Chen Xia wandered outside the Sword Forest, looking at the two ancient bronze doors covered in rust. He curiously peeked inside.
He couldn't see anything.
Chen Xia didn't plan to go in; he was just out for a stroll. As he turned around, he saw a large yellow dog lying on its side by the bronze door, snoring away.
This yellow dog was no ordinary dog. It was extremely yellow, and its fur stood on end, giving it an air of wild abandon.
Chen Xia didn't disturb it and sauntered back to his cave to begin his cultivation.
Time flew by quickly during cultivation. Before he knew it, several months had passed.
Chen Xia's cultivation level had visibly increased, but he hadn't yet broken through to the Nascent Soul peak. It was estimated that he still needed over a decade of further cultivation.
Rarely did he feel like going out for a stroll, so he stood up and lazily wandered out, following the path formed by the sword markings.
It was said that at the end of this path was a Sky - Reaching Sword Bone, one of the foundations of this flying sword. However, to reach it, one had to pass through the Celestial Pavilion, and they, as preparatory disciples, were not yet qualified to go there.
As Chen Xia strolled along the road, suddenly there were visitors coming straight towards him without any pretense, blocking his path and straightforwardly saying.
"Chen Xia, I want to fight you!"
Chen Xia looked at the figure in front of him in confusion. It looked like a red... crow?
"Who are you?"
The crow replied, "Chi Yu, I want to fight you."
Chen Xia shook his head and waved his hand, his tone tinged with sadness, "No, no. My Taoist heart is damaged. It's not suitable for me to compete in fighting. Find someone else."
Only a fool would fight this red - feathered crow. It was obvious that it was here to test him.
Chi Yu frowned, and his red feathers glowed slightly, as if flames were about to burst forth, "But you're a Great Emperor seedling?"
Chen Xia raised an eyebrow and replied, "I'm not a Great Emperor. If I were, I would fight you."
"If you were a Great Emperor, I wouldn't need to fight you either." Chi Yu frowned and retorted.
"So you only dare to fight Great Emperor seedlings?" Chen Xia raised an eyebrow and continued, "Or a Great Emperor seedling like me with a damaged Taoist heart?"
Chi Yu was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and explained, "I just want to fight you and see how powerful you really are."
"Not powerful." Chen Xia patted his sleeves and said slowly, "But don't touch me, because I won't fight."
He now had to maintain the image of a damaged Taoist heart and needed to recuperate slowly.
Chi Yu frowned, looking a bit worried. He really hadn't expected that Chen Xia, a Great Emperor seedling, would refuse to fight.
Throughout history, Great Emperor seedlings were the most belligerent. Not only would they accept challenges, but they would also seek out others to fight.
How had things changed when it came to Chen Xia? He wouldn't even accept a challenge.
Strange.
Chi Yu was not one to give up easily and continued, "I'm willing to make a bet with you. If you win, I can give you a divine weapon."
"No." Chen Xia still shook his head and waved his hand, "Alright, don't block the way. I want to continue my walk."
"Unless you fight me, you won't be able to take another step forward today."
Chi Yu's voice was heavy as he spoke, and his entire body's feathers lit up with flames. If one looked closely, they would find that there were actually three thousand different kinds of flames!
This was the Supreme - species, the Three - Thousand - Flame - Feather - Crow!
Chen Xia was also very laid - back. If you won't let me move forward, I'll just go back. He patted his butt and headed straight back home.
Leaving Chi Yu standing there, a bit stunned.
He had truly never seen a Great Emperor seedling with such a good temper.
He withdrew his flames and pondered how to make Chen Xia accept the challenge. Additionally, he had obtained a very useful piece of information.
Chen Xia's Taoist heart was damaged.
This was no small matter. If a Great Emperor seedling's Taoist heart was damaged, it would take a great deal of effort to repair it. It would take at least a few hundred years to recover, and this was for the mildest case of a damaged Taoist heart.
If the Taoist heart was severely damaged, it would reduce one's upper limit, making it almost impossible to become a Great Emperor, at most a Saint.
Chi Yu hurried back to report this important matter to Di Du.
Chen Xia, with his damaged Taoist heart, sat in his cave, writing a Dao Chapter. The "Netherworld Desperate Situation" Dao Chapter was almost complete. By then, it would be a divine skill for one - on - one battles, directly pulling opponents into a small black room for mandatory one - on - one combat.
Simply put, it was like opening a private room.
His next goal was to remain at the Nascent Soul peak for a few hundred years. Once his points increased, he would break through to the Mahayana realm.
Anyway, the slower everything was, the better. He aimed to outlast the old fisherman directly.
Cultivating immortality didn't necessarily mean comparing combat strength. For Chen Xia, having a longer lifespan was enough.
This was his second year on the flying sword. Although there had been some ups and downs, fortunately, they weren't too significant, and so the year passed.
Chen Xia added his new points to strength, successfully reaching a strength value of 400. The system also popped up a notification.
[Strength value 400, reaching the combat strength of the Mahayana realm. The next stage, Mountain - Moving Realm, requires a strength value of 1000.]
Chen Xia raised an eyebrow. This was the first time the system had given the standard of the realm corresponding to the strength value.
According to this strength value, he still had 600 years to reach the Mountain - Moving Realm. By then, his cultivation level would also be close to the Mountain - Moving Realm.
That would mean having the combat strength of double Mountain - Moving Realms. Not to say invincible in the same realm, but it wouldn't be good to speak too boastfully. So let's just say semi - invincible.
At noon today, the old fisherman came to visit Chen Xia again. He found time to come almost every month to check on Chen Xia's Taoist heart problem.
The answer was that there had been no improvement.
This worried the old fisherman greatly, and he poured all kinds of motivational鸡汤on Chen Xia, like the story of the ugly little snake transforming into a white - day dragon.
Chen Xia had doubts at that time.
"Could the ugly little snake transform into a white - day dragon because it was originally a celestial dragon?"
This question stumped the old fisherman.
He really hadn't thought of such an angle before.
Additionally, the old fisherman had given Chen Xia a Pure - Altar Soul Lotus, but Chen Xia hadn't eaten any of it. This also made the old fisherman anxious, pointing at the Pure - Altar Soul Lotus and saying.
"You have to eat this. When you're sick, you need to take medicine. Your Taoist heart is damaged, so you should nourish it more."
It seemed that he was eager to force - feed Chen Xia.
"Alright, alright." Chen Xia nodded. The reason he didn't eat it was that he was afraid the old fisherman had tampered with it.
Now that the old fisherman kept urging him, he felt a bit helpless and agreed, planning to let someone else test the poison for him first.
The old fisherman left.
Chen Xia took the Pure - Altar Soul Lotus to test the poison.
As for who to choose for the poison test, he thought about it and felt that none of the preparatory disciples were suitable, and he didn't know anyone else.
So he took the Pure - Altar Soul Lotus to feed the dog.
By the bronze door in the Sword Forest, there was a large yellow dog that looked carefree.
The large yellow dog ate a petal with great relish, and its eyes lit up as it looked at Chen Xia.
Chen Xia lowered his head in thought, feeling that there should be no problem. He decided to come back in a few days to observe.
He was about to leave.
"Brother, is there any more?"
The large yellow dog stood up and shouted.
Chen Xia was stunned.
————
"What? He fed the Pure - Altar Soul Lotus to the dog?!"
After hearing the report from the black - robed figure, the old fisherman was completely stunned.