It was a white and foggy world with spiritual mist so heavy that one couldn’t discern human from beast ten meters in front of them.
Soft snow was drifting down from the heavens, and, upon a closer look, one discovered that the snow had also been formed from spiritual energy.
Whoosh.
The inscription of an array unfurled suddenly while a gust of strong wind swept the spiritual mist away. From the heavens descended a group of men and women.
These people were clearly prepared for this. They were all at the Innate Level and looked fearless as they hovered in midair, but their eyes were full of shock.
“This…”
The spiritual energy here was so rich here that taking just a single breath of it was the same as training diligently and tirelessly for several days!
Mu Zixi’s twin ponytails hung weightlessly in the air as she savored the rich spiritual energy.
There were two things that she couldn’t resist at all. The first was creatures with an incredibly resilient lifeforce, and the second, an environment that was rich in spiritual energy.
She stretched her arms out and whirled around, the hem of her pale green dress fluttering in the air. She seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough.
“What the h*ll! Why is the array in the middle of the sky?”
The sound of someone cursing shattered everyone’s reverie. Everyone looked down and heard the sound of a loud thud, followed by a yowl of pain.
Clang!
That was the sound of someone’s spiritual sword landing on the ground. Someone had obviously tried their best to fly.
He had obviously failed.
Everyone’s face twitched. “This must be the first time someone at Spiritual Cultivation Level Nine managed to enter the Tianxuan Gate!” they thought. “He couldn’t even fly…”
Ridiculed, Passive Points +8.
Received Concern, Passive Points +2.
Zhou Tianshen, who thought himself one of the few friends that Xu Xiaoshou had, hurried over to take a look at Xu Xiaoshou. He was shocked by the sight that greeted him as soon as he landed on the ground.
Xu Xiaoshou, who had wrapped himself up in his clothes like a dumpling, was lying on the ground, spasming violently.
Endless energies of heaven and earth were surging into his body frenziedly and soon transformed into a spiritual cocoon.
Within the cocoon was Xu Xiaoshou…
His legs barely escaped the fate of being snapped in two. His body would curl inward like a prawn one moment, then straighten, taut as a rod, the next. He looked like an electrocuted maggot as he seized violently on the ground.
“What… the… h*ll…”
Something that was either foam or spiritual energy unceasingly bubbled out of his mouth.
Xu Xiaoshou was in great pain, a pain that one experienced at the height of bliss.
He had activated his Breathing Technique three days prior to entering the Tianxuan Gate and had tried his utmost to acclimatize to the rich spiritual energy in the Inner Yard.
But as soon as he entered the Tianxuan Gate, he’d realized that the Tianxuan Gate was worlds apart from the Inner Yard.
This wasn’t a place for humans at all!
He’d piled on thirteen layers of clothes, but that had been utterly useless.
Somebody, save him…
Mu Zixi descended from the sky and landed. She hadn’t yet shown Xu Xiaoshou the jade scroll. He was still her senior, and her master had told her to take care of him.
“What’s wrong?” The young woman stared curiously at the man spasming violently in the spiritual cocoon.
Zhou Tianshen’s look was one of bafflement. He shrugged. “I have no idea. He was like this when I came down. I didn’t do anything…”
“I’m… I’m fine!” Xu Xiaoshou stabbed his sharpened fingers into his palm and tried to fight pain with pain. The distraction finally allowed him to speak.
“I have a medical condition. I get seizures when I inhale spiritual energy. But I recover quickly from my seizures…don’t worry about me. You guys go ahead!”
He gasped, and the sudden inhalation sent him spasming more violently. Left with no choice, he could only hold his breath and feign composure.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mu Zixi stepped forward and pulled out a jade scroll. “Master told me to give this to you.”
Xu Xiaoshou breathed lightly. “Sure, leave that on the ground and go ahead first!”
He was in a sensitive state right now. No one must touch him. This exact same thing had happened when he’d taken the Red Gold Pill during the Windcloud Competition.
It always hurt the first time, but the pain would pass after some time. He simply had to bear with it.
Mu Zixi didn’t do as she was told, though. She grabbed her ponytails, her lips curling upward.
“What’s going on?” she thought. “What kind of physiology is this? It’s incredible. No wonder the young man caught my master’s eye!”
But to become this way whenever he came into contact with spiritual energy? To be made utterly paralyzed?
This didn’t seem like Xu Xiaoshou at all. Didn’t he enjoy throwing snide remarks at her all the time?
She squatted next to Xu Xiaoshou and pursed her lips. “That won’t do. Master said that this is a very important jade scroll and that I must make sure you get it.”
“Why don’t I stuff it into your clothes?” she asked, reaching out her hand.
“No, it’s alright! Stay away!” Her gesture instantly alarmed Xu Xiaoshou. “Hand it to Zhou Tianshen. He can hold onto it for me.”
“Hehe!” Mu Zixi giggled cutely, showing her dimples. “You must be joking…”
She pinched his clothes with two fingers. Then, after some thought, released her hold on the topmost layer and touched the innermost layer, which was the same as touching his underwear, and her fingers naturally brushed against Xu Xiaoshou’s chest.
Xu Xiaoshou almost exploded on the spot!
He tried his best to hold himself back, gritting his teeth and wrestling control over himself as she touched the topmost layer of his clothes. But when she touched his skin…that was when things spiraled out of control.
“Ah!”
A husky, melodic voice sent Zhou Tianshen and Mu Zixi’s hair instantly standing on end. Xu Xiaoshou, who had pushed himself up from the ground with a great deal of effort, collapsed to the ground with a loud thud again, and violent tremors coursed through his body.
His teeth chattered loudly.
Mu Zixi stumbled back in alarm, her cheeks brightly flushed. She’d barely touched him. It was just a light touch, and he…
She whipped her head around and stared at Zhou Tianshen, desperation in her voice as she tried to explain herself. “I didn’t do that!”
Zhou Tianshen grunted hoarsely. “I know what you mean.”
“Ah…”
Another cry resounded in the air, making their skin crawl. If Xu Xiaoshou had shown restraint before with his earlier cry, he was clearly showing none if it now as he moaned out loud.
The two glanced at Xu Xiaoshou and noticed that he’d stopped shaking and was so still he looked like he was frozen.
A wave of spiritual energy surged from his energy reserve, sending the spiritual mist in the air roiling.
“A breakthrough?” They silently looked at each other.
Mu Zixi was frozen to the spot. Had a single touch caused his breakthrough?
Xu Xiaoshou remained sprawled on the ground.
He really couldn’t take it anymore. In order to refine his pills, he’d taken vast quantities of Spirit Cultivation Juice the past three days and had been on the verge of a breakthrough. No one could have withstood that touch.
The spiritual mist that had been swept aside by the force of his breakthrough came flooding back in again. Xu Xiaoshou began spasming again. After his breakthrough, he could clearly discern droplets of spiritual source inside his energy reserve slowly assuming form.
The efficiency of it all…
…was simply incredible!
He bet he would be able to attain a breakthrough to the Innate Stage within half a day!
The Breathing Technique was an incredible skill!
If he could find a way to get rid of the waves of pleasure that came alongside it, it would be the perfect skill!
Another shadow descended from the heavens, then.
“Do you need any help?” Mo Mo strode towards Xu Xiaoshou, her right hand cradling her cauldron.
She’d noticed the symptoms Xu Xiaoshou was exhibiting and believed her sealing power might be of some assistance.
This was the man who had complimented her beauty to her person, after all. She should try to save him if she could.
She’d escaped Xu Xiaoshou’s notice while they were outside, but now that they were inside the Tianxuan Gate, he was completely shocked at seeing Mo Mo a second time.
The Voidness Level!
Her cultivation level had reached the Voidness Level!
Xu Xiaoshou had killed a Voidness-level cultivator and attacked an Upper Spiritual Level cultivator. In fact, he suspected he’d been held by someone at the Master Level.
Sense had clearly recorded down the aura exuded by cultivators of varying cultivation levels. Even though the young woman was hiding her true strength incredibly well, Xu Xiaoshou could Sense her true cultivation level with just a single glance.
He remembered that Mo Mo had only just attained the early-stage Origin Court Level during their final match in the Windcloud Competition!
It hadn’t taken her much time to jump from the early-stage, through mid-stage, late-stage, and final-stage of the Origin Court Level to the Voidness Level at all!
Was this some kind of joke?
“It’s alright. I’m feeling fine now.” Xu Xiaoshou stabbed four fingers into his palm, and his eyebrows twitched violently as he snatched the jade scroll from Mu Zixi’s fingers.
“Is that so…”
“Well, I’ll be off, then!”
Mo Mo gave a gentle smile before turning away and leaving.
Xu Xiaoshou watched her retreating figure and fell into deep contemplation. His Sense was completely drawn to the cauldron cradled against her right arm.
The uneasy energy that resided in her arm had grown more terrifying.
Xu Xiaoshou was seized by panic. He had no idea if his intuition or something else was trying to tell him something, but he could somehow tell that the energy residing in Mo Mo’s arm was as powerful as the energy that the masked intruder had exuded.
“What has she got sealed inside that arm…”