Chapter 40 (continued)

On the second attempt, the Illusionless Tree somehow grew taller, and the Golden Silk Dense Moss "whooshed" down to its Illusionless Tree.

This commotion is really huge.

Shan Heyuan felt a surge within his Dantian, and he cried out in pain, clutching his stomach as he collapsed.

Although he lowered his voice, it was still very clear in the quiet of the night.

Two seconds later, Shen Duheng knocked on his door from the outside. "Heyuan?"

Shan Heyuan clutched his stomach, gritting his teeth, unable to utter a word.

Shen Duheng listened for two seconds, and when he didn't hear a response, he simply pushed open the door. "Are you alright?"

Shan Heyuan clutched her stomach, half her face buried in the blankets, her long legs dangling to the ground, her whole posture contorted.

Shen Duheng pressed the door open, but still saw his face immediately.

His brows furrowed slightly, cold sweat beaded on his nose, and he looked pained, but his breathing remained steady, suggesting he was not seriously injured.

Shen Duheng felt slightly relieved, only then noticing that his eyelids were a little red, and the hem of his robe was rolled up, revealing his bare, slender calves and a bit of his thighs.

Shen Duheng felt as if his heart had been struck by something, and he stood frozen at the doorway.

The two usually get along like brothers, and have seen each other in every way.

Shan Heyuan is from Earth, so he dresses more casually. In the hot summer, he sometimes wears only shorts and a shirt, exposing his arms and calves. Occasionally, he will even come out shirtless after taking a shower.

But that's just an outfit; at most, it's an unusual outfit, but it's something you can wear on the street without giving anyone a bad impression.

But things are different now.

This scene, this chaos, is too private.

Even brothers or parents rarely see this private side of the child.

It is a scenario that transcends social distancing.

It took Shan Heyuan a while to recover.

He arched his back, straightened himself up, and sighed with a flushed face, "Brother Shen, you've arrived?"

Shen Duheng stood at the door, staring at him, his voice slightly hoarse. "Are you alright?"

"It's alright." Shan Heyuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes shining brightly. "Brother Shen, 'Return a Plum for a Peach' worked! Now that the Illusionless Tree has taken root in the Golden Silk Dense Moss, I can even control the Golden Silk Dense Moss to release moisture!"

Shan Heyuan spoke, he controlled the Golden Silk Dense Moss to release a little moisture.

A small portion of the moisture was absorbed by the Illusionless Tree rooted in it, while the majority was immediately expelled through the meridians, like sweat, leaving Shan Heyuan's lower abdomen exceptionally moist.

He rubbed his smooth belly and looked at Shen Duheng: "It really works! The Illusionless Tree has started to grow slowly after being nourished by water."

Shen Duheng remained silent.

Shan Heyuan felt a little strange, and was about to get out of bed to go and take a look after the ground.

Shen Duheng: "You've entered the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

Shan Heyuan checked his condition. "Sigh, it really is. I probably just broke through, but I was so focused on the Illusionless Tree that I didn't notice."

Although reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage is only a minor breakthrough, the Spiritual Power within the body is completely different.

Shan Heyuan could feel a large amount of Spiritual Power flowing through his wide meridians, and the strength of his meridians had also reached a new level.

Shan Heyuan ran the mental cultivation technique again and broke through; even running the technique became smoother. "That's great."

Shen Duheng remained standing at the door without coming in. "Go to sleep if you're alright."

Shan Heyuan looked up and smiled brightly, "Okay. You can go back to sleep too, there's still plenty of time."

Shen Duheng nodded and gently closed the door for him.

Shan Heyuan happily lay down on the bed, rolled around several times, and buried his head in the blanket.

He was so excited that he didn't realize there were no footsteps in the corridor.

The problem was solved, Shan Heyuan returned to work after canceling his leave.

He was only gone for about half a month this time, and it felt like he had only been at home for two days. He didn't feel like he had been away for a long time at all, and his disciples and colleagues were very familiar with him.

Jiang Zhi and Li Jian came to see him immediately.

At noon, the three of them ate lunch in the school cafeteria.

Jiang Zhi picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and glanced at him, as if he were using him as a side dish.

Shan Heyuan couldn't take it anymore. "Can't you eat properly? Looking at me like that gives me the creeps."

Jiang Zhi sighed, "How come you overcame the bottleneck period so quickly?"

Li Jian: "What are you saying? Brother Shan has overcome his bottleneck period, isn't that something to be happy about?"

Jiang Zhi: "I'm happy as I am, but that doesn't stop me from being envious. Back then, how many years did it take you to overcome your bottleneck? Three years, I think? As for me, it seems like it took four and a half years. Brother Shan only took half a month, and your cultivation level even improved."

Shan Heyuan: "Mine was the result of years of hard work and gradual accumulation; I've been stuck here for a long time."

Jiang Zhi snorted, "You make it sound like we're just accumulating strength for a long time. Your current strength isn't low even among the geniuses of major sects, and it's much better than the two of us Rogue Cultivator."

Shan Heyuan: "Go away, we're clearly at the same cultivation level now."

Jiang Zhi: "But we're older than you."

Shan Heyuan: "They're not that many years older. Besides, many people are late bloomers. What does it matter if one cultivates faster or slower? As long as one can ascend in the end, it doesn't matter if it takes tens of thousands of years to ascend."

Jiang Zhi casually remarked, "You have such lofty ideals? But I guess it's a bit difficult. Our world is a dead world; there's no way to break through the void."

Li Jian: "In the tens of thousands of years of cultivation, how many cultivators have actually been able to break through the void? Let's live in the present. Speaking of which, Brother Shan, now that you've reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, why don't you give it a try in this year's academy competition?"

Shan Heyuan knew about the competition, but he had never thought of participating before. What was the point of a planter like him participating?

Let's leave it to the sword cultivators and body cultivators.

Shan Heyuan shook his head. "Forget it, I'm just a cultivator focused on daily life; I won't go up there and get a beating for nothing."

Jiang Zhi: "Not necessarily. Many matches are just for show. We're just killing time anyway, so why not join in the fun? If we win, it'll look good on our resumes, and they have a lot of prizes, so it's worth it to take even a little bit."

Shan Heyuan: "The main problem is that I can't get it."

After hearing about the intra-college competition, he forgot all about it.

He went out for a short period of more than half a month and overcame his bottleneck period, and his cultivation level even improved, which was truly astonishing.

However, since cultivation is such a private matter, no one dared to inquire about it. Although many more people sought him out for conversation, he was not difficult to deal with.

Shan Heyuan found interacting with his colleagues and disciples quite enjoyable.

Having reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, Shan Heyuan began to advance towards becoming a mid-level cultivator.

If he can successfully Core Formation, he will be a proper mid-level cultivator.

Although everyone in this world cultivates, it is still dominated by low-level cultivators. Ninety-five percent of the cultivators are below the Core Formation. Anyone who can reach the Core Formation stage is considered a Core Formation. As long as they don't live in a top-tier city like Sword Reverence City, they will have a very high status in a smaller place.

Even in Sword Reverence City, a cultivator who successfully Core Formation Stage is quite enviable.

Shan Heyuan was filled with anticipation for the Core Formation Stage, and he spent a considerable amount of time cultivating each day.

There were no classes that morning, Shan Heyuan got up early and started cultivating in the courtyard. He didn't stop until he had circulated his Spiritual Power for three hundred Greater Celestial Circuit.

Despite cultivating for so long, he not only didn't feel tired, but also felt exceptionally refreshed as Spiritual Power circulated throughout his body.

The weather in late spring wasn't particularly hot, yet he was drenched in sweat from his workout.

He stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

I plan to wash up before coming out to take care of the Spirit Plant in the yard.

The two suites in the small courtyard where he lived both had bathrooms, and he would go back to his room to wash up.

After entering the room, he closed the door and stripped off all his clothes.

There's a mirror on the sink; he installed it after taking over the house.