Chapter 268 : This Person Is the Dao Ancestor

Chapter 268: This Person Is the Dao Ancestor?

Chu Huaixu: My head feels itchy—am I about to grow a brain again?

This crude body cultivator found that on his Character Panel, his 【Comprehension】 had once again caught up to his 【Physique】—both had reached 7 points.

Chu Huaixu had not expected that this cluster of green energy could actually increase one’s comprehension.

Even now, he still hadn’t figured out what it was.

It just so happened—his comprehension had risen to 7.

Which made him, while delighted, feel even more that—this was like a telecom scam.

“What the hell is this? Giving a little sweetness first, huh?”

At this moment, he and Han Shuangjiang were sitting together on the meditation cushion, their buttocks pressed tightly together, both with eyes closed as they digested the power.

After a long while, the two opened their eyes and exhaled deeply in unison.

“How does it feel?” he turned his head and asked.

Chu Huaixu had a Character Panel, so many things were quantified into data—but Han Shuangjiang was different.

“It just feels like my mind is completely clear, my thoughts are very sharp. Some of the confusion I had in cultivation before has now been resolved. It’s kind of like… kind of like…” she couldn’t find the right word.

“An epiphany?” Chu Huaixu asked.

“Yes, it feels a bit like an epiphany,” Big Ice Block replied.

Chu Huaixu actually wasn’t sure what Han Shuangjiang’s 【Comprehension】 would be if quantified.

But Little Xu was definitely at 【Comprehension 10】.

He personally guessed she was probably at eight or nine.

So he didn’t know whether her improvement was as great as his.

After all, the higher it got, the harder it was to improve.

But clearly, she had still gained a lot.

This made Chu Huaixu once again sigh like last time: “The Dao Ancestor is truly generous.”

Good thing it wasn’t Little Xu who came in.

With 【Comprehension 10】, the only thing she could do here was breathe.

Ahead, the stone door slowly opened, as if guiding them to continue forward.

The two exchanged a glance, then stood up and walked inside.

This passage was different from the previous narrow corridor.

It was still narrow, but there were no luminous pearls embedded on the sides.

This made it pitch black inside.

Humans naturally feared such enclosed darkness.

Most ordinary people would probably not dare to enter.

Escape rooms were thrilling and terrifying for this very reason.

But for cultivators, they possessed a certain level of night vision.

Their five senses were already slightly enhanced during the Qi-Opening Stage, and even without body training, they would continue to improve.

For someone like Chu Huaixu, seeing in the dark was no different from daytime.

But as he walked, his vision became darker and darker, until he could see nothing at all—as if he had fallen into endless eternal darkness.

Even stranger, although Han Shuangjiang had clearly been right behind him, he suddenly could no longer sense her presence.

With his terrifying senses, even catching her breathing would have been easy.

Yet now, even his Divine Sense couldn’t detect her.

It was as if, at some unknown moment, the two had been separated.

“Shuangjiang,” he called out.

Naturally, there was no response.

“Something’s off.”

Chu Huaixu had 【Southward Sunlight】 and the Heart Sword—one repelled all evil, the other cut through all illusions.

He tried activating them, but neither worked.

If this were outside, Chu Huaixu would probably already be somewhat worried.

But since this was the Dao Ancestor Inheritance Secret Realm, he was already somewhat experienced.

Before obtaining the Dao Seal 【Southward Sunlight】, he had unknowingly entered an illusion before, and even the Heart Sword had been useless—it simply couldn’t break it.

So he chose to lie flat.

He simply groped forward in the darkness on his own, but this place seemed endless.

On the other side, Han Shuangjiang also realized something was wrong.

“Chu Huaixu,” she softly called.

Her voice sank like a stone into the sea—no response came.

She knew he had the ability to cut through all illusions. When they first entered the secret realm beneath the cold pool, with only Qi-Opening Stage cultivation, he had shattered the illusion there with a wave of his hand, leaving a deep impression on her.

Thus, Big Ice Block did nothing, afraid of causing trouble, and simply waited for her Dao companion to break everything.

She waited for quite a while…

—and nothing happened.

This made her realize that she had likely fallen into a situation similar to last time.

But Han Shuangjiang did not panic.

She was not someone who relied on others for everything.

“Clearly, each of the upcoming trials must be faced alone.”

The girl began striding forward, her expression calm.

After about half the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

Chu Huaixu looked ahead and saw the east growing pale, the sun rising.

At that instant, all the surrounding darkness vanished, and everything became gradually clear.

It was as if night had passed—dawn had come.

He looked around and found himself inside a room.

Four young men were sleeping inside. As the morning bell rang, they all quickly got up.

“These people… seem unable to sense my existence?” Chu Huaixu thought.

This feeling was quite novel, as if he had become a wandering soul here.

He observed his surroundings and soon noticed something off.

The four young men began dressing, putting on Daoist robes.

Among them, one was short, with a large mole at the corner of his mouth—very noticeable.

Another was tall and thin like a bamboo pole, with somewhat sparse hair and narrow eyes.

Another was a fat man, looking rather cheerful. Clearly high-energy, his face was rosy right after waking up, full of vitality—his qi and blood were abundant, unlike his seemingly chubby appearance.

As for the last one—

Chu Huaixu… couldn’t see his face!

Or rather, he couldn’t remember it!

His appearance would be erased from one’s mind out of thin air.

The impression of him remained perpetually blurred.

This feeling was very familiar.

Chu Huaixu immediately recalled the man in Daoist robes he had seen earlier in the Dao Ancestor secret realm—standing atop a mountain, repeatedly swinging his sword at him!

Each strike had been terrifying.

Wherever the sword energy passed, everything was annihilated—even the air was cut apart.

Chu Huaixu had “died” to that sword again and again.

And that Daoist-robed man had also been like this—his features blurred, leaving no impression in memory!

A trace of astonishment appeared on Chu Huaixu’s face.

“He is the Dao Ancestor!”

Then where this place was became almost obvious.

Sure enough, after getting dressed, the four pushed open the door.

Chu Huaixu followed them outside and saw buildings both familiar and unfamiliar.

This was the Gentleman Temple from a thousand years ago!

Over the past thousand years, the Gentleman Temple had only undergone basic repairs.

The only additions were some formations.

“So I’ve entered the Dao Ancestor’s memories?” he guessed.

Clearly, at this time, he was still just a young Daoist of the Gentleman Temple.

Chu Huaixu followed behind the four little Daoists, watching them wash up and listening to their chatter.

From their conversation, he learned that among this batch of Gentleman Temple disciples, the Dao Ancestor ranked ninth.

The other three all called him Ninth Senior Brother—clearly the eldest in this room.

“Ninth Senior Brother, will the Temple Master grant us Dao swords today?” the fat one asked excitedly.

“Yes,” the indistinct-faced Daoist replied, his tone also carrying excitement.

They were all still young—about to receive their own Dao swords. Naturally, they were thrilled.

“Does that mean from now on, we can join the Temple Master in morning sword practice?” the tall, thin Eleventh Junior Brother said.

The Ninth Senior Brother—the Dao Ancestor—smiled and replied, “Naturally.”

In the past, they had watched their senior brothers and elders practice swordsmanship with the Temple Master at dawn, full of envy.

From then on, Chu Huaixu continued following them.

But his gaze would occasionally gather on the Ninth Senior Brother’s waist.

Because hanging from his belt was a pendant.

This pendant looked extremely familiar to Chu Huaixu.

It was a completely pitch-black bead, with black tassels hanging below it.

Chu Huaixu had already tried—everything here was illusory, and he couldn’t touch anything.

Like the pillar beside him—when he reached out, his hand passed right through it.

He treated this as watching a “recording.”

The group of four soon arrived at the dining hall.

There were already some people scattered around inside.

Whether they saw fellow disciples or elders, the four greeted them politely.

But it was obvious—the Ninth Senior Brother was the core of their group.

The breakfast was quite plain.

In Chu Huaixu’s impression, whether on Earth or in the Xuanhuang Realm, fat Daoists were relatively rare.

Instead, monks—despite eating vegetarian—often ended up plump.

Yet the four ate with great appetite.

They were all still growing—no matter how much they ate, it never seemed enough.

Though it was just plain porridge with simple side dishes, watching them eat made Chu Huaixu feel hungry.

This was basically a thousand-year-old Gentleman Temple mukbang!

Up until now, Chu Huaixu still didn’t know what he was supposed to do here.

There didn’t seem to be any trial.

Bored, he “sat” beside the Ninth Senior Brother.

It looked rather absurd—since nothing here was tangible to him, his body couldn’t actually sit on the bench.

But that didn’t matter.

As a body cultivator with strong core control, he simply hovered in a sitting posture.

With nothing better to do, Chu Huaixu stared at the black bead on the Ninth Senior Brother.

He even raised a finger, wanting to poke it.

And then—

“Hm?”

Damn it—he actually touched it!

His finger did not pass through!

Immediately after, the Ninth Senior Brother slightly turned his head.

Even though his face couldn’t be seen—or remembered—Chu Huaixu clearly felt that he was looking at him.

And even smiling gently at him.