Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

"Superior, I have made up my mind!"

Upon hearing Wang Chen's words, Uncle Zhong did not hesitate in the slightest; instead, he immediately prostrated in reverence, "Qiu Zhong is willing to make one more effort, and I hope the Superior will fulfill this wish!"

This elderly cultivator, despite having surpassed the age of eighty and long since grown indifferent to life and death, at this moment felt the blood within his body still boiling hot.

He wanted to live for another hundred years!

"Good!"

Wang Chen clapped his hands, "Then I will give you this opportunity!"

He told Uncle Zhong to return to the Xu Family first, while he himself made some arrangements in this cave.

The Essence of the Five Elements found here greatly benefitted Wang Chen's cultivation, and to ensure safety, he excavated a new secret passage.

And completely sealed off the original one.

This secret passage, as Uncle Zhong would travel back and forth once a month, although the secret of the Essence of the Five Elements had been well hidden thus far, it could not guarantee that no trace had been leaked.

Should someone with ulterior motives secretly investigate, there was a possibility of exposure.

Besides that, Wang Chen reinforced all four walls of the cave using the Mudstone Technique.

Since this place was originally connected to the mines of the Xu Family and was quite close, it was meant as a precaution.

With his second-tier Purple Mansion cultivation, Wang Chen employed the Mudstone Technique at the level of Great Perfection, so unless a cultivator below Purple Mansion possessed a high-tier Magic Artifact, there was practically no chance of breaking through.

And what cultivator capable of breaking through would work as a miner!

Such operations naturally greatly increased the safety factor, and Wang Chen himself could be at ease.

After returning to the Inner Sect, he first consulted some texts, and then spent Merit Points to seek advice from the Golden Core Elder.

Eventually, he spent nearly a thousand Merit Points to exchange for a top-quality Aperture Opening Pill and a bottle of Meridian Opening Origin Liquid from the Merit Department.

Uncle Zhong was of advanced age, with the difficulty of breaking through and establishing his mansion far exceeding that of younger cultivators, and his meridians were relatively rigid, also unfavorable for breaking through bottlenecks.

The function of the Meridian Opening Origin Liquid was to clear the meridians and increase the speed of mana circulation, best taken when attempting to break through.

After all preparations were ready, Wang Chen waited another three days.

Only after Uncle Zhong, on the Xu Family's side, raised his condition to its peak did he rent a cultivation cave mansion in Wanling City.

He personally provided guardianship for Uncle Zhong!

"For the Superior's great kindness, Qiu Zhong will never forget it in all my life!"

His eyes moistening, the elderly cultivator accepted the Aperture Opening Pill and the Meridian Opening Origin Liquid from Wang Chen's hand.

Wang Chen not only procured the valuable Pill and Liquid for him but also imparted all the breakthrough experience he had gathered.

The latter was even more precious, as it was advice from a Golden Core True Person!

As a Purple Mansion Superior and an Inner Sect Disciple of the West Sea Sect, Wang Chen had gone to such lengths for a steward's subordinate cultivator; Uncle Zhong's gratitude was truly beyond words.

At this point, the elderly cultivator actually let go of all the burdens in his heart.

If not successful, then to die with honor!

Uncle Zhong took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the cushion, closed his eyes, and began his cultivation practice.

Wang Chen stood guard by his side.

Uncle Zhong's cultivation level had already reached the pinnacle of Qi Cultivation Perfection, yet he had been stuck at this bottleneck without any progress.

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But over the years, the refinement of his mana was not something young cultivators could compare with.

With his previous experience in threshold breaking, he soon entered the state of challenging the barrier.

Suddenly, the elderly cultivator's eyes snapped open, his somewhat cloudy eyes now brimming with a sharp radiance, faintly revealing a cyan-green hue.

He reached out and downed the Meridian Opening Origin Liquid in one gulp, and immediately afterward, swallowed the Aperture Opening Pill.

Success or failure, life or death, hinged on this one move!

After only a short moment, Uncle Zhong's entire body began to tremble, his complexion turned a flushed red, and fine sweat emerged on his forehead.

A mist of qi enveloped his crown while the corners of his eyes twitched nonstop, clearly enduring immense pain.

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This is actually quite normal; the more effective the Meridian Opening Origin Liquid, the greater the pain it brings to the cultivator.

If you can withstand it, there is hope; if not, there is no future.

Watching from the side, Wang Chen could only silently cheer him on.

The reason Wang Chen took the trouble to exchange precious Merit Points for the Aperture Opening Pill and Meridian Opening Origin Liquid to help Uncle Zhong with a second Breaking Threshold was...

the main reason being that Uncle Zhong was the one who discovered the Essence of the Five Elements and Wang Chen, who was now making use of it, owed him compensation, both emotionally and rationally.

Additionally, Wang Chen had deeper considerations.

He could not stay in the West Sea Sect forever, and perhaps in a few years, upon finding the Path to the Heavens, he would need to smuggle himself to the Upper Realm.

Wang Chen might stand a chance on his own, but there was no possibility if he took the low-Cultivation Level Xu Xinlan with him.

If Wang Chen truly succeeded, then Xu Xinlan would lose his protection, and her future would be worrisome.

But if Uncle Zhong were to advance to Purple Mansion, the situation would be entirely different.

Uncle Zhong regarded Xu Xinlan as his own daughter, and with his care, Wang Chen could be completely at ease.

Purple Mansion cultivators live up to two hundred years, and even if Uncle Zhong did not reach that extreme, he could still look after Xu Xinlan for decades.

And those decades would provide Wang Chen with enough time to build up considerable Cultivation Level in the Upper Realm before bringing her up.

This was Wang Chen's plan for the future.

Having no other choice, for receiving both Xu Xinlan's heart and wealth, he had to take on the corresponding responsibilities!

Of course, all this is predicated on Uncle Zhong's promotion to Purple Mansion.

If not, Wang Chen would have to make other arrangements.

As he pondered, Uncle Zhong, who was breaking through, had reached the most critical moment.

The old cultivator was sweating profusely, his expression twisted brutally, and blood even seeped from the corners of his eyes; the veins in his hands bulged violently as they rested on his knees, and his body radiated a clear, shimmering Spiritual Light.

But this layer of Spiritual Light was extremely unstable and even carried a hint of dark aura.

This is bad!

Wang Chen noticed the expression on Uncle Zhong's face – he was clearly at his limit and had encountered an inner demon!

It is common for cultivators to encounter inner demons when breaking through barriers.

Especially those with impure Cultivation Levels and misguided thoughts, the probability of encountering inner demons is quite high.

Under normal circumstances, there are many ways to deal with inner demons, such as using Heart Methods, Pills, or Magic Artifacts for suppression.

But the inner demon that appears during the Breakthrough Mansion is extraordinary!

Once an inner demon manifests, the probability of failure is ninety-nine percent!

The next moment, Uncle Zhong's face was also enveloped in a layer of dark aura, pulsating and taking on the visage of demons.

Seeing such a scene, Wang Chen felt sorrowful and sighed deeply.

Suddenly, he raised his right palm, ready to help the other relieve his predicament!

Once the inner demon possesses the Divine Soul, the old cultivator is very likely to fall into eternal damnation and become an Evil Wraith.

However, just as Wang Chen concentrated Mana in his palm, the Ancient Taoist Stele residing in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly emitted a myriad of rays of light, illuminating his Divine Soul.

A bright idea flashed in Wang Chen's mind, and he smacked his palm onto Uncle Zhong's forehead.

"Quell!"

He commanded forcefully, "Decree!"

As the words were spoken, a radiant brilliance burst from Wang Chen's palm, instantly clearing the dark aura that covered Uncle Zhong's head and face.

He heard an extremely mournful, resentment-filled scream!

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Here comes the first update.

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