Chapter 51: Mastery of the True Essence Realm!

It was already dusk when Chen Zhi'an returned from East Maple Street.

Passing along East Maple Street, Rouge Street, and finally West Celebration Street, he watched the continuous stream of street lamps and suddenly felt that the night scenery of Sunan Prefecture illuminated by lanterns was truly breathtaking.

The lights from various pavilions on both banks of the Clear River reflected upon the crystal-clear water, and the gentle ripples shimmered with colorful brilliance.

Chen Zhi'an suddenly realized that although he had been in this world for more than two years, he had never taken the time to properly appreciate the magnificent scenery of Sunan Lake.

When he first arrived, consumed by confusion and panic, he had tried hard to familiarize himself with everything in this world, desperate to avoid revealing any flaws.

Later, he became a junior laborer at the Imperial Painting Academy, spending his days painting for the prefectural government.

Until today, when he saw those three acquired vital breaths on Tiger Hill and walked down these brightly lit streets, his mood suddenly became much lighter and more cheerful.

"Nan Liujing, Kunlun Marsh, Green Mountain Tower, Bright Mirror Tower..."

Chen Zhi'an pondered everything within the White Jade Capital, finding the Scroll of the Celestial Jade Capital left by his grandfather to be extraordinarily wondrous.

The White Jade Capital in the heavens, comprising twelve towers and five cities, had by now revealed a corner of its mystery to Chen Zhi'an, with each of the two cities and two towers possessing their own marvelous traits.

The Green Mountain Tower merely stood loftily within the White Jade Capital; even though Chen Zhi'an could not yet step inside, he was already able to pierce through the intent of blades and weapons with its aid.

As for the Bright Mirror Tower, it was even more profound to Chen Zhi'an at his current stage.

"With the bright mirror hanging high, opportunities and destinies become visible..."

"However, the Bright Mirror Tower cannot be operated anytime and anywhere. To borrow the power of the Bright Mirror Tower, one still needs the spiritual qi within the White Jade Capital."

Chen Zhi'an's thoughts stirred, and his consciousness instantly descended into the White Jade Capital, gazing at everything inside.

Within the Kaiyang Gate of Nan Liujing, Old Huangliang was sitting cross-legged, comprehending cultivation techniques with the aid of the purple qi and the Yellow Court of Nan Liujing.

Within Kunlun Marsh, the misty Kunlun spiritual qi was nurturing the medicinal herbs and ingredients Chen Zhi'an had planted, and the seeds promised to Xu Xiyue had already matured.

Chen Zhi'an had planted the various herbs required for the medicinal soup [Flowing Jade Broth] and the [Furnace-Quenched Pill] recorded in the White Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter. These herbs were growing vigorously in Kunlun Marsh, filling Chen Zhi'an with great joy at the sight.

Meanwhile, the Green Mountain Tower and the Bright Mirror Tower stood tall amidst the White Jade Capital, shrouded in rising clouds and mists like an immortal realm.

Chen Zhi'an noticed that the spiritual qi originally circulating within the White Jade Capital had diminished significantly.

"It seems that utilizing the Bright Mirror Tower consumes the spiritual qi of the White Jade Capital, and this spiritual qi will gradually increase as my cultivation level rises."

For about two months now, Chen Zhi'an had consistently observed the connection between his own cultivation and the White Jade Capital. This connection was intricate and intertwined, yet it also seemed quite simple.

"The purple qi and Yellow Court within the Kaiyang Gate of Nan Liujing grow increasingly dense as my cultivation realm advances."

"The same goes for the Kunlun spiritual qi in Kunlun Marsh and the quantity of medicinal herbs it can support. The stronger my cultivation, the denser the Kunlun spiritual qi becomes, and both the quantity of planted herbs and their maturation time are improving accordingly."

"Nan Liujing and Kunlun Marsh are immortal cities within the White Jade Capital possessing their own profound wonders, while the Green Mountain Tower and Bright Mirror Tower rely on the spiritual qi permeating the White Jade Capital."

Chen Zhi'an's consciousness landed on the Bright Mirror Tower, only to find that the spiritual qi surrounding it had completely vanished.

"Let's call this spiritual qi within the White Jade Capital the 'Qi of Jade Capital'."

In a flash, Chen Zhi'an's consciousness withdrew from the White Jade Capital. He walked alone along the long banks of the Clear River and returned to his courtyard.

Looking toward Tiger Hill once more, those three acquired vital breaths still emitted a wondrous aura. This aura rose slowly and seemed to shine with light as it fell into Chen Zhi'an's eyes.

"Since even Uncle Chu couldn't discover that third acquired vital breath, there's no need for me to rush. In a few days, after the storm blows over, I'll go and fetch it."

Chen Zhi'an sat cross-legged beneath the pear blossom tree.

He drank the [Flowing Jade Broth] he had brewed a few days ago, finding once again that the medicinal wine recorded in the White Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter tasted truly awful.

***

"Actually, the medicinal soups and pills I refine myself must be vastly inferior to those concocted by true alchemists."

"Moreover, if I happen to obtain a better medicinal formula in the future, with my current half-baked fire-control skills, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to refine it successfully at all. Later on, I'll need to seek out a few profound alchemists."

Chen Zhi'an closed his eyes and circulated the White Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter. The white jade true essence within his body flowed down from the marvelous tree of true essence, passed through the primordial pass, and entered the hundreds of apertures throughout his body, leaving him feeling incomparably refreshed.

***

Shen Haohao carried two slaughtered and cleaned long-tailed black-bone chickens dangling from her hand, purposely brought along two jars of fine wine, and headed over to Chen Zhi'an's courtyard.

She knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Shen Haohao sighed.

"Master will arrive in Sunan Prefecture tomorrow, and I'm afraid a harsh lecture is unavoidable. Chen Zhi'an isn't around today either; tomorrow, enjoying this kind of freedom will be much harder."

Feeling disappointed, she was about to leave when she suddenly heard a sound like white jade crashing to the ground, clear and resonant.

Shen Haohao raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat curious, and simply gave Chen Zhi'an's courtyard door a gentle push.

Creak...

With a soft sound, the door opened.

Shen Haohao glanced sideways through the crack of the door and saw Chen Zhi'an sitting beneath the pear blossom tree, meditating cross-legged.

"So he is at home." A smile appeared on Shen Haohao's face, though she was also somewhat puzzled as to why Chen Zhi'an hadn't answered the door.

Then, the smile on Shen Haohao's face abruptly stiffened.

She saw a surge of true essence rising from Chen Zhi'an's body, a pure white jade-like true essence continuously circulating, accompanied by an unceasing, crisp ringing sound.

"Chen Zhi'an is breaking through a barrier again? Is the marvelous tree of true essence in his primordial pass about to bear fruit?"

Shen Haohao instantly found this incredible.
"This Chen Zhi'an has only been cultivating for two months, and now his true essence is about to bear fruit? How is that even possible?"

Even though she knew that peeping was extremely discourteous, Haohao still couldn't help peering closely through the door crack at Chen Zhi'an, who was in the middle of breaking through his barrier.

Chen Zhi'an was wearing a dark blue robe. Tonight's moonlight was crystal clear, casting its radiance directly upon the earth and filtering through the gaps in the branches of the pear blossom tree onto Chen Zhi'an's face. The dappled moonlight adorned him like intricate patterns, lending him an even greater aura of mystery.

"This neighbor of mine... what on earth is his background?"

Shen Haohao gritted her teeth, then suddenly recalled that Xu Xiyue seemed to have cultivated divine essence in eight or nine months, and felt a rising sense of resentment in her heart.

"When Heaven creates people, there are the strong and the weak. Countless people say my talent is extraordinary, yet it took me a full six years to cultivate divine essence.
Look at this Chen Zhi'an, and look at Xu Xiyue..."

Shen Haohao couldn't help massaging the space between her eyebrows, feeling a sharp pain in her head.

Yet, upon second thought, she grew excited once again.

"This year, the names on the Fledgling Tiger Monument will be updated. I wonder if Chen Zhi'an and Xu Xiyue will be able to make the list?"

Just as Shen Haohao's thoughts were running wild, with the final resonant chime fading away, the white jade true essence within Chen Zhi'an's body became increasingly translucent and pure.

On the marvelous tree of true essence at the primordial pass, tiny true essence fruits extended outward, laden with heavy true essence. At a single glance, they looked precisely like actual fruits.

With his true essence bearing fruit, Chen Zhi'an's true essence realm had reached perfection!

Achieving perfection in the true essence realm in a mere month's time—the next step would be to sense the Niwan Palace, nurture divine essence, and thoroughly step into the fourth realm of cultivation. Such speed could only be described as astonishingly fast.

***

Chen Zhi'an awoke from his cultivation and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"The second layer of the White Jade Cicada Shedding Chapter: white jade fruits are borne at the primordial pass, and the true essence is refined until it resembles white jade."

He stretched out his hand, gathering the true essence upon his palm, and felt that it was far denser and much stronger than ever before.

"Stop peeping and come on in," Chen Zhi'an retracted his true essence.

Shen Haohao smiled sheepishly and pushed the door open to enter.

"Why don't you lock your door?" Shen Haohao said. "A gust of wind blows it open; you're far too careless."

Chen Zhi'an looked at Shen Haohao with amusement. He stood up and took the two black-bone chickens from her hands.

Doors were meant to keep honest people out; since Chen Zhi'an was in the courtyard, whoever pushed the door open probably wouldn't harbor malicious intentions.
If someone truly harbored evil designs against Chen Zhi'an, whether the door was locked or not didn't really matter much.

"These silk-tailed black-bone chickens are rare treasures. Even the Lesser Southern Realm doesn't have ingredients as fine as these. These were specially entrusted by an old subordinate of my grandfather to be brought over, and they've been kept and raised in the prefectural residence all along..."

Shen Haohao quickly changed the subject. "Tomorrow I'm bound to face a catastrophe, so I might as well slaughter two of them to eat and satisfy my cravings before I die."

Knowing that Shen Haohao's master was arriving and seeing how terrified Shen Haohao was of her master, Chen Zhi'an felt a surge of curiosity.
"Is Lady Haohao's master very fierce?"

Recalling her master's frost-like expression, Shen Haohao couldn't help shivering and nodded.

Chen Zhi'an started a fire to stir-fry the chicken, and the two of them sat at the stone table in the courtyard to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Shen Haohao suddenly remembered something. She wiped her hands and pulled a letter out from her sleeve.

"Elder Sister Xiyue asked me to bring this to you. She came to Rhubarb Street today to bid you farewell, but since she didn't know where you had gone, she had no choice but to write you a letter."

"Xu Xiyue has left?" Chen Zhi'an inquired.

Shen Haohao nodded nonchalantly.

Opening the envelope, Chen Zhi'an asked, "You and Lady Xu have always been close; aren't you the least bit reluctant to see her go?"

"Elder Sister Xiyue is heading to the place her heart desires; what is there to be reluctant about?"

Shen Haohao munched on a chicken leg, her words slightly muffled yet remarkably clear-headed: "In this life, the hardest thing to attain is to follow one's heart. Elder Sister Xiyue coming back to Sunan Prefecture to clean up the mess left by the Xu family was already going against her heart. Drinking spring dew on Mount Qixia at dawn and supping on sunset clouds at dusk is what she truly yearns for.

She has a pure and detached nature; she envies neither the noble families of the capital nor the secular women, but rather the Qi-refining immortals of Mount Qixia. In truth, Mount Qixia is her point of origin and her ultimate destination.
Since she can return to Mount Qixia, I'm too happy for her to feel any reluctance."

"Besides, the Great Yu's Audience Festival is coming up soon, and by then, she and I will naturally meet again in the Suspended Sky Capital."

At this moment, Chen Zhi'an was reading the letter. It contained many words, mostly expressions of gratitude.

Until the very last line.

"Young Master Chen, let us not become mere passersby. Until we meet again."

After this sentence, Xu Xiyue had written once more: "Let us not become mere passersby."

She had written it twice.