Chapter 209 - 197: On the Verge of Innate

Chapter 209: Chapter 197: On the Verge of Innate

Time slowly trickled by as he continued his simulations. The light in the courtyard gradually shifted from the golden-red of evening to the gray-blue of dusk, then sank from dusk into the deep, dark night.

Outside the courtyard walls, the chatter about Chen Yue’s breakthrough to the Refining Organ Realm had gradually died down as the night deepened, leaving only the ceaseless chirping of insects in the distant grass.

Chen Yue sat cross-legged, the Inner Strength in his body slowly circulating under the guidance of the Vast Heart Rock Skill, like a silent river flowing in the darkness.

He was still simulating the alchemy process for the Nourishing Spirit Pill in his mind: the order for adding each ingredient, the timing for every change in heat, and every potential deviation and its corresponding countermeasure.

All of it had formed an almost instinctual memory, just waiting for the moment he would actually attempt the refinement.

Time passed. The moonlight moved across the courtyard, shifting from one side of the stone table to the other.

Midnight arrived, and the familiar ripples spread across his vision, just as they always did.

[Daily Settlement]

[Attempted to fuse Cultivation Techniques. Fusion successful. Obtained new Cultivation Technique: Pan Yuan Infinite Skill.]

[Attempted to fuse Cultivation Techniques. Fusion successful. Obtained new Cultivation Technique: Violent Star Soaring Void Step.]

...

[Pan Yuan Infinite Skill (Perfection 31127/45321)]

[Violent Star Soaring Void Step (Perfection 35416/57325)]

...

Chen Yue looked at the panel in surprise, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the names and proficiency levels of the two new Cultivation Techniques.

’The new fused Cultivation Techniques inheriting most of the proficiency from the originals is to be expected.’ But what surprised him was that the total proficiency required for the Violent Star Soaring Void Step was so much higher than that for the Pan Yuan Infinite Skill.

The difference between them was nearly twelve thousand Experience Points, which meant the Body Technique was of a much higher tier than the Heart Method.

The addition of the Violent Star Step and the Thunderbolt Movement added a whole new dimension of explosive power and momentum transfer on top of the Soaring Void Thousand Layer Step’s original concept.

This fused Body Technique might have already brushed against the edge of the Innate Realm. The control and the maximum Inner Strength consumption it required had already surpassed the scope of ordinary Refining Organ Realm techniques.

Chen Yue suppressed his stray thoughts, closed his eyes, and began to absorb the cultivation methods of the new techniques.

Two distinctly different streams of insight surged into his Sea of Consciousness at once, like two parallel brooks. His Heart Spirit received the influx of information, sorting and integrating it all into his body’s instincts.

The next day, morning light spilled over from the direction of Celestial State Prefecture City. It crossed the rolling hills and pine-covered ridges, illuminating, inch by inch, the eaves and mountain paths of the Panshi Sect’s various peaks.

Chen Yue first went to the dining hall, where many disciples were already eating. Some stood by the tables with bowls of congee, talking in low voices; others gnawed on steamed buns while flipping through booklets.

As he walked in, several gazes fell on him before quickly shifting away.

There wasn’t much surprise in their glances. After the news had spread all day yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Panshi Sect’s Inner Sect who was meant to know had already heard about Chen Yue’s breakthrough to the Refining Organ Realm.

Chen Yue finished his meal in silence at a corner table, then strode toward Dan Peak.

Inside the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs permeated the air. A few disciples were lined up at the counter, waiting to collect their ingredients.

When Chen Yue walked in, the disciples subconsciously turned at the sound. Seeing it was him, they all froze for a moment; they, too, had heard the news of his breakthrough to the Refining Organ Realm yesterday.

They simply hadn’t expected him to show up today.

Chen Yue walked over to Zhao Weiyuan, who was looking down and flipping through a Pill Formula. At the sound of footsteps, he raised his head, his gaze landing on Chen Yue.

Chen Yue cupped his fist in his palm. "Elder Zhao!"

Sensing the aura of Chen Yue’s Refining Organ Realm, Zhao Weiyuan looked slightly dazed. He set down the Pill Formula and gave a subconscious nod.

A smile touched Chen Yue’s lips as he turned and walked toward Yao Jin, who was organizing herbs nearby.

He reached out and patted Yao Jin on the shoulder. The pat was light, but Yao Jin was still startled by the sudden touch, nearly dropping the herbs he was arranging.

He turned his head, and upon seeing Chen Yue, his startled expression quickly morphed into a wide grin. "Senior Brother Chen! You’re here! I heard you broke through to..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when Chen Yue smiled, gave a dismissive wave, and walked directly to the On-Duty Disciple in the exchange area without another word, trading for a set of ingredients for the Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill.

Chen Yue took the ingredients to his usual Pill Furnace. He began to grind and sift them one by one, his movements fluid and practiced.

It had been a while since he last refined a Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pill, but his technique was still as smooth as flowing water and moving clouds. The timing and rhythm of adding each ingredient, every minute adjustment of the heat—it was all guided by an effortless instinct.

An hour later, the moment the lid of the Pill Furnace was slowly lifted, a rich medicinal aroma diffused throughout the Alchemy Room.

Chen Yue looked down into the furnace. Three round elixirs lay inside, their surfaces gleaming with an oily, amber luster.

Three pills from a single furnace—he had reached the stable upper limit he’d been hoping for.

In the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, the disciples who had been secretly watching stared blankly at the three elixirs in Chen Yue’s hand.

They hadn’t expected this. After not seeing him for a while, not only had Chen Yue’s Alchemy Skill not declined from his focus on cultivation, but it had actually improved significantly.

Someone whispered, "How did he do that?" Others silently compared his success to their own—they still occasionally ruined an entire batch. The silence born from that comparison felt particularly heavy.

’Was it because his realm breakthrough increased his Heart and Spirit Power, which in turn improved his Alchemy Skill?’

No one could figure it out, but every single one of them was stunned by the result of three pills from a single batch.

A hint of a smile touched Chen Yue’s eyes. He placed the three Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills into a vial and turned toward the exit of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion.

’The number of Nourishing Spirit Pill Yang Pills I’ve been consuming daily is absurd. If I relied solely on exchanges to support my cultivation, it would cost ninety-three Contribution Points a day, and that’s not even counting other supplementary elixirs.’

’Even though Meng Yu Jin said she would cover the Contribution Points, I can’t just let her pay for everything until I break through to the Innate Realm. She only recently reached the Innate Realm herself and needs to consume a lot of resources to stabilize her foundation and advance her own Cultivation.’

’So, when I have free time, I should refine some to replenish my own stock.’

「Meanwhile, at the Liuyun Sword Sect.」

The Sword Grinding Pool was situated in a natural canyon deep in the back mountains of the Liuyun Sword Sect. It was surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs and perpetually shrouded in a grayish-white mist.

Only at high noon could sunlight barely manage to pierce through.

The water of the pool was dark gray and its surface as still as a mirror, yet it faintly exuded a baleful aura reminiscent of rust.

This was the aura left behind by countless swords being quenched millions of times. It had seeped into the water and, over the years, accumulated into a form of liquid killing intent.

At this very moment, the dark gray water began to ripple, with one circle after another spreading outward from the pool’s center.

BOOM!

A column of water suddenly erupted from the center of the pool. The spray shot skyward, striking the cliff walls with a great CRASH.

A figure slowly rose from within the column of water. One step, two steps, three steps... as if ascending an invisible staircase, he strode out from the pool.

The figure was bare-chested. Water droplets rolled down the contours of his skin, and his wet hair clung to his forehead and neck.

His pace was not fast, yet every step carried an extreme sense of pressure, like a sword being slowly unsheathed—each inch it was drawn added to the weight of the air around it.

Guan Duhai had emerged from his seclusion.