Chapter 265: Zhang Yu’s Spirit Vein Pass
Zhang Yu felt a martial will, so potent it was almost tangible, rushing toward him, threatening to incinerate his flesh, organs, bones, soul, and consciousness—to burn his very existence to ash.
The moment it made contact, he felt the chill of near-death. The gap between their power was simply too vast.
At the same time, True Person Starfire’s voice boomed in his ears.
“Activate your heart arts! Use your will to resist my martial will.”
Zhang Yu fully channeled the Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art. With a roar from the white ox in his mind, waves of fighting spirit surged from his heart.
Memories of past struggles flashed through his mind: desperate battles, life-or-death defiance, the grueling series of fights against Wang Yin.
Across from them, Starfire watched as the two gritted their teeth and held their ground against his assault. He nodded slightly and temporarily withdrew his martial will.
“Rest for thirty seconds, then we continue.”
Thirty seconds later, the violent will erupted from him once more.
This time, Zhang Yu didn’t feel a conflagration, but a tyrannical pressure, as if the air had become thousands of times heavier, threatening to crush his bones and force him to his knees.
“Hold on,” Starfire commanded coldly. “Do not kneel.”
This was a different man from the kind, avuncular elder they had known.
During training, True Person Starfire radiated an aura of majesty, like a general on the battlefield. Every command, every word of guidance, was absolute.
Over the next hour, Starfire repeatedly battered them with his martial will, forcing Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen to channel their heart arts and resist with everything they had.
And each time, the martial will he released was different.
Sometimes Zhang Yu felt like he was being burned alive, other times like he was being crushed by the atmosphere. Sometimes it was like a thousand swords piercing his heart, and other times his very thoughts seemed to be frozen solid.
As the diverse forms of martial will washed over him, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but marvel, Just how many heart arts does this old geezer know?
How can he switch between them so naturally? Isn’t he worried about getting schizophrenia?
In the process of tempering his Dao heart and heart art, Zhang Yu felt like a sword being held to a whetstone. Starfire’s martial will was the stone, and with each pass, the blade became sharper, more resilient, forged in the crucible of pressure.
He could clearly feel that this training was several times more effective than practicing his heart art alone.
Dao Heart: Level 11 (0.3%) → (0.5%) Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art: Level 11 (3/110) → (35/110)
Seeing that they were pale and starting to sway, Starfire ceased his assault.
“Alright,” he said calmly. “That’s about your limit for today. Any more and you’ll risk spiritual damage.”
“But keep your heart arts active. And remember that feeling of resisting the pressure.”
“Maintain that feeling, that tension. It will make your regular Dao heart cultivation more efficient.”
As True Person Starfire departed, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen collapsed to the ground. Though they had barely moved physically, they felt utterly drained.
In the days that followed, Starfire would summon them for these training sessions periodically.
His methods were just as he had described: primitive, yet remarkably effective.
If Zhang Yu had to label it, he’d call it the “high-yield poor man’s workout.”
Of course, its effectiveness hinged entirely on True Person Starfire.
If he charged for this, I can’t even imagine the price, Zhang Yu thought. Zhen and I definitely couldn’t afford it.
He deeply appreciated the kindness of the Golden Core True Person who was willing to take the time to guide them for free.
He silently vowed, Thanks, old geezer. When I make it to the top, I’ll make sure your name echoes throughout Kunxu.
Under Starfire’s guidance, their Dao hearts and physical strength improved steadily each day, far faster than they could have achieved on their own.
As for their magic power, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had made other arrangements.
On this day, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen arrived at the protected area. A familiar nod from the guards, and they were waved through the main gate.
They walked a familiar path to the base of a mountain, a place they had evidently visited many times before.
The peak before them was one of the protected area’s major spirit vein nodes—a place that was once so far beyond their reach they wouldn’t have dared to even dream of it.
Now, not only could they move freely within the protected area, but they could even enter the mountain to cultivate.
However, before each visit, Zhang Yu had a task to complete. He had to make a delivery as requested by Director Long from the Red Pagoda.
As Zhang Yu headed into a nearby restroom, Bai Zhenzhen found a spot outside and began her breathing exercises.
She waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, her patience wore thin.
“Are you done yet?” she called out.
She added with a hint of annoyance, “Why are you taking longer every time? I’ve been waiting for almost half an hour.”
Zhang Yu’s slightly embarrassed and irritated voice came from inside. “Almost! Why are you rushing me?”
“Just remember who’s making the sacrifices time and again so you can cultivate in a spirit vein!”
Bai Zhenzhen rolled her eyes. “Then could you maybe finish up at home next time and bring it with you?”
“You think I haven’t thought of that?” Zhang Yu retorted. “The Red Pagoda company demands it fresh!”
After another ten minutes, Bai Zhenzhen mused, That Yu-boy… He reached Foundation Establishment and still hasn’t severed his worldly roots.
After Foundation Establishment, his physical strength was enhanced across the board. Doesn’t that mean his evil root has also been nourished and grown stronger?
As he continues his body tempering, if he keeps nurturing that thing, who knows how much nutrition, qi, blood, and spiritual energy it will consume.
Not to mention the wasted time and energy… It’s a malignant tumor on his path to the Immortal Dao.
But then again, it does have its uses. At least it lets us skip the line to cultivate in the spirit vein.
When we get to the upper layer, we’ll be poor again. It could serve as our emergency fund in a pinch.
After some thought, Bai Zhenzhen came up with a compromise. What if I help him make it detachable? Like his eyes.
He can install it when he needs it and keep it locked away otherwise. That way, the tumor won’t consume too much of his nutrients and qi, and it won’t hinder his body tempering progress.
We’re practically family. If he can’t bring himself to do it, shouldn’t I give him a hand?
Bai Zhenzhen was sure Zhang Yu would understand.
After all, every time he’s done, I see that look of helplessness and regret on his face. He must want to solve this problem himself, but just can’t find the resolve.
Just as Bai Zhenzhen was secretly plotting how to help her brother, Zhang Yu finally emerged from the restroom.
“All done. Let’s go.” With a wave of his hand and a touch of pride, he led Bai Zhenzhen through the entrance to the spirit vein.
A wave of spiritual energy washed over them, causing the spiritual roots inside them to tremble with pleasure. Their entire bodies tingled with an incredible sense of comfort.
Zhang Yu felt that it was only when he was here, in the spirit vein, that his Sea of Qi Spiritual Root and Verdant Vortex Qi Art could truly shine, no longer feeling stifled as they usually did.
Yes, stifled.
Ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, Zhang Yu had felt a constant sense of suffocation. The spiritual energy in the world felt so thin, the air so impure.
“A spirit vein is truly the best.”
But then he thought about the time he had just spent to gain entry, and a flicker of self-criticism arose. It really was a waste of time.
But it’s not my fault. I did my best.
He glanced at Bai Zhenzhen, and his face suddenly flushed. He quickly looked away.
Bai Zhenzhen, who was taking deep breaths, raised an eyebrow. Sensing his gaze, she asked, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Zhang Yu stammered, “Well… you know… I thought of a way to make it faster.”
“What way?” she asked curiously.
“Um…” Zhang Yu’s face grew redder as he kept his head turned away. He took a deep breath. “N-nothing.”
As they walked deeper into the spirit vein, Fu Ji felt an indescribable bitterness. You two have no consideration for my feelings! Do you think it’s easy for me to accompany Zhang Yu through this?
Damn it, I should be charging a viewing fee.
But if I asked to follow Bai Zhenzhen instead, that kid Zhang Yu would get suspicious and think I’m up to something.
Sigh. I’ll just pretend I’m watching a nature documentary.
Once he reached the depths of the spirit vein, Zhang Yu began to circulate his newly acquired Verdant Vortex Qi Art.
This Foundation Establishment breathing art used magic power to create a vortex. With continuous practice, the vortex would expand, drawing in spiritual energy from an ever-increasing range, up to the user’s limit.
Combined with his Sea of Qi Spiritual Root, the technique instantly expanded his spiritual energy absorption range to a hundred-meter radius.
In that moment, Zhang Yu became a giant vacuum, madly pulling the spiritual energy from the spirit vein toward him.
The Verdant Vortex Qi Art can’t run continuously like the Great Sun Qi Sea, Zhang Yu thought, but a few hours of cultivating with this method in a spirit vein is equivalent to several days of hard work with the Great Sun Qi Sea. The efficiency is much higher.
And I haven’t even mastered this technique yet. My efficiency at refining magic power will definitely increase in the future.
Magic Power: 200.5 Verdant Vortex Qi Art: Level 10 (1/100)
Finally, level 10.
As the Verdant Vortex Qi Art reached the tenth level, Zhang Yu could feel qi vortexes manifesting externally, swirling around his body and crazily devouring the surrounding spiritual energy.
After level 10, the magic power vortex becomes visible, further increasing the absorption range.
With my Sea of Qi Spiritual Root, my absorption range has now increased to 150 meters.
Not long after Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had entered the spirit vein.
The whine of flying swords and the surge of combat spiritual roots filled the air as a fully-armed security team on a flying boat surrounded the restroom Zhang Yu had just used.
Several figures in hazmat suits entered the restroom. A few moments later, they emerged carrying a massive armored container. Under the solemn watch of the security team, they carefully loaded it onto the flying boat.
While Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were immersed in their cultivation, wholly focused on solidifying their foundations and improving their Dao heart, magic power, and physical strength, a new development was taking place regarding the Oasis Group.
One day, just after they had finished a training session with True Person Starfire, Zhang Yu received a call from Patrol Captain Yun Ni.
“You remember during your fight with Chi He’s group,” Yun Ni said, “how a mysterious expert suddenly ambushed Bai Zhenzhen?”
“Our investigation has now confirmed with one hundred percent certainty that the expert you killed during that law enforcement action was Zhou Yang of the Zhou family…”
Hearing this, both Zhang Yu’s and Bai Zhenzhen’s expressions shifted. They both knew the Zhou family was suspected of having ties to an evil god.
Yun Ni continued, “The patrol team is going to conduct a thorough investigation of the Zhou family. Since you two are the involved parties, I’m calling to get your input…”
Zhang Yu replied immediately, “You’re investigating the Zhou family? Can Zhen and I come along?”