Chapter 178 - 173: Celestial Stepping Ladder

Chapter 178: Chapter 173: Celestial Stepping Ladder

"If only I’d known how talented this Chen Yue was back then. We could have used a gentler approach, or just not provoked him at all."

Zhao Zongzhen’s brow was furrowed as he stared at the mountain path ahead.

’After the incident on the Life and Death Platform, we should have realized that this Chen Yue was no ordinary Outer Sect disciple. He wasn’t some pushover we could easily crush.’

’We had so many chances to avoid this predicament, but every time, we chose to push forward. Experience told us we could handle it.’

Hearing this, Lin Junshi’s steps faltered. He shot Zhao Zongzhen a sidelong glance, his eyes filled with undisguised impatience.

"Since when is life full of ’if onlys’?"

"If I could have known in advance," Lin Junshi’s voice dropped even lower, "I would have killed Chen Yue outside the sect gates before he even joined!"

As he said this, there was no smile on his face, no anger—only a calm so profound it was nearly cold-bloodedly earnest.

Zhao Zongzhen’s brow twitched. His lips moved as if to say something more, but upon seeing Lin Junshi’s iron-dark expression, he swallowed the words.

He said no more.

’He knew Lin Junshi wouldn’t listen to a word he said right now.’

’In fact, his own attitude and words had probably already earned him Lin Junshi’s deep displeasure.’

’After all, from Lin Junshi’s perspective, what he had said was nothing but cowardice, an admission of defeat.’

That moment outside Panshi Lane when Chen Yue challenged Lin Junshi to a Life and Death Decision, and Lin Junshi didn’t dare to accept.

The incident had spread like wildfire throughout the Panshi Sect’s Inner Sect, becoming fodder for countless disciples’ conversations.

That scene was fast becoming Lin Junshi’s inner demon.

...

Within Panshi Peak, all was serene.

Liu Wenying wore a set of pale cyan training clothes, her hair tied up with a simple wooden hairpin, revealing a smooth forehead and a long, slender neck.

She slowly pushed her hands forward, her movements slow and steady. Each and every move carried the unique weightiness of the Panshi Skill. As the force from her palms passed, fallen leaves on the ground were pressed flat against the earth, emitting a faint, rustling sound.

Her cultivation was going well today. Ever since breaking through to the Marrow Refining Realm, her training efficiency had clearly increased by a large margin, and the circulation of her Panshi Skill was much smoother.

’She was secretly pleased with herself, thinking that it might not be long before she could catch up to Chen Yue.’

"Senior Sister Liu! Senior Sister Liu!" A familiar voice called out from the direction of the mountain path.

A young female disciple came running over, her steps quick and urgent, her face alight with excitement.

"What is it?" Liu Wenying asked casually, continuing her practice.

"Senior Sister Liu, your junior brother, Chen Yue, has challenged Senior Brother Ji Wanting of the Cyan Cloud Ranking!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Wenying froze completely.

’The Cyan Cloud Ranking... That’s the battlefield for disciples in the Refining Organ Realm, a list of the top combatants in the Panshi Sect’s Inner Sect.’

’Her junior brother, with his Marrow Refining Realm cultivation, was going to take on that ranking already?’

"I remember Ji Wanting is ranked ninety-ninth on the Cyan Cloud Ranking,"

Liu Wenying turned to her junior sister, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Why is our junior brother challenging him directly? Shouldn’t he start with the one-hundredth rank?"

The junior sister grinned, revealing two small canine teeth, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Because Senior Brother Meng Guihong, who’s ranked one-hundredth, has been away on a mission and hasn’t returned for over ten days. So, Senior Brother Chen Yue chose to challenge the ninety-ninth-ranked Ji Wanting instead."

Liu Wenying nodded in understanding. So there was a supplementary rule like that. She hadn’t known, because the Cyan Cloud Ranking had always felt incredibly distant to her.

Liu Wenying had just thought of rushing to tell her master the news, but she froze after taking only half a step.

’She remembered something: her master was currently in seclusion, preparing to break through to the Innate Realm.’

Liu Wenying drew back her foot. Standing on the mountainside of Panshi Peak, she watched the sun slowly set on the horizon, her heart a turmoil of mixed emotions.

「Five days later.」

「The Martial Arts Arena on Celestial Stone Peak.」

Her junior brother was going to challenge the Cyan Cloud Ranking there.

On True Inheritance Peak, inside Mo Ciqiu’s courtyard, the afternoon sun spilled through the carved window lattice, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the ground.

The clear spring in the courtyard still murmured softly, and the water lilies floating on its surface were in full, perfect bloom, their pinkish-white petals nearly transparent in the sunlight.

Mo Ciqiu casually held a piece of pastry as she crossed the courtyard, her steps as light as a breeze. She pushed open the door to the Quiet Chamber and went inside.

She wore a moon-white long robe made of fabric as light as smoke, which shimmered with a faint silver glow in the afternoon light.

Her long hair was draped casually over her shoulders, with only a white jade hairpin holding back a few stray strands from her forehead. Her entire being exuded an air of lazy, unhurried grace.

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Meng Yu Jin was sitting cross-legged with her eyes slightly closed. Her hands rested on her knees, palms facing up.

Breaking through to the Innate Acupoint Refining Realm was no child’s play.

Five years of tempering, five years of waiting, five years of accumulation—all of it was condensed into these few days of preparation.

Success meant soaring to the heavens; failure meant eternal damnation.

Meng Yu Jin heard the noise and opened her eyes, looking at Mo Ciqiu with a sense of helplessness.

For the past two days, Mo Ciqiu had been constantly coming and going like this. One moment she’d bring in a pot of tea, the next a plate of snacks. Sometimes she’d bring nothing at all, just poking her head in for a look before casually leaving again.

Every time she came in, she would make some noise, sometimes even humming a little tune.

The sounds were never loud, but for someone adjusting their state of mind to prepare for an Innate breakthrough, these subtle noises were enough to be maddening.

’Meng Yu Jin knew Mo Ciqiu meant well. She was afraid Meng Yu Jin was too nervous, too wound up, so she was using this method to help her relax.’

But knowing that didn’t make it any less exasperating.

When Mo Ciqiu saw Meng Yu Jin open her eyes, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepened.

With a flick of her left wrist, another piece of pastry appeared in her palm. She offered it to Meng Yu Jin.

"Want some? You used to love sweets. I remember back when you were in the Skin Refining Realm, you’d always eat a piece of osmanthus cake after cultivating. You said eating something sweet after bitter training was what made life worth living.

You haven’t eaten them much in recent years, but a person’s tastes don’t just change, do they?"

As she spoke, she pushed the pastry a little closer, almost touching Meng Yu Jin’s lips.

Meng Yu Jin shot Mo Ciqiu an exasperated look.

She looked at the osmanthus cake before her, with its cloyingly sweet fragrance, and her throat moved slightly.

’It was true, she did love sweets. Mo Ciqiu wasn’t wrong about that.’

’But right now, her Heart Spirit was entirely focused on the momentous task of breaking through to the Innate Realm. Forget osmanthus cake; even if she were served Dragon Liver and Phoenix Marrow, she wouldn’t have any appetite.’

"I have no appetite," Meng Yu Jin said, her voice tinged with exhaustion and helplessness.

She tore her gaze away from the osmanthus cake and closed her eyes again, trying to return to her previous state of single-minded focus.

Mo Ciqiu giggled, pulled the osmanthus cake back, and took a bite herself. The cake was soft and fluffy, sweet but not cloying. The fragrance of osmanthus filled her mouth, making her involuntarily narrow her eyes in pleasure.

Chewing, she mumbled indistinctly, "You’ve been adjusting for two days already."

She swallowed the pastry in her mouth and licked the crumbs from the corner of her lips.

"You’re just too cautious. To cross into the Innate Realm, you need to forge ahead without hesitation. The more you look before and after, the more you hesitate, the more indestructible that barrier will seem."

She paused, looking at Meng Yu Jin’s face, which had grown somewhat thin from years of cultivation. Her tone became more solemn. "Only by pushing through in one breath can you trigger the metamorphosis of your Heart Spirit, and in turn, capture the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and the Acupoints within your body!"

The core of the Innate Acupoint Refining Realm wasn’t the accumulation of Inner Strength or the tempering of the physical body. The most crucial element was the metamorphosis of the Heart Spirit.

Only when the Heart Spirit was powerful and sharp enough could one perceive the omnipresent Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and sense the Acupoints hidden deep within one’s flesh and blood.

Then, one had to use the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to break open the Acupoints, and use the Acupoints to contain the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, forming an endless, self-sustaining cycle between the internal and external.

This was the true essence of Acupoint Refining.

’She wanted to say that it wasn’t that she didn’t dare take that step, but that she was waiting for the perfect moment.’

But her gaze met Mo Ciqiu’s in mid-air, and the words on the tip of her tongue remained unspoken.

’Because she knew Mo Ciqiu was right.’

Five years of tempering had made her foundation incredibly solid, but it had also worn away her sharp, enterprising spirit.

She was too steady—so steady that she had to repeatedly confirm the ground beneath her feet was solid before daring to take a single step.

This personality was an advantage in the early and Middle Stages of cultivation. It had allowed her to avoid many unnecessary risks and to progress through each realm in a solid and stable manner.

But when it came to the hurdle of breaking through to the Innate Realm, this personality had become a hindrance.

The Innate Barrier didn’t require steadiness, but ferocity. It didn’t require repeated confirmation, but a will to forge ahead without looking back.

Mo Ciqiu saw the expression on Meng Yu Jin’s face and a smile bloomed on her own lovely features.

She stuffed the last bite of osmanthus cake into her mouth, dusted the crumbs from her hands, and then sat cross-legged on the cattail hassock opposite Meng Yu Jin, propping her hands on her knees and leaning forward slightly.

"Let me tell you something fun. Your precious disciple is going to face off against Ji Wanting in five days. He’s getting ready to climb the Celestial Stepping Ladder!"

The Celestial Stepping Ladder!

This was another name Panshi Sect disciples had for challenging the Cyan Cloud Ranking. The "Celestial" in the name didn’t refer to the sky, but to the Innate Realm.

The ladder was the stairway to the Innate Realm.

Meng Yu Jin was stunned by the news.

’Chen Yue... he just broke through to the Marrow Refining Realm not long ago, and he’s already planning to fight his way onto the Cyan Cloud Ranking?’

A complex, indescribable emotion welled up in Meng Yu Jin’s heart. ’Is my disciple really this ambitious?’

’Compared to her disciple, Meng Yu Jin realized she was far too worried and hesitant about everything she did.’

Mo Ciqiu watched Meng Yu Jin with a beaming smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling into several shallow lines. She exuded a rare, mischievous air.

"You’d better get a move on. Otherwise, by the time your precious disciple breaks through to the Innate Realm, you might still be stuck in the Refining Organ Realm. Wouldn’t that be a little embarrassing?"

As she finished, the smile on Mo Ciqiu’s face grew even more brilliant.

She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. It wasn’t loud, but it was crisp and clear, echoing through the Quiet Chamber like a wind chime stirred by a breeze.

Meng Yu Jin looked helplessly at Mo Ciqiu. She knew Mo Ciqiu was just trying different ways to motivate her.

But Meng Yu Jin really wanted to give Mo Ciqiu a good beating—though she also knew she couldn’t actually win against her right now.

Meng Yu Jin took a deep breath, suppressing all the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

Her consciousness sank into her body as she began to perceive her internal state.

Her Dantian, having been repeatedly tempered over five years, was exceptionally resilient. It was like an iron cauldron that had been hammered ten million times, sturdy enough to withstand the violent surge of power that came with breaking through to the Innate Realm.

Her meridians were wide and clear, allowing her Inner Strength to circulate freely without any stagnation or blockage.

Her Qi Blood was like mercury, dense and heavy. With every heartbeat, this viscous Qi Blood was pumped to her limbs and bones, nourishing every inch of her skeleton, every muscle, and every tendon.

Her Heart Spirit had already transformed into a Heart Lake.

Everything was ready. All that was left was for Meng Yu Jin to take that final step.

Meng Yu Jin slowly exhaled.

The breath was long and slow, as if she were expelling the last wisp of stray thought from her body.