Free Web NovelChapter 37: Chapter 36: 10th Heaven of Qi Cultivation
Wen Qingye walked over and pulled his sword from the ground. Then, the two of them continued forward.
After walking a while longer, Ling Wei stared at the stone wall before them, her fine brows furrowing. "Something’s not right," she said. "According to the map, this should be the place. How can there be no path?" freēwebnovel.com
As she spoke, Ling Wei took out the map again to study it. After looking for a good while, she confirmed they were in the right spot. She walked up to the stone wall and knocked on it.
Ling Wei said, "It’s hollow. But this wall looks extraordinary. I doubt even a master at the Refining Spirit Realm could break through this Stone Gate."
Wen Qingye gazed at the stone wall, which emanated an ancient aura, and said softly, "It definitely can’t be opened with brute force. There must be a mechanism."
As he spoke, Wen Qingye placed his hands on the Stone Gate and began to search.
Ling Wei asked in surprise, "You know something about mechanisms?"
"I used to read all sorts of books when I had nothing better to do. I read a little about mechanisms, so I know a thing or two about Mechanical Skill, but I’m not an expert," Wen Qingye said as his hands slowly moved across the surface.
Ling Wei nodded and stood to the side, saying no more.
"Found it," Wen Qingye said softly.
Ling Wei immediately looked over, quite curious about this Mechanical Skill.
Beside the wall, Wen Qingye slowly crouched down. His hand felt for a small, protruding nub at the bottom of the Stone Gate. He pressed it lightly, and a grinding sound echoed through the stone cavern.
As the Stone Gate slowly rose, a delighted expression appeared on Ling Wei’s face.
"Let’s go in," Wen Qingye said with a smile.
After speaking, Wen Qingye took a step forward, but he kept his center of gravity back. He held one hand forward and one hand back, ready to retreat in an instant at the slightest sign of trouble, his arms positioned to defend both his front and rear.
A bright light filled their vision. The spacious stone cavern was filled with countless Luminous Pearls hanging from the ceiling, their brilliant glow illuminating the stone walls until they were translucent.
In the center of the cavern was a pool of water. The pool emitted a milky white light, and the liquid within flowed slowly, dotted with specks of light. A thick wave of Primordial Qi washed over them, testifying to its extraordinary nature.
"Stone Milk!" Ling Wei exclaimed in delight upon seeing the liquid in the pool.
Stone Milk was an excellent ingredient for refining medicinal herbs. Judging by its appearance, this Stone Milk was quite old. Normally, ten-year-old Stone Milk was considered a Fourth-Grade Herb, but the liquid before them was at least a hundred years old, making it a Sixth-Grade Herb at minimum.
Wen Qingye was also overjoyed to see the Stone Milk. It had many uses; it could be used to enhance one’s cultivation or to heal wounds.
Wen Qingye said, "Stone Milk has healing properties. If you drink some, your injuries might heal quickly."
Ling Wei nodded and hurried to the edge of the pool. Gazing at the milky-white liquid, she felt a surge of joy, cupped a handful in her hands, and drank it directly.
Ling Wei felt a warmth spread through her abdomen and quickly sat down.
Wen Qingye took a small bottle from his robes and began to fill it. The small bottle was quickly full.
’Who knows when I’ll be able to come back here again,’ he thought. With that, Wen Qingye bent down and began drinking directly from the pool.
GULP. GULP.
Wen Qingye took two large mouthfuls of the Stone Milk and suddenly felt his entire body begin to boil, as if it were being consumed by flames.
He immediately sat down cross-legged. Inside his abdomen, the Stone Milk transformed into roiling Primordial Qi that surged through his body. The fiery Primordial Qi was like a great river that had burst its banks.
Large beads of sweat gradually formed on Wen Qingye’s forehead as the Primordial Qi continued to churn and rage within him.
Slowly, Wen Qingye regained a sliver of control and began to guide the Primordial Qi, directing it to assault the barrier of his current realm.
Once!
Twice!
...
Impact after impact, failure after failure. Wen Qingye opened his eyes and took another large gulp from the Cold Pool. Instantly, his entire body became scalding hot, an unbearable sensation. He gritted his teeth as the Stone Milk once again transformed into Primordial Qi and slammed against his barrier.
A seventh time!
An eighth time!
Suddenly, Wen Qingye felt the Primordial Qi give way, surging forward with overwhelming power. In that moment, his thoughts seemed to freeze as a tremendous roar echoed in his mind. An unknown amount of time passed before Wen Qingye slowly opened his eyes, a soul-stirring light flashing within them.
Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer Heaven!
A realm unknown to anyone else in this world—the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer Heaven!
Ling Wei, who had now recovered, looked at Wen Qingye with some confusion. "Did you just break through? Did you reach the Refining Essence Realm?"
Wen Qingye shook his head. "Still Qi Cultivation."
Ling Wei nodded and said, "It’s alright, don’t be discouraged. When your cultivation is deep enough, a breakthrough will happen naturally."
Wen Qingye simply smiled at Ling Wei’s words of comfort and said nothing more.
"It looks like there’s something up ahead. Let’s go check it out," Ling Wei said with a smile, pointing forward.
Wen Qingye followed her finger and saw a skeleton sitting cross-legged on a perfectly stable stone platform ahead. The bones had yellowed, clearly a sign that it had been dead for a very long time.
Wen Qingye and Ling Wei slowly walked forward. Only when they were beside the skeleton did they see three stone boxes placed behind it.
Looking at the stone boxes, Ling Wei asked, "Is this the treasure?"
Wen Qingye’s brow furrowed. He picked up a nearby rock and tossed it forward.
SWISH! SWISH!
Suddenly, a volley of black arrows shot out from the side like streaks of black lightning, aimed at the location of the stone boxes. The black arrows embedded themselves in the stone platform, quivering slightly.
Ling Wei’s jaw dropped, and her heart pounded in shock. ’Those arrows can pierce the stone platform! If they hit a person, they’d punch a hole right through you! And there were so many of them...’ Thinking of this, Ling Wei felt a wave of fear.
She looked at Wen Qingye and asked, "How did you know there would be a hidden weapon trap?"
"Intuition," Wen Qingye replied with a faint smile.
Ling Wei pouted. "If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. Don’t lie and say it was intuition. I don’t believe you."
Wen Qingye shrugged. "I’m telling the truth. It’s up to you whether you believe it or not." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
With that, Wen Qingye walked toward the stone boxes. Watching his back, Ling Wei couldn’t help but smile before quickly catching up.
The three stone boxes were identical in size and shape. Wen Qingye casually picked one up. He was actually quite curious about the treasure here as well.
Ling Wei walked up to Wen Qingye’s side at this moment and said with a grin, "Don’t forget, you promised me a share of the treasure here."
Wen Qingye smiled and said, "You can have your share of the Stone Milk outside."
Ling Wei said huffily, "How am I supposed to take that Stone Milk with me? I can’t carry it or lift it. Don’t think you can fool me!"
