Chapter 166: The Breaking of Through

After my conversation with Shan Sha, I returned to the inner Sect, heading straight for the mansion grounds.

As I entered the yard, the metallic gate emitted an obnoxiously loud groan—precisely as I had designed it to—making it impossible to ignore. This wasn''t just a random noise but a signal to the entire mansion that I had returned, a security measure I''d implemented to prevent unwanted intrusions.

The sun was high in the sky, signaling midday. The blistering heat typical of the approaching summer was thankfully tempered by the protective arrays we had strategically placed around the area. These arrays, including the Borderline Evernight Array, Thousand Divine Breath Array, and the Demonic Cloud Everwinter Array, cast a soothing, cool shade over the grounds.

Despite their badass-sounding names, the arrays were mediocre and easy to cast.Vi?Sit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels

As I entered, I noticed Song Song in the yard, seated in a meditative pose next to Speedy. It was an unusual sight, given that she was supposed to be in indoor cultivation.

"Are you done with your indoor cultivation already? So soon?" I asked, my curiosity piqued as the heavy door to the mansion creaked shut behind me.

"Spending all day in darkness is boring, so I plan to slowly get used to it. How do those geezers spend years—and even decades—locked up in indoor cultivation?" Song Song asked, looking rather annoyed.

"I''ve heard some spend centuries in indoor training, especially the Core Elders or Nascent Soul Cultivators," I replied.

I''d never thought about it before, but now that Song Song mentioned it, spending so much time alone in a dark room with no source of entertainment would be hell for most people—especially doing so for years.

No wonder some cultivators ended up crazy. Also, that kind of thing wouldn''t bode well for the Princess of Mental Instability here. The less time Song Song spent in her own head, the better it was for everyone. Who knew what messed-up things she could come up with on her own?

"Anyway, how was your visit to your friends in the outer sect?" Song Song asked. She didn''t care, but she had learned basic manners and courtesy.

"Nothing much happened," I shrugged and sat beside her, patting Speedy''s shell. "Except for that whole conspiracy by a monstrous beast on the third floor who was brainwashing people. It was actually something set up by a cultivator in the past to try and body-snatch someone."

"What?" Song Song opened her eyes and looked at me, confused.

"Well, I''m close to a breakthrough myself."

"Okay, that''s good. But I think we should go back a bit and talk about that whole conspiracy thing again," Song Song said.

"Really? But that''s already old news," I shrugged.

She knew I was egging her on; sadly, Song Song had matured and didn''t fall for my bait. Nobody could trick her so easily anymore. She wouldn''t get angry unless she allowed herself to. Which was good overall, but it made it harder to tease her now.

"Any other news?" she asked, raising a questioning brow.

"Well, I''m close to a breakthrough, so there''s that," I shrugged.

"Yes, I know..." her lips thinned. She knew this was a game between us and stayed in control, "You''d do well to remember that I''m still a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and can sense how strong someone is. Inadvertently being able to sense their cultivation level and how close they are to the next breakthrough is a basic ability for most at my stage."

Indeed, Song Song''s sensitivity to Qi was already remarkable; her recent breakthrough had only amplified this ability.

"How far can you even sense?" I asked.

"Pretty far. For example, I can sense that your friend, Hu Jin, is using the arena in the inner Sect," Song Song replied. "He''s fighting a seven-star Qi Gathering Cultivator and somewhat winning."

I, on the other hand, stopped cultivating and rested a bit. I patted Speedy''s sleepy head, feeling his rough scales. This little guy could handle attacks from Foundation Establishment monstrous beasts, and I had been working on an array with him in mind.

As I contemplated, the wind picked up around Song Song, carrying a scent of blood. She opened her eyes, smiling.

"Congratulations on reaching three-star Foundation Establishment," I said.

But seriously, what was up with that talent? She had literally just broken through to two-star Foundation Establishment. Sure, she worked hard, but lots of people worked hard. Her cultivation speed was borderline at the level of Extreme Physiques, and it didn''t seem like it was slowing down anytime soon.

"How many spirit roots do you possess?" I couldn''t help but ask, my curiosity piqued.

"Officially, it''s eighty-six," she replied shortly, not going into much detail.

"What about unofficially?"

"It''s rude to ask a cultivator those things," she pouted.

"Wait, it''s actually more?" I inquired, now more curious than ever. Usually, spirit roots were counted when the cultivator was young. Meaning she had somehow increased her spirit roots. "How did you increase your spirit root count?"

Song Song went quiet at first as if wondering whether she should tell me. But in the end, she trusted me quite a bit. "Through some borderline demonic rituals. Though, there are usually steep drawbacks."

"Really?" I rubbed my chin, feeling a sense of excitement at learning something new. I had guessed that, theoretically, it should be possible, but I never could think of a way. "Did you get any of those drawbacks too?"

I couldn''t understand why she bothered increasing her spiritual roots when she was already a top-grade talent. But I had enough social skills to realize she didn''t want to discuss this.

"Not me. My ritual was top grade and not something you can replicate," Song Song said.

I was about to ask many more questions and details as a sense of excitement danced in my heart. But when I saw the look on her face, I immediately dropped the issue.

For some reason, she really didn’t want to talk about this.

“Anyway, have you heard about that expedition the four great sects will jointly participate in?” I asked, deciding to change the subject.

Whether Song Song noticed or not, she didn’t object and nodded. “Yes. I’ve already secured a couple of spots for us. You would have had to go anyway since you’re our Sect’s monstrous beast specialist, and the Sect wants to show you off.”

Well, I was going to go regardless. My cousins had heard rumors that the place they were going to was actually some kind of inheritance from an immortal.

People often exaggerated rumors, so I took that with a grain of salt.

But I had never been to any inheritance or ruin site of that caliber. I couldn’t help but be curious about what arrays those old folk used. Perhaps it wasn’t arrays at all! A whole new branch of cultivation could be lost to time, just waiting to be rediscovered!

It was fascinating just reading about ancient cultivators, not to mention actually being in one of their ruins and investigating it!

“Well, you seem happy,” Song Song commented from the sidelines, a smile dancing on her lips.