Rock Crevice Insight, Black Heaven Progress

On one side of Yunshan Mountain stood sheer cliffs a thousand fathoms high, impossible even for apes to cross.

Under the moonlight, a faint shadow traversed the cliff face. It was Xie Yuan.

He had come from another direction, different from the Half-Mountain Flower Valley Guest Courtyard, heading toward the place he remembered.

Though the cliff was riddled with countless fissures, few were wide enough for a person to pass through. Besides, martial artists cultivated both inside and out; their ears were sharp, their eyes keen, and their minds clear. With deliberate effort to remember, he would not lose the way.

Xie Yuan circulated the Cloud Dragon Step, leaping across the cliff face as if flying, walking on level ground. Before long, he reached the mouth of that fissure.

He observed quietly for a while. The fissure seemed to be in a calm period. Aside from the occasional breeze drifting out, there was nothing unusual.

Yet wind did not rise from an empty cave. Anyone with a mind would know there was another world within.

"Judging by the marks around this entrance... its power has not exceeded what it was before."

Xie Yuan nodded. His heart settled, and he slipped directly inside.

The previous sword tide had left both him and Situ Qin with lingering fear.

Thus, although Xie Yuan felt this place was a treasure ground for him, he had waited until he broke through to the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm and greatly raised his strength before entering again to investigate.

Once inside the fissure, he proceeded at an unhurried pace. When the moonlight gradually faded, his qi and blood stirred, and a faint golden glow shone around him.

A thin golden barrier covered the outside of his body, wrapping him from head to toe.

Qi controlled beyond the body; fists could not reach the flesh.

At the fourth layer of the Golden Bell Cover, it could already manifest outside the body. Though nearly transparent and barely perceptible, it was like a rudimentary golden bell inverted over him, its protection without flaw. Compared to before, it was a qualitative transformation.

The defining trait of the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm was that once qi and blood reached their limit, all kinds of techniques could produce effects beyond the body, gradually revealing strange properties that surpassed the bounds of human strength.

And after reaching the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm, every transformation was a true metamorphosis, with an enormous gap in power.

At Qi Blood Three Transformations lay the limit the physical body could attain. Whether techniques, moves, or even the lift of a hand and step of a foot, their power could no longer be compared with before.

Though Xie Yuan's Golden Bell Cover had only just taken shape, it already bore a dignified glimmer of gold that could illuminate the cave, sparing him the need for a firestarter.

He continued deeper into the cave. Several times, sword wind brushed his face, yet the Golden Bell Cover kept it outside. Other than sensing it through his qi, he felt nothing. Unlike before, when it struck his body, it could not break his defense but still brought pain from Sword Qi's sharp edge.

If you fear pain, cultivate hard-body arts. I was right after all.

Choosing the Iron Clothes Gate as the beginning of his martial path had truly been a sound choice.

Thinking this, Xie Yuan had completely forgotten that he had merely been short of money at the time. Put nicely, he had never had a choice at all.

As he neared the heart of the mountain, not far ahead lay the place where the passage bent upward. Xie Yuan stopped.

The cave had become spacious here, and the sword wind was fierce. It often carried pebbles that flew at his face like a rain of powerful hidden weapons. The sword intent was icy and biting, far stronger than that in the Main Peak Rear Hall.

This was the place.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the cave, directly in the passage, then dismissed the Golden Bell Cover.

The cave plunged into darkness and silence.

Suddenly, wind howled. Sword wind rushed at him, mercilessly stabbing into Xie Yuan's body.

His brows drew together slightly as he felt the sharp intent on his body and silently contemplated it.

Even without activating the Golden Bell Cover, the defense of his flesh had greatly surpassed the past after the dual breakthrough of his technique and physique. He no longer feared sword wind striking him directly.

After all, he primarily cultivated hard-body arts. His defensive power should now truly exceed Situ Qin's.

By facing the sword wind directly, he could achieve the best possible effect in his comprehension.

Yet while his physique could endure it, his clothes could not. Before long, they had become strips of torn cloth.

Forgot about that... Next time, I should take off my clothes first.

As Xie Yuan thought silently, his mind suddenly jolted.

Black Heaven Book: (145/200)

The number before his eyes jumped, increasing by one point.

The corner of his mouth rose slightly. Then he focused his mind and devoted himself fully to comprehending the cold, fierce sword intent within the sword wind.

Two hours later, Xie Yuan stirred. He rose and walked outside.

When he emerged from the fissure, the silver moon had sunk westward and the east had begun to pale. Dawn had arrived.

Though the cave never saw daylight, with Xie Yuan's cultivation, he would not lose track of time's passage. His estimate had been precise.

I should head back early today, lest anyone sees me like this...

Black Heaven Book: (148/200)

Xie Yuan glanced at the panel before him and nodded gently, delight on his face.

This night's progress was nearly not much worse than when he had held the Eight Trigrams Lotus in his hand and played with it!

"Sure enough, this is a fine place."

He looked back once more, then swiftly fled along the cliff face, deliberately choosing the direction opposite the Half-Mountain Guest Courtyard.

For a period afterward, Xie Yuan's cultivation life became regular once again.

Main Peak in the mornings, guest courtyard in the afternoons—though the guests were absent, that was already his territory, as well as the duty of a servant managing the guest courtyard.

However, even though he was alone in the guest courtyard each afternoon now, he no longer dared cultivate other techniques for fear that the watchful Senior Brother would notice. He could only focus on practicing swordsmanship.

At night, Xie Yuan rested for an hour or two. Once all the servants had fallen deeply asleep from the day's labor, he would pretend to get up at night and slip away to the cliff fissure to contemplate the Black Heaven Book.

Later, he found a larger cave on the cliff. It did not lead into the mountain's interior, yet it was an excellent place to practice. There, he could train each of his other techniques in turn. This divided some of his time from contemplating the Black Heaven Book, but it allowed him to develop comprehensively without falling behind. Compared with the Black Heaven Book, his fundamental internal and external cultivation techniques were, in truth, more important.

Then, before sunrise, he would return to the Servant Courtyard. When day was about to break, he would rise as though nothing had happened and begin a new day.

With such efficient cultivation, aside from the progress of the Black Heaven Book, Xie Yuan rapidly absorbed and integrated the cultivation experience and crucial insights he had learned from Situ Qin, as well as the teachings of masters such as Red Aunt and Li Tai that Situ Qin had passed on through his mouth.

Though these did not necessarily all show up in his progress, they were of immense help in raising his strength and experience in facing enemies. It was equivalent to receiving the instruction of masters once more, and in the long run, the benefits would be immeasurable.

He also gradually mastered the changes in strength that came after breaking through to the Qi and Blood Transformation Realm, stabilized his realm, and steadily advanced his cultivation.

Thus, beneath Yunshan Mountain's moonlit nights, Xie Yuan grew rapidly.

This day, Xie Yuan had just returned at noon. After lunch, he smacked his lips and thought to himself:

I wonder when Situ Qin will come up? I'm sick of this servants' food already.

The Sword Sect fed its disciples until they were full, and the meals were nutritious enough, but whether they tasted good was another matter. Especially this canteen food cooked in huge pots—even if it really did taste good, eating the same flavor every day would become tiresome.

After spending so long with Situ Qin, Xie Yuan had eaten plenty of delicacies. It was hard to return to frugality after luxury. It was as if he had forgotten the days in Small Stone Village when he went hungry, when even eating a Mountain Chicken could excite him for a long while.

Just as he was about to rest briefly before going to his afternoon work, a graceful figure approached.

"Junior Brother Zhang! Wait a moment."

Xie Yuan turned around and found that the newcomer was Lin Zhen, the Miss of the Lin Family Estate, whom he had not seen for a long time.

His eyes flickered, and he was somewhat surprised.

Lin Zhen's qi and blood surged. She seemed to have broken through not long ago.

Xie Yuan clearly sensed that she was at the third level of practice.

He was astonished inwardly.

She has been on the mountain for less than half a year, right? Mm, she came up in late spring, and autumn has only just begun. At most, it has been three or four months? Yet she has gone from an ordinary person to the third level of practice? Then her Yunshan Sword Style must also be at the Mastery level.

Yunshan Sword Style · Mastery: (588/700)

Xie Yuan was also at Mastery now. Though his Mastery was close to Minor Accomplishment, and though he had come to the mountain later than Lin Zhen, the fact that she had reached the same realm as him was enough to show that Lin Zhen's talent was indeed not poor. No wonder Cui Zhi had decisively accepted her back then.

Estate Master Lin had spent his life wanting to become a saber-wielding hero, only to give birth to a seed of a swordsman.

Reaching the third level of practice in four months was not all that far behind his own progress back then...

Of course, the conditions the Yunshan Sword Sect provided its disciples were naturally beyond comparison with a Rogue Cultivator like Xie Yuan. To a great sect, the Outer Refinement Four Gates were merely a stage for laying foundations. From the beginning of their cultivation, outer sect disciples had entry-level nourishing methods and internal cultivation techniques such as the Yunshan Sword Qi Art to aid them. Though it was not particularly profound and only contained the first few layers, the difference between having internal cultivation and not having it was truly like heaven and abyss.

Powerhouses below the mountain, county magnates such as Shen Longteng, could beg bitterly for internal cultivation techniques and still fail to obtain them.

This was the inheritance of a school. This was a sect.

Once one entered that gate, one was in a world entirely different from the one outside it.

Thus, for talented disciples, reaching the fourth level of practice within a year was not outrageous. But Lin Zhen's speed was truly not bad. After all, she had started with no foundation at all. She must have earned much praise from the outer sect elders and instructors.

Xie Yuan saw all this at a glance. He lowered his head slightly and saluted.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Lin. May I ask why Senior Sister called for me?"

His etiquette was thorough. Though they were both in the Outer Courtyard, outer sect disciples upstream of the stream and servant "disciples" living in the lower compound were not the same.

Lin Zhen waved her hand slightly, pursed her lips, and said softly:

"Junior Brother Zhang, have you been in contact with Junior Sister Chen lately?"

Xie Yuan understood at once. Lin Zhen was still thinking about her Junior Sister Chen.

Who knew what bewitching potion Mu Chaoyun had fed her back then, making her unable to forget...

Xie Yuan saluted again and said:

"There has been a change in Junior Sister Chen's family. A relative is gravely ill, and our sect also values filial piety and righteousness. She likely will not come up the mountain again anytime soon."

Miss Lin, cultivate properly. Don't insist on having an elder sister take care of you...

Lin Zhen's expression visibly darkened upon hearing this.

"Is that so... Junior Sister Chen is calm by nature and quite knowledgeable. In some time, I may have to go down the mountain for training, and I had wanted to ask her for advice."

So she was about to go down the mountain. Quite soon, too.

When disciples of the Yunshan Sword Sect went down the mountain for the first time, they truly had to see blood. No wonder Lin Zhen was somewhat uneasy.

Xie Yuan nodded silently.

"What a pity she is not coming. She is not coming back, truly."

Speaking of which, he wondered how her brother Lin Cheng's cultivation was going. It was probably not as smooth as hers.

He was about to take his leave when Lin Zhen suddenly stretched out a hand to stop him.

"Wait! Right, you are from Jinshan County, aren't you? Which town exactly? Since I will be going down the mountain anyway, I might as well pay a visit along the way."

Xie Yuan's scalp tightened, and he hurriedly said:

"No need, no need. How could we possibly trouble you with that?"

Lin Zhen insisted:

"Junior Sister Chen and I struck up an instant friendship. Her family is in trouble, so naturally I should go and see if I can offer my meager assistance."

What instant friendship are you even talking about? If you really go, it would be one thing to meet a Junior Sister Chen who does not know you at all. But what if you run into Zhang Shan, perfectly fine at home?

Xie Yuan hurriedly said:

"There is truly no need! Um... Junior Sister Chen's family customs are unusual. They do not like such things, when outsiders come visiting... Yes, her family is a reclusive clan!"

"A reclusive... clan? A reclusive clan in town?"

Lin Zhen asked for confirmation with a face full of suspicion.

"Yes. Her family are recluses in our town. Although she and I are deeply attached, childhood sweethearts who grew up together, even I might not be able to enter their door. Ah, the temperaments of those elders of hers, ah..."

Xie Yuan sighed with a completely serious expression.

Lin Zhen felt that something about it sounded strange, but Xie Yuan currently looked simple and honest, his face brimming with sincerity. Innocent as she was, she did not suspect anything else and could only sigh dejectedly.

"If that is the case, then forget it... It seems things have not been easy for you either."

"Yes, yes."

Xie Yuan nodded as he watched Lin Zhen leave.

This is what they call a fated entanglement...

He did not take this small episode to heart. As he continued toward the guest courtyard, he inspected his panel and assessed his progress.

Black Heaven Book: (196/200)

Xie Yuan felt somewhat expectant. Tonight, he should be able to fill the Black Heaven Book's progress completely. What kind of harvest would it bring?