Chapter 58: Chapter 57: The Storyteller

“Ah!!!” A heart-wrenching scream came from the neighboring room.

Chu Huaixu stood up from the meditation mat with satisfaction and flamboyantly mimicked him in his room, “Ah!”

Old Chu, tormented to death by “Dysmenorrhea,” was now incredibly elated! So much that even his scalp tingled with delight!

“I feel so good, so good.” With a beaming smile, Chu Huaixu pushed open the door and headed for the Cold Pool.

In the small room, Xu Ziqing lay disheartened on the ground, his face full of disbelief.

“This cultivation technique, it’s so torturous!”

His gaze fell on that little booklet, and suddenly, it dawned on him.

“The two seniors on the first and second pages must not have succeeded! That’s why they left such words!”

“This cultivation technique is too difficult and torturous, only the third senior succeeded, thus leaving the words ’Supreme Divine Skill!’ Xu Ziqing started to spiral in his thoughts, wildly filling in the gaps with his imagination.

Oddly enough, it seemed to make sense logically.

He had understood, if he could not endure the pain and circulate his energy for one full cycle, then all the pain before was in vain.

“No wonder my senior brother told me to be mentally prepared.” Once again, he felt the goodwill of his senior brother.

Thinking of the deaths of his family members, Xu Ziqing, bearing a deep sea of vengeance, was living entirely for revenge at this moment.

He grit his teeth and began to cultivate again.

Chu Huaixu had directly levelled up with experience points, entering the initial stage, raising his pain threshold.

Xu Ziqing, having not achieved anything yet, had a pain threshold similar to an ordinary person, making it hard to endure.

The “Refining Sword Formulas” was indeed the hardest to get started with! Most cultivation techniques related to body refining were actually like this.

The handsome young man turned his deep hatred into strength, nearly fainting from the pain, yet still persisted with gritted teeth.

Finally, he successfully circulated his energy for one full cycle, collapsing to the ground, beginning to breathe heavily.

“Did… did I succeed?” A smile appeared on his face, curled up on the ground, looking somewhat miserable.

Soon, the smile turned into a bitter one, for his acupoints remained tightly blocked.

The path of cultivating a Pseudo Spiritual Embryo is indeed not an easy one.

“As expected, I was overestimating myself, I’m simply not a cultivation genius.” Xu Ziqing felt defeated, the edges of his youthful arrogance smoothed down by reality a bit more.

“I guess, as senior brother said, I am indeed a rookie.” He echoed Chu Huaixu’s words, self-mockingly.

With that thought, he took out the first brocade bag from his bosom.

“Senior brother said, after circulating energy one full cycle, I can open the first brocade bag.” He felt curious, wondering what brilliant advice it contained?

As he opened it, four big characters came into view, causing his pupils to shrink.

——”Practice More If You’re Lousy!”

…

…

On the other side, Chu Huaixu had already arrived beside the Cold Pool.

“Is it starting to emit cold air?” His face grew serious.

Previously, the cold air in the Cold Pool had been absorbed by the Secret Realm, allowing him to enter the pool’s bottom with Acupoint Opening Stage cultivation.

Now, with the cold air regenerating, he had even less time.

“I need to seize the moment while the cold air is not abundant to gather all the experience points from the third round!” Chu Huaixu thought.

He hurriedly jumped down.

The Water-Repelling Bead activated again, yet he still felt some chill.

The further he descended, the more intense the cold became.

If not for his sturdy physique, he might truly find it hard to bear this piercing cold.

Entering the Secret Realm, Chu Huaixu still chose entrance number seven of the cave.

Then, he quickly moved through the maze in the first stage based on the “map” function.

Very soon, he cleared this stage.

At the eleventh crossroads, Chu Huaixu knew ahead was the Illusion Realm.

He walked in, and with a thought, the small black sword attuned to him lightly trembled.

In an instant, the surrounding illusion realm shattered suddenly, just like last time, cracking like a mirror into irregular fissures.

Blinding light streamed through the cracks, making it hard for him to open his eyes.

When everything returned to normal, he stood on the stone slab pavement of an empty area.

“This is already the second time.”

“I can indeed assert, the Illusion Realm was cleaved by the Heart Sword!”

“Thus, it seems that after seeing through the Illusion Realm, there are other ways to pass the second stage.”

“Except, I merely shattered it with a sword?” Chu Huaixu speculated internally.

He closed his eyes and once again carefully sensed the small sword within his Sea of Consciousness.

It, having just shown its might, yet was now in an ailing state.

Chu Huaixu did not linger in this place, possibly still carrying traces of Han Shuangjiang’s presence, and left directly.

He opened the Stone Gate and walked into the third stage.

After all, with no one around, he planned to strip down before entering the water for a beating.

“Can’t ruin a set of clothes with every attempt?”

Upon jumping into the water, the unfolding situation aligned with Chu Huaixu’s expectations.

The suspended stone walls on both sides began to descend, blocking the water flow, turning the underground river back into a pool.

The array began functioning, and the Water Blades stormed in.

After taking a few hits, Body Tempering Liquid began to flow from four holes.

Chu Huaixu clearly felt that the damage from the Water Blades was diminishing.

Clearing another acupoint essentially meant another success in Body Refining, boosting his defense.

As for the minor pain, it was negligible.

What disappointed him though, was that the growth rate of experience points had slowed, more than halving.

“The strengthening effect of the Body Tempering Liquid is ultimately limited.”

“I estimate it’s nearing its ultimate efficacy.”

But, after all, something is better than nothing.

Having nothing better to do, swimming in the pool seems to make you stronger. What’s not to be satisfied with?

Half an hour passed swiftly, with Chu Huaixu leisurely transitioning between backstroke and breaststroke.

He didn’t concern himself with the Water Blades at all.

Once the Water Blades dissipated, he reviewed his recent gains.

“It’s not just halved, only 850 experience points.”

“However, combined with the prior remaining points, it’s just enough to level up to Level 8.” He felt content.

Chu Huaixu climbed out of the water, put on his robe, then took the Spirit Plate from his Storage Token and placed it on a stone pillar.

Putting his palm on the Spirit Plate, the needle turned to scale three.

The Stone Gate opened, and he entered the chamber again.

No system prompt sounded in his ear, nor did he receive the “Pill King Token” instance completion reward again.

“Looks like, the 1000 experience point clearance reward can’t be farmed repeatedly either.”

“No fleece to be gathered!” Chu Huaixu felt a bit more disappointed.

As of now, the only course is to go back the way he came, enter the instance again, and squeeze a bit more experience points purely from the third stage.

With that in mind, he started moving again.

…

…

Mirror Country, Imperial Capital, Hongxiu Restaurant.

Hongxiu Restaurant is a famous brothel in the Imperial Capital, originally a property of the Dual Cultivation Sect, Joy Sect.

However, after the Joy Sect’s demise, Hongxiu Restaurant changed ownership.

Though still a brothel, its operational style has changed.

Unexpectedly, on the central platform, there stood a storyteller eloquently narrating tales.

In a high-end venue, there is no shortage of those who fancy themselves as cultured.

Of course, mainly because this storyteller indeed told excellent stories, vividly bringing the tales of the Cultivation World to life.

Once he finished, quite a number in the outer hall offered him tips.

“You’re quite the storyteller, but your stories are always a bit too short.” Some patrons remarked, wanting more.

“It’s not short, not short at all.” The storyteller smiled slightly, clasping his hands in gratitude toward those who tipped.

After descending from the stage, he found a corner seat in the outer hall to sit down.

His work was done, soon the girls would take the stage to dance.

The storyteller, clad in a white robe, took out a mirror, earnestly inspecting himself, adjusting the bangs of his two dragon whisker strands of hair.

His appearance was ordinary, stature short, yet he gazed into the mirror engrossed.

At the same table sat a burly man.

His skin was rough and dark, hair somewhat disheveled, resembling a middle-aged farmer.

The man’s fingers had very ugly nails, resembling those of an avid nail-biter whose nails had been reshaped over time.

Looking at the mirror-admiring storyteller with helplessness, he couldn’t help but ask:

“Junior Martial Uncle, shouldn’t we set off back to the sect by now?”

…

(ps: Second update, asking for monthly votes.)

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