Chapter 26

Yao Xing had previously reached the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm at the age of sixteen or seventeen, just one step away from the Bright Aperture Realm. He was the pride of the Yao Clan, and even the entire Great Yan Empire. Being stripped of his cultivation was like falling from the clouds into a mud pit, and it was not hard to imagine how he could not bear such a drastic change, leading to self-abandonment.

What made Chen Hai better than Yao Xing was that he had never experienced the feeling of being high and mighty. Even though he could not see any hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm, he was still somewhat affected, but the current outcome was much better than what he had expected when he inexplicably entered a different world. His mindset did not become unbalanced.

Chen Hai could only give up on cultivating the Hand and Foot Shaoyang meridians and spend more time researching martial arts, cultivating other main meridians. Although the effects were dozens or even hundreds of times weaker, his strength was still slowly improving.

More importantly, cultivating the Hand and Foot Three Yin meridians involved the five organs and six腑, which could nourish the spirit and soul, promoting a better integration of Chen Hai's spirit and physical body.

Compared to cultivating powerful magical techniques, Chen Hai was more concerned with alleviating his spiritual injuries and preserving his life. This made him very patient in his cultivation, even when he could not see any hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm.

During this time, the needle-like pain in Chen Hai's head after the soul-snatching had greatly eased, and he could even calm down to practice the breathing and regulation techniques recorded in the first chapter of the Alchemical Cauldron Technique.

If there was anything unsatisfactory, besides the lack of hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm in the short term, it was that the essence energy in Chen Hai's body was several times more abundant and condensed than that of other junior disciples, yet it could not break through the blockages in the meridians to form true essence, making him appear bloated and swollen over the past half year.

His handsome face was now full of flesh, and his physique was much more robust than it was half a year ago.

Zhou Jingyuan had originally expected Chen Hai to quickly reach the Profound Passage Realm. Seeing that Chen Hai's cultivation progress had stalled, he understood that it was due to the hidden injuries from his cultivation being stripped. Fortunately, Shen Xiu, Zhou Qingyun, and others, who followed Chen Hai in cultivating the Tiger Stance Secret Form, had made some progress. Later, six more young men were sent to the Medicine Garden to cultivate the Tiger Stance Secret Form, and Zhou Jingyuan, Shen Kun, and others still maintained frequent interactions with the Medicine Garden.

******

Half a year passed in a flash, and the next round of disciple competitions was approaching.

Although the hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm seemed distant, Chen Hai was no longer afraid of any obstacles in the junior disciple competition. Chai Rong had successfully opened his Spirit Sea two months ago and had already entered the Inner Gate of the Upper Seven Peaks for cultivation.

Even though the Dao Academy of Iron Stream Ridge was still dominated by the Chai Clan, no one directly came forward to deliberately make things difficult for Chen Hai. Perhaps the Chai Clan did not see the Yao Clan attempting to further infiltrate the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy, and there was no need to waste effort on a disciple who had no hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm.

Chen Hai had been living a carefree life at the Dao Academy, but every day, besides practicing the martial arts secret form once, he spent more time with his spirit and consciousness lingering in the Blood Cloud Wasteland.

In the Dao Academy, even though the Medicine Garden where Chen Hai lived was a separate courtyard, any movement could not escape the notice of those who had reached the Bright Aperture Realm. Only in the Blood Cloud Wasteland could Chen Hai indulge in martial arts cultivation without restraint, trying to combine different martial arts secret forms to create various profound martial techniques.

The profound martial techniques Chen Hai could create at this point were of a low level, at most combining three or four martial arts secret forms, but this innovation brought him great enjoyment and new insights into martial arts every day.

The puppet clone moved more flexibly and swiftly among the piles of withered bones and corpses.

A bolt of lightning split the sky from the distant blood clouds, like a long chain connecting heaven and earth.

Although the Blood Cloud Wasteland was constantly struck by lightning, this particular bolt was blood-red and emitted a destructive force. Chen Hai watched as a hundred-meter-high blood-red cliff was completely shattered into dust and scattered by the crimson lightning.

Chen Hai had been away from Earth for almost a year and had gradually adapted to the rhythm of this world. Seeing the crimson lightning split the blood clouds, he was also terrified. He knew that if the laws of the Blood Cloud Wasteland were not in chaos, such a thunderbolt, which even a supreme expert in the Dao Fetus Realm would find hard to resist, would not appear.

Why did the laws of the Blood Cloud Wasteland become so chaotic when they were supposed to only have minor gaps at first?

The puppet clone, resembling a blood corpse, leaped onto a pile of withered bones over ten meters high with a spring-like movement. Chen Hai looked toward the direction where the left ear and the giant hall had sunk.

In a thousand-mile radius, only that area, about a hundred acres in size, was free of withered bones and corpses, like a stone valley. Chen Hai called it the Divine Hall Stone Valley, but there was no movement there now.

With the laws of the Blood Cloud Wasteland in chaos, the left ear, which had sunk into the ground, had not been awakened. Chen Hai thought, "Has that old guy also returned to the heavens?"

"I still have a breath left in me!" the left ear's voice echoed in the puppet clone's ancestral aperture, startling Chen Hai, but then he was relieved.

In the past year, he had developed a good rapport with Zhou Jingyuan, Ge Tong, and Shen Kun, but most of his thoughts were immersed in the terrifying Blood Cloud Wasteland, and he could not help but feel a deep sense of sorrow.

This made him very uncomfortable.

The sudden awakening of the left ear and his conversation with him were much better than anything else.

With so many secrets he could not reveal and bottlenecks in cultivation he could not seek advice on from others, the awakening of the left ear was a pleasant surprise.

Chen Hai thought that the cultivation realm of the left ear far exceeded that of the arrogant elders of the Taiwei Sect. Even a few pointers from him would not be inferior to the profound techniques and immortal spells that required tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of sect credits to obtain from the scripture hall.

"You are not yet qualified to cultivate the divine hall's legacy, but I can still give you some guidance..." the left ear said.

This was what Chen Hai found most frustrating. In front of the left ear, he was completely exposed, with no secrets to hide.

Feeling frustrated, Chen Hai changed the subject and asked, "Left Ear Senior, you said the laws of the Blood Cloud Wasteland were still in effect, and only low-level gaps would appear between the Blood Cloud Wasteland and the Raksasa Domain, so I should be able to handle it. What's the situation now?"

"In theory, only low-level gaps should appear in the early stages between the Blood Cloud Wasteland and the Raksasa Domain. However, the situation is different from what I expected. The old ghosts in the Raksasa Domain, who have been cultivating for tens of thousands of years, may have already grasped part of the laws of the world. I don't know if they are trying to forcibly open a passage into the Blood Cloud Wasteland..." the left ear's voice echoed in the puppet clone's ancestral aperture, sounding extremely serious.

Hearing this, Chen Hai's heart tightened.

During this time, he had been diligently cultivating martial arts. Although his true body had not yet reached the Profound Passage Realm, through the dissection of profound techniques and half a year of contemplation, he had mastered nearly a hundred martial arts secret forms. By combining different martial arts secret forms, he believed that the strength of the puppet clone was not much weaker than that of a Spirit Opening Realm disciple of the Taiwei Sect.

After all, the puppet clone was not as weak as his true body.

Chen Hai thought that if a small group of Raksasa ghosts entered the Blood Cloud Wasteland through the gaps in the laws of the world, as long as they were not too strong, he could still handle them. However, he was stunned to learn that the Raksasa ghosts might have the power to control the laws of the world and could directly open a large passage.

Let alone those who could control the laws of the world, even the Raksasa ghost giants, standing over seventeen meters tall, could crush his puppet clone with a single finger.

And with the left ear's previous weak state, he could hardly do anything.

Chen Hai had become extremely dependent on the puppet clone during this time, but he could not take the puppet clone out of the Blood Cloud Wasteland. He thought that without the assistance of the puppet clone, he would have no hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm in the Taiwei Sect.

Cultivation was like addiction. Since Chen Hai had embarked on this path, he did not want to stop before reaching the Profound Passage Realm.

"Left Ear Senior, why didn't you think of leaving before?" Chen Hai asked, thinking that if the Dragon Emperor Cangyu could bring him into the Taiwei Sect and possess Yao Xing's body, the left ear should find it easier to leave the Blood Cloud Wasteland and possess a new body for cultivation.

"We made a great soul oath to guard the wasteland and cannot leave until we return to the heavens. Besides, I have lived long enough, and my soul is already worn out. Returning to the heavens might be my true destiny. Don't think you can persuade me to leave here..." the left ear's voice sighed, "Forget it. If you don't want to bear the destiny of the Heavenly Martial Divine Guard, cut off your soul and consciousness and find a place to discard the snake bracelet. This is not a responsibility you can bear."

Chen Hai was not bothered by others looking down on him, but he could not easily give up the snake bracelet. He thought that the Raksasa ghosts had not yet entered, and it was too early to talk about giving up when he was not facing death.

"Since the Dragon Emperor entrusted me with the legacy, I cannot desert in the face of danger. Left Ear Senior, you said you would guide me in cultivation. My twelve main meridians have hidden injuries from my cultivation being stripped, and cultivating all twelve main meridians is just a temporary measure. I cannot see any hope of reaching the Profound Passage Realm. What should I do next?"

"The Taiwei Sect has existed for thousands of years, and many disciples have had their cultivation stripped and then tried to cultivate martial arts again. They have all encountered the same difficulties you are facing now and have made many attempts..." the left ear said.

"I know this and have studied it, but in the history of the Taiwei Sect, no one has ever been able to reach the Profound Passage Realm after their cultivation was stripped, except for those who violated the greatest taboos and possessed new bodies for cultivation," Chen Hai said.

"Many attempts have failed due to a lack of opportunity and luck, but it does not mean that the path they chose for re-cultivation was wrong," the left ear said. "Just like your current cultivation, even though you cannot see any hope, it does not mean that the direction is wrong..."

Chen Hai was waiting for the left ear to give him more practical advice, but after a while, the left ear did not say anything more.

Chen Hai, with his fiery temper, would have cursed the left ear's ancestors if he did not know that the left ear could read his thoughts. He thought, "Is this just a vague hint, and that's it?"