Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Among Chu Yang’s brothers, Dong Wushang’s injuries had already mostly healed. The dark saber had also been repaired by Chu Yang. Its might was now stronger than what it had been before it broke.

Mo Lei’er’s wounds were also more or less healed. Mo Qingwu had already started running about back and forth. Once in a while, she would hold the ring that Bu Liuqing had left behind before he had sunk the heavens and broken through the void, and murmur to herself. It was apparent that even though the young girl had been frequently cheeky and mischievous when Teacher Bu was still around, his departure this time had given her a significant blow.

Rui Butong was completely healed and his cultivation had even improved. These few days, he swaggered back and forth in front of Dong Wushang. It aggravated him so much that he gnashed his teeth hatefully, wishing he could fully recover right this instant and give this fellow a good thrashing, even if it ended up killing him and giving him a breakthrough again… He really couldn’t stomach this bloody frustration.

Yes, he must say — it was a… bird-y frustration indeed!

During this period, Meng Chaoran had taken on the roles of head housekeeper and full-time babysitter.

Feng and Yue walked to and fro in the courtyard, their hands behind their back. The direction in which they were going was exactly a circle. They faced each other, a distance of 40 to 50 feet between the two of them, and walked in a circle, as if following a peculiar rhythm.

Chu Yang just so happened to see this scene when he walked out after treating Chu Feihan’s injuries. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What are the two elders doing?”

Yue Lingxue gave him a slight smile. “Chu Yang, come over and take a look; this is our newest bout of enlightenment after our injuries this time.”

Chu Yang became enthusiastic at once. He went over and asked, “New enlightenment?”

“Yes, an all-new enlightenment. Besides, this kind of enlightenment will be very useful to all of you,” replied Yue Lingxue with a smile.

“I’m all ears,” said Chu Yang with great interest.

A smiling Yue Lingxue said, “In the past, when we cultivate, there’s a saying called ‘absorbing the spiritual energy of the universe, taking in and giving out the essence of the sun and moon’, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“Wrong! Terribly wrong,” Yue Lingxue continued seriously, “After getting injured in the coldest days of winter this time, my wife and I have been cultivating in the room. We felt somewhat stifled and so we came out here. However, because our fundamental power has been hurt and the foundation of our bodies injured, we are not able to absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth above us. Left with no other choice, we could only take a walk in the courtyard and try to recover our physical bodies.”

“However, during this process, because we’re unable to absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens, we instead sensed a wave of warm energy surging up from beneath our feet. This wave of warm energy is different from the spiritual energy of the heavens in the past.”

With a smile, Yue Lingxue went on, “I tried to guide this wave of warm energy into my body to clear my meridians. It was surprisingly effective. After thinking about it long and hard, I understood something and that is — In the past, our way of cultivation has been rather one-sided.”

Chu Yang mused over this. “What Elder Yue means is… the so-called spiritual energy of the heavens and earth that we have been absorbing all this time is actually just the spiritual energy of the heavens?”

Yue Lingxue gave him a pleased smile. “Exactly! In the past whenever we cultivate, we are used to absorbing spiritual energy of the heavens and earth from atop our heads and all around our bodies, while we typically overlook the area beneath our feet.”

“Even if we’ve absorbed earth energy, it is very minimal.”

“Therefore, herein lies the flaw in our cultivation techniques. All these several tens of thousands of years, innumerable predecessors have racked their brains and left no stone unturned in order to improve and perfect cultivation techniques. However, no matter how, we have never been able to attain perfection. The real reason lies in this… When the heavens and earth are not in balance, how can one attain perfection?”

Yue Lingxue continued, “Chu Yang, what they call inner demons, what they call succumbing to inner demons and going mad, and what they call divine punishment… These are true causes.”

Chu Yang seemed to have understood something. He said, “I humbly ask for Elder’s guidance.”

“Cultivation techniques have gone through several tens of thousands of years of polishing; there’s basically no error in it. However, the one and only thing lacking is that there is no absorption of earth energy! Spiritual energy of the heavens and earth is completely different from earth energy!”

“Listen to me carefully. Earth energy is beneficial to any kind of cultivation technique. It goes like this…” Yue Lingxue explained to him unhurriedly. With a serious expression, Chu Yang very conscientiously listened and committed it to memory…

After a long time, the Moon Breeze couple started to walk in circles again. Their countenances had also changed from being solemn and stern to one of relaxation.

Chu Yang walked to the side by himself. He removed his shoes and stood barefooted in the snow, wanting to try out this feeling.

At first, he only felt a bone-chilling iciness spreading upward from his soles. Chu Yang did not drive out this wave of iciness; instead, he let it travel along the route of the Nine Heavens Divine Technique. He didn’t pay attention to the spiritual energy floating around him, instead focusing his full attention beneath his feet.

As he activated the technique, after the initial chill, he felt a ticklish feeling on his soles.

As if there was a hint of a rich and gentle aura slowly spreading upward from his soles.

This wave of aura felt very simple and honest, as though the kind of easy and comfortable feeling one had when an extremely reliable and dependable person stood next to them.

As this aura gradually got absorbed into his body, Chu Yang slowly began to have a kind of feeling that felt unbelievably at ease. His heart and soul felt steady and secure, and the rate of absorption started to become faster.

In that instant, he felt as if the vast land beneath his feet was slowly expanding and stretching outward.

The feeling was incredibly fascinating.

Chu Yang was different from Moon Breeze. Even though Moon Breeze had comprehended the method and function of absorbing earth energy, they were in an extremely weak state right now and thus, were unable to fully make use of their cultivation. Naturally, their rate of absorption became a little slower.

On the other hand, no matter his essence, spirit or his energy, Chu Yang was in peak condition.

As this rich aura got absorbed into his body more and more, it slowly formed a wave of warm and comfortable strength in him, flowing into his Dantian and melded with the Nine Heavens Divine Technique.

Chu Yang keenly discovered that the Nine Heavens Divine Technique was starting to churn and fluctuate.

As though a blast of cold air had suddenly entered a cloud of still and quiet dense fog, it shook and churned with great intensity.

The Sword Spirit who was in the midst of cultivating his spirit suddenly woke up in alarm. He looked in confusion at the rich earth energy that had rushed into Chu Yang’s body. Letting out an outcry of incredulity and alarm, he said, “How come he managed to comprehend earth energy at this point? Though the conditions are all in place, isn’t this kind of too out of the blue…”

Chu Yang went into a state of meditation.

After a long while, alarm bells started to ring in his heart all of a sudden. He opened his eyes, only to see an elderly man dressed in hempen robes at the gates. The man’s robes were loose-fitting with wide sleeves and he had a face of angular features. He stood there, his eyes piercingly bright as he looked inside.

A thought crossed Chu Yang’s mind. He asked, “You are?”

Moon Breeze continued to go around in circles leisurely, as if they hadn’t realized the presence of the elderly man. Or perhaps, they had but didn’t pay it much heed, completely unperturbed.

Dong Wushang, Rui Butong, Mo Lei’er, Mo Qingwu, Chu Le’er all occupied a corner of the courtyard each. They were all in the midst of cultivation. Toward the elderly man’s sudden appearance, they also acted like they didn’t see him.

The elderly man smiled gracefully and said, “My name is Zhuge. By the summons of the two Elders Feng and Yue, I have specially come over.”

Chu Yang responded with an ‘oh’. Then, he heard Yue Lingxue say, “Come in. Why are you standing outside?”

He didn’t even spare him a glance. Bringing out a snowy white handkerchief from his bosom, he walked over to Feng Yurou with a smile and lightly wiped her forehead with it. She smiled gently and then rolled her eyes at him as she said, “I’m not tired. You’re embarrassing us.”

Laughing aloud, Yue Lingxue kept the handkerchief. Then, he said, “Chu Yang, go get a few stools. We’ll just speak with our old friend a little in the courtyard.”

Chu Yang gave a sound of compliance. Then, he and Dong Wushang carried three chairs over and placed them in the courtyard.

Yue Lingxue said dispassionately, “Take a seat.”

He took his time to raise his feet and remove his boots, walking in the snow barefooted. Each step of his was accompanied by the crunch of snow as he walked to the chairs and took a seat comfortably. Then, he buried his feet into the snow and gave a satisfied shiver. Taking a breath of air, he said, “This certainly feels… really comfortable!”

Seeing Zhuge Cangqiong staring at him with widened eyes and a great deal of puzzlement, Yue Lingxue smiled at him and invited him to do the same. “Cangqiong, you can give it a try too. It feels pretty good.”

Zhuge Cangqiong returned him a wry smile.

On the other side, Feng Yurou protested coquettishly. “Still acting like such a child when you’re already so old. What do you look like with your feet out in the open like that? Moreover, you have injuries on you right now and we’re in the presence of a distinguished guest.”

Yue Lingxue chuckled. “My injuries may be serious but we cannot ignore our usual habits. Burying my feet in the snow is one of life’s pleasures. How can I give up on it so easily?”

Zhuge Cangqiong looked over and indeed saw that Yue Lingxue looked rather pale. There was some unnatural redness on his face. While Feng Yurou looked to be in a slightly better condition than Yue Lingxue, she also looked a little pale.

He thought inwardly, “This is more like it. The few of you had slain so many Supreme Martial Artists. Nobody’s gonna believe it if you say that you haven’t sustained serious internal injuries. Yue Lingxue’s in a worse condition because he was trying his best to protect Feng Yurou. The reason why her injuries are slightly lighter should be because of this.”

Yue Lingxue leaned against the back of the chair, burying both his feet in the snow. He turned calmly to Zhuge Cangqiong and said, “Cangqiong, as you can see, my wife and I, our injuries are very grave and we can no longer use our cultivation. We’re unable to go to you, so we could only ask you over to ask you something.”

Zhuge Cangqiong nodded with a smile. “Of course. It should have been me coming to pay my respects to the two elders in the first place. How would I dare to trouble the two elders to personally go over?”

But in his heart, he thought, “You can’t use your cultivation? If I really believed you, how many pieces will I end up in all over this place?”

Yue Lingxue nodded with a smile. Then, his countenance gradually turned grim. “There’s only one thing I want to ask you!”

Zhuge Cangqiong replied, “Please go on, Elder.”

“Previously, my wife and I headed to Mount Xingyun for the great battle. We shall put that aside for the time being!” Yue Lingxue gave Zhuge Cangqiong a sharp and piercing look before he went on, “However, the juniors here have also been attacked and my disciple killed by someone!”

Yue Lingxue’s eyes were as though two razor-sharp swords which fixated on Zhuge Cangqiong’s face. He said word by word, “The one who had attacked them was a man in black robes and a ninth-grade superior-level Supreme Martial Artist. What do you think of this?”

“How despicable of that man!” replied Zhuge Cangqiong without a moment’s hesitation. “A ninth-grade superior-level Supreme Martial Artist coming here personally to deal with these juniors? Absolutely shameless!”

Yue Lingxue gazed at him dispassionately. He said with a tinge of contemplation, “So that means it wasn’t you who did it?”

As he spoke, Feng Yurou’s eyes were also quietly fixated upon Zhuge Cangqiong’s face. Both husband and wife stared quietly at him, the atmosphere in the venue quieting instantly.

Some redness slowly rose on Zhuge Cangqiong’s face. A little fearful, he said, “I see, so the two elders are suspicious of that… But how could I possibly do such a thing?”