A Multicolored Core?
What was that?
A Heavenly Dao Golden Core? But someone without fortune couldn't form a Heavenly Dao Golden Core.
The woman was somewhat puzzled, but she didn't pay it much mind. As someone at the peak of the Heaven-Mending Realm, even with her realm suppressed to Golden Core, her Divine Abilities, spells, and understanding of cultivation were far beyond anything Chen Xia could hold a candle to.
This Past and Future Protective Formation alone already put her in an unbeatable position. She truly couldn't imagine how she could lose.
A smile curled at the woman's lips. Watching Chen Xia settle into a fighting stance, she waved a hand and shook her head.
"Less fancy posturing, more real Divine Abilities."
"All right." Chen Xia nodded and slammed his fists together. He drove strength into his feet, and the already shattered ground could bear it even less, beginning to crack.
His joined fists suddenly parted again. He performed a boxing sequence where he stood, lowered his waist slightly, exhaled, and thrust a fist toward the woman.
The woman raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding. "What does that mean? I don't enjoy watching boxing dances."
Chen Xia drew a deep breath. The blue-green light in his eyes shone to its utmost, the force of heaven and his own spirit gathering ever more mightily over his fists as he stepped sideways.
He extended his left fist.
"Pardon my poor showing."
He said.
The ground began shattering violently in that instant. Chen Xia's figure stretched out from his terrifying speed, leaving even a streak of color lingering where he had stood.
His figure already loomed over the woman, his left fist extended.
He swung his right fist.
The woman's expression didn't change. She couldn't even be bothered to drop her smile. She had already seen through every one of Chen Xia's movements. They were nothing more than petty tricks, utterly incomparable to her Divine Abilities and spells.
After all, however one put it, Chen Xia was merely an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, while she was a Golden Core cultivator who had suppressed her realm from Heaven-Mending. Naturally, the two were incomparable.
That was what she thought as she extended a finger, forming a tiny formation upon it to block the punch.
The fist arrived.
It was a very plain, unadorned punch, one that hardly even inspired the inclination to defend.
It seemed she could evade it simply by sidestepping, but out of courtesy, and to let Chen Xia clearly see the disparity in their strength, the woman chose to take the punch.
Three breaths later, she would understand that she shouldn't have taken it. Of course, that would certainly come afterward.
The little defensive formation at her fingertip shattered first, failing to offer even the slightest resistance.
The woman withdrew her finger, surprise showing between her brows. She felt that this sort of strength shouldn't exist at Golden Core.
Could she be too weak?
The woman still found it somewhat hard to believe.
But very quickly-
The fist landed on her protective time formation. It could strike her future self, and it could strike her past self, but it simply couldn't strike her present self.
The woman's slightly shocked expression soon returned to calm, because she knew Chen Xia couldn't hurt her present self.
No matter what, she stood in an unbeatable position.
Chen Xia's fist landed on her protective formation. His blue-green eyes suddenly dimmed, replaced by a spreading transparency. His entire fist hammered into the formation without the slightest pause.
The formation began revolving madly, driven by Chen Xia's power of time, and stopped at the correct point in time.
Right now.
As the woman watched the fist rapidly growing larger before her, her eyes suddenly widened.
The fist landed.
The woman's figure flew back a hundred paces, scraping out furrows before she braced her feet. A huge fist mark covered her face, but she wasn't angry. Instead, she looked at Chen Xia with growing astonishment, clicking her tongue in wonder.
"You're far too fierce. How come you don't seem like a Golden Core, but more like a Nascent Soul? If you weren't someone without fortune, who knows how many great sects in the Immortal Realm would want you as a disciple? Even I'm sorely tempted."
Chen Xia cupped his fists and nodded. "Thank you for letting me win."
The woman froze, then reached up to touch the tip of her nose. "Are you trying to stop fighting?"
"You can't beat me." Chen Xia's answer was very direct.
Rather than getting angry at Chen Xia's answer, the woman admired him greatly and said with a smile,
"With my realm suppressed to Golden Core, I might not be able to beat you. After all, you don't seem like a Golden Core either. But I can raise my cultivation to Nascent Soul in this little world."
"Nascent Soul won't do either," Chen Xia answered confidently, his eyes fixed on the woman without the slightest concession.
The woman was somewhat surprised. "So confident? I still have plenty of Divine Abilities and spells I haven't used."
Chen Xia exhaled. He didn't answer, merely taking one step forward.
The sky for a hundred li abruptly turned pitch-black, thick dark clouds gathering densely. Scarlet lightning wound through them, roaring ceaselessly, and bolts as thick as mountain ranges surged amid the clouds.
The woman stared blankly, then asked in astonishment, "You can undergo your lightning tribulation and enter Nascent Soul whenever you want?!"
Chen Xia nodded. "With a single thought."
He stepped back. The sky cleared again, the lightning vanished, and the wind and clouds grew gentle.
He had withdrawn the thought of breaking through to Nascent Soul.
"Oh my." The woman folded her arms and laughed in surprise. "You really keep surprising me. I never thought such a little world could produce someone like you."
"Even if your ceiling is only the Heaven-Mending Realm, you should still be among the strongest Heaven-Mending cultivators. When the time comes, the Ninth Mountain would welcome you to take a nominal Attendant position."
"Good, good, good." Chen Xia nodded without refusing. Being a nominal Attendant was a good post: no work to do, and a stipend to collect.
But the matter at hand concerned Huang Qingyue.
Unless this woman who claimed to come from the Ninth Mountain showed sufficient sincerity, Chen Xia wouldn't feel at ease entrusting Huang Qingyue to her.
The woman also knew that Chen Xia had harbored concerns all along. Now that she admired his talent, she was naturally willing to explain patiently.
"If you don't believe me, I can leave you a beacon connecting the two realms. You can use it to speak with this young lady. After you ascend to the Immortal Realm, you can also visit her at the Ninth Mountain. It'll be fine as long as you don't stay long."
"All right." After thinking for a while, Chen Xia nodded in agreement.
In truth, Huang Qingyue was certain to go to the Immortal Realm. Even if she didn't follow this woman to the so-called Ninth Mountain, she would have to ascend herself later.
And Chen Xia had kept suppressing his realm precisely so he could ascend together with Huang Qingyue.
But just as this woman had said, there was one thing Chen Xia had to worry about.
The Spiritual Qi and fortuitous opportunities of this little world might very well be unable to support two people ascending one after another.
It wouldn't be quite right for either of them to stay behind.
The woman's appearance now had resolved this predicament.
Watching the contemplative Chen Xia, the woman reached out and tapped the frozen time before her, smiling.
"Let's let the person concerned decide for herself. Incidentally, my name is Shen Ying, sect master of the Ninth Mountain, and one of the candidates to become the next Mountain Lord of the Ninth Mountain."
The frozen time began flowing normally again. As time resumed, the shattered ground returned to its former, undamaged state.
Huang Qingyue's frozen expression also returned to normal. Her bright, dewy eyes blinked as she looked between the two of them in some confusion.
The woman repeated her earlier words to Huang Qingyue.
Chen Xia told Huang Qingyue to think it over carefully and not make things difficult for herself.
Huang Qingyue's delicate brows knitted tightly. After pondering for a long while, she asked cautiously, "Once I go to the Immortal Realm, I'll still be able to contact Brother Chen, right?"
The woman nodded. "As long as you have the Cross-Realm Beacon, the two of you can stay in contact. After he ascends, he can also visit you at the Ninth Mountain, but he can't stay long."
"All right." Huang Qingyue nodded firmly. "I'm willing!"
Chen Xia stood where he was.
A breeze blew past his back.
Another parting.
Fortunately, it was only a parting, not a farewell forever.
Such things were unavoidable in a long life.
On the day of their parting.
Chen Xia wore a blue-green robe, his arms folded as he looked at Huang Qingyue and chuckled softly.
"See you again."
Huang Qingyue's eyes were red from crying. She kept sniffling, yet couldn't stop no matter what. She was already a Golden Core cultivator, but still couldn't control it.
She looked at Chen Xia and simply kept crying, without saying a word.
Chen Xia looked at the girl with an aching heart. Blue-green light flickered in his eyes, clearing the sky. He knew Huang Qingyue liked vast skies with blue heavens and white clouds.
"Wait for me."
Chen Xia called out again.
"Mm."
Huang Qingyue wiped away her tears with her sleeve and nodded firmly.
After this day.
Chen Xia entered a long seclusion.
He no longer emerged into the world.