The wind of the Inner Court Back Mountain carried a sense of being far removed from the clamor of the world.
This place was an abandoned Observatory of the Purple Heaven Sword Sect.
Moss marks left by the erosion of years spread across the bluestone slabs, and several unknown ancient pines clung to the edge of the cliff, their needle leaves rustling in the wind.
The sea of clouds surged beneath their feet, and the newly risen sun in the distance cast a golden mantle over this world.
Ye Chen chose this place precisely for its undisturbed silence.
He stood at the edge of the cliff with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze, his expression calm.
Yan Hongxiu stood three steps behind him.
Her outfit was form-fitting, a red ponytail lifting lightly in the wind, and a trace of anticipation flickered in her heroic features.
She could sense that the “Junior Brother Ye Chen” before her was completely different from the somewhat helpless youth she saw at the Heartlake Pavilion, held by Xiaoxiao, just yesterday.
In one night, he seemed to have become a different person.
At this moment, he didn’t look like an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple.
This feeling only made her more certain that her choice had been correct.
“Junior Brother Ye Chen,” she was the first to break the silence, her voice clear and, carried by the wind, scattered into the air, “Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
Ye Chen didn’t turn around.
He only gave a faint “Mm” as a response.
Yan Hongxiu didn’t mind his indifference.
She hadn’t come to talk about love or sentimental matters.
She took a step forward, straightforwardly:
“What I said yesterday came from the bottom of my heart. I want to know—how did you reach the peak of Foundation Establishment from the Qi Refining stage in just one year?”
Her gaze was burning, like a flame trying to pierce through Ye Chen’s calm exterior.
“The stone monument of the Path-Seeking Lake doesn’t lie. That kind of speed has already surpassed common sense. It even… goes beyond the category of ‘Genius.’”
Ye Chen finally turned around slowly.
He looked at her.
There was neither approval nor disdain in his eyes—only pure scrutiny.
“The path of the Great Dao lies in accumulation, not in overnight success.”
His voice was very soft.
“What you see is the result. What you do not see is the cause. If you blindly seek speed, your foundation will be unstable. Building a tower on sand will collapse with a single gust of wind.”
These words were no different from the sayings of the elders in the sect, even more mature.
But Yan Hongxiu was not disappointed, because she saw confidence in Ye Chen’s eyes.
She nodded openly, a relieved smile appearing on her cheeks.
“I understand. I was too impatient.”
She didn’t linger on the issue, but shifted her focus, a faint trace of confusion and restlessness replacing the fire in her eyes.
“Then, the second question.”
She took a deep breath, as if to suppress all her discontent.
“I have been stuck at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment for ten years.
In these ten years, I have consulted countless seniors at the Golden Core stage, tried every method they taught—seclusion, bitter cultivation, Dan Medicine, Enlightenment…
Yet that thin membrane, that threshold leading to the Golden Core, remains beyond my reach. Why?”
When she asked this question, her fist tightened.
It was the deepest confusion and pain of a true seeker of the Dao.
Ye Chen’s gaze fell on her clenched fist, silent for a moment.
Only the sound of the wind and the pines remained.
“Hold out your hand.”
He finally spoke, his tone flat, brooking no refusal.
Yan Hongxiu was slightly taken aback, but did not hesitate.
She stretched out her right hand as told.
Her palm, calloused from years of sword practice, was still slender and clean.
Ye Chen extended two fingers and lightly placed them on her wrist.
His fingertips were cool.
The moment they touched, Yan Hongxiu felt a gentle yet pure spiritual power flow into her meridians like a trickling stream.
The spiritual power was not forceful, but carried an indescribable quality that made the spiritual energy within her calm and submit.
She was a little surprised.
As expected, Junior Brother was not ordinary.
Ye Chen’s eyes closed slightly, his mind fully immersed.
In his perception, Yan Hongxiu’s meridians were wide and resilient, spiritual energy surging like a river, with a foundation far stronger than her peers.
Her talent was first-class.
His divine sense, like threads, followed the flow of spiritual energy downward, finally arriving at the dantian and qi sea where all power converged.
The qi sea was vast, spiritual power rotating slowly like a vortex.
At its center, the nascent form of a Golden Core was taking shape, waiting only for an opportunity to fully condense.
Everything seemed perfect.
Yet, at the deepest part of that spiritual vortex, Ye Chen detected a faint anomaly, almost fused with the darkness.
It was a thread of black light, thinner than a hair.
It lay hidden, like a venomous barb, subtly disrupting the final step of spiritual condensation.
Every time Yan Hongxiu attempted to form her core, all her power would dissipate under the influence of this “thorn,” quietly failing.
The method was so exquisite that it could deceive ordinary Golden Core cultivators, and even Nascent Soul Stage experts would struggle to detect it without careful examination.
A flash of realization passed through Ye Chen’s eyes.
This was not a natural constitution, nor was it a flaw from cultivation.
It was artificial.
He slowly withdrew his fingers, the cool, jade-like sensation leaving Yan Hongxiu’s wrist.
She looked at him nervously, her breath unconsciously held.
“Junior Brother… did you find something?”
Ye Chen didn’t answer immediately.
He looked toward the distant sea of clouds, his mind racing.
That “Shadow Thorn,” with his current Foundation Establishment cultivation, would cause irreversible damage to Yan Hongxiu’s dantian if forcibly removed by external force.
But… not all hope was lost.
He turned back to meet Yan Hongxiu’s expectant gaze, calmly stating the truth.
“Someone tampered with your dantian.”
A single sentence exploded like thunder in Yan Hongxiu’s ears.
Her entire body froze.
In her amber eyes, shock and confusion flashed, as if she were hearing a fantastical tale.
But in the next instant, the confusion receded like the tide, replaced by a clarity of sudden understanding.
Fragments of memories she had deliberately ignored, old events long sealed away, instantly connected in her mind.
Her face gradually turned pale in the mountain wind.
The eyes that always burned with fire were now doused, leaving only a stubborn spark burning deep inside.
Ye Chen quietly observed the changes in her expression—shock, realization, and finally, a nearly overflowing sense of unwillingness.
He knew she must have remembered something.
“Junior Brother… is this true?”
Her voice was hoarse.
“It’s true.”
Ye Chen’s reply was firm.
Yan Hongxiu closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, all emotion had been forcibly suppressed, leaving only a peace akin to liberation.
She bowed deeply and respectfully to Ye Chen.
“Thank you for clearing my doubts, Junior Brother. I will remember your kindness today.”
She didn’t ask how to resolve it, nor did she inquire further.
This wisdom and decisiveness drew a faint glimmer of approval in Ye Chen’s eyes.
“Now that the cause is known, it’s not a dead end.”
He spoke softly, giving her reassurance.
“This matter is complicated and will require some preparation. Three days from now, at this place, I will give you a solution.”
“Alright.”
Yan Hongxiu replied with a single word and said no more.
The wind suddenly grew stronger, making their robes flutter.
Ye Chen watched her disappear down the mountain path before slowly withdrawing his gaze.
He looked at his fingertips, where he had touched Yan Hongxiu’s wrist, and fell into deep thought.
His humanity told him this matter was troublesome, likely to bring disaster, and would only worsen conflicts with Xiaoxiao.
But the Sword Sovereign divinity entrenched in his soul whispered otherwise.
How can such a flawless jade remain tainted by an insignificant poison barb?
Only by polishing away flaws can a supreme artifact be forged.