The moment she sensed the changes inside her body, Fu Yan knew she was on the verge of a breakthrough. As long as she could successfully open up her sea of qi, she would step into the Enlightenment Stage.
Something suddenly occurred to her, and she hurriedly opened her storage pouch, taking out the Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower inside.
It was the very same Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower those people from the Zilan Sect had tossed to her before.
“I didn’t expect this flower would end up being used by me.”
Fu Yan looked at the Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower in her hand and couldn’t help but smile. By a twist of fate, she had gotten her hands on a treasure. If those two from the Zilan Sect found out, they’d probably be so furious they’d cough up blood.
Thinking this, Fu Yan stopped hesitating. She promptly swallowed the Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower, then closed her eyes again, preparing to open up a sea of qi within her body in one go.
Fu Yan guided the restless spiritual energy, ramming it straight into her dantian. Her whole body trembled, but she still gritted her teeth and endured. The surging spiritual power felt as if it was about to blow her apart from the inside.
But very quickly, everything calmed down again.
The first attempt at opening her qi sea had failed.
Opening a sea of qi within one’s own body was never easy. Anyone who could succeed in a single try would never be some nameless nobody. With Fu Yan’s aptitude and no one to guide her, failing the first time was nothing unusual.
So she didn’t feel disappointed.
After adjusting her breathing slightly, Fu Yan once again circulated the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy, preparing for a second attempt.
The first time, she had been too eager to open her qi sea and had grown impatient. So this time, she deliberately calmed her mind, slowly guiding the spiritual energy to circulate through her body.
As time flowed by, Fu Yan, still sitting on the ground, slowly opened her eyes again. Beads of sweat densely covered her pale forehead, and her brows were tightly furrowed.
The second attempt had failed as well.
“This body’s aptitude really is too ordinary. It’s already gone through the refining pool’s tempering, yet it’s still far from ideal.”
Fu Yan shook her head helplessly, but she didn’t give up.
With the lessons learned from the first two failures, this time Fu Yan moved much more smoothly. She slowly guided the spiritual energy toward her dantian, where it seemed like a chaotic little universe.
In that pitch-black expanse, Fu Yan led the spiritual energy around in search, and eventually discovered a tiny speck of light. Without the slightest hesitation, she gathered all the spiritual energy and charged straight at that point of light.
In that instant, a tremendous impact force exploded from within her body.
“Open!”
Sweat had already soaked through her temples, but she didn’t care. As the spiritual energy slammed into the point of light, she couldn’t help letting out a low growl.
The next moment, the previously rampant aura suddenly settled down. Sitting cross-legged, Fu Yan opened her eyes. She was panting heavily as if she had just sprinted a thousand meters, letting the sweat gather on her forehead and slowly roll down her cheeks.
“Finally… finally succeeded!”
Fu Yan wiped away the sweat with her sleeve and couldn’t help breaking into a brilliant smile.
After three attempts, she had finally opened up her qi sea. Now, Fu Yan had stepped into the early Enlightenment Stage. She could even clearly sense the true essence within her body, that power surging and roaring like a tide.
She had always known there was a world of difference between the Foundation Establishment and Enlightenment stages. Only after personally experiencing it did she truly understand just how vulnerable a Foundation Establishment cultivator was in front of someone in the Enlightenment Stage.
After a brief rest, Fu Yan started circulating the Frost Tempering Body Art again to calm her overly excited body.
The Frost Tempering Body Art was not easy to cultivate. At her current level, Fu Yan had barely stepped through the door; she was still far from even the first stage. But she could already feel the strength in the movement technique it contained.
“Looks like this isn’t some ordinary fifth-grade body-tempering art.”
Fu Yan guessed it might be second-grade, or even third-grade.
At that thought, her heartbeat quickened. If it really was a third-grade art, she’d struck it rich.
In the days that followed, Fu Yan split her time between cultivating the Frost Tempering Body Art to stabilize her new realm and going through the sword techniques the body’s original owner had practiced, from beginning to end, until she was fully familiar with them.
In the dim cave, there was no way to tell the time, so Fu Yan had no idea how long she’d been cultivating there. By her rough estimate, it should have been three or four days.
She had no idea whether that Bloodthirsty Ice Wolf was still outside.
Only after fully stabilizing her cultivation did Fu Yan finally rise slowly to her feet. It was time to leave. With her current strength, she no longer feared the Bloodthirsty Ice Wolf.
Before going, Fu Yan naturally didn’t throw away the broken sword—Linglong Sword. A broken sword that contained such a high-level body-tempering art was clearly no ordinary weapon.
If she thought boldly, it might even be some high-grade spirit artifact.
Moreover, when she had been practicing sword techniques in the cave, Fu Yan had been using this Linglong Sword. Though broken, its power was nothing to scoff at.
After tidying herself up, Fu Yan followed the same passage she had used to enter, slowly feeling her way back out.
Before long, she finally saw light shining ahead.
“I’m finally out!”
Fu Yan couldn’t help her delight and unconsciously quickened her pace. In just a few breaths, she reached the crack in the rock.
Unsure whether the Bloodthirsty Ice Wolf was still around, Fu Yan lowered her gaze and carefully peered down. Only after triple-checking did she come to the conclusion that it had likely left.
After all, several days had passed. No matter how patient a demonic beast was, it still had to return to its lair eventually.
In truth, Fu Yan felt a bit disappointed. She had just broken through to the Enlightenment Stage and really wanted to test her current strength. Although an adult Bloodthirsty Ice Wolf’s cultivation was comparable to the late Enlightenment Stage, it still wasn’t as intelligent as a human. She might not be able to kill it, but exchanging a few moves shouldn’t have been a problem.
“Forget it. I should hurry back to the sect.”
The deadline for the mission to kill the flower-picking pervert was probably about to arrive. Even if she didn’t know whether that pervert was dead or not, she still had to return and give an account.
With that in mind, Fu Yan didn’t linger. She headed straight for the edge of the Red-Black Mountain Range. She could fly by sword now, but within this dense forest, it wasn’t very convenient.
Before the sun went down, Fu Yan finally walked out of the Red-Black Mountain Range.
She had barely gone far when she realized she was being followed. Two somewhat familiar auras trailed behind her at a distance. Fu Yan paused for a moment, then slowly smiled.
“I haven’t gone looking for you yet, but you’ve come knocking on my door first.”
The ones tailing Fu Yan were precisely the two Zilan Sect disciples she had run into earlier in the depths of the mountain forest—the very pair who had plotted against her and nearly cost her her life.
After scheming against Fu Yan that day to escape, Liu Chuanhan and his companion hadn’t left the Red-Black Mountain Range. They’d stayed to continue tempering themselves in the forest.
Just now, while they were picking a stalk of spirit herb, Liu Chuanhan suddenly sensed Fu Yan’s aura.
When he discovered that not only was Fu Yan still alive, but she had even broken through to the early Enlightenment Stage, his gaze grew cold. He immediately took his junior sister Xu Yan and flew after her on his sword.
Liu Chuanhan was at mid Enlightenment Stage, his true essence far denser than Fu Yan’s. In no time at all, he caught up and landed steadily right in front of her.
He stared at Fu Yan with a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes and spoke slowly.
“You really are quite lucky, girl. Not only did you not die, you even broke through. I suppose it’s thanks to us that you got such an opportunity.”
“What do you want?”
Fu Yan stopped and stared coldly at Liu Chuanhan standing in front of her.
At this moment, Xu Yan also caught up from behind. Seeing Fu Yan alive and well in front of her, she was somewhat surprised. But what she cared about most was still her Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower. She looked at Fu Yan and said,
“Since you didn’t die, then give my Ice Spirit Trileaf Flower back. I worked really hard to pick that.”
Hearing that, Fu Yan was speechless. Did this person not think before speaking? That whole matter of scheming against her had obviously been their fault. If word got out between the two sects, Liu Chuanhan’s reputation would be in tatters. With his usual decisive style, how could he possibly let her walk away?
Thinking of this, Liu Chuanhan’s voice turned colder.
“You dare snatch a Zilan Sect disciple’s treasure? Even if you’re from the Shuiling Sect, don’t think you’ll leave here today.”
Fu Yan listened quietly. This attempt to twist black into white was almost impressive. If she weren’t the one involved, she might actually have applauded him.
“I advise you to obediently hand over my junior sister’s treasure and then cripple your own cultivation. I might just let you go.”
