Chapter 2260: Chapter 2262: Who’s More Proud
In response to Yi Jue’s persistent inquiry, Feng Jun finally let slip a bit of information, "Xuanyuan Qi can enhance realm affinity."
Realm affinity? Yi Jue pondered for a moment and tentatively asked, "Are you planning to use it in another domain?"
She didn’t specifically mention the Kunhao Realm, obviously aware that Feng Jun had some reservations he wasn’t ready to admit.
Feng Jun hesitated for a bit but ultimately nodded. He understood her keen intelligence, and it was time to let her in on some things. "Yes, I don’t plan to use it in the Kunhao Realm."
Yi Jue did not reply immediately. After a while, she came to knock on Feng Jun’s door.
All this was noticed by Elder Duan Liang. He subtly shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Tsk, ultimately not under the Taixu Sect."
Yi Jue entered Feng Jun’s residence and earnestly stated, "When I reach the out-of-body phase, if you can help me deduce a scenario seriously, I’ll give you a wisp of Xuanyuan Qi as a return."
Hearing this, Feng Jun was initially startled, "You also have Xuanyuan Qi?"
"Who do you think you’re looking down on?" Yi Jue rolled her eyes at him, "I’ve had this Xuanyuan Qi for over a hundred years. I’ve always been considering whether to use it during my breakthrough to strengthen my foundation."
When a cultivator advances to the out-of-body phase, having Xuanyuan Qi to protect them not only enhances the success rate but also greatly helps in strengthening the soul. Xuanyuan Qi is the most authentic treasure under heaven and earth, allowing a cultivator to go further after the breakthrough.
However, a genius is a genius. Yi Jue was actually considering not using Xuanyuan Qi upon her breakthrough, with such lofty vision and grandeur. In the Earth Realm, she would be the typical "child of someone else."
Feng Jun hurriedly advised, "Considering our relationship, I would absolutely do my best in helping you deduce, without any connection to Xuanyuan Qi. I suggest you be more cautious and use it for support during your breakthrough... it will benefit your future greatly."
Yi Jue shot him a look, asking seriously, "Do you have any Xuanyuan Qi right now?"
"No," Feng Jun shook his head and honestly replied, "I’ve never even seen it."
Yi Jue continued her questioning, "Then tell me, from now, how long do you think it will take you to reach the out-of-body phase?"
The matter of the out-of-body phase was something Feng Jun hadn’t really thought about. He was currently only at the Second Layer Golden Core, and even estimating when he could form a Nascent Soul seemed "overambitious" enough; how could he even consider the out-of-body phase?
But looking back, he had actually calculated when he could form a Nascent Soul. He projected twenty years to reach the Golden Core Ninth Layer and another forty years to stabilize the realm, which should be enough to impact Nascent Soul formation.
So, he replied with a bitter smile, "I still don’t know where to find a Nascent Soul stage cultivation technique, so I haven’t thought about the out-of-body phase yet."
"Then you should think about it now," Yi Jue said earnestly, "With your current influence and deductive ability, I don’t believe a Nascent Soul stage cultivation technique would be too difficult for you."
Feng Jun carefully considered before responding more conservatively, "I estimate it wouldn’t differ too much from yours."
"Why be so modest?" Yi Jue said, looking at him helplessly, "You’ve said before you advance every two years at the Golden Core stage. Sixty years from now to form a Nascent Soul is enough... and if you advance every twenty years in the Nascent Soul stage, you won’t take more than three hundred years to reach the out-of-body phase."
She remembered what Feng Jun had said very well, "Not too different from mine... actually, you meant much sooner than mine, right?"
Feng Jun could only respond with a wry smile, "You really have a lot of confidence in me."
Yi Jue’s words honestly meant a lot. She herself was a paragon at the top of the Tianqin realm, shining so brightly it could blind.
In such a situation, for her to abandon her pride and deduce that Feng Jun could far surpass her, and then to openly admit it—truthfully, this couldn’t be imagined in ordinary paragons.
But this also indirectly showed how much confidence she had in herself—that perhaps her pace of advancement wasn’t as fast as Feng Jun’s at the moment, but would his pace still surpass hers after the out-of-body phase? That was another matter altogether.
Ultimately, she wasn’t afraid of her initial cultivation progress falling behind Feng Jun’s. Anyway, she wasn’t discouraged. Cultivation is an endlessly long journey. If someone starts faster, so what?
She believed in the years to come, she could maintain her cultivation distance with Feng Jun, possibly even leaving him further behind—in fact, in her heart, she thought it would be fine if Feng Jun caught up slightly, otherwise, the road ahead might be a bit too lonely.
When other paragons were still envious of others catching up, she was already considering the possible loneliness of the future. One had to admit, those truly proud were proud to their very core.
As for Feng Jun’s words about "confidence" and the like, she simply ignored them, "So, within a maximum of three hundred years, you could reach the out-of-body phase. Have you thought that during these three hundred years, you might not obtain a second wisp of Xuanyuan Qi?"
She spoke so candidly that Feng Jun didn’t want to beat around the bush either. He thought carefully, "I feel that the possibility of getting the second strand is still there. After all, some people need me... Maybe you think I’m a bit arrogant, but the possibility truly exists."
"I don’t think you’re arrogant," Yi Jue shook her head. As a top genius of Tianqin, she naturally understood the pride of geniuses better, "It’s normal for you to think this way. I just want to ask... If you get the second or even third strand, would you use it on yourself?"
Only then did Feng Jun realize her focus, but he didn’t want to lie to her, "Well... I might keep one strand as a backup?"
"Exactly," Yi Jue nodded. She didn’t think his words were exaggerated, "At most, you’d keep one strand by your side. Whether you’d use it or not is uncertain... If you’re so confident in yourself, why can’t I be?"
I have a lot of pressure on me! Feng Jun was a bit speechless, and after a while, he replied, "The Xuanhuang Qi is a treasure with no side effects. Wouldn’t it be better for your foundation to be stronger?"
Yi Jue smiled calmly, "Then why don’t you have the urge to use it?"
"The reason I’ve been hesitating is the same as yours... No matter how beneficial a treasure without side effects is, it’s not as important as building a solid foundation myself. If I’m strong enough, why would I need the Xuanhuang Qi?"
There’s really nothing wrong with that. No matter how beneficial a treasure without side effects is, it’s ultimately not as important as one’s own strength.
Feng Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile, "I’m inherently cautious. The reason I don’t use external objects is just because I’m poor."
Enhancing the Spirit Mechanism of the Earth Realm is just one of his goals. His ultimate goal is the global revival of spiritual energy—this is really not just to cater to the guardian; even without the guardian, he plans to do so.
"You’re poor?" Yi Jue couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She, of course, didn’t know he was bearing the burden of a domain, "When I was at the Initial Golden Core Stage, my assets were less than one percent of what you have now. Now, your assets might already exceed mine."
"You’re being modest with that last sentence," Feng Jun replied seriously, "Your assets are definitely much more than mine... by a lot!"
"Isn’t it normal that I surpass you? I’m at Nascent Soul Peak," Yi Jue finally showed her feminine side, but in the next moment, she quickly reversed.
"Anyway, you make money much faster than I do. It won’t be long before you surpass me. I mostly feel that you don’t want to use Xuanhuang Qi... Since you’re confident about not using it, why should I hesitate over such a thing? So I decided not to use it either."
"I also want to use it, it’s really just because I’m poor," Feng Jun said helplessly, then straightened his expression, "I sincerely advise you... Having ambition is good, but you must consider your own needs. With our friendship, no matter how many times we simulate it, it’s no problem."
Yi Jue, however, didn’t take his advice seriously, "I came this time to inform you, not to discuss with you!"
After she finished speaking, she turned and left, and all Feng Jun could do was shake his head helplessly.
The next day, Feng Jun went to Elder Duan Liang and expressed his willingness to accept the conditions of the Xuanhuang Sect.
In response, Elder Duan Liang said that after communicating with the Elders Council, they could agree to Feng Jun’s request—each of the four Taixu sect members would pay five hundred upper spiritual stones, split the Void harvest fifty-fifty, and storage bags would be subject to inspection upon entry and exit.
In fact, with this arrangement, not only the four sect members needed to be inspected, but also Moli and the two female cultivators with Spatial Physique by his side—Feng Jun couldn’t leave such a big loophole, letting them transfer materials to others’ storage bags.
Yi Jue’s analysis was indeed correct—Elder Duan Liang’s various reservations were just because he hadn’t adjusted his position before.
These embarrassing events shouldn’t happen so often, but there’s no help for it. No matter who it is, once they’ve been in a superior position for too long, it’s really hard to easily step down.
Once they don’t regard themselves as a special group, accepting the inspection of storage bags is no big deal.
However, handling this matter is still somewhat complicated. Firstly, Elder Duan Liang must select these four people. Having cultivated the original version of "Qi Envelope to Formation" is not the most critical aspect—it can be temporarily cultivated if necessary, as long as they can quickly master it.
The key is that these four people must fully meet the criteria, and preferably... have some old injuries that require time for recuperation.
The Taixu Sect is large, and there are many cultivators. Elder Duan Liang is well aware that going to the Void to acquire Void Material is certainly profitable. If the Disciples of Taixu can set aside their pride, such an opportunity... may lead to fierce competition.
On another front, there’s Moli. He just returned from the Void, having recuperated there for over four years. His old injuries are indeed much better, but the conditions for healing weren’t great—the Void erosion was blocked by the Thick Earth Cauldron, but it still can’t match healing in reality.
Others in the Taixu Sect must wait until Moli has adjusted, which still requires a process, not something that can be achieved in one go.
Finally, Elder Duan Liang suggested, "This is not an overnight matter, so why don’t... we go to the Xuanhuang Sect first?"
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