Chapter: Chapter 176
Chapter 176: Seven Years
Rushing back to the Inner Sect, Chen An’s fleeing figure halted as he finally let out a sigh of relief. He rubbed his face, thinking, when did his older sister become so overbearing? And he always felt like his sister was heading further and further in a strange direction… She was a complete brother-complex maniac. Standing before his cave mansion, the young man gazed in Mu Sanniang’s direction. After watching for a while, Chen An turned and entered the cave.
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From then on, the days spent in Tai Xuan Sect seemed to become peaceful. Year after year passed, and Chen An’s cultivation steadily increased with time. His cultivation speed was fast, yet it also seemed not so fast. It was fast because compared to the many senior brothers in the Inner Sect, his cultivation speed was already astonishing. But it wasn’t fast in the sense that, compared to the sensation he caused upon entering the sect, it seemed a bit mismatched. The reason behind this was likely known only to Chen An and a few of the great figures in Tai Xuan Sect.
Firstly, it was due to his physique, possessing a spiritual energy capacity far exceeding that of ordinary people. In other words, if others needed to fill a small pond to break through, Chen An needed to fill an entire lake. Therefore, relatively speaking, his speed was naturally much slower. However, there was also a hidden reason that no one knew. That was, Chen An had only taken a very small number of pills up to this point in his cultivation. On the path of cultivation, resources often accompanied cultivators and were an indispensable great help. The resources he received each month were eventually spent by Chen An through various means. Either directly exchanging them for lower-grade pills, or selling them first to get spirit stones, and then exchanging those for lower-grade pills. And all these pills were given to Mu Sanniang.
At first, he gave them directly. Later, for some unknown reason, after agreeing, Mu Sanniang suddenly went back on her word and refused to accept them. Chen An had no solution and had to resort to covert methods. For example, he would hold a pill in his mouth, then pretend to ask the girl for a kiss, and then quickly pop it in, leaving her no chance to repent. He did such things more often than not. After all, there were always more ways than difficulties! Sometimes Chen An would even use Mu Sanniang’s bullying logic to retort, “We are family, so if you eat it, it’s like I ate it. What’s the problem?”
Chen An always understood what was important. Those pills were merely icing on the cake for him; it was best to have them, but not having them wouldn’t lead to utter misery. After all, his own unique physique was the best immortal pill in the world. But Mu Sanniang was different. She had inferior spirit roots and low aptitude. If she didn’t have external help, it was likely that her cultivation would be difficult to advance throughout her life. This was not something she could change through effort alone. Effort could only reach the upper limit, but it could not change a person’s upper limit. This was a truth that did not need to be explained by others. Perhaps the girl herself understood it best in her heart.
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Cultivation knows no sun or moon; when the cold ends, one doesn’t know the year. The days of quiet cultivation in Tai Xuan Sect passed in a flash for seven years. This year, Chen An was fifteen years old, a young man in the truest sense. His cultivation also reached the late stage of Qi Refining. It sounded like his advancement wasn’t very fast, but for an ordinary Inner Sect disciple of Tai Xuan Sect, breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining within ten years was already an extremely rare genius. The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Golden Core cultivators can live for four to five hundred years, practically witnessing the rise and fall of an entire powerful dynasty, and are immortals that all mortals must look up to. Therefore, Chen An’s cultivation speed was truly not slow.
Moreover, he had tens of times more spiritual energy than cultivators of the same realm. Once he broke through to Foundation Establishment, it would likely not be difficult for him to kill cultivators in the late stage of Foundation Establishment across realms. All he lacked now was time. It was also this year that Mu Sanniang came of age. The young girl’s beauty flourished, and her stunning looks gradually matured. Only then did everyone realize that there was such a young lady in the Outer Sect of Tai Xuan Sect. She was usually reclusive and did not interact much with others. The only two things people remembered were her increasingly uncontainable appearance and her identity as “someone’s sister.” After all, stories of a genius brother and a useless sister were always worth gossiping about.
Mu Sanniang’s cultivation, after seven years, had barely reached the second level of Qi Refining. Disciples who entered the Outer Sect with her had already broken through to the third level of Qi Refining. Some had even entered the Inner Sect through the triennial Outer Sect selection. But only Mu Sanniang seemed to never keep up, always remaining at the bottom. Yet, her brother displayed astonishing aptitude, and his appearance was also outstanding, not inferior to anyone. Compared to each other, the gazes of the disciples in the Outer Sect gradually became subtle towards this young girl. Sometimes, unpleasant rumors would even spread. Saying things like, “With this level, why can she still continue to cultivate in Tai Xuan Sect without worry?” Thinking back, weren’t they all outstanding individuals who emerged from Yunji Town through their own strength? Only Mu Sanniang was an anomaly, an exception. This was human nature, and even if the Sect Master of Tai Xuan Sect himself issued an order, it could not be eradicated. Fortunately, due to Chen An’s overt presence, no one dared to truly bully the girl. However, the cold stares and veiled mockery of the world were always unavoidable.
The young girl silently endured everything but never complained to her brother. All she did was cultivate. Cultivate even harder, spending several times the usual amount of time cultivating. Apart from meeting and being affectionate with her brother on time, she had almost no other hobbies. She hadn’t relaxed at all. Chen An had wanted to advise her several times, but at the last moment, he held back and did not speak. He knew he had no right to advise her. Doing so would only add to their troubles.
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One ordinary afternoon. Chen An, as usual, arrived at the Outer Sect, at Mu Sanniang’s house. The young man had arrived by sword, but he was flying crookedly, looking like he would fall at any moment. This was because sword riding was something only Foundation Establishment cultivators could barely control. He was merely in the late stage of Qi Refining, the ninth level. If not for his abundant spiritual energy, he would have been drained by the sword riding technique in a matter of seconds. Stopping in front of the house, the young man leaped lightly. He was wearing a cyan robe with gold trim on the cuffs, a symbol of an Inner Sect disciple of Tai Xuan Sect. The young man had now fully matured, his features shedding their childishness and leaving only handsomeness, his demeanor even more free and unrestrained. Even without his genius aura, his appearance alone could draw frequent attention from people.
He pushed open the door and found it empty, causing him to frown slightly. Chen An was a little confused. Today was supposed to be his regular “date” with Sanniang, so why was she gone? The young man stood in the room, pondered for a moment, and then turned to leave. Chen An went to the Outer Sect affairs office. Here, he learned of Mu Sanniang’s whereabouts. “You’re saying she took a mission to go down the mountain to hunt demons and hasn’t returned yet?” Hearing the reply from the attendant, Chen An raised an eyebrow. He then stopped delaying and turned to fly back to his cave mansion. Since she wasn’t here now, he could come back later to check. As for Mu Sanniang’s safety, Chen An was not too worried. After all, Chen An had stuffed so many magic treasures bestowed by Dao Xuan Zhenren and other great figures onto Mu Sanniang. If something were to happen to her even with those, then staying in Tai Xuan Sect would be pointless.
With this thought, Chen An had already arrived in front of his cave mansion. He flicked his finger, and the stone door opened. Then, as he stepped into the cave mansion, a clean white object swooped down from above. It directly lunged at his face. Chen An instinctively reached out to block, grasping the smooth white object in his hand. Clearly, judging by his practiced response, this was not the first time he had experienced such a sneak attack. The attacker was the girl’s graceful bare feet. Her instep was slightly arched, clean and lustrous, without a speck of dust. Her snowy white skin revealed the faintly blue blood vessels clearly visible beneath. Her red dress slowly lowered, accompanied by the girl’s smiling voice. “Yo, it’s only been a few days, and your skills have improved…” The young man glanced over, a speechless expression on his face. “Jiang Qiuchi, how bored are you?”
