Chapter 40

As time passed, countless events unfolded in the cultivation world, but no matter how earth-shattering they were, they had nothing to do with Gu Xuyao. What he needed to do now was to continue his cultivation, to practice diligently.

After reaching the third layer of the Root-Entry Realm, Gu Xuyao naturally aimed to break through. In the Thunder Roar Five Shouts technique given to him by Wang Suishi, there were naturally methods for cultivators to break through from the Root-Entry Realm to the Root-Birth Realm.

"Yuanhua penetrates the body, bones are filled with strength, transform into oneself, and pull the roots with force..." These four sentences were the key to breaking through the Root-Entry Realm. Gu Xuyao had been reciting them for many days, so much so that he had not participated in recent practices. However, compared to these, there was something else that Gu Xuyao valued more.

"Back then, I promised him. How can one live in this world without keeping one's word..." Thinking about the breakthrough, Gu Xuyao naturally thought of the benefactor who had once wronged him.

Deciding to act, he thought that the years of cultivation had been arduous, and it had been a long time since he had seen him. So, he left the Dao room and headed towards the teaching room.

After coming and going many times, the cultivator guarding the door no longer checked Gu Xuyao's token, though the strange looks, which had diminished after Gu Xuyao beat Wu Chang and the Ma brothers, still lingered. Gu Xuyao felt them faintly.

In the three years at Taiheng Sect, Gu Xuyao had long become accustomed to such looks and ignored them, walking straight to the door of the practice room.

It was still as desolate as it was back then, but the once naive youth now had his own experiences.

"Senior, are you there? Gu Xuyao requests an audience..." Gu Xuyao put aside his memories and called out loudly.

There was no response from inside, only some faint noise. Gu Xuyao smiled slightly and pushed the door open.

Sure enough, Ren Wuyou was lying in the middle of the hall, snoring loudly, his snores like a song, resonating and powerful.

"Senior..." It was no surprise that Ren Wuyou was sleeping. From past experience, he was mostly awake.

Suddenly, as Gu Xuyao slowly approached Ren Wuyou, he sprang up, a gust of wind like a spear, and kicked towards Gu Xuyao's face!

Times had changed, and Gu Xuyao's mental fortitude was already excellent. How could he be easily hit by this sneak attack?

He slightly bowed, dodging the kick that could have made him faint, but defense was not Gu Xuyao's style. Out of habit, he exerted force with both feet, stomped the ground, and with the absolute strength granted by the Thunder Roar Five Shouts, charged towards Ren Wuyou!

"Ha!" Ren Wuyou shouted, slapping out a palm that hit Gu Xuyao's shoulder. The offensive move was immediately followed by a rapid retreat, until he collided with the wooden door behind him and stopped.

"Ha ha ha, kid, not bad, but you really have a heart of stone, attacking this old bone of mine so fiercely?" Ren Wuyou's expression was still unclear, but his voice was very happy.

Gu Xuyao also smiled, genuinely. For some reason, seeing this overly spirited Ren Wuyou again gave him a warm feeling.

"Junior's achievements today are all thanks to Senior's guidance. And with these superficial skills, how could I possibly harm Senior?"

Such polite words were not to Ren Wuyou's liking. "Hmph, less talk, what's up? Remembering this old Ren Wuyou today? What brings you here? Not thinking of playing with me, are you?"

Gu Xuyao shook his head with a bitter smile and walked to Ren Wuyou.

"Senior, once Junior has achieved cultivation, I can play with you every day, but now Junior is stuck at a cultivation bottleneck."

Ren Wuyou turned his head, looking dissatisfied. "Hmph, I've heard this a lot. If you don't know how to cultivate, go ask the people in the Ten Thousand Men's Strength. What are you doing here?"

Seeing Ren Wuyou in this state, Gu Xuyao was truly troubled. "Senior, you misunderstood. Junior already knows how to break through, but Junior once promised Senior to choose the extreme breakthrough for cultivation. So, I came to ask Senior how to achieve the extreme breakthrough in the Root-Birth Realm."

Hearing this, Ren Wuyou was momentarily stunned. After a while, he slowly turned his head to look at Gu Xuyao. "You really want to do the extreme breakthrough?"

Gu Xuyao nodded firmly but smiled awkwardly.

"Actually, Junior's words are somewhat grandiose. Junior wants to do the extreme breakthrough not just because of the promise with Senior, but more because of what Senior said. Xuyao has no parents, and finding them is Xuyao's greatest wish. But the cultivation world is too dangerous. Xuyao doesn't want to be killed by some fierce beast or other cultivators before finding them. So, I want to maximize my cultivation to avoid dying before my parents."

Now, even a random fierce beast from the Great Wild Forest could easily kill Gu Xuyao. This is why, after going to the Great Wild Forest, Gu Xuyao became more determined to pursue cultivation.

Ren Wuyou nodded slightly. "You say your parents are missing, and they are mere mortals. Why do you think they are in the cultivation world? Even if they came out, given their age, they probably couldn't cultivate. Mortals only live for a few decades. How can you be sure that you won't find just a handful of yellow earth instead of two living people?"

"Because of this." Saying this, Gu Xuyao took out a neatly folded white paper from his waist.

"Willows guard the misty marsh, evening light reflects on the green waves, crossing the vast sea endlessly, the sun sets and the moon rises in a dreamlike manner." Ren Wuyou unfolded the paper and read it aloud.

"This is likely a place. From the world described in the poem, it indeed belongs to the cultivation world." Ren Wuyou folded the paper again and handed it back to Gu Xuyao.

Gu Xuyao took the paper, refolded it, and put it back in his waist. "That's right. I've thought about everything you said, especially after coming to the cultivation world. I've been more troubled by whether they are still alive. But in the end, I realized they might have been kidnapped or for some other reason. I believe they are alive, and this poem is the best proof. If there was no hope, why would they let their own child chase after a mirage?"

Saying this, Gu Xuyao's expression became somewhat agitated, but it was not out of rashness. It was a manifestation of not wanting his hope to disappear, even if it meant deceiving himself.

At this moment, Ren Wuyou completely reined in his usual madness, patting Gu Xuyao's shoulder like an elder. "Kid, though I'm old, I'm still just a child in the cultivation world. I can't say for sure if your parents are still alive, but I can tell you that nothing in the world is difficult if you set your mind to it. As long as you maintain this determination, I believe you will succeed."

Saying this, Ren Wuyou lifted his greasy long hair, revealing a face full of wrinkles. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Ren Wuyou. Don't call me Senior anymore. I regret not meeting you earlier. From now on, call me Big Brother Ren. As for me..." Ren Wuyou paused, and his long hair covered his dirty face again.

"I'll just call you Kid, ha ha ha..." Instantly, Ren Wuyou returned to his previous state, but it did not affect anything. Instead, it relieved the heavy atmosphere.

Gu Xuyao did not refuse, just smiled and bowed. "Big Brother Ren."

Ren Wuyou laughed heartily, nodded, and then pulled Gu Xuyao to sit down.

"Alright, let's get to the serious part. You came to ask me about the extreme breakthrough, right? I'll tell you now." Saying this, Ren Wuyou waved his finger, and the thick dust on the ground rose into the air.

"Look, if this small ball is your yuan force, then it represents you at the first layer of the Root-Entry Realm." Saying this, Ren Wuyou waved his finger again, and more dust fused into the small ball. "Now the ball has grown. If I tell you this is you now, what is the key?"

"Yuan force, that's right, it's the yuan force." Just as Gu Xuyao was about to speak, Ren Wuyou cut in. "Now you know the method to break through the Root-Entry Realm. Is the extreme breakthrough related to the yuan force?" Saying this, the ball made of dust was enlarged again, from the size of a bottle mouth to the size of a bowl.

"This is a general Root-Birth Realm cultivator." Changing again, under Ren Wuyou's control, the ball instantly grew, doubling in size!

"And this is an extreme breakthrough Root-Birth Realm cultivator."

Everything was easy to understand. The key to breaking through to the Root-Birth Realm was to use your yuan force to pull and expand your immortal root, allowing it to hold more yuan force and gain greater strength.

The extreme breakthrough meant using greater force to create a larger gap.

These were easy to say but not easy to do.

"Like before, the failure of an extreme breakthrough brings great danger. This time is no exception. If you fail, your entire immortal root will be ruined. The best case is to start over from the beginning, but the worst case is that you will die."

High returns come with high risks, a very fair matter. All cultivators think about this issue when breaking through, but few have the heart to try and succeed.

"Xuyao understands." But Gu Xuyao was not afraid, just simply responded.

With this determination, Ren Wuyou was not afraid to let him try. The two talked for an hour, during which Ren Wuyou explained the things to pay attention to during the extreme breakthrough.

"Remember, don't act rashly. Follow what I said, step by step. If it doesn't work, stop immediately. Don't let your immortal root suffer too much damage!" After all the instructions, it was time for practice, and Ren Wuyou was unusually serious.

Gu Xuyao nodded firmly. He was not saying he was not nervous, but he was used to showing it by turning around and leaving the practice room.

The broken door of the practice room closed again, and silence instantly enveloped the entire room. It seemed that Ren Wuyou was somewhat lonely.

"Kid..." Looking at the departing Gu Xuyao, Ren Wuyou muttered to himself. "Don't let me down..." Saying this, Ren Wuyou continued to lie in the practice room, snoring loudly.