182 Yin Shisi’s Story

At first Lu Qingyun felt a little weird to be traveling with just two because maidens. It was because he was used to be in a bigger group. He was no stranger to travel alone though. But after a few days, he soon was used to their company.

Ouyang Xue and Yin Shisi also took some time to get used to Lu Qingyun almost eccentric habit of stopping in every corner of the mountain trails as he searched for herbs to pluck.

Picking herbs from the mountains was a habit that Lu Qingyun was accustomed to.

"Do you have to waste so much time to pick these cheap herbs?" Yin Shisi asked curiously.

"Although these herbs are cheap but the vendors are selling it at 10 times the usual price in the cities. Some of the herbs that I had picked are even worth a hefty 10 silvers!"

"10 silvers…" Yin Shisi muttered.

Lu Qingyun said solemnly, "Maybe to you is not a lot but that is Xingyuan's five month salary."

He sighed softly when he had thought of Xingyuan. Even though she did not show too much of herself, he knew that she was quite stingy with money. Especially when she had borrowed a low grade spirit stone from him, her countenance had a look of agony. In the end, he told her that she did not need to pay him since she was only helping him.

She had replied, "But that is a low grade spirit stone…"

He emphasized to her that she did not need to feel so bad about spending it since he did not mind at all and was grateful for her help.

This incident happened when he had met Yin Shisi for the very first time.

It was kind of weird that he was now traveling with Yin Shisi now.

One day, Yin Shisi suddenly said to him as they were traveling. "Senior brother, I wonder how strong you are now?"

"Hmm, upper forth realm level?" Lu Qingyun replied curiously.

Yin Shisi smiled, "Not that. I wonder how strong is your profound strength? Care to exchange a blow with me?"

Ouyang Xue muttered softly, "He is only a fourth realm expert while you are a sixth realm expert. Take care not to send him flying down the mountains."

At the same time she was staring at Lu Qingyun with shock. She had thought that he was only a third realm expert when they had last gone on the same experiential expedition together to the Misty Desolate Valley together.

"How did he advance so quickly? From the first to the third and now to the upper fourth realm level? I have only just broken through to the fourth realm level with much difficulty and it will still be a long time before I can advance to the middle fourth realm level." She secretly thought.

Yin Shisi turned to Ouyang Xue with a faint smile, "I will naturally be lenient."

Lu Qingyun said, "Actually I am curious as well. I feel that my profound strength has actually improved tremendously lately. It will be good if Elder Yin is able to give me some quick instructions."

"Then it is settled then." Yin Shisi smiled.

"I'm going to attack you with fifty percent of my martial power. So you have to shore up your profound strength with everything that you've got, alright?"

Lu Qingyun said, "Alright."

And he had immediately mustered up his entire profound strength and there was an invisible profound aura that was enveloping him now. "I am ready now."

"Good." Yin Shisi teased with a playful look on Lu Qingyun. "Be prepared for a jolt."

Lu Qingyun smiled weakly. It was because when she had looked at him with her playful eyes, he had already got a jolt. He did not even need to wait until she had displayed her blow.

Yin Shisi carefully moved her curtain hat to her back before she raised her five fingers forward, "I'm going to use only fifty percent of my martial power with this blow. Just brace against it and be prepared to fly off. Heh."

Lu Qingyun was smiling bitterly as he thought, "Then I've better use 120% of my profound strength…"

He raised his palm out to receive her incoming blow while thinking, "Will my hand break…she is a golden supremacy…"

"I'm coming now." Yin Shisi gave a soft shout as she mustered her profound strength as she flew toward Lu Qingyun to meet his palm with her martial power.

There was a loud explosive thunderclap as both palms met and Ouyang Xue was covering her mouth with her hands as she did not dare to watch.

But to the surprise of everyone, Lu Qingyun was still standing on the same spot and Yin Shisi's palm blow did not seem to have any effect on him.

"This…" Yin Shisi was startled.

Even Lu Qingyun was quite astonished that he did not fly off and that he could only feel a tremble on his palm. "I am still standing?"

Yin Shisi was blinking her eyes. She had really expected Lu Qingyun to at least fly off seven to ten steps. It was because even if a golden supremacy would to display half their martial power, there was no way for a fourth realm expert to have the sufficient profound strength to withstand their martial power.

Ouyang Xue opened her eyes, "Did Elder Yin really uses 50% of her martial power or less than that? Senior brother is still standing…"

Lu Qingyun was also having some doubts whether Yin Shisi really did use 50% of her martial power. And so he said with a bitter smile, "Thank you for being lenient."

Yin Shisi averted her eyes before she smiled awkwardly, "I really did use 50% of my martial power. Why don't you take 70% of my martial power in the next round?"

Lu Qingyun, Ouyang Xue: …

"You are serious?" Lu Qingyun managed a weak smile.

"Of course I am…" Yin Shisi said with a sheepish look. She was secretly thinking whether she had just ruined her own golden supremacy reputation.

"Alright then." Lu Qingyun said as he looked at her with great awkwardness.

"Then here I come again." Yin Shisi raised her musical voice as she once again mustered her profound strength.

Lu Qingyun once again readied himself as he shouted, "I'm ready!"

Once again, Yin Shisi swung her palm blow against Lu Qingyun. There was a bigger explosive thunderclap as both palms met but this time round Lu Qingyun had slid two steps backward as his profound strength could not resist Yin Shisi's martial power.

Yin Shisi was smiling weakly, "You are so strong already." This was a frank appraisal as Lu Qingyun could even resist 70% of her martial power. This was kind of impossible to believe.

Even Ouyang Xue knew that Yin Shisi really did not give any leeway as the earlier explosive thunderclap had shifted the debris in a shockwave around him.

The two maidens were wondering how Lu Qingyun got his profound strength even though he was only a fourth realm expert.

The same had gone for Lu Qingyun as he looked at his trembling palm. "Did I just resist the tremendous attack of a golden supremacy?"

Yin Shisi smiled before she asked him curiously, "How did you get your profound strength? It is a little unnatural."

Even if a person's profound strength was stronger than the average or if they were practicing some powerful internal divine arts to boost their internal arts, there was a limit on what a fourth realm expert could do.

Lu Qingyun was perplexed as well. Lately he had felt that his profound strength had strengthened considerably. Was it due to his vast inner cultivation sea that was three times as vast as the typical fourth realm experts that was caused by the annihilating god seed that Yan'Er had mentioned to him or was it for some other reason?

He had suddenly remembered that Keqin had fed him the Starforge Pill. He thought. "Don't tell me it is the effect of that pill? And I've been trying to purge it out…"

"Senior brother?" Yin Shisi asked curiously after seeing that he was in a daze.

Lu Qingyun quickly regained his composure with a weak laugh, "I'm alright. I am just wondering the same too."

"Are you really alright? Did I injure you?" She asked with a concern look.

"Other than my hand that is still shaking and that my body had just received a jolt that shook my soul, I'm really alright." Lu Qingyun laughed it off.

"I see…" Yin Shisi continued to look at him with concern while Ouyang Xue had flashed next to him to feel his pulses before she heaved a soft sigh of relief. "He is really alright. His internal energies are still flowing unbroken."

Yin Shisi was really afraid that she may hurt him and was relieved to hear that. She chuckled with a soft sigh of relief. "Good, good. It seems that senior brother may soon become a golden celestial. He seems to have the profound strength of a golden celestial now."

Lu Qingyun was startled, "Really?!"

Yin Shisi smiled, "When your profound strength reaches a certain heaven-defying limit, you will be able to become a golden celestial soon."

Ouyang Xue was startled as she looked at Lu Qingyun, "Senior brother is going to become a golden celestial soon? Isn't that a little fast? His rate of cultivation may not be able to catch up with his cultivation level. Can his inner cultivation sea be able to handle it?"

Yin Shisi pondered for a little while before she answered. "When I have exchanged two earlier blows with him, I can sense that his cultivation foundation is quite stable and seems to resist my martial force quite well."

Lu Qingyun listened with interest as they discussed his cultivation foundation. He was wondering why his profound strength seemed to have strengthened considerably lately. He did not know that this was due to the effects of the Horizon of the Heavens that was inside his inner cultivation sea.

As he was now the master of the Horizon of the Heavens, the Horizon of the Heavens was now giving him the reserved strength of the Great Lord Xuan Yuan. Because he was the original Great Lord Xuan Yuan himself, he was now absorbing 100% of the Horizon of the Heavens without any efforts. If it was Yue Lingxi, even if she could obtain the true power of the Horizon of the Heavens, she could only absorb it partially and after a lot of cultivation efforts.

But for Lu Qingyun, even if he were to sleep and did not do anything, the Horizon of the Heavens would still be imparting its power to him, strengthening his profound strength continuously.

Lu Qingyun had a curious question for Yin Shisi, "I have a curious question. I have heard that overcoming the life and death cultivation level of the golden celestial isn't easy. When it is time for me to overcome my first life and death cultivation level, I wonder if I may have any tips?"

This life and death cultivation level was a barrier to most of the fourth realm experts that sought to become a golden celestial. If they could not overcome this barrier, they would die instantly. As for those that could overcome this barrier, they would become golden celestials.

A golden celestial was the pinnacle existence in the Celestial Realm. They would have regeneration abilities and no longer required any food to sustain themselves. All they needed was the spiritual force that was around them and they could even regenerate lost organs over time.

Yin Shisi smiled, "It is actually different from person to person. When it comes, it is best that you reserve as much of your inner spiritual sea as much as possible as you will need it. But for you, I really do not know. Usually a celestial practitioner will have three months of knowing and they will enter into seclusion to prepare for that day. So during this crucial period, it is best that you do not use up your inner spiritual sea unnecessary."

Then she added with a concern look, "Your profound strength seems peak already. You may be a peaked fourth realm cultivator already and you should not partake in any exhausting activities that may use up your profound strength."

Lu Qingyun smiled bitterly. He was actually now a peaked fourth realm expert and he knew that his inner cultivation sea was now brimming to the full. He was hoping that Yan'Er could cultivate to the golden celestial level for him but it seemed that he had to take the risk himself. It was no longer that Yan'Er had been sleeping more than cultivating. It was because she was an entity spirit and could not cultivate past the fourth realm level unless her master had first cultivate past this point first.

Now he had finally realized why Yan'Er seemed to be slowing down on her cultivation after they had reached the upper fourth realm level.

"Elder Yin, can you share with me your experiences?" Lu Qingyun asked curiously. "You must be so impressive in order to become a golden celestial and you are even a golden supremacy now."

Yin Shisi smiled, "Actually I don't have much to share. Originally I was just like you and did not have any opportunity to become a golden celestial. It was because all the best cultivation resources were given to my brother for him to advance."

Lu Qingyun and Ouyang Xue were both nodding. It was typical for the celestial clans to use their best celestial resources for a successor or their very best protégé that could advance their interest.

"One day I had met my master…" Yin Shisi smiled with fond memories when she had said it. "She was the one that had imparted to me her divine skills and had even prepared me to overcome my first life and death barrier to become a golden celestial. My master had really helped me a lot. Without her, I can't even be a golden celestial and even a golden supremacy. You can say that I owe a lot to her…"

Lu Qingyun was now curious about Yin Shisi's master. He only knew that Yin Shisi's master was also the master of Lie Xingyuan and that Yin Shisi was even calling Lie Xingyuan her 'senior sister' whenever they were around.

Come to think of that, he was now curious about Lie Xingyuan and her master background…