The Third Day: A Peculiar Discovery

The Third Day

Only half a day remained until the Starlight Secret Realm closed.

Atop the peak at this moment,

“How fares Yun’er?”

“Reporting, Master,” Yun Yang replied, “this disciple feels his body brimming with power. Within a month, I am certain I can successfully establish my Foundation!”

“And you, you rascal?”

“Not bad,” Niu Zhai answered. “Establishing my Foundation within a month should pose no problem!”

Having undergone a full day of starlight baptism, both Yun Yang and Niu Zhai exuded potent confidence.

“Heh heh, this is excellent indeed. Time is running short; let us return.”

The Second Elder felt immense gratification observing the vibrant spirits of the younger generation.

Just as the four prepared to turn and depart, Niu Zhai scratched his head, posing a question.

“Strange, where are Senior Brother Xia Yi and Elder Fei?”

“They probably finished their baptism and returned long ago,” Yun Yang replied nonchalantly to Niu Zhai’s query. “Given Elder Fei’s and Senior Brother Xia Yi’s strength, there’s no way they wouldn’t have reached the mountaintop.”

Having witnessed Xia Yi’s terrifying power, Yun Yang, despite being second in the competition, harbored no desire to contend for first place.

“That’s true,” Niu Zhai mused. “With Senior Brother Xia Yi’s strength, he must have established his Foundation after the baptism, right?”

“Perhaps. Brother Niu, do you intend to challenge Senior Brother Xia Yi again?”

“No, no, no,” Niu Zhai quickly denied. “I may be reckless, but I’m not foolish. Even if I established my Foundation, I wouldn’t be confident in defeating Senior Brother before his baptism, let alone after it…”

Soon after, the four departed the Starlight Pool.

****

Not long after their departure,

a mysterious, ethereal aura emanated from within the Starlight Pool.

“Bang!”

A figure burst through the splashing water, soaring out before landing beside the Starlight Pool.

“S… Miaoyun, thank you,” Xia Yi murmured.

This figure was none other than Xia Yi, who, after receiving Xinghuo’s (TL Note: Xinghuo is a male character’s name) gift, had successfully brought the Elemental Flower Enchantment to full bloom.

Holding Fei Miaoyun, whose face was pale and weary yet etched with a look of blissful contentment, Xia Yi’s heart ached with tenderness.

For a full day and night,

even as Fei Miaoyun pushed herself to her absolute limits, she had persistently circulated the Elemental Flower Enchantment to aid Xia Yi in harmonizing Yin and Yang, thereby assisting his cultivation.

With the assistance of Xinghuo’s pure soul energy, Xia Yi’s Heavenly Spirit Root had indeed undergone a metamorphosis, transforming into a pure Immortal-grade Spirit Root.

His cultivation had also broken through to the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation.

That’s right.

Even after this dual cultivation combined with the tempering by Xinghuo’s Nascent Soul (TL Note: A cultivation stage) soul energy, Xia Yi had still not established his Foundation.

Instead, he had advanced to the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation, a realm Zhen Aoyu had never achieved in the original novel.

Furthermore, his refined and pure spiritual energy had not only met the requirements for Foundation Establishment but had even overflowed.

Yet, Xia Yi remained inexplicably unable to establish his Foundation. In her efforts to aid him, Fei Miaoyun had exhausted her Primordial Yin (TL Note: A concept in Daoist internal alchemy, often referring to a woman’s vital essence), even shaking her own cultivation foundation. She had not broken through to the Core Formation (TL Note: A cultivation stage) stage, nor could she help Xia Yi establish his Foundation.

Consequently, her cultivation had stalled at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, preventing her from successfully entering the Core Formation realm.

Xia Yi was aware that Qi Condensation cultivation encompassed realms beyond the tenth layer.

In the original novel, Zhen Aoyu had used his eleventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivation and Fei Miaoyun’s resentment to successfully establish his Foundation.

However, even Zhen Aoyu had only reached the eleventh layer of Qi Condensation.

Now, Xia Yi’s cultivation had ascended to the thirteenth layer of Qi Condensation.

He had fulfilled all the conditions for Foundation Establishment, yet he simply could not achieve it.

‘Could he, too, be forced to imitate Zhen Aoyu’s path of “killing his wife to prove the Dao” (TL Note: A trope in cultivation novels where a male protagonist sacrifices his romantic partner, often metaphorically, to achieve a breakthrough), replicating the actions of a certain Divine King surnamed Tang (TL Note: A popular character from another Chinese web novel, known for similar actions)?’

‘Would he have to perform a cultivation version of “Resurrect! My cancer patient!!” (TL Note: A popular internet meme, often used humorously to express a dramatic and often illogical revival or transformation)?’

‘Wouldn’t he get hate mail for that?’

Gently tucking Fei Miaoyun’s scattered dark hair behind her ear, Xia Yi sighed softly, shaking off the distracting thoughts swirling in his mind.

Compared to having no clue how to establish his Foundation with a thirteenth-layer Qi Condensation cultivation,

Xia Yi now had an even more pressing matter to uncover.

Ever since his Heavenly Spirit Root had evolved into an Immortal Spirit Root,

Xia Yi’s purification abilities had been further enhanced, leading to the development of numerous new applications.

For instance, by channeling spiritual energy into his eyes, Xia Yi could discern all illusory phenomena.

The effect was quite similar to the Fiery Golden Eyes (TL Note: A magical ability possessed by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, allowing him to see through illusions and deceptions) of a certain monkey.

Upon discovering this new ability, Xia Yi had inadvertently noticed several white scales sewn onto the chest of his clothes.

These scales felt warm and smooth to the touch, yet they were remarkably hard and vibrant, as if alive.

They could even withstand a full-force attack from a Core Formation cultivator.

It was as if they had only recently been plucked, for a faint demonic aura still emanated from them, hinting at their owner.

This demonic aura was also the reason Xia Yi and his companions hadn’t encountered a single demon beast within the secret realm.

Xia Yi had no idea what kind of demon beast possessed a demonic aura capable of indiscriminately deterring all other demon beasts, but he knew it had to be incredibly powerful and terrifying.

More critically, these scales had been enchanted with a transformation spell. Had Xia Yi not possessed his purification ability, further enhanced by his Immortal Spirit Root,

he might never have discovered them.

This particular garment had been personally sewn by his Master, Pei Yunxiang. If the owner of these scales was indeed his Master,

then her reason for refusing to accompany him to the Starlight Secret Realm became startlingly clear.

From ancient times, humans and demon beasts had been in a state of perpetual opposition, typically engaging in combat the moment they encountered each other.

Their relationship was one of irreconcilable conflict, a fight to the death.

For humans, the starlight baptism served to strengthen one’s bloodline and nourish their spirit root.

But what about demon beasts?

Xia Yi didn’t know.

One thing he was certain of, however, was that anyone who underwent the starlight baptism would inevitably expose the true essence of their bloodline and spiritual energy.

This was a conclusion Xia Yi had personally verified through experimentation.

In other words, a demon beast disguised as a human would, with high probability, reveal their true demonic identity after undergoing the starlight baptism.

‘Master, could it be you…?’

The white scales were sewn precisely over Xia Yi’s heart, perfectly shielding it, and the stitching technique was undeniably his Master’s handiwork.

While crucial evidence was still lacking, all signs pointed to Pei Yunxiang being the source of these scales.

“Huu…”

Taking a deep breath, his heart feeling a touch heavy,

Xia Yi double-checked that both he and Fei Miaoyun were properly dressed before finally carrying her away from the mountaintop.

Similarly, due to the deterrent aura of the white scales,

Xia Yi effortlessly carried Fei Miaoyun, surpassing the other group of four, and arrived at the secret realm’s exit ahead of them.

“See? I told you Senior Brother Xia Yi would have completed his baptism and returned first.”

Before long, Yun Yang and the other three also smoothly reached the secret realm’s exit.

“Oh? Xia boy, have you established your Foundation? You don’t quite look the part.”

“Indeed, he doesn’t appear to be in the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he possesses its aura. It seems you’ve gained quite a significant fortuitous encounter, Xia Yi.”

“Both esteemed Elders flatter this junior…”

Facing the two Elders’ inquiries, Xia Yi merely offered a few polite pleasantries with a smile.

He did not reveal his true cultivation level.

“Truly worthy of being the Grand Competition’s first place; his talent far surpasses Yun’er and the others. Venerable Pei certainly has excellent foresight.”

“What’s wrong with Venerable Fei?”

The Fifth Elder, who had been observing from the side, now noticed Fei Miaoyun still slumbering on Xia Yi’s back.

“Thank you for your concern, Fifth Elder. My Martial Aunt is merely exhausted and resting; she will awaken shortly.”

“Crack!”

The Second Elder had been about to say more, but the grand gates of the Starlight Secret Realm suddenly creaked open, interrupting his words.