I Am Convinced

The evening breeze swept through the empty, quiet long street.

Chen Qing suddenly snapped back to reality; the moon-white figure had vanished without a trace.

"Five days from now, at midnight on the new moon, at the Heavenly Evolution Platform..."

He looked up towards the heavily guarded depths of the Immortal Palace, his mind racing. "With Xu Qingfeng's cultivation, deceiving me is meaningless. I've already been in this dream for four days, and I have to wake up once every three days. To meet the five-day deadline, I'll need to use a Dao Mark to prolong the dream. There's a lot I can do in the time between waking and dreaming!"

As the thought formed, he saw no sign of Lu Feng to his left or right. Chen Qing didn't linger. His figure streaked away, not back to the Qin Lu. When he left, he had already agreed with Lu Feng that if his trip was exposed, they would meet in the secret tunnel of the dry well behind the "Old Chenxiang Workshop" in the southern part of the city.

"But speaking of which, in Yujing City, where are the truly secret places? It's all about gambling on a time difference, gambling that those big shots won't bother with a little shrimp like me for now."

At the end of the narrow alley, amidst the overgrown weeds, a dry well lay half-hidden. Chen Qing's footsteps didn't falter as he leaped down.

The mechanism below the well activated, revealing a deep, damp tunnel. In a small stone room at the end, Lu Feng sat cross-legged on a cushion, the Jiao Wei zither resting on his lap, Yin Lin'er standing by his side with a tense expression.

"How is it?" Lu Feng's hollow eye sockets "looked" towards the entrance, his face grave. "Earlier, I saw you being surrounded and wanted to intervene, but a gust of wind blew, and when I came to my senses, I was already here."

"It's normal. The one who made a move was extraordinary."

As Chen Qing spoke, he briefly recounted his experiences at the Moon Embracing Villa. When he mentioned the other party's insistence on recruiting him, Lu Feng sneered, "The Marquis of the East Sea's lineage has always been two-faced. It's easy to add flowers to the brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in the snow. It's only natural."

But when Chen Qing spoke of the ambush on the long street, Xu Qingfeng's appearance, and the Empress's scheme to steal the heavens, the five-day deadline, the air in the stone room suddenly froze!

"The Seventh Prince has such cultivation? He can see through the Empress's plan?" Lu Feng was horrified, unable to believe that the rumored idle prince was such a hidden master.

"He claimed to be caught in the game and unable to act personally, but he was willing to tear open a gap in the Star Forbidden for me. Otherwise, if the Empress succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable," Chen Qing said in a deep voice. "Whether his words are true or false is hard to tell, but things have come to this, we can only go all out!"

"The Heavenly Dao is like a net, and all beings are bound! How can such a major event fall upon us? What he said might not be true!" Lu Feng was silent for a long time, then sighed heavily. "That Heavenly Evolution Platform is the forbidden ground within the forbidden grounds of the Immortal Palace, protected by the core formation patterns of the 'Circumference Star Dou Forbidden.' Even if there's a gap, it's a path of certain death! Are you really going?"

Chen Qing stated directly, "This trip is not for others, but for myself."

As soon as he finished speaking!

"Buzz—"

The strings of the Jiao Wei zither vibrated violently!

Lu Feng's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly. "Not good! Someone is approaching!"

"If they truly want to calculate, they would know where I am." Chen Qing's expression remained unchanged. The Green Lotus Platform in his sleeve faintly glowed, and the Bronze Wine Goblet hovered in his palm, a mellow fragrance and killing intent surging!

Yin Lin'er's silver scales on his body flared slightly, his aura becoming dangerous and violent!

BOOM!

The stone door burst open!

However, the intruder was not an pursuer—

A bloody figure stumbled in! He was on the verge of death, his clothes tattered, and strange gray energy wriggled like living things in his wounds, corroding them!

Bloodstains could not hide his face.

"Chen Yu?" Fragments of Chen Qing's memory surged, recognizing the person. It was Chen Yu, the fifth son of the Chen Family, who had sided with the Sixth Prince!

"Sec... Second Brother..." Chen Yu's eyes struggled to focus on Chen Qing's face. "Save... Save Xuan'er! I overheard Zhao Yuanji's words. He said the Empress wants to use your Spiritual Bone to refine a 'Nine Tribulations Substitute'! Cough!" He coughed out black blood clots and rasped, "They locked Xuan'er next to your Spiritual Bone, using her Chen Family bloodline to nourish the Spiritual Bone and reduce rejection! Xuan'er can't hold on much longer!"

So that's it!

Someone like the Sixth Prince, still scheming against a mere Chen Family girl, was actually for this matter!

Connecting the clues, Chen Qing understood. He pressed Chen Yu down, "Don't rush to explain, tend to your wounds first. Elder Lü, this place is probably not safe anymore."

"I have a carriage hidden behind the courtyard," Lu Feng nodded. "Yin Lin'er, go drive it."

"Alright!"

After a simple suppression of his injuries, Chen Yu caught his breath. In the carriage, he explained the whole story—

This time, he had escaped by risking his life and tracked them here using a secret bloodline technique.

"The Sixth Prince lied to me. The Marrow Cleansing Pill was actually a Heart Controlling Gu! Once the Empress's ritual is complete, we will all be refined into the Soul Devouring Banner and our souls will scatter! Second Brother, do you have a way..."

Listening to these words, fragments of Chen Qing's memory surged. The anger belonging to "Chen Xu" erupted, but his own will was as firm as a rock, and he remained calm. Without the aid of the Samadhi True Fire Talisman, he suppressed the distracting thoughts.

"Fifth Brother," Chen Qing's voice was low and calm, "with my meager cultivation, rushing over would only mean sending another life to its death, doing no good."

The last glimmer of hope extinguished. Chen Yu's lips trembled, and he let out a whimper, "I was foolish, trying to be clever and harming Xuan'er, and also harming the Chen Family. No wonder you had such an attitude towards the Sixth Prince, Second Brother. I regret it!"

Chen Qing shook his head and beckoned to Lu Feng, "Elder Lü, please take a look at him."

Lu Feng squatted down, his fingertip emitting a green light as he probed Chen Yu's wrist pulse. He withdrew it instantly. "His heart meridian was injured by Yin Sha, and his Dantian's Qi Sea was eroded by the Yuan Corroding Powder. His foundation is ruined." He said with regret, "If we immediately seal his remaining Yuan with the Supreme Simplicity Nine Needles and supplement it with meridian-blocking and Yuan-sealing techniques, it might extend his life by ten years, but his cultivation will definitely be irrecoverable."

"Ten years?" Chen Yu's eyes held no sorrow, only numbness. To him, losing all his cultivation meant ten years of mere existence.

Chen Qing, however, leaned down and said, "Since there are still ten years, use these ten years to see this land! Do all the things you wanted to do but dared not, or could not do in the past! The waters here are too deep; leaving might not be a bad thing."

Chen Yu stared blankly at Chen Qing.

These words were somewhat foreign to him, someone who had been striving and focused on bringing glory to the family.

He was momentarily dazed.

Chen Qing did not wait for his response and nodded to Lu Feng.

Lu Feng immediately formed his fingers like the wind and swiftly struck nine major acupoints on Chen Yu's body!

With each finger strike, a green qi needle, as fine as a cow's hair, penetrated into it.

"Supreme Origin Sealing, Lock!"

The qi needles hummed, weaving into a net that forcibly locked the dissipating vital energy!

The deathly pallor on Chen Yu's face receded slightly, and his breathing stabilized. Though still incredibly weak, he finally had a glimmer of life in his eyes.

"Thank you, senior..." he struggled to bow.

"No need," Lu Feng waved his hand, turning to Chen Qing with a pointed remark, "He needs to find a hidden place to consolidate his essence." Doubt still lingered in his eyes; he worried Chen Yu's situation was merely a ruse or a trap. After all, with Chen Yu's cultivation, escaping the Sixth Prince's grasp wouldn't be so easy.

Chen Qing nodded and said to Yin Lin'er, "Yin Lin'er, help him go. We're moving!"

"Yes!" Yin Lin'er immediately helped Chen Yu up.

The group departed swiftly.

Next, Lu Feng found someone to arrange separate accommodations for Chen Yu.

Once they reached their latest hiding spot, Chen Qing, after regulating his breathing, borrowed a refining technique from Lu Feng.

The stone room was dim, the oil lamp like a tiny bean.

Chen Qing had a copy of the Qi Nourishing Art spread across his lap.

This art focused on using one's own Supreme Harmony Qi and spiritual sense to repeatedly scour a magical treasure until a state of mutual understanding, a "nurturing" path, was achieved.

"Spiritual sense as the blade, essence as the whetstone, slowly and steadily, to grasp the true meaning..."

Reading the contents, Chen Qing's brow furrowed slightly.

This method emphasized "nurturing," and haste was its greatest taboo. Even with the boost from his dream-body, it would be difficult to violate its fundamental principles. He feared that even with external settings added to his dream, it wouldn't be an overnight success.

"Forget it," he closed the book decisively, "After I wake up from the dream, I'll find another refining technique. Master's notes might contain something, but the Hidden Star legacy is shallow; I doubt it's very advanced."

His current pursuit was to further refine the Ninth-grade Green Lotus Platform and the Bronze Wine Goblet.

These two treasures contained inherent spirituality and possessed immense power. Currently, his understanding was merely superficial, like a child wielding a heavy axe, unable to unleash its full might! If he could form a life-bound connection with them, his cultivation level wouldn't change, but his combat power in a fight could double! To challenge the Heavenly Derivation Platform, every bit of strength would mean a greater chance of survival!

His gaze swept over Lu Feng, who was meditating with his eyes closed. Chen Qing suddenly asked, "Elder Lü, are the Buddhist inheritances in the Western Wilderness truly hard to find?"

Lu Feng's eye sockets twitched slightly. He replied, "Buddhism is in decline in the Central Spirit Continent. True teachings are mostly hidden in ancient temples in the Western Wilderness. They are almost extinct within the Immortal Dynasty's borders. Unless you go to the Western Wilderness in person..."

Chen Qing fell silent.

"It seems I'll have to wait until I wake up from the dream to gather more information," his thoughts raced. "Bai Shaoyou has accumulated a lot; perhaps he knows about formations that can substitute for tribulations? And that bookstall..."

As he was contemplating, the hidden door of the stone room clicked softly.

Yin Lin'er flashed inside, his hair disheveled, his clothes dusted with travel, clutching a coarse cloth bundle. He was breathing heavily but couldn't hide his excitement, "Young Master! Come quickly and see!"

He unfolded the bundle, revealing three pieces of "Star Shard Iron" imbued with starlight!

Though not rare treasures, these were excellent materials for nurturing spirituality and aiding in refining! They were exactly what the Qi Nourishing Art required and could save him considerable time and effort!

"I couldn't help much," Yin Lin'er said breathlessly, carefully, "Seeing you seeking refining techniques, I thought of finding some ores that could save you some effort."

"You've come at the perfect time," Chen Qing said warmly after listening, "Thank you for your hard work."

The fatigue on the young man's face vanished, replaced by a smile.

Chen Qing then asked, "Where did you get these from?"

The boy's smile froze, and after a moment's hesitation, he replied, "These things, naturally, came from..."

Just then!

"Whoosh—"

A streak of crimson light pierced through the restrictions and hovered before Chen Qing. It was a small, crimson sword!

Lu Feng and Yin Lin'er instantly became wary!

However, a hearty voice came from within the sword: "Chen Xu! Do not be alarmed! It is I, this Prince! The East Sea Prefecture has its methods for finding people, and I've conveniently erased your traces as well!"

"It's Young Marquis Lu," Chen Qing raised a hand to signal Lu Feng to stand down, his gaze calm. "Let him speak."

The voice from the small sword continued, "I heard you were seeking treasures for refining, and I have already prepared them for you! I will send them over later! Rest assured, I, this Prince, always act on my whims! This time, I am impressed by your demeanor and wish to help!"

"Impressed by my demeanor?" Chen Qing heard this and couldn't help but chuckle, "This Young Marquis is truly a forthright person!"

Lu Feng opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it.

Two updates delivered! This novice author humbly requests all readers to actively engage with the story and provide feedback! Those who stumble upon this page, please do a favor and add it to your collection! Thank you