Chapter 773: Chapter 510: Ascension

Upon hearing Chu Zheng’s words, Xue Qing raised her head, flipped her wrist, and tossed out a storage ring.

Chu Zheng instinctively caught it, and the next moment Xue Qing’s voice reached his ears:

“Inside there are 479,320 pieces of immortal jade.”

Her voice was very calm, without the slightest ripple: “And some spirit pills that can’t be used, with an acceptable grade, should be able to exchange for some immortal jade.”

At this point, her words paused slightly: “This is all I have on hand right now, if it’s not enough, I’ll figure out a way to gather more for you later.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Zheng’s expression slightly tightened, briefly stunned by Xue Qing’s grand gesture.

479,320 pieces of immortal jade.

Nearly half a million, even an ordinary True Immortal who has crossed two or three major tribulations would find it difficult to gather such a sum; it’s enough to buy a piece of Spirit Mountain Blessed Land in Falling Leaves Heaven, enough to sustain a medium-sized noble family for a millennium.

This number, complete with zeroes, is not just a part; it should be all that Xue Qing currently possesses, almost as if she had emptied her entire fortune for him.

Zheng Ping and Chu An, who stood behind Chu Zheng, were even more astonished by this earth-shattering generosity, their souls seemingly flying out of the heavens.

Zheng Ping took a light breath of cold air, his eyes widening in disbelief, over forty thousand… immortal jade?!

He had only seen immortal jade once or twice in his life, and to him, a number close to half a million was beyond his comprehension, leaving him dizzy.

Chu An’s eyes flickered slightly, shocked in his heart, and began to speculate about the relationship between the two.

If they were ordinary friends, how could one give so many cultivation resources in one go?

Chu Zheng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surge of thoughts in his heart, and spoke slowly:

“There’s no need for so much.”

Chu Zheng’s voice was dry as he pushed the storage ring back: “Five thousand is enough, keep the rest.”

Xue Qing didn’t look at the ring handed to her, nor did she reach out to take it, just lowered her head, her gaze falling back onto the dishes in front of her, muttering:

“Take it, I don’t lack these right now.”

Even for a disciple of the Martial Pavilion, obtaining this amount of resources was not easy, so Chu Zheng naturally wouldn’t take it seriously.

He only took out five thousand, then handed the rest back.

Xue Qing didn’t force Chu Zheng to take it all, putting away the storage ring, and seemingly casually asked: “Besides this, is there anything else?”

“Yes.” Chu Zheng nodded.

Xue Qing’s movement of eating paused, she turned her ear slightly to listen.

Chu Zheng pushed Zheng Ping in front of him and said in a deep voice: “I want to take this opportunity to see if this child has the aptitude to cultivate the Martial Path.”

The unique pure incense of spiritual food filled the private room, but suddenly the atmosphere seemed somewhat stagnant.

Xue Qing’s gaze fell on Zheng Ping, who was somewhat apprehensive and uneasy.

She didn’t immediately answer Chu Zheng, only remained silent, her eyes scanning Zheng Ping up and down, repeatedly assessing.

After a while, Xue Qing slightly nodded, giving an evaluation: “His root bone is acceptable, with abundant potential, and should be quite resilient.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ping felt slightly embarrassed; having an acceptable root bone, being evaluated like this by a Semi-Saint was already a tremendous recognition, abundant potential? It seemed like a good thing, as for being resilient… was that a compliment?

“You can give it a try.”

Xue Qing didn’t waste words, directly giving a conclusion, then straightforwardly raised her hand, her fingers like a sword, a point of condensed golden brilliance suddenly brightened at her fingertip, instantly pointing toward the center of Zheng Ping’s brow.

Zheng Ping instinctively wanted to dodge, but that point of gold was too fast, not allowing any evasion, as it had already entered his sea of consciousness.

Boom!

Zheng Ping only felt as if a mountain of gold exploded in his head, countless profound and ancient words, golden figures demonstrating incomparably vigorous movements, and a domineering martial intent that seemed to crush mountains and pierce the heavens, instantly flooded his divine soul sea of consciousness.

A body refining technique named “Golden Gang Breaking Mountain” imprinted deeply within his soul.

This scripture mainly cultivates the physical body; at great success, the body becomes like diamond. The cultivation process involves constantly enduring external force impacts, invoking golden aura to temper oneself, fitting exactly Xue Qing’s earlier evaluation of his resilience.

“This scripture should be of some use to you.”

Xue Qing retracted her finger, her voice still calm.

After finishing all this, her gaze returned to Chu Zheng’s face, and after a moment, she took a sip of spiritual tea, her long eyelashes drooping, covering a faint ripple deep in her eyes, her voice low:

“Aside from these, is there nothing else?”

The words carried a faint hint of probing that was hard to detect.

Beneath Xue Qing’s lowered eyelashes, her gaze, like a nimble fish, discreetly studied Chu Zheng in front of her during the intervals of picking up food and chewing.

After many years apart, being completely away from Chu Zheng’s side, she seemed to be able to directly feel some changes in him.

The person in front of her was no longer the little one from the early days in Iron Fate City, who wasn’t even as tall as he was.

The soft light within the private room fell on the side of his face, outlining an increasingly clear and profound contour, his posture upright like a pine or cypress, broad shoulders supporting the outline of his blue shirt, below was a vigorous and powerful waistline, his aura restrained yet warm, like warm jade.

In her impression, Chu Zheng’s aura had always been very calm, like a cold pond hidden deep in a valley, unruffled, yet this calmness strangely exuded a kind of gentle and inviting warmth.

Like the warm sun in winter, not scorching, yet enough to dispel the cold, gently permeating the heart.

In those years in the valley, she only thought about leaving Chu Zheng’s side as soon as possible, but never reexamined him as she did now.