Enduring humiliation for three years, seizing the elixir, the treasure, and the holy maiden.

Su Chen took a step forward, shrinking the distance to an inch...

Many people were dumbfounded by this spatial escape technique.

In fact, Su Chen had used this method many times before he proposed it.

It can be used by cultivators at the Integration Stage.

This shrinking of the earth to an inch is different from the past.

It felt as if Su Chen had transformed into countless afterimages in the air.

It is impossible to capture.

If I had to pinpoint it, it would be the repeated use of the technique of shrinking the earth to an inch.

If this were any other cultivator, they probably wouldn't have been able to sustain it with their spiritual energy long ago.

But Su Chen didn't expend any spiritual energy at all...

"Is this the true essence of seventy years of seclusion?"

"It's probably just a shell left..."

"There is still a small realm difference. Elder Xiao has real combat achievements in the Shattered Star Cluster."

Xiao Dingyue had a better understanding of the situation.

The laws of space are indeed a rare thing.

But under my spiritual pressure, it can only move a few feet.

Seventy years of seclusion have produced nothing but a hollow facade.

That's all there is to it.

Lin Zhiya stood in the front row below the stage, her sleeves already wrinkled.

Han Yue stood beside Lin Zhiya, his eyes fixed on the figure in the blue robe who was desperately dodging on the stage.

A strange sense of pleasure welled up inside me.

Su Chen continued to retreat.

The steps that can be taken back are becoming more and more steady.

Xiao Dingyue's spiritual power follows the path of thick earth.

Each move generates power starting from the soles of the feet, passing through the waist and spine, over the shoulders and arms, and finally landing in the palms.

The momentum is heavy at the beginning and heavy at the end, with a very brief moment of breathing in between.

So short it's almost impossible to catch.

Su Chen had been waiting for this moment.

Xiao Dingyue struck down with a heavy palm, his spiritual pressure condensing into a palm shadow the size of a small mountain.

What is this...?

How could my spiritual power hit myself?

Before I could even react, the spirit world had it on my neck.

The person was stunned for a moment.

Besides his supernatural abilities, many people had already noticed it.

Xiao Dingyue also took care of physical cultivation.

His protective aura couldn't be broken so easily.

But this sword possesses spatial magical powers.

It bypassed the protective aura and pressed directly against his neck.

Now, even the slightest movement will result in death and annihilation...

"Give up?"

Back in Juque City, when Qin Lie was pinned to the ground by a sword, those were the same three words he heard.

Word for word.

In the last row of the audience, where the crowd couldn't get through, a figure in plain clothes appeared out of nowhere.

Gu Qingwu crossed her arms, and upon hearing those three words, the corners of her lips curved slightly.

Still the same old self.

...

Xiao Dingyue's face was as blue as the black-patterned stone that had been split open on the table.

"I... admit defeat."

These four words were squeezed out from between his teeth, very slowly.

An old token was taken out of Xiao Dingyue's sleeve.

It's about the size of a palm, with a dark gold background and an incomprehensible boundary mark engraved on the front.

When it was handed over, the hand was clenched tightly, and it took a while before it loosened its grip.

Xiao Dingyue naturally had no interest in it.

I've noted this down...

Thirty years may be half a lifetime for an ordinary person.

But for cultivators, it's equivalent to just a few days for ordinary people.

The great war between good and evil will be upon us in thirty years. By then, we won't be afraid of missing our chance...

"To be honest, Elder Xiao clearly held back just now, out of consideration for the bond between fellow disciples."

"It can be considered that Su was lucky."

"Since we both serve the sect, there's no need to mention this matter again."

That's a well-said statement.

Anyone could see that Elder Xiao had just used a deadly attack.

Can....

Situ Wan remained silent throughout the crowd.

But his gaze remained fixed on the man in the blue robe on the stage.

Xiao Dingyue's defeat was not unjust.

After eighteen moves, he conceded sixteen, and the last two moves decided the outcome.

This person needs to be reconsidered.

...

Before the matter at Qingya Peak could be settled, an uninvited guest arrived at Pianfeng Peak.

A tall, thin old man, carrying a sword case wider than himself on his back, entered without greeting anyone and immediately asked to see the sword.

Ou Yechen.

Gu Qingwu followed behind, and when she entered, she shrugged at Su Chen, meaning she couldn't stop him.

It turns out that the old man couldn't sit still after hearing that the sword he forged had become famous in a single battle on the Hao Ri Sect's martial arts arena in Ju Que City.

I have to see with my own eyes what kind of shape that embryo has been cultivated into.

Su Chen handed over his natal spirit sword.

"This sword."

Ou Yechen finally returned the sword, his voice a little hoarse.

"I can't forge a second one."

...

Only two people remained in the room.

Gu Qingwu sat down opposite Su Chen.

Seventy years have passed, and this woman's aura has become even more profound than before, her cultivation at the Integration Realm becoming increasingly refined.

"Not bad at all."

Gu Qingwu poked at the teacup on the table with her fingertips.

"You've improved again."

"You flatter me, senior."

Don't give me that.

Gu Qingwu took out a celadon wine pot from his storage bag; there were still a few mud stains on the pot.

"A congratulatory gift."

"It was brewed by Qingwu himself and buried for several years."

Su Chen took it, uncorked the bottle, and smelled it; a refreshing aroma of wine filled his nostrils.

The practice has been perfected for seventy years.

Gu Qingwu remembered the incident of drawing Qi that night for seventy years.

At first, I thought it would fade away in ten or twenty years.

But every time I see the spirit boat caravan coming and going from the top of the tower in Juque City, I always take a few extra glances.

That letter, containing only one line of text, is still kept in a personal storage bag.

Su Chen filled the two empty cups with wine.

Su knew exactly what Gu Qingwu wanted.

Su knew that Su wouldn't say it aloud.

"Senior, you're not going back to Juque City tonight, are you?"

Gu Qingwu picked up the wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and did not answer.

The sky outside the window darkened, and a loud, forceful curse came from afar, probably because Ou Yechen had been startled by some spirit beast on the mountain.

That night, Gu Qingwu did not return to Juque City.

...

He held one Boundary Token in his hand; he was still one short.

One for my own use, and one in case of emergency, so I can use it when I need to bring people down to the mortal realm in the future.

The second one is in the hands of the sect, under the control of Guigu Peak.

That is, the old man who returned to heaven is in charge.

That old man has no way of giving it to me.

Su Chen knew what was going on.

So Zhou Ding was called out again, this time without even having time to wipe off the black grime on his cuffs.

"What is Elder Tiandu currently refining?"

Zhou Ding was stunned for a moment, his face scrunched up like a walnut.

"The true teachings... this is the only life I have..."

"explain."

"The elder is stuck in the middle stage of the Integration Realm and hasn't made any moves for many years."

"To refine a new batch of pills, there is a key ingredient in the formula that is only found in the lower realms."

"The spirit world has almost disappeared in the last seventy years."

"The elders have searched for thirty years, but haven't found a single one."

Su Chen laughed out loud.

Zhou Ding laughed until a chill ran down his spine.

Old man, seventy years ago we lacked stoves, seventy years later we lack straw.

We really are destined to be together.

...

The windows of the Bone Peak Rear Hall had been newly covered with paper, and the sunlight shining through was blindingly white.

This time, Su Chen didn't look for Cheng Mo or Gu Sanchou; he went up Bone Peak on his own.

Feng Jiu stopped Su Chen at the palace gate, but after Su Chen glanced at him, he silently withdrew his hand.

Old Man Tiandu sat on his prayer mat and saw the person entering; his face was as black as the bottom of a furnace.

"Trying to trick me again?"

Su Chen didn't stand on ceremony and sat down on the futon opposite him.

With a flick of his sleeve, a magical herb appeared on the table.

The rhizome is dark purple, the leaves are curled, and a fine frost condenses on the tips of the leaves.

The old man's hand remained suspended in mid-air for a long time.

"This time, we'll sell it openly."

"condition?"

"A boundary token."

The old man from Tiandu stared at that plant for a long time.

The boundary decree belongs to the sect; if it goes wrong after being issued, Bone Peak will be held responsible.

But this grass...

I have been searching for this for thirty years.

...