Wu Tian stared blankly at Chili Mu beside him. Crimson radiance coiled around her entire body, while an ancient sword hovered above her head. Sword Light shot into the heavens, and an enraged Dragon Roar thundered as the glowing clouds filling the sky were torn apart by the ancient sword's edge.
A single slash severed ten miles of clouds and radiance, allowing the sunlight hidden behind them to spill down once more.
"This..."
Only when he took a careful look did Wu Tian realize that the ancient sword was crimson from hilt to tip, like the scarlet clouds at the edge of heaven, with only a faint golden gleam flowing along its blade.
Yet something about it felt strange. It seemed that this sword was not a physical object at all, but rather more like...
"True Qi?!"
The moment he thought of True Qi, Wu Tian felt his scalp prickle. What kind of freak could cultivate True Qi to such astonishing purity, making it seem almost tangible?
Yet even more terrifying was the ancient sword formed from that condensed True Qi. It seemed like an unrivaled fierce weapon; the moment its edge emerged, it had severed ten miles of clouds and radiance.
Could such a spectacle really be achieved by someone in the Qi Nourishing Realm?
Wu Tian finally understood what he had witnessed. It was the sight of True Qi breaking through the Mysterious Pass and manifesting outside the body.
At this point, Qi Nourishing cultivation could be considered complete.
All that remained was to prepare the Cauldron Forging method, after which one could begin cultivating the Cauldron Forging Realm.
In the more than a year since they had parted, he had only just set foot in Qi Nourishing and was currently cultivating the first stage, Opening the Apertures.
That speed was already far faster than the disciples of Skull Mountain, and absolutely no slower than those rare upper-grade Immortal roots.
But Chili Mu...
Wu Tian's expression stiffened. The girl beside him had actually reached Foundation Establishment Perfection in little more than a year, then crossed the three stages of Qi Nourishing—Opening the Apertures, Qi Circulation, and Condensation.
Just moments ago, she had effortlessly broken through the Mysterious Pass, externalized her True Qi, and completed Qi Nourishing entirely, allowing her to step into Cauldron Forging.
Even with the System Panel, Wu Tian could not help baring his teeth. So this is a Dao body? So this is an Immortal root?
This was truly unreasonable!
At this very moment, he wanted to say only one thing: envy made people's faces twist into hideous masks.
"Oh, so that's how it is!" Chili Mu muttered. With a casual wave of her hand, the ancient sword manifested from True Qi transformed into a streak of crimson radiance and sank into her brow.
All the heavenly phenomena from before vanished completely. Aside from the denser Fire-element essence in this place, it was as if nothing had happened.
But such a disturbance had long since alarmed certain existences on Skull Mountain.
Inside White Bone Hall sat a burly man with muscles knotted across his body and blue-black incantations covering him from head to toe. Even his scalp was engraved with them, and not a single strand of hair grew upon it.
When Chili Mu's ancient sword broke through the Mysterious Pass and cleaved apart ten miles of clouds and radiance, his eyes snapped open. He looked toward the place where the Sword Light had been unleashed.
"Was it her? The disturbance was too small. It doesn't seem like it!"
He could not help frowning slightly. That person was an existence Skull Mountain could not afford to offend. Now that his master was secluded in bitter cultivation, he, as the sect's Senior Disciple Brother, had to keep watch over that person's movements at all times.
"What exactly happened over there?"
Aside from the person in White Bone Hall, all the cultivators on Skull Mountain in the Law Refining Realm had noticed the anomaly. But once they sensed that it had occurred in the Forbidden Area halfway up the mountain, they withdrew their gazes.
Whatever happened to the person in the Forbidden Area was normal. As insignificant figures, they did not dare pry.
However, Tong Guan, who had just returned to his Cave Mansion, felt somewhat uneasy. "That person first left a decree upon a white dog. Today, that white dog entered the Forbidden Area, and immediately afterward, such an anomaly occurred. Could the two be connected?"
He could no longer sit still. Anything involving the existence in the Forbidden Area was a major matter.
"Senior Disciple Brother may very well still be unaware of that white dog. And now there's even the matter of the Moon Swallowing Qi Circulation Diagram being passed on. It seems I have to make a trip to White Bone Hall."
He might receive a scolding, but he could no longer worry about that. The anomaly just now, along with the white dog that had entered the Forbidden Area, left him with an inexplicable sense of unease.
Having made up his mind, Tong Guan did not delay any longer. He left his Cave Mansion and headed straight for White Bone Hall.
Beside the spring halfway up the mountain.
Chili Mu sat back down beside Wu Tian. There was no delight on her face; she seemed to have long since grown used to it. "So this is the Mysterious Pass. Fortunately, it didn't take too long."
Her gaze fell on Wu Tian, and only then did a smile appear. "White Dragon, I'm going to cultivate the Cauldron Forging Realm next. Once I reach Cauldron Forging Perfection, I'll be able to come find you."
As she spoke, the girl clenched her fair fist with her left hand. "That day won't be too far away. I'll work hard."
At that moment, Wu Tian felt an urge to give up entirely. Perhaps it was because Chili Mu had never come into contact with any other cultivators from the outside world.
She simply had no idea how absurdly fast her cultivation was, or how outrageous it had become...
In one year, most cultivators had not even reached Foundation Establishment Perfection.
Yet she was already about to enter Cauldron Forging...
Wu Tian wanted to give up. He wanted to cling to a powerful patron.
It took a long time before he digested the shock of witnessing Chili Mu break through the Mysterious Pass with his own eyes, and his mind finally regained its calm.
"As long as I keep honing my talents and skills, sooner or later my own talents can rise to the level of a Dao body and Immortal root—or even surpass them."
"Take it slowly. There's no need to hurry..."
"One day, even this utterly ordinary white dog of mine will be able to howl across the firmament..."
His heart finally settled. The exhaustion and trace of defiance left by the slaughter in the forest had already been slashed into scattered pieces by that ancient sword.
Wu Tian licked Chili Mu's hand beside him and gave two soft barks.
"Woof, woof~"
"Hehe, White Dragon, are you praising me?"
Chili Mu removed the little boots from her feet and dipped her fair, crystalline toes into the warm spring water. Ripples shimmered across the surface, and her skin was as smooth as jade, carrying an indescribable allure.
Wu Tian nestled against her. Neither of them cultivated. They simply sat quietly, chatting, watching the glowing clouds ripple across the sky, watching the sunlight fade from blazing brilliance into dimness, and watching the afterglow of the setting sun spill over the land.
When the evening breeze swept through the woods, stirring ripples in the spring and shattering the pool's shimmering reflections, it submerged those pale jade toes...
Chili Mu left. Her being allowed out today had already been a special permission granted by that senior.
According to that senior's instructions, she could not leave her Cave Mansion or descend the mountain to gain experience until she had reached Cauldron Forging Perfection.
That brief reunion swept away every distracting thought and emotion in Wu Tian's heart. Gazing at the waning moon gradually rising in the west, his desire to cultivate grew purer and more steadfast.
"Woof, woof, woof~"
Wu Tian raised his head and barked loudly at the space above the hot spring.
"What is disturbing my peace?" The senior's voice rang out in his mind.
Wu Tian's heart leaped. There was something he wanted to ask this senior, but he had not been sure whether the senior would respond.
Fortunately, the result was not bad.
Before you continue