Courtyard House: Starting with handing over the keys, the state helps me abuse birds.

Chapter 63 Crossing

half a month later.

Behind the training base, in a secluded valley.

Zhao Weize sat cross-legged on a blue stone, his eyes closed, his aura surging. Sweat slid down his resolute face, dripping onto the ground and instantly evaporating.

Eleven people sat in a circle around him, watching him quietly.

Xie Weihong stood three meters away, her gaze calm.

"Stay calm." He spoke, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching Zhao Weize's ears. "Sink your Qi to your Dantian, focus your mind on the Yongquan point. The key to breakthrough lies in the mind, not in the strength."

Zhao Weize did not respond, but his breathing rhythm changed slightly. It changed from rapid to long, even, and from erratic to steady.

Inside his body, that energy was circulating wildly.

A month ago, he had just opened his Ren and Du meridians, completed the Small Heavenly Circuit, and officially stepped into the threshold of cultivation. Since then, he has never slacked off for a single day. While others practice for one hour, he practices for two; while others rest, he continues to practice.

Xie Weihong saw this but did not stop it.

In the path of cultivation, talent is important, but character is even more important. Zhao Weize possesses both.

Today, he's finally about to break through.

The transition from the first to the second stage is the first real hurdle on the path of cultivation. Only after crossing it, with a transformed physique and the ability to project one's Qi outward, can one truly transcend the realm of mortals.

Zhao Weize felt the qi in his dantian growing thicker and hotter, like a pot of water about to boil. Following the exercise method taught by Xie Weihong, he guided the qi downwards, spreading it throughout his limbs and bones.

pain.

Every bone in his body ached, as if someone was hammering and filing him. But he gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

"break!"

He suddenly opened his eyes and let out a low growl.

The energy in his dantian exploded with a roar, flowing through his meridians to his entire body. Wherever it passed, his bones emitted a slight popping sound, his muscles trembled violently, and faint black impurities seeped from his skin.

Then, everything calmed down.

Zhao Weize looked down at his hands. They were still the same hands, but he could feel that they were different.

power.

Every cell in his body was filled with unprecedented power.

He looked up at Xie Weihong, as if to say something—

Then he froze.

Xie Weihong was still standing there, but her eyes had completely changed.

Those eyes, which had always been calm as still water, were now empty, the pupils unfocused, and the person was like a statue, completely still.

"Instructor?"

no respond.

"Instructor!"

Still no response.

All eleven people around Xie Weihong stood up and surrounded her. But Xie Weihong just stood there, motionless, her eyes open, yet she couldn't see anything.

Zhao Weize reached out to touch him, but Sun Guodong stopped him.

"Don't move!" Sun Guodong whispered. "He might have gone wrong in his cultivation. Don't startle him."

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at Xie Weihong.

But Xie Weihong just stood there.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Duan Chengyi ran over from a distance and, upon seeing the scene, his expression changed: "What happened?"

"I don't know," Zhao Weize said. "I just finished my breakthrough, and when I looked up, the instructor was like this."

Duan Chengyi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "Don't panic, don't touch him. He might be in a meditative state, let's wait and see."

A group of people surrounded Xie Weihong, as if guarding some fragile treasure.

---

Xie Weihong didn't know how long she had been standing there.

The moment Zhao Weize broke through, he suddenly felt dizzy.

It wasn't that he wanted to leave; something was pulling him away.

An irresistible force, like an invisible hand, abruptly pulled him away from where he stood. He barely had time to think of resisting before the world before him had completely changed.

He stood on unfamiliar land.

There is no sunlight.

Only the hazy sunlight peeked through the gaps in the thick clouds, illuminating this desolate land.

The land was scorched black, cracked into countless fissured fragments, and barren of all vegetation.

In the distance, the outlines of some collapsed buildings can be vaguely seen, as if they had been destroyed by some enormous force, leaving only broken walls and ruins.

The air was thick with a decaying, oppressive atmosphere, as if no one had been here for countless years.

Xie Weihong looked down at her hands and then sensed her cultivation level within her body.

The power of a peak fourth-tier cultivator is still there, but its operation feels sluggish, as if something is pressing down on it. At most, it can only exert about 30% of its power.

He raised his head and looked around.

What place is this?

He tried to take a step forward. The scorched earth beneath his feet cracked slightly, like stepping on dried-up mud. He walked for a while, then looked back—there was nothing behind him, only endless wasteland.

The force that had drawn him here has vanished.

He tried, just like before, to go back—

No response.

He tried again, concentrating all his thoughts on "going back".

There was still no response.

Can not go back.

Xie Weihong stood there, silent for a few seconds.

Then he continued walking forward.

Since we can't go back, let's see what kind of place this is.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, several tents appeared ahead.

The tattered canvas tent was pitched on a relatively flat open ground, surrounded by a circle of gravel, resembling some kind of rudimentary fortification.

Several people were squatting next to the tent, dressed in rags, their faces pale and thin, as if they hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

Their reactions upon seeing Xie Weihong were almost simultaneous—

panic.

Everyone shrank back at the same time. Some grabbed the wooden sticks next to them, some protected the children behind them, and some lay on the ground trembling.

Xie Weihong stopped and raised her hands to indicate that she meant no harm.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "I'm just passing by."

No one responded.

Those men stared intently at him, their pupils filled with terror. It wasn't feigned terror; it was a deep-seated, visceral fear.

Xie Weihong took a step forward.

"Don't come any closer!"

An older man finally spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper, "Don't come any closer... please... we have nothing..."

Xie Weihong frowned: "I just wanted to ask for directions."

"Asking for directions?" The man froze, as if he had heard something unbelievable. "You...you're not here to kill us?"

Why would I kill you?

The man and the people behind him exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Xie Weihong thought for a moment and then released a wisp of her aura.

Although his fourth-tier cultivation was suppressed, when that trace of his aura leaked out, the people opposite him were struck by lightning and immediately fell to the ground.

"My lord, have mercy on me! My lord, have mercy on me!"

Xie Weihong frowned even more deeply.

He regained his composure, walked over, squatted down, and looked at the slightly older man.

"Stand up and speak."

The man trembled as he got up, not daring to look him in the eye.

Xie Weihong asked, "Where is this place?"

The man paused for a moment, then cautiously replied, "This is... the Northern Wilderness."

"The Northern Wilderness?"

"It's...it's the territory of the ninth-tier demon king 'Iron Calculator'..." The man's voice trailed off, "My lord, you...you didn't know?"

Xie Weihong's heart skipped a beat.

Iron calculation expert.

This title reminded him of someone.

"Go on."

The man swallowed hard and lowered his voice, saying, "This place used to be a human settlement. Thirty years ago, the Demon King descended and turned it into a wasteland. Those who survived either fled or were taken into captivity. People like us... can only hide here and there, trying to survive in a corner when the Demon King isn't looking."

Xie Weihong looked at his thin face: "How did you manage to survive?"

The man smiled wryly, pointed to himself, and then to the people behind him.

"Because we are weak."

"weak?"

"Yes, weak," he said. "The Demon King needs the essence and blood of the strong to cultivate, and has no interest in the weak. The highest cultivation level among us is only at the early stage of the first rank, no different from ants in the Demon King's eyes. As long as we don't provoke him, the Demon King won't bother with us."

He paused, then added, "So the only way for us to survive in this territory is to be weak enough. So weak that the Demon King won't even look at us, so weak that even the demon beasts won't bother eating us. Live like rats."

Xie Weihong remained silent.

Extreme weakness becomes a way to survive.

He looked at these people. They were emaciated, dressed in rags, their eyes filled with numbness and fear. Yet they were still alive, stubbornly surviving like weeds in this land of death ruled by the demon king.

"Since it's so dangerous, why not leave?"

The man shook his head, his laughter tinged with sadness.

"Leave? Where to leave?"

He pointed to the hazy light in the sky.

"My lord, you don't know, there are still several places in the current Erosion Spirit Continent that are not within the Demon King's territory. To the east is the 'Bone-Splitting Demon,' to the west is the 'Soul-Devouring Demon,' to the south is the Endless Sea, and to the north is the 'Insatiable Flesh Mountain'—that one is fine, but her territory is not one we can go to."

"You said this is the territory of the 'Iron Calculator'," he asked, "Has this demon king been acting strangely lately?"

The man's expression changed.

He instinctively shrank back, lowering his voice as if he were telling some terrifying secret.

"My lord... how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"He... has gone mad."

crazy.

Xie Weihong's heart skipped a beat.

"How did you go crazy?"

"I don't know." The man shook his head, his face filled with fear. "Nobody knows. He just suddenly went mad a few days ago."

He swallowed hard and continued, "I heard it happened suddenly. Everything was fine; he was even in his palace taking stock of his treasures—you know how Iron Calculator loves collecting shiny things, right? But as he was counting, suddenly something went wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"He was both crying and laughing," the man said, "muttering crazy things like 'Baby, my baby.' Nobody knew what he meant. His monsters were in complete chaos; some ran away, some took advantage of the confusion to steal things, and some simply took over their own territories and declared themselves kings."

He paused, then pointed to himself.

"We took advantage of this opportunity to sneak over here. Iron Calculator went mad, and nobody cared about him. We wanted to find something to eat and survive."

Xie Weihong remained silent.

Iron Calculator, he's gone mad, constantly muttering "my baby."

These words, taken together, point to someone he knows all too well—

Yan Bugui.

He recalled Yan Bugui's final appearance.

That was the result of his "punishment" in the courtyard house.

And now, the "Iron Calculator" here has also gone mad.

Exactly the same symptoms.

His mind raced.

If this is the real world, then what is a courtyard house?

Projection? Mirror image? Or some kind of connection he couldn't understand?

Will what he did to those people in the courtyard affect the fate of the demon king here?

"My lord?" The man's voice interrupted his thoughts. "My lord, what... what's wrong?"

Xie Weihong snapped out of her daze and looked at him.

The man was watching him cautiously, his eyes filled with fear and curiosity.

Xie Weihong did not answer.

He stood up and looked at the gray sky in the distance.

What's over there?

he does not know.

But he knew one thing—

If he "punishes" those people in the courtyard, it might drive the demon king mad and give these people a chance to live...

Then what he did in the courtyard house became even more meaningful.

This is not meant to be tortured or played with.

It is the true salvation of the world.

Just then—

That feeling of detachment returned.

It was stronger than last time, like a hand pulling him. He looked down at his hand and saw that it was fading.

Like the lines in a traditional Chinese ink painting, they gradually fade, becoming almost transparent.

"Sir?!" The man looked at him in horror.

Xie Weihong looked up, wanting to say something, but everything before her eyes began to distort and blur. The screams of those people grew fainter and fainter—

"grown ups!!"

Then, everything disappeared.

---

Xie Weihong opened her eyes.

Before me lay the precipice of the back mountain, sunlight streaming warmly through gaps in the clouds.

He looked down at his hands—real, flesh-and-blood.

He flexed his fingers and then sensed his cultivation level within his body. Peak fourth rank, circulating freely without any suppression.

came back.

I was passively pulled back again.

He stood there, silent for a long time.

"Instructor!"

Zhao Weize's voice came from behind.

Xie Weihong turned around and saw Zhao Weize jogging over, his face filled with worry. Eleven people followed behind him; they had all come, and they were all extremely nervous.

"Instructor, are you alright? You suddenly stopped moving, we were terrified!"

Xie Weihong looked at him: "How long have I been standing here?"

Zhao Weize paused for a moment, then said, "I just... I paused for a few seconds. We called you, but you didn't respond, and we were too scared to touch you. We were so worried."

a few seconds.

He stayed there for at least half an hour.

The flow of time is different.

Xie Weihong nodded: "It's alright. Let's go back and continue training."

Zhao Weize hesitated, but ultimately didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Twelve people followed him down the mountain.

Halfway there, Xie Weihong suddenly stopped.

He raised his head and looked at the distant sky.

That world is real.

Those people are real.

The Demon King is real.

And every punishment he gave in the courtyard house had an impact on that world.