Hide in The Immortal Cultivation World, Strike Hard in the Martial World
Chapter 426 - 208: Target Secret Realm_2

...

Days sped by, and in the blink of an eye, eight years had passed.

From time to time, Ma Xiaoqiu would proactively seek Chen Yi for comfort, feeling that she was ready.

However, each exploratory step she took ended in failure.

Aside from this, Ma Xiaoqiu would occasionally venture out to prepare. Now, with her memory recovered and significant progress in her Puppet Skill, except for insufficient mana, she meets all the other conditions for Third Tier.

Theoretically, as long as Ma Xiaoqiu's cultivation level reaches Pseudo-core, she can naturally become a Third Tier Puppet Master.

Over the years, she has also been searching for a special puppet capable of housing a cultivator's soul, in preparation for her possible failure in the Ninth Transformation,

However, this technique of transferring one's soul into a puppet, akin to a divine technique for creating an external body, has been lost since ancient times.

And even if she found it, it would require at least a top-tier Third Tier Puppet Master or a Fourth-Tier Puppet Master to manufacture it.

For Ma Xiaoqiu, creating that would be intensely challenging, but she needs to try, no matter how hard it is, just to stay alive.

...

Apart from this, Chen Yi had frequent contact with his old friends.

Especially Liu Huo, who, over the years, increasingly felt his time drawing near as he began to show symptoms of disease in various parts of his body.

Over the years, Chen Yi frequently prepared Liquid Medicine for him to alleviate his pain.

The one who ran errands in-between was Liu Huo's son, Liu Changsheng.

Under the glow of his father, Liu Changsheng met Chen Yi various times over the years, profiting greatly from their face-to-face guidance and the ordinary pills provided.

His mana had filled up in just over twenty years, brushing right up against the peak of the early Foundation Establishment Period, even showing tentative signs of breaking through to the mid Foundation Establishment Period.

This cultivation level made him the second most influential figure in the Zhao Family, only below Zhao Chengyu.

This significantly increased the strength of the Zhao Family, especially during the years of hunting Demon Beasts. Despite their losses, they reaped substantial rewards,

The power that Zhao Family Island lost due to the oppression from the Tan Family had been fully regained, with even some surplus.

Of course, Liu Changsheng's rapid growth was all well and good for the Zhao Family,

Except for the fact that he is not surnamed Zhao.

However, with Zhao Chengyu still around, able to keep Liu Changsheng in check, there are unlikely to be problems in the short term,

As for the future, they will worry about it later.

....

As for the others, both Zhao Chengyu and Song Chengcheng were stuck at the peak of the mid Foundation Establishment Period several years ago,

It seemed difficult for them to break through to the late Foundation Establishment Period on their own.

Zhao Chengyu had better innate talent than Song Chengcheng, but due to his poor background, lack of cultivation resources and a significant injury in the past, his foundation was somewhat lacking,

Hence, breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment Period would require some fortuitous opportunities.

In fact, Chen Yi had prepared for each of them, the Breaking Tier Pill of the Foundation Establishment Period - the Nine Zhi Pill,

Although it could only increase the chances of a breakthrough by ten percent, it was enough for them. They were just lacking this little bit of power to poke through this thin membrane.

However, when giving the pill, Chen Yi also warned them,

If they were to break through to the late Foundation Establishment Period with this pill, it wouldn't be a problem to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in their lifetime,

But if they wanted to go one step further and plan to form a core, the difficulty would increase significantly.

After several unsuccessful attempts to break through on his own, Zhao Chengyu unwillingly gave up his elusive dream of forming a core and consumed the Nine Zhi Pill that Chen Yi gave him. His cultivation level has reached the late Foundation Establishment Period,

When Chen Yi heard this news, he sighed silently,

If Chengyu needed a Breaking Tier Pill to reach this stage, forming a core would be nearly impossible,

He could imagine that in around a hundred years, Zhao Chengyu would most likely follow in Liu Huo's footsteps, and pass away from this world.

But there was no other option. That's how cultivation was. Some people inevitably reach a point where they can't progress any further and halt, waiting for death.

.....

However, Song Chengcheng gritted her teeth and didn't take the Nine Zhi Pill,

She borrowed 5000 spirit stones from Chen Yi. Coupled with her own accumulation over the years, she crafted a quasi-magic weapon. She also borrowed several high-grade talisman scrolls and pills from Chen Yi,

She dove headfirst into the Demon Beast battlefield, battled deadly enemies, and endured multiple trials by fire,

Suffering injuries several times along the way.

If it weren't for the talisman scrolls and pills from Chen Yi, she might have died several times over,

Finally, when all the talisman scrolls and pills were used up, and she was cornered by a peak second-tier Demon Beast,

She unlocked her potential,

And the mana in her body finally experienced a qualitative change,

Amidst the battle, Song Chengcheng's cultivation level broke through.

She had broken through from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to the late stage, and her Mana, which was all dried up, burst out like a spring,

Killing the Demon Beast with a single sword strike.

When Chen Yi saw Song Chengcheng, she was carrying the corpse of a second-tier peak Demon Beast,

With a thud, she threw the Demon Beast towards Chen Yi:

"It's a second-tier peak, and it has a trace of ancient bloodline. You determine how many spirit stones it's worth. Consider it as repayment of the debt I owed you. If it's not enough, I'll repay the rest slowly."

Song Chengcheng was riddled with wounds, and there wasn't a single part of her body that seemed alright,

Except her eyes were still bright like stars,

The Mana within her body was as abundant as a well filled with moonlight—bright, and penetrating,

A breakthrough in the midst of battle, stimulating potential at the edge of life and death,

This was the most common path for breakthroughs among cultivators in ancient times.

The advantage was, once the breakthrough was successful, the body's Mana would be refined as if by the Big Medicine, greatly increasing one's foundational strength,

The potential for further cultivation would greatly increase, which was very conducive to raising one's cultivation level.

The drawback was, the survival rate was less than ten percent.

Chen Yi didn't pay attention to the second-tier peak Demon Beast at her feet, but instead looked slightly distressed at the heavily injured Song Chengcheng,

"How did you end up like this? Come with me."

Chen Yi took Song Chengcheng's hand and led her into the Cave Mansion without further ado.

Song Chengcheng let Chen Yi lead her without any resistance.

At this moment, she just wanted to empty her mind and body, not to think about anything.

Upon returning to Chen Yi, she finally felt a long-lost sense of safety,

Handing over this badly injured body to be taken care of by Chen Yi,

She didn't only feel at ease, but also felt safe, and warm in her heart.

...

Chen Yi prepared a special Medicine bath for Song Chengcheng, its water was clear, and the surface calm, with occasional milky glow emerging on its surface.

He led Song Chengcheng to the edge of the bath, observing her closed eyes and unmoving form,

Chen Yi had no choice, he used his magic to remove her clothes, leaving only a covering for her modesty,

Then gently put Song Chengcheng into the Medicine bath,

The water rippled lightly, forming ripples after ripples.

After her body was fully immersed in the water,

Under the effect of the Spiritual Medicine pool, her body gradually relaxed.

As time passed, the healing component in the Spiritual medicine was steadily absorbed by her body, and her wounds began to heal,

After a long while, Song Chengcheng felt her wounds being healed one by one, and her fatigue gradually faded away.

Just when the medicinal effect in the Medicine bath was almost exhausted,

A big hand grabbed her, pulling her out of the water,

Then that hand first used a spell, rinsing her body with clean water, then changed her into dry clothes.

Throughout the process, Song Chengcheng was as obedient as a baby, complying with everything,

She even prepared herself for the major life changes that might occur after healing,

However, the owner of that hand, until the very end when she was fully dressed, did not touch her inappropriately.

Disappointment emerged within Song Chengcheng's heart,

When her eyes opened, the brightness in her eyes was already hidden, only leaving gratitude and dependence:

"Chen Yi, thank you, your place gives me the warmth of a home."

"Home my ass, if you ever let yourself be in this state again, I'll spank you!"

Chen Yi pretended to be savage,

Song Chengcheng crinkled her cute nose, angled her body slightly to reveal her buttocks, and coquettishly said,

"Then go ahead and hit it!"

Chen Yi just sighed and didn't say anything.

He knew, if he were in Song Chengcheng's position, he'd probably do the same and go fighting in the Demon Beast battlefield,

In search of that fleeting hint of the Great Path.

Song Chengcheng and Chen Yi are similar, both are individuals with unwavering will, all for the Great Path.

"Chen Yi, do you know, on my trip to the Demon Beast battlefield this time, I almost didn't make it back. I owe it all to your talisman scrolls and pills,

How can I ever repay you back?"