96: Chapter 96 Nascent Soul True Monarch

A Disciple capable of ranking within the top fifty of the immortal seed ranking has an immeasurable value.

Never mind just killing an Outer Sect Deacon of the Holy Sect; even if he caused a much larger catastrophe, the Sect would have to grit its teeth and accept it.

They would exhaust everything to protect him!

Just as the entire Eastern Region was shaking from the name Chu Xiao,

another even more shocking piece of news

came from the heart of the Eastern Region—Tianxuan Province.

The Liyang Cave Heaven, an ancient battlefield ruin suspected to have made a brief appearance a hundred years ago, had its entrance appear once again on the Ancient Desolate Plain of Tianxuan Province!

When the time comes, anyone will be able to enter!

Once this news broke, the entire Eastern Region completely boiled over.

Liyang Cave Heaven!

That was a treasure land filled with endless opportunities and deadly dangers.

It was said to contain the Legacies of ancient mighty beings!

It held lost Divine Abilities and Cultivation Techniques.

It contained Heaven And Earth Treasures that had long been extinct in the outside world.

During its opening a hundred years ago, any Cultivator who managed to walk out alive

experienced a massive surge in cultivation, reaching the heavens in a single step.

Now, it has reappeared!

For a time, winds and clouds surged in the Eastern Region.

Countless Sect forces and young generation Cultivators all turned their gazes toward Tianxuan Province.

Inside the Immortal Cave at Tianji Peak,

Chu Xiao had no idea what kind of waves he had stirred up in the outside world.

He was currently immersed in cultivation, stabilizing his Golden Core eighth-layer cultivation.

At the same time, he was digesting the massive benefits brought by that accidental Dual Cultivation.

With his Yin and Yang Dao Physique newly formed, his affinity for Spiritual Qi had reached an unprecedented height.

A strand of Spiritual Qi that previously required several days to refine

now only took a few cycles to be completely absorbed.

More importantly, with the boost from the Yin and Yang Dao Physique, he found that comprehending the Heaven Rank peak-grade Supreme Emotion-Forgetfulness Dao Scripture yielded twice the result with half the effort!

Many previously obscure and difficult Bottlenecks were now suddenly clear.

"This Dual Cultivation... the effects are simply too good."

Chu Xiao felt the surging Dharmic power within his body and couldn't help but click his tongue.

He even began to feel a bit of anticipation for the seven-day appointment.

While he was focused on his cultivation, the Mountain Protection Array outside the Immortal Cave sent a slight ripple.

It was Elder Ling Yun's communication jade talisman.

Chu Xiao finished his session, stood up, and waved his hand to open the Immortal Cave's entrance.

Elder Ling Yun's figure appeared at the door, his face carrying a look of excitement.

It was a far cry from his usual steady image.

"Chu Xiao! Great news! Tremendous news!"

Before even entering the room, Elder Ling Yun's booming voice rang out.

"Elder, what has made you so happy?"

Chu Xiao asked with some curiosity.

"See for yourself!" Elder Ling Yun walked forward quickly and excitedly handed over a golden announcement scroll. Spiritual light flowed across the scroll; it was clearly no ordinary object.

Chu Xiao took the scroll and looked at it, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Eastern Region immortal seed ranking!

When he saw his name ranked fiftieth, along with the subsequent evaluation of his brilliant battle record, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Wangxian Pavilion..." Chu Xiao murmured the name.

He knew from the insights of that Void Returning expert that Wangxian Pavilion was one of the most mysterious organizations in the Eastern Region.

No one knew their origins, only that their influence was immense.

Their intelligence network spanned the entire Eastern Region, and the rankings they issued had always been known for their fairness and authority.

"Hahaha! Fiftieth on the immortal seed ranking! Our Tianyan Sect hasn't had anyone on this list for nearly a thousand years! You've truly brought great honor to our Tianyan Sect!"

Elder Ling Yun clapped his hands and laughed, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

Chu Xiao smiled, not particularly caring about it.

Rankings are ultimately just empty fame.

Only the strength held in one's own hands is real.

He handed the list back to Elder Ling Yun and was about to say something.

However, Elder Ling Yun took out another Jade Slip, his expression shifting from excitement to solemnity.

"Chu Xiao, the immortal seed ranking is just an appetizer. The real major event is this."

Chu Xiao took the Jade Slip and extended his Divine Sense into it.

In the next moment, his gaze completely changed.

"Liyang Cave Heaven... is about to open?"

"Correct."

Elder Ling Yun said in a low voice, "The news just came from Tianxuan Province; it definitely won't be false. Liyang Cave Heaven is an ancient battlefield ruin that only opens once every hundred years. It contains countless opportunities, but it is also fraught with danger."

He paused and continued, "According to custom, when the Cave Heaven opens, any Sect in the Eastern Region with some strength will dispatch their most elite Disciples."

"That place is a true battlefield for the young generation; nine out of ten Prodigies on the immortal seed ranking will go."

"Does Elder Ling Yun mean you want me to go as well?"

Chu Xiao asked.

Elder Ling Yun nodded, then shook his head, his face full of worry. "With your talent and strength, going to Liyang Cave Heaven will surely yield immense opportunities, but... it's too dangerous. There's not only the danger of the Cave Heaven itself but also the threat from the Prodigies of other Sects."

"Especially the Jiuyou Sect and the Holy Sect's side... that old geezer Sect Master Qin Chaotian and the Holy Sect. If they know you've gone to Liyang Cave Heaven, they will surely spare no expense to intercept and kill you inside!"

"You are now the hope of our Tianyan Sect; the Sect truly cannot afford to take this risk."

"But if you don't go, you'll miss this once-in-a-century Opportunity, which would be a huge loss for your path of cultivation."

Elder Ling Yun was caught in a dilemma, which was exactly why he had come to discuss it with Chu Xiao.

To go or not to go—this decision was too important.

"I'll go."

Chu Xiao's answer came without the slightest hesitation.

Wealth is sought amidst danger; the struggle for the Dao is like rowing upstream.

If one does not advance, one retreats.

Since he cultivated the Supreme Emotion-Forgetfulness Dao Scripture, his state of mind was no longer what it used to be!

How could he shrink back just because of some potential dangers?

Furthermore, in the insights of that Void Returning expert,

Liyang Cave Heaven had been specifically mentioned.

It stated that there was an Opportunity within that was closely related to the True Intent of the Primordial Mountain Monarch he cultivated.

For this trip, he absolutely had to go.

"Have you... have you really thought this through?"

Elder Ling Yun looked at his determined eyes and sighed in his heart.

"This Disciple's mind is made up." Chu Xiao nodded solemnly.

"Good!"

Elder Ling Yun took a deep breath, a flash of determination in his eyes. "Since you've decided to go, the Sect will support you with all its strength! Tomorrow, the Sect Master will personally summon you!"

"Thank you, Elder. Thank you, Sect Master."

After seeing off Elder Ling Yun, Chu Xiao returned to the Immortal Cave, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

Liyang Cave Heaven!

He was definitely going to wade into these murky waters!

The seven-day appointment seemed to still ring in his ears.

Chu Xiao stood before the Immortal Cave on Tianji Peak, looking toward the direction of the Sect Master's main peak.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind.

...

Early the next morning.

Chu Xiao's figure moved, flying toward the Sect Master's Great Hall.

Inside the Sect Master's Great Hall.

Yuan Muyu sat quietly on the Sect Master's throne.

She had been sitting here for a full hour.

The hall was as empty and majestic as ever, with sandalwood incense curling and the charm of the Dao naturally arising.

But her heart was in unprecedented turmoil.

In her mind, the images from that day were like a brand, impossible to erase.

That boiling lava!

That burning chest!

That domineering aura that she couldn't resist...

And herself, when she was not in her right mind.

The words she had spoken were so shameful she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

However, the benefits were also undeniable.

The extreme cold backlash that had troubled her for hundreds of years was completely resolved; she had even turned misfortune into a blessing, as the Bottleneck of her cultivation showed faint signs of loosening.

All of this originated from that Disciple, Chu Xiao.

Just thinking of that name made her heartbeat quicken for no reason.

At that moment, a slight sound of footsteps came from outside the hall.

Yuan Muyu instantly restrained all her leaking emotions, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down.

She once again became that high-and-mighty, cold and peerless Master of the Tianyan Sect.

Chu Xiao stepped into the hall.

The familiar majestic aura rushed toward him, but his state of mind now was completely different from before.

His gaze immediately fell upon the figure atop the jade steps.

She still wore that luxurious palace dress, her figure tall and her curves graceful.

Even from a distance, that cold and peerless face was still beautiful enough to make one's heart tremble.

For a moment, Chu Xiao was briefly dazed!

"Chu Xiao."

The cold voice suddenly pulled his thoughts back.

Yuan Muyu had already noticed his arrival and his unmasked gaze.

A hint of shame and annoyance rose in her heart.

But more than that, it was an indescribable, strange feeling.

She forcibly suppressed the ripples in her heart!

"Chu Xiao... congratulations on making it to the fiftieth place on the Eastern Region immortal seed ranking, winning a glory for our Tianyan Sect that has not been seen in a thousand years."

Chu Xiao's heart jolted, and he instantly sobered up, thinking to himself that things were bad.

Where was he just looking?

He had simply lost his head!

He hurriedly withdrew his gaze and bowed: "Disciple Chu Xiao pays his respects to the Sect Master."

At the same time, his heart stirred as he thought silently.

"System, check Yuan Muyu's favorability."

[Target: Yuan Muyu]

[Favorability: 100 (Deeply rooted love, bound by life and death)]

"One... one hundred?"

Chu Xiao's eyelids twitched violently; he almost thought he had misread it.

Wasn't it only 60 a few days ago?

How much time had passed?

It had directly soared to a hundred?

Did this favorability take a rocket?

Deeply rooted love, bound by life and death?

"Being able to make the immortal seed ranking is an affirmation of your talent, but you must not become arrogant because of it."

Yuan Muyu's voice rang out again, interrupting Chu Xiao's thoughts.

"Wangxian Pavilion once had statistics showing that the death rate for Prodigies on previous immortal seed rankings before reaching the Soul Transformation Realm is as high as seventy percent. The higher the rank, the more one becomes a target for all. Do you understand?"

Her tone carried a hint of warning, like a strict teacher.

"This Disciple understands. I will surely follow the Sect Master's teachings, guard against arrogance and rashness, and concentrate on my cultivation."

Chu Xiao answered respectfully.

He paused and added: "This Disciple keeps the Sect's kindness in nurturing me in my heart. If I achieve anything in the future, I will surely repay the Sect a hundredfold!"

He said these words with sincere intent.

Yuan Muyu looked at him quietly, a flash of softness appearing in her phoenix eyes.

She nodded, accepting his attitude.

"Since you already know, then I shall keep it brief."

She changed the subject, her voice becoming serious: "Liyang Cave Heaven has appeared in Tianxuan Province. This is a once-in-a-century Opportunity. Since you have already decided, you may enter it to gain experience."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

"For this trip, the Sect will provide you with everything you need!"

"This Disciple accepts the order!"

Chu Xiao replied in a deep voice.

The official business that needed to be discussed had been finished.

Inside the great hall, silence fell once again.

But this silence was different from before.

It was as if something indescribable had been added to the air.

The atmosphere became somewhat subtle, even... ambiguous.

Chu Xiao lowered his head, eyes focused on his nose, heart focused on his heart, not looking around.

He could feel the gaze from above the jade steps, resting on him, never moving away.

This made him feel completely uncomfortable, like needles pricking his back.

Time seemed to stretch out at this moment.

Every minute, every second, felt exceptionally agonizing.

He didn't know how long had passed.

Chu Xiao heard a slight sound of rustling robes.

He subconsciously raised his head, only to see Yuan Muyu on the jade steps, having stood up at some unknown point.

She didn't speak, just looked at him quietly.

Then, in Chu Xiao's astonished gaze, she slowly walked down the jade steps.

As she approached, that unique, faint fragrance grew stronger, drilling into Chu Xiao's nostrils, making his heart sway.

Chu Xiao's heart stirred slightly!

Yuan Muyu walked step by step to his front, stopping at a distance of three steps away.

She just looked at him quietly, those eyes.

It was as if she wanted to see right through him.

Chu Xiao felt a bit guilty being looked at by her, and subconsciously avoided her gaze.

His guilty appearance fell into Yuan Muyu's eyes.

Yuan Muyu suddenly felt a bit angry, and a bit amused.

This Disciple, his courage was truly great.

In Tianyuan City, he dared to kill the Holy Sect envoy in public.

In her own Forbidden Ground, he dared to...

Now, he didn't even dare to look at her?

The trace of shame and annoyance in her heart had unknowingly dissipated quite a bit.

She looked at Chu Xiao, silent for a moment!

Finally, her red lips parted slightly: "About the matter from a few days ago..."

Chu Xiao's body stiffened suddenly!

She... she actually brought up this matter proactively!

So direct?

"The matter from a few days ago, this Disciple has already forgotten. Does the Sect Master have any other instructions?"

Chu Xiao sighed, the corner of his mouth twitching as he spoke.

Yuan Muyu ignored Chu Xiao's expression; she took another step forward.

This time, the distance between the two was less than an arm's length.

Chu Xiao could even clearly see the fine down on her face, and beneath those long eyelashes.

A trace of complex emotion hidden deep in her eyes.

She leaned in slightly, her nose tip almost touching Chu Xiao's earlobe.

This action was too intimate, and too bold.

It caused the already ambiguous atmosphere in the great hall to instantly heat up to the extreme.

The next moment, she slowly straightened her body.

Opening a little distance, those charming Phoenix eyes looked straight into his eyes.

"I want you... to help me Cultivate."

As soon as these words came out, Chu Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

Help her Cultivate? Ah, this...

After all, the two had Cultivated once in the magma, and he had experienced the feeling of cultivation speed increasing rapidly quite clearly himself.

He subconsciously used his Divine Sense to check Yuan Muyu's cultivation.

He didn't know until he checked, and once he checked, Chu Xiao's pupils suddenly contracted.

Soul Transformation Realm... Second Layer!

No, the problem was that the aura on her was even more powerful than an ordinary Soul Transformation Second Layer!

It was much more refined, almost approaching Soul Transformation Third Layer.

A storm surged in Chu Xiao's heart.

He remembered very clearly that a few days ago, Elder Ling Yun was still guessing whether Yuan Muyu had broken through to Soul Transformation, and Yuan Muyu had only tacitly agreed.

This meant that at that time, she was at most just entering the Soul Transformation First Layer, and perhaps her Realm was not yet stable.

But now, in just a few short days, she had actually leaped to the Soul Transformation Second Layer!

This kind of cultivation speed was simply shocking.

The only explanation was the "accident" at Chiyan Mountain that night.

That accidental Dual Cultivation not only resolved the backlash of her Extreme Cold Physique, but also caused her cultivation to skyrocket, directly crossing a minor Realm.

This benefit was too great.

No wonder she would proactively bring up this matter today, and propose such a nearly... outrageous request.

A Sect Master, actively requesting to Dual Cultivate with her own Disciple—if this were said out loud, I'm afraid the entire Eastern Region would be turned upside down.

"What? You are unwilling?"

Seeing Chu Xiao not speaking for a long time, just looking at her in shock, Yuan Muyu's tone grew colder by a few degrees.

However, a faint, imperceptible blush appeared at the roots of her ears.

She had lived for hundreds of years and never thought she would say such words to a man.

If not for the changes in her body being too obvious.

And the hope of breaking through the Bottleneck being right before her eyes, she would never have been able to lower her face to do this.

"This Disciple... is willing."

Chu Xiao came back to his senses and said it almost immediately.

What a joke, why would he be unwilling?

This was cultivation gained for free, a cultivation speed like riding a rocket.

Moreover, the other party was a stunning beauty like Yuan Muyu, and a Dao Companion who was nominally already "sworn to life and death" with him.

To refuse such a good thing delivered to his door would mean he was crazy.

Seeing Chu Xiao agree so readily, Yuan Muyu was actually stunned for a moment.

She had originally thought she would need to spend more words, and perhaps even use her status as Sect Master to pressure him, but she hadn't expected him to agree so quickly, without even a trace of hesitation.

This caused the bit of shame and embarrassment in her heart to dissipate quite a bit!

Replacing it was an inexplicable emotion.

She looked deeply at Chu Xiao: "Do you know what you have agreed to?"

She still couldn't help asking.

"This Disciple knows."

Chu Xiao met her gaze, his expression calm: "The Sect Master possesses the Extreme Cold Physique, and the Cultivation Technique this Disciple practices is extremely rigid and Yang. The two of us complement each other with Yin and Yang, and Cultivating together has great benefits for both of us. This is a match made in heaven, so naturally, this Disciple has no reason to refuse."

He simply laid it all out.

Hearing the four words "match made in heaven", Yuan Muyu's cheeks couldn't help but heat up, and her heartbeat skipped a beat.

She hadn't expected Chu Xiao to see things so clearly, and even less expected him to speak so directly.

She forcibly suppressed the strangeness in her heart, kept a straight face, and restored her cold and aloof expression.

"It is good that you understand."

She turned around, back to Chu Xiao, and said in a flat voice: "You must be clear about my Physique. It is both a talent and a shackle!"

"It has plagued me for hundreds of years. If I hadn't met you, perhaps I would never have made any progress in this life."

Speaking of this, her voice carried a hint of relief.

"And you, the Body Refining method you practice is domineering, but your Foundation is still shallow. Forcibly practicing it will only destroy your own Meridians. The Extreme Cold Qi in my body can just happen to temper your Physical Body and help you forge an supreme Dao body."

"You and I Dual Cultivate, each taking what we need. I can guarantee that within one month, you will Breakthrough to Nascent Soul."

For a normal Cultivator, without decades of hard work and a massive Opportunity, it would be impossible to cross this.

Yet Yuan Muyu dared to say one month.

This was the terrifying aspect of Dual Cultivation.

"Many thanks, Sect Master."

Chu Xiao suppressed the excitement in his heart and bowed in salute.

"No need to thank me."

Yuan Muyu's tone softened slightly: "This is what you deserve. You have made great contributions to the Sect and helped me resolve my cultivation hidden danger, so the Sect will naturally not treat you unfairly."

She paused, then added: "The trip to Liyang Cave Heaven is extremely dangerous. Although you have the battle record of a Golden Core killing a Soul Transformation, you must not be careless."

"The Prodigies on the immortal seed ranking are none of them easy to deal with, not to mention the threats from the Jiuyou Sect and the Holy Sect."

"This Disciple understands."

Everything that needed to be said had been said, and the great hall fell into silence again.

But this time, the atmosphere was no longer awkward; instead, there was a bit more of an indescribable tacit understanding.

"Then... when do we start?"

Chu Xiao looked at Yuan Muyu's back and asked on an impulse.

Yuan Muyu's body stiffened suddenly.

She slowly turned around, her cold and aloof Phoenix eyes filled with shame and annoyance, glaring at Chu Xiao.

This bastard!

How dare he ask such a question!

She had just finished talking about the Liyang Cave Heaven business, and he wasn't thinking about how to deal with the crisis.

He was actually thinking... thinking about this!

Chu Xiao also realized he had said the wrong thing and awkwardly rubbed his nose.

He was indeed a bit impatient.

It was mainly because the promise of breaking through to Nascent Soul in one month that Yuan Muyu had painted was simply too tempting.

Looking at Chu Xiao's expression that was somewhat innocent yet expectant, the shame and annoyance in Yuan Muyu's heart.

For some reason, it turned into anger and amusement.

She discovered that ever since meeting this Disciple.

Her heart, which had been as still as an ancient well for hundreds of years, was often broken.

The morning sunlight shone through the glazed windows of the Sect Master's great hall, casting a patch of light and shadow.

Chu Xiao woke up leisurely on a soft couch.

A cold yet familiar faint fragrance still lingered at the tip of his nose.

He subconsciously reached out to touch, but the space beside him was already empty, leaving only a faint residual warmth.

Yuan Muyu had already left.

Chu Xiao sat up, recalling last night, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile.

Who could have imagined that the Sect Master, usually high and aloof, as cold as an ice mountain snow lotus, would be like that when moved by passion.

Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes like water, even her cold voice would carry a tremor.

Shy to the point of not daring to look him in the eye.

This huge contrast was a fatal temptation for any man.

"If I had known it was like this, I should have been more direct from the start."

Chu Xiao muttered to himself.

Afterwards, he looked inside himself, feeling the endless flow of mana within his body.

After a night of Yin and Yang merging, the purest Extreme Yin Qi within Yuan Muyu's body had been absorbed and refined by his True Intent of the Primordial Mountain Monarch and Yin and Yang Dao Body, turning into the most powerful nourishment.

Just yesterday, it happened naturally.

Over the Tianyan Sect, the winds and clouds changed color, Spiritual Qi gathered into a huge vortex, purple lightning and green thunder flashed in the clouds, and the vast pressure of Heaven and Earth enveloped the entire Sect gate.

Nascent Soul phenomenon!

He, Chu Xiao, had silently stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm when no one expected it!

The Golden Core shattered, and the Nascent Soul was born!

Now, he was a true Nascent Soul Immortal Master!