Breaching the Wall

Xu Yuan felt a tangle of complicated emotions. Yet regardless of the past, from now on he would likely only be able to go by the name Xu Changtian. "Oh." Her quiet, slightly disappointed voice sounded softly in the pitch-black cave abode, as though she were let down that he had not told her his real name. After several seconds of silence, she asked softly, "So will you always use Xu Yuan's name from now on?" "..." *Xu Yuan?* A flicker of bewilderment crossed his eyes. Pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan recalled that *Cangyuan* did seem to follow the practice of courtesy names; it was just that the Third Young Master died upon debut every single time, so his given name had never once appeared. Discovering now that the original host had also been named Xu Yuan came as quite a surprise. A coincidence? Or was it due to something else? His thoughts branched outward, only to pull back an instant later. Xu Yuan never wasted time on puzzles he could not solve. Turning his attention back, Xu Yuan said to the woman beside him, "Mr. Ran, in a moment—" "Ran Qingmo." The giant block of ice suddenly cut him off. Her serene eyes were fixed on him unblinkingly, dead serious. "My name is Ran Qingmo." "..." The air fell still for an instant as the two exchanged a silent gaze in the dark. Rendered speechless, Xu Yuan smiled, nodded, and spoke again. "Ran Qingmo, when they arrive later, don't say a word. Just let me handle it." This time, the giant block of ice seemed satisfied, nodding. "Mm. Okay." With that, neither spoke another word. Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and slipped back into cultivation. Because the entire spring of spiritual water had been stored into the Sumeru ring, the Source Qi in the cave abode had begun to thin out. Yet with the Spirit-Locking Array still intact, the density of Source Qi he could sense around him was still enough to make him click his tongue in awe. The cultivation art began circulating through his meridians, gradually drawing the surrounding Source Qi into his body. His meridians, once as narrow as winding goat paths, were now as broad as open highways. The icy-blue Source Qi that had previously coated their inner walls had been thoroughly washed away by the immense medicinal potency earlier. The free-floating Source Qi between heaven and earth entered his meridians, converting at an unimpeded rush. In just fifteen minutes, Xu Yuan realized that the Source Qi he converted in this brief span was already equal to a full week of his previous bitter cultivation. He felt a surge of marvel mixed with helplessness. What an ordinary person could not achieve even after exhausting all their strength was something geniuses could accomplish with a casual wave of the hand. With his mind completely immersed in cultivation, only someone who had known the struggle of straining with all their might just to vaguely perceive a faint wisp of Source Qi could truly grasp the terrifying advantage offered by an Innate Dao Body. Soon, however, Xu Yuan noticed that the surrounding Source Qi was dissipating at a visible rate. Source Qi behaved similarly to air, continuously flowing from areas of high pressure to low pressure to refill any vacuum. Yet even so, the Source Qi inside the cavern was bleeding away rapidly. From thick, to sparse, until only two or three faint "qi clusters" remained within two feet of his body. With eyes still closed, Xu Yuan frowned slightly and directed his intent-soul outward to investigate. When ordinary people first stepped into cultivation, their intent-soul could only sense faint Source Qi less than a foot from their bodies; beyond that, they could not perceive the flow of Source Qi or its replenishment at all. Yet the terrifying nature of the Innate Soul Body demonstrated itself once again. Not only was Xu Yuan's sensory range vastly wider, but he could also clearly discern the direction in which the Source Qi was flowing. As his intent-soul probed, Xu Yuan sensed that all the dissipating Source Qi in the cave was rushing toward a spot just a meter to his side. "..." Halting the cultivation art, he opened his eyes. Ran Qingmo sat cross-legged beside him, eyes shut tight. She had snatched away every bit of Source Qi in the cave abode. And he was utterly incapable of competing against this giant block of ice. His eyes flickered, and Xu Yuan gave a soft shake of his head. Abandoning cultivation for now, he leaned back against the stone wall to rest with eyes closed. He began to understand how Ran Qingmo had managed to reach Grandmaster at such a young age. She cultivated every waking moment. Whether in the Buddhist hall when they first met, upon waking from hypothermia in the cave, or during pauses while trekking through the Wanxing Mountain Range—as long as she was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, she was cultivating. A hardworking genius was a true genius. At that thought, Xu Yuan's mind suddenly hitched. He recalled his eldest brother from his newly acquired memories. That fellow... hardly seemed to cultivate at all, did he? In his childhood memories, he had clung to this brother ten years his senior day in and day out, begging him to play. Though Xu Changge always looked thoroughly reluctant, he still accompanied him, often for an entire day at a time. Throughout those memories, Xu Changge had never once stopped to sit cross-legged and cultivate. While Xu Yuan's thoughts drifted, Ran Qingmo, sitting beside him, quietly opened her eyes. Her voice was cool and crisp: "They're here." Xu Yuan snapped back to reality, his gaze hardening. The next moment, *BOOM!* Shattered rock flew in every direction. The unyielding stone wall of the cave abode was blasted open from the outside, carving a cavernous breach over ten meters deep. Sunlight flooded through the opening, instantly banishing the darkness within. Within that piercing sunlight, several silhouettes could be faintly seen. Likely wary of Ran Qingmo's strength, they did not rashly charge into the cramped cave abode. After a moment of silence, a raspy, chilling woman's voice carried in from outside. "Mr. Ran, please step outside." The voice echoed throughout the cave abode. A second of silence passed. Ran Qingmo quietly picked up her sword, rose, and moved toward the entrance. Xu Yuan reached out and took her by the wrist. She looked back at him, and Xu Yuan gave a gentle shake of his head. At this point in time, with the strength of his nominal eldest brother, a single strike would be enough to kill this giant block of ice. Ran Qingmo remained silent for two seconds, but obediently stayed where she was. Xu Yuan rose slowly, dusted off his blood-red robe, and called out, "Mr. Ran did not harm me. Do not attack her. Let her leave." "..." Hearing Xu Yuan's voice, none of the figures outside spoke. Seeing this, Xu Yuan walked toward the opening. The blasted breach stretched some ten meters long, littered with rubble that crunched beneath his boots. Arriving at the mouth of the cavern, Xu Yuan squinted, channeling Source Qi into his eyes to adjust to the daylight. Xu Yuan raised a hand to lightly stroke his neck as he took in the four figures hovering in midair outside. A scruffy man covered in stubble, a woman in martial attire with a high ponytail, a bald monk, and a masked woman in tight black robes that exposed two pale, slender arms. Xu Yuan's gaze locked onto that final masked woman. He remembered her. Whenever Xu Changge was about to give him a thrashing, she was the Ying'er who stood beside him, dutifully handing over the implements. Ying'er swept her cold gaze across Xu Yuan and murmured, "Zhou Chen, retrieve the Third Young Master." "..." Zhou Chen glanced at the Third Young Master standing at the cave entrance and shook his head with an air of resignation. The blood-red robe looked sharp enough, but the words of this profligate Third Young Master... who would listen to him? Killing Ran Qingmo was the Eldest Young Master's direct order. With that thought, Zhou Chen blurred into motion toward Xu Yuan, his speed far beyond what Xu Yuan's eyes could track. Yet halfway there, Zhou Chen's figure jerked to an abrupt halt, hovering in midair with a deep frown. Before his eyes, wisps of eerie, blood-red Source Qi had emerged from the hand the useless Third Young Master was resting on his neck, coiling tightly around his fair throat. In the brief instant Zhou Chen had surged forward, beads of fresh blood had already begun seeping from the skin. Lightly caressing his throat, Xu Yuan swept his gaze over the four figures once more, repeating word by word: "I said, "Let Mr. Ran leave." Feeling the warmth of the blood trickling down his neck, Xu Yuan thought that if he were purely rational, he would use this opportunity to eliminate the giant block of ice. That way, his identity would be completely cemented, leaving no flaw behind. Yet he could not do it. Perhaps in the future they might clash and turn against each other over something, but absolutely not now. Call it bleeding-heart hypocrisy or pathetic infatuation—even if one could not manage to repay kindness, one should at least never return kindness with malice. She had helped him so much along the way, and in the cave abode she had quietly helped him just as much. If not for her, failing to resolve the Rejection Syndrome alone would have cost him his life right here. Inside the cave abode, Ran Qingmo stood gripping her sword, watching the blood-red silhouette standing at the entrance. Her red lips pressed into a thin line... "..." Clouds and mist swirled around them, and directly below lay the bottomless abyss of Xuantian Cliff. The cavern entrance fell instantly into a dead silence. Upon seeing that trace of blood-red Source Qi, a flicker of surprise passed through Ying'er's cold eyes, though her expression swiftly normalized. "Third Young Master, we came to rescue you. What is the meaning of this?" Xu Yuan shifted his gaze slightly toward her and said softly, "Rescuing me does not conflict in the slightest with letting Mr. Ran go." After that brief exchange, silence descended upon the entrance once more. To the four standing in midair outside, the Third Young Master possessing Source Qi was indeed unexpected, but given their cultivation, it was hardly an obstacle. Knocking him out and whisking him away would be simple—a matter of a single flicker. The trouble was, none of them knew what cultivation art the Third Young Master had practiced, nor did they know whether the blood-red Source Qi coiled around his throat would run wild if he were knocked unconscious. Admittedly, the gulf in their power would allow them to forcefully suppress it with their own Source Qi before it could erupt. Yet... What if? What if things did not go as expected and an accident befell the Third Young Master? Who would take the blame? If the Third Young Master died at their hands, it was practically equivalent to dragging their entire families into the grave with him. No one dared bear that responsibility. The tense standoff stretched on for who knew how long, until a sigh drifted down slowly from the summit of Xuantian Cliff. It was faint, yet it fell with absolute clarity upon the ears of every person present. As the sigh faded, a voice as warm and smooth as jade rang out: "Ying'er, if Mr. Ran wishes to leave, let her go. Just bring Changtian up."