Chapter 318: The Wind Blows Cold

Chapter 318: The Wind Blows Cold

A wave of pressure belonging to the mid-stage Golden Core realm surged from Li Qingran’s body.

Zhang Mengchu’s mouth hung open—his jaw nearly hit the floor.

“B-Broke through? Just now she was still at early-stage Golden Core—how did she, how did she just suddenly break through?!”

Chen Huaian was equally stunned.

Weren’t they supposed to wait until evening?

She just had a breakthrough within a minute?

His heart was shocked, but on the surface he remained calm. Chen Huaian waved his hand breezily and chuckled, “This Venerable One’s disciple had already reached early-stage Golden Core for a while. She’s built up quite a bit of foundation before this. Now, after a moment of enlightenment from me, it’s only natural she’d make a leap! Haha! Hahaha!”

Su Qinian, who knew the truth, quietly smacked his lips.

Yeah, sure, “built up foundation” means—barely cultivated for seven days and somehow jumped to mid-stage Golden Core.

Only their Ancestor could say something this ridiculous with a straight face.

Li Qingran was still in the post-breakthrough meditative adjustment phase.

After checking on her state and confirming she was fine, Chen Huaian directly claimed the Supreme Blind Box awarded for reaching mid-stage Golden Core.

Unlike the previous box, this Supreme Blind Box for the Golden Core stage was purple-gold in color, with carvings of a beautiful female cultivator sitting cross-legged, cradling a core. A golden ring shone around her lower abdomen—clearly representing the Golden Core stage.

[Would you like to spend ¥50 million to lock in the reward—Piercing Cloud Arrow (Sword Pavilion Ancestor Edition)?]

“Every time I see this item name, it still sounds so f**ing* ridiculous,” Chen Huaian grumbled inwardly.

He selected “Yes” from the two options <Yes> and <No>.

The Supreme Blind Box opened, unleashing a burst of purple-gold radiance visible only to him.

A prop shaped like an arrow appeared in Chen Huaian’s player inventory.

The arrow gleamed entirely gold, brimming with spiritual brilliance.

On the arrowhead, one could faintly read 21 large, gold-stamped characters:

“A single Piercing Cloud Arrow, and a thousand troops will arrive! Sword Pavilion Ancestor, appear by divine command!”

The game system had actually classified this item as a top-tier spiritual artifact!

Just one step below a spiritual treasure.

Didn’t look too impressive at first glance—but this was a single-use item.

A single-use top-tier artifact? That immediately bumped up its value.

Chen Huaian materialized the Piercing Cloud Arrow (Sword Pavilion Ancestor Edition) into his hand.

HUMMM——!!!

Golden radiance soared into the sky, tinting the skies of the entire Small World in a golden hue.

Floating clouds twisted into a vortex over Luoxia Peak, swirling under the pressure of spiritual energy.

Surrounding sect cultivators were all shocked, casting curious and probing gazes toward the object in Chen Huaian’s hand.

“Senior, w-what is that?!”

“Whoa, that glow—definitely something incredible!”

“I’ve seen my fair share, but I honestly can’t tell what this thing does… Strange! Curious!”

Zhang Mengchu was just as intrigued.

At his level, a top-tier spiritual artifact wasn’t anything rare.

But a top-tier artifact whose function he couldn’t figure out—that was very interesting.

“This item is called the Piercing Cloud Arrow!” Chen Huaian lifted the artifact high, swaying slightly with exaggerated flair. “Brother Mengchu, if you carry this item and speak the command aloud, no matter where you are, This Venerable One will descend to your side in the next second and lend a hand!”

Zhang Mengchu took the Piercing Cloud Arrow, inspecting it from top to bottom, silently reciting the command inscribed on it.

“A single Piercing Cloud Arrow, and a thousand troops will arrive! Sword Pavilion Ancestor, appear by divine command!”

Honestly, the chant was a bit cringe—but unexpectedly catchy.

“This thing really works like that?” Zhang Mengchu looked up at Chen Huaian, asking, “If Immortal Yuyao captures me, she’ll definitely surround me with concealment and defense formations—and we’re talking about Mahayana-level arrays here. Even if I’m inside those, you’ll still be able to instantly appear?”

“I can.” Chen Huaian answered confidently.

He actually wasn’t sure.

But he needed to give this old guy a little confidence.

“Great! Then I’m much obliged!”

Zhang Mengchu carefully tucked the Piercing Cloud Arrow into his storage pouch, casting a grateful look toward Chen Huaian.

Once Immortal Yuyao caught him, whether he’d return victorious or die in vain all depended on whether this Sword Pavilion Ancestor’s arrow lived up to its name.

“Well then, I won’t delay further. It’s time to confront that demonic woman!”

As the setting sun dipped past the mountaintop of the Sword Pavilion, Zhang Mengchu left a Soul Lamp by the spring of Luoxia Peak.

Chen Huaian casually split open a spatial rift connecting to the outside world.

Everyone silently watched Zhang Mengchu’s upright figure walking toward the rift, growing smaller in the distance.

There was a strong air of tragic resolve—“The wind blows cold by the Yi River, and the warrior goes, never to return.”

Chen Huaian quietly opened the Digital Girlfriend game’s Main Quest 4.0: Expose the Holy Land Conspiracy, Challenge the Holy Land of Yaochi.

The instant Zhang Mengchu stepped through the rift—

The task completion rate, which had been stuck below 10%, suddenly surged, finally settling in a range of 40%–70%.

Chen Huaian exhaled in relief.

He’d chosen the right path after all.

Even though it wasn’t a guaranteed success, let’s not forget—his enemies were the two most powerful Holy Lands in the Cangyun Realm.

Immortal Yuyao and Reverend Karma, both Mahayana-stage cultivators.

And so far, the plan only covered Immortal Yuyao—they hadn’t even touched on Reverend Karma yet.

That one flew under the radar. If he hadn’t already uncovered the collaboration between Yaochi and Burning Purification, he might’ve actually thought that sect was full of decent monks.

“All I can do now is wish the old man a smooth journey.”

Chen Huaian murmured as he watched the rift slowly close.

What he needed to do now was take advantage of Zhang Mengchu holding off Immortal Yuyao, and train like hell.

So that when the moment came—he’d be ready to step in and deliver a crushing blow.

…

Immortal Yuyao had been sitting in front of the Heavenly Mirror for half the day.

Many Yaochi Elders and disciples had come to report, only to be turned away.

She didn’t want anyone to know—that she, the Master of Yaochi, couldn’t even locate a single cultivator with a Profound Water Root.

“How could someone just vanish into thin air?”

“Could it be—this cultivator was pulled into a Small World by the Sword Pavilion Ancestor? But what gives him the right to be faster than This Venerable One?!”

Immortal Yuyao muttered, staring into the mist-filled Heavenly Mirror.

Suddenly—

The previously unresponsive mirror rippled as if a droplet had struck its surface.

The fog began to lift from the crystal-clear mirror, revealing mountains and rivers.

Between ridges and forests, she could just make out a cultivator in scholar’s robes, strolling calmly.

“A cultivator with the Profound Water Root!”

Joy exploded in Immortal Yuyao’s heart—her pulse pounding wildly.

She reached out, fingers brushing across the Heavenly Mirror, zooming in for a clearer view of the scholar.

“He really is quite the looker.”

Though she had no interest in men, Immortal Yuyao still appreciated beauty.

And that scholar wasn’t far from her location.

She had no patience left to ride the Feng Xuan over.

She simply raised her hand, ripped open the void, and stepped through.

On the other side of that void—was exactly the mountain forest mirrored before her eyes.

…

…