"Yan!"
When Chu Lingguang learned that Yan Zhen had returned to Wolf Valley Pass, he went to greet him personally.
"Your injuries?"
"It’s nothing serious."
Yan Zhen waved his hand dismissively. He sensed Chu Lingguang’s aura and couldn’t help but frown.
He went into Chu Lingguang’s tent.
In front of Chu Lingguang, he began a series of breathing exercises. As he circulated his Cultivation Technique, his wounds gradually healed, and the bloodstains on his skin even flowed back into his body.
Chu Lingguang stared at this, his eyes wide with astonishment.
It seemed Yan Zhen had awakened some special Divine Abilities.
"You’ve also reached the fourth level of the Mental Realm?"
Yan Zhen asked.
"Yes."
Chu Lingguang didn’t hide anything. He even summoned his Qi Vortex Power and displayed his Mental Realm map for Yan Zhen to see. They were sworn brothers who had faced death together; he trusted Yan Zhen, and Yan Zhen trusted him.
"Did you kill Xie Xiaohuan?"
Yan Zhen asked again.
"You already know, Yan."
Chu Lingguang didn’t deny it.
"The only people who could go to the Turkic lands alone, risk their lives, and kill Xie Xiaohuan inside his fortress are you and Master Guo.
But I learned that Xie Xiaohuan had obtained a strange object and already bonded with it. With Master Guo’s strength, it would have been impossible to kill him inside the fortress. Since it wasn’t Master Guo, it could only be you."
Yan Zhen analyzed.
"Xie Xiaohuan was a thorn in my master’s side and a hurdle I had to overcome. After killing him, I felt completely refreshed and invigorated. It’s like the whole world has changed."
Chu Lingguang sighed with emotion.
"The Great Yuan and the Turkic tribes are about to go to war. Since you killed him, so be it. The Court won’t blame you. What I want to know is, is the strange object that was on Xie Xiaohuan now with you?"
Yan Zhen said.
"It was a vine. I destroyed it. It kept trying to burrow into my body. I felt something was wrong, so I used my Qi Vortex Power to grind it to dust."
Chu Lingguang replied.
"You did the right thing."
Yan Zhen reminded him, "Yuanchu Mountain has a clear rule: anyone who bonds with a strange object, no matter how talented, will be barred from entry. If you want to get into Yuanchu Mountain, you absolutely cannot bond with a strange object."
"Why would Yuanchu Mountain do that? Yan, do you ever get the feeling that Yuanchu Mountain is trying everything they can to prevent anyone from easily breaking through the True Martial Realm and stepping into the Qi Refining Realm?"
Chu Lingguang said with a frown.
"They’ve always been like this. It’s the only way they can maintain tight control over everyone."
Yan Zhen had seen through it long ago.
"If you had the chance to bond with a strange object, Yan, would you do it?"
Chu Lingguang asked.
Yan Zhen didn’t answer immediately. He thought about it seriously before saying, "No."
"Why not?"
Chu Lingguang asked, confused.
He Mingxuan had told him that merging with a strange object would cause a backlash, turning one into something neither human nor ghost. But for someone like Yan Zhen, whose Martial Arts Heart was fearless and who constantly sought out challenges, that shouldn’t be the fundamental reason for his reluctance.
"Only by entering Yuanchu Mountain can one go further. Merging with a strange object might allow a breakthrough from the True Martial Realm to the Qi Refining Realm, but what comes after? More advanced cultivation techniques are also in Yuanchu Mountain’s hands. The Qi Refining Realm is not my final destination."
Yan Zhen said meaningfully.
Chu Lingguang knew that Yan Zhen had always been self-confident, and his words were not baseless. He himself had only reached the fourth level of the Mental Realm with the help of his Favor Points, but Yan Zhen had gotten there through his own insight and diligent training.
When it came to aptitude, Yan Zhen had always been more outstanding, and his Martial Arts Heart was just as unyielding.
He, Qin Yu, and Hu Yanlin had all entered the Demon Suppression Bureau.
From the looks of it, Yan Zhen’s cultivation progress was clearly a step ahead.
"I agree with your decision, Yan."
Chu Lingguang voiced his approval.
"Didn’t you destroy the vine to get into Yuanchu Mountain, too?"
Yan Zhen asked.
"Not exactly."
Chu Lingguang shook his head and continued, "Before I destroyed the vine, I ran into Lord He and Hu Yanlin. They told me about the side effects of the strange objects. That, plus the fact a vine was trying to burrow into my body... no matter how I thought about it, something felt wrong, so I destroyed it. I only just now learned that merging with a strange object gets you banned from Yuanchu Mountain."
"The Court even issued an official decree once, stating that anyone who merged with a strange object would be considered a demon and hunted down by the experts of both the Demon Suppression Bureau and Yuanchu Mountain. That decree later disappeared, but very few people still choose to merge with strange objects. Of course, you need a certain amount of luck to even get the chance to merge with one. If they had the opportunity, I imagine most people wouldn’t refuse."
Yan Zhen added.
"If everyone knew that merging with a strange object could let them break through the True Martial Realm and enter the Qi Refining Realm, I think everyone stuck at the peak of the True Martial Realm would try to find a way to do it."
Chu Lingguang nodded in deep agreement.
When he learned that the vine could help him awaken all responses, allowing him to break through the True Martial Realm and enter the Qi Refining Realm, he had hesitated for a moment while destroying it.
’Even I, with the boost from my Favor Points and the possibility of obtaining a Qi Refining cultivation technique, felt my resolve waver. What hope would others have?’
He believed that if it were someone like Eunuch Liu, or even Guo Wei, they would likely seek a breakthrough at all costs in the last few days of their lives.
Even if it meant turning into something neither human nor ghost.
Few people could refuse the power of the Qi Refining Realm.
Chu Lingguang hesitated, wondering if he should teach the Qi Refining Art to Guo Wei to help him step into the Qi Refining Realm.
However, Yuanchu Mountain controlled all the cultivation techniques for stepping into the Qi Refining Realm. Chu Lingguang worried that the Qi Refining Art would bring a fatal disaster upon both Guo Wei and himself.