C3 The Illusion Was Real
That dream... it couldn't be...
If it were true...
In a flash.
Ye Feng's head snapped up as he gazed into the distance.
Dozens of meters away stood a colossal banyan tree, towering dozens of meters high, its trunk so wide it would take four or five people to encircle it. From a distance, it loomed like a titan against the night sky.
"That's the tree! In my dream, I planted the Spiritual Origin Grass in a hollow at its base and sealed the opening with mud."
Hold on!
Ye Feng froze in shock.
Upon closer inspection, he was astonished to see that the once lush banyan tree from his dream had withered away, leaving nothing but a desiccated skeleton of branches.
Drawn to the tree without realizing it, Ye Feng's mind was flooded with knowledge he had acquired from the Herb Hall:
"Spiritual Origin Grass, a First Grade Spiritual Herb, thrives without sunlight, drawing life from Profound Qi. Remarkably easy to cultivate, it blooms in ten years, bears fruit in twenty, transforming into the Third Grade Spiritual Herb, the Spiritual Origin Fruit. Once ripe, the fruit absorbs the surrounding life force and profound energy..."
No, it couldn't be...
The ludicrous notion in Ye Feng's mind grew increasingly agitated, igniting like a tiny flame that set every cell ablaze.
He approached the withered tree, circling to the other side where a half-meter-high hollow faced him, its exterior caked with a layer of mud long since dried.
Holy shit!
Goosebumps erupted across Ye Feng's skin.
There was actually a tree hollow!
The mud on top was an exact match to what he had piled there in his dream!
With a thunderous crash.
Ye Feng's punch shattered the hardened mud crust, his hands shaking as he scooped away the fragments. Then—
A burst of green light erupted from the earth, a tantalizing scent of herbs wafting into Ye Feng's nostrils.
Inside the hollow...
Lay a fist-sized Spiritual Essence Fruit, brimming with life and shimmering with a spiritual glow!
Ye Feng was utterly flabbergasted.
He couldn't fathom what he had gone through. That inexplicable dream had turned out to be reality!
He had truly traveled back in time and planted a Spiritual Herb. Now, after at least twenty years, that very herb stood before him.
Could this be yet another dream?
Ye Feng gave his thigh a fierce pinch, wincing at the sharp pain.
No, this was no dream!
Right there in front of him was a Third Grade Spiritual Herb, the Spiritual Essence Fruit!
Hiss~
It took several deep breaths of the crisp mountain air to settle his nerves.
This was downright supernatural.
No, it was even more incredible than an encounter with a ghost!
Ye Feng couldn't begin to make sense of the events unfolding before him. But right now, understanding took a back seat to the Spiritual Essence Fruit beckoning to him.
In this moment, Ye Feng's innate steadiness and cool-headedness shone through. He quelled the swirling questions in his mind and resisted the urge to pounce on the fruit. Instead, he meticulously harvested the entire plant, roots and all.
The Spiritual Essence Fruit, being a Third Grade herb, possessed potent medicinal properties. But separated from its stem and leaves, the Profound Qi within would dissipate rapidly. Harvesting it whole significantly slowed this loss.
Knowledge is power.
This was the singular reward from Ye Feng's five grueling years in the Herbal Garden, enabling him to maximize the benefits of the Spiritual Essence Fruit.
Without a moment's delay, Ye Feng gathered the fruit and swiftly located an abandoned cave nearby. After a quick setup, he darted inside, sat down cross-legged, and began to carefully detach the verdant fruit from its stem, savoring it bite by bite.
The moment the Spiritual Essence Fruit entered his system, Ye Feng was flooded with a torrent of Profound Qi.
The Profound Qi was so rich!
He felt every pore in his body stretch open, basking in the sheer relief. The fruit bore over fifty years of medicinal potency, having fully absorbed the life force of an ancient banyan tree, surpassing even the prized collections of the Nephelo Sect.
Tears of excitement welled up in his eyes.
After eight long years of celestial trials, it seemed the heavens had finally taken notice. The overwhelming Profound Qi was equivalent to the energy of dozens of Spiritual Essence Herbs. To his Dantian, he silently posed the question: Are you ready for this?
Thunderous rumblings!
Ye Feng's Dantian was seething.
Golden Profound Qi, roaring like an angry sea, surged against the walls with a might that had never been seen before. This peculiar Dantian, even if it were crafted from steel of ten thousand years, now began to quiver ever so slightly.
The Spiritual Essence Fruit, aged over fifty years, was indeed unmatched in strength. Its immense Profound Qi had at last enabled Ye Feng to shatter the most arduous and despairing gate of destiny in his life!
Crackling sounds.
A soft chorus of fractures filled the air.
Ye Feng could acutely sense the barrier of his Dantian, which had confined him for eight long years, breaking apart in this instant.
The rolling golden Profound Qi, like a wild horse breaking free from its restraints, surged with excitement and roared, carrying a faint thunderous echo as it flooded into the meridians Ye Feng had awaited for eight years.
Ye Feng unleashed a deep, resonant growl.
He was in agony!
Every muscle, every cell in his body was undergoing a baptism by the golden Profound Qi, undergoing a metamorphosis, reborn from the ashes!
Yet, he was exhilarated!
So exhilarated, he was nearly delirious with joy!
Eight years, a full eight years!
Eight years of relentless effort, eight years of enduring humiliation.
Eight years of scorn and mockery, eight years of gazing toward the path ahead.
At this moment, having finally broken through to the Profound Stage, his elation knew no bounds!
His eyes were tightly shut, his body quivering as he fought to contain it.
He longed to laugh, as tears of sheer exhilaration could no longer be held back, spilling from the corners of his eyes.
He yearned to bellow a triumphant roar to the heavens, yet even in his most ecstatic moment, he managed to steady his spirit. Following the most orthodox mental cultivation techniques of the Nephelo Sect, he began to channel the golden Profound Qi through his meridians, fortifying his physique and enhancing his combat prowess.
This was Ye Feng!
Eight years of perseverance had tempered his heart into unyielding stone!
This was Ye Feng!
A single explosive breakthrough promised to usher in an era of boundless brilliance for him!
...
A full day and night elapsed.
Unbeknownst to the Nephelo Sect, Ye Feng had experienced a rebirth on the secluded back mountain. At such a juncture, no one would concern themselves with the day-long absence of a disciple on the verge of expulsion.
It wasn't until the following night.
With a liberating and exuberant howl, a figure emerged from the cave, bathed in a soft golden luminescence.
Ye Feng had finally ascended to the Profound Stage.
In this momentous instant, his dantian was in full connection with the twelve meridians coursing through his body. The golden Profound Qi, which he had painstakingly gathered over eight long years, flowed serenely within him. Each cycle of the Qi fortified Ye Feng's physique incrementally.
Even more wondrous was the emergence of a pale golden vein of Profound Qi from Ye Feng's dantian. It snaked through his right leg, spiraled around his spleen and stomach, and returned to its origin, creating a unique circuit of Profound Qi.
This was the Xiong Meridian, the first of the Profound Qi Meridians a martial cultivator must forge beyond the twelve natural ones at the Profound Stage. Once activated, it bolstered the spleen and stomach, increased appetite and drinking capacity, and amplified strength, enabling a punch with the force of five hundred kilograms.
These were the well-known steps of cultivation at the Profound Stage. Beyond the Xiong Meridian lay five more essential Profound Veins to be unlocked. When all six were opened and converged, a martial cultivator could 'merge the Profound Qi with the Spiritual Sea,' achieving the 'Six Pulses Spiritual Enlightenment' and breaking through to the Spiritual Sea Realm.
Typically, a fresh initiate to the Profound Stage would need one to two months of rigorous training to condense the Profound Qi and unlock the Xiong Meridian. Yet, Ye Feng had fully opened it in a mere night, a thrilling leap forward.
Standing at the cave's mouth, he summoned his Profound Qi with a mere thought, and a torrential force flooded his body, crackling explosively. The rush of such potent energy was intoxicating.
'Time to test the might of my Profound Qi!'
Ye Feng's eyes scanned the area, settling on a boulder near the cave entrance. His entire body's Profound Qi erupted, and a brilliant golden glow enveloped his fist, large as a cooking pot. The radiance shone like the sun, as if his fist were edged in gold.
He unleashed a punch, and with a flash of golden light, Ye Feng's fist slammed into the massive stone with devastating force.
With a thunderous boom, the massive black boulder, towering over two men in height, was shattered into rubble by Ye Feng's punch. Dust billowed and stones flew everywhere as the force of the punch far exceeded Ye Feng's own expectations.
"Holy smokes!"
Ye Feng was startled by his own strength!
This was merely the most fundamental fist technique taught to outer disciples, yet Ye Feng had executed it with a power beyond imagination.
"No way! Can a mere five hundred jin of force really shatter this rock?"
Crouching down, Ye Feng gazed at the scattered stone fragments in awe, then at his own fist, its golden glow slowly fading. After a long moment of stunned silence, he gave a firm nod.
"Incredible!"
"This punch could overwhelm not just someone at the One Pulse Profound Stage, but even those who've unlocked the Second and Third Pulses. The frustration of the past eight years... it's finally paid off!"
Ye Feng couldn't unravel the mystery within his body, but for now, he had no desire to. For someone who had endured eight years of hardship, the breakthrough was a revelation. To discover that he was not worthless, but instead possessed a formidable talent surpassing others, was more than enough to elate the sixteen-year-old.
Ye Feng burst into laughter.
He roared with joy, his laughter echoing to the heavens!
He was yet to comprehend the full extent of his strength at the One Pulse Profound Stage, but an opportunity to test himself was just around the corner.
The image of that haughty, cold face from the day before flashed in his mind, prompting him to instinctively touch his cheek, now fully healed.
Is the Nephelo Sect not mine to claim?
Jee Fanchen, I will repay that slap tenfold!
...
Ye Feng arrived back at the Nephelo Sect at ten in the morning, with just one day remaining before the Inner Sect Assessment.
His spirits were high, his mind clear, and his joy was indescribable. It felt as though a brisk breeze accompanied his every step, lifting the corners of his mouth that had been weighed down just two days prior.
Despite his maturity far beyond his years, Ye Feng couldn't resist the urge to share the exhilarating news of his breakthrough with Lee Xiang.
Despite everything he had experienced along the way, Ye Feng still harbored a significant question in his heart.
"Could that dream actually be true?"
