Chapter 4435: Rank Five Utmost Exalted Level

“Why aren’t you taking off your clothes anymore? You’re sullying such pure water by entering the lake clothed!” Chu Feng shouted behind her.

“You aren’t taking responsibility for it anyway. Why should I show you my body?” Long Xiaoxiao harrumphed in response.

“If you aren’t going to strip, I’ll do it then!”

After saying those words, Chu Feng began to move his hands toward his clothes in order to take it off.

“W-what? Ahhh!”

Long Xiaoxiao immediately averted her gaze away, not daring to look at Chu Feng at all.

Meanwhile, Chu Feng seemed to fiddle a bit on the shore for a while before he leaped into the lake with a loud splash.

“Bahh! It feels comfortable soaking inside such pure water with my bare body! My cultivation will surely grow by leaps and bounds if I were to cultivate here naked!” Chu Feng spoke loudly, making sure that Long Xiaoxiao would hear his words loud and clear.

“Little benefactor, I didn’t think that you would actually be a thug. Stay away from me, don’t come near me!” Long Xiaoxiao shouted loudly.

Even though she was resisting him with her words, her voice didn’t seem to carry any aversion at all.

However, Chu Feng didn’t respond to her words at all. It was almost as if he didn’t hear what he said.

“Little benefactor? Little benefactor?” 

Long Xiaoxiao called out, but there was no response.

In the end, she fell silent, and the lake also fell tranquil once more.

Her guess was that Chu Feng had started to cultivate.

“He wouldn’t know if I were to sneak a peek, right? He’s going to be my man eventually anyway, so what’s the harm of taking a look?”

With such thoughts in mind, a mischievous smile crept onto Long Xiaoxiao’s lips.

She took in a deep breath and bucked up her courage before she finally slowly turned her head around to where Chu Feng was at. Her eyes were initially tightly closed, and she slowly opened them up to form a slit to peek at Chu Feng.

Just as she had thought, Chu Feng was already sitting in the depths of the lake, in the midst of his cultivation.

It was just that there was one thing Long Xiaoxiao miscalculated—Chu Feng didn’t take off his clothes at all. His robe was still tied firmly to his body.

“You liar…”

Long Xiaoxiao muttered in disappointment and indignance.

However, her disappointment didn’t last for too long. She stared fixated at Chu Feng for a while, and unknowingly, a radiant smile surfaced on her lips.

“Mother, you were right. It’s a bliss in itself to be able to love someone. I should be grateful that the person I love is Chu Feng, not that philandering father that I have. I’m really grateful for this opportunity to be able to cultivate together with him,” Long Xiaoxiao muttered to herself.

After saying those words, she dived into the depths of the lake like a fish, and after reaching the very bottom, she crossed her leg, closed her eyes, and began to cultivate.

Meanwhile, Chu Feng was already using his cultivation skill to draw the energy of this lake into his body. As the energy within the lake seeped into his body, he realized that the water around him was far more complicated than he thought.

The lake wasn’t just mixed with many different cultivation resources and treasures. There was also the scent of the Ancient Era lingering within the lake too. It was very likely that it might be a relic left behind from the Ancient Era.

On top of that, the energy within the lake wasn’t as simple as he first thought it out to be either.

Unlike other cultivation resources, it didn’t harness a tremendous amount of resources. It wasn’t as if he could easily make a breakthrough as long as he cultivated within this lake.

The energy in the lake was exquisite, but it served more of an auxiliary function, reminiscent of a guide. It facilitated cultivators to utilize the experiences they had accumulated in order to create an impetus for a breakthrough.

To put it simply, the lake water was a medium that created an opportunity to make a breakthrough. If one could grasp the opportunity, one would be able to raise his cultivation level.

However, this opportunity only came once. All cultivators would only be able to raise their cultivation by a single rank in this lake water, regardless of how talented they were.

That being said, this breakthrough wasn’t guaranteed either. It was highly dependent on one’s intelligence.

Boom!

All of a sudden, heavenly lightning began stirring from heaven. It ripped through the sky to unleash devastating might upon the entire desert.

The long-awaited Lightning Tribulation was finally falling once again, and this time, Chu Feng was prepared to face it.

Boom!

With a thunderous clap, a powerful bolt of heavenly lightning fell to the ground. It carried overwhelming might with it that seemed intent on destroying this world, but this force was directed toward a single person—Chu Feng.

Boom!

The thunderous rumble caused the entire desert to tremble before it as the bolt of lightning fell upon Chu Feng.

But regardless of how the lightning bolt was ravaging Chu Feng, he didn’t show the slightest hint of pain. Instead, he began laughing heartily out of joy.

“Yes, it’s this familiar sensation. Come at me harder!” Chu Feng shouted in agitation.

In his view, this terrifying Divine Lightning was like an old friend whom he had been hoping to have a reunion with. Needless to say, he was more than happy to welcome it.

Compared to the ecstasy that he felt within, the pain that the Divine Lightning brought him was not even worth a mention at all.

It was a while before the Divine Lightning finally halted its attacks, and the dark clouds filling the sky began scattering.

With this, Chu Feng’s cultivation also rose from rank four Utmost Exalted level to rank five Utmost Exalted level.

This breakthrough was much smoother than Chu Feng expected, but it was understandable why it would be the case.

After making his breakthrough, Chu Feng turned to look at Long Xiaoxiao and saw that she was still in the midst of her cultivation. She was extremely focused at the moment, such that she wasn’t disrupted by the Divine Lightning summoned by Chu Feng.

The fact that she was willing to put down her guard and focus her full attention on her cultivation showed just how safe she felt at the moment. She wasn’t worried about danger falling upon her at all.

There was one thing that was rather peculiar though. Despite being in the midst of her cultivation, she actually had a smile on her lips.

“Why is this girl smiling while cultivating? Those who don’t know better might think that she’s having a pleasant dream!”

Chu Feng shook his head and sighed deeply, “I guess even though she usually puts on a brave front, she’s still a young child who needs caring for.”

Long Xiaoxiao had always been a mischievous and eccentric individual from the first time they met, but back then, she gave Chu Feng a feeling that she was someone who was extremely guarded.

However, the current Long Xiaoxiao no longer felt that way anymore. She had torn down all of her walls, baring her inner self before Chu Feng.

Chu Feng understood the reason behind this change. 

Long Xiaoxiao had really fallen for him.

However, Chu Feng wasn’t certain whether this was really a good thing for Long Xiaoxiao or not.

He had a good impression of Long Xiaoxiao, but he didn’t feel as moved for her as he did with Su Rou, Su Mei, and Zi Ling.

He was no longer the same young man he used to be.

Back then, he was someone who loved and hated without regard for the consequences. He was true to his feelings, and he did what he thought was right. 

The current Chu Feng was now someone who looked at the bigger picture and kept his emotions under control. If needed, he wouldn’t hesitate to bow his head down.

However, such a change also had its own detriments. He ended up concealing a lot of his emotions, such that he wasn’t living as carefree as he did previously.

There were times that he really envied his younger self, but there was no helping it. He had to grow up and mature eventually in order to protect what he held dear.

It was time for him to give up his wilfulness and start shouldering responsibility. That was what being a man entailed.

He wasn’t a hero who strove to protect the world from calamities, but at the very least, he felt that he should ensure the safety of those around him.

Gazing intently at the cultivating Long Xiaoxiao, a slight smile began forming on Chu Feng’s lips as well. No one could tell what the current thoughts in his mind were.

Splosh!

All of a sudden, water splashed around the place. Chu Feng had walked out of the lake.

As powerful as the energy within the lake was, he could only use it once to make a breakthrough. Since he had already used up this opportunity, there was no reason for him to continue remaining within the lake.

That being said, he was content to have been able to raise his cultivation by a single rank. He knew just how difficult it was for him to raise his cultivation at his current level.

Chu Feng had no idea how long Long Xiaoxiao would take for her cultivation, but he knew that he had to wait till she was done before they were able to leave this area.

So, after leaving the lake, he sat down on the sand not too far away from the lake and took out the Cosmos Sack he had taken from Yu Hong.

“As expected of a top prodigy from the Yu Heavenly Clan, he really has quite a few good stuff on him. Oh? Is this fellow a world spiritist too?”

Looking through the items that Yu Hong had in his Cosmos Sack, Chu Feng was awed momentarily before a bright smile broke out on his face.

Even if he were to ransack a remnant, it was doubtful whether he would be able to obtain as many treasures as what was inside the Cosmos Sack.

Incomplete Exalted Armament, Exalted Taboo Martial Skills, divine pills, quality medicine, and all sorts of materials were inside the Cosmos Sack. There were even materials for world spiritists, and they were of top-notch quality too.

One thing that really caught Chu Feng’s fancy was one of the Exalted Taboo Martial Skills inside the Cosmos Sack.

Ordinary cultivators might have felt a little burdened to acquire so many precious treasures at once. After all, the Yu Heavenly Clan was the strongest Heavenly Clan of the Holy Light Galaxy, and taking the treasures was no different from offending them thoroughly.

Such a deed could very well warrant their fury, bringing harm onto one and one’s kin.

However, Chu Feng wasn’t worried about that at all.

From the moment he humiliated Yu Hong at the very start, he knew that the latter wouldn’t let him off easily. Since there was already a grudge between them, it wouldn’t matter even if he were to offend them more.

He wasn’t afraid of Yu Hong exacting his vengeance at all.

Even though the current Yu Heavenly Clan was still beyond Chu Feng’s means to deal with, it was only a matter of time before he had them under his feet.

The one who would regret their actions in the end was not Chu Feng but the Yu Heavenly Clan!

Besides, even though Chu Feng had cultivated some Exalted Taboo Martial Skills thus far, most of his them couldn’t catch up with the growth in his cultivation anymore.

Even if he was on par with the top prodigies of the Holy Light Galaxy in terms of cultivation, his weaker Exalted Taboo Martial Skills would prove to be a fatal flaw when fighting against them.

It was fortunate that there were some higher tier Exalted Taboo Martial Skills inside Yu Hong’s Cosmos Sack.

Since Chu Feng had nothing better to do at the moment, he decided to try cultivating them.

While Chu Feng did have the powerful Heavenly Lightning Nine Slashes as his trump card, its utility was severely limited in battle since it would cause great damage to him as well.

Unless forced to a corner, he would avoid using it in a battle.

Thus, it was important for him to cultivate some Exalted Taboo Martial Skills too.