Chapter 22: The Storm at Jade Forest Mountain

“I’m not worried about that.” Zhu Yao sighed. “I’m just worried about you using a Foundation Pellet. I heard from master that, cultivation goes against the laws of nature in the first place, using medicine to elevate one’s level of cultivation, will only bring temporary effects, and it cannot be considered as one’s actual abilities, even if one gains strength for a short period of time. But, comparing the usage of external aid and of one’s own abilities, using one’s abilities is much more dependable. Master himself had never used any medicinal pellets to elevate his level of cultivation.”

w.a.n.g Xuzhi went silent for a moment. He knew of this logic as well. There were always side-effects to using medicinal pellets, even if they were not that obvious in the early stages, once one reached the later stages, he would encounter a bottleneck. However, compared to that, everyone had habitually relied on medicinal pellets to supplement and increase their success rates in building their Foundation, hence, he had not thought in that direction.

“Big sister Zhu Yao is right. I have to rely on my own abilities to build my Foundation.”

“You have promise, young man!” Zhu Yao satisfyingly patted on his shoulders. She felt extremely happy that this spoiled brat had learnt to care about her and listen to her words. “Of course, if you’re really unable to endure it, use medicinal pellets when you have to. After all, all hope will be lost if you die.”

“Mn, Xuzhi understands.”

So obedient. So caring. As I thought, I did not care for you for nothing.

“Oh right, big sister Zhu Yao, what’s your current level of cultivation?”

She instantly fell onto the ground.

Zhu Yao held onto her gla.s.s heart and silently looked away. Did you have to stab her in the heart like this?

Seeing that her expression was not that good, w.a.n.g Xuzhi muttered out. “I was not able to see through big sister Zhu Yao’s cultivation level, so I thought it was because your cultivation level was higher than mine, could it be…” His expression was momentarily in a slight panic, as he immediately began to remedy his words. “Big sister Zhu Yao, it… it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know you have yet to take in spiritual energy… Don’t be mad at me. If I had known that you don’t even have a single bit of spiritual energy in you, I wouldn’t have brought it up. Don’t be anxious, taking in spiritual energy is actually really simple, back then, I learnt it in a single night. I…”

Stab. Stab. Stab. Zhu Yao simply felt a couple of daggers stabbing right through her heart. She could no longer restrain herself from covering the big mouth of the person who was anxiously trying to explain himself. Gritting her teeth, she said. “Can you stop?”

This little twerp is intentionally making fun of me, right!? Don’t think just because you have gotten bigger, I don’t dare to spank you.

Deep in the night, so as to not get p.i.s.sed to death by the little twerp who disguised himself as a pure and innocent young man, Zhu Yao quickly kicked him out of Jade Forest Mountain.

As w.a.n.g Xuzhi rubbed his b.u.t.tocks which were hurting from the kick, he waved his hand, and shouted. “You have to definitely come and watch my matches!” Only then did he reluctantly return as he was chased away by countless celestial cranes from the mountain.

Watch his match? How? She had to at least be able to leave to do so. If not for her master having to leave to reinforce the formation due to the Inter-Sect Tournament, w.a.n.g Xuzhi that little b.a.s.t.a.r.d might not have been able to enter the mountain in the first place. Haah, as she thought, a little b.a.s.t.a.r.d would always stay as a little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. No matter how pure and well-behaved he looked, it would not change his b.a.s.t.a.r.d personality. Zhu Yao had decided that, she would not be replying his letters for three months.

Recalling the kid’s cultivation level, and then, when she thought of her own, Zhu Yao sighed. She walked a few steps into the courtyard, sat cross-legged on the patch of gra.s.s in the courtyard, and tried to sense the spiritual energy that she had not been able to feel for five whole years.

The deep night in Jade Forest Mountain was utterly silent, and probably because her master had not returned, it felt even quieter. Zhu Yao took a deep breath, and for a moment, her entire mind was blank.

Faintly sensing something warm was surrounding her, something sparked in her mind, and instantly after, she could feel countless spots of light currently circling around her. What are these spots of light? Even though she did not open her eyes, she could clearly feel them. Could these be spiritual energy particles?

At that moment, Zhu Yao was excited. Five years. After five years, she was finally able to sense spiritual energy. Among the spots of light, there were those which were tiny dots, while there were some that were grouped up together, and all of them were dancing in the air. As though they were alive, some of them were even a little cheeky and approached her, lightly brus.h.i.+ng against her cheeks, as though they were demonstrating their affection to her. The spots of light were varied in colors, and among them, there was a type of spiritual energy with a small silver tail attached to it, which she felt extremely intimate to. It should be the lightning spiritual energy particles that she had to take in.

Zhu Yao suppressed the excitement in her heart, and recalled the method to circulate spiritual energy her master had taught her. Using her heart to sense the silver spots of light, she concentrated her thoughts in having them enter her body. Just when she began thinking about it, those spots of light seemed to have been affected by some sort of guidance, and with a twirl in the air, they hastily flew towards her.

Before Zhu Yao could even feel happy about it, like an opened bottle, the shrieking stream of  lightning spiritual energy particles scrambled as they rushed into Zhu Yao’s body, and they were basically uncontrollable. In just a few seconds, they had already filled all the tendons in her body. However, the spiritual energy particles did not stop and continued to drill into her body.

Her tendons swelled uncomfortably, and she felt unbearable pain from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Immediately after, she seemed to have heard a ‘boom’ sound from within her mind, it sounded like something had been broken, and the spiritual energy particles which had been hindered earlier were smoothly flowing endlessly into her body once again. It continued to fill up her body, and then, it continued to break through. And this cycle continued on and on. Every single cycle, she would experience that unbearable pain, and the pain would increase in severity in every subsequent cycle.

What Zhu Yao did not know was, her cultivation level was skyrocketing at an astonis.h.i.+ng rate as well. First level of Essence, second level of Essence, third level of Essence…

Suddenly, an extremely unbearable pain descended. It was pain that could not be described with words, and Zhu Yao felt her body was currently being forcefully ripped apart, as though she was about to be torn into countless pieces. From the top of her head to the tip of her toes, there was nowhere in her body that was not hurting. Zhu Yao collapsed onto the ground, and no matter what she did, she could not expel the pain. Blood was already flowing out from her eyes, ears, mouth and nose, her blood vessels exploded, and her entire body was already completely stained with blood. Zhu Yao simply felt that she might die in the very next moment.

Currently on the sea under Ancient Hill Sect, reinforcing the formation with the Sect Master, Yu Yan’s expression suddenly changed. He immediately turned and headed straight for Jade Forest Mountain.

“Ancestral-martial uncle!” Because he suddenly pulled back, the formation showed signs of collapsing. Zi Mo had no choice but to bite the bullet and covered for him. He turned around, only to realize his ancestral-martial uncle’s figure had already disappeared from sight. Ancestral-martial uncle, you can’t torture your junior like this. I can’t hold onto the Mountain Barrier Great Formation by myself, you know.

With his quickest speed, Yu Yan returned to the Jade Forest Mountain. In that short instance, he momentarily felt the imprint he left on his disciple’s forehead being activated. That was a type of Sensing Mystic Art that only a master and his or her personal succeeding disciple could have, and it would only activate at the moment when the disciple was at the borders between life and death. His disciple was evidently within Jade Forest Mountain, just what could threaten her life there?

Before he even reached the peak of the mountain, he had already felt the storm of lightning spiritual energy. He was a holder of the Lightning Spirit Vein as well, so he was rather familiar with this type of spiritual energy. However, the current situation looked as though all of the lightning spiritual energy particles between the sky and earth were being guided, and they were pouring towards the peak of Jade Forest Mountain at an overwhelming rate. Even the strongest Spiritual Energy Gathering Formation in the world, would not be able to bring in such a large amount of lightning spiritual energy.

Yu Yan flew closer, and realized at the center of those spiritual energy particles, was his disciple. Covered entirely in blood, she had collapsed onto the ground, and the surrounding lightning spiritual energy particles were endlessly pouring into her body. If this was to keep up, she would definitely die from self-destruction.  

Yu Yan swung his sword, momentarily dispersing some of the spiritual energy, and rushed into the center of those spiritual energy particles. Raising his disciple up from the ground, he cast a Mystic Art on her that would forcefully awaken her.