Chapter Ninety-One: Breaking Through Once More

With the end of that stretch of the journey, Li Fugui and Lu Caiwei departed one after another.

Shen Yu had thought he was finally alone again, but instead dozens of disciples from the Law Enforcement Pavilion of the Dao Sect set up camp outside Returning Cloud Immortal Sect.

Returning Cloud Immortal Sect had already become a ruin, and the purpose for which they had come had long since vanished. Yet they still chose not to leave. Naturally, it was not to frighten the bedraggled disciples of the immortal sect.

There was only one reason.

Li Yi of Azure Emperor City was about to arrive.

And his target was Shen Yu, yet Shen Yu now represented the Dao Sect. As a disciple of the Dao Sect, he naturally could not turn a blind eye to such a matter.

Only, just how strong was Li Yi? That was what Yuan Chengzai and the many Dao Sect disciples cared about.

"Li Yi has cultivated under the current Azure Emperor in Azure Emperor City since childhood. His strength is truly unfathomable," Yuan Chengzai said seriously. "Everyone knows that Li Yi is among the top three on the Cloud Ascension Ranking, and martial cultivators who follow the path of proving the Dao through force are even stronger than cultivators of the Three Teachings. So regardless of which place he occupies among the top three, he can basically be counted among the strongest of the younger generation in the current Wilds."

Yuan Chengzai spoke very earnestly. His praise of Li Yi, who had just made the Dao Sect lose face, was certainly not meant to flatter for the sake of it.

It was only because the Senior Brother Shen before him seemed utterly unconcerned, carrying on day after day with serene indifference, that he could not help but bring it up.

These past few days, eating, sleeping, strolling, and spacing out had been Shen Yu's routine.

At this moment, Shen Yu stood at the edge of a small hillside, seated cross-legged, his mind wandering far beyond the horizon.

Receiving no response, Yuan Chengzai stood behind him in silence for a while before saying, "The Law Enforcement Pavilion disciples are badly injured. Why don't Senior Brother Shen return to the Dao Sect with us and wait for the opening of the Academy's Three Story Tower a year from now?"

Such wording was obviously somewhat subtle; the hidden meaning was to ask Shen Yu to avoid the sharp edge for now and return to the Dao Sect first.

Once he returned to the sect, let alone Li Yi, even Azure Emperor Song Nu himself would come to no avail.

Hearing this, Shen Yu opened his eyes and gave a slight shake of his head.

"Why?" Yuan Chengzai was somewhat puzzled. Although Shen Yu had once defeated Fan Hen, who ranked fifteenth on the Cloud Ascension Ranking, Fan Hen and Li Yi were not on the same level.

Shen Yu did not answer, only asked, "The Martial Emperor City lies far in the western frontier. What is the reason for its sudden journey here?"

Yuan Chengzai replied, "A heavenly anomaly occurred in the northern part of East Ancestral Province. Rumor has it that the residence of some great cultivator from the ancient era has been opened, and cultivators from all over have been heading there."

Shen Yu said lightly, "Is it true?"

The Wilds Continent was vast, with countless dangerous mountains and seas. The residences left behind by great cultivators could be said to be innumerable, and news of such worldly treasures appearing was even more common than horsehair. Some was true, some false; only the very top sects could determine the truth at first notice, and the Dao Sect naturally counted among them.

Yuan Chengzai pondered for a moment before saying, "When I left, I had not received any such news. Still, the scale of Azure Emperor City's expedition is enormous, so I suppose this matter is indeed real."

"Mm."

Shen Yu nodded lightly.

After waiting a while, Yuan Chengzai still could not help asking, "What are Senior Brother Shen's plans?"

"I still have many things left undone, so I cannot go back."

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "Since he insists on coming here, then I shall simply wait for him."

Yuan Chengzai stared blankly. "Senior Brother Shen... are you confident?"

Shen Yu shook his head.

The martial path had nine realms, and Li Yi had certainly already stepped beyond the sixth realm, far stronger than Ximen Guan, who had only half a foot into the transcendent tribulation realm. Shen Yu naturally could not beat him now.

Yuan Chengzai was somewhat close to collapse, and said helplessly, "Then what exactly does Senior Brother Shen mean?"

"I simply want to see the strongest of the younger generation in this age."

Shen Yu sighed and said earnestly, "Besides, Li Fugui once said that when you wander the martial world, you must care about face. Coincidentally, I am also a man who cares about face. He promised to come find me. If I run away like this, wouldn't that be terribly humiliating?"

...

After hearing Shen Yu's reasoning, Yuan Chengzai remained dumbstruck for a long time. In the end, he silently left, and for some reason never disturbed him again.

Shen Yu finally felt peace and quiet, and was quite satisfied.

This time outside, there were many things to do. One of them was to witness the strongest few among the younger generation in the Wilds.

If they were stronger than he had once been, then he would defeat them.

As for whether it was Li Yi or whether there was any enmity between them, none of that mattered to him.

Over the next few days, all was calm, though one piece of news after another drifted in from outside.

Somewhere in the north of East Ancestral Province, a brilliant and dazzling beam of light tore through the sky, and then the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged violently. Auspicious signs descended, and radiant splendor shook half the firmament.

It turned out that the rumors were true: the dwelling of an ancient great cultivator had indeed emerged, and from the fluctuations of heaven and earth's spiritual energy, there was certainly some formidable treasure appearing.

"There are several powerful restrictions within the immortal residence, and all the cultivators gathered here have tried to break them."

"However, it was far too complicated. In the end, everyone joined hands and forcibly shattered that powerful restriction."

"Li Yi of Azure Emperor City brought fellow disciples in and rushed inside."

"The ancient residence is full of traps, containing countless formations and mechanisms. Even a strange beast that had slumbered for ten thousand years awoke, and the cultivators who went to seek treasure suffered heavy casualties."

One message after another was continuously relayed from afar into the pavilion where Jiang Zhuoyao was staying, and then passed into Shen Yu's ears.

Yet Shen Yu paid these matters no mind, merely cultivating in silence.

One day, Jiang Zhuoyao came walking from afar, and the Dao Sect disciples around them all rose to their feet in respect.

That earth-shaking battle of immortals and gods had already commanded admiration merely by hearsay, and people of the Dao Sect have always revered the strong above all else.

Jiang Zhuoyao said, "Li Yi left that residence yesterday, but no one knows what he obtained."

Shen Yu gazed at the distant mountains.

Jiang Zhuoyao smiled. "He should already be on the way here."

Shen Yu said, "Too slow. I've been waiting for a long time."

His tone was calm. Anyone who heard it would have thought he was waiting for a dear old friend.

Jiang Zhuoyao was not surprised by Shen Yu's reaction. After all, with the guardian beast of Returning Cloud Immortal Sect there, even if a fight broke out, it would not cause any great chaos.

"You're really not bothered by it?" Jiang Zhuoyao asked with a smile.

Naturally, he could see more than Yuan Chengzai, and he could sense Shen Yu's subtle changes more keenly. Perhaps there was some truth to the talk of face, but it could not be believed in full.

And with his understanding of Shen Yu, the fact that the latter insisted on doing something again and again already proved something.

Shen Yu remained silent.

Of course he cared a little.

Li Yi had brought him a message, and the contempt and disdain contained in it were so intense.

If that were all, then so be it.

But the crucial point was that he was truly no match for the other man now, and that made him feel very ill at ease, even somewhat angered.

He had experienced similar feelings a few times three thousand years ago, but those opponents had all been ancient monsters with heaven-defying cultivation. Never once had it been someone of the same generation.

Shen Yu said, "Since he is coming, then I will fight him."

Jiang Zhuoyao asked, "The gap in realm is too great. How will you fight?"

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then I shall break through."

During these days, the realm he had long stabilized had also begun to loosen.

Yuan Chengzai thought he had been spacing out, but in truth he had merely been using spiritual power to regulate the turbulence within his body.

As soon as his words fell, the accumulated snow within ten li around Shen Yu began to tremble slightly, while strands of pure spiritual power continuously radiated from his body.

All the Dao Sect disciples around him looked over in astonishment and shock.

Shen Yu gazed into the distance, where by the lakeside stood a blade-grass that still rose proudly amid the winter cold.

Yang Liu had once said that Shen Yu's breakthroughs were as simple as eating and drinking.

Perhaps that was truly the case.

The next moment, Shen Yu said, "Break."

The blade-grass instantly turned to dust.

Then Shen Yu stepped into the Heaven-Opening Realm.