White-Robed Chief

Four days, five days, six days, seven days, eight days, nine days, ten days.

Li Ruolan sat on the futon in front of the thatched cottage. She slowly ate the food in the lunch box she was holding, almost making no sound for fear of disturbing the person inside the cottage.

As the days passed, her nervousness grew along with her sense of seriousness regarding this matter. She did not dare act carelessly in fear of attracting bothersome people.

She actually knew that the strong wind whistling high above was not quiet in the slightest. Yet she could not help but stop herself from making a sound, afraid that she would disturb Chu Li and thus waking him from his deep meditation.

She knew that when cultivating the Scripture of Great Light, the longer it was cultivated in a single sitting, the greater the gain. The difference between cultivating six hours in a single sitting and spreading six hours of cultivation across two days was like clouds and mud.

Chu Li had cultivated ten days in a single sitting so there was no telling just how far he had advanced.

She estimated that he had made more progress than a person that had cultivated painstakingly for two years; it was truly a horrifically efficient cultivation. Even if a Saint was the one doing the cultivation, they would not be nearly as amazing.

She was also slightly worried. Was this Zhao Dahe a reincarnation of a senior monk from Titanium Temple? If not, how could he possess not only such refined meditation techniques but also such strong spiritual force that allowed him to persevere at cultivation for so long?

She quickly buried this thought. It would be impossible for the wise Saint to not have predicted this; if he truly was a reincarnation of a senior monk from Titanium Temple, he would not be able to hide it from the Saint.

She could not imagine just how powerful Zhao Dahe’s spiritual force was for him to maintain ten straight days of cultivation.

Could it be that cultivating two scriptures was not depleting his spiritual force but actually replenishing it?

A faint fragrance wafted to her nose and once she looked up, the Saint stood before her.

She immediately held out a fist against an open palm in greeting before pointing towards the thatched cottage without saying a word.

The Saint was dressed in a snow-white gown with a white veil that covered her face entirely, only showing her calm, sharp eyes, which gazed into the cottage.

She waved a hand and disappeared, only to reappear about a hundred meters away.

Li Ruolan darted over to her. “My Saint.”

“It’s been ten days?”

“Yes.”

“He didn’t eat or drink?”

“Yes.”

The Saint seemed to be deep in thought.

Li Ruolan asked curiously, “He isn’t in danger, right?”

The Saint gently shook her head and replied, “This is a rare opportunity… If he isn’t extraordinary, the monk from Titanium Temple wouldn’t have helped him. Do you think that they’re truly compassionate and kind people who like doing good deeds?”

“That’s true.” Li Ruolan nodded her head.

The monks of Titanium Temple were famous for being indifferent. They considered themselves above worldly affairs and regarded all beings as mere ants. As they were destined to attain enlightenment, they regarded the lives and deaths of all living beings lightly. They believed that each living being was tied to its own fate so they would never forcibly change that fate. They were bound by cause and effect, and while mortals feared the effects, they feared the causes.

“I never expected him to be so powerful, to go at it for ten days straight.” Li Ruolan sighed softly.

She did not even dare to think about cultivating for ten days straight. It was an incredible feat beyond imagination.

She whispered, “Could it have been because of that piece of Sarira?”

The Saint shook her head; the Sarira was no miracle worker. Otherwise, the monks of Titanium Temple would not need to cultivate persistently.

“I’ll go take a look.” The Saint disappeared instantly before reappearing within the cottage.

The thatched cottage’s doors were not open but she was proficient in the Void-Treading Skill, which was equivalent to the Limb of God crossing a great distance like it was nothing.

She stood before Chu Li, who was close to her.

A moment later, she gently retrieved the piece of Sarira from the cloth bag and realized that it did not look at all unusual. After confirming that the Sarira was not causing anything, she simply held it in her hand and noticed that his breathing was slow, his body temperature was lower than usual, and his heartbeat was slow as well. It was as if he was hibernating.

She nodded her head lightly and disappeared once more before reappearing about a hundred meters away.

Li Ruolan asked, “Is everything okay?”

The Saint shook her head before saying, “He’ll still be able to last for a while.”

She passed the Sarira to Li Ruolan and continued, “Return this to him once he awakens.”

Li Ruolan nodded her head, understanding that the Saint wanted to examine if it was truly the Sarira that was aiding him.

“Notify me when he awakens,” the Saint ordered.

Then, she disappeared.

Li Ruolan took her seat in front of the thatched cottage once more, resuming her duty of keeping watch on Chu Li.

Eleven days, twelve days.

On the evening of the twelfth day, the sun was setting.

Li Ruolan retrieved her lunch box and the Gray-robed Elder raced away.

Just as she was about to open her lunch box, she suddenly heard a long exhale which was soon followed by footsteps.

She immediately stood up and entered the thatched cottage with a push of the door.

Chu Li’s feet had just landed upon the ground, he was stretching his body and seemed to be in high spirits.

He noticed Li Ruolan and immediately exclaimed in surprise, “Miss Ruolan? Has it been a month?”

“Do you know how long you’ve been cultivating?”

“Maybe a couple of days?”

“Twelve days.” Li Ruolan shook her head and asked, “Are you hungry?”

She then turned around to bring the lunch box in before placing it upon the desk to open it. Inside were two small bowls of porridge, the aroma immediately wafting to her nose, and three plates of dishes.

“Here, quickly eat these.” Li Ruolan passed over a pair of chopsticks.

Chu Li took the chopsticks with a smile and said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Even if you’re not, eat some of the porridge.” Li Ruolan continued, “You’re not feeling hungry not but you’ll definitely be starving in a while!”

“Very well.” Chu Li picked up a bowl of porridge and swallowed a few bites.

Li Ruolan asked, “Why didn’t you guess that it was twelve days?”

“I thought that maybe a day or two had passed, I never expected twelve days to pass instead.” Chu Li spoke as he ate the porridge, and this was honestly what he felt so he was not lying at all; he never expected that cultivating two scriptures at the same time would be so profound.

“You don’t feel tired?”

“Why would I be tired?”

“Doesn’t cultivating consume your spiritual force?”

“I don’t know.” Chu Li shook his head and continued eating his porridge. “I don’t know anything, really. I had turned into the Buddha and I merely chanted the sutras, which felt extremely comfortable, like I had fallen asleep.”

Chu Li glared at him but did not dare to continue asking more questions for fear of making herself angry.

It was obvious he had ignorantly entered deep meditation, so he could not talk about any principles since he had proceeded entirely on feeling.

Once Chu Li was done with his meal, Li Ruolan said, “You should rest for the night, the Saint will drop by tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Chu Li said with a nod.

—

The next morning, Li Ruolan came to the front of the cottage with the Saint, yet just as Li Ruolan was about to call out a greeting, the Saint suddenly held a delicate hand out.

Li Ruolan immediately closed her mouth and looked towards her curiously.

The Saint furrowed her eyebrows. “He’s meditating again!”

Li Ruolan exclaimed in amazement, “He had just awoken yesterday.”

“It seems it isn’t difficult for him to enter a meditative state.” The Saint continued calmly, “He’s been blessed by heaven and his will is pure, so he’s definitely a genius of cultivation… You’re to continue watching over him.”

“Yes.” Li Ruolan then said, “I wonder if it’ll be another twelve days.”

The Saint smiled faintly before disappearing.

When Chu Li awoke from his meditation, another twelve days had passed.

Once he opened his eyes, he realized that the Saint and Li Ruolan were outside the cottage.

He heaved a long breath and Li Ruolan entered with a push of the door before looking towards him in amazement.

Chu Li asked with a smile. “How long has passed?”

“Twelve days!” exclaimed Li Ruolan.

The Saint entered the cottage, a faint fragrance following her, before coming up to him to grasp his wrist.

Cool air entered his veins, not even letting the slightest trace of change go undetected. A moment later, she released her grip and nodded her head slightly.

“My Saint, how’s my advancement?”

“It’s going well.” The Saint nodded her head slightly. “Continue cultivating, don’t worry about anything else. Continue cultivating in a single sitting and see how far you can go.”

“My Saint, there isn’t anything wrong with my body, right?” Chu Li scratched his head. “How is it possible for me to sit here for twelve days at a time?”

“Continue cultivating.” The Saint continued, “I believe you’ll achieve innate mastery in a month or so.”

“Then how long will it take for me to reach the Grandmaster’s Boundary?” Chu Li asked hastily.