“Brat, you call that repayment? Taking all the benefits and giving nothing back?” Perfected Zizhu fumed, flicking Chu Mingyao sharply on the forehead. “Go on, then! Off with you! Hurry up and break through!”
Just as Chu Mingyao turned to leave, he hurriedly called her back.
“Your Divine Sense is already potent enough. What you lack now is spiritual power. Use that high-level Divine Sense to refine your spiritual power several times over. Raise its quality. Ideally, you should bring it up to the Nascent Soul level before you officially attempt the breakthrough.”
At that, Perfected Zizhu smacked his lips in amazement. “Only someone like you, whose Divine Sense outstrips their cultivation, can pull this off. Everyone knows that the purer the spiritual power is before a breakthrough, the greater the gains and the deeper the foundation. But how many can actually achieve that?
“Little Mingyao, remember my words.” Perfected Zizhu’s tone suddenly turned solemn. “Do not rush. You must accumulate. Even when your dantian feels like it can hold no more, it is not enough. You must refine it and compress it, again and again. If you can condense it into a liquid, do so. If you can even force it into a solid form, that would be best of all.
Push yourself to the absolute limit of your capacity before you break through, understand? You have plenty of time. This old body of mine is staying right here, so I won’t be using my cave dwelling. There is no need to rush to return it.”
Chu Mingyao pressed her lips together. “Yes, Martial Uncle. I will remember.”
Those were words that should have come from her own master. Yet here was Perfected Zizhu, guiding her instead.
A lingering sense of fear gripped her as she realized the weight of his advice. What Perfected Zizhu said was crucial. Though her Divine Sense had already reached the Nascent Soul realm— making a breakthrough natural— and though she possessed a top-tier ninth-grade golden core with vast reserves, a foundation could never be too solid.
While an overly powerful foundation meant future breakthroughs would demand exponentially more resources, that was no obstacle for someone whose path had been as smooth as hers. Given the opportunity, she had to achieve perfection before stepping forward.
Recalling how she had nearly rushed her progress out of a nightmare-fueled fear of future crises, Chu Mingyao felt a wave of relief. She had almost sacrificed her foundation for speed. She felt fortunate that Chu Mingdong had appeared when he did, and even luckier that the elder on duty was Perfected Zizhu.
Any other elder would already be generous enough to grant her a Xuan-grade cave, let alone lend a personal dwelling and offer such vital insights.
Previously, Chu Mingyao was only confident she could contend with mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators after her breakthrough. Now, following Perfected Zizhu’s guidance, she estimated she could hold her own against those at the late stage, or even Nascent Soul Perfection.
As for the Soul Transformation realm, that was a different matter entirely. That realm required tempering through heavenly tribulation. It was a fundamental shift in the very essence of life, beyond simple comparison.
The path of cultivation had always been this way. The further one progressed, the more exaggerated the power gap became even within a single realm, making it increasingly rare to fight those above one’s own level.
As for whether advancement became more grueling in the later stages, that depended entirely on the strength of the foundation laid in the beginning.
“Alright, alright, get to it!” Perfected Zizhu waved his hand dismissively. “Remember not to rush. Cultivate in peace within my cave dwelling. If the Dao Discussion Assembly arrives and you still haven’t emerged, I’ll come for you myself. Don’t worry about a thing.”
Chu Mingyao froze. “The Dao Discussion Assembly?”
Perfected Zizhu’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “What? Weren’t you rushing your breakthrough just to secure a better ranking at the assembly?”
“Uh……” Chu Mingyao blinked.
Rankings? She had considered them, but they weren’t her priority. In her nightmare, she had taken first place regardless. How could she possibly lose this time? Only the team competition remained an uncertainty.
Compared to mere rankings, she was far more concerned with having enough power to survive should that mysterious attack occur during their return journey. She hadn’t worried about the assembly’s timeline because she assumed she would break through long before departure, leaving her plenty of time to prepare with the others.
Perfected Zizhu continued to ramble, “Stop fretting over the time. You don’t have to reach the Nascent Soul realm before you leave. Even as you are now, only a handful of the younger generation could even hope to challenge you.”
Chu Mingyao hurriedly interrupted, “Martial Uncle, isn’t the Dao Discussion Assembly still more than a year away? We won’t need to depart for another twelve months. Do I really need to remain in seclusion for that long?”
Perfected Zizhu went silent, the words dying in his throat.
The old and the young stared at each other in a long, awkward silence. Finally, Perfected Zizhu slapped his forehead in annoyance.
“That’s right, there’s still a year. Others might need a full year just to touch the threshold of the Nascent Soul realm, but you……”
He shook his head and sighed, then suddenly broke into a foolish laugh.
“Hehe, our Little Mingyao is a genius! A genius the Sword Sect hasn’t seen in tens of millions of years!” Perfected Zizhu chuckled. “Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, how could that possibly take someone like you a whole year? You’ll probably break through while taking a nap!”
As he spoke, he rummaged through his storage ring, finally pulling out a porcelain bottle and tossing it to her.
“You’re in luck, brat. I actually had this lying around. Take it and get to work. Don’t worry about anything else!”
A faint glimmer of sword light flickered in his eyes.
Though his duties at the Hall of Internal Affairs meant he couldn’t leave Neiwu Peak without cause, he wasn’t blind to recent events. He didn’t know the specifics of the friction between Chu Mingyao and Perfected Ziqiong, but the fact that she was preparing for such a major breakthrough without her master’s help— applying for a cave dwelling like a common inner disciple— told him everything he needed to know. Something was deeply amiss.
Naturally, he would offer her every bit of help within his power.
Chu Mingyao caught the bottle, a bright smile breaking across her face. “Alright! I’m off to cultivate then!”
Without waiting for further instructions, she vanished from the Hall of Internal Affairs, swept off Neiwu Peak, and headed straight for Perfected Zizhu’s private cave dwelling.
After using the jade token to unseal the entrance, Chu Mingyao entered and settled onto a meditation cushion. She activated the cave’s built-in defensive formations and spirit-gathering array, then took the extra precaution of laying down her own warning seals. Even so, she didn’t begin her meditation immediately.
On the way over, she had already inspected the gift Perfected Zizhu had provided.
Inside were Spirit Gathering Pills, packed with a massive amount of spiritual energy— ideal supplements for those at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages. Below the Golden Core stage, a cultivator’s meridians couldn’t handle the influx, requiring weaker Qi Gathering Pills instead. Above the Nascent Soul realm, the fundamental shift in one’s life essence required the more potent Essence Gathering Pills.
There were ten top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills in the small bottle— a significant fortune by any standard.
Perfected Zizhu had long since surpassed the need for such items, and he had no disciples of his own who required these mid-level resources. That was why he’d called her lucky. By pure chance, he still had a stray bottle tucked away from years past.
Chu Mingyao understood his intent. The Spirit Gathering Pills were a safety net, meant only for the critical moments of her breakthrough if her natural absorption couldn’t keep pace. They weren’t a shortcut, but a lifeline.
Perfected Zizhu held great expectations for her, and she, in turn, approached this breakthrough with absolute gravity.
Following his guidance, she planned to refine and compress her internal spiritual power to its absolute limit. This meant her energy requirements would be staggering— far beyond anything an ordinary cultivator would encounter. Even with the Di-rank cave dwelling he had lent her, Perfected Zizhu clearly worried that the cave’s spirit-gathering array might not be able to replenish the local spiritual energy fast enough to meet her demands.
The true purpose of those pills was to bridge that gap, ensuring she wouldn’t fail at the final hurdle due to a lack of environmental energy.
Chu Mingyao toyed with the porcelain bottle, complex emotions flickering in her eyes.
The master she had admired since childhood favored Chu Mingdong over her. Yet here was Perfected Zizhu— someone she had spent much time with as a child but had little contact with since— offering such sincere, selfless help.
In her memories, she had been a frequent nuisance in Perfected Zizhu’s courtyard, constantly causing mischief. As she grew older and cultivation became her world, those visits grew rare. She had spent her spare time with peers like Chu Mingdong, while Perfected Zizhu took up his post at the Hall of Internal Affairs, no longer having the leisure to indulge a little girl’s whims.
Their interactions had dwindled to almost nothing. And yet, it was Perfected Zizhu who stood by her now.
Her thoughts churned. It took a significant effort for Chu Mingyao to suppress these distractions. She tucked the bottle away and settled her mind.
This time, she would not emerge until she had reached the Nascent Soul realm.