266: Chapter 261 Xiao Ling'er

After returning from the Black Wind Mountain Range, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect seemed to return to its usual calm.

But some things had changed quietly.

The newly promoted Disciples who participated in the training shed their initial greenness and impetuosity, gaining a steadiness and sharpness honed only through life-and-death battles. Their cultivation in the Sect became more diligent and focused, as if overnight, they truly understood the weight of the word "Cultivate".

Among them, the greatest change was the Hidden Sword Peak.

Zhang Meng and the other three shone brilliantly in this training, and their astonishing progress in cultivation made everyone look at this once-forgotten peak with new eyes.

For a time, rumors about Peak Master Chen Zhiwen being able to "turn stones into gold" and being "skilled in teaching" began to circulate quietly among the Disciples.

But as the protagonist of these rumors, Chen Zhiwen ignored them.

He entered a state of seclusion again, leaving the task of teaching his Disciples to their own comprehension and practice, while he immersed most of his focus in his own cultivation.

Days flowed by in this calm, undisturbed tranquility.

During this period, Chen Zhiwen quietly left the Ten Thousand Swords Sect once.

He tore through the Void Realm and returned to his homeland—the Huangzhou Continent—where he was born and raised, and which held another part of his life.

...

Huangzhou, the top of the Imperial City.

Chen Zhiwen's figure appeared here silently.

He looked down at the city, which was both familiar and somewhat strange, and his Divine Sense spread gently like water ripples.

Soon, he found the person he wanted to see.

In a quiet courtyard in the west of the city.

His old friend Wang Ming was sitting cross-legged under an old locust tree, his eyes closed, his breathing long and steady.

A mysterious aura lingered around him, as if he had merged with the entire world. Every breath he took could draw in the surrounding Origin Qi, forming a tiny vortex.

Chen Zhiwen could clearly perceive that the power of a Peak Grandmaster within Wang Ming was undergoing a qualitative change.

It was a sign of leaping towards a higher level of life.

And in another secret room deep in the Imperial City.

Old Ancestor Chen Heng was also at a critical juncture of seclusion.

His aura was more condensed and majestic than Wang Ming's, and a faint halo of spiritual power had even begun to appear around him. Within that halo, an illusory, unformed core was slowly rotating.

That was... the prototype of a Golden Core!

"They are about to touch that threshold."

A smile of relief appeared on Chen Zhiwen's face.

He did not disturb them, but quietly injected a wisp of extremely pure spiritual power, containing insights into the Golden Core Realm, into the earth veins where the two were in seclusion.

This wisp of spiritual power was like the gentlest rain; it would not disturb them, but could subtly help them better understand and condense their "pseudo-Golden Core," paving a small foundation for their future path of cultivation.

After doing all this, he sent a voice transmission to summon several old friends who had become the new generation of leaders in Huangzhou to meet.

In an elegant tea room, meeting old friends again naturally brought many emotions.

"Zhiwen, your... your current Realm, I am completely unable to see through it."

A former Great Grandmaster who had fought side-by-side with him looked at Chen Zhiwen, his eyes full of shock and awe.

Chen Zhiwen just smiled indifferently.

He briefly described to them what he had seen and heard in the Linghao Continent, as well as the higher Realms of cultivation.

When they heard of Realms they had never heard of before, such as "Golden Core" and "Nascent Soul," and learned that above the Great Grandmaster, there was a transition called the "Forbidden Realm," and that the so-called "Forbidden Realm" didn't even count as an entry-level in the true world of cultivation...

Everyone present fell into a long silence.

Their faces were filled with shock, and a kind of yearning from the depths of their Souls!

It was the excitement and trembling of a frog at the bottom of a well hearing about the starry sea for the first time!

"So... the end of the martial Dao is actually such a vast world..."

After a long time, someone murmured, breaking the silence.

"Brother Chen, do we... do we really have a chance to go to the world you speak of?"

Everyone's eyes looked at Chen Zhiwen with burning intensity.

Chen Zhiwen looked at the flames burning in their eyes and nodded solemnly.

"Of course."

"Once Wang Ming and the Old Ancestor successfully break through to the 'Forbidden Realm' and stabilize their cultivation."

"I will return to take you to the Linghao Continent."

This promise was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up massive waves in everyone's hearts!

After a brief gathering with old friends, Chen Zhiwen did not stay long in Huangzhou.

He returned to the Hidden Sword Peak and to that simple cultivation room.

Because he could feel that his own Bottleneck was also about to arrive.

Recently, the Golden Core within him had long reached a state of Perfection without flaws.

The accumulation of spiritual power had also reached an extreme.

He vaguely felt that he was only one thin layer of window paper away from the legendary Nascent Soul Realm.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through this layer.

He could feel that it was not a lack of spiritual power, nor was it a flaw in his Cultivation Technique.

It was a kind of stagnation in his state of mind.

It was as if a peerless musical movement was about to be completed, but it lacked the most critical note.

He knew that bitter cultivation alone was useless.

Perhaps he needed an Opportunity.

...

Time slipped away quietly in such calm cultivation and waiting.

Spring went and autumn came, cold and heat alternated.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

On this day, heavy snow fell from the sky.

Goose-feather snowflakes drifted down from the lead-gray sky, and soon, the entire Hidden Sword Peak was decorated into a silver, glazed world.

Between heaven and earth, it was quiet, with only the rustling sound of falling snow.

Chen Zhiwen was sitting cross-legged in the cultivation room, trying to find that glimmer of Breakthrough, when a gentle fluctuation suddenly came from the Restriction outside the Immortal Cave.

He opened his eyes, his eyebrows slightly raised.

He was very familiar with this aura.

It was the Sect Master, Li Daoxuan.

Chen Zhiwen got up, waved his hand to open the stone door, and a cold wind mixed with snowflakes rushed in instantly.

Only to see Li Daoxuan in a white robe, standing in the wind and snow, his clothes fluttering, as if he had merged with this icy world. A thin layer of snow had fallen on his shoulders, but he did not use magic power to dispel it.

"Sect Master, the wind and snow are very heavy, why are you visiting?"

Chen Zhiwen walked out of the Immortal Cave and bowed slightly.

"Haha, it's rare to see such a beautiful scene of auspicious snow, so I just walked around. I didn't expect to walk to Peak Master Chen's place."

Li Daoxuan smiled gently, his tone so relaxed that it sounded like he was just passing by.

The two sat down at the stone table outside the Immortal Cave, and Chen Zhiwen brewed a pot of hot tea for him.

After some simple pleasantries, Li Daoxuan's gaze fell on Chen Zhiwen, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

"Peak Master Chen, has your cultivation been going smoothly lately?"

"I have encountered some Bottlenecks."

Chen Zhiwen did not hide it and answered frankly.

Li Daoxuan nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, as if he was not surprised.

He picked up the warm teacup, took a sip, and then said slowly.

"Speaking of which, it happens to be just right."

"I came here today because there is actually one thing I would like to ask Peak Master Chen to help with."

Chen Zhiwen looked at him and said calmly: "Sect Master, please speak."

Li Daoxuan put down the teacup and looked into the distance, at the peak that was shrouded in medicinal clouds all year round.

That was the Cangdan Peak.

"Does Peak Master Chen know that the Peak Master of my Cangdan Peak is my Junior Sister?"

"I have heard a little."

Chen Zhiwen nodded.

"My Junior Sister is extremely talented, especially in the path of Alchemy; she is a rare genius in the Ten Thousand Swords Sect for tens of thousands of years. Now, her cultivation has reached the Peak Golden Core Realm."

Li Daoxuan's tone carried a hint of imperceptible doting and pride.

"Recently, she is preparing to refine a Grade 7 precious Medicinal Pill called the 'Purple Extreme Nascent Soul Pill'."

"She wants to use the power of this Medicinal Pill to break through her Bottleneck in one go and condense a Nascent Soul."

Hearing this, Chen Zhiwen's heart moved slightly.

It was also Peak Golden Core, and also facing a Breakthrough.

"It's just..."

Li Daoxuan changed the subject, a wry smile appearing on his face.

"To refine this Medicinal Pill, one crucial main ingredient is missing, called 'nine-leaf thunder bamboo'."

"This item only grows in places where extremely Yang and rigid thunder gathers, which is extremely rare. Even after searching the Sect's treasury, it could not be found."

"Fortunately, my Junior Sister found in an ancient book that in a dangerous place 100,000 miles away from the Sect, called the 'Thunder Punishment Sea', there might be traces of this item."

"Therefore, she decided to go and pick it herself."

Hearing this, Chen Zhiwen already vaguely understood what the Sect Master meant.

Sure enough, Li Daoxuan looked at him and continued: "My Junior Sister has been simple-minded since she was a child, and she has devoted herself to Alchemy. She has almost never left the protection of the Sect and knows very little about the dangers of the outside world."

"Although her cultivation is already at the Peak Golden Core Realm, her experience in fighting others is almost non-existent."

"I really don't feel at ease letting her go to such a dangerous place as the 'Thunder Punishment Sea' alone."

"So, I would like to ask Peak Master Chen to accompany her on a trip and ensure her safety."

Li Daoxuan's tone was very sincere.

Chen Zhiwen was silent for a moment after hearing this.

He originally thought it would be some tricky major event.

He didn't expect it to be just acting as a guard.

He had been upset recently because he couldn't break through, and he was indeed thinking about whether he should go out for a walk to find some Opportunities.

This invitation came just at the right time.

Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate too much and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I agree to this matter."

Seeing Chen Zhiwen agree so readily, a look of relief immediately appeared on Li Daoxuan's face.

"Haha, with Peak Master Chen, a powerhouse with unfathomable strength like you accompanying her, I can be completely at ease!"

He stood up and patted Chen Zhiwen's shoulder with a smile.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, you will meet at the mountain gate."

"My Junior Sister's name is Xiao Linger."

After finishing, he did not stay any longer, his figure turned into a clear breeze, and disappeared into the sky of wind and snow instantly.

The front of the Immortal Cave returned to tranquility again.

Chen Zhiwen looked at the direction the Sect Master left, and then looked at the hot steam rising from the cup, thoughtful.

Thunder Punishment Sea...

Perhaps this trip is the Opportunity for his own Breakthrough.

...

The next day, early morning.

The heavy snow had stopped, and the world was pure white.

Chen Zhiwen, in a green shirt, had long arrived outside the mountain gate of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, waiting quietly.

He didn't wait too long.

Soon, a clear and beautiful figure walked slowly from the mountain road.

It was a young girl who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a light purple long dress, the skirt fluttering gently like purple clouds as she walked.

Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyebrows were picturesque, and her pair of eyes were as clear as the mountain streams, unstained by a speck of dust. Long eyelashes, because of the melting snow, hung with crystal clear water droplets, and as she blinked gently, she brought a bit of innocent curiosity about the world.

Her appearance seemed to add a touch of liveliness to this icy world.

Chen Zhiwen's gaze fell on her, and his heart could not help but tighten slightly.

Because, beneath this innocent and naive girl's appearance, he felt a majestic magic power that was no less than his own, also reaching the Peak Golden Core Realm!

That magic power was pure and introverted, with a warm aura unique to Medicinal Pills.

Thinking about it, this person must be the Peak Master of Cangdan Peak, the Sect Master's Junior Sister, Xiao Linger.

Xiao Linger also saw Chen Zhiwen. She walked up to him, looked him over curiously, with a bit of scrutiny in her clear eyes.

After a moment, she nodded slightly, her voice as crisp as an oriole coming out of a valley.

"Are you the Chen Zhiwen of the Hidden Sword Peak that Senior Brother mentioned?"

"It is I."

Chen Zhiwen nodded calmly.

"I am Xiao Linger."

The girl introduced herself simply, and then she tilted her head and asked with some confusion.

"Senior Brother said you are very powerful, but... why do I feel that your cultivation seems to be lower than mine?"

Her tone was full of pure curiosity, without any hint of provocation.

Chen Zhiwen couldn't help but laugh dumbly when he heard this.

This Peak Master of Cangdan Peak was indeed as the Sect Master said, simple-minded like a blank sheet of paper.

He didn't explain too much, just smiled indifferently.

"Whether I am very powerful or not, Peak Master Xiao will naturally know on the way."

"We should set off."

After speaking, he turned and walked down the mountain first.

Xiao Linger looked at his back, blinked, seemingly still confused, but didn't ask anything more.

She hummed softly, took a step, and followed.

"Hey, wait for me!"

On the way, Xiao Linger finally couldn't help but speak again.

"The place we are going to this time is the 'Thunder Punishment Sea'."

"It is covered by thunder clouds all year round, and it is said that the 'nine-leaf thunder bamboo' I need grows in the place where the thunder is most dense, which is very dangerous."

"Are you really okay?"

There was a hint of obvious worry in her tone, as if she was afraid that Chen Zhiwen's strength was insufficient and would hold her back.

Chen Zhiwen didn't stop, just replied indifferently.

"Don't worry, I won't die."

The two walked one after another, their figures gradually disappearing into the vast white snow, heading towards the distant, unknown and dangerous Thunder Punishment Sea.