Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race
Chapter 301 - 214 Twenty Years (Gone Today)_1

Chapter 301: 214 Twenty Years (Gone Today)_1

Time flies swiftly by, and twenty years have passed.

At Golden Roc Peak, the door to a certain secret chamber opened, and Shen Long walked out, his brows deeply furrowed.

He had spent twenty years in closed-door cultivation, focusing earnestly, yet his cultivation had stagnated, stuck at a bottleneck.

Bottlenecks are something every cultivator must face, and they vary from person to person. He had not expected to be stuck at a bottleneck again, uncertain of how to resolve it.

A thunderous roar that was deafening to the ears surrounded him, prompting an idea, and he strode out.

Outside, he saw two enormous thunderclouds floating above Golden Roc Peak, with thunder crashing and thick silver lightning bolts slicing through the sky, heading straight for Golden Roc Peak.

Some Gold-Winged Fire Ants were undergoing their tribulation, attempting to advance to the third tier.

Shen Long took out a Messaging Plate to contact Lin Shan, and in less than ten breaths, Lin Shan appeared before him.

"Congratulations, Uncle Shen, on concluding your retreat."

Lin Shan bowed respectfully.

Shen Long inquired about the situation with the Gold-Winged Fire Ants and learned that over thirty of them were challenging the third tier, all successfully advancing to it.

Slapping a golden Spirit Beast bag at his waist, the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen flew out, issuing a piercing shriek, as thirty-three streaks of golden light flew in from various directions, landing in front of the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen.

Shen Long fed each of them a Beast Nurturing Pill and collected them all into the Spirit Beast bag.

"In these years, which fellow disciples have come to visit me?"

Shen Long asked.

Lin Shan took out a thick blue ledger and handed it to Shen Long, reporting in detail.

Shen Long flipped through the ledger, finding Lin Shan’s records very thorough, including the visiting times, names, and purposes of each visitor.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, two more Gold-Winged Fire Ants successfully advanced to the third tier and smoothly overcame their Heavenly Tribulation.

Two beams of golden light flew towards him, landing before Shen Long. Their bodies were charred, and their auras weak.

Shen Long fed each of them a Beast Nurturing Pill and put them back into the Spirit Beast bag.

"Has Senior Sister Chen not returned yet?"

Shen Long inquired.

"She returned a few years ago and smoothly resolved her bottleneck. It’s said she’s attempting to advance to the Core Formation Stage,"

Lin Shan replied.

Shen Long nodded and transformed into a red Escape Light, tearing through the air toward Ice Silkworm Valley.

After leaving Golden Roc Peak for fifty li, he noticed a massive number of five-colored light spots appearing in the emptiness of space, dazzling like fireworks.

He grabbed a handful of five-colored light spots and discovered they were pure Spiritual Energy.

These light spots were converging in a certain direction, forming an enormous vortex of Spiritual Energy.

"A phenomenon of Nascent Soul formation; someone is attempting to reach the Nascent Soul Stage,"

Shen Long recognized the origin of this spectacle.

It was not surprising for Core Formation Cultivators of the long-standing Spirit Control Sect to challenge the Nascent Soul Stage.

He increased his Escape Speed and arrived at Ice Silkworm Valley, where he sent out a Sound Transmission Talisman and quietly waited.

Before long, Ice Flood Dragon True Person emerged.

"Let’s go; your Senior Sister is challenging the Core Formation Stage. Follow me to take a look,"

Ice Flood Dragon True Person said, transforming into an Escape Light, heading toward the southwest, with Shen Long closely following behind.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, they landed on the peak of a steep mountain, looking out at a mass of thunderclouds in the distance, where thunder boomed and thick silver lightning struck continuously, the lightning dazzling to the eyes.

"It’s not a problem for Senior Sister to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation,"

Shen Long stated.

"I hope so,"

Ice Flood Dragon True Person nodded. Shen Long had attracted Tricolor Divine Thunder when he was challenging Core Formation; he wasn’t sure if Chen Bing would attract Tricolor Divine Thunder as well.

"By the way, this is the Dharma Treasure Ice Flood Dragon Claw that I have refined for you."

Ice Flood Dragon True Person took out four giant claws that flickered with white light and handed them to Shen Long.

"Ice Flood Dragon Claw! Thank you, Master,"

Shen Long expressed his gratitude, accepting the four giant white claws.

Ice Flood Dragon True Person looked Shen Long over and frowned, "Why has your aura not strengthened? Are you stuck at a bottleneck?"

"Indeed, Disciple doesn’t know how to resolve this bottleneck,"

Shen Long sighed.

"You’re still young, don’t worry about it. Either traveling or fighting life-and-death battles may give you a chance to break through the bottleneck,"

Ice Flood Dragon True Person comforted him.

Shen Long nodded, agreeing with his words.

As the twenty-sixth bolt of Heavenly Tribulation struck down, the thunderclouds churned and surged, transforming into a thick-waisted silver Thunder Serpent that pounced toward a certain valley below.

The moment the silver Thunder Serpent approached within ten zhang of the valley, nine sparkling white flying knives were hurled out, striking the body of the silver Thunder Serpent in succession, causing it to explode and turn into a massive ball of silver lightning that engulfed the entire valley.

Ice Flood Dragon True Person let out a sigh of relief, without any special power of thunder and lightning, Chen Bing’s passage through the Heavenly Tribulation wasn’t a problem.

After a while, Shen Long and Ice Flood Dragon True Person both felt an astonishing spirit pressure.

The thunderlight dissipated, and the valley had been flattened by the Heavenly Tribulation, with Chen Bing standing in the middle of scorched earth, covered by a thin, almost invisible, white light screen.

Her complexion was somewhat pale, and she emitted a strong spirit pressure.

Ice Flood Dragon True Person and Shen Long hurried over, their faces beaming with joy.

"Congratulations, Senior Sister, on advancing to the Core Formation Stage. Here is a bottle of Bright Moon Pills and this Dharma Treasure, the Ice Moon Blade, as a token of my regards," Shen Long said as he took out a cyan Storage Bag and handed it to Chen Bing.

"This is too precious, Junior Brother," Chen Bing demurred.

"Why stand on ceremony among fellow sect members?" Shen Long said nonchalantly.

A bottle of Bright Moon Pills and a Dharma Treasure really weren’t much to him; he could earn them quite easily.

"Just accept it if your Junior Brother is giving it to you! In the future, if you come across any good items, just think of your Junior Brother," Ice Flood Dragon True Person said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Chen Bing no longer refused and, thanking him, she accepted the cyan Storage Bag.

After a bit of casual conversation, they returned to Ice Silkworm Valley. Chen Bing entered a secret chamber to recuperate and consolidate her realm.

Shen Long and Ice Flood Dragon True Person proceeded to the Ice Silkworm Pavilion and brought up the topic of bottlenecks.

"Don’t rush. First, discuss with fellow disciples methods to resolve the bottleneck, such as exchanging insights on the Dao, or sparring, which can also help with resolving bottlenecks. If that doesn’t work, then consider going out to travel," Ice Flood Dragon True Person suggested.

"That is also what I plan to do. If I’m still stuck, I’ll make a trip to the Cultivation Realm of the Northern Sea to hunt Monster Beasts. In the midst of life-and-death struggles, perhaps I can resolve the bottleneck," Shen Long said.

After chatting over tea for a while, Shen Long bid farewell and left.

He arrived at a steep red peak. The area above the waist of the mountain was covered by a red fog, and at the foot of the mountain there was a golden stele over ten zhang high inscribed with the words "Red Flood Dragon Peak"—this was the residence of Red Flood Dragon True Person.

Shen Long sent out a Sound Transmission Talisman, and before long, the red fog churned, and the voice of Red Flood Dragon True Person rang out, "Junior Brother Shen, it’s been a long time, come on up!"

As soon as the voice ended, the red fog turned into a red cloud ladder that appeared in front of Shen Long.

Shen Long stepped onto the red cloud ladder, which suddenly wrapped around him and pulled him into the red fog. His vision blurred, and he appeared in a quiet courtyard where Red Flood Dragon True Person was sitting on a red stone with a smile.

"Junior Brother Shen, what a rare visitor! Please, take a seat," Red Flood Dragon True Person greeted him.

Shen Long sat down and casually chatted with Red Flood Dragon True Person over tea.

"Senior Brother Han, I would like to spar with you, using only our physical strength. What do you say?" Shen Long asked politely.

He wanted to gauge his own strength, as Red Flood Dragon True Person was at the late stage of Core Formation.

"A spar? Sure! Let’s do it at the foot of the mountain! We’ll decide the winner with one punch," Red Flood Dragon True Person agreed enthusiastically.

They proceeded to an open field at the base of the mountain, and both of them glowed with red light which issued a crackling sound of bones, their bodies developing several red scales.

Shen Long’s right fist shone with red light. As he threw the punch towards Red Flood Dragon True Person, the latter, undaunted, swung his right fist to meet it.

Their fists collided with a deafening boom, unleashing a powerful shockwave that cracked the ground. Red Flood Dragon True Person was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood, his face filled with incredulity.

Both were cultivators of the Nine Transformations Flood Dragon Art—his cultivation was higher than Shen Long’s, yet even if his physical strength was inferior, it shouldn’t be by such a vast margin!

"I concede, Senior Brother Han. Here, take this bottle of Gold Ganoderma Pills for recovery," Shen Long said as he threw a cyan porcelain bottle to Red Flood Dragon True Person.

He hadn’t used his full strength, just 70 percent of his qi strength.

He had swallowed the Corpse Pearl of a late-stage Core Formation Corpse King and had consumed the Vajra Bone Tempering Pill and Golden Hao Jade Liquid, which made his physique exceptionally strong.

Red Flood Dragon True Person caught the cyan porcelain bottle and asked, "Junior Brother Shen, how many drops of essence blood have you condensed by now?"

Each Cultivator had a certain amount of essence blood in their body; Body Cultivators with vigorous qi and blood had more essence blood. The more essence blood, the stronger the physique.

"Over a hundred drops!" Shen Long replied.

Red Flood Dragon True Person gave a wry smile and said, "It seems you held back in our spar. I’ve only managed to condense just over eighty drops."

"I’ve taken quite a few elixirs that temper the body, so having a bit more than Senior Brother Han isn’t surprising," Shen Long said modestly.

"That’s true, but condensing even a single drop of essence blood is not easy for Body Cultivators. When it comes to physical strength alone, there are not many Core Formation Cultivators who can match you. I guess only someone from the Barbarian Tribe at the same stage could compete with you," Red Flood Dragon True Person remarked.