Chapter 422 - 399: Guidance in Cultivation

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, a cyan light abruptly descended from the sky, transforming into a youth in cyan robes. The youth had shoulder-length hair and deep, dark eyes. Wisps of Innate True Qi coiled around him, constantly colliding with the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi and causing his body to emit a faint white glow, making him look like a celestial being.

SWOOSH!

The youth in cyan glanced at Zhaang Chengtian, Zhaang Shu, and the six Elders in the air. He raised his hand slightly, and a faint golden light flashed out of thin air. Zhaang Chengtian, Zhaang Shu, and the six Elders felt an exceptionally gentle force suddenly appear beneath them, steadily lowering them to the ground.

"Ah, an immortal!"

Seeing the youth descend from the heavens, his body glowing faintly, the people on the main street spontaneously knelt and began to kowtow, crying out, "An immortal!"

Even the Zhaang Family’s six Elders and Zhaang Shu nearly fell to their knees in worship. Zhaang Chengtian, however, stared intently at Zhaang Ye. He sensed a familiar aura about the young man.

The youth in cyan gave a casual wave of his hand, and a gentle force lifted everyone to their feet. At that moment, Zhaang Chengtian finally found his voice. He pointed at the youth and cried out, "Zhaang Ye, you’re Zhaang Ye! You can already perform Qi Manipulation Flight... Does this mean your Cultivation has reached the Martial Arts Ninth Layer?"

The youth in cyan was indeed Zhaang Ye. Seeing that Zhaang Chengtian had recognized him, Zhaang Ye smiled faintly. He was about to speak when Zhaang Chengtian blurted out, "Zhaang Ye, you’ve come back at the perfect time! Quick, kill this Eel King! It has already eaten many people! If you hadn’t intervened today, I fear I would have met a grim fate!"

Only after he finished speaking did Zhaang Chengtian realize that the Eel King had vanished into the river, leaving only faint ripples on the surface. Seeing that the Eel King had successfully escaped, he couldn’t help but slap his thigh. "It actually escaped into the river! This river is hundreds of feet deep; we’ll never be able to find it now!"

Zhaang Ye had been tracking the Eel King with his Spiritual Power the entire time. Seeing Zhaang Chengtian’s frustration, he chuckled and said, "Don’t worry. It won’t get away."

Zhaang Ye took a single step. The crowd only perceived a flicker of a shadow, and in the next instant, he had crossed hundreds of feet, now hovering in the air above the river. Witnessing Zhaang Ye’s divine Body Technique, the eyes of Zhaang Chengtian and the other Elders filled with excitement. They knew Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation had reached an unbelievable level.

As for Zhaang Ye’s brother, Zhaang Shu, upon seeing this lightning-fast Body Technique and Zhaang Ye standing motionless in midair, his jaw dropped wide open, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

WHOOSH!

Hovering above the river, Zhaang Ye suddenly thrust out a palm. An immense power instantly locked down the waterway. The river, which had flowed ceaselessly for millennia, came to a sudden, complete halt under this immense force.

"Rise!"

Zhaang Ye stretched out his other hand and made a grasping motion in the air. The gesture looked light and effortless, like a person reaching out to pick up a stone. Yet, with that simple grasp, a tyrannical Devouring Power appeared out of thin air. The Eel King, which had already burrowed to the riverbed, was forcibly dragged up.

With a flick of his hand, Zhaang Ye casually tossed the Eel King onto the main street. The once-majestic creature, first crushed by Zhaang Ye’s power and then seized by his fierce grasp, was already all but dead. It lay limply on the ground, completely still, as golden blood slowly trickled from its mouth.

"HSSSS—" Everyone was stunned by Zhaang Ye’s divine methods, and sharp gasps echoed through the crowd. Some people rubbed their eyes hard, wondering if they were dreaming.

Zhaang Shu stared blankly at Zhaang Ye, his heart filled with infinite regret. ’Looking at Zhaang Ye’s power,’ he thought, ’I now realize just how childish my single-minded quest for the Patriarch position was. The Patriarch of the Zhaang Family of Three Rivers Town may command several thousand people and wield considerable power. But that power couldn’t even handle one Eel King. In the face of Zhaang Ye’s god-like strength, it’s simply nothing!’

’Zhaang Ye has god-like strength. He can travel to the Cyan Netherworld, roam the Barbaric Land as he pleases, and even seek the legendary path to eternal life. And me... I can only stay in Three Rivers Town my entire life, slowly growing old and eventually dying here!’

’The gap between us is just too vast!’

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Witnessing Zhaang Ye’s strength, Zhaang Chengtian was exceptionally excited and couldn’t help but cheer. ’With a powerful genius like Zhaang Ye, the Zhaang Family is bound to grow into a great clan and become ever more prosperous!’

Zhaang Ye followed Zhaang Chengtian back home, where he first paid his respects to his father, and then to his mother, Liuu Suqing. Having not seen him for over a decade, Liuu Suqing had aged slightly. After witnessing her son’s immortal-like abilities, she could hardly believe it was him. She stared at Zhaang Ye for a long while before finally speaking. "You... you’re back?"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly and said, "I’m about to leave on a long journey, so I came back to visit the family."

After greeting his parents, Zhaang Ye met with the other members of the family one by one. Since leaving Three Rivers Town, he had forged a tremendous reputation for himself, becoming the foremost expert of the younger generation in Cyan Mulberry City, then in the entire Wei Kingdom, and finally in the whole of the Land of Divine Abandonment.

With such an illustrious status, combined with the power he had just displayed, not a single person treated Zhaang Ye as a junior. People were already comparing him to the Zhaang Family’s own Elder Ancestor.

Looking at his clansmen, who were so respectful they hardly dared to breathe loudly, Zhaang Ye felt very strange. However, this tradition of respecting the strong had been passed down on the Desolate Continent for countless eons. Even he couldn’t change it, so he could only accept it in silence.

「Zhaang Ye stayed in Three Rivers Town for two days.」

During these two days, Zhaang Ye first spent a day explaining the mysteries of the Martial Dao. He then answered everyone’s questions about cultivation and gave personal guidance to Zhaang Chengtian and the six Elders. Zhaang Ye’s Cultivation had now reached the Peak of the Martial Arts Ninth Layer, and his combat prowess was exceptionally formidable.

Under Zhaang Ye’s guidance, both Zhaang Chengtian and the Elders made significant gains. The Grand Elder, whose cultivation had been stagnant for a long time, found his bottleneck beginning to loosen after receiving Zhaang Ye’s pointers. A breakthrough was not far off.

「On the third day」 Zhaang Ye looked over Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder and said with satisfaction, "It seems you have both gained some enlightenment over these two days. Advancing a level is only a matter of time. It’s a pity your Meridians are relatively fragile, otherwise I could have directly boosted your Cultivation, allowing you to advance a full layer and saving you a year or two of hard training."

Zhaang Chengtian chuckled and said, "I can already faintly touch the threshold of the Martial Arts Sixth Layer Peak. In another year, I’m certain I can reach it. As for the Martial Arts Seventh Layer, however, I have no confidence. The peak of the Sixth Layer will likely be my greatest achievement in this lifetime."

The Grand Elder then smiled and said, "The Martial Arts Sixth Layer Peak is already very remarkable. Even in the Cyan Mulberry Main Family, not many people can cultivate to that level. My current Cultivation is at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Middle Stage. My greatest wish in this life is to enter the Martial Arts Sixth Layer. I hope I can fulfill that wish in my remaining years."

Both Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder were men of average aptitude. To have cultivated to their current levels was already remarkable. To advance further would require the support of numerous Elixirs and medicinal herbs, resources a small family like the Zhaang Family of Three Rivers Town simply could not provide.

Therefore, neither of them had particularly high expectations.

Zhaang Ye knew what they were thinking. He smiled faintly and said, "Father, reaching the Martial Arts Seventh Layer will be no problem. And Grand Elder, entering the Martial Arts Sixth Layer won’t be an issue either. I can provide you with the Elixirs and medicinal herbs you need. I’ll also instruct the Cyan Mulberry Main Family to look after you. You can both cultivate without any worries."

As he spoke, Zhaang Ye took out more than twenty bottles of Elixirs from his robes and handed them to the two men.

Zhaang Chengtian’s and the Grand Elder’s eyes widened instantly. "Top-grade Body Tempering Pills, Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills, Top-grade Calming Pills... Heavens, they’re all Top-Grade Elixirs! Zhaang Ye, how did you obtain so many?"

A single ordinary Low Grade Body Tempering Pill cost three hundred taels of gold, while a middle-grade one cost three thousand taels. A Top-grade Body Tempering Pill, on the other hand, cost at least thirty thousand taels, and that was assuming one could even be found for sale. If a Top-grade Body Tempering Pill was already that expensive, then the Top-grade Qi Gathering Pills and Top-grade Calming Pills were even more valuable.

The twenty-odd bottles of Elixirs Zhaang Ye had casually produced were worth, when converted to gold, at least tens of millions of taels. With so many precious Elixirs laid out before them, even men as experienced and worldly as Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder couldn’t keep their hands from trembling.

Zhaang Ye said nonchalantly, "I collected these from the opponents I’ve killed. I have no use for them anymore, but they should be perfect for you."

Hearing Zhaang Ye’s casual words, Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder both gasped. ’The things they regarded as priceless treasures were apparently just junk to Zhaang Ye.’

Zhaang Ye paid no mind to their astonishment and took out a large bag of Top-grade Essence Qi Stones. "I have no use for these Essence Stones either. You might as well have all of them."

As Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder stared at the massive pile of Essence Qi Stones, their gazes became vacant. "Excellent, excellent, excellent," they muttered unconsciously. "This is wonderful, truly wonderful..."

After a long while, the two finally came to their senses, their eyes shining with excitement. This many Elixirs and Essence Qi Stones were more than enough for their cultivation. It was enough for both of them to reach the Martial Arts Seventh Layer!

But Zhaang Ye’s surprises didn’t end there. After producing the Essence Qi Stones, he took out three Beast Skin Books and said, "These three books record the cultivation methods for several Combat Skills. You can study them carefully yourselves, or you can place them in the family’s Library Pavilion for the younger generations to practice."

Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder took the Beast Skin Books and glanced at them briefly. A look of profound shock appeared in their eyes. Zhaang Chengtian took a sharp breath and said, horrified, "The Combat Skills recorded in this book... are they the legendary Top-Grade Combat Skills?"

Zhaang Ye nodded slightly. "These three books contain two Top-Grade Combat Skills and two Middle-Grade Combat Skills. In addition, they also record the ’Jade Evergreen Skill.’ This Cultivation Technique is suitable for women, allowing those who practice it to retain their youth. Father, I’ll have to trouble you to give this one to Mother."

Having said this, Zhaang Ye bowed to Zhaang Chengtian and the Grand Elder before his body flickered and he shot into the sky. After a final look down at the Zhaang Family compound, he transformed into a ray of cyan light, shot straight into the Cyan Netherworld, and vanished in a brilliant streak.

--------------------------

This is the first Chapter of the day. Please vote with your Recommendation Tickets. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for Recommendation Tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)