Chapter 233
It was not a regression of time but the remnant of touch and memory of the scent.
It seemed that the energy of the illusion on the path was incredibly strong. It could awaken the signs and signals within him.
Chen Jingzhai thought silently to himself as his divine mind attempted to penetrate through the earth.
At first, there was no obstruction. However, after about a hundred feet, he met resistance.
The deeper he went, the stronger the obstruction. After about a thousand feet, he hit a mountain.
He immediately escaped into the soil and passed a thousand feet before reaching another two thousand feet.
Only then did he feel the damage brought by the residual consciousness.
However, it remained very weak. The divine stone in Chen Jingzhai’s brow chakra could suppress them naturally.
As such, he did not continue to explore further and returned to the ground, leading everyone forward.
An hour later, Celestial Maiden Miao Yun was the first to wake up.
She looked at Chen Jingzhai with her beautiful eyes and said, “I returned to the Blessed Land of Western Sands.”
“So?” asked Chen Jingzhai.
“It was a strange feeling. It was as if I was split into two. One was watching while the other half was experiencing everything in person. If I had not sensed something amiss, I would almost not wake myself up,” she replied.
“What was amiss?” asked Chen Jingzhai.
“Jade slip.” Celestial Maiden Miao Yun waved her hand once and took out a jade slip. “Do you remember? The jade slip my uncle took that used to belong to the Huangsha Demon King. It is an inheritance of the poisonous magic.”
“Why are you giving it to me?” Chen Jingzhai asked, “What’s the matter?”
“There was no such jade slip in the hallucination. What convinced me was that I did not share this jade slip with you,” Celestial Maiden Miao Yun continued emotionally, “After all, you are the one who saved me.”
Chen Jingzhai did not say anything else. After he read through the jade slip, he handed it back to her.
He had never been stubborn when it came to such matters. The Huangsha Demon King’s poisonous magic was not bad, but it was not as good as Dragon and Phoenix Consummation Seal Script. No matter how one looked at it, he was the winner in the whole deal.
“I can feel that the concentration of the essence power between heaven and earth has stabilized. Perhaps it’s time to get out of the forest,” Chen Jingzhai said, “Watch out for any unexpected events. Be vigilant.”
“Very well!” Celestial Maiden Miao Yun nodded with a smile.
Her obsession was gone, and her mental state had improved.
Breaking through the Golden Core had consumed her reserve. Now that her mental state had recovered, she could undoubtedly enter Intermediate Golden Core Plane, even if her future was not all smooth sailing.
Another half an hour later, Celestial Maiden Miao Fa, Sage Lu Tao, Sage Ji Shuanghua, Sage Xu, Celestial Maiden Zhao, Celestial Maiden Han and the others woke up, one after another.
Each of them had gained something. Everyone seemed to have received baptism. Their mental state had improved a lot.
Besides Chen Jingzhai, other Foundation Plane Cultivators seemed to be fully immersed in it.
None of them was in a hurry. After all, they would soon leave the forest.
The first people to awaken were the disciples of the three major sword branches. Among them were Kong Guang and Wang Yao, who woke up almost at the same time. A faint sword’s will flashed across them briefly.
Qiao Haisheng followed closely behind, not more than ten breaths away. After waking up, he expressed nothing. There was nonchalance and silence in his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking.
“There are still fifty kilometers,” Chen Jingzhai said with a smile, “Dark-face has already seen the city!”
“Great!” Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere palpably lightened.
Afterward, the Foundational Cultivator of Elixir Twilight Clan and Soaring Clouds Clan woke up consecutively. Each of them had made gains of their own. Meanwhile, most of them were afraid and confused as they could not recall what they had just been through.
Since they had passed the Path of Auditory Hallucination, there was no reason to tarry there any longer. Everyone sped up to fly faster.
After another ten minutes, they finally left the forest.
A strong essence power swept the moment they stepped out of the forest. Chen Jingzhai bore the brunt of it. He opened his mouth slightly and devoured it greedily. He swallowed a massive amount of essence power into his stomach.
The rest of the people sat down with their legs crossed and entered a state of cultivation. Meanwhile, Tu Ruoyan stood beside Chen Jingzhai and stared at him as if nothing was happening. That was enough to suggest that it was not her first time leaving the forest.
Most of the Acupoints Divine Spirit in his body was awakened by the essence power Chen Jingzhai swallowed. They began processing the essence power. The essence power from outside surged into his body invisibly.
Not only did he recuperated the spiritual essence in his body, but he also replenished the essence power in the acupoints. Chen Jingzhai was very satisfied.
His eyes drifted toward Tu Ruoyan. Just as he was about to inquire with her about the city, he was startled. From the corners of his eyes, he saw a person who should not be there at all.
“Headmaster?” Chen Jingzhai looked at the person, who suddenly appeared, in surprise and uncertainty.
“Shh!” Fuyunzi smiled softly at him, waving the whisk in his hand.
A cloud gathered directly under Chen Jingzhai’s feet. Then, he and Fuyunzi levitated.
The most bizarre thing was that Tu Ruoyan remained very still. It was as if she had not seen them at all.
They were getting farther and farther from the ground until they could clearly see the vast and boundless forest and the city a hundred kilometers away. The city was in the shape of a square, looking very majestic and impressive.
“That’s Woods Ocean City,” Fuyunzi said, “No matter which direction you go, you will definitely end up seeing only Woods Ocean City, including you guys.”
“Because of the formation?” Chen Jingzhai asked curiously.
“Because of the Path of Auditory Hallucination,” Fuyunzi said, “I’ve told you about the history of Heaven Essence Realm. The forest’s territory included Pulao Kingdom, which was all actually built on top of the remains of immortals and cultivators.”
“It’s not part of Pulao Territory?” Chen Jingzhai was astounded.
“The part that belonged to Pulao Kingdom was very small, with Fascination’s End as the boundary,” Fuyunzi said with a smile, “Good thing you did not take away Fascination’s End. Otherwise, there would be a great catastrophe in Pulao Kingdom.”
“I’m a little confused right now,” Chen Jingzhai said with a smile of resignation, “Can you please tell me why you are here? Have you been escorting us along the way?”
“Of course not.” Fuyunzi shook his head. “This is my actual body. The one in Luo Sheng Sword School is my body double. Therefore, it only possesses the cultivation of a Nascent Zhenjun.”
“Body… double?” Chen Jingzhai was stunned by the revelation. Nevertheless, it all somehow made sense to him.
He had always wondered why the headmaster, who lorded over the entire Luo Sheng Sword School, seemed like a simple character and willing to stay in the school all day. Now, everything made sense. It was just a body double.
Although he was stunned by the revelation, he was also excited. The technique of body double was a rare art in the cultivation world. He wondered how the headmaster managed to cultivate it and whether he could pass it on to him.
While looking at the eagerness in Chen Jingzhai’s eyes, Fuyunzi smiled lightly. “You don’t need to worry about that now. If you want to learn this technique, you’ll have to be at least at True Venerable Spirit Plane.”
“Do you mean I can create it as long as I have the strength of the True Venerable Spirit?” Chen Jingzhai was not deterred. Instead, he was rather encouraged.
“It is the condensation of the Nascent Soul,” Fuyunzi explained, “Without the condensation of the Nascent Soul, how could body double be created? This is not the Entrust Nascent Splitting Technique cultivated by Nascent Zhenjun.”
Chen Jingzhai knew about the Entrust Nascent Splitting Technique.
It was possible to entrust a trace of nascent power on a magic treasure after the condensation of the Nascent Soul. It seemed like a body double technique. However, in reality, it entirely relied on the power of the magic treasure. A tremendous burden followed this method. As such, it could not be considered a true body double at all.
The smile on Chen Jingzhai’s face disappeared. If the Spirit Plane power was required, he could achieve it in a short period of time. However, if he needed to condense the Nascent Soul, he would have to quell the notion for the foreseeable future.
After all, he was on the Path of Technique Creation. At the moment, he had yet to come up with a framework for the Golden Core passage. There were also the Nascent Soul passage and Spirit Plane passage after that. That would take much more time.
“Is the Headmaster here to wait for me?” He forced a question out with some energy.
“Indeed, I was here waiting for you.” Fuyunzi nodded. “You don’t need to enter Woods Ocean City. I will take you back to Luo Tian Immortal Faction to participate in the clan competition in the Immortal Faction.”
“Huh?” Chen Jingzhai was a little confused. “Am I not the true disciple?”
“You are the true disciple of the hidden branch,” Fuyunzi said with a smile, “The true disciple of the hidden branch is naturally an inner disciple of Luo Tian Immortal Faction. However, if you want to obtain good stuff, you have to continue to work hard.”
“So it’s like that.” Chen Jingzhai thought about it and said, “Then, how should I explain it to them?”
“Just tell them you have other missions,” Fuyunzi said patiently, “In Woods Ocean City, there are treasure pavilions that belonged to Luo Tian Immortal Faction and the disciples from hidden branches, who can help orient them with Pulao Territory slowly. You are the Little Master-Uncle. You are different from them. Besides, they are not eligible to participate in the competition.”
