Chapter 258 : Chu Yinyin Breaks Through to the Sixth Realm

Chapter 258: Chu Yinyin Breaks Through to the Sixth Realm

A streak of green light streaked across the sky above the Dao Gate of the Eastern Continent.

Over the entire 【Mountains Beyond Mountains】 region, a breeze suddenly began to blow.

The gentle breeze blew and blew, sweeping across all of 【Mountains Beyond Mountains】 without missing a single corner.

The wind was slow, as if it could not bear to part.

It passed through the Outer Sect, and then drifted through the Inner Sect.

A Dao Gate disciple murmured, “This wind is truly strange. Why do I feel refreshed and clear-headed after it passed?”

“Indeed. But strangely, I also felt a bit of heart palpitations, like when I run into the Enforcement Elder.”

“Hahaha! Senior Brother, are you also afraid of the Enforcement Elder? I get what you mean!”

“What are you saying, Junior Brother? Who in the sect isn’t afraid of the Enforcement Elder? I suspect even the Sect Master fears him.”

Everyone chimed in one after another.

It couldn't be helped—Lu Pan was famously strict with rules, an impartial and iron-faced enforcer.

However, in the next moment, something miraculous happened.

These Dao Gate disciples, who had been chatting away, suddenly felt their heads grow heavy, their gazes all blanking out.

It was as if a warm, large hand had gently stroked their heads, tenderly and kindly.

At Ask-Dao Peak, within the Dao Gate,

Sect Master Xiang Yan sat on a meditation cushion in his room, attempting to break through.

As the Sect Master, he was burdened with endless responsibilities. His time for cultivation was constantly being compressed, resulting in little progress over the years.

Fortunately, the Dao Gate, once severely weakened by the events in the fifth layer of the Origin Spirit Realm, had been thriving again in recent years, with many new prodigies emerging. This brought comfort to his heart.

However, ever since the Seventh Junior Sister received the Dao Ancestor's inheritance and read the maxim he left behind, Xiang Yan suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders increase drastically.

This fierce-looking bald man was actually someone with a meticulous mind and great patience.

Yet, when alone, an endless restlessness occasionally surfaced on his face.

Xiang Yan himself had noticed that he had become increasingly impatient, even a bit eager for quick success.

The Dao Gate had existed for a thousand years.

Now, its millennia-old legacy rested on his shoulders.

In previous generations, the Sect Master could at least share the burden with the Temple Master of the Gentleman Temple.

But the position of Temple Master had remained vacant for many years, with no suitable candidate.

Thankfully, the senior brothers remained united and harmonious, unlike certain sects filled with factions and inner strife.

Among the Four Great Sects, only the Dao Gate remained truly united, from top to bottom.

Whenever a group grew too large, it was rare not to have conflicts, cliques, or power struggles.

After failing once again to break through his bottleneck, Xiang Yan opened his eyes and exhaled a heavy breath.

A trace of frustration appeared on his face once more.

Because of his fierce appearance, even the slightest irritation made him look murderous.

“Indeed, I have slacked in cultivation these past years, too caught up in affairs.”

The sudden rise of Chu Huaixu had not quelled Xiang Yan’s inner sense of crisis.

As the Sect Master, he never believed in placing all the burden on a single youth.

The title of Sect Master was both an honor and a responsibility.

And in this era of looming calamity, it symbolized the sect's trust in him.

Today, his bottleneck had loosened slightly. He closed his eyes once more, made a final attempt to break through, and again returned without success.

When he opened his eyes, the frustration between his brows deepened.

Then suddenly, a breeze stirred within the room.

Xiang Yan's gaze was filled with astonishment as his pupils quivered, looking down at his shoulder.

Though his robes were pristine, it felt as if an invisible hand had gently brushed the dust off his shoulder, then patted it.

By his ear, he seemed to faintly hear something his First Senior Brother used to say.

The Enforcement Elder always adhered strictly to the rules, and even in private, referred to him as Sect Master.

Only in rare moments like this would he say:

“Third Junior Brother, don’t place too much pressure on yourself.”

The breeze dissipated inside the room, and Xiang Yan’s fierce, ugly face froze in place, his pupils trembling more violently.

“First Senior Brother!”

In the Purple Bamboo Forest, the gaunt Daoist nun sat high atop a boulder, facing a stone wall, continuing her solitary confinement.

"Ssshhh—"

She heard the rustling of bamboo leaves behind her.

A breeze passed through, brushing the secluded Purple Bamboo Forest where she had long been in seclusion.

The wind slowly circled, as if taking a good look at the place where the Seventh Junior Sister had resided for so long.

During her time drawing circles in confinement, Shen Man's face always held serenity.

But now, she suddenly opened her eyes, eyes filled with endless astonishment.

She had been brought up the mountain by her master, an amnesiac without a known origin.

Even the name Shen Man was given to her by Little Junior Sister by chance.

In the beginning, everyone at the Gentleman Temple hoped she would recall her past.

She herself didn’t know—nor understood—was the past really that important?

Whenever bewilderment surfaced in her eyes, First Senior Brother would sometimes gently pat her head and smile, saying: “If you can’t remember, then take your time. But can you try to eat a little more next meal?”

He always thought that Seventh Junior Sister was like someone untouched by worldly dust.

But she was far too frail.

Now, facing the stone wall, her eyes trembled slightly.

She felt that when the breeze passed, a large hand gently patted her head.

The wooden hairpin in her hair began to tremble uncontrollably, emitting waves of sword cries.

This usually stammering woman, at this moment, enunciated clearly:

“First Senior Brother.”

In an elegant little courtyard, Chu Yinyin was practicing her sword.

Just as she was about to thrust forward, a breeze drifted past.

This Dao Gate upper echelon member with the lowest realm and cultivation sensed an extremely familiar aura.

The Old Girl was instantly stunned on the spot.

『D-...Dà Shīxiōng?』She tentatively called out.

Among this generation of disciples in the Gentleman Temple, there were two people Chu Yinyin disliked the most.

The first was Nangong Yue, because she deeply envied that woman. Due to the flaws in her cultivation method, she herself had remained a little girl.

The second was Lu Pan.

Because he was the First Senior Brother, responsible for disciplining everyone—his duty.

The rest of the Dao Gate members were well-behaved and obedient. Even Li Chunsong, aside from his gambling addiction, rarely stirred up trouble.

Only Chu Yinyin refused discipline and was utterly unruly.

She seldom admitted fault, and never changed.

As a result, Lu Pan was always the strictest with her.

So strict that she often wondered if Lu Pan just disliked her.

She was unwilling to break through her realm and had intentionally suppressed it. Lu Pan was also the one who discussed this with her the most.

But how could Chu Yinyin ever listen?

『It’s enough. The Sixth Realm is enough,』she would always reply, with boundless impatience. 『Lu Pan, you’re the most nagging one! Always lecturing me with that stiff face!』

Everyone knew that the unruly Little Junior Sister usually only called people by name, rarely using senior titles like “Senior Brother” or “Senior Sister.”

Now, this wisp of breeze merely circled beside her.

It didn’t brush past the girl’s shoulder to gently pat her.

It didn’t caress the girl’s head.

Lu Pan had always known—the Little Junior Sister extremely disliked him.

He mustn’t provoke her into throwing a tantrum or becoming upset.

The breeze simply lingered in the courtyard, as if just seeing her like this was enough.

But when the breeze floated out of the courtyard, Chu Yinyin subconsciously reached out.

But how could a person catch the wind?

The girl, with her short little legs, began to run after it.

Her face was full of shock and confusion, with a bit of uncertainty. But in her heart, a tension arose instinctively.

『Lu Pan?』

『Lu Pan!』

She halted, then couldn’t help but run a few steps forward again, testing with a question, her tone becoming more and more certain:

『First Senior Brother?』

『First Senior Brother!』

The breeze would always dissipate.

It passed through every corner of the 【Mountains Beyond Mountains】.

It couldn’t bear to part with everything in the Dao Gate. What it couldn’t bear the most—was naturally his junior disciples.

The masters had left early, so this First Senior Brother was always a bit different from an ordinary one.

On Hidden Spirit Mountain, a broken spear appeared.

It wasn’t on the mountaintop but had fallen on the mid-mountain area.

Even though it had snapped, it still bore the rank of a Supreme-grade Spiritual Artifact.

The reason the mid-mountain area had such rare artifacts was exactly this—they were left by these seniors, by personal choice.

They didn’t seek a peerless prodigy as an inheritor.

They were just waiting for a slightly ordinary person with fate aligned to theirs.

If one couldn’t even reach the mid-mountain area, then a treasure too fine would not be a blessing, but a curse.

At that moment, figure after figure swiftly ascended Hidden Spirit Mountain.

Xiang Yan and the others arrived at the broken spear and fell into a long silence.

The ever-defiant Li Chunsong exchanged glances with Zhao Shuqin, then immediately used his movement technique to descend, rushing back into the Gentleman Temple to check whether the First Senior Brother’s 【Life Token】 had shattered.

Along the way, the Dead Gambler was rubbing his hands together like a fly.

A dry smile surfaced on his face as he said to Zhao Shuqin, 『Fifth Senior Brother, let’s—let’s bet.』

『You know I’ve never won a bet in my life.』

『Right? You know that!』

『I bet First Senior Brother, he, he—』Li Chunsong’s hands rubbed faster and faster, to the point his palms began to tremble slightly.

Mid-sentence, he stopped.

Because ever since Chu Huaixu came up the mountain, he had started winning every bet.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to do, didn’t even know what he should bet on.

『N-no bet! No bet!』His voice turned hoarse and dry, a trace of fear emerging in his heart.

The two soon arrived at the Gentleman Temple’s disciple token repository.

Lu Pan’s token was split down the middle, shattered into pieces.

『How did it break? How did it break...』

『Fifth Senior Brother, how did it break...』

Zhao Shuqin’s eyes widened further and further.

Those dark golden pupils looked around sharply and rushed outside the building.

He seemed to have caught something and flew straight toward the direction of the 【Dao Bell】 within the temple, sending transmissions to everyone.

All gathered before the Dao Bell. For a moment, no one said a word.

After just three breaths, suddenly the mighty bell rang out—twice.

『DONG——!』

『DONG——!』

Beside the Dao Bell, two golden characters emerged.

——【Pine and Cypress】.

Then, these two characters began to slowly dissipate, transforming into a stream of azure energy and merging into the heavens and earth.

The Power of Pine and Cypress, drawn from the world, now returned to it.

The Pine and Cypress Dao Seal existed no longer.

Deathly silence.

Yet beside every ear, there seemed to be a voice.

Memories in everyone’s minds began to churn violently.

After a while, all eyes fell upon Chu Yinyin, sensing something was wrong with her.

『Is it enough?』

『Is it really enough?』

『Chu Yinyin, is your Sixth Realm really enough!!!?』

The Dao Gate’s Ten Elders, questioning their own hearts.

This disciple of the Gentleman Temple, recognized as the most naturally gifted of her generation, now had her aura growing increasingly chaotic. Wave after wave of violent energy surged around her!

She lightly slapped her Elder Token, withdrew a bead radiating five-colored light from her Storage Token, and instantly refined it into her body—it was a piece of heavenly material used as support.

Then, she didn’t even need to sit cross-legged—she merely closed her eyes slowly.

She had said it too many times: “Believe it or not, This Lady will break through right here and now!”

And the realm she had suppressed for years—broke through just like that, flowing smoothly like water.

Her body visibly shrank, growing more youthful and childlike before their eyes.

That day, Little Junior Sister Chu Yinyin stepped into the Seventh Realm.

『First Senior Brother, I listened to you. I listened to everything you said. I’ve broken through.』