Chapter 181
With Zhuang Ye's agreement, things became much easier for Qiu Chi.
Whether it was changing his spirit root to a single type or helping him reach the Nascent Soul stage, neither was a difficult task for Qiu Chi.
However, since he was only in the early Golden Core stage, some time was needed for the transition. Qiu Chi first changed his spirit root into a single fire spirit root, then helped him advance to the mid-Golden Core stage.
Even so, when Zhuang Ye appeared before Tao Zhiyuan, Tao Zhiyuan was still shocked. "How did your cultivation advance so quickly? Didn't you just form your Golden Core not long ago?"
Zhuang Ye always acted like a simpleton in front of Tao Zhiyuan. As if he hadn't noticed Tao Zhiyuan's displeasure, he chuckled and said, "I had a bit of a fortuitous encounter recently. It cleansed my water and wood spirit roots and turned me into a single fire spirit root. The pill's spiritual power was so strong that I broke through in one go."
Tao Zhiyuan's lips twitched as he forced out, "Congratulations."
"Hehe, I never expected to be so lucky. I'm already at the mid-Golden Core stage. I'll be able to catch up to you soon, Brother Tao. You'll have to work hard too."
Tao Zhiyuan, who was already forcing a smile, nearly let his expression darken completely. "Cultivation isn't that easy. You can't be lucky every day. It'll still be difficult for you to catch up to me."
Despite his words, Tao Zhiyuan felt an even greater sense of urgency.
After all, if Zhuang Ye could cultivate so quickly with three spirit roots by relying on pills, his progress would likely be even faster now with a single spirit root. Meanwhile, he himself was still stuck, unable to form a Nascent Soul.
If this continued, Zhuang Ye might actually surpass him.
Tao Zhiyuan lowered his gaze, feeling as if the heavens were deliberately making things difficult for him.
He was clearly exceptionally talented, yet he was stuck at the late Golden Core stage, unable to form a Nascent Soul. Even Ge Yanling, who had come to this world with him and was a good-for-nothing with five spirit roots, had already formed her Golden Core.
Was he inferior to even Ge Yanling? That couldn't be right. It must be that this world only allowed one person from another world to exist. Ge Yanling's presence must be what was hindering his path to the Nascent Soul stage.
Tao Zhiyuan couldn't help but think again of the whip Qiu Chi had struck him with.
He, the other cultivators present, and Tianming all refused to believe that a mere Golden Core cultivator like Qiu Chi could be so powerful. They all suspected the whip in her hand might be an immortal artifact; otherwise, how could even a Divine Transformation cultivator have been so utterly powerless against it?
Unfortunately, she had escaped, and Tianming had locked him up here, making it impossible for him to go search for her.
If he could get his hands on that immortal artifact...
Tao Zhiyuan's thoughts began to wander, and it took Zhuang Ye calling out to him several times to bring him back to his senses.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something. What were you saying?"
Zhuang Ye didn't seem to mind Tao Zhiyuan's distraction at all. He chuckled. "That's not necessarily true. Maybe I will be lucky every day. Yesterday, I was an early-stage Golden Core with three spirit roots, and now I'm a mid-stage Golden Core with a single spirit root, right? Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, I'll reach the late Golden Core stage."
At this, Zhuang Ye nudged Tao Zhiyuan with his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe I'll even form my Nascent Soul before you do."
Zhuang Ye's words seemed casual, but they made Tao Zhiyuan's heart lurch.
Then he decided he was overthinking it. "It's not that easy. You shouldn't daydream. Just focus on cultivating properly."
"Hey, don't be so quick to dismiss it. Everything I'm saying is true. Maybe I'm the so-called 'chosen one.' I was just biding my time, and now that my opportunity has arrived, my luck is through the roof. My cultivation is bound to skyrocket."
The more Zhuang Ye spoke, the more absurd he sounded. Hearing this, Tao Zhiyuan actually felt a sense of relief, and his smile became a little more genuine. "Alright, as long as you're happy. You're the chosen one, and now that your opportunity has come, your cultivation will skyrocket."
He said this, but it was clear he didn't take the words seriously.
Zhuang Ye's eyes darted around. Without another word, he handed Tao Zhiyuan a storage bag. "Here. These are newly refined pills from my father. It wasn't easy for me to get them. I only did it because I feel bad seeing you tormented by Venerable Tianming all day. Otherwise, I wouldn't risk getting a beating for this."
"But I kept some for myself, too. I'm going to try cultivating with them today. The cultivation speed of a single spirit root, combined with these pills, is sure to be twice as effective with half the effort, hehehe."
Tao Zhiyuan, who had been about to politely refuse, paused for a moment before accepting the storage bag. "Thanks. I have to enter the illusionary realm every day lately, and it really does consume a lot of pills."
"Of course. We're brothers, after all."
After seeing Tao Zhiyuan off, Zhuang Ye returned to his room, activated a barrier, and asked, "I did everything you said. Are you sure it will work? And about those pills—why do you want him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"
Among the pills Zhuang Ye had given Tao Zhiyuan was a bottle of Nascent Soul Pills. It wasn't impossible for Tao Zhiyuan to forcibly form a Nascent Soul by taking them, though his strength would likely be a far cry from those who achieved it through diligent effort. Still, he would have reached the Nascent Soul stage.
Zhuang Ye didn't understand why Qiu Chi wanted to do this.
Qiu Chi leisurely explained to him, "Today, you planted a seed in his mind. Tomorrow, when he sees that you've really reached the late Golden Core stage, he'll become desperate to form his Nascent Soul."
"He'll take the Nascent Soul Pill and successfully force his breakthrough, only to emerge and find that you're already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. How stimulating do you think that will be?"
Zhuang Ye was speechless. Stimulating. Very stimulating. Knowing Tao Zhiyuan, he would absolutely be angered to the point of coughing up blood. His mental state might even become so unstable that his newly achieved Nascent Soul cultivation would collapse. That would be an even greater blow to him.
The more Zhuang Ye thought about it, the more he actually looked forward to that scene.
Seeing the twisted smile spread across Zhuang Ye's face, Qiu Chi promptly left.
Tao Zhiyuan reaching the Nascent Soul stage was nothing. Just wait until the sect competition, when a whole row of Divine Transformation cultivators would be there to blind their "titanium alloy dog eyes."
And then there was Zhuang Ye. Qiu Chi seriously questioned his feelings for Tao Zhiyuan. The Tianyuan Sect had plenty of talented cultivators, so why was he so fixated on Tao Zhiyuan?
After so many years of treating him with such utter devotion, had it really not blossomed into some... indescribable romantic feelings?
Perhaps he had already fallen in love but just hadn't realized it himself?
So, was her interference turning their story into a tragic, profound romance?
A pity, though. There probably wouldn't be a "crematorium" arc.
Qiu Chi's mind wandered for a while before she shifted her attention back to Tao Zhiyuan.
Tao Zhiyuan was staring blankly at the bottle of Nascent Soul Pills.
"I will succeed in forming a Nascent Soul. I must."
Qiu Chi wasn't the only one observing Tao Zhiyuan; Tianming was watching as well.
He saw Tao Zhiyuan clutching a bottle of pills, muttering about succeeding, and couldn't help but sneer. "Idiot. To think he managed to form a Golden Core with such a weak mental state. The heavens must be blind."
Tao Zhiyuan felt the heavens were unfair to him, while Tianming felt the heavens favored him far too much. To think he hadn't been plagued by inner demons during his Golden Core formation and had actually succeeded.
Although he had been stuck at the late Golden Core stage for a century, what was a hundred years in the cultivation world, where cultivators often went into seclusion for decades at a time?
Should he say that Tao Zhiyuan was truly worthy of being their hope for ascension?
Qiu Chi, who was watching everything, really wanted to say: The two of you are cut from the same cloth. Instead of scolding him, you should be commiserating with him.
But it was a pity. The two of them were both incredibly petty and found each other completely disagreeable.
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