CHAPTER 193: LEAP OF PROGRESS

That evening, Han Xuhan discovered a troublesome situation in the fog movement map. Near the Salted Fish Mountain, a mass of dense fog was making a sudden appearance, heading towards the Frost Pill Mountain Peak.

On the beast-skin scroll, this fog was labeled with a dangerous attribute: Lungs-Rotting Cough. Han Xuhan wasn’t familiar with the disease, but its title was enough to make him panic.

Grabbing the wooden mask, which had just been ’charged’ with the qi from Zhanxian’s artificial meridian system, Han Xuhan put it on his face and jogged out of his hut, carefully regulating his breathing.

The mask seemed to be working just fine, much to his relief. Although there was no way to tell apart ordinary air from the thin, harmless fog that currently enveloped the surroundings, Han Xuhan felt a sudden freshness suffusing his body.

This sensation was the most concentrated around his nose and mouth, almost like having his sinuses unclogged after suffering from a cold for a week. The air felt fragrant and indescribably comfortable wherever it touched his skin.

Emboldened by the new layer of protection, Han Xuhan fearlessly charged through the mountain path, determined to perform his duty as the ’weatherman’ in an exemplary manner. He had to warn all of his fellow disciples before they could fall victim to the oncoming wave of harmful fog.

Compared to the other mountains of Crimson Snow Sect, Salted Fish Mountain was small. But it was still big enough to house dozens of disciples in separate houses. The separation was not just between the senior generation and junior generation of disciples.

Every hut was placed in a spot from where other huts couldn’t be seen. And since everyone was busy with their own cultivation or tasks from the sect, there weren’t any occasions to visit huts of unacquainted disciples.

Despite having lived on this mountain for almost three months, even a social butterfly like Han Xuhan hadn’t gotten the opportunity to visit every hut on the mountain.

Aside from some helpful senior disciples, he was only acquainted with Xuanyuan Zhou, Mu Ran, and Xiao Wu. Because of his busy daily schedule, he had no time for unnecessary visits. Naturally, he went to warn them before everyone else.

Xuanyuan Zhou was busy with some theoretical study. There wasn’t a single square foot of area to stand on inside her bedroom. The entirety of the floor was covered with dusty documents and sprawled scrolls.

When she noticed Han Xuhan navigating around the research materials with ease, her eyes brightened up.

"Did you buy that expensive medicine the Healer recommended last night? Your knee seems to be in perfect condition!"

"I sure did!"

Hearing his confirmation, the light in her eyes grew more intense.

"Good to see that you have some filial piety in you, my disciple. You took your master’s feelings into consideration and decided to redeem yourself. I believe that if you follow through with this newfound resolve, you’ll be able to bring honor to my precious teaching!"

"...What?"

"Aren’t you here to restart your martial training? You bought that medicine because you wanted your vengeance as quickly as possible, didn’t you?"

Sensing the cloudy edge in her voice, Han Xuhan was forced to nod repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, that’s why I spent the money. But I’m not here for martial arts training today. My body needs a bit more time to handle that kind of intense activity."

Xuanyuan Zhou looked a bit disappointed, but she accepted the explanation with a slow nod. "Okay, okay. What else do you need from me, then?"

"Can’t I come to visit without an immediate necessity?" Han Xuhan asked, and it made Xuanyuan Zhou’s foot lash out at his waist angrily. He only managed to dodge it because she didn’t actually want the kick to connect.

"We’ve had this conversation before, martial brother Xuhan. Your filial piety doesn’t extend so far that you’d come to visit me without being in need of something. Speak up. Don’t waste my time!"

Not wanting to argue anymore, Han Xuhan told her all about the oncoming wave of harmful fog, which, predictably, piqued her interest.

"What kind of pill could it be? If the attributes of a fog created from its essence are so harmful, then the pill itself can’t be anything good! I wonder what they want to use that pill for once the Elder manages to condense it to completion..."

Han Xuhan had no answers for her. So he left her musing to herself and headed out to warn Xiao Wu.

When he got close to Xiao Wu’s hut, he sensed a distinct fluctuation in the qi nearby, as if someone was undergoing a breakthrough in a Mystic Art. It was just that the fluctuations were a bit too intense. The effects didn’t feel like the sort that would emanate from the breakthrough of a rookie cultivator.

Although he was curious to know what Mystic Art his friend was cultivating, he reined in the urge to enter the hut. Intruding at this moment might cause a big distraction and mess up the stability of the breakthrough.

As he waited and waited, he realized that the fluctuations weren’t getting any less intense. This strengthened his suspicion that Xiao Wu’s mastery of this Mystic Art was quite high, probably at the later layers.

How long a breakthrough could last depends on several factors. The most important factor was the degree of enhancement, be it physical or spiritual, brought by the breakthrough.

Other important factors included how quickly the cultivator could solidify his gains, stabilize his spiritual body, inspect the changes in his spiritual world, and calm the qi in his meridians.

For breakthroughs at the lower layers of any Mystic Art, the change brought in their body or their spiritual world wasn’t too significant. Hence the time needed to complete a breakthrough was not that long. Neither of his own breakthroughs had lasted more than a few minutes.

He had also witnessed Mu Ran and Xuanyuan Zhou make breakthroughs in their Mystic Arts. Although he wasn’t totally certain about the layers they had been crossing, they had to be bigger than his rookie numbers. Naturally, the extra time they had taken was reasonable.

But as far as he knew about Xiao Wu’s cultivation path, there wasn’t any Mystic Art he was so proficient in that he’d have a breakthrough lasting more than a dozen minutes. Something didn’t add up!

After five more minutes had passed, Han Xuhan could no longer sit still. The qi were still on a rampage all around the hut. Could this even be a real breakthrough?

That oaf couldn’t have fallen into a big qi deviation or something, could he? This was certainly not normal!

Concerned, Han Xuhan practically broke into the hut through the front door, but nobody was inside. Trying to track the source of the chaotic qi, he ended up in the backyard of the hut, where he found Xiao Wu in a strange situation.

Instead of meditating, Xiao Wu was neck-deep in a hole he had dug in the soil. The hole, filled with pitch-black water, was not very big, barely able to fit the big guy inside. But it seemed pretty deep judging by the angle his neck was sticking out.

"Xuhan?! Wait, give me a moment to finish my bath!" Xiao Wu shouted with clear panic in his eyes.

"Why don’t you go wait in the hut for a minute? Also, I’m naked, so don’t peek!"

"This is a bath?" Han Xuhan didn’t hide the skepticism in his tone, but he did do as requested. Whatever Xiao Wu was doing in his own backyard was none of Han Xuhan’s business, as long as it was safe.

As he got back inside and waited, he noticed how quickly the chaotically fluctuating qi was dissipating. The atmosphere returned to normal in a few breaths. Then Xiao Wu rushed into the hut wearing a bathing towel.

"Were the fluctuations noticeable from your hut, Xuhan? Why did you come at such an unusual time?"

Han Xuhan explained about the fog quickly, avoiding raising any questions regarding the fluctuations. Xiao Wu looked immensely relieved despite the bad news.

As he got up to leave, Xiao Wu coughed awkwardly and said, "Xuhan, do me a small favor. Don’t ever mention what you saw back there to anyone in the sect, not even the Elders. Even if someone ever enquires, don’t say a word. I’d really appreciate that."

Han Xuhan could no longer hold back his curiosity. "I thought it was a breakthrough of some Mystic Art you practice secretly. Seems like that’s not the case..."

Xiao Wu avoided looking him in the eye as he responded, "It IS a Mystic Art, just not the orthodox ones you’d find in this sect. Sort of a family secret, if you want to call it that. To be honest, we cultivate it for symbolism and loyalty to our lineage.

"Other than the sentimental value, it’s a useless cultivation technique that just attracts trouble. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say..."

"I do, no worries," Han Xuhan said, making a solemn gesture of promise as he left the hut. Unbeknownst to Xiao Wu, he was examining a certain silver-colored page at that very moment.

On the Secondary Storyline Panel for Xiao Wu, there was a slight change in one Quest data.

[ Quest Progress: 16% ]