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Chapter 104: The Fastest Man on Mount Shu

After bidding her farewell, Chu Liang couldn't help but sigh.

Reading many books does have its uses.

Upon returning to the Silver Sword Peak, he first headed to the hill behind the peak to practice wielding the Razor Leaf for a while.

After several rounds of training, Chu Liang discovered a discernible pattern to it. However, fully mastering it proved to be quite challenging. He could only rely on extensive practice and analyze the patterns through trial and error.

Observing the characteristics of Wen Yulong's weapon refining technique during multiple sessions, Chu Liang noted that it prioritized achieving a desired effect directly without considering potential negative consequences. While the resulting weapon was undoubtedly powerful, it was also highly unbalanced, making it difficult to control.

Aiming at a tree in front of him, Chu Liang swung the Razor Leaf dozens of times, leaving half of the forest in disarray, with only the targeted tree remaining intact.

Great.

Well, does this count as "protective aiming"?

As Chu Liang stared at the wounded trees around him, he felt it might be necessary to find a more remote location next time to practice. The trees on the various peaks of Mount Shu served as the sect's facade, and chopping them down in this chaotic manner wasn't really aesthetically pleasing.

He could obtain some growth-stimulating powder from Hall of Alchemy and quickly cultivate a new forest...

But that would cost money.

After practicing for a while, he spared the remaining trees and returned to his room. As he checked the time, he realized that almost an hour had passed.

Assuming that Zhang Xiaohan's conversation with Jiang Yuebai concluded, Chu Liang picked up a piece of paper and started writing a message.

"Senior Sister Jiang, today I noticed that your expression wasn't good, as if you were in a bad mood. Did something bother you?"

After writing the letter, he folded the letter into a paper crane, infused a bit of his foundational qi, and sent the paper crane soaring towards Azure Falling Peak.

It took quite some time before a paper crane returned.

Chu Liang unfolded it and saw only three words written on it: "I am fine."

He couldn't help but chuckle.

It would be odd if she was actually fine.

If she wasn't genuinely upset, her response should have been more along the lines of, "Oh no, what's the matter? Today's weather is so nice. I'm really happy for you. After all, I've taught you well..."

Chu Liang decided not to expose her.

Instead, he replied, "I'm glad to hear you're doing fine. I was a bit worried. By the way, I just got some new flavors of fruit tea. I was thinking of bringing some to you. Let's meet at the usual place later."

This time, the response was quite prompt, and it was a rejection as he had expected. Jiang Yuebai replied with just two words, "Next time."

Chu Liang then responded, "If you have time, why not today? We haven't seen each other for so many days. The Baize youngling has been telling me that it misses you."

Normally, if Jiang Yuebai declined his invitation, he wouldn't say much. However, since she seemed a bit upset, he knew that his relationship with her would become ice cold if he had allowed her to calm down by herself.

Chu Liang needed to put in a little effort.

After a while, the paper crane flew back with the message: "I didn't know it could talk... Fine, let's meet at the usual place later."

Seeing this, Chu Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

...

When Chu Liang arrived at Treasured Pagoda Peak, Jiang Yuebai was already inside the waterfall cave, where the cheerful cries of the Baize youngling echoed.

"Hreeooorrh~"

Carrying several jars of fruit tea of different flavors, Chu Liang stepped in and said with a smile, "I told you it misses you, right?"

Upon seeing Chu Liang, the Baize youngling immediately bounced over, jumping around him in circles and nuzzling against him.

"Hmph." Jiang Yuebai gave a light snort and rolled her eyes as she commented. "I think it misses you more."

Chu Liang placed the fruit tea on the stone table and said, "One jar of each flavor. Senior Sister Jiang, please try them."

"Did you let Miss Xue, the girl who played qin for you, taste this fruit tea first?" Jiang Yuebai asked casually.

"Of course..." Chu Liang answered without hesitation.

"Hmm?" Jiang Yuebai raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" Chu Liang smiled and said, "You were the first person I thought of sharing this fruit tea."

Jiang Yuebai then withdrew her unfriendly gaze.

Chu Liang continued, "I plan to have Senior Sister Jiang taste each flavor so that I can choose the best one and send it to Miss Xue."

"You..."

Even as Jiang Yuebai's face tensed up, she still looked very pretty.

"Hehe, of course, I was just joking," Chu Liang said as he sat down. "I don't know why she keeps asking about Xue Lingxue. Maybe she wants to find some enticing rumors. I don't really know Miss Xue that well. The situation is just as I mentioned—I helped her with a small favor, and she saved me once. However, it's impossible for her to compare to Senior Sister Jiang in my heart."

"Tch, as if I care," Jiang Yuebai turned her face away.

But with this ongoing interaction, the tension in the air eased.

The two chatted for a while, with Chu Liang recounting his experiences over the past few days, and Jiang Yuebai briefly mentioning what she had been doing.

It turned out that there was a group in the Eastern Regions pretending to be associated with the Divine Ruins Monastery and lying to people. She went there and dealt with those individuals.

Chu Liang had heard of the Divine Ruins.

In this world, those who reached the ninth realm—the Profound Realm—could be described as Hallowed Ones, and there were only a few such individuals throughout history. According to legends, each cultivator at the Profound Realm would enter the Divine Ruins as soon as their life was about to end and never appear in the mortal realm again.

There were various rumors about the Divine Ruins. Some claimed it was the tomb where gods were buried, while others believed it was the only path to ascension.

In any case, it was a mysterious and unpredictable legendary place.

As for what the Divine Ruins Monastery was, Jiang Yuebai didn't go into detail.

Seeing her reluctance to discuss that place, Chu Liang didn't press further. If he was curious, he could ask others later.

After chatting for a while, Jiang Yuebai changed the topic. "How far have you progressed in your cultivation of the talismanic sword seal? Show me."

As Chu Liang faced the impromptu inspection, he immediately stood up, feeling energized.

"I can now proficiently perform the Dual Talismanic Sword of Wind and Fire, and I've mastered writing the talisman script of ice, fire, and wind," he said.

As he spoke, he promptly demonstrated both the Dual Talismanic Sword of Ice and Fire and the Dual Talismanic Sword of Thunder and Fire, showcasing incredible progress.

Seeing Chu Liang's rapid advancement, Jiang Yuebai found herself less surprised. After all, Chu Liang had consistently surprised her from the beginning until now.

She felt numb to it.

Yet, she keenly sensed something unusual about the power of the Dual Talismanic Sword Seal.

"The power of your sword seal has increased significantly. What's your current cultivation realm?" she asked.

"The later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm." Chu Liang said as he revealed his aura.

As Jiang Yuebai sensed Chu Liang's aura, she fell silent for a moment.

When she first met Chu Liang, he had just achieved the middle stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm. His cultivation level was relatively low. Within a short period, he had advanced beyond the middle stage and reached the later stage...

In addition, Jiang Yuebai could discern through his aura that he was indeed at the later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm; in fact, he was almost at the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm.

If he were to attain the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, it would mean that he had completed the cultivation of the third realm and could then start preparing to break through into the fourth realm.

The method for the breakthrough is to form the Golden core, also known as the stage of Core Formation.

Once the Core Formation was achieved, it signified that one had broken through the first stage, stepping out of the Earthly Gate and into the Golden Core Realm of the Heavenly Gate.

Although the formation of the Golden Core would be a formidable challenge for most people, Jiang Yuebai realized that with Chu Liang's talent, he would likely not be stuck behind this hurdle for long. In fact, she believed that he would soon be at the Golden Core Realm.

Reaching such a level at his age would be considered outstanding among the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten sects. Of course, even if he reached the Golden Core Realm, there would still be a considerable gap between his cultivation level and that of Jiang Yuebai.

But...

Jiang Yuebai thought to herself. Isn't his progress going a bit too fast?

Jiang Yuebai pondered. When she was progressing from the middle stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm to the later stage, she was advancing at a much slower speed.

Jiang Yuebai stared at Chu Liang.

She knew that this young man was very fast.

Still, she would often be amazed at how fast he could be.

In terms of his cultivation speed, he could undoubtedly be considered the fastest man on Mount Shu[1].

The reason for specifically referring to Chu Liang as a man was because there was once a woman with a cultivation speed comparable to Chu Liang's speed. And that woman was Jiang Yuebai's teacher, Daoist Yan...

"Senior Sister Jiang? Is my progress okay?" Chu Liang whispered as he observed Jiang Yuebai, who was lost in thought.

"It's okay..." Jiang Yuebai nodded, then suddenly asked, "Chu Liang, you haven't been secretly cultivating any diabolical techniques, have you?"

1. In Chinese slang, when a man is being described as fast, it's not a compliment. It means no stamina in bed. ☜