Chapter 68: The Heavenly Net of Invisible Veils

Yan Chixia was startled by She Meier’s words. He quickly withdrew his palms and used his spiritual sense to peer inward at his core… Sure enough, he discovered that within the lotus heart growing in his dantian, a golden seed had suddenly condensed: the “Golden Core”—the unmistakable sign that he had entered the Golden Core realm.

Upon seeing the Golden Core, Yan Chixia could not contain his excitement and exclaimed in wild delight, “Golden Core?! I’ve broken through my bottleneck and entered the Golden Core realm as well? Hahaha… This is truly wonderful!”

“Yes!” She Meier replied, radiant with joy. “Yan Chixia, today is truly an auspicious day! You survived a great ordeal, I escaped death by a hair’s breadth… Both of us have broken through our bottlenecks, one after another, and stepped into the Golden Core realm. What a cause for celebration! Yan Chixia, to mark this once-in-a-century occasion, come, let’s continue drinking—let’s not stop until we’re drunk!”

“No!” Yan Chixia shook his head, his eyes bright with vigor. “I don’t feel like drinking now. She Meier, you’ve regained your true power. In my opinion, we shouldn’t linger here. Let’s set out for Deadman’s Gorge at once—what do you think?”

“Agreed! Yan Chixia, I’ll follow your lead,” She Meier replied, brimming with energy. “Let’s go right now—I’ll use my Swift Wind Dispersal technique. Yan Chixia, be careful!”

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure flickered and vanished on the spot.

She Meier’s Swift Wind Dispersal technique was truly astonishingly fast! Yan Chixia kept close behind her, feeling the wind roaring past his ears, his body darting forward like lightning streaking across the sky. He tried to catch a glimpse of the scenery around him, but the speed was so great that everything blurred beyond recognition. Helpless, Yan Chixia closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander…

At that moment, his heart was awash in the unparalleled joy of having just entered the Golden Core realm.

With a blissful expression, eyes closed, he mused to himself, “Heavens above, I never would have believed that the bottleneck of my Heart Movement realm would be shattered so effortlessly after just a few cups of Daughter’s Red. My cultivation advanced into the Golden Core realm as easily as breathing! This miraculous turn of events just played out for She Meier, and now, in the blink of an eye, it happens to me as well! Unbelievable… Could it really be that the Daughter’s Red was the key to my breakthrough? Impossible! I know exactly how potent the Daughter’s Red activated by my own Paper Talisman technique is. It’s no divine elixir—how could it… Divine elixir? Ah, that’s it! My breakthrough must be due to the Great Rejuvenation Pill and the Nectar that She Meier gave me… In that case, I owe thanks to the Celestial Maiden of the Nine Skies! She Meier said that the Celestial Maiden helped my master because she discovered an ancient relic and needed his help to break its seal… But I don’t understand—if the Celestial Maiden wants my master’s help, wouldn’t he first have to break through his current late Tribulation bottleneck and step into the realm of Loose Immortals? From what She Meier said, the Celestial Maiden is confident she can help my master break through… So, what surefire method does she possess to ensure he can enter the realm of Loose Immortals?”

Yan Chixia was lost in thought when, all of a sudden, his body came to an abrupt halt.

His musings were instantly cut short. Opening his eyes, he saw that he and She Meier now stood amidst tangled weeds and scattered stones—he was startled and exclaimed, “That was so fast! She Meier, in the blink of an eye, did you just travel five thousand miles?”

She Meier shot him a sidelong glance and retorted, “Five thousand miles? Big brother, look off into the distance and see what’s written on that giant boulder over there.”

“Oh?” Yan Chixia immediately looked in the direction she pointed. About three miles ahead, he saw a mountain valley. In the center of its entrance stood a towering stone, upon which three large characters were inscribed: Deadman’s Gorge. Seeing this, Yan Chixia grew excited. “Deadman’s Gorge! She Meier, we’ve actually arrived at Deadman’s Gorge?”

“What’s wrong?” She Meier put on a deliberately stern face. “Is it too fast for you? Yan Chixia, if you think it’s too fast, I can take you back and we’ll do it again…”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” Yan Chixia quickly replied with a laugh. “She Meier, I remember you once said your Swift Wind Dispersal technique could at most cover five thousand miles in a single use. Today, you used it twice, which should total ten thousand miles. But according to my master, the distance from the Pure Void Monastery to Deadman’s Gorge is over twelve thousand miles—so I thought you’d need to use the technique one more time to get here…”

She Meier couldn’t help but laugh. “Yan Chixia, haven’t you always prided yourself on your intelligence? How did you suddenly get so slow-witted? Think about it—am I the same person I was before?”

“Of course!” Yan Chixia suddenly understood. “I get it now. She Meier, you were in the Heart Movement realm before, and using the Swift Wind Dispersal technique, your power was spent after five thousand miles. Now, you’re in the Golden Core realm, your power has increased greatly, so naturally you can travel much farther with the same technique!”

“That’s right, as long as you understand.” She Meier smiled warmly. “So, this time I used the Swift Wind Dispersal technique to rush here in one go, and I still have plenty of true energy left…”

As she spoke, she silently intoned an incantation, and from her storage ring summoned a snow-white, gauzy veil as thin as a cicada’s wing.

Yan Chixia, unsure of her intentions, asked, “She Meier, what’s that for?”

“This is the Heavenly Net Veil—an invisibility treasure crafted by my master,” She Meier replied. “Yan Chixia, now we’re going to Deadman’s Gorge. But on the way into the valley, we’ll need to move under cover of invisibility…”

“Oh?” Yan Chixia was puzzled. “She Meier, this place is empty and desolate. In broad daylight, there’s nothing but grass, trees, and rocks—not even a bird in sight. Why can’t we just stride boldly into Deadman’s Gorge? You’re acting as though there’s an army lying in ambush…”

“Enough!” She Meier cut him off sternly before he could finish. “Yan Chixia, what do you know? Do you think Deadman’s Gorge is anything like the Pure Void Monastery? Stop wasting time—let’s get moving. We must enter Deadman’s Gorge as soon as possible…”

As she spoke, she flicked her hand and the Heavenly Net Veil floated above their heads, unfurling and gently descending over them like a round, translucent canopy…