Chapter 132: Ten Years

In the quiet courtyard, Dongbo Xueying entered the bamboo pavilion. The two-story bamboo house stood tall, with the lower level completely empty, devoid of any furniture or arrangement.

“It looks like I’ll have to arrange some tables and chairs myself,” Dongbo Xueying chuckled, shaking his head. He climbed the bamboo staircase and reached the upper floor.

The upper level was also a spacious room with windows on all four sides. On the floor lay the only piece of furniture—a long table. Upon it rested a book, a tray, and on the tray, a small porcelain vial, two red fruits, and a wine Kettle.

“Master Gongyu mentioned there would be a book introducing the basics here. It must be this one,” Dongbo Xueying said, sitting cross-legged before the table. He picked up the book and began reading. As expected, it detailed the fundamentals of cultivation within the Chiyun Mountain World.

Those listed among the candidate elders were all being specially nurtured.

The porcelain vial, the two red fruits, and the Kettle of spirit liquid on the tray were all extraordinary items available once every ten days—provisions of great benefit to both body and soul.

“Tsk tsk, they really spare no expense,” Dongbo Xueying recognized the items with a grin. “A small vial of dragon’s blood, two Hu Lan fruits, and a Kettle of Nine-Fruit Spirit Liquid. Receiving this every ten days… over a year, it would amount to roughly two hundred jin of Yuan stones. Over a hundred years, that’s twenty thousand jin!”

According to the book’s explanation:

Candidates for elder were all Flying Heaven-level extraordinaries. Once they reached the Saint level, they would have to leave.

Because upon breaking through to Saint level, the soul would undergo another transformation. While items like dragon’s blood, Hu Lan fruits, and Nine-Fruit Spirit Liquid still benefited the body and soul, their effects would diminish drastically. The more powerful an extraordinary became, the less effective external aids became. Consuming such treasures on a Saint-level being would yield minimal results, making the investment and returns disproportionate—not worth it.

“In the Chiyun Mountain World, one can stay for at most five hundred years. Once reaching Saint level, one must leave,” Dongbo Xueying mused inwardly. “Right now I’m ranked fifth. Over five hundred years, these treasures would be worth fifty thousand jin of Yuan stones. What if I were ranked first? And I haven’t even factored in other investments.”

Fifty thousand jin of Yuan stones?

Even Saint-level peak experts would struggle to afford such a sum!

He drank the dragon’s blood first. A chill rushed into his abdomen, followed by a surge of heat that spread throughout his body, causing him to sweat profusely. His soul was nourished as well.

“Crunch, crunch!” He slowly ate the Hu Lan fruits, occasionally taking sips of the Nine-Fruit Spirit Liquid from the Kettle. It was indeed a delightful experience.

“Training in the Chiyun Mountain World is truly advantageous,” Dongbo Xueying smiled. “It was definitely the right choice to give my all in the Superlative Life and DeathStruggle.”

For most extraordinaries, the path of cultivation was extremely arduous.

Want treasures? Want secret techniques? One had to take on life-or-death missions, slaying rebellious native extraordinaries unwilling to submit.

Cultivation?

One learned from nature itself, pondering alone, continuously refining one’s skills.

In the extraordinary world, there were usually no formal teachers, for no teacher could surpass the guidance of nature itself. Masters like Gongyu and Sikong Yang only occasionally offered guidance to Dongbo Xueying and others, pointing out their flaws—nothing more.

…

In Chiyun Mountain, resources were abundant, but their missions were equally dangerous. Ordinary life-or-death missions for outsiders were considered basic tasks for them. They had to tackle even more perilous missions. Fortunately, each of them was immensely powerful, having comprehended profound mysteries far beyond the ordinary, and possessed superior survival abilities compared to typical extraordinaries.

Among them, Dongbo Xueying, who mastered the Mysteries of Water and Fire, was considered the weakest in profound comprehension.

…

Time passed.

For those who learned from nature itself, time always seemed to fly. Occasionally pondering and comprehending could take several hours unnoticed.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed since Dongbo Xueying entered the Chiyun Mountain World.

It was midsummer.

The Chiyun Mountain World was particularly hot.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures flew side by side over the mountains. Their auras were extraordinary and unfathomable—two mighty demigods currently overseeing the Chiyun Mountain World: Master Gongyu and Overseer Sikong Yang.

“Has there been any breakthrough among the young ones this past year?” Overseer Sikong Yang asked.

“Not much progress. It’s been relatively calm,” Gongyu replied.

“No breakthrough?” Sikong Yang looked at him.

“Haha, Overseer Sikong, you can’t expect the young ones to keep surprising us like last year,” Gongyu chuckled. Indeed, last year had been a year of continuous breakthroughs for the nine Flying Heaven-level extraordinaries in Chiyun Mountain. Especially ‘Du Rourou,’ who had mastered the Time Mystery to the second tier! Instantly, she was ranked first!

Even if it was a branch of the Time Mystery, it was still an extraordinary feat. Once she mastered the True Intent in the future, it would be at least a Second-Rank True Intent—a legendary level of mastery!

In truth, the demigods of Xinfeng Palace held hope but not much confidence. It was extremely difficult for a generation to produce an existence with a Second-Rank True Intent! When Du Rourou was merely at the first tier of the Myriad Things Realm, she was already ranked second, showing how highly the Xia Clan valued her. After all, those capable of comprehending the Time Mystery—if they failed, it was fine. But if they succeeded, they would be truly extraordinary!

Now that she had reached the second tier of the Myriad Things Realm, the elders of the Xia Clan were even more excited, feeling the hope had grown stronger.

“By the way, there’s a bit of an issue with Dongbo Xueying,” Gongyu suddenly said.

“Dongbo Xueying has a problem?” Sikong Yang frowned. “Didn’t he last year perfectly combine the Mysteries of Water and Fire to the second tier and even complete the life-or-death mission of the Underground Lava River?”

He was quite satisfied with Dongbo Xueying.

Young, and with rapid cultivation.

At only thirty-nine years old this year, he was far younger than other extraordinaries. Yet, with just a spear, he swept through the Underground Lava River—a special and extremely dangerous extraordinary mission. Other cultivated extraordinaries, although they had longer cultivation periods, had not all completed this terrifying mission.

This proved that, in terms of combat strength, Dongbo Xueying ranked mid among the nine extraordinaries.

Because of his perfect combination of Water and Fire Mysteries, Sikong Yang directly promoted him to second place! Later, only after Du Rourou’s breakthrough did Dongbo Xueying drop to third.

Currently, the top three were Du Rourou, Wen Yong’an, and Dongbo Xueying.

“It’s a minor issue,” Gongyu quickly added. “I’m just a bit worried.”

“What’s the problem?” Sikong Yang asked urgently.

“He’s been making rapid progress in the Mysteries of Water and Fire. I even believe he has the potential to condense the True Intent of Water and Fire before the age of one hundred. His future is boundless! However, half a year ago, he actually comprehended the Wind Mystery of the Myriad Things!” Gongyu explained.

“The Wind Mystery?” Sikong Yang’s expression changed slightly.

“Yes, the Wind Mystery,” Gongyu nodded. “It has reached the first tier of the Myriad Things Realm, still relatively weak, as it was just recently comprehended.”

“What is Dongbo Xueying doing?” Sikong Yang grew somewhat angry. “He’s diverting his focus to study other mysteries? Does he think he cultivates too fast already?”

Diversifying one’s focus during cultivation was a grave taboo!

“I’ve already spoken to him about it,” Gongyu said. “Since he just comprehended it, the impact is minimal. I advised him to temporarily abandon the Wind Mystery and focus solely on the Mysteries of Water and Fire.”

“Yes, his talent is high. I hope he doesn’t stray off the path. Let’s go see what progress these nine young ones have made,” Sikong Yang said. He visited once every year or so, offering guidance to these Flying Heaven-level extraordinaries each time.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two swiftly flew toward the bamboo huts on the mountain.