Eternal Tale
Chapter 288: Little Red's Breakthrough Opportunity

Chen Xun let out an involuntary muffled grunt, feeling the backlash from the divine aperture.

"Wow… this boost to my divine sense is something else," he muttered to himself, shaken by the experience. A new divine aperture was forming, though it hadn't undergone any mutation. "If I can open 20 divine acupoints, wouldn't that make the next realm transition effortless?"

Chen Xun’s eyes gleamed with excitement. The advancements in the Nascent Soul realm were astonishing, with the synergy between the Five Elemental Qi and divine sense leading to exponential growth—far surpassing any other stage.

Though he lacked a cultivation method to further his realm, he could still develop his divine acupoints and harness the mutation of the God-killing Stone as a weapon against his enemies.

By the time he opened 20 divine acupoints, even a Nascent Soul cultivator at the later stage might have their divine sense obliterated by a single misstep.

“Never thought advancing in the Nascent Soul realm would be faster than when I was in the Golden Core stage,” he mused, exhaling a deep breath.

He glanced at the bleak black earth stretching before him, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Heh, the corrupt beasts are truly my dear brothers in arms.”

For cultivators, however, this was undoubtedly a calamity. Losing lifespan was a fate worse than death—akin to cultivating in vain. The torment such an attack wrought on one’s dao heart was unimaginable.

His gaze shifted to the distant giant ark.

The big black ox let out excited bellows, while Little Red groaned in agony—clearly busy fiddling with the God-killing Stone again.

“Big Ox… this cold aura from the black mountain is way too intense! It’s nothing like the ambient air!”

“Moo!”

The big black ox stared intently at a piece of the God-killing Stone. It had discovered that the mountain's cold aura could be captured, which explained why the corrupt beasts cultivated here.

“Isn’t this practically another form of a spiritual vein?”

Little Red was carefully suppressing the extinction wind to avoid damaging the stone’s essence. The God-killing Stone’s structure was undergoing visible changes, darkening from its usual transparency to an opaque black.

When Little Red’s fiery divine sense touched it, the stone instantly mutated!

“Moo?!”

“Big Ox, it works—it works!”

Little Red exclaimed, flailing excitedly as it clung to the big black ox. “Big Ox, the cold aura from the black mountain can enhance my divine sense through the God-killing Stone!”

“Moo-moo~~!” The big black ox embraced Little Red in equal excitement. If this worked, Little Red could reach the Nascent Soul realm too!

“Brother Xun!!”

“Moo-moo!!”

“What now?!”

Chen Xun raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk curving his lips. “Found a solution?”

“Moo!”

The big black ox bellowed from a distance, its nasal snort echoing like spring thunder. As the legendary Nascent Soul cultivator, Ximen Black Ox, what problem could possibly stump it?

Little Red clung tightly to the big black ox, its gaze shifting to Chen Xun’s amused expression, its emotions complicated.

Since leaving the Tian Duan Plains and following the two brothers through countless adventures, it had come to the borders of the Great Li Realm. Little Red was content.

What truly made it happy wasn’t the prospect of breaking through but the thought of traveling further with them…

“Brother Xun, Big Ox…”

“Moo?”

The big black ox eyed Little Red, puzzled by its hesitance and conflicted demeanor.

“If I can break through to Nascent Soul, can we return to the Tian Duan—”

“Damn it, big black ox, smack it!”

Before Little Red could finish, a deafening roar thundered from the distance. A colossal palm descended from the sky, brimming with murderous intent.

“Ahhh!!!”

Little Red let out a pig-like squeal that echoed across the heavens before fainting on the spot. The big black ox, momentarily dumbfounded bellowed in protest—it hadn’t even made a move yet!

Moments later, silence fell over the land.

The big black ox and Little Red resumed their work on the stone, chatting casually as if nothing had happened, their camaraderie as harmonious as ever.

In mid-air, Chen Xun sat cross-legged, scribbling in his notebook once again. Now that he had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, it was time to prepare the mountain-opening axe for an upgrade.

He roughly estimated that the deathly energy could now reach a limit of 400,000 years. Combined with the suppression effects of the Water Spirit Technique, it posed no issues.

He had examined the fourth layer of the Water Spirit Technique but couldn’t discern its intricacies. After that incident, he didn’t dare cultivate it recklessly. Whether the technique was genuine or a trap remained uncertain, as there were no references to consult.

Having reached the Nascent Soul realm, the Water Spirit Technique was now within his grasp. It was also time to settle old scores with the Yu family.

His main reason for targeting this Nascent Soul corrupt beast was to test his current combat prowess, ensuring no unexpected outcomes. After all, he rarely engaged in direct combat.

But this corrupt beast had disappointed him—it seemed like it had spent millennia hiding and cultivating in the Black Mountain, ignorant of worldly matters. Its only thoughts were self-destruction and killing living beings.

Its intelligence was exceptionally low, rivaling that of Chen Xun when he first emerged from the Five Elements Sect.

"Honestly, I’ve been wandering in circles, killing corrupt beasts, and still have no idea where I’ve ended up since following this path from the coast."

Chen Xun let out a long sigh. Back when he left Qian Nation, he had landmarks to guide him, knowing he was heading to the opposite shore. But now he had no clue where this coast was located. "At the Milky Way’s edge, near the Hundred Tombs Tiger—I’ll visit there when the time comes."

Suddenly, he shouted into the distance, "Old Ox, find a spot to set up a teleportation array! Get ready to deal with Long Guanzi!"

“Moo-moo~~”

The big black ox responded loudly. It seemed abrupt, but whatever the big brother said was absolute.

Little Red’s pupils shrank at the order, but recalling Brother Xun’s terrifying strength, it quickly suppressed its unease. Brother Xun never acted without confidence.

Swish!

In an instant, a massive trench of foul blood surged across the ground. The blood of the slain Nascent Soul corrupt beast was being extracted by Chen Xun, creating a grisly scene.

Within a radius of a thousand miles, countless Meditative Symbols filled the air. The corrupt beast’s corpses were scattered everywhere, piling up like mountains in utter silence.

The Meditative Symbols infused with foul blood were hyper-sensitive to it, even drawing out lifespan during their attacks. The corrupt beasts endured unimaginable torment—worse than death. Nascent Soul's corrupt beast blood was the most potent.

However, the karmic ties from slaying the corrupt beasts still passed through space to Chen Xun, as he was the one who triggered their demise. Naturally, this also enhanced his divine sense.

As for those struck down by the ark, their karmic ties transferred to the big black ox—it was the one controlling the impact after all, and couldn’t escape the consequences.

The massive body in the trench, overwhelmed by deathly energy, began to wither. Its flesh vanished inch by inch until only a terrifying skeleton remained.

This skeleton, corrupted by deathly energy, was also forcibly restored by the Black Mountain’s soil, achieving a strange balance.

"Black soil, Black Mountain… such a peculiar place. The mysteries of heaven and earth—cultivators could spend a lifetime exploring them."

Chen Xun sighed, a sense of delight in his voice. Yet for him, this was pure enjoyment. “I wonder what the next realm beyond Nascent Soul is. Our region is so backward—it’s not even part of orthodox cultivation.”

His gaze grew wistful, recalling his dreams beneath the starry sky.

Once everything was resolved, he hoped to find a way back and live peacefully with his brothers—no more battles, no more senseless conflict, free from the burden of treasures that bring calamity.

Chen Xun’s expression softened. Although Old Ox never said much, its obsession with teleportation arrays was undoubtedly to help Qian Nation establish a stable route.

After all, their homeland was there. With a path, perhaps their home could know less war.

"Everyone, this is all I can do. If we can’t find a way back, then we’ll just live here quietly, under assumed names. Ha!"

Chen Xun laughed freely, his thoughts drifting. He wondered how the Five Elements Sect and those little ones were doing. "When the time comes, I’ll visit you and have a little chat with the spirit beasts of the Northern Territory."

His expression grew eager. Compared to slaying corrupt beasts, these matters felt far more meaningful.