Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

October 28th, early morning.

In the small world, sunlight streamed through the windows of the bamboo house, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Chen Yu sat cross-legged in the cultivation room, slowly finishing his practice and exhaling a breath of stale air.

After three days of recuperation (thirty days in the small world), the side effects of the Explosive Spirit Pill finally disappeared completely. Not only that, but after being tempered by that battle, his cultivation became more solid, and he faintly touched the threshold of the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

"With a little more cultivation, I should be able to break through." Chen Yu opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

He stood up and walked to the window. Outside, Qin Huairu was busy in the spirit field—she was wearing the coarse cloth clothes he had given her, her sleeves rolled up, carefully watering the spirit herbs. Sunlight shone on her face, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but her expression was focused and earnest.

Chen Yu felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he watched this scene. No matter how much wind and rain there was outside, as long as she was by his side, this was the safest harbor.

He went downstairs and stepped out of the bamboo house. Qin Huairu heard his footsteps, looked up at him, and smiled, "You're awake? How are you feeling?"

"I'm much better." Chen Yu walked over and took the water ladle from her hand. "You've had a hard time these past few days."

"What's so hard about it?" Qin Huairu wiped her sweat. "Anyway, I have nothing else to do, so growing some crops is quite nice. Look how well those medicinal herbs are growing."

Chen Yu looked at the spirit field, and indeed, the plants were growing very well. The spiritual herbs transplanted from the cave heaven were thriving much more than they had been outside, thanks to the nourishment of the spiritual energy of the small world. Some of them had even blossomed, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

"Once these medicinal herbs mature, we can refine a lot of pills," Chen Yu said.

"Then I'll have to take good care of them," Qin Huairu said with a smile.

The two returned to the bamboo house, where Qin Huairu brought out a bowl of porridge she had cooked—there was no grain in the small world, so she had cooked it with millet she had brought in from outside, along with a few pickled vegetables; it was simple but delicious.

After finishing their meal, Chen Yu looked at Qin Huairu earnestly and said, "Huairu, there's something I need to tell you."

Qin Huairu put down her bowl: "What is it?"

"The enemies outside are stronger than we imagined," Chen Yu said. "The elder I chased away was just a mid-level figure in their organization. There are even more powerful Golden Core stage experts above them."

Qin Huairu's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure: "So what do you plan to do?"

"I think..." Chen Yu paused, "I'll settle you in first, and then go out for a bit."

"Where to?"

"Yunnan. A grotto-heaven," Chen Yu said. "I need to use the spiritual energy of the earth veins there to break through to a higher realm. Moreover, there are more secrets within the Five Elements Spirit Pearls; perhaps we can find a way to deal with the Xuanming Palace."

Qin Huairu was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I'll go with you."

"No," Chen Yu shook his head. "This is too dangerous. I can't let you take the risk."

"But……"

"No buts." Chen Yu held her hand. "Your presence here is the greatest support you can give me. I promise you, I will come back safely."

Qin Huairu looked into his eyes for a long time, then nodded: "I'll wait for you."

That day, Chen Yu adjusted the time flow of the small world to the lowest ratio of 1:2 (one day outside is two days inside), so that Qin Huairu wouldn't feel the time was too long. He also set up several simple defensive formations around the bamboo house to ensure her safety.

Once everything was ready, he exited the small world and appeared in the front courtyard.

The courtyard was a mess—half of the wall had collapsed, roof tiles were scattered all over the ground, and the pomegranate tree was broken. But Chen Yu didn't care about any of that. He changed into clean clothes and went straight to the neighborhood office.

Director Wang was surprised to see him: "Xiao Chen? Where have you been these past few days? What happened to your yard?"

"There was a slight accident; the wall collapsed," Chen Yu said briefly. "Director Wang, I'd like to ask for a few days off to go back to my hometown."

"Go back to your hometown? At this time?" Director Wang frowned. "Your shop just opened. Can Huai Ru manage on her own?"

"She went back to her parents' home, and Aunt Zhang will temporarily look after the shop," Chen Yu had already prepared his explanation.

Director Wang didn't ask any more questions and gave him a letter of introduction.

After leaving the neighborhood office, Chen Yu went to "Huaixiu Snacks" again. Zhang Xiulan was busy in the shop. Seeing him, she greeted him warmly, "Little Chen's here? Where's Huairu?"

"She went back to her parents' home, so I'm helping her with the shop these past few days," Chen Yu said.

"Oh dear, you young people are really something, you can't even settle down after opening a shop," Zhang Xiulan laughed. "But don't worry, I'll take care of things at the shop."

Chen Yu nodded, sat in the shop for a while, and chatted with a few regular customers. He did this to create the illusion that he was still in Beijing—at least to make those secretly monitoring him believe that he was still there.

In the evening, he returned to the courtyard, entered the small world to have dinner with Qin Huairu, and then came out again.

Late at night, he quietly left Beijing and boarded a train heading south.

October 30th, evening.

Chen Yu stood in front of the Temple of the Fire God once again.

Abbot Zhou seemed to have known he was coming and was already waiting at the door. Upon seeing him, the old monk put his hands together in prayer: "Benefactor Chen, we meet again."

"Abbot Zhou, I apologize for disturbing you."

"It's alright." Abbot Zhou looked at him. "Your aura is more solid than last time, but it also carries a hint of weakness. Have you been injured?"

Chen Yu was filled with admiration. Although this old monk had no cultivation, his eyesight was astonishing.

"Yes, fighting with others has taken a toll on my energy."

Abbot Zhou nodded, asked no further questions, and simply stepped aside, saying, "Please proceed, benefactor."

Chen Yu entered the temple and went straight up the mountain without stopping.

Upon entering the grotto again, everything was as before. The Five Elements Spirit Pearl sensed his arrival, vibrated gently, and emitted a pleasant ringing sound.

Chen Yu walked up to the Spirit Pearl and touched it. Instantly, a warm energy surged into his body, nourishing his still somewhat weak meridians.

"Thank you," he said softly.

The spirit pearl trembled again, as if in response.

Chen Yu sat cross-legged in the core hall and swallowed a Nine-Turn Golden Pill—the last one. Then, he adjusted the time flow of the small world to the highest ratio of one to ten and began his seclusion.

The golden elixir transformed into a powerful medicinal force, exploding within his body. He gritted his teeth and circulated his cultivation technique, guiding the medicinal force to cleanse his meridians and break through the barrier of the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Once, twice, three times...

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly a loud noise hit my mind—

Breakthrough successful! Foundation Establishment Stage 6!

Chen Yu opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with a sharp light.

But he didn't stop; he continued cultivating. The sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage wasn't enough; he wanted to break through to the seventh level, or even higher!

In this little world, time passes day by day.

When he ran out of the Qi-Nourishing Pills, he refined them himself using the mature herbs from the spirit field. Although the quality wasn't as good as the ones he got from the system, it was better than nothing.

When he got tired of cultivating, he would go to see Qin Huairu, talk to her, have a meal with her, and then come back to continue.

When one hundred days had passed in the small world, he broke through to the mid-stage of the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Two hundred days passed in the small world, and he broke through to the late stage of the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Three hundred days passed in the small world, and he broke through to the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment stage!

Breakthrough successful! Foundation Establishment Stage 7!

Chen Yu opened his eyes, feeling the surging true energy within his body, more than ten times stronger than before. If he were to face that gray-robed elder again now, he was confident he could kill him within thirty moves!

But he knew it wasn't enough. The Xuanming Palace had experts at the Golden Core stage, and the difference between the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages was qualitative, not something that quantity could compensate for.

"It needs to be stronger," he murmured.

The Five Elements Spirit Pearl seemed to sense his resolve, giving a slight tremor as a surge of information flooded into his mind—

It is the true secret of the cave.

It turns out that this grotto-heaven is not only a sacred place for cultivation, but also suppresses an ancient battlefield. Countless treasures are buried within the battlefield, and countless ferocious beasts are sealed away. If one can enter the battlefield and obtain ancient inheritances, it is possible to break through to the Golden Core stage, or even higher.

However, the battlefield is dangerous, and one needs at least the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage to enter.

"Ninth level of Foundation Establishment..." Chen Yu took a deep breath.

He looked towards the direction of the small world. Qin Huairu was still waiting for him.

But he couldn't stop. For her, for everyone he cared about, he had to become stronger.

"I'll cultivate for a while longer and try to break through to the eighth level."

He closed his eyes and entered a meditative state once again.

Outside the small world, Beijing.

The people from the Xuanming Palace reappeared. This time, they brought three experts at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, along with the gray-robed elder—at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Are you sure Chen Yu isn't in Beijing?" the leader of the men in black asked.

"I'm sure." The gray-robed old man gritted his teeth. "He must have hidden in that cave."

"A grotto-heaven..." the man in black sneered, "Then let him stay inside forever."

He waved, and the group headed towards Yunnan.

A storm is coming.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu was still deep within the cave, racing against time.