Chapter 223 : Sword Mark of the Dao Ancestor

Chapter 223: Sword Mark of the Dao Ancestor

Chu Huaixu had no idea what exactly Han Shuangjiang had added to her “bathwater.”

In any case, his meridians had been significantly widened, which would enhance both the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy and the rate of mana recovery.

Beyond that, for some unknown reason, although the total amount of spiritual energy hadn’t increased, it seemed to have become denser—as if its quality had been indirectly improved to a small degree.

It was precisely because of this that 【Spirit Gathering】 had also received an indirect enhancement.

At this moment, without a doubt, he had reached his absorption limit.

The reason Han Shuangjiang had left so much medicinal liquid after bathing was definitely because she couldn’t absorb it all.

“Eighty percent chance I can’t take this with me either,” Chu Huaixu thought.

Knowing his Little Housekeeper well, she was so thrifty she’d probably choose to pack it up.

This space was clearly embedded with numerous restrictions and techniques; otherwise, his body wouldn’t have been restrained at the beginning.

Chu Huaixu now activated his Body Training Divine Ability and instantly entered 【Saint Body State】.

The next moment, he began frenziedly absorbing the power from the medicinal liquid.

He even drew a vortex into the wooden tub from sheer absorption.

“Sure enough, my body has reached its limit, but the Saint Body is far from done!”

His already broadened meridians began to ache further.

Strangely enough, this time even his tendons and bones ached, as if the medicinal power was penetrating through them to widen the meridians anew.

From a certain perspective, wasn’t this a brand-new version of 《Painful Menstruation》?

With a blank expression, Chu Huaixu calmly continued soaking.

He knew well that the higher the Special Attribute went, the harder it would be to improve.

His 【Spirit Gathering】 was already at 4 points—it wouldn’t be easy to push it further.

Given his current cultivation level, he couldn’t maintain the Saint Body State for very long.

Fortunately, his absorption efficiency was freakishly high, to the point it felt like, “As long as I don’t die from absorbing, I’ll keep absorbing till death.”

This caused the medicinal liquid in the tub to grow increasingly diluted in color.

When the pain in his meridians fully subsided, it meant he was saturated once more.

The liquid had faded to its extreme—its medicinal power nearly fully depleted.

“【Ding! Congratulations, ‘Spirit Gathering’ Attribute +1!】”

Almost simultaneously, a system prompt rang in his ears.

Frowning, Chu Huaixu rose from the wooden tub and used the formation in his Black-Gold Robe to instantly dry the water from his clothes.

He glanced down at the tub. The golden mark on his brow and the golden flames in his eyes vanished, returning to normal.

“Was it all just perfectly timed?”

“Just as the medicine was used up, my Spirit Gathering rose by 1?”

Turning around, he looked back. Through the short tunnel, he once again saw the spacious open area beyond.

His gaze settled on the massive character【Dao】engraved into the ground.

“Was it really just a coincidence?” Chu Huaixu wondered.

Inside the stone room, a new stone door opened after Chu Huaixu emerged from the wooden tub.

He still didn’t know which trial Big Ice Block was stuck in within the secret realm.

All he wanted now was to see her as soon as possible.

Before him was yet another long, narrow passage.

Reaching its end, Chu Huaixu encountered another white light membrane.

Now a seasoned pro, he didn’t even hesitate or probe—he dove right in.

Sure enough, after absorbing a wisp of Dao Canon power, he successfully entered the third trial.

The secret realm seemed to have mistaken him for the Dao Ancestor himself.

Even if this was a solo instance, surely the instance’s creator would be allowed to enter?

What delighted him was that he quickly caught sight of a familiar figure.

Han Shuangjiang was seated cross-legged, facing forward.

This immediately clued Chu Huaixu in that something was off.

“She doesn’t seem to have sensed my arrival?” he murmured with some confusion.

He hadn’t concealed his aura, nor used any stealth technique.

With Big Ice Block’s cultivation, she should’ve detected him right away.

Thinking briefly, he slowed his pace and tried not to make a sound.

As Chu Huaixu glanced around, he saw another stone wall up ahead.

Carved on it was, once again, the massive character【Dao】.

The only difference was—this character had been split open by something!

A narrow crack ran right through the character, slicing the entire word apart!

Upon seeing the crack, Chu Huaixu found himself once again forcibly “hard-controlled.”

“What the—again?!” he thought helplessly.

A mysterious force took control of him, guiding him toward the center, directly facing the stone wall.

However, since this 【Dao Ancestor Inheritance Secret Realm】 was a solo instance, only one seat for Dao Comprehension had been left here.

That spot was exactly where Han Shuangjiang sat—at the center—with a meditation cushion beneath her.

Chu Huaixu could only watch as he was pulled forward—then plopped down right on her!

To be exact, he landed directly on her long, jade-like crossed legs.

This absurd scene left Chu Huaixu somewhat speechless.

Why was it the man sitting in the woman’s lap? Why was he the one perched on her legs?

Strangely, this sudden disturbance didn’t awaken Han Shuangjiang.

She remained fully focused, as if nothing in the outside world could affect her.

Before he could even savor the sensation of “lying in a beauty’s embrace” or “sitting on a beauty’s lap,” the world spun wildly, and his consciousness turned hazy.

His mind began slipping into an incredibly mystical realm.

A certain presence enveloped him, cutting him off from all external perception.

And yet, in that instant, he suddenly understood what that crack on the stone wall was.

—It was a sword mark!

He couldn’t explain how he knew—he just did!

Next, Chu Huaixu felt himself begin to fall from the sky.

He appeared high among the clouds, plummeting straight down.

As a Second Realm cultivator, he still couldn’t fly.

From such a height, even a body cultivator like him would likely be smashed to bits.

But perhaps due to his Fearless Sword Intent, he dared to spin midair.

Originally falling face-up, he twisted to fall face-down—allowing him to see the scene below.

“Huh? These mountains look familiar—isn’t that Mountains Beyond Mountains?”

Having spent so much time at the Dao Gate, he immediately recognized the 【Mountains Beyond Mountains】, still connected to the distant Wumeng Mountains.

Yet amidst the familiarity, there was something subtly different.

He kept falling—until, just before hitting the ground, an unseen force caught and gently lowered him.

Just as he steadied himself, a voice reached his ears.

It was a warm, pleasant voice, like a spring breeze—instinctively giving the impression that its owner must be incredibly gentle.

“Child, lift your head.” It was a man’s voice.

At the sound, Chu Huaixu lifted his head.

For some reason, he could see the peak of Ask-Dao Peak with perfect clarity, as if everything there was right in front of him.

He could make out every detail—except the man atop the peak.

The figure wore Daoist robes, and on his back was a sword scabbard Chu Huaixu found exceedingly familiar.

A bead dangled from the scabbard, with tassels drifting in the breeze.

But no matter how he tried, Chu Huaixu couldn’t see the man’s face clearly.

Or rather, it wasn’t that he couldn’t see—it was that he couldn’t remember.

You saw him, but the memory would be wiped from your mind—erased by some force.

Though the man looked down at him from such heights, Chu Huaixu didn’t feel belittled in the slightest.

Strangely, the man simply exuded warmth.

A gentleman—gentle and refined, like jade.

At this moment, even a fool would guess his identity.

He was once a young Daoist of the Gentleman Temple, later became the Dao Lord, and in time was honored by the world as the Dao Ancestor.

What was fascinating was that Chu Huaixu’s current “projection” was exactly identical to his real self outside.

He wore the same Black-Gold Robe, with a sword scabbard on his back identical to the man’s.

He tried to speak—but found no voice came out.

He could move, do anything—but speak.

“Looks like Big Ice Block was probably trapped in this place too?”

“Just not sure how long she’s been stuck here,” Chu Huaixu thought of his Dao Companion right away.

The first two trials had been cleared entirely by Han Shuangjiang—he’d simply followed along and picked up the scraps.

But this time, no doubt, he would have to pass on his own.

He just didn’t know—what would the Dao Ancestor test in this stage?

Soon, that warm voice came again.

“Child, feel this sword carefully.”

Chu Huaixu looked up at the man atop Ask-Dao Peak, only to think—

“No way!”

That sensation was all too familiar!

It was like those nights when, as soon as he fell asleep, he’d be enveloped by First Master’s Sword Domain and killed again and again until dawn.

Only now, the “abuser” had changed.

From Soul Transformation Stage’s Shen Man to the immeasurably powerful Dao Ancestor!

A thread of sword qi condensed at the man’s fingertip.

He casually swung it downward.

In the next instant, sword qi erupted.

Wherever it passed—everything vanished into nothingness!

Let alone the surrounding forests and vegetation—they were obliterated without question.

But strangely, the sword came slowly… very slowly.

As it approached, Chu Huaixu felt as if he couldn’t breathe—as if even the air was cut apart!

It had the power to reduce all things to void.

Suddenly, Chu Huaixu felt the world darken.

It was odd.

It was as if even sunlight had been severed by that sword!

This young man in a black robe was already a “seasoned veteran.”

What’s one more round of death and revival?

Chu Huaixu even began to suspect—did First Master train him this way because she herself had endured this during her own Dao Ancestor inheritance?

And this damn stutterer actually learned it too!

Now, Chu Huaixu even found himself eager to taste that sword.

So much so, that seeing the slow-moving sword qi, he leapt forward like an arrow.

Thus, Chu Huaixu rushed headlong into obliteration.

The moment he died beneath that sword, he truly felt its terrifying power.

A thought surfaced in his mind.

“I’m just a Second Realm cultivator. To cut me down with a sword like this… do I even deserve it?”