Chapter 610: Two Birds, One Stone

Through the Soul Search of the Demon Cave cultivators, Bai Zichen had long known that Star Constellation Sea was the mastermind behind Huo Feiyan’s abduction and the hiring of Tribulation Cultivators to kill, burn, and plunder in Qingfeng Sect’s territory.

The two Demon Caves were merely pawns on the board. While he had already uprooted them, it was far from enough.

Both the mastermind and the sects from the Ten Thousand Stars Islands who carried out the act would pay a terrible price.

‘They were originally targeting me. Huo Feiyan was implicated only because she is my disciple.’

“My progress has been slow, and I can’t help lighten Master’s burdens. You still have to personally handle these matters… When my cultivation is strong enough, I will join Second Senior Brother and avenge Third Senior Sister.”

Ma Ruoxi’s expression was resolute. Her darker skin stood in stark contrast to the female cultivators whose complexions were as white as snow.

Her clear eyes held a feral glint, and when she spoke of revenge, a cruel, undisguised killing intent flashed within them. She yearned for the combat that lay ahead.

“That you have such a heart means Feiyan didn’t become your martial sister in vain. It also means you haven’t forgotten the requirement I set for you all: to be loyal to your roots and united in spirit.”

Bai Zichen nodded, feeling gratified. Although this disciple of his was a woman, she didn’t lack the dauntless heart of a Sword Cultivator.

“How has your swordsmanship progressed over the years? And Guizhen, what is his realm now?”

“I have been too dull. After achieving Great Success in Sword Qi Thunder Sound, I haven’t progressed an inch and haven’t even found the threshold of Refining Sword into Silk. Senior Brother Lii reached Core Formation more than a decade before me. When he did, a phenomenon of the Thunder God appeared on Celestial Thunder Cliff, and all the Thunder Sound Bamboo grew an entire section… But twenty years ago, when he tried to break through to the Mid-Stage Core Formation, he forcibly manifested a Dual Thunder Technique to shatter his bottleneck. The Thunder Skill spun out of control, and his Dantian Qi Sea was grievously injured.”

Ma Ruoxi still felt a lingering fear when she mentioned it. Who would have thought that the most dangerous incident involving a Core Formation True Man of the Qingfeng Sect in the past century would be caused by his own reckless pursuit of success.

“Fortunately, Senior Brother Lii had cultivated the Nirvana Unbreakable Body to Perfection. At the critical moment, he managed to lock onto a wisp of his Lifebound True Essence, protecting his vital organs and preventing himself from being burned to a crisp. He has spent all these years in seclusion, recuperating to restore his foundation to its peak state.”

“‘Haste makes waste. All Thunder Skills in the world injure the user before the enemy.’ I warned him long ago not to get arrogant just because of his Thunder Spiritual Root and think he could compare himself to the Saint Heir of the Five Thunders Sect. That man possesses an Innate Thunder Spirit Body. He can transform his very being into Divine Thunder, fearing no backlash. He’s completely different from ordinary Thunder Cultivators.”

Bai Zichen sighed. Of his four disciples, Lii Guizhen was by far the most ambitious.

As a child, he had left his home and crossed several provinces to come to the Qingfeng Sect, which at the time was just beginning its rise.

Despite possessing a Thunder Spiritual Root, he had been determined to become Bai Zichen’s disciple, not the seemingly more suitable Ancestor Ge Cang.

He always had his own strong ideas, refusing to be swayed by outside influences.

By drawing on the power of Celestial Thunder that Celestial Thunder Cliff had accumulated for millennia, he cultivated smoothly all the way to Foundation Establishment Perfection. Full of ambition, he sought to achieve the Pill Discussion and form a Perfect Core Formation.

After reaching Core Formation, Lii Guizhen, who held himself to incredibly high standards, grew impatient from being stuck at the bottleneck before the Mid-Stage for so long.

He cast Bai Zichen’s warnings aside, believing that with his Pill Discussion—one of Supreme Strength and Courage, of saving the dying and giving life—he could find that one-in-a-hundred chance to shatter the bottleneck with rampaging Divine Thunder.

Unfortunately, he failed. Now, he would have to pay for his impulsiveness with even more time.

Bai Zichen could faintly guess at Lii Guizhen’s thoughts. ‘He was nursing a competitive urge against Ge Cang; at the same age, Brother Ge had already reached Mid-Stage Core Formation.’

‘Unwilling to be left behind, he felt he had no choice but to take a dangerous gamble.’

What Lii Guizhen didn’t know was that there was more to Ge Cang than just his Wood Element Celestial Spiritual Root. His talent for Comprehension was what was truly one-of-a-kind.

Whether it was the Daoist Classic Cantongqi, the Five Crystal Glaze Body, or the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder—all of them incredibly difficult cultivation techniques—Ge Cang had cultivated every single one to a profound realm without ever letting his own cultivation progress falter.

For instance, he had cultivated the Daoist Classic Cantongqi to the fourth scroll, even without the companion Tripod Song.

He cultivated the Five Crystal Glaze Body to its fourth level, the Glazed Fire Divine Body, matching the attainment of Ancestor Qingfeng himself.

In his hands, the Primordial Yang Divine Thunder reached its highest realm, culminating in the Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net. It was his greatest asset, allowing him to dominate the Liang Country’s Cultivation Realm back when he was in the Core Formation Realm.

Such Comprehension would be considered shockingly unprecedented, even in a Super Sect of the Central Domain.

He was, without a doubt, the kind of existence destined to become a sect’s Saint Heir.

Furthermore, Ge Cang’s insight into the Great Dao True Intent wasn’t at the Core Formation level at all; it had long ago reached the standard of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The Void and Reality Dao, a Dual True Intent. He used his Thunder Skills to conceal his true intent of ‘Wood Giving Life to All Things,’ completely fooling everyone.

By the time he passed the Celestial Tribulation and achieved his Nascent Soul, his path of the Great Dao was a blur of void and reality. It was impossible to say which Dao was real and which was false.

In Bai Zichen’s opinion, Lii Guizhen was excellent in both talent and temperament. The fact that he could go traveling and come back with the perfectly-suited Profound Nether Qi Formless Divine Thunder proved his fortuitous destiny was also top-tier.

But compared to his Senior Brother Ge Cang, the difference was like that between a firefly and the radiant moon—they weren’t even in the same league.

Lii Guizhen was the kind of talent for whom Core Formation was a guarantee and reaching the Nascent Soul Realm was a distinct possibility.

For Ge Cang, on the other hand, reaching the Great True Monarch Realm was a matter of course; his only true challenge was Divinity Transformation.

If Bai Zichen hadn’t emerged, Ge Cang would have been the Northern Domain’s greatest hope for producing its very own Divinity Transformation Cultivator.

For Lii Guizhen to have chosen such a person as his target to surpass was not just aiming too high—it was unrealistic. He could even end up harming himself in the process.

“There’s no need to rush your breakthrough to Refining Sword into Silk. I’ll be staying in the sect for a long time after this, so I will be able to guide you in the Sword Dao.”

After a moment’s thought, Bai Zichen took out a Thunder Sound Sword and erased his own refinement markings from it.