Chapter 372 - 202: The Truth and the Clue

"The era?"

Jiang Che was taken aback, growing even more confused.

Xu Qingshan stood and walked to the window. He gazed out at the rolling mountains shrouded in clouds and mist, his voice taking on a distant quality.

"Do you know how this world, in the era of True Master Bai Yi and the others, was different from now?"

Jiang Che shook his head.

Xu Qingshan began to speak slowly, a hint of longing in his voice. "In that era, the world’s Spiritual Qi was abundant to a degree we can hardly imagine today. More importantly, the air was filled with a mystical substance called the ’Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.’"

"This ’Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism,’ though formless and insubstantial, could imperceptibly nourish the Divine Souls of Martial Artists, making them more resilient, more pure, and... more able to easily resonate with the Great Dao of the world."

"Therefore, in that era, while breaking through the final acupoint—the Baihui Acupoint—was still the most difficult step on the path of Refining Spirit, success would come naturally as long as one’s Divine Soul was strong enough."

"But now..."

Xu Qingshan turned to face Jiang Che, his eyes filled with resignation. "In today’s mortal world, the Spiritual Qi grows thinner by the day, and that ’Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism’ that nourishes the Divine Soul has long since vanished without a trace. Only a sliver of it remains, and only within the legendary Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands."

"So, it’s not that your method is wrong, nor that your Divine Soul isn’t strong enough. Your Talent is already a rarity in this world! It’s just a shame..."

Xu Qingshan shook his head, his voice filled with regret.

"A shame... you were born in the wrong era! That grand environment that would have allowed you to ascend in a single leap is gone!"

Jiang Che was profoundly shaken.

He finally understood!

It turned out the problem wasn’t with him, nor with his Cultivation Technique, but with the world itself!

"Then... Master, how did you break through back then?" Jiang Che couldn’t help but press. "Could it be... you’ve been to one of those legendary Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands?"

"Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands?" Xu Qingshan shook his head with a bitter smile. "A place of Immortals like that? How could a mere mortal like me easily set foot there? I simply used the crudest method."

He held up one finger.

"Ten years."

"For a full ten years, I was trapped at this stage, unable to make any progress. I failed countless times, damaging my Divine Soul and coughing up blood incessantly. Several times, I was on the brink of qi deviation, my Dao Heart threatening to shatter. In the end, it was only during a life-or-death trial, by a stroke of sheer luck, that I managed to see through that sliver of illusion and achieve a breakthrough."

"Of course," he looked at Jiang Che and added, "my Talent was considered top-tier back in the day. Many others spend twenty years, thirty years, or even their entire lives unable to cross this hurdle. Ultimately, they can only pass away in despair as their lifespan runs out."

’Ten years...’

Jiang Che’s heart sank.

Ten years?

He didn’t have ten years to waste!

Forget ten years—he couldn’t even wait a single year!

The selection for the Celestial Strategy Guard hadn’t been officially scheduled yet, but it was expected to be soon.

Moreover, that old dog Xie Songnian was watching him like a tiger, ready to deliver a killing blow at any moment!

He had to break through, and fast!

"Master," Jiang Che took a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination, "is there... a faster way?"

"There is."

Xu Qingshan nodded, his expression turning solemn. "And that is... the True Essence Pill!"

"This pill is refined from several Supreme Treasure Medicines that contain the ’Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism.’ Its greatest effect is to forcibly induce a faint resonance between the user’s Divine Soul and the world for a short period. This greatly increases the chance of seizing that ’spark of opportunity’ needed to shatter the final barrier."

"However," he added, his tone shifting, "it’s not a guaranteed success. It merely increases the probability."

"The True Essence Pill..." Jiang Che was taken aback.

’Wasn’t that the prize for the Young Alliance Leader selection competition?’

Xu Qingshan continued:

"The refining method for this pill was lost long ago. Each one is a priceless artifact from ancient times; every one consumed is one less in existence. Its value far exceeds that of ordinary Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. As far as I know, in all of Cangzhou Prefecture, there is, at least publicly, only one remaining, and it is in the hands of the Demon Extermination Alliance."

"Back then, they used this pill as the grand prize for that so-called ’Young Alliance Leader’ selection conference. But the conference later fizzled out, and now that the Demon Sect has been wiped out, this pill has..."

Jiang Che knew what his master meant to say: that True Essence Pill was now in the hands of Vice Sect Leader Xie Songnian!

’Get the pill that could let me break through from that old dog’s hands?’

’That’s just wishful thinking!’

Jiang Che fell silent.

A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the meditation chamber.

After a long moment, he slowly rose and bowed deeply to Xu Qingshan.

"I... understand."

With that, he said no more. He turned and silently withdrew from the meditation chamber.

Watching his disciple’s forlorn figure retreat, Xu Qingshan opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, all that escaped was a helpless sigh.

...

Jiang Che walked back toward his courtyard, his heart heavy.

The path of patient effort would take ten years, and he couldn’t afford to wait.

The only shortcut, the True Essence Pill, was in the hands of his mortal enemy. There was no way to get it.

’Could it be...’

’Am I really going to be trapped here, stopped dead by this final, insurmountable barrier?’

He refused to accept it!

’There must be... there must be another way!’

’I have to find a way to break through quickly!’