Chapter 298 - To the Death (2/2)

Xiao Chen frowned, believing that the Leopard Cat Spirit must have wanted to stay in this domain, for a few more days. He decided that he should go and see for himself tomorrow. If the Cat Spirit was lying to him, he did not know how long more it would take, before the portal opened again.

He had a sound rest that night, and headed northwest to the Chaos Valley the next morning. He realized that the crack was indeed much greater, and the spirit energy flowing out of it was much more intense. However, he was still unable to enter it.

“Look, did I lie to you?”

Xiao Chen nodded. “Keep observing the crack. I’ll head back to prepare myself to achieve breakthrough again,” he said.

Zhiluan was shocked to hear that. “Don’t act rashly again, kid. What if you kill me by accident the next time you undergo Qi Deviation?”

Xiao Chen shook his head. “I won’t,” he replied. The last time, he was impatient and did not stop himself, even when the Mystic Diabolic Enchantment was activated. He would not make the same mistake again.

Seven more days passed. During this time, Xiao Chen tried to break into the Nascent Soul Realm daily. He had absorbed a sufficient amount of Spiritual Qi to do so, but each time he was close to doing that, the Mystic Diabolic Enchantment would be activated, and disrupt his thoughts, as if it was trying to draw him to the dark side.

As such, he had to stop himself every time. If he had allowed himself to use the enchantment to achieve breakthrough, he would have long attained Nascent Soul Realm power. However, he was unwilling to do so, as it would have drawn him into the dark side.

Each time, Zhiluan would hide himself far away and observe Xiao Chen in fear. He was afraid that Xiao would turn to the dark side and use him as an elixir. The cat would wake up in fear during the night, even after hearing a gentle breeze. Undeniably, it was close to breaking down from having to remain beside someone teethering on the brink of both the light and dark sides, even though it was an Immortal.

He walked up carefully to Xiao Chen when he saw that he had failed yet again. “Kid…why don’t you give up. You still have a long way to go, why are you so intent on…” it said softly.

Xiao Chen pinched his fingers together. “A long way to go…I’ve already lost a few millennia. How much time do you think I’ve left?”

Qianyu Nishang had already become the Immortal King of a certain land, while he was still stuck at the fringes of the Nascent Soul Realm. What else did he have to say? Was he still supposed to call her “Junior Sister” like before?

Furthermore, he had killed the junior of the Nascent Soul being, Wan Gufeng. He knew Wan would not let the matter rest. He had not acted because Xiao was still in the Taoist League of the Five Continents, and had the backing of Zi Mo and the others. Was he going to have to hide behind someone else for the rest of his life, though?

Xiao Chen felt his emotions were in turmoil. Zhiluan tried to console him, “Alright, alright. Don’t put on such a long face. The Immortal’s Sword Assembly is about to begin, why don’t we see if we can get out from this place today?”

Xiao Chen sighed and nodded. Man and cat went northwest again to the valley. The crack was much larger today, and an endless stream of Spiritual Qi kept surging out from it.

“It’s about right. Can we leave now?”

Xiao Chen looked back toward the valley of flowers, replying, “Let’s wait for another three more days.”

They returned back again. It was going to be his last attempt to achieve breakthrough. If he failed, he would have to leave without any complaints. They had to, as the Portal of Chaos could shut down anytime, and he did not know when it would reopen again.

This time, Xiao Chen went to the waterfall above the pool. He observed the waterfall, which was dozens of meters high. Water splattered against the nearby cliff with booming sounds, and it was an immensely powerful waterfall.

After consideration, Xiao Chen launched himself from the tip of his toes, and flew into the waterfall. He could feel the immense pressure crashing onto his head, and it gave him difficulty in breathing.

He had not expected that he would be using a waterfall hundreds of meters long, to help him reach the Nascent Soul Realm; in the past, he did so, after being burnt by hellfire. After he readied himself, Xiao Chen sat down, cross legged. He was prepared to go ahead with his final plan. If he failed this time, he would rid himself of all his cultivation powers! He would start all over again!

Time ticked on by. Xiao Chen shut his eyes lightly and wiped his mind clean of all thoughts. He changed the Xuanqing mind cultivation method repeatedly, from Qi Refining to Foundation Building, then Core Forming Realm. He refined his energy into Qi, and then into spiritual energy. As he did so, he remembered his master’s words, “Take flight with the goodness in Nature, and the six Qis…forget yourself and observe everything with your heart. You’ll then be connected to Nature.”

Xiao Chen had slowly entered a state of complete mindfulness. Immortals and demons were illusory and unable to affect him!

Zhiluan observed quietly from afar. Soon, six hours passed, and night fell, but Xiao Chen was still motionless.

The night passed, but still Xiao Chen did not emerge from the waterfall. Zhiluan stood guard outside the entire night, and did not dare shut its eyes, for fear that Xiao would undergo Qi Deviation again.

Soon, three days had passed. Zhiluan was already completely fatigued. Just as it was about to fall asleep, a wisp of think smoke appeared above the pool, and a layer of white mist enveloped the area near the waterfall.