Chapter 74: Heading to Hidden Spirit Mountain
Returning to the bamboo house, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang went to their respective rooms.
After sitting down on the futon, he opened his character panel.
“It takes 4798 experience points to level up, still quite a bit short.”
His final bottle of Meridian-Mending Pill remained, which could provide 2000 experience points through consumption.
“The maximum experience points obtainable through consuming pills in the First Realm is 10,000 points.”
“However, for the most cost-effective option, the Meridian-Mending Pill, the limit is only 6,000.”
“Buying other experience pills would be quite uneconomical, too expensive, not good value for money,” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.
But it didn’t matter, he still had his useful tool, Liu Chenggong.
“I’m no longer in the Meridian-Opening Stage, but in the First Realm. I can gain experience points through sparring again.”
At this thought, he remembered that Steward Liu had also given him two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills.
Looking at the pills, Chu Huaixu couldn’t help but sigh, “The Liu family members are truly so useful.”
At this time, including the three free Qi Gathering Pills gifted by the sect after being promoted to an outer disciple, he had a total of 23 pills.
“However, Qi Gathering Pills require simultaneous cultivation and enhancing the experience points gained from the cultivation technique,” Chu Huaixu’s eyes narrowed.
Simply put, he was about to start “self-abuse” again.
“Never mind, let’s train,” he gritted his teeth.
After all, he felt he had surpassed the stage of “enduring pain” and reached the realm of “accustomed to pain.”
“Since I passed out from the pain last time, I can properly experience the Dao Canon this time.”
Having made his decision, he shifted his position on the futon to sit more upright. He then closed his eyes and began circulating his energy.
Spiritual power entered his body, coursed through the nine orifices, and was diverted before entering the Spiritual Embryo Treasury again.
The inner outward pain reappeared.
Redness and strange bulges appeared on his body, but unlike during his breakthrough, his skin did not directly split open.
After circulating his energy for one cycle, he opened his eyes to check his condition.
“These injuries from cultivation are truly healing rapidly.”
Chu Huaixu had a bold idea.
He directly raised his right hand and began to whip his left forearm.
“Slap—!” He struck hard.
As a result, due to his body refining, his defense was also astonishing.
If this strike had landed on someone else, the consequences would have been unimaginable, but it only made his own body red and swollen.
“The self-healing speed is not as fast as the injuries sustained from cultivation.”
“But it is clearly recovering.”
This made him once again realize the mystery of the Dao Canon.
“My self-healing ability seems to have been strengthened?” he thought.
Many body-refining cultivation techniques actually had some of this effect.
However, none were as obvious as that of the Dao Canon.
Chu Huaixu calmed his mind and continued to cultivate. As time went on, he became increasingly numb.
When he reached his limit, he simply fell asleep.
The next day, as noon approached, Han Shuangjiang was stirred by the noisy sounds from outside again.
She pushed open her door and looked out, discovering that Liu Chenggong had arrived again, and they were sparring.
The only difference was that this time, Liu Chenggong was using his spiritual power.
The “ice block” frowned slightly, thinking to herself, “At this time, shouldn’t they be busy breaking through? Why are they still sparring, can’t they tell what’s important?”
But after thinking about it, she still didn’t intervene.
What if breaking through within three days was an easy task for them?
Now, Han Shuangjiang was no longer surprised by any peculiar things happening to Chu Huaixu.
At this moment, Chu Huaixu had just finished a match with Liu Chenggong.
He turned to Han Shuangjiang and asked, “Did I disturb you?”
The “ice block” shook her head.
It was indeed noisy, but she could tolerate it and still cultivate peacefully.
After all, Chu Huaixu was sparring, not messing around, so she could accept it.
Since it was almost noon, Han Shuangjiang decided to start preparing lunch.
Liu Chenggong watched from the side, feeling greatly envious.
Such a beautiful woman, described as capable of toppling cities and nations, was actually making him, Junior Brother Chu, a meal, “Hereafter, I’ll smile behind the stove in my long skirt, washing my hands to cook for you.”
His appetite was whetted, and he was also curious about the taste of the food.
However, as the meal was almost ready, Chu Huaixu directly asked him to leave.
Liu Chenggong: “???”
Time passed, and a day and a half went by.
Chu Huaixu, by consuming Qi Gathering Pills to accelerate his cultivation and sparring with Liu Chenggong, finally accumulated enough experience points.
However, this time, his cultivation progress was surpassed by the “ice block.” She had successfully broken through to the first heaven an hour ago.
The terrifying nature of the Profound Yin Physique actually became more apparent in the later stages.
Many cultivators were still stuck at bottlenecks, but she seemed to have no bottlenecks at all.
Han Shuangjiang, who possessed a somewhat competitive spirit, finally felt relieved and a bit of girlish pride.
“How can a man remain depressed and yield to others for too long!” Chu Huaixu’s heart burned with anger.
“System, upgrade me!”
Not long after, agonizing screams began to echo through the sky above the bamboo house.
With Little Xu not at home, he couldn’t even be bothered to endure.
Disciple Courtyard, Book Mountain.
Mo Qingmei, the outer sect steward, looked at the young man and woman before her and exclaimed in amazement.
“You actually cultivated to the first heaven within three days?” she said, scrutinizing them from head to toe.
“It’s been many years since such talented outer disciples have appeared.”
“And now, two have emerged at once?”
Thinking that their relationship with Niu Yuanshan seemed unusual, Mo Qingmei felt genuinely happy for Senior Brother Niu.
But after only a few seconds of happiness, she cursed herself in her heart, “Why am I happy for that foolish cow!”
The thought of Niu Yuanshan made her angry.
She had once been attracted to him by his personality, thinking him honest, kind, helpful, and steady.
Furthermore, after he saved her during an external mission, she had fallen for him.
Unexpectedly, when she finally mustered the courage to confess, she was rejected outright, and it wasn’t even a gentle refusal! His attitude was extremely firm!
She even saw… fear? in his eyes.
Before, she always thought Senior Brother Niu must have already sensed my affection for him, and he clearly had feelings for me too.
Who would have thought that it would end up being wishful thinking!
“Well, I am just happy for these two children, happy that our Daoist Sect has produced more prodigies!” Mo Qingmei thought to herself.
Smiling, she took out two charred wooden tokens from her Storage Token and solemnly handed them to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.
The two received them with both hands, their hearts stirred.
“Finally, I can go to Hidden Spirit Mountain,” Han Shuangjiang thought.
“Finally, I can go to Hidden Spirit Mountain twice,” Chu Huaixu thought.
Mo Qingmei continued to look at them with the eyes of her own juniors, saying, “If you are ready, you may go now.”
“By the way,” she added, feeling that some reminders were necessary, “although you have obtained the qualification to ascend to the summit area, I must remind you two that the stone steps of Hidden Spirit Mountain are not so easy to traverse.”
“You will understand the specific situation once you ascend the mountain. Remember, steady your mind and persevere forward!” she encouraged them.
“Yes, thank you, Steward Mo.”
After Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang left the disciple courtyard, they headed together towards the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain.
This mountain was located in the very center of 【Mountain Beyond Mountains】, adjacent to Ask Dao Peak, the highest peak of the Daoist Sect.
In the past, this mountain had no name.
In the earliest times, there was a Daoist Temple with a peculiar name on Ask Dao Peak called Gentleman’s View. The Dao Ancestor was a young Daoist priest in the temple. As for the adjacent Hidden Spirit Mountain, due to its excellent feng shui, it was suitable for burial. Thus, anyone who passed away in the Gentleman’s View would be buried there.
Even now, Hidden Spirit Mountain could be considered like an epitaph for the Daoist Sect’s high-ranking cultivators.
After many predecessors passed away, their Spirit Artifacts would be placed on Hidden Spirit Mountain, waiting for those destined.
Gradually, the tradition of ascending Hidden Spirit Mountain to accept challenges and obtain Spirit Artifacts emerged.
As millennia passed, the Daoist Sect also began placing newly refined Spirit Artifacts on the mountain as part of the rewards.
As the name suggests, the so-called Hidden Spirit Mountain was a mountain where Spirit Artifacts were hidden.
However, since the character “藏” (cáng/zàng) is a polyphone, it could also be interpreted as “Buried Soul Mountain” (葬灵山).
But, people of the Daoist Sect valued destiny and sought good fortune, so “Buried Soul” was merely a secondary meaning.
For Daoist disciples with good talent, many of their first Spirit Artifacts, or even their life-bound magical treasures, were obtained from Hidden Spirit Mountain.
After walking for a considerable time, the two arrived at the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, there was a small courtyard called Hidden Spirit Courtyard.
The Daoist disciples working there all wore inner disciple waist tokens, demonstrating their considerable strength.
After all, although there were many restrictions on the mountain, it was undeniably a sacred place of the Daoist Sect, and no carelessness was allowed.
Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang found a senior disciple responsible for registration. Upon seeing the charred black wooden tokens in their hands, he immediately revealed a look of shock.
“Charred black? And two of them at once?”
“In all my years on duty, I’ve never encountered this!”
“Junior Sister Chen, quickly go and invite Elder Nangong.” This senior disciple immediately said to a woman beside him.
After speaking, he turned and explained, “Junior Brother Chu, Junior Sister Han, you may not know this, but the wooden tokens are divided into light black, dark black, and charred black.”
“Your wooden tokens, which look like they were made from lightning-struck wood, can grant access to the summit area.”
“All matters concerning Hidden Spirit Mountain are personally managed by Elder Nangong.”
“At the same time, she is also the only Artifact Refining Grandmaster of our Daoist Sect, and some of the Spirit Artifacts on the mountain are crafted by her.”
“Elder Nangong once instructed that whenever someone holding a charred black wooden token appears, she must be notified immediately, and she will personally come over.”
“Therefore, Junior Brothers and Sisters, you might as well wait in the courtyard for a while.” He made a gesture of invitation.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.” The two walked into the courtyard.
The appearance of two charred black wooden tokens at once caused the entire Hidden Spirit Courtyard to stir. Many people were whispering, and some even came specifically to observe them.
A few enthusiastic senior disciples were already sending their blessings: “It seems that the two Junior Brothers and Sisters will be able to obtain at least a High-grade Spirit Artifact. Senior Brother congratulates you in advance.”
Chu Huaixu thanked them with a smile, then chatted with everyone happily, quickly becoming familiar with them, and ascertained all the rules of Hidden Spirit Mountain at the fastest pace, without missing any details.
The “ice block” listened quietly by the side, then memorized everything.
Not long after, Elder Nangong arrived, flying through the air.
She wore a light blue, narrow-sleeved short jacket on her upper body, and the thin Wu Ling fabric revealed glimpses of her fair skin.
The not-too-loose round collar exposed her fair neck and subtly visible collarbone.
Further down, two impressive peaks stretched her clothes to their limit, making it hard to ignore their magnificent grandeur.
A light yellow silk sash embroidered with entwined peonies was loosely draped over her arm, dragging on the ground and fluttering gracefully, giving her an ethereal air.
Her eight-panel skirt draped in layers, and it seemed there were also skirt-pants underneath, convenient for her flight.
Of course, the most important thing was the rich aura of a married woman emanating from her.
Such a woman always made men want to take her home to raise children.
At this moment, Nangong Yue was not alone; she was accompanied by another person.
Li Chunsong, appearance description – omitted.
It’s just that for some reason, he, who was otherwise ordinary, began to rub his hands uncontrollably after landing in Hidden Spirit Courtyard.
The gambler’s addiction had struck!
Just a moment ago, the two of them had already sent transmissions to the Sect Master and several other elders.
Except for Shen Man, everyone else would later gather in the great hall on Ask Dao Peak and use spells to observe Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang ascending the mountain together.
Li Chunsong had only one thought now.
“Fellow disciples, shouldn’t we have a good gamble on this?”
He rubbed his hands again and again: “Open the bets~~~”
(PS: First update, requesting monthly votes.)
