Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Breaking Through to Nascent Soul
Yao Wu Jiand Si Tu Xuan looked at the mountain ahead that vanished into the clouds, their spirits lifting: “Once we cross that mountain in front, we will reach the entrance to the Nine Abyss Secret Realm.”

The three of them hurried on their way. At last, at sunset, they arrived at the entrance marked on the Jade Slip.

They each took out the medium that connected to the Nine Abyss Secret Realm and activated it with Spirit Power.

The still air suddenly rippled like fish scales.

Three silver balls of light appeared and wrapped around them.

In the next moment, the three of them vanished from where they had been standing.

The Nine Nether Secret Realm matched Yu Zhao’s spiritual root and was the best place for her to temper herself. Sadly, in her previous life, even up to the day she died, she had never had the chance to come to the Nine Nether Secret Realm to train.

So before coming this time, she had specially done her homework.

The Nine Abyss Secret Realm was different from the secret realms she had visited in the past. Inside, there were no high mountains or flowing rivers, but two broken cliffs. Below them lay a bottomless Abyssal Pool.

Because the secret realm was rich in spiritual energy, countless demonic beasts and plants grew in the cracks of the cliffs.

The training area for Five Elements Dao Sect disciples was within the crevices between the cliffs. As for the Abyssal Pool below, no one dared get close.

Any disciple who had ever set their sights on the Abyssal Pool had never left alive.

Yu Zhao was not a person with a very strong curiosity. She was not interested in the Abyssal Pool and only wanted to find a quiet place to break through to Nascent Soul.

Yao Wu Jiand Si Tu Xuan also knew what Yu Zhao planned to do. After they entered the Nine Abyss Secret Realm, the three of them split up right away to seek their own chances.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Yu Zhao leaned forward to look down.

The stone cliffs on both sides were like sheer walls stretching for ten thousand zhang, and the Abyssal Pool below was like a huge mouth of the abyss, ready to devour people.

A sudden premonition rose in Yu Zhao’s heart.

If she took one wrong step and fell into this endless Abyssal Pool, she would end up with not even her bones left.

Her heart trembled. She quickly drew back her gaze, leaped, and landed on a protruding ledge below.

Then she tapped the tip of her foot and kept dropping downward.

Senior Sister Zhou had reminded her that in the Nine Nether Secret Realm, the closer one was to the Abyssal Pool, the denser the spirit power would be.

But at the same time, the Nine Nether Secret Realm would reject you and squeeze your internal organs.

So in the Nine Nether Secret Realm, one could not blindly chase spiritual energy. You had to weigh things based on your own condition.

After dropping about one hundred zhang, Yu Zhao began to feel strained.

She decided not to push it. Seeing a wider crack in the cliff, she slipped inside.

“Squeak, squeak!”

Her intrusion startled the demonic beasts living in the crevice.

The timid ones bolted away. The braver ones ran halfway, then stopped and watched from a distance.

Yu Zhao ignored them and kept walking deeper into the crack.

Thump!

A panicked demonic beast, not watching where it was going, rammed straight into Yu Zhao’s calf. It bounced off her, hit the rock wall, and fell down, dizzy and dazed.

Yu Zhao curled her lips in a small smile, reached out with two fingers, pinched the back of the little beast’s neck, and lifted it up to look at it.

It was a Moon-Gazing Rabbit with long white fur, tea-colored eyes, and a three-petaled mouth. It looked harmless, but once it went wild, its hind legs could kick through stone.

The one Yu Zhao was holding was not even as tall as her calf. Clearly, it was still an immature youngling.

“Ji ji! Ji ji!”

Not far away, several Moon-Gazing Rabbits stood up on their hind legs. They bowed and shook their heads toward Yu Zhao, their long furry ears flapping like little rattles.

Yu Zhao smiled, bent down, and set the young Moon-Gazing Rabbit on the ground.

The tiny rabbit just stood there in a daze, staring at Yu Zhao without blinking. Only after its family urged it again and again did it finally hop away after them.

The cracks inside the mountain ran in all directions. Yu Zhao tried to choose the wider crevices to walk through.

After walking for almost a full day and night, Yu Zhao finally found a place she was satisfied with for cultivation.

She opened up the end of the passage into a small cave dwelling. Then she set several formation disks around the outside to prevent demonic beasts from disturbing her.

After that, she took out and prepared in advance all the items she might need. She sat down cross-legged, held her breath, calmed her mind, and began to meditate and regulate her breathing.

Before impacting the Nascent Soul stage, she had to make sure her body was in perfect condition.

Time passed.

Yu Zhao practiced breathing exercises in the cave for a full month.

With the help of the dense spiritual energy in the Nine Abyss Secret Realm, Yu Zhao’s cultivation level rose smoothly from the late Golden Core stage to Golden Core great perfection.

As she kept breathing in and out, the turbid qi in her body slowly faded, and her state of mind grew calmer day by day.

On this day, she took from her storage space a jade box that held a Longevity Fruit.

She opened it.

The golden fruit inside gave off a tempting glow.

Yu Zhao took out the Longevity Fruit and swallowed it in a few bites.

The flesh of the Longevity Fruit did not even need chewing. It turned into pure energy that poured into her body.

As Yu Zhao felt the energy wash through her meridians, the Illusory Tide Art’s mental method began to run on its own.

Before long, the Golden Core in her dantian suddenly began to spin faster.

Yu Zhao stayed calm and formed a hand seal with both hands.

“Absorb.”

At once, spiritual energy from all directions responded to her call and poured into Yu Zhao’s body. Her Golden Core swelled and faintly showed signs of cracking.

At the same time, the long quiet Five Elements Dao Sect had become lively once more.

On Lone Moon Peak, Sect Master Ji Yuan and Master Qing Yan stood on opposite sides, as if there were a great gulf between them.

Both wore dark faces and said nothing. The place was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Wanderer Bao Hua walked out of the room, glanced at Master Qing Yan with a half smile, and said in a playful tone: “As expected of Master Qing Yan’s favored disciple. Even her moves are harsher than the other disciples’.”

Although Wanderer Bao Hua was not as strong in cultivation as Master Qing Yan, her unmatched medical and poison skills in the cultivation world were enough to make Master Qing Yan keep his distance.

Besides, she could be considered half a benefactor to him, so she was not afraid of offending him.

Master Qing Yan acted as if he had not heard her. He was still cold and aloof like an exiled immortal.

Sect Master Ji Yuan knew it was time for him to speak. He forced a smile and asked: “Bao Hua, how are those two disciples?”

“The more handsome one is hurt a bit badly, but it is all just surface wounds. He will not die. It is just that the blow to his heart seems heavy. He looks a bit silly now.”

The more handsome one?

That should be Lan Zi Yu.

Sect Master Ji Yuan could understand Lan Zi Yu’s feelings.

After all, being beaten so badly in public by your own junior brother was hard to accept. If it had been him, he would have felt upset too.

But he was more worried about Quan Ye.

In this sparring match, Quan Ye had clearly been the final winner. But after Lan Zi Yu spat blood and fell, Quan Ye suddenly went mad. The skin all over his body split, and he even tried to attack other disciples. A passing elder subdued him, and he collapsed and fell unconscious.

So Lan Zi Yu and Quan Ye were both sent up the mountain.

Lately, Sect Master Ji Yuan had been paying close attention to news from Lone Moon Peak. Once he heard what had happened, he not only rushed over personally but also brought Wanderer Bao Hua with him.

He asked: “What about the other disciple, Quan Ye?”

The smile on Wanderer Bao Hua’s face faded a little. She said: “You will have to ask Master Qing Yan about that.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan looked at Master Qing Yan in confusion.

[What does this have to do with him?]