Chapter 164 : Origin of Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao of Nine Realms!

Chapter 164: Origin of Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao of Nine Realms!

The Champion’s Duel—it was Chu Huaixu who won that sword.

This was an established fact!

For the past thousand years, only the Dao Ancestor had been able to suppress that sword.

In that case, what he said posed no problem at all.

Certainly, the sword still had eight seals yet to be undone, but wasn’t Chu Huaixu still only in the First Realm?

Therefore, when he said, “If the Dao Ancestor could do it, so can I,” at this moment, it was no longer a declaration.

It was the final outcome.

Sitting at the very end, Chu Yinyin was the first to show support for her future disciple.

The Old Girl immediately exclaimed, “Good! Such bold spirit! Excellent!”

Xiang Yan and the others could only follow along with smiles.

Only Jiang Zhi sat in the upper seat, his face expressionless.

When Chu Yinyin caught sight of Little Martial Uncle’s expression, her anger flared.

‘No wonder Master always says he’s stubborn and self-opinionated, dead set in his ways.’

‘Outstanding in cultivation, but average in everything else.’

The Old Girl, who feared Little Martial Uncle the least, swept her divine sense over Chu Huaixu—and instantly her eyes widened into full circles.

She began unleashing close-range output again.

“Little Martial Uncle, didn’t you just say that Xu Ziqing lost to Chu Huaixu only because he hadn’t yet reached the Great Completion of the First Realm? That Xu Ziqing had a sudden insight after the battle and broke through two heavens in one go—if they fought again, the outcome would be uncertain?”

“But I see that Chu Huaixu has also advanced at lightning speed. Don’t believe me? Look!”

As soon as the crowd heard that, they all swept their divine sense over him—and immediately gasped in surprise.

Zhao Shuqin, the squinty-eyed one, was the top authority in such matters.

His primary cultivation lay in Eye Techniques, his insight several times sharper than others.

Which was why, when Xu Ziqing began cultivating the 《Sword Nurturing Art》, the others had assigned him to protect.

This Fifth Elder instantly clicked his tongue in amazement. “He’s already reached the Great Completion of the First Realm, yet his physical strength can still improve?”

“The spiritual energy in his body also seems to have grown more abundant.”

“Chu Huaixu, how did you manage this?”

By logic, the kid had already reached the Ninth Heaven of the First Realm. Even with improvements, they should have been minimal.

He was now at a bottleneck stage.

To break into the Second Realm, he needed to shatter that bottleneck—only then could he continue progressing.

But he’d never heard of anyone, while at a bottleneck, instead of shattering the bottle—just directly... enlarged it?

“Disciple does not know,” Chu Huaixu replied.

He stood at the center of the grand hall, glanced at Jiang Zhi seated above, and continued:

“It’s just that after the battle with Little Xu and the Bronze Sword, this disciple also had a moment of insight.”

“After returning to recuperate and cultivate in silence, I activated the 《Dao Canon》—and suddenly had a breakthrough.”

At this point, he no longer feared being seen as too “special,” nor worried about being different from other cultivators.

In short, if anything went wrong—blame the 《Dao Canon》.

Could there be anything wrong with me?

It’s just that, for the past thousand years, none of you have grasped the profundity of the 《Dao Canon》.

Upon hearing that, Chu Yinyin got fired up again and led the praise.

“Good! Very good! Who would’ve thought that even at the Great Completion of the First Realm, your cultivation could still rise.”

Having said that, she looked toward Jiang Zhi and smiled. “Little Martial Uncle, I get the feeling that even if Xu Ziqing fought again, he’d still lose, don’t you think?”

At this point, it was clear: Xu Ziqing was nurtured by Little Martial Uncle.

Chu Huaixu, on the other hand, was her own disciple.

Of course her stance was firm—and she had no intention of losing face.

When Jiang Zhi heard that, his brows furrowed. He let out a cold snort but said nothing.

As Sect Master, Xiang Yan quickly intervened:

“Hey! Little Junior Sister, the Eastern Continent Grand Competition is already over—don’t say such pointless things.”

“Chu Huaixu has already won. How could there be another match?”

Chu Yinyin immediately fell silent. After all, her disciple was the champion. Hmph!

Once the Sect Master wrapped up the ceremony, he began with the first official matter.

“Chu Huaixu, during the platform match, a portion of the baleful aura on the Bronze Sword—I noticed it was absorbed by the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Scabbard. Did this leave any hidden danger?”

Hmm? So that dark bluish-black aura was called baleful aura?

He had no intention of exposing 【Dao Birth One】 for now.

Although the Dao Gate crowd had treated him decently, and he was starting to feel integrated into the sect, he still instinctively wanted to keep some space and secrets for himself.

Thus, he didn’t mention the Medicinal Cauldron refining the baleful aura.

Chu Huaixu only said, “I don’t know why, but it was all dispersed by the Sword Scabbard.”

He directly took out 【Ding Fengbo】 from his Storage Token.

Zhao Shuqin glanced at the Sword Scabbard, nodded, and saw nothing unusual.

Obviously, not even he could see through that black bead.

Chu Huaixu felt a bit more reassured in his heart.

Still, he feigned curiosity and asked, “Sect Master, what exactly is this baleful aura?”

Xiang Yan didn’t hold back and explained, “This is the most sinister aura between Heaven and Earth—extremely evil. Even we cannot resist its devouring nature. I didn’t expect the Dao Ancestor’s Sword Scabbard to suppress it. Therefore, if anything unusual happens, you must report it to us immediately.”

“Yes.” Chu Huaixu nodded obediently on the surface.

But inwardly, he was even more intrigued. What on earth would 【Dao Birth One】 eventually refine this stuff into?

From the Sect Master’s tone, it seemed this baleful aura could even harm someone in the Eighth Realm—it couldn’t be stopped?

That’s impressive!

Unfortunately, the baleful aura absorbed by the Medicinal Cauldron wasn’t much.

After all, the Bronze Sword still had eight restrictions—and they had only exchanged a few moves.

“But,” he mused, “if the sword’s in Little Xu’s hand, couldn’t I just have him draw it again for me to absorb later?”

Dead Fox had already begun fantasizing in his mind.

Chapter 165: Origin Fragment, the Nine-Realm Path!

Of course, since even Xiang Yan had said this was the most sinister aura between Heaven and Earth, he naturally had to stay cautious—he would treat it with care when the time came, lest any mishap occur.

The Sect Master looked toward Chu Huaixu and continued, “I heard from Junior Sister Nangong that you’ve already gone to the Treasure Pavilion to claim your Champion’s reward, and that you chose the Jade Pendant from Hidden Spirit Mountain.”

“Yes.”

Hidden Spirit Mountain was managed by Nangong Yue. Since he had chosen an item from the mountain, it was normal for her to know—her approval was required, after all.

“Mm. That jade pendant suits you well. In the long run, it will greatly benefit your path of body refinement—a fine choice,” Xiang Yan commented.

“In time, I’ll have Junior Sister Nangong and Senior Brother Lu work together to add a defensive spell to that jade pendant.”

Hearing this, Chu Huaixu immediately showed delight and said, “Thank you, Sect Master. Thank you, two Elders!”

Body refiners like him weren’t as arrogant as sword cultivators—

—those sword maniacs who thought having one sword was enough for everything.

But he, with such a tough body, was still obsessed with stacking defense in every possible way.

Right now, Chu Huaixu had only 【Ink Splash】 and the 【Black-Gold Robe】—which still felt a bit lacking.

What he wanted was maximum defense—so that after an enemy exhausted themselves breaking through his protection, they would find him lightly wounded—and rapidly regenerating!

Wouldn’t that drive anyone to despair?

Nangong Yue looked toward Chu Huaixu and smiled faintly. “You’ll have to wait a few days for that jade pendant, but it will definitely reach your hands before the Eastern and Western Continents Grand Competition.”

Chu Huaixu instantly understood—the true purpose was indeed for the upcoming grand match.

Sure enough, Xiang Yan spoke again: “That champion from the Western Continent, the Heir of Prince Rui, will depart tomorrow for the Dao Gate.”

“The final match of the Eastern and Western Continents Grand Competition has been set for seven days from now.”

“This Heir of Prince Rui seems to have some tricks up his sleeve. I heard he even entered the Emperor’s Mausoleum.”

“Do not underestimate him.”

Chu Huaixu nodded firmly. “This disciple will give his all, and fight with everything he has.”

He naturally wouldn’t dare look down on that World Protagonist from the Western Continent’s Moon Country.

Moreover, he knew what made the Heir of Prince Rui so special.

‘That guy... is literally carrying a cheat device,’ Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

Since things had already reached this point, he faintly anticipated that the Dao Gate’s upper echelon might reveal some hidden truths to him.

Sure enough, it was Li Chunsong who spoke next.

Dead Gambler believed that since Chu Huaixu had joined the sect because of his own lucky intervention, he was the one most qualified to discuss this matter.

What Little Martial Uncle or Sect Master? They could all step aside!

Without Li Chunsong’s great contribution, would the Dao Gate have this champion?

“Chu Huaixu, there’s something we’ve discussed among ourselves—and we believe it’s time to share a bit with you,” said the Benevolent Gambling King.

“But this matter is of great importance. You must not speak of it to anyone else.”

“Yes, Sixth Elder, please go ahead,” Chu Huaixu replied.

“You are now the Champion of the Eastern Continent. Perhaps you think the coming battle between East and West is merely one of honor for our side.”

“But I must tell you—it is more than that.”

“This concerns not only the honor of the Eastern Continent, nor just that of our Dao Gate, but it is also linked to a certain special secret realm.”

“When you go there, if you can complete the mission we entrust to you, you’ll obtain immense fortune and destiny within.”

“There lies a supreme treasure of Heaven and Earth—the Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin.”

“With it, you’ll have a chance in the future to ascend to the Nine Realms.”

“You may think of it as the key that opens the gate to the Nine Realms.”

“In truth, even at your current stage, it will benefit you greatly.”

“Because you can refine it right now. Once you successfully refine the Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin, a trace of Origin Power will be born within you. Your overall cultivation speed will then undergo a qualitative leap.”

This was the first time Chu Huaixu had heard of such a thing as the 【Origin Fragment】.

He roughly grasped the meaning.

‘So basically, I’m going to clear a secret realm, and this thing is like a dungeon reward. I can use it right away—and it’ll speed up my cultivation.’

‘And without this item, one can’t reach the Ninth Realm. Meaning it’s also paving the way for my future.’

‘But since I level up through the System… if I use this Origin Fragment, maybe my System will give me a discount on experience points for the next upgrade?’

It sounded extremely tempting!

This was indeed a monumental fortune.

Li Chunsong looked at him, smiling as he continued, “I know you’re a clever one—you’ve probably already caught on to what I meant.”

“That’s right. By the established rules, the Fragment of Xuanhuang Origin will belong to you!”

Just then, a familiar system notification suddenly chimed in Chu Huaixu’s ears.

“【Ding! You have successfully unlocked the follow-up main quest for the ‘Eastern and Western Continents Grand Competition’—Origin Spirit Realm.】”

“【This reward will be claimable upon completion of the quest ‘Eastern and Western Continents Grand Competition’.】”

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