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Chapter 191 Unknown strength
On the snow-covered summit of Mount Ni in winter, the snow piles up on the fallen leaves, and when you step on them, you hear a rustling sound, one of the most subtle sounds of collapse in the world.

The inner disciples who traveled between the five peaks couldn't help but step out of the main hall and look towards the mountain path.

Then one could see a long trail of footprints starting from the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest and extending all the way to the Inner Courtyard Immortal Abode.

Beneath its footprints lay melted snow, which crackled and turned into a clear spring, covering the withered grass like amber that had not yet solidified.

The Heavenly Academy has five Immortal Palaces, among which the disciples of the Dustless Palace mainly cultivate the Way of Qi Origin.

There is a theory in the Way of Qi that was proposed by Elder Jiao, which is that energy is never generated on its own, but is obtained through the transformation of doing work.

However, the transformation of certain energies is accompanied by an unquenchable heat...

After the winter snow in December, the sun shines warmly on sunny days. Although the bright sunlight is not enough to drive away the cold, it still shines so brightly that it is hard to look directly at it.

At this moment, Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang, instructors from the outer academy, arrived at the Enlightenment Hall through the snow and gently exhaled a puff of white smoke.

Although the new year has not yet arrived, and the autumn competition in the outer courtyard next year is still far away, they still come to check on the disciples' cultivation every five days.

At this time, there were not many disciples left at the Enlightenment Hall.

Only Fang Jincheng, Lu Qingqiu's younger sister Lu Hanyan, Puyang Xing, and a few other disciples were meditating in meditation.

This phenomenon is just like what Cao Jingsong once told Ji You: when they were admitted to the hospital, everyone felt that they would become a great talent.

However, as the gap widens, the Daoist aspirations of many who lag behind will gradually fade.

In the end, only a few who had left the pack far behind, and a few others who were still unwilling to accept defeat, remained.

Lu Qingqiu's younger sister, Lu Hanyan, had already gathered her third beam of profound light, even faster than Pu Yangxing, which pleased Instructor Ma greatly.

Puyang Xing is a student of Instructor Ding and is currently catching up with him.

As for Fang Jincheng, he was personally recruited by the elder of the inner courtyard and is still at the level of a five-star Xuan Guang.

"Fang Jincheng's speed seems to have slowed down?" Ding Ang said softly at the edge of the enlightenment arena.

Ma Zhiyuan nodded: "He delayed his admission for a year, but so far he only has five beams of light, and the speed is getting slower and slower, far worse than the two last year..."

"The lower three realms and the upper five realms are vastly different. The lower three realms cultivate the self, while the upper five realms comprehend the Dao of Heaven. Some people have good aptitude and can progress very quickly in the lower three realms, but their comprehension is extremely poor, making it difficult to advance in the upper five realms. This is not uncommon."

Ding Ang stroked his long beard: "It seems that Ah Xing and the second young lady of the Lu family still have a very high chance."

Ma Zhiyuan nodded, then fell silent, his thoughts becoming somewhat hazy.

As in previous years, they focused all their energy on competing in their disciples' cultivation progress, but they didn't seem to have the same competitive enthusiasm as in previous years.

Even when talking about so-and-so's disciple, who is more skilled, or who has obviously higher talent, their tone is indifferent and weak, as if they can't muster any enthusiasm.

After much thought, I realized there were two reasons.

Firstly, there is no inherently confrontational atmosphere among the outer disciples.

At this time last year, the outer court disciples were all focused on those few who were far ahead of the competition. Those few were constantly chasing and clashing with each other, and even the inner court disciples were secretly watching them.

However, this year, the focus of both outer and inner court disciples is on the inner court.

Coincidentally, no matter how the focus shifted between the inner and outer courts, it ultimately fell on the same person.

The second reason comes from within themselves; to put it bluntly, the rivalry between their instructors has lost its intensity.

In previous years, one of the outer court instructors, a fat man, had such poor footwork that his disciples would become the subject of ridicule every year.

But starting last year, this object of ridicule disappeared, and in its place emerged a huge chest that seemed to burst open.

"I heard from some disciples in the inner courtyard that Ji You has broken through to a higher realm again."

Ding Ang nodded: "Yes, I heard that. It took him half a month to break through to the Profound Realm, which surprised many people."

Ma Zhiyuan pursed his lips: "I really don't know if it's fast or slow."

In the realm of spiritual practice, fast and slow are not absolute concepts, but rather relative ones.

Ji You reached the Upper Realm of Profound Realm in just one year, which is actually considered incredibly fast.

It should be noted that Pan Bin, who was a year ahead of him, and Liu Qichen, who was two years ahead of him, are still only at the same Tongxuan Upper Realm.

The "slow" refers to the process of his breakthrough.

It took him a full half month to break through a minor realm. This speed was almost unmatched even by outer court disciples. Otherwise, it wouldn't have sparked such a large-scale discussion about "not being able to cultivate the body."

A few days ago, the inner and outer colleges held a lecture on this topic, which was attended by the outer college instructors.

What was discussed in the lecture was the prohibition against allowing students with exceptional talent to engage in physical training.

But today, the discussion about "not being able to cultivate the body" has suddenly decreased. The reason for this seems to be the evaluation of Ji You after breaking through the realm by the personal disciples of those several candidates for the Palace Master.

Ma Zhiyuan then looked at Lu Qingqiu, who was protecting her younger sister. She and several sisters, including Lou Siyi and Sun Qiaozhi, were talking about something, their eyes occasionally glancing towards the outer courtyard.

"They say Ji You has a very strong spirit after breaking through the realm."

"Yes, they also said they melted the snow, but I don't know if that's true."

"But combat strength cannot be judged solely by aura. For example, the five hall masters of the inner courtyard have almost no aura around them."

“Aura certainly can’t be considered a standard of combat strength. If he doesn’t make a move, perhaps no one will know just how powerful he is…”

Ma Zhiyuan and Ding Ang chatted back and forth, then looked up at the white sky.

Meanwhile, others would often mention this protracted struggle to break through the barrier.

Some of the senior and junior students in the college were even eager to try this intense heat.

Breaking through a minor realm isn't a big deal; it wouldn't attract much attention, not even in the seven major immortal sects, let alone in those low-ranking mountain villas.

Ultimately, it's because people can't accurately assess Ji You's combat strength at this point.

In the past, people judged combat strength mainly by the level of cultivation realm. However, no one could say for sure what level Ji You, who was able to defeat a King of Soldiers and kill a Xuan Demon at the Tongxuan Middle Realm, was.

At this moment, Ji You, having broken through to the next realm, was in a deep, unconscious sleep.

This breakthrough to a higher realm was indeed not easy, especially towards the end. The intense feeling of constraint was like being wrapped in a viscous substance, bringing a suffocating feeling that was impossible to escape.

Although that feeling was just a mental illusion and not actual suffocation, the panic it brought was the same.

The moment he broke through, exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, dulling his senses.

Then, a figure dressed in loose clothing drifted in and stood in his room for a long time, fiddling with this and that, and then putting everything back to its original state, without even changing the position of the dust.

Finally, he calculated with his fingers and threw three pieces of charcoal—the number allowed by a fixed amount—into the nearly burnt-out furnace.

Then, with a gentle flick of his finger, flames rose.

Ji You slept as if she were dead, completely unaware of anything, only kicking off the blankets as the temperature in the bedroom gradually rose.

Then the loose, slouching figure quietly disappeared from the house, without causing a ripple in the wind or leaving a trace on the snow.

The sound sleep lasted until noon on the second day. By then, the winter snow in December had stopped, and the snowmelt that had melted in the midday sun dripped down the eaves, only to freeze into hanging icicles in the afternoon.

After waking up, Ji You was somewhat dazed and confused. After a long while, she got up and walked towards the academy at the foot of the mountain.

"Done?"

"Yes, it's done."

Upon waking, Ji You arrived at Cao Jingsong's courtyard, bathed in the midday sun.

Because he had sweated profusely during his breakthrough, his immortal robe had already been soaked through. At this moment, Ji You had changed into a scholar's robe, with a scholar's cloak draped over it. His aura was restrained, and his strength was unreadable.

As Cao Jingsong brewed tea, he sized up Ji You before finally sitting down on the soft cushions of the stone bench, looking slightly bewildered.

During the days that Ji You was in a coma, there were many different opinions circulating in the outer courtyard.

Some say that after breaking through to the next realm, he melted the snow in the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest with his scalding, while others say that he scalded the inner courtyard female disciples so much that they couldn't sleep at night with tears in their eyes. Some even say that his clothes were burned through and that he went back naked.

Of course, whether the reason for being naked from the heat or from being extremely aroused remains uncertain.

After all, there are different accents throughout the Nine Provinces.

The most exaggerated version of the story goes that he could be described as someone who could ascend to the celestial realm with a single stomp of his foot.

However, at this moment, Cao Jingsong felt that Ji You's current situation was not as exaggerated as the rumors suggested.

"Try releasing your breath outwards."

Ji You looked at him and said wearily, "Why are you playing it out loud? It's exhausting."

Cao Jingsong immediately put on a serious expression: "Just release it when I tell you to!"

How much money can I get for projecting my aura?

"I've really brought a god upon myself!"

Cao Jingsong's beard trembled with anger. He then took out his money pouch and pulled out a large amount of loose silver.

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin pushed open the door and entered. They had actually visited Ji You in her courtyard last night, but Ji You was asleep at the time, so they did not disturb her. They rushed over after receiving the news.

As soon as they pushed open the door, they saw Cao Jingsong taking out silver and handing it to Ji You, and couldn't help but hiss.

Is this guy trying to rob people right after breaking through to a higher realm, relying on his increased strength? How pathetic!
Ji You accepted the silver and looked up to see Wen Zhengxin and Ban Yangshu: "Senior brother and senior sister?"

Cao Jingsong looked at them and said, "You've come at the right time, have a seat."

Ban Yangshu waved his hand: "No, I just remembered I have some things to do..."

Wen Zhengxin smiled and replied, "It seems there's still tea brewing in my room..."

"?"

Cao Jingsong later realized they had misunderstood and quickly explained that it wasn't a robbery, but rather that Ji You's aura was emanating outwards and he needed to spend money. Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin, sitting on the stone bench, thought to themselves, "What's the difference between this and robbery?"

Ji You then began to open the energy channels around his body, guiding the omnipresent spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body.

Once the spiritual energy was abundant, Ji You gently clenched her fist and began to release her aura, which gradually increased.

Before long, a howling wind gathered around him, carrying a scorching aura that instantly spread into the courtyard, causing the osmanthus tree in the boudoir to rustle loudly.

At this moment, Ji You could feel an even more surging energy flowing through his body. Especially after his essence, energy and spirit were fully nourished, he felt a sense of heroic pride, as if he hated that the heavens had no handle and the earth had no ring.

However, the meridians in his arm are not yet fully unblocked, and the flow of energy there will cause a soreness.

In addition, he discovered that the improvement in his realm had another effect on him, which came from his physical body.

Just now, as the spiritual energy within Ji You's body continued to fill up, the spiritual energy carried by the shattered spiritual essence ignited a spiritual fire under his slight mental movement.

At this moment, the powerful sense of peace brought about by the sixteenth micro-illumination seemed to have vanished...

Another point is that when he used his divine sense to look inward, he discovered that his spiritual essence was even more severely shattered.

Cao Jingsong then called a halt to it.

The leap in a minor realm does not actually grant cultivators more supernatural abilities; the changes it causes are merely an increase in spiritual energy and divine sense, which ultimately translates into a leap in combat power.

Therefore, simply observing his aura circulation is not enough to determine Ji You's current combat strength.

"Half a month, Ji You, do you know that even students with less talent than you have never taken this long?"

Cao Jingsong couldn't help but sigh.

Although Ji You was his unfilial disciple, he had never worried about his cultivation. Apart from giving this wicked disciple some guidance when he was comprehending the Heavenly Book, he had never inquired about anything else related to enlightenment and breakthroughs.

It wasn't that Cao Jingsong didn't care about him; rather, the difference in their talents was undeniable, and Cao Jingsong didn't want to mislead him with his superficial understanding of the Dao.

That's why he never questioned Ji You's obsession with body refinement.

It wasn't until this breakthrough to the Profound Realm, which took Ji You longer than the others, that Ji You began to worry.

Body tempering is truly a waste of one's cultivation talent, and it will indeed negate a cultivator's affinity with the Dao.

Upon hearing this, Ji You picked up her teacup and said, "I understand what you mean, instructor. Physical strength does indeed hinder my progress in breaking through realms, but combat power has always been my pursuit, so I will probably continue to refine my body."

Cao Jingsong pursed his lips: "This is just a small breakthrough, and it's already so difficult. Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to successfully merge with the Dao in the end?"

"It all depends on human effort. Since I've already cultivated to this point, it's just a matter of adding more flour if there's too much water, and adding more water if there's too much flour. Besides, I've always felt that as long as I can maintain a balance between my physical body and my spiritual mind, my cultivation method might not be wrong."

"My talent is not as good as yours, my unfilial disciple, so I can't give you much advice. But you should still be careful when it comes to cultivating your physical body."

"Don't worry, it will stop when it realizes something is wrong."

Ji You put down her teacup and whispered something.

After breaking through two realms in one night in Yuyang County, his spiritual essence shattered, and in theory, he should not be able to continue cultivating.

But for Ji You, being able to repair it to this extent is like getting it for free.

The essence of spiritual practice is to follow the natural course of things. Since things have already come to this, he felt that continuing to practice in this way was also a way of following the natural course of things.

However, as Cao Jingsong said, reaching the Profound Realm is only the first step. His next challenge is how to break through to the Fusion Realm.

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin are both cultivators at the Fusion Dao Realm. Seeing that Ji You has reached this stage, they also shared their own experiences in Fusion Dao.

The Tongxuan realm emphasizes observing the Dao of Heaven, while the Rongdao realm involves integrating the observed Dao into oneself.

For example, among the five halls of the inner courtyard, there are those who focus on the Way of Power, whose attacks are like mountains, with unparalleled strength; those who focus on the Way of the Four Symbols, whose thunderous magic is overwhelming, using wind as a shield; and there are also the Way of Light and Darkness, the Way of Blossoming Flowers, and the Way of Flowing Water, each different, corresponding to the myriad Great Daos.

The opportunity to merge into one realm of Dao lies in establishing the Dao.

Some cultivators establish their Dao in mountains and rivers, some in the mysterious sea, and some in the stars.

It is said that the more vast the path one has attained, the more boundless one's spiritual cultivation becomes.

However, the chosen path is not a subjective choice, but rather a contemplation that arises from the depths of a cultivator's heart when breaking through from the Profound Realm to the Fusion Realm. It originates from destiny or is a recurring thought.

When a cultivator finds the opportunity to establish their Dao, they can enter the process of merging with the Dao.

Afterwards, one can focus on cultivating physical strength, light and darkness, and heavenly secrets, relying on the various techniques of the Heavenly Academy to enhance combat power and gradually improve one's realm.

In this realm, as the cultivator's understanding of the Dao deepens, the feedback from the Dao they receive will become increasingly intense.

Therefore, what Ji You needs to do now is to first stabilize his current realm, continue to observe the Dao, and then comprehend the secrets of heaven and question his own heart and destiny.

Wen Zhengxin stated frankly that the path he had chosen was the Inner Courtyard's Free Mountain.

When she first merged with the Dao, it was during a time of competition with He Lingxiu, and the Free Mountain in the inner courtyard was what she had been contemplating.

Ji You looked up at this moment, thinking to himself, "Oh no, it's not going to land on my snow-white toes, is it?" After thinking for a long time, he looked at Ban Yangshu and asked, "What is the path that Senior Brother Ban has chosen?"

Ban Yangshu gently put down his teacup: "A wall."

"Isn't bigger always better?"

"In fact, in my opinion, the matter of determining the Dao may not have any impact on your future cultivation path. At least I don't feel that way. So I think that merging with the Dao still depends on your understanding of the Heavenly Dao. Determining the Dao is just a process. Nobody usually talks about this kind of thing."

Cao Jingsong couldn't help but speak up at this point: "Not necessarily."

Ban Yangshu looked up at the sound: "?"

“What you students see is different from what we instructors see. As far as I know, there are people in the inner academy whose cultivation has advanced rapidly because of the establishment of the Dao. Chai Ze is one of them.”

Cao Jingsong placed his hands on his knees: "For thousands of years, the seven great immortal sects and the thousand-year-old families have been deeply researching the path to immortality. As for the matter of establishing the Dao, it may seem insignificant to us, but they may have already discovered its mysteries, but they just don't tell anyone."

Ji You clicked her tongue twice after hearing this: "Is it bloodline monopoly again?"

"That's not wrong, because apart from Chai Ze, He Lingxiu and You Buyu are actually the same."

"The Chai family...?"

Cao Jingsong nodded: "The family to which the Lord of the Hall of Longevity, Chai Hu, belongs, is headed by Chai Ze, the direct descendant of the main branch of the Chai family."

Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin frowned: "So there's such a thing..."

"The resources in the cultivation world are like the taxes of the Azure Cloud Realm; they are never equal. Even if you join a cultivation sect, the difference between your background and your origins is huge. Some things are not things you can't access no matter how hard you try, but things you might never even know no matter how hard you try. That's the reality."

After a long silence, Ji You spoke up: "So where would be the best place to establish the Dao? Does the instructor have any information to share?"

Cao Jingsong shook his head: "I don't know, but as long as you don't fixate on money, I think it's pretty good."

Wen Zhengxin turned his head at this moment: "To be honest, I think Junior Brother is very likely to choose silver."

Ban Yangshu wholeheartedly agreed: "To attain enlightenment through inquiring into one's heart, sometimes one's contemplation represents the desires within one's heart..."

Upon hearing this, Ji You chuckled: "Then it seems that if Immortal Emperor Rulong were to merge with the Dao, he would probably have to fix it to his buttocks."

"Junior brother is absolutely right."

"By the way, speaking of Ryu, why didn't he come? It's been so long since I've seen his wallet, I miss him terribly."

Ji You smiled and said, "Could it be that you couldn't break through and had been in seclusion for too long?"

Ban Yangshu glanced at him sideways: "It seems he's recently found a Daoist partner."

Wen Zhengxin nodded: "After he came back, he went into seclusion for three days, saying that cultivation was too tiring and that it was better not to look at the round buttocks and tails. So he spent all his time wandering around the outer courtyard."

"?"

Just then, Cao Jingsong's courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open.

As the Dragon Immortal Emperor entered with an air of nonchalance, his face glowing with health and his demeanor as gentle as a spring breeze, he exclaimed, "Brother Ji, you have finally broken through to the next realm!"

Ji You couldn't help but narrow her eyes, quite dissatisfied with his behavior of indulging in romance while she was working hard to break through to the next level. She decided to punish his money bag, so her expression was quite unfriendly.

Emperor Rulong was also quite astute. He felt a sudden chill run down his spine, about two inches below his heart, where he was holding his money pouch. He immediately changed the subject and started talking about the woman he had met that day.

They talked about reciting poems and making merry together, strolling arm in arm, showing off to everyone.

After Emperor Rulong finished speaking, he looked at Ji You and said, "Brother Ji, the New Year is just over halfway through. There will definitely be a lantern festival in Shengjing City then. Why don't you invite a few of your fiancées to come and stroll with us?"

Ji You: "Hehe."

Emperor Rulong suppressed his smile and realized that the chill two inches below his heart had not lessened at all, and had even become slightly more intense. He immediately became alert, wondering what had provoked the ruthless bandit in front of him.

In fact, cultivators of the same age as Ji You, especially those who have no hope of breaking through to the next realm, have recently found Daoist partners.

Earlier, when he came down the mountain from the inner courtyard, he saw someone go into the grove.

Everyone says he has many fiancées, but in the end, he's still all alone.

Ji You patted his robe and stood up, looking at the snow reflecting the sunlight: "Let's go, let's go down the mountain."

Cao Jingsong stood up at this moment, his chest swelling up as if inflated: "I'll go with you."

"what are you going to do?"

"I'm not going down the mountain. I'm just going to visit the Enlightenment Center. I haven't been there for several days. I wonder if Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding miss me. Hahaha."

Ji You couldn't help but grin, thinking to himself that Instructor Ma and Instructor Ding were really in for a world of trouble.

Establish the Way...

He muttered something to himself, then left the courtyard and headed down the mountain.

Meanwhile, the disciples in the enlightenment field, the two instructors Martin and Martin, and countless eyes in the outer courtyard turned to look at Ji You, who had been in seclusion for a long time and was making his first public appearance.

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(End of this chapter)