Chapter 340 - 188: Profound Mastery! Profound Mastery
Chen Sheng didn’t relax in the slightest. Instead, his focus sharpened.
Guiding that drop of nascent True Essence as a seed, he continued to compress and transform the surging Gang Qi in his body.
The newborn True Essence snowballed. One drop, two drops, three drops... They gradually gathered, forming a vortex within his Dantian.
.....
In the cave, there was neither sun nor moon; in cultivation, one loses all track of time.
「Three days later.」
Atop the Cyan Jade Platform, Chen Sheng’s seated form suddenly trembled.
"HUMMM—!"
An indescribably immense aura exploded from within him.
In an instant, the entire stone chamber trembled violently. Dust rained down from the domed ceiling. Tiny pebbles on the ground leaped into the air of their own accord. The very air seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, forming faint, visible ripples.
Then...
"ROAR—!!!"
A clear and resonant cry, like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger, erupted from Chen Sheng’s throat. It pierced through the stone chamber and soared to the heavens.
Above Jingyang Mountain, the cry thundered outward, its sound echoing for dozens of miles.
In the mountain forests, beasts panicked and birds took to the sky. Countless creatures, terrified by the Profound Mastery pressure contained within the cry, fled frantically out of the mountains.
The ground trembled faintly, as if an earthquake was stirring. A few hunters in the mountains turned deathly pale. They stared in horror toward the depths of the mountains where the cry had originated, then, without a second’s hesitation, dropped their prey and fled for their lives.
Inside the stone chamber, a pale blue figure flashed into existence almost as soon as Chen Sheng’s cry began.
Sun Yuzhi’s robes billowed slightly. She stood gracefully about ten feet away, her bright eyes fixed on the surging aura around Chen Sheng on the Cyan Jade Platform. As she sensed the fluctuations of True Essence—so completely different from the Innate Realm—a light of joyous relief sparked in the depths of her eyes.
"You... you did it?!"
Sun Yuzhi’s voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremble.
This was the release that followed intense tension, a joy that came straight from the heart.
Chen Sheng slowly reined in his projected aura. The heart-stopping pressure gradually subsided, finally settling into a quiet, inward calm.
He then opened his eyes, which glinted with a brilliant light. Looking at Sun Yuzhi, he smiled.
"I did it!"
At this moment, within his Dantian, all the Nine Nether Profound Gang had been converted into deep, dark, and pure Nine Nether True Essence.
He had firmly achieved the first stage of the Mystic Realm: the Primordial Sea Realm.
His strength had skyrocketed, now several times greater than when he was at the Peak of Innate.
"That’s good... that’s good."
Sun Yuzhi nodded repeatedly, the tension in her heart finally loosening as she let out a long sigh of relief.
For the past few days, she had stood guard outside. She had appeared calm, but in reality, her heart had been in her throat the entire time.
The barrier to the Mystic Realm was exceptionally perilous; countless Innate Martial Masters had been trapped at this stage.
Even though she had complete confidence in Chen Sheng, she couldn’t shake off her worry.
Now that she saw he had succeeded, her joy and relief were palpable.
"I was only able to succeed so smoothly thanks to your powerful assistance, Vice Envoy."
Chen Sheng suppressed the surging excitement from his breakthrough and looked at Sun Yuzhi with sincere eyes.
If not for the Red Simurgh Yin Source she had sacrificed to help him, if not for the breakthrough experience she had shared so unreservedly and her diligent protection, it would have been impossible for things to have gone so smoothly—even with the Profound Mastery Pill and the Flood Dragon Inner Core.
Upon hearing his words, the relieved expression on Sun Yuzhi’s face changed abruptly.
She seemed to recall certain intimate, blush-worthy scenes from inside the cave. A deep blush instantly spread across her fair cheeks. Her phoenix eyes glared at Chen Sheng with shame and irritation as she bit her lower lip and snorted.
"You have the nerve to mention it?"
Seeing her reaction, Chen Sheng knew she was recalling the finer points of their "Jiao and Luan Complement Each Other" session. A faint smile touched his lips as he quickly explained:
"It was a desperate situation, and some things were unavoidable... I hope you can forgive me, Vice Envoy."
"Hmph!"
Sun Yuzhi turned her face away, but the tips of her ears turned an even deeper shade of red.
A few breaths later, Sun Yuzhi took a deep breath and tried to put on her usual icy expression. She spoke with sharp finality:
"This was the first and only time! If you dare... dare to be so impudent again, I will not show you any mercy!"
But though her tone was fierce, the slight tremble at the end of her words and her flickering gaze betrayed the turmoil in her heart.
Chen Sheng looked compliant, but he was laughing to himself.
’Some doors, once opened, are hard to close again.’
However, he knew Sun Yuzhi was easily embarrassed and that now wasn’t the time to tease her. He decided to play along and change the subject.
"I will take the Vice Envoy’s words to heart."
Seeing that he was being sensible, Sun Yuzhi’s expression relaxed. She accepted the olive branch and asked with concern:
"Was the process difficult or dangerous at any point? Did the True Essence conversion go smoothly?"
"It went quite smoothly."
Chen Sheng nodded, his expression becoming serious.
"It’s all thanks to the Vice Envoy. You shared everything so generously—your own breakthrough insights and the collected experiences of the predecessors in the Archives Pavilion. It allowed me to understand this trial completely. I was mentally prepared, so I could remain calm and proceed steadily, no matter what happened."
This was the truth; Sun Yuzhi’s detailed guidance had indeed been of great help to Chen Sheng.
Sun Yuzhi nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction flashing in her eyes.
Her expression then grew solemn as she began to explain the essentials of cultivating in the Mystic Realm.
"Now that you’ve entered the Mystic Realm, there are some things you need to know. The Mystic Realm has three stages: Primordial Sea, Thunder Sound, and Divine Communication. Each stage is a world unto itself, and the trials to advance become progressively harder..."
Sun Yuzhi’s voice was cool and her explanation was methodical.
She methodically explained the nature of the Mystic Realm’s three stages, their cultivation priorities, common pitfalls, and even the prevailing views on the realm within Ning’an Prefecture.
She hadn’t said this before because she was afraid of distracting Chen Sheng.
But now that Chen Sheng had entered this realm, it was essential for him to understand these matters.
Chen Sheng listened with rapt attention. Although his usual studies had already given him a superficial understanding, Sun Yuzhi’s explanation was far more profound. It incorporated her own cultivation insights and the accumulated experience of many predecessors from the Jingwu Bureau, and he found himself benefiting immensely from the fine details.