HPMC Chapter 27

Bonus Chapter (2/5)

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Ever since Yu Tianze had declared, “Either you reach Foundation Establishment, and I’ll take you as my disciple, or you get lost,” Mu Zirun had become even more focused on cultivation. At his current level with four spiritual roots, he needed to find a way to quickly rid himself of the miscellaneous roots. Of course, since the Earth-grade water-element cultivation technique Yu Tianze had bestowed upon him was of very high quality, and his water spiritual root was his strongest—plus the fact that it could transform into an ice spiritual root in the future—it certainly seemed like the more worthwhile option.

So, Mu Zirun used the system to look up the methods for purifying spiritual roots. At the same time, he also made a long list of the elements needed to synthesize that heaven-defying wonder. It was a meticulous task, but “sharpening the axe wouldn’t delay the work of chopping wood.” It was relatively easy to purify four spiritual roots into three. He decided he could finish this first and then start cultivating. After that, Mu Zirun got busy; besides cooking every day, he no longer lingered around Yu Tianze.

Yu Tianze watched him working with a cold eye and naturally noticed that the boy seemed to be searching for rare flowers, herbs, and minerals in a random manner. Some were very common, while others were relatively precious. After thinking about it, he knew that this must be related to the little brat’s fortuitous encounters. He didn’t care and just casually threw some things to the boy—items that Mu Zirun couldn’t buy but that Yu Tianze happened to have on hand.

After about two months, Mu Zirun went into seclusion. He apologized and offered up enough prepared food to last for three months. Yu Tianze took it, and after guarding the door for two more days, he casually threw out several large formations to protect the island before going into his own seclusion. During this time, he also left a message for Mu Zirun, telling him not to worry about his food. And so the two of them began to cultivate diligently, and before they knew it, time flew by.

Five Years Later

Yu Tianze sat amidst a cluster of lightning. The surrounding lightning constantly coalesced and formed puddles at his feet, flowing slowly and gradually spreading outwards, eventually converging into a pool. The puddle was already filled with a blue-purple liquid, about an inch high, within which surged tremendous power.

Countless streams of spiritual energy poured into Yu Tianze’s body, shattering his clothes and revealing his fair, jade-like skin. His body was supple yet powerful, his muscles glistening, revealing the terrifying energy within; every movement he made could generate immense power.

Suddenly, the lightning-infused water in the puddle surged violently, instantly forming a small, bluish-purple dragon. This small dragon moved rapidly, and soon it soared up, swooping down from above Yu Tianze’s head! Yu Tianze suddenly tilted his head back, his expression contorting slightly, but only for a moment before he regained his composure. Large beads of sweat rolled down his face as a powerful force erupted from his body, instantly surging through his limbs and bones, causing two bolts of lightning to flash from his wide-open eyes!

Then, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a burst of lightning and fire, which struck the wall. Immediately, he calmed down, and all the strange phenomena disappeared. Another breakthrough.

During his years of secluded cultivation at the Zhenggang Immortal Sect, he had received a continuous flow of spiritual energy from the surrounding spiritual waters. Furthermore, he had resolved some of his inner conflicts at the earlier ranking tournament,  allowing him to break through his original bottleneck and enter the Nascent Soul stage in a short period of time. Now, he had achieved perfect merit.

He had just finished cultivating again to stabilize his realm. Now, he was going to find that brat and fulfill their promise. Yu Tianze stood up, raised his arm, grabbed a heavy purple robe, and draped it over his shoulders. He then walked out the door, his gaze unconsciously drifting to the other side. There was no one there. It seemed the little brat had remembered their promise and had already emerged from seclusion. He wondered what level of cultivation the boy had reached.

To be honest, Yu Tianze had already accepted Mu Zirun as his disciple in his heart, but he had to ensure that he wouldn’t affect Mu Zirun’s original achievements. If Mu Zirun couldn’t reach the Foundation Establishment stage within five years, it would only mean that he was more suited to making his own way in the world. In that case, even if Yu Tianze was reluctant, he would still have expelled Mu Zirun and let him struggle on his own.

Of course, Yu Tianze wouldn’t have really abandoned Mu Zirun like that. He would have continued to cultivate diligently while keeping an eye on the boy, eventually bringing him back once the boy found a suitable path again. When Yu Tianze was kind to someone, he could be extremely kind. It used to be Mingyuan; now it was Mu Zirun. Therefore, he could wait, and he would use all his limited patience on that one person.

Stepping out of his residence, Yu Tianze went to the backyard. If nothing unexpected happened, he should have been able to see the person he wanted to see here… Sure enough, as he expected, he saw a figure weeding, working hard with his head down.

The person seemed quite perceptive; he turned around almost exactly two seconds after Yu Tianze had spotted him. Wearing a simple, unadorned robe, with a handsome and gentle face, a calm and composed demeanor, and a slender, well-proportioned figure, the little rascal had grown up. He looked much better and more pleasing to the eye than when he was a skinny, drab child.

After taking a few glances, Yu Tianze felt that this guy had grown a bit too fast—five years ago, he was only a little over Yu’s waist, but now he was only about an inch shorter than him. Could seclusion really make his bones stronger and longer? He wasn’t even fifteen years old yet. If he grew any more, wouldn’t he become big and bulky?

With that thought in mind, he still waved to the other person: “Come here.”

While Yu Tianze was sizing up Mu Zirun, Mu Zirun was also sizing up Yu Tianze. The two hadn’t seen each other for five years, and Mu Zirun felt that apart from his peak master’s more imposing aura, nothing else had changed. What pleased him more was that he used to always have to look up at his peak master, but now he could basically look him in the eye. He could now better understand what it felt like to be so handsome that it took one’s breath away. His peak master was truly radiant, magnificent, and breathtaking.

When Mu Zirun heard his peak master summon him, he immediately knew what was happening and obediently went over as before, offering his wrist. Then, his wrist was grabbed by the other party without any hesitation. Yu Tianze decisively sent a wisp of true essence into Mu Zirun’s body, where it rapidly circulated through his meridians.

In Mu Zirun’s inner world, no change could escape Yu’s detection, allowing him to understand everything in an instant. Late stage of Foundation Establishment? It really exceeded his expectations. Yu Tianze felt a little conflicted; this speed was no slower than his own.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Circulate your energy for me to see.”

Mu Zirun paused for a moment but still did as instructed. Yu Tianze discovered that when Mu Zirun was practicing his cultivation technique, the spiritual energy coming down from above was actually divided into three streams. Two of them were directly dissipated by the technique, while the remaining one was refined into a more pure form. This kind of performance was clearly something only a person with three spiritual roots could do, but the little brat originally had four spiritual roots. Was this purification?

In fact, in this world full of cultivators, people born with naturally unique spiritual roots were very rare, and those with dual spiritual roots were not numerous either. Instead, those with three or four spiritual roots were the mainstream, while Five Spiritual Roots were abundant. In most sects, only those with three or fewer spiritual roots could become inner disciples. Years ago, cultivators had discovered a method to cleanse their spiritual roots.

However, cultivation was inherently about defying the heavens to seek longevity. Spiritual roots were a gift from heaven, and trying to change them was an act of defiance. For someone like Yu Tianze, who was directly given a mutation by the power of heaven, it was different, but that didn’t mean that artificially cleansing one’s spiritual roots was easy. It required extremely precious elixirs or rare natural treasures to achieve such an effect.

Even if someone with four spiritual roots were to be transformed into three, it was not something someone as young as Mu Zirun should have been able to do on his own, because he had neither connections nor sufficient resources. Once Yu Tianze had this thought, he stared at Mu Zirun’s face for a full five minutes. Mu Zirun felt a little uneasy. He wondered why the Master was taking this way too seriously. What exactly was the explanation? Could he at least give him some feedback?

Actually, Mu Zirun was taking a bit of a risk. Before washing his spiritual roots, he had thought for a long time about whether to simply be expelled so that he could secretly use his system, or to trust the peak master and reveal some of his abnormality. If the peak master discovered even a little bit of his secret and decided to capture him… then his life was essentially over.

However, Mu Zirun considered himself to be quite good at judging people. In his opinion, this peak master was straightforward and honest, even open and aboveboard in many ways, which made him feel the man was perhaps a bit too naive. Such a person should not covet what he has. After carefully reflecting on the trust this peak master had placed in him, he felt that judging him with a suspicious mindset would be a betrayal. He decided to open his heart and trust his peak master this time.

Naturally, Mu Zirun hadn’t held back; he decisively cleansed his spiritual root and established his foundation. Later, when he discovered that his peak master was in seclusion, he simply continued to accumulate cultivation and broke through continuously. Now, it was time to receive the results.

Mu Zirun was watched for a long time, which made him feel increasingly uneasy. Yu Tianze did it on purpose. Since this little brat was being so ambiguous, Yu Tianze decided not to care whether the other party was completely honest or not, but he could still scare him a little, right? Seeing that the little brat was about to break out in a cold sweat, Yu Tianze coldly pressed his hand down on Mu Zirun’s head and said even more coldly, “Kneel down.”

Mu Zirun was taken aback.

Yu Tianze snorted coldly: “Become my disciple!”

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