Chapter 235 - 216: I Have a Cheat

Chapter 235: Chapter 216: I Have a Cheat

Chen Yue looked at the line of text on his panel, [Cultivation +2280], and a smile touched his lips. The Gathering Essence Spirit Platform’s effects were as good as ever.

If he could train in this Gathering Essence Spirit Platform for a few more days, Chen Yue was confident he could cultivate all the way to the Perfection level of the Refining Organ Realm and touch the threshold of the Innate Realm.

But that was obviously impossible. Access to the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform was always limited. While disciples in the Refining Organ Realm didn’t use it often, the experts of the Innate Realm were frequent visitors.

For experts in the Innate Realm, cultivation advancement relied mainly on Qi Yuan Pills and the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. A place like the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, where the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was incredibly dense, was naturally a perfect sanctuary for training.

However, precisely because these Innate Realm experts absorbed vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi during each use, the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform had to be closed for several days after each three-day session they completed.

It would only be reopened to others after the array had gathered enough energy to restore the concentration of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to its normal level.

Chen Yue suppressed these distracting thoughts, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his Pan Yuan Infinite Skill. He let his Dantian and meridians, which had grown taut from the high-intensity training, slowly relax.

The path of cultivation required a balance between tension and relaxation; to overdo it was as bad as not doing enough.

「In the blink of an eye, three days passed.」

For these three days, Chen Yue was almost completely immersed in his training.

Every morning, he would circulate his cultivation technique, drawing in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to temper his internal organs. When he felt hungry, he ate a few Fasting Pills. When thirsty, he drank some water. When tired, he would close his eyes inside the Spirit Platform to rest for a moment before continuing his training.

The results were remarkable.

At the midnight settlement each day, he gained around twenty-three hundred points of Cultivation growth.

After three days, his Cultivation had soared to: Refining Organ Realm (22076/29192).

His internal organs, under the dual tempering of the dense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi and his own Inner Strength, were already more than halfway refined. He had stepped into the Late Stage of the Refining Organ Realm.

The increase in his Cultivation also brought with it a considerable boost to his Power.

The strength of one’s internal organs directly affects the output of Power and the upper limit of strength one can bear. Otherwise, what was the point of everyone working so hard to raise their Cultivation?

「On the morning of the fourth day, as the first ray of sunlight struck the glazed tile roof of the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, the doors to the grand hall slowly swung open.」

Chen Yue opened his eyes. The sharp glint within them was restrained, and his aura was as steady as a mountain.

He stood up and stretched, his bones letting out a series of crisp cracks.

Chen Yue walked out of the hall and came to stand under the eaves. He bowed with cupped fists to the cross-legged Qin Hongzhang. "Many thanks for your protection these past few days, Elder Qin."

Qin Hongzhang opened his eyes slightly. His gaze swept over Chen Yue, sensing his current aura, and his brow twitched involuntarily.

Three days ago, when Chen Yue had entered the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform, his Cultivation, though already quite solid, was still within the bounds of the Middle Stage of the Refining Organ Realm.

But now, in just three short days, his Cultivation had grown by another huge leap. He had already vaguely stepped into the Late Stage of the Refining Organ Realm.

A little over a month ago, it was in this very Gathering Essence Spirit Platform that Chen Yue had broken through from the Marrow Refining Realm to the Refining Organ Realm.

’He’s already in the Refining Organ Realm, yet his Cultivation is still increasing this quickly?’

’Truly a heaven-sent prodigy!’

Qin Hongzhang didn’t say anything more. He just gave Chen Yue a slight nod, then slowly closed his eyes and resumed his meditation.

Chen Yue left the Gathering Essence Spirit Platform and followed the mountain path toward the Wenda Corridor.

The Wenda Corridor was situated on a western mountain ridge, built into the mountainside in a winding path.

A moment later, Chen Yue rounded a bend in the mountain path, and the long, mountain-hugging corridor ahead came into view.

The corridor’s roof was covered with slate-gray tiles. A few tenacious weeds grew from the cracks between them, swaying gently in the morning breeze.

At the entrance to the corridor, an old man in a worn gray robe sat cross-legged like a statue, perfectly still. It was the Guardian Elder, Zhao Chengwu.

His eyes were closed, his breathing long and steady, as if he had become one with the mountain and the corridor itself.

However, as Chen Yue approached, Zhao Chengwu’s eyes, which had been closed for an unknown length of time, slowly opened.

Chen Yue was slightly taken aback. He had thought Zhao Chengwu would continue meditating. Suppressing his confusion, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully with cupped fists. "Disciple Chen Yue greets Elder Zhao!"

Zhao Chengwu’s gaze fell upon Chen Yue, and a faint smile appeared on his wrinkled face. The smile held a hint of both scrutiny and approval.

"Someone came and asked me if there was something wrong with you."

Zhao Chengwu’s voice was a bit hoarse, yet it carried an inexplicable calm. "You’ve certainly surprised a lot of people."

Hearing this, the surprise in Chen Yue’s eyes intensified.

He wasn’t surprised that the Sect would investigate him.

A disciple who had joined less than half a year ago was advancing by leaps and bounds, with combat strength far exceeding his peers. It would be stranger if the Sect *didn’t* look into it.

What surprised him was that this Guardian Elder, who was usually as silent and taciturn as a statue, would voluntarily bring up the matter of his investigation.

"Thank you for your kind words, Elder Zhao," Chen Yue said, cupping his fists.

Zhao Chengwu laughed heartily. The sound carried far down the empty mountain path, startling a few birds roosting under the corridor’s eaves.

"I was just speaking the truth! If they hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have even known what you’d done. Impressive. Very impressive!"

Chen Yue smiled. "You flatter me, Elder Zhao. I was just lucky."

Zhao Chengwu shook his head. The smile on his face faded slightly, but his tone grew more earnest. "Stop being so modest with me. Luck has nothing to do with it. Go on in and train. Don’t waste any more time."

After speaking, Zhao Chengwu slowly closed his eyes.

As his eyes closed, his aura receded like the tide, vanishing completely. It was as if he had turned into a solid piece of stone, not a single trace of his presence leaking out.

Chen Yue bowed to Zhao Chengwu once more with cupped fists, then turned and stepped into the Wenda Corridor.

The moment he stepped into the corridor, a peculiar aura washed over him.

It was a feeling that was difficult to put into words. It was as if the air had grown thick and viscous, and the flow of time itself had slowed.

A faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation gently brushed against his Heart Spirit.

Chen Yue stopped in the middle of the Wenda Corridor, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes to acclimate himself to the strange environment.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and began to practice the fist forms of the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell.

As he circulated the cultivation technique, that special sensation of possessing three simultaneous perspectives and insights arose once again in his Sea of Consciousness.

He had experienced this feeling the last time he was in the Wenda Corridor—it was as if three versions of himself were simultaneously examining the same cultivation technique from different angles.

Each perspective revealed different details, and each insight served to corroborate and supplement the others.

Time flowed slowly in the corridor. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the roof tiles, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the ground that slowly shifted as the hours passed.

After practicing a few rounds of the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell, Chen Yue stopped.

He adjusted his breathing, then, forming a blade with his hand, he began to practice chopping motions, using his hand in place of a saber.

His movements weren’t fast, but every chop was infused with his entire Heart Spirit and Saber Intent. The sharp whistle of a blade cleaving the air could be faintly heard.

[Furious Wave Saber Intent (Perfection 52305/91258)]

This time in the Wenda Corridor, Chen Yue decided to focus his main efforts on cultivating his Furious Wave Saber Intent, dedicating only a small portion of his time to the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell.

This was because, in the short term, it would be difficult to make another major breakthrough with the Ten Thousand Forms Tiger Roar Golden Bell.

That cultivation technique required over four hundred thousand total Experience Points. Even with the boost from the Wenda Corridor, it was unrealistic to expect to raise it to a whole new level in just three days.

But the Furious Wave Saber Intent was different. It was already quite close to complete Perfection, with a deficit of less than forty thousand Experience Points.

Once his Furious Wave Saber Intent reached complete Perfection, his Heart Spirit would undergo a metamorphosis, and his strength would increase dramatically.

Then, breaking through to the Innate Realm would be much easier.

Facing the hurdle of the Innate Realm, Chen Yue didn’t know if his breakthrough would be as natural and effortless as his previous ones, or if he would encounter a true bottleneck.

Currently, he had no issues with either his Heart Method of the Infinite Source for refining Inner Strength, or the depth and purity of his Inner Strength.

The only thing that could be considered a bottleneck was his Heart Spirit.

The strength of one’s Heart Spirit was directly related to the ability to sense and control the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi—the most critical step in breaking through to the Innate Realm.

Therefore, as long as his Heart Spirit could undergo a metamorphosis, the barrier to the Innate Realm would be insignificant.

After practicing his chopping motions for a quarter of an hour, Chen Yue slowly stopped.

He frowned, looking down at his palm and then at the corridor walls around him.

’If I keep training conventionally like this, even with the Wenda Corridor’s boost, I’ll probably only gain about four thousand Experience Points a day, maybe a little more.’

He had already confirmed as much during his last training session in the Wenda Corridor.

’To push my Furious Wave Saber Intent from fifty-two thousand points to the ninety-one thousand needed for Perfection in just three days, I’ll have to try a different method.’

’For instance, I could try stimulating my Heart Spirit far beyond its normal limits during training.’

With this in mind, Chen Yue took a Jade Bottle from his Storage Ring and tipped out a Nourishing Spirit Pill.

It had come from Guan Duhai’s Storage Ring. The quality was superb, making it perfect for the current situation.

He put the Nourishing Spirit Pill in his mouth. The elixir dissolved instantly. A cool, gentle Medicinal Power flowed through his limbs like a trickling stream, nourishing his Heart Spirit, which had grown weary from days of intense training.

Immediately after, Chen Yue activated the Celestial Demon Burning Technique, causing a sliver of his Qi Blood and Heart Spirit to burn.

He didn’t use the power generated from burning his Qi Blood to fuel his Inner Strength as usual. Instead, using a specific part of the Pan Yuan Infinite Skill designed to temper the Heart Spirit, he converted and guided that power to act directly upon his Heart Spirit.

BUZZ!

Chen Yue felt his Heart Spirit jolt violently, as if an invisible barrier had shattered. In that instant, his perception magnified.

The profound and mysterious aura within the Wenda Corridor stirred layer after layer of ripples in his spiritual perception.

The sensation was completely different from normal. If his usual spiritual perception was like a mirror, clearly reflecting his surroundings...

...then right now, that mirror had become a prism, refracting his surroundings into countless angles, each one containing new information.

Chen Yue held tightly to this sensation. He raised his hand again, using it as a saber, and slowly executed a chop.

In an instant, a torrent of insights regarding the Furious Wave Saber Intent flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a burst dam.

These insights came from countless different perspectives. Some were inspirations he had vaguely touched upon in his training but failed to grasp, while others were entirely new lines of thought he had never considered.

He couldn’t say exactly how many perspectives the insights were flooding in from, but compared to his conventional training method from moments ago, the sheer number of insights had increased several times over.

However, these insights, forcibly stimulated through extreme measures, were not entirely a good thing.

Because his Heart Spirit was overstimulated, the influx of information was overwhelmingly complex. Many of the insights were incomplete and fragmented, like the scattered shards of a beautiful, shattered porcelain vase.

Although each shard contained valuable information, piecing them back together into a complete picture was an incredibly arduous task.

For a normal Martial Artist, the efficiency of insights gained through such a method would actually be very low.

This went beyond simply cramming information; it was a pure, indiscriminate absorption of everything that flooded in, with no time to distinguish right from wrong, let alone organize and synthesize it all.

If he had to rely on himself to sort through these chaotic insights, it would likely take an extremely long time. Worse, he might find them becoming even more jumbled the more he tried to organize them, potentially even leading him down the wrong path.

But Chen Yue was different. He had his panel.