31: Continuous breakthroughs

[You were greatly shocked by this matter.]

[And facing the malice of these natives towards you, you were also somewhat at a loss as to what to do.]

[After all, they had died from cultivating your Cultivation Technique.]

[Although there was no connection between the two, with their limited horizon, it was difficult for them to recognize this fact.]

[You simply ignored them.]

[In the fifty-fifth year, your cultivation reached the third layer of the Golden Core stage.]

[At this time, your cultivation speed was even slightly faster than when you were in the Purple Mansion stage.]

[All of this was thanks to your top-grade triple Spiritual Roots and the abundant Spiritual Qi of the Ancient Wood Realm.]

[In the same year, to help her clansmen with their cultivation, Mu Lingshuang left the Ancient Wood Realm once again and headed to the Great Yu Dynasty.]

[In your eyes, this behavior of hers was undoubtedly extremely foolish.]

[After all, at this time, Great Yu was already on the front line of the war between the two major forces. Even if she possessed the Myriad Wood Revival Physique, it would still be very difficult for her to survive under such circumstances.]

[However, to prevent her from being captured and having her soul searched, you still gave her more Talismans for protection.]

[These were resources you had taken on your way out when leaving the Tianxuan Sect. Although they seemed like a lot, they were all auxiliary Talismans that could only be used for fleeing and seeking refuge.]

[You continued to Cultivate, and soon, time reached the sixty-first year.]

[Since the natives of the Ancient Wood Realm had long since distrusted you, no one had come to the forest where you cultivated all these years.]

[Although you were happy with this, it inevitably made you feel a bit bored.]

[You actually missed the days when Mu Ningshuang was by your side a little.]

[In the sixty-third year, the Howling Moon Wolf reached the Late Stage of the third rank. You placed it among the Howling Moon Wolf pack in the Ancient Wood Realm, hoping it could become the Howling Moon Wolf King.]

[However, your hopes were dashed. Since the Yao Beasts in the Ancient Wood Realm had no demonic power, the Howling Moon Wolf easily became the wolf king of this pack.]

[Without receiving sufficient tempering, it was unable to awaken its Bloodline potential.]

[In the seventy-second year, you broke through to the fourth layer of the Golden Core stage.]

[Although your cultivation was getting slower and slower at this point, you were still full of confidence, believing you could break through to the Nascent Soul realm within five hundred years.]

[In the seventy-third year, Mu Ningshuang returned.]

[Her departure this time lasted for eighteen years. Although you didn't know what she had experienced during this period, you could see that her body had already been severely injured.]

[However, relying on the powerful self-healing ability of the Myriad Wood Revival Physique, she stubbornly made it back to the Ancient Wood Realm.]

[You walked in her direction. At this moment, she was already surrounded by the residents of the Ancient Wood Realm.]

[Although these people did not welcome your arrival, they had no clue about Mu Ningshuang's injuries, and only you, a Cultivator, might have a solution.]

["Such a familiar poison..."]

["This feeling seems to be..."]

[You muttered to yourself.]

[Countless memories echoed in your mind, and finally, you remembered the owner of this severe poison—Tang Chuan!]

[You had also been poisoned by a similar severe poison in the past, but the poison now was thousands of times stronger than back then!]

["Did you go to Kelei Academy?"]

["No."]

[Hearing this, you frowned slightly, but you did not press further.]

["Give the Cultivation Technique you obtained to them to Cultivate, so that you all can finally know whether I have lied to you or not."]

[You left their tribe and took Mu Ningshuang away from there as well.]

[A moment later, you arrived at a mountain peak. You vaguely remembered that a Wood Spirit Flower once grew here. Although it could not neutralize the poison, it could stimulate the properties of the Myriad Wood Revival Physique, allowing it to better resist the severe poison.]

[Mu Ningshuang consumed the Wood Spirit Flower, and her complexion improved slightly.]

[You began to ask her about the circumstances of this trip.]

[As it turned out, the war of the Great Yu Dynasty had ended.]

[The Dynasty Alliance successfully drove the Boundless Immortal Dynasty out of the Great Yu Dynasty. However, the Boundless Immortal Dynasty was no pushover either; several Old Ancestors rose from their coffins and confronted the Dynasty Alliance at Hidden Dragon Lake in the northern part of the Great Yu Dynasty.]

[And while this war seemed to have fallen into a stalemate, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Dynasty Alliance had won this battle.]

[Naturally, the Dynasty Alliance also began to hand out rewards based on merit.]

[Not only did they lavishly reward the Sect forces that had contributed to this battle, but they also held a Prodigy Arena.]

[As long as one's bone age was under a hundred years old, if they could stand victorious for ten full rounds on the arena stage, they could obtain an optional Tier 8 Cultivation Technique pointing directly to the Undergoing Tribulation Realm!]

[In order to obtain a Cultivation Technique, Mu Lingshuang naturally chose to participate.]

[However, with her strength, by the time she fought to the fifth round, she was already in constant peril.]

[And when she encountered Tang Chuan, the Prodigy Disciple of Kelei Academy, in the sixth round, she was defeated directly.]

[Originally, she wanted to rely on her Myriad Wood Revival Physique to wear him down for a while, but Tang Chuan gave her no chance at all, directly firing several flying arrows coated with severe poison, knocking her off the arena stage.]

[As for what happened afterward, she had no way of knowing.]

[She only heard that this arena tournament had a huge influence, and many prodigies from various Imperial Dynasties participated.]

[Among them, the two most famous individuals were Tang Chuan, the Kelei Academy Disciple who defeated her,]

[and the other was Chu Han, the Young Sect Master of the Great Abyss Dynasty's Falling Cloud Sect!]

[After learning about what happened outside, you furrowed your brows tightly.]

[For someone to defeat Mu Ningshuang so easily, their cultivation must be at least at the Late Stage of the Golden Core stage.]

[To think that the cultivation speed of these two was actually so abnormal; in just a few short decades, they had already cultivated to such a level.]

[A slight sense of urgency arose in your heart.]

[You began to continue your bitter cultivation.]

[Although you knew that bitter cultivation behind closed doors was only an inferior method of cultivating, it had the advantage of being safe.]

[Without the Protagonist Halo to protect you, what you needed most was safety.]

[In the seventy-fourth year, the residents of the Ancient Wood Realm began to attempt breaking through to the second rank of Body Refining.]

[But just like in previous years, they all failed.]

[And because the Cultivation Technique Mu Ningshuang brought back this time was of a higher tier, their deaths were even more miserable.]

[Even though they knew where the problem lay this time and the entire tribe came to apologize to you, hoping to receive your help,]

[you were also completely helpless regarding their plight.]

[You told them that you were merely a Golden Core Cultivator.]

[And the person who constructed this Small World was at least an Undergoing Tribulation mighty figure.]

[The situation with their bodies was related to this Undergoing Tribulation mighty figure, so how could it be something you could easily resolve?]

[For a moment, the residents of the Ancient Wood Realm fell into despair.]

[With their hopes shattered, they seemed to have lost all anticipation for life.]

[You saw all of this clearly.]