Time flew by. A month passed quietly amidst the misty expanse of Dingbo Lake.

For the past month, Chen Qing had barely left his residence, pouring all his energy into absorbing the medicinal power of the Earth Core Milk, stabilizing his Realm, and cultivating his Martial Techniques.

Meanwhile, in Yunlin Prefecture, an undercurrent was swelling.

The day of Leng Qianqiu’s arrival at the Wutai Sect drew ever closer.

「In the Quiet Chamber.」

Chen Qing slowly opened his eyes. ’I’ve finally absorbed all the medicinal essence.’

He carefully took stock of the changes in his body.

First was his body. Beneath his skin, his muscles were now coiled and knotted, containing explosive power.

Nourished by the vast medicinal power, the foundation of his Eight Extremes Vajra Body’s Tiger Elephant Realm had become even more solid. The resonant hum of his sinews and bones was as deep as thunder, faintly containing the essence of a tiger’s roar and an elephant’s trumpet.

Second was his True Qi. The pseudo-"Everlasting Life" cycle of his Five Elements True Qi was smoother and more harmonious, its conversion efficiency higher and faster.

When he willed it, converting all four other types of True Qi into Cyan Wood True Qi, the resulting surge was comparable in volume to that of an Embracing Pill Force expert who had opened eleven or even twelve Orthodox Meridians.

If Chen Qing were to open all Twelve Orthodox Meridians in the future, and then cultivate the other four Heart Methods to the Fourth Layer...

...then the total amount of his True Qi would become unimaginably profound.

Finally, and most importantly—his Root Bone!

Chen Qing silently assessed himself and confirmed that his Root Bone had successfully ascended to "Seven Forms"!

’Seven Forms Root Bone...’

The ancient texts were not wrong. The higher one’s Root Bone advanced, the more difficult subsequent improvements became.

After reaching Six Forms, every advancement was like sailing against the current, requiring unimaginable opportunities and accumulation.

A great treasure like the Three Hundred Years Earth Core Milk, something that would tempt even an Astral Force master, had only managed to raise his Root Bone from Six Forms to Seven Forms. The difficulty of it all was plain to see.

As for the legendary Eight Forms and Nine Forms Root Bones, if one wasn’t born with them, the price and bottlenecks one would have to overcome to achieve them later in life were likely unimaginable.

’It’s enough.’

Chen Qing quickly calmed his mind.

To have struggled all the way from the lowest Three Forms Root Bone to his current Seven Forms was a fortune unattainable by ordinary people.

He was already incredibly satisfied with this.

A Seven Forms Root Bone, combined with the profound foundation from his Five Elements Cultivation, was enough to support him in going much further.

His control over his Five Elements True Qi was now much more adept. He had also gained a preliminary grasp of the Tiger Elephant Sound from his Eight Extremes Vajra Body. However, his Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear was still some distance from the Realm of Momentum.

During this period, Chen Qing had focused most of his energy on consolidating his Cultivation and improving his Eight Extremes Vajra Body. His Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear was also improving steadily, but not quickly.

Chen Qing thought to himself, ’After this matter is settled, I’ll go into seclusion for a while and focus on cultivating the Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear to the Extreme Realm.’

However, the tranquility of his small courtyard couldn’t insulate him from the increasingly tense atmosphere pervading the entire Wutai Sect.

The day the Cold Jade Valley’s Sect Leader, Leng Qianqiu, and his disciple, Xiao Bieli, were to make their formal arrival was drawing ever closer!

"Nephew Chen, are you there?"

Shen Xiuyong’s familiar voice came from outside the courtyard.

Chen Qing opened the door to see Shen Xiuyong standing outside with a smile on his face.

"Junior Martial Uncle Shen, please, come in," Chen Qing said, stepping aside to let him pass.

Shen Xiuyong entered the small courtyard and got straight to the point. "Nephew Chen, I heard about the Internal Affairs Hall meeting. You didn’t compete with Nie Shanshan for that drop of Three Hundred Years Earth Core Milk offered as a reward?"

His tone carried a hint of undisguised regret. "What a real shame."

Chen Qing’s expression was calm. He led Shen Xiuyong to a stone bench in the courtyard and poured him a cup of tea. "Opportunities are destined by fate. Senior Sister Nie’s strength is extraordinary. Having her represent the Sect against Xiao Bieli is the most appropriate choice. I have no objections."

"Appropriate? *Sigh*!"

Shen Xiuyong shook his head. "You’re still too young. A wondrous treasure like that... once you miss an opportunity like this, you won’t get another! The Sect’s Treasure Vault has no more than three drops of that Three Hundred Years Earth Core Milk! As for what’s left, the Sect Leader, my Senior Brother, guards it more closely than his own eyes. It’s a last-resort treasure saved for his future successor. He would never use it lightly."

He looked at Chen Qing, his tone grave and earnest. "Do you think the Earth’s Milk Eye can endlessly produce treasures of three-hundred-year quality? Yes, the eye’s spring gushes forth without end, but every single drop of centennial or three-hundred-year essence requires real time to settle and accumulate! What we use now is the legacy our predecessors saved for us! The Sect Leader is a diligent and farsighted ruler; he has to consider the next Sect Leader, the long-term future of the Wutai Sect. He won’t just empty out our entire foundation."

"Oh?"

A thought stirred in Chen Qing’s mind, and he followed up on the topic. "Junior Martial Uncle, are you saying that the Earth’s Milk Eye produces continuously, but higher-aged versions require time to accumulate? In that case... has the Sect ever had Millennial Earth Core Milk?"

"Millennial Earth Core Milk?"

Shen Xiuyong laughed as if he’d just heard the most outlandish fairy tale. "You really have some nerve, kid! A divine object like that, one that seizes the fortune of heaven and earth... if something like that truly appeared in our Wutai Sect, it wouldn’t be a blessing, but a cataclysmic disaster! ’A common man is innocent; his crime is possessing a treasure.’ Forget a thousand years—even if we had it, our predecessor Sect Leaders and Elders would have used it long ago while trying to break through to higher Realms. How could it possibly have survived for a millennium?"

He sighed, and his tone grew solemn. "Because of this Earth’s Milk Eye, the Wutai Sect has been coveted by many over the years, suffering endless overt and covert attacks. To give a recent example, a large part of the reason the Chaoyang Sect became our mortal enemies back then was because they were green with envy over the foundation we have here beneath Dingbo Lake, wasn’t it? That’s why I say it was a real shame you gave up this chance."

"An ordinary unaffiliated Martial Artist might go their entire life without ever laying eyes on a wondrous treasure capable of helping one achieve Bone Transformation Six Forms or higher, let alone touching or possessing it. In the future, the higher your Cultivation becomes, the more you’ll understand the value of what you lost today."