After bidding Elder Jing Zhen farewell, leaving the External Affairs Hall, and returning to the loft, Jing Hui could no longer suppress the doubts in his heart.
"Jiang Chuan, how are you planning to complete this mission?"
"I don't know," Jiang Chuan answered.
Jing Hui: ???
Jiang Chuan patted Jing Hui on the shoulder.
"When soldiers come, generals block them; when water comes, earth dams it. Senior Brother, trust me. She's just an old cat. I'll sort her out with a little brainpower."
With that, Jiang Chuan went up to the second floor, leaving Jing Hui standing there with a blank look on his face.
Jiang Chuan truly had not taken the old ancestor of the Cat Demon Tribe to heart.
Although, in the simulations, he had either been in seclusion cultivating at this time or chasing after fairy maidens,
he still knew something about Bodhi Temple's affairs.
In the end, Stone Lotus Ridge had still built its palace.
Judging from the outcome, that meant the old cat had compromised.
Although Jiang Chuan did not know how things had unfolded in the simulated world or who had completed the mission, since someone else could do it, he felt that he should be able to do it too.
That was why he had accepted the mission.
Splash!
Jiang Chuan took out the Earth Milk, opened his mouth, and drank a huge gulp straight away.
The milky-white Earth Milk was like white jade, crystalline and translucent.
As the Earth Milk entered his mouth, its refreshing fragrance spread through Jiang Chuan's entire body, making him feel utterly at ease.
"Gather! Refine!"
Jiang Chuan softly uttered two words. Invisible, intangible dharma power refined the Earth Milk like a ball of flame, infusing its medicinal strength into every inch of Jiang Chuan's flesh and blood to aid his cultivation of the Supreme Yang Limitless Body.
Hot!
So hot!
Jiang Chuan felt as though he had been thrown into a furnace, his body continuously tempered by the medicinal power transformed from the Earth Milk.
His bright yellow monk's robes had already been drenched in sweat, while bead-sized droplets continued pouring from his pores.
Gulp!
Gulp!
Whenever most of the medicinal power had been refined, Jiang Chuan would pick up the Earth Milk again and take another huge drink.
By the time an entire jar of Earth Milk had been drained, Jiang Chuan seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
His strong, powerful body was filled with a sense of force, as though every muscle had been forged into adamantine through a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings.
Feeling the tremendous strength within his body, Jiang Chuan smiled.
"The Earth Milk truly deserves its price of one hundred and twenty thousand Spirit Stones. One jar not only helped me break through to the Second Realm, Ninth Layer, but also helped me cultivate the Supreme Yang Limitless Body."
"The Supreme Yang Limitless Body truly deserves to be called a cultivation art comparable to the core inheritances of the great powers! Merely reaching the initial stage of the Supreme Yang Realm has multiplied my vitality and strength severalfold."
"My current strength is even a notch greater than at my absolute peak in the simulations!"
If Jiang Chuan's words were spread, they would be enough to stir up a towering uproar throughout the Warrior Monk Institute!
To break through to the Fourth Realm, cultivators had to use vitality as paper and dharma power as ink to draw an Inner Scenery Map.
One needed at least the vitality of thirty thousand jin of strength to meet the bare minimum requirement for drawing an Inner Scenery Map.
Many cultivators at the peak of the Third Realm still had to purchase treasures and temper their bodies in order to strengthen their vitality.
And what realm was Jiang Chuan at?
There was a full nine minor realms between the Ninth Layer of the Second Realm and the Ninth Layer of the Third Realm!
Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Jiang Chuan stood and walked out of his room, planning to get something to eat.
"Junior Brother, if you still hadn't come down, I was about to go check whether you were dead."
Seeing Jiang Chuan come downstairs, Jing Hui said joyfully.
Jiang Chuan: "."
Could he speak properly?
You're the one who's dead!
"Senior Brother, how long did I cultivate for?" Jiang Chuan asked.
"Seven days."
"Seven days?"
Jiang Chuan froze slightly, then sighed. "Sure enough, in the mountains, one knows not the passing years."
To Jiang Chuan, immersed in his secluded cultivation, his body's transformation, and the growth of his strength, it had seemed as though not much time had passed.
Yet seven days had already gone by in reality.
"Right, Junior Brother, when are we leaving for Stone Lotus Ridge?" Jing Hui asked.
Jiang Chuan patted his stomach. "Senior Brother, make me something to eat. We'll set off once I'm done eating."
Jing Hui promptly cooked Jiang Chuan a pot of White Jade Corn porridge.
Looking at the eternally unchanging White Jade Corn porridge, Jiang Chuan wore a disgusted expression. Then, gritting his teeth, he drained it in one go.
"Junior Brother, if you don't want porridge, shall I make something else for you next time?"
"What?"
"White Jade Corn rice."
"."
Stone Lotus Ridge lay a thousand li east of the Warrior Monk Institute.
The mountain range was lush and emerald-green, filled with dense ancient trees. A silver waterfall hung from the mountaintop like a silver ribbon winding around the ridges, making Stone Lotus Ridge appear even more majestic and magnificent.
Jiang Chuan controlled the Flame Sun Needle and flew with Jing Hui to a palace atop Stone Lotus Ridge.
The palace was somewhat old, its walls covered in the mottled marks left behind by time.
Cat demons of all sizes lay sprawled around the palace.
"Meow!"
The moment Jiang Chuan and Jing Hui landed, a plump orange cat climbed up from the ground and slowly ambled over to them.
"One spirit fish each, and I'll introduce you two suitable companions."
"We're not here to hire cats." Jiang Chuan shook his head.
To supply the disciples' meals, Bodhi Temple planted vast fields of White Jade Rice.
Quite a few rat demons would often sneak in and gnaw at the White Jade Rice while Bodhi Temple's disciples were cultivating.
To deal with the rat demons, many disciples responsible for growing rice would specifically come to Stone Lotus Peak to hire a spirit cat to help catch rats.
This was what was known as hiring a cat.
"Meow! Then what are you here for?" The orange cat crouched on the ground and looked at them in confusion.
Jiang Chuan took a mission plaque from his Storage Bag.
"I am Jiang Chuan, and this is my senior brother Jing Hui. We accepted a mission at the External Affairs Hall and have come specifically to request an audience with Ancestor Ziyun."
"So you're here for that."
The orange cat turned and walked toward the palace. "Let me make this clear first: whether the Ancestor sees you depends on her mood. I can't guarantee anything."
After the orange cat entered the palace, Jing Hui asked, "Junior Brother, what if Ancestor Ziyun refuses to see us?"
"I think Ancestor Ziyun will definitely see us." Jiang Chuan raised his voice.
Jing Hui revealed a puzzled expression. "Ancestor Ziyun won't even give the elders any face. How can you be sure she'll see the two of us?"
Jiang Chuan asked in return, "What is Bodhi Temple's purpose in receiving the Nine Abyss Dynasty?"
"To strengthen the Buddhist sects and oppose the Immortal Dao." Jing Hui blurted out without hesitation.
The conflict between the Buddhist Dao and the Immortal Dao was no secret in the Qingyuan Realm.
The two sides had clashed and fought bitterly more than once or twice.
"Exactly, to strengthen the Buddhist sects and oppose the Immortal Dao."
Jiang Chuan nodded. "For this goal, the Three Buddhist Dao Sects did not hesitate to offend Maha Hall, one of the Nine Outer Sects, and even went to war with it."
"As a member of Bodhi Temple, Ancestor Ziyun naturally would not sabotage this matter."
"Then why didn't Ancestor Ziyun listen when the elders tried to persuade her before?" The confusion on Jing Hui's face deepened.
"Stone Lotus Ridge is the Ancestor's abode. The elders are powerful, and when they came to seek out the Ancestor, it inevitably carried a hint of using strength to pressure her."
Jiang Chuan explained, "It is only natural that Ancestor Ziyun refused. The elders must have realized this as well, which is why they posted the mission in the External Affairs Hall and had disciples like us come forward to discuss it with the Ancestor."
Jing Hui looked full of admiration. "So that's how it is. Junior Brother, you truly have the bearing of a Buddha Son. You're so clever."
Jiang Chuan: "."
Senior Brother, I said all that to fool Ancestor Ziyun inside.
How did you actually believe it?
Before you continue