“Ye Chu, you have been on Wuxin Peak for more than three years now, right!” The old madman looked at Ye Chu and said, “It is neither short nor long. When you first arrived, you did not even have the strength to truss a chicken. Now, although you are only at the fifth level of the innate realm, you have finally achieved something. Last time when you stormed Yongfeng, you borrowed the power of murderous aura, right.”
Seeing Ye Chu remain silent, the old madman continued, “Your talent is actually really not that great. Although it has improved somewhat over these years, when I first saw you, you were far too weak. I brought you to Qingmi Mountain precisely because of your constitution. I have never seen such a constitution before. To be able to let murderous spirits enter the body without harm. It is truly too miraculous. With this kind of constitution, you can completely make up for the gap in talent. As long as you find enough murderous aura to assist your cultivation, your achievements will be no less than the golden child and the others.”
Ye Chu did not mention that his talent had changed because of the black iron. He simply continued listening to the old madman.
“In these three years, apart from teaching you some basics, I let you figure out everything else on your own. It was to temper you. The facts have proven…”
“Enough! Stop right there! Do not make excuses for your own laziness!” Ye Chu could not listen anymore. Shui Gu and the others also looked at the old madman with contempt. Back when he brought them up the mountain, the old madman had said the exact same thing to them. But which one of them did not know it was just the old madman being lazy.
“Hehe!” The old madman gave an awkward laugh. He seemed a little embarrassed to continue. Then he smiled again. “No matter the reason, Ye Chu, you have finally achieved something. If I am not mistaken, you have barely stepped into the circle of murderous spirit cultivators. The murderous aura and spiritual energy in your body can coexist. And compared to ordinary murderous spirit cultivators, your power is even more violent. That is because of your constitution, right!”
“Murderous spirits are converted through yin-yang methods and fused into my body. The coexistence of yin and yang allows murderous spirits to coexist,” Ye Chu explained simply. He knew he did not need to explain too thoroughly. The old madman would understand.
“Excellent method! But such a method can only be used by someone with your constitution! Ordinary murderous spirit cultivators usually refine murderous aura first and then fuse it into themselves. It is precisely because of this that their power cannot compare to the purity of yours,” the old madman said, looking at Ye Chu. “It is just a pity. The murderous aura you erupted with in Yongfeng last time was enough to push you to a terrifying realm. Yet you wasted such power.”
Ye Chu did not feel any regret. A man has things he must do and things he must not do. Some matters are destined to come with a price.
“You can call me lazy, but I have never seen your constitution before. Apart from teaching you the most basic things, everything else is unknown to me as well. I do not dare teach you carelessly,” the old madman said to Ye Chu. “When it comes to you, everything can only depend on yourself. Only you can truly understand your own constitution and find the path that suits you best. What you figure out yourself is what truly fits you.”
Hearing this, Ye Chu and the others all curled their lips. But they had long grown used to the old madman’s laziness. No one said anything more.
“This time you touched the long sword. It means you are destined to walk a path different from everyone else. From now on, in Wuxin Peak, do whatever you want. Come down the mountain or go up as you please,” the old madman suddenly said.
“That is not fair!” The golden child immediately jumped up. He looked at the old madman and said, “Why can Ye Chu come and go freely from the mountain while we cannot!”
The old madman glanced at Ou Yi and the golden child. “If you are willing, you can also come and go freely!”
These words stunned the golden child and the others in place. They looked at the old madman strangely, wondering if the old madman had taken the wrong medicine today. How could he possibly agree to such a thing?
Normally when they wanted to go down the mountain, the old madman would block them in every way possible. Going down once was never easy. Yet this time he was actually letting them go.
“From today onwards, anyone in Wuxin Peak who wants to go down the mountain may do so,” the old madman said, looking at them. His gaze lingered especially on the golden child and the others. “But remember one thing clearly. No matter what you do down the mountain, act according to your ability. If one day you die down there, do not expect anyone to stand up for you. If you act on your own, you must take responsibility for your own actions.”
Ye Chu looked at the golden child and the others. He knew each of them had their own stories. What they would do down the mountain was anyone’s guess. And every one of them was a madman. No wonder the old madman had specially emphasised this point.
Shui Gu yawned from the side at this moment. “If you choose to go down the mountain, then I hope you return with achievements. Wuxin Peak does not wish to become your refuge. If you do not want to die, then work hard to become stronger. Especially you, golden child and Ou Yi. You two need to work even harder. Although Ye Chu has a notorious reputation as a scoundrel and a bastard, he is merely the heir of a small kingdom. With his current strength, he can already dominate that kingdom. Among you, he is the one under the least pressure!”
The old madman waved his hand. “Ye Chu, golden child, Ou Yi, you three leave first. As for Ye Chu, stay on Wuxin Peak a while longer to recover from your injuries. We will talk about other matters later.”
Ye Chu, the golden child, and Ou Yi exchanged glances. They all saw the suspicion in each other’s eyes. But they nodded and did not linger.
After the three left, the old madman looked at the yawning Shui Gu and said, “Are you really going to stay on Wuxin Peak forever? Not going down the mountain for a walk?”
Shui Gu shook his head. “The time has not come yet. Wuxin Peak suits me.”
The old madman sighed and did not try to persuade his eldest disciple further. He glanced outside the cave. “Ye Chu’s talent has changed. You noticed it too, right. This kid is truly strange. The fact that his body can contain such terrifying murderous aura already puzzles me. What is even more miraculous is that he erupted with such violent murderous aura yet did not explode his body. He only needed ten or so days of rest to fully recover.”
Shui Gu nodded. “When he first came up the mountain, compared to the prodigies of his generation, he could be considered clumsy. Even now, although his talent has improved somewhat, in that circle he can still only be considered average. But his soul is incredibly miraculous. It is far stronger than ordinary people. Even I cannot see through his soul.”
“It is precisely because of this that I did not dare teach him any soul-shaping techniques carelessly. I was afraid of ruining him. I hope he can walk his own path of soul-shaping,” the old madman said. “And now I feel that Ye Chu’s primordial spirit carries the aura of soul-shaping. It is not the origin of the primordial spirit, but some other method.”
The old madman found it astonishing. Among his disciples, Ye Chu had always been the worst. If not for Xi Xi’s special circumstances, her strength would have long surpassed Ye Chu’s. Yet after returning from going down the mountain this time, Ye Chu’s transformation had become extraordinary.
“Ye Chu’s constitution and soul mean he must walk a path different from other cultivators if he wants to stand out,” Shui Gu said. “Ye Chu has only two possible outcomes. Either he remains mediocre his whole life, becoming a so-called powerhouse in the eyes of ordinary people but incomparable to true prodigies. Or he undergoes a shocking transformation and becomes a prodigy of his generation. However, using the long sword this time is not good for him. I only hope he is smart enough not to let the supreme being’s aura lead him astray and lose himself. To break through the aura left by the supreme being is not something that can be easily done.”
Shui Gu sighed. Back then even that unparalleled powerhouse had no means to break it. How could Ye Chu possibly succeed?