189: Chapter 189 Asking About the Passage of Time, Ye Wuhen Returns

[A month later, news came from the Eighteenth Peak that Yue Jianli had achieved a Breakthrough to the True Transformation Realm.]

[Zhou Yuan passed by his door and poked half his head in: "Brother Chu, that Dao Companion of yours, Miss Yue from the Eighteenth Peak, has broken through to the True Transformation Realm! From the Essence Gathering Realm to the True Transformation Realm in just a few months!"]

[He remained calm on the surface, but his heart skipped a beat. A few months from the Essence Gathering Realm to the True Transformation Realm—with a Heavenly Spiritual Root and Elder Shen's full cultivation, this speed was truly fast.]

[The Old Grandfather muttered inside the ring: "This Dao Companion of yours is not simple."]

[Chu Sheng responded in his heart, put away his sword, and stood up.]

[It was time to go to the Eighteenth Peak to take a look.]

[The Eighteenth Peak was located to the northeast of the Outer Sect, reachable in less than half an hour by spirit boat.]

[When Chu Sheng arrived, Yue Jianli was practicing her sword on the sword practice platform of Danxia Peak.]

[She wore the blue and white robes of an Inner Sect Disciple, her hair tied with a jade hairpin, and her sword light flowed like water.]

[She had practiced the Phoenix Immortal Sword Art to Minor Achievement; with every thrust, the Sword Qi condensed without dissipating.]

[Chu Sheng stood at the edge of the sword practice platform, watching her.]

[Having not seen her for several months, Yue Jianli had changed quite a bit.]

[It wasn't a cold kind of change, but rather she had become more steady and more confident.]

[There was less coldness between her brows and more composure; her sharpness was restrained but even keener.]

[After Yue Jianli finished a set of sword techniques, she sheathed her sword and turned around, seeing Chu Sheng.]

[Her eyes lit up for just a moment, then quickly returned to that faint coldness.]

["How have you been in the Outer Sect?" she asked.]

[Chu Sheng smiled: "Quite well, eating well and sleeping well."]

[Yue Jianli looked at him and remained silent for a while.]

[There was something indescribable in those cold eyes, as if she were hesitating or trying to organize her words.]

["Someone told me," she spoke, her voice very soft, "that an Outer Sect female Disciple often goes to see you."]

[Chu Sheng's heart tightened.]

[Regarding Shen Linger's matter, he thought the people in the Outer Sect wouldn't spread it to the Inner Sect.]

[But Yue Jianli knew, and she had specifically brought it up.]

[He looked at Yue Jianli's face; there was no anger, only a very calm waiting. No matter what he explained, she would accept it.]

["Who said that?" Chu Sheng asked.]

[Yue Jianli said: "It's not hard for matters of the Outer Sect to reach the Inner Sect."]

[Chu Sheng was silent for a moment, then recounted Shen Linger's matter from beginning to end.]

[After Yue Jianli finished listening, she remained silent for a long time.]

[The wind blew across the sword practice platform, lifting her hair and brushing it against her face.]

[She reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear and then said: "You did the right thing."]

[Chu Sheng was stunned for a moment.]

[He thought Yue Jianli would be angry or jealous, or at least frown.]

[But she didn't.]

[Then she reached out and took Chu Sheng's hand.]

[She held it very tightly.]

[Chu Sheng felt her fingers trembling slightly—not from anger, but from fear.]

[Fear that he would fool around in the Outer Sect, fear that he would forget her, fear of being abandoned, and fear of being forgotten.]

[Yue Jianli never said these things out loud, but her hand spoke for her.]

[Chu Sheng gripped her hand back, holding it very tightly.]

["Don't worry," he said, "I'm not that kind of person."]

[Yue Jianli nodded.]

[Her eyes reddened slightly, but she didn't cry.]

[She was never the kind of woman who cried easily.]

[She leaned her head on Chu Sheng's shoulder and closed her eyes.]

[The wind blew, causing the corners of their robes to entwine.]

[Ye Wuhen returned from the Northern Region.]

[When the news reached the Outer Sect, Chu Sheng was at the Deacon Hall collecting cultivation resources.]

["Ye... Ye Wuhen is back! He just returned from the Northern Region and is now at the Mountain Gate!"]

[The Spirit Stone in Chu Sheng's hand almost fell to the ground.]

[Ye Wuhen was back, earlier than expected.]

[Chu Sheng put down the Spirit Stone, wiped his hands, and walked toward the Mountain Gate.]

[He didn't walk fast, but every step was steady.]

[Ye Wuhen was the only son of the Wendao Palace Sect Master and was qualified to compete for the position of Dao Child. With the two major forces of Ye Cang and Su Yao behind him, Chu Sheng had to cling tightly to this thigh, but he couldn't do it too hurriedly; he had to take it slow.]

[At the Mountain Gate, Ye Wuhen stood there.]

[He still wore those grey-white Daoist robes, which were faded from washing but very clean.]

[His hair was a bit longer than before, tied loosely behind his head, with a few stray strands hanging over his forehead.]

[Ye Wuhen's cultivation.]

[Chu Sheng's Divine Sense swept over, and his heart skipped a beat.]

[True Transformation Realm, early stage.]

[It wasn't the superficial kind built up with Medicinal Pills, but a solid, well-founded early stage of the True Transformation Realm.]

[The Old Grandfather gasped inside the ring: "This kid is progressing at a divine speed."]

[Chu Sheng thought to himself that it was no wonder Ye Wuhen could venture into the Demon Realm alone in the last simulation; his progress was divine. It turned out he had slunk back to the Wendao Sect to level up like crazy.]

[Chu Sheng stepped forward and cupped his hands: "Brother Ye, long time no see."]

[Ye Wuhen turned his head, his gaze lingering on Chu Sheng's face for a moment.]

[He recognized Chu Sheng and nodded: "It's you."]

[Chu Sheng smiled, hid the ring, and pulled a jar of wine from his sleeve.]

[Pulling out the stopper, the aroma of wine spread through the air.]

[Chu Sheng found a rock to sit on, poured two cups of wine, and handed one to Ye Wuhen.]

[Ye Wuhen took it and took a sip.]

[The two sat on the rock outside the Mountain Gate, drinking and chatting about old matters from the Northern Region.]

[Chu Sheng didn't mention the wendao bell, the Spiritual Vein, or any internal matters of the Sect.]

[Ye Wuhen didn't speak much, but he gave brief answers to whatever Chu Sheng asked.]

["Are the matters in the Northern Region all finished?" Chu Sheng asked.]

["Finished," Ye Wuhen said.]

["Are you going back?"]

["I'm back for good, getting married soon."]

[Chu Sheng nodded and took out the five fires seven birds fan. "Brother Ye, this fan is of no use to me; this is your wedding gift."]

[Ye Wuhen was about to refuse, but seeing that the fan suited him quite well, he silently cupped his hands in thanks.]

[People from the Outer Sect passing by the Mountain Gate saw Chu Sheng and Ye Wuhen sitting together drinking, and their expressions changed.]

[Those who used to ignore Chu Sheng now took a long detour when they saw him from afar.]

[Du Yu happened to come out of the Mountain Gate and saw this scene; his face looked as unpleasant as if he had swallowed a fly.]

[Ye Wuhen finished the last cup of wine, stood up, and brushed the dust off his robes.]

["If you need anything, you can come find me," he said.]

[Chu Sheng stood up and cupped his hands: "Alright."]

[Ye Wuhen turned and left, heading toward Wendao Peak.]

[Chu Sheng stood at the Mountain Gate, watching him walk away, still clutching the empty wine cup.]

[This sentence was worth a thousand pieces of gold.]

[From that day on, no one in the Outer Sect dared to withhold Chu Sheng's cultivation resources again.]

[When he went to collect Spirit Stones, the Disciples at the Deacon Hall respectfully offered them with both hands.]

[When he went to take on missions, the difficulty of the missions was automatically lowered by one level.]

[On his way back to the stone house, any Outer Sect Disciples he encountered would proactively make way, bowing and calling out "Elder Chu."]

[Du Yu avoided him, and Lin Xiao was also very polite when they met; even his tone had changed from looking down his nose at him to being all smiles.]

[Chu Sheng saw all of this but felt no waves in his heart.]

[He had long seen through the snobbery of Wendao Palace.]

[He closed the door and sat down cross-legged.]

[Inside his Dantian, that strand-of-hair-thin Luck was still flowing, drop by drop, like a spring that would never run dry.]

[He closed his eyes, feeling that warm power, with only one thought in his mind: the Dao Palace.]

[Once he reached the Dao Palace, none of this would matter.]