them in the blink of an eye.

’Senior Brother must know this too,’ Ye Linglong thought, ’but remembering how Ji Suyao used to get scolded makes me want to laugh.’ Ji Suyao could avoid a lecture from their senior brother for two days at most; on the third day, her true colors would definitely show.

"Forget it. If she can’t tell them apart, she can’t tell them apart."

In the end, Liu Chen chose to give up. At first, he thought Junior Sister Suyao was intentionally messing with him, but after spending more time together, Liu Chen realized she genuinely couldn’t tell the difference.

She could remember the flavors of all sorts of dishes and even offer decent critiques. Back when Liu Chen was first learning to cook, she could always taste the difference in his attempts, but she just couldn’t remember the difference between Purple Bamboo Grass and Purple Cloud Grass.

The only thing that comforted Liu Chen was that Junior Sister Suyao wouldn’t try to act tough and sell the Purple Bamboo Grass as Purple Cloud Grass. However, remembering all this was meaningless now. This bamboo forest was about to have a new owner.

But Liu Chen didn’t feel sad. Whether it was his master and mistress or his two junior sisters, they were all going to a better place. As for Liu Chen himself, he didn’t care about the forest. He cared about the people in it, not the empty grove itself.

"Dig up some Bamboo Shoots for a side dish."

Liu Chen gave the order to his two junior sisters before leaving, and they both nodded in agreement. However, he had only taken a few steps when his Spiritual Sense perceived Junior Sister Suyao chasing Junior Sister Linglong into the distance.

"What are you laughing at...?"

Junior Sister Suyao’s voice echoed through the bamboo forest. Liu Chen shook his head helplessly and returned to his Bamboo Garden.

The veins of eight Barrier Techniques formed around the Bamboo Garden. Liu Chen tossed the Hundred Ghosts Elder outside the Barrier, then took some time to rest inside before directly attempting to circulate his Cultivation Technique and transform the Purple Bamboo Scripture’s Meridian Passage Chapter into something uniquely his own.

At this moment, Purple Bamboo Peak was an absolutely safe place. The formal discipleship ceremony had been a bit rushed, and it was unknown how much longer his master and mistress would stay. If he waited until after they left to attempt this final breakthrough in the Meridian Passage Realm, the level of danger would skyrocket.

Therefore, Liu Chen chose to begin his breakthrough immediately. First, he could do so safely. Second, he could test the effectiveness of his Barrier Technique. There was no way to hide his Cultivation from his master and mistress. If his Barrier Technique had any weaknesses, it was far better for them to point them out than for an enemy to discover them.

His master and mistress would, at most, offer a few pointers and then help him fix the weaknesses. An enemy, on the other hand, would likely try to take his life.

Liu Chen’s Spiritual Power began to circulate from his Dantian, following the Spirit Veins throughout his body. With each completed cycle through a region, Liu Chen could clearly ’see’ black impurities being expelled from his body, followed by a feeling of lightness.

This continued for half an hour. Liu Chen’s circulating Spiritual Power returned to his Dantian once more. In that instant, the Spirit Veins all over his body emitted a cyan glow, echoing the Cyan Lotus Bamboo Leaf Spirit Pattern already within him.

When the resonance between the two reached a certain point, Liu Chen clearly sensed the Cyan Lotus Bamboo Leaf Spirit Pattern merge directly with his Spirit Veins. A heart-piercing pain began to spread from beneath his skin.

The process was not fast; on the contrary, it was agonizingly slow. This very slowness made Liu Chen feel that death would be a relief. His originally white Spirit Veins gradually turned cyan as the Cyan Lotus Bamboo Leaf Spirit Pattern spread through them.

By the time the cyan color had spread through all of his Spirit Veins, Liu Chen was completely drenched in sweat.

The pain finally passed. After exhaling a few turbid breaths, Liu Chen felt a lightness throughout his body. He briefly sensed his changes. His physical body hadn’t been strengthened much—only about three times what it was before. In contrast, the speed at which he could mobilize his Spiritual Power was now more than ten times faster.

"Compared to the first time, the increase in strength isn’t particularly obvious."

Liu Chen stretched his body a little and closed his eyes to sense his internal state. In his Dantian, he could faintly perceive a tiny Vortex. Once this Vortex expanded enough to be called a Qi Sea, Liu Chen would be able to step into the Qi Refining Realm.

According to the records in the Purple Bamboo Scripture’s Qi Refining Chapter, forming the Vortex is the most difficult step before advancing. But with the transformation of his Purple Bamboo Scripture’s Body Tempering and Meridian Passage Chapters into his own unique versions, Liu Chen had directly skipped this hardest part. He only needed to strengthen the Vortex to step into the Qi Refining Realm.

Loose Cultivators who lacked a Qi Refining Realm Cultivation Technique would, at this stage, directly pour a massive amount of Spiritual Power into the Vortex, formally break through to the Qi Refining Realm, and only then find a Cultivation Technique to practice.

The risk of breaking through this way was very high. Unfortunately, while one could easily buy a Cultivation Technique for the Qi Refining Realm after reaching it, for someone at the Meridian Passage Late Stage or even Meridian Passage Peak, the difficulty of purchasing a Qi Refining Realm Cultivation Technique was more than ten times higher.

Liu Chen, however, didn’t need to worry about this. He had Cultivation Techniques all the way up to the Bright Aperture Realm. After advancing to the Bright Aperture Realm, he could even return directly to the Mo Family. At that point, whether he chose to switch to another Cultivation Technique with a higher ceiling or to develop the subsequent Chapters of the Purple Bamboo Scripture, the Mo Family would be able to provide the necessary support.

If they couldn’t even do that much, Liu Chen would still return to the Mo Family, but he would only use it as a stepping stone. If it weren’t for the formal discipleship, Liu Chen wouldn’t have returned to the Mo Family at all under those circumstances.

But for some reason, after the formal discipleship, Liu Chen had started to feel a faint sense of belonging to the Mo Family, a family he had never even had contact with.

Although this was mainly because of his master, mistress, and two junior sisters, as long as they were in the Mo Family, he had no problem with going back for a visit.

After stabilizing his Cultivation, Liu Chen cleaned himself up, changed into his usual, ordinary clothes, and only then dispelled the Barrier Technique.

"Was there any change in the Barrier?"

Liu Chen summoned the Hundred Ghosts Elder. The fact that his master and mistress hadn’t appeared directly didn’t mean the Barrier Technique had completely isolated the fluctuations from his breakthrough. The Hundred Ghosts Elder, who had been staring at the Barrier from the outside, wasn’t very strong, but if there had been any obvious change in the Barrier, this guy would definitely have noticed it.

"There was no change to the Barrier."

The Hundred Ghosts Elder lowered his head. He had been guarding outside the whole time and had no idea what had happened inside the Barrier. He did notice, however, that much of the mist within the bamboo forest had dissipated.

"Go back."

Liu Chen nodded. ’I’ll try again after I find a stronger Soul Slave in the future,’ he thought. ’Although the possibility is low, it’s certainly possible that the Hundred Ghosts Elder’s Cultivation is simply too low for him to have noticed anything.’

The Hundred Ghosts Elder retreated into the Soul Ring in his hand. Liu Chen put the Soul Ring away, then began to sweep the Bamboo Garden with the Clear Wind Technique.

Normally, Liu Chen would use the Purification Technique, but considering the power of that technique, using it to clean the yard was, in hindsight, a bit of an extravagance.

After finishing this task, Liu Chen refined the Magic Veins of his Resting Technique to ensure the Magic could conceal his current level of Cultivation.