Chapter 129: Cultivation Advances by Leaps and Bounds

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Cultivation Advances by Leaps and Bounds

Panshi Peak, within Meng Yu Jin’s courtyard.

The last rays of the evening sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the old pagoda tree in the courtyard, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

A gentle breeze rustled the bamboo leaves. A few fallen leaves spun as they drifted onto the bluestone ground, making a faint scraping sound.

Meng Yu Jin was sitting on a stone chair under the old pagoda tree, a scroll of an ancient text in her hands. A pot of tea simmered on a small red clay stove beside her. The fragrant aroma of tea wafted through the air, mingling with the scent of the courtyard’s plants to create an atmosphere of exceptional peace and tranquility.

She read with intense focus, occasionally lifting her teacup for a sip, her eyes never leaving the words on the scroll.

However, this tranquility did not last long.

A flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard. In the next moment, Liu Wenying’s whirlwind figure burst through the gate.

"Master! Master! Guess what news I just heard?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yu Jin put down her scroll and looked up, regarding her impetuous disciple with a hint of confusion. She then noticed her disciple seemed to be looking for someone in the courtyard.

Meng Yu Jin’s brow furrowed slightly. "What are you looking for?"

Liu Wenying glanced all around the courtyard. Not seeing the person she expected, she looked confused.

"Master, hasn’t Junior Brother come over? Shouldn’t he be the first one to share the good news with you? For something this huge, he should have told you right away, right?"

Meng Yu Jin’s brow furrowed even deeper, her tone tinged with concern. "Did something happen to Chen Yue? What good news?"

Liu Wenying quickly waved her hands, a brilliant smile spreading across her face, her eyes curving into crescents.

"No, no! Nothing happened to Junior Brother, he’s perfectly fine! It’s good news! Incredibly good news!

Junior Brother has already passed the Dan Peak assessment and been promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple! I heard people talking about it in the dining hall today. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I asked a few disciples from Dan Peak, and they all said they saw it with their own eyes. It’s one hundred percent true!"

Meng Yu Jin was stunned, a flicker of clear surprise flashing in her eyes.

She knew, of course, that Chen Yue could perform Alchemy. He had personally told her at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion that he was somewhat versed in the Alchemy Skill.

But she never imagined he would pass the Dan Peak’s assessment and be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple so quickly.

After all, the Dan Peak assessment was no easy feat. Many Pill Masters spent over a decade on Dan Peak without even touching the threshold of the Inner Sect.

And Chen Yue had only joined the sect a little over ten days ago.

Such speed was enough to rank among the fastest in the entire history of the Panshi Sect.

Seeing the fleeting look of surprise on Meng Yu Jin’s face, Liu Wenying felt even more pleased, her smile growing even brighter.

She leaned closer to Meng Yu Jin and said, her tone teasing and mysterious:

"Master, you’ll never guess what Elixir Junior Brother refined to pass the assessment and become an Inner Sect Disciple! Take a guess!"

Meng Yu Jin looked at Liu Wenying, a hint of confusion in her voice. "Wasn’t it the Dan Yang Pill?"

Although she wasn’t an expert in the Alchemy Dao, she still knew a thing or two about Dan Peak’s rules.

According to Dan Peak’s regulations, as long as an outer sect disciple could independently refine a Dan Yang Pill and pass the assessment, they could be promoted to an Inner Sect Disciple.

Nearly all Pill Masters on Dan Peak followed this path: first refining a Dan Yang Pill, then advancing to the Inner Sect, and then gradually challenging higher-level Elixirs.

This was the safest and most conventional route.

Liu Wenying smiled and shook her head, her eyes shining with a shared sense of glory, as if she were the one who had refined the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill.

"Nope! Junior Brother is amazing! He didn’t even bother refining the Dan Yang Pill; he went straight to making the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill! The Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill, you know? It’s way, way harder than the Dan Yang Pill!"

"The Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill?" Upon hearing this, the surprise in Meng Yu Jin’s eyes deepened.

She was well aware of the difficulty of refining a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill; it was a huge leap above the Dan Yang Pill.

After successfully refining a Dan Yang Pill, many Pill Masters needed to accumulate several, or even more than ten, years of experience before they would dare to attempt a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill.

And Chen Yue had just skipped the Dan Yang Pill stage entirely to challenge the much more difficult Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill?

’This is completely in line with his style.’

After all, during the confrontation with the Mutual Aid Association a couple of days ago, no other disciple would have thought to resolve the issue directly with a Life and Death Decision.

’This kid’s methods are always unexpected; he never plays by the book.’

Seeing the rare look of shock in Meng Yu Jin’s eyes, Liu Wenying grew even more smug.

"I thought Junior Brother would be the first to come and share the good news with you after becoming an Inner Sect Disciple! But he didn’t even show up! Master, you have to give him a good talking-to tomorrow!"

Meng Yu Jin shook her head, looking at her overly energetic disciple, and said exasperatedly:

"Do you think everyone is like you, slacking off on cultivation and wandering around all day? Chen Yue is sensible. He probably went to handle the administrative matters related to his promotion, or maybe he had other plans."

Hearing this, Liu Wenying pouted, a defiant look on her face.

"Master, that’s not fair! I do cultivate properly! I train seriously every day! I’ll be breaking through to the Marrow Refining Realm soon!

Then I can become an Inner Sect Disciple too, just like Junior Brother..."

As she spoke, Liu Wenying’s voice suddenly trailed off.

Her eyes widened. She had suddenly realized a serious problem: Chen Yue was already an Inner Sect Disciple.

According to the Sect’s rules, Inner Sect Disciples held a higher status than outer sect disciples.

’Even though I joined the sect earlier and became Master’s disciple earlier, when it comes to status... can I even keep my title as ’Senior Sister’?’

’I’ve only been his Senior Sister for two days. The next time we meet, will I have to call him Senior Brother instead?’

Liu Wenying’s eyes grew wider and wider. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t know what.

Watching her disciple’s expression, Meng Yu Jin couldn’t help but smile faintly. She raised her teacup and took a gentle sip.

...

Night fell like a giant bolt of black silk, slowly blanketing the entire Panshi Sect.

The hustle and bustle of the day gradually fell silent. Only the rustling of the mountain wind through the treetops and the occasional cry of a night bird in the distance broke the stillness.

In the small courtyard on Dan Peak, no lamps were lit.

Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a patch of silvery-white light on the floor that swayed gently with the movement of the leaves outside.

Chen Yue sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes lightly closed, his breathing long and steady.

Within his body, the Vast Heart Rock Skill was circulating with a smooth and harmonious rhythm. Qi Blood surged through his meridians like docile rivers flowing along their designated paths.

With every Circulation, a thread of pure Qi Force was stripped away and merged into the vortex of Qi Blood in his Dantian.

He remained in this state of cultivation for an unknown amount of time, seemingly merging with the night itself. Only the sound of his steady breathing proved he was still conscious.

When midnight arrived, a familiar ripple spread before his eyes, and lines of text appeared.

[Daily Settlement]

[Diligent Cultivation, Cultivation +42]

[Consumed Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill, faint Bone Marrow Cleansing]

[Diligent Cultivation of Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield, Experience +585]

[Diligent Cultivation of Great Vajra Palm, Experience +286]

...

[Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield (Perfection 39307/98879)]

[Great Vajra Palm (Great Success 5523/6005)]

[Bone Forging Realm (1401/2710)]

[Talent: Copper Skin Iron Bones (173/207)]

[Talent: Strengthening and Healing (77/251)]

Chen Yue’s gaze swept over the lines of information on the panel, his eyes suddenly lighting up. Today’s settlement had brought a huge harvest!

First was the growth in his Cultivation. Boosted by the Vast Heart Rock Skill and supplemented by one Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill and half an Ordinary Yang Pill, his Cultivation had increased by 42 points today.

For others, as their Cultivation Realm increased, their daily progress would gradually slow down. Cultivation was, after all, like sailing against the current.

But Chen Yue’s situation was the complete opposite. Not only had his daily Cultivation growth not decreased, but it had instead soared from the previous 33 points to 42.

This proved that the Fourth Layer of the Vast Heart Rock Skill was indeed a cut above his previous cultivation technique. Of course, the Medicinal Power of the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill was also a major factor.

Second was the experience growth for the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and the Great Vajra Palm.

The Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield gained 585 experience points today, a little over 50 more than usual. The Great Vajra Palm saw a similar boost, with its experience gain reaching 286 points—also an increase of about 50.

The only difference between today’s training and his previous sessions was that Chen Yue had swapped the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill for the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill.

The body-refining medicinal power contained within the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill was more fully absorbed and utilized during the circulation of the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and the Great Vajra Palm, directly and forcefully boosting the daily experience points gained for these two techniques.

Moreover, he had only taken one Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill today. If he tried taking two tomorrow, and his body could handle it, he wondered if the experience points gained for these two techniques would increase even further.

What concerned Chen Yue even more was the change in his Copper Skin Iron Bones Talent.

Previously, by combining the Bone-Enhancing Pill and the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill, Chen Yue could increase the experience of his Copper Skin Iron Bones by 1 point per day, while its cap decreased by 1 point.

But today, after adding the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill, the experience for Copper Skin Iron Bones increased by 2 points, while the cap still decreased by 1 point.

This meant that the body-refining effect of the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill directly promoted the growth of this Talent, effectively doubling its growth rate.

In contrast, the Strengthening and Healing Talent showed no significant change, maintaining its usual growth rate.

Finally, there was the progress of his Bone Forging Realm cultivation.

Originally, the effects of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill on Chen Yue were gradually diminishing; yesterday, it had only reduced his cultivation cap by 1 point.

But today, after switching to the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill, the cap had been reduced by a full 4 points.

This fully demonstrated the superior effect of the Bone Marrow Cleansing and Body Refining Pill in Bone Marrow Cleansing, an effect far beyond what the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill could compare to.

Calculating it all together, Chen Yue’s net daily Cultivation growth had now actually reached 46 points.

At this rate, the time he needed to break through to the Marrow Refining Realm had been shortened to less than thirty days!