Chapter 284 - 40: Heart Inquiry Knot

Chapter 284: Chapter 40: Heart Inquiry Knot

After making a five-year pact with Yuan Lan, Chen Ye’s life of Cultivation was turned upside down.

He moved his Cultivation to a Quiet Chamber that Yuan Lan had personally created for him next to the Immortal Cave on the back of the mountain.

The Quiet Chamber was located behind a waterfall, making it exceptionally secluded. The concentration of Spiritual Qi within was so high it had nearly turned into a mist, more than ten times denser than the outside world.

Chen Ye could feel his Cultivation slowly increasing just by sitting here every day, even without doing anything.

Yuan Lan also made good on his promise and began to pour an overwhelming amount of resources into Chen Ye.

"This is called Star Marrow Jade. It’s a rare treasure formed from the essence of stars that fell to earth and condensed over a hundred years. When you cultivate, hold it in your hand. It will allow you to draw upon the Power of the Stars with tenfold efficiency, and it will also help you purify your Divine Spirit."

Chen Ye accepted the Star Marrow Jade. The moment it touched his hand, he felt a cool sensation pierce straight through to his Divine Spirit, instantly invigorating him.

And when he sat cross-legged and circulated the Star River Qi Refining Technique, the results left him speechless.

In the past, he had to concentrate with all his might just to draw down faint wisps of the Power of the Stars from high in the heavens.

But now, holding the Star Marrow Jade, Chen Ye felt as if he had become a giant magnet. The starlight across the heavens seemed to answer a call, transforming into pillars of light visible to the naked eye and surging frantically into his body.

His Cultivation speed increased by far more than tenfold. A single night of practice was now equivalent to a month of his past hard work!

The True Essence within his Dantian Qi Sea grew condensed and pure at a visible rate, shimmering with a brilliant stellar glow.

In addition to providing heaven-defying cultivation aids, Yuan Lan also acted as Chen Ye’s sparring partner.

And the Southern Wilderness Mountain Range was never short of powerful Demon Beasts.

"If you want to reach the Inner Realm, you need to familiarize yourself and master your abilities through constant, real combat. Otherwise, theory is nothing but a castle in the air."

The moment Yuan Lan finished speaking, a Pangolin Demon Beast the size of a small hill, its entire body covered in thick Stone Armor, roared as it burst from the ground.

This Pangolin Demon Beast was actually at the Sea Condensation Realm. Its Stone Armor was nigh-indestructible; ordinary Magical Artifacts could hardly penetrate its defenses.

"Go. Fight with your saber," Yuan Lan’s voice calmly drifted over from the side.

Without a word, Chen Ye drew his saber and charged.

With his Tribulation Eye open, he could see the Pangolin Demon Beast’s enormous body covered in a dense network of gray threads. These threads represented the weak points in its physical structure, but most of them were hidden beneath its thick Stone Armor.

Chen Ye’s figure flickered as he weaved around the Pangolin, dodging its powerful claw strikes and tail swipes. His gaze remained locked on the flowing Tribulation Lines.

The battle lasted for a full hour.

Chen Ye was already wounded and had consumed more than half of his True Essence, but his fighting spirit only grew stronger, and his eyes grew increasingly bright.

Finally, in the instant the Pangolin turned, Chen Ye seized a fleeting opportunity!

He saw a joint in the Stone Armor beneath the Pangolin’s neck. The Tribulation Line there was the most slender and also the most brilliant!

’That’s it!’

"Needle’s Point!"

With a bellow, Chen Ye converged all the True Essence in his body onto the tip of his saber. He transformed into a streak of light, stabbing toward the weak point with impossible precision from an incredible angle!

SHIIINK!

The tip of the Jingzhe Saber slid unimpeded into the gap in the Stone Armor.

A strange vibration spread out from the saber’s tip.

The next moment, the Tribulation Line he had struck snapped.

A chain reaction immediately followed!

Starting from the broken Tribulation Line, countless cracks spread like a spiderweb across the Stone Armor covering the Pangolin Demon Beast’s entire body.

BANG!

With a tremendous bang, the nigh-indestructible Stone Armor exploded, shattering into a cloud of rock fragments.

Deprived of its protective Stone Armor, the Pangolin Demon Beast’s massive body stiffened before it crashed to the ground, its life force extinguished.

Leaning on his saber, Chen Ye gasped for breath, but an excited smile spread across his face.

’This is the power of the Tribulation Eye,’ he thought. ’It bypasses all defense to strike at the very essence, delivering a single, fatal blow!’

"Not bad." Yuan Lan’s figure appeared beside him with a nod. "You’ve grasped the basics of your Saber Technique. However, the speed of your strikes is still too slow, and your ability to condense your True Essence is insufficient. Against a true expert of the same realm, you would never have the luxury of time to search for a weak point."

Yuan Lan’s critique hit the nail on the head, dampening much of Chen Ye’s excitement. But he wasn’t discouraged; instead, he became even more diligent and hardworking.

And so, Chen Ye began his arduous training.

By day, he battled all sorts of powerful Demon Beasts under Yuan Lan’s arrangement, honing his Saber Technique and his control over the Tribulation Eye.

By night, he would use the Star Marrow Jade to frantically absorb the Power of the Stars and advance his Cultivation.

Periodically, Yuan Lan would personally intervene, using his insights from the Core Formation Stage to explain the various complexities of Cultivation to Chen Ye.

He would point out the subtle flaws in Chen Ye’s True Essence circulation and dissect the shortcomings of his Saber Technique.

For Chen Ye, this guidance from a higher realm was more precious than any Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

After all, even though Yuan Lan was of the Demon Race, as a Core Formation Realm expert, his knowledge and perspective were far beyond those of any ordinary person. Sometimes, a single, casual pointer from him could save Chen Ye a great deal of time and fumbling.

This was what Chen Ye valued most.

Time seemed to stand still in the mountains as winter turned to summer.

In the blink of an eye, another three years had passed.

In those three years, Chen Ye had hardly taken a single day of rest.

He was like a sponge, frantically soaking up any and all nourishment that could make him stronger.