I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 193: It’s Time

"Let’s go lest we distract him." Gao Zhen suggested the next instant.

Hearing this, both Zhou Lan and Xie Rou nodded in agreement and left alongside Gao Zhen the next instant, leaving Yi Chen all by himself.

Time continued to pass by, and it was only an hour after noon that Yi Chen stopped.

[Advanced Swordsmanship (Progress: 498 / 1000)]

A bright smile formed on his face when he saw this huge improvement.

The next second, when he put the panel away, his eyes fell on the huge mound of fish that were lying on the shore.

They numbered more than a hundred and by now had begun exuding a pungent smell.

’I got a little too engrossed with my progress...’ Yi Chen smiled bitterly.

The next second, he waved his arm and all the fish went inside his storage ring.

"Luckily, smell doesn’t travel inside the ring. Otherwise, I would have been stuck with a really stinky storage ring..." Yi Chen muttered to himself. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

With this done, he soon returned to the camp and found Gao Zhen and the rest chatting amongst one another.

"Did Young Master Chen enjoy his training?" Gao Zhen asked curiously when she noticed his arrival.

"Yes, it was very fruitful." Yi Chen answered with a smile.

Earlier, he had sensed the three of them observing him from the corner of his eyes, but since they didn’t approach him, he had continued on with his training.

"Since we made sure not to distract you during your training session, shouldn’t you be treating us with another batch of fish right away?" Gao Zhen asked with a smile.

"Of course. Freshly roasted fish coming right away," Yi Chen said in a humorous tone, which invited a series of chuckles from the three women.

The smile on his face only brightened by their response as he soon busied himself with the preparation.

A while later, they munched on the roasted fish as a starter before diving into the Qi-enriched food Gao Zhen had taken out from her storage ring.

After lunch, they either napped or worked on progressing their cultivation.

Just like before, Yi Chen arrived in front of the lake and started practising his swordsmanship again.

Finding that the number of fish in that area had decreased considerably, he shifted places and this time decided to throw the fish towards the deeper waters rather than out of the lake.

’I already have more than enough fish, so there’s no need for me to hunt them anymore,’

Yi Chen thought to himself and fully immersed himself in his training.

In the evening, after dinner, they talked a little about the Sky Devouring Tomb before going back to their tents to cultivate and rest. Meanwhile, Yi Chen left for the lake and continued on with his practice.

Thanks to the array formation Gao Zhen had set up, he wasn’t worried about the demonic beasts and soon got absorbed in his training.

The numbers in his progress bar kept on increasing throughout the night and finally slowed an hour after sunrise.

’It seems this too has reached a plateau...’ Yi Chen sighed to himself while glancing at his progress.

[Advanced Swordsmanship (777 / 1000)]

’Whatever...it’s still faster than raising my other cultivation arts, so I’ll continue practising my swordsmanship.’

He thought to himself and followed the same schedule today, the day after and the next.

Five days soon passed by. The 10x Comprehension Buff was already finished, but still, Yi Chen kept focusing on raising his swordsmanship while also restarting his focus on refining his meridians.

As for the Sky Devouring Tomb, it had shown no signs of opening in the following days, leaving all the cultivators on edge.

Yawn

Tears almost welled up in Yi Chen’s eyes after a soul-nourishing yawn.

Stretching his arms widely, he groaned comfortably while glancing at the morning rays that had made their way to the inside of his tent by now.

’I overslept by almost an hour today.’ He thought the next instant while checking out his status panels.

== Meridian Refinement Stage ==

Level: Fifth [1/ 40]

Mortal Meridians: 161 / 360

Godly Meridians: 0 / 160

Progress: 161 / 520

==========================

======Cultivation Arsenal ======

#Weapon Arts

1) Advanced Swordsmanship [889 / 1000]

#Cultivation Arts

1) Crimson Fire Arts [Comprehension: 70%]

2) Myriad Fire Swords [Comprehension: 33%]

3) Bursting Fire Steps [Comprehension: 89%]

#System Items

NONE

============ END ===========

His efforts in these last few days were clearly evident on the panels and brought a satisfied smile to his face.

Even after the 10x Comprehension buff was finished, he continued practising his swordsmanship in the last two days and managed to raise it by almost fifty points.

Along with that, he had also started to focus on his cultivation again. With the speed of half a meridian per day, the progress was indeed very slow. However, it couldn’t be helped. He had no choice but to advance his cultivation as quickly as possible.

’If later I’m able to encounter one of the divine physiques Madam Gao talked about, then it will only add on to my existing cultivation progress. There’s no loss for me and only benefits.’

A few moments later, he yawned once again and stood up. It was time to freshen up.

"Good morning, Young Master Chen. It seems that you had a good sleep." Gao Zhen wished the moment she noticed Yi Chen coming out of his tent.

She was sitting cross-legged on top of a stone as the air just around her body seemed chaotic. She was practising her Qi Absorption art.

"Good morning, Madam Gao. I ended up oversleeping a bit, so yes, I indeed had a good sleep." Yi Chen said with an embarrassed expression.

"With how intensely you’re training every single day, it’s only natural for such things to happen." Gao Zhen said with a smile and gestured towards the lake the next instant.

"Miss Lan and Miss Rou are already done with freshening up, so you may go now."

"Ah, alright." Yi Chen nodded with an understanding smile and went to the lakeside to freshen up.

A while later, everyone gathered around the campfire and had their breakfast together while discussing the Sky Devouring Tomb.

Gao Zhen had informed them that the ghostly beasts inside were all remnant souls of Grade Five and above demonic beasts.

However, since they didn’t have their original body, they could be defeated by a well-coordinated attack by a group of Meridian Refinement Stage cultivators.

"...these beasts are fast and elusive. Therefore, you must not engage with them on your own, no matter what and instead keep rushing towards the tomb’s core." Gao Zhen repeated with grave eyes and continued.

"It’s only then we’ll have a chance to regroup and retaliate against them. No Qi-based attacks work upon those beasts, and it’s only when one is able to completely crush their three cores simultaneously can one defeat them."

Even though Yi Chen and the rest had listened to these instructions more than four times now, they still carefully listened to each and every word and nodded.

The fact that Madam Gao kept repeating them clearly implied that the matter was that much more grave and important.

"Alright. Does anyone have any new doubts regarding the tomb exploration now?" Gao Zhen asked.

She used to ask this question every time they were discussing the Sky Devouring Tomb, and using this opportunity, the three of them were able to get many of their doubts clarified.

However, there was one doubt in Yi Chen’s mind which he had been suppressing all this while because it was not completely related to the Sky Devouring Tomb.

"Uhm...Madam Gao. I have a doubt." Yi Chen said with a hesitant expression, "It’s not completely related to the tomb, but I still think it’s something that needs to be addressed..."

Unable to suppress his questions for any longer, he finally decided to ask her about it, as the safety of their team depended on this.

"Sure. What is it about?" Gao Zhen asked with a curious expression on her face.

"...Is Madam Gao really accompanying us inside the Sky Devouring Tomb?... You had earlier mentioned that you have your means, but have still not given us any definitive answer."

Yi Chen paused to observe Gao Zhen’s expression. It was neutral, so he decided to continue, "Moreover...that day, after an exchange with your siblings, one of them mentioned meeting up for tea once the teams are inside..."

When Zhou Lan and Xie Rou heard this question, they too nodded inwardly. Similar doubts had also arisen in their hearts, but they had just decided to place their trust in her because of her history of credibility.

Glancing towards Yi Chen and the others who were staring towards her with curiosity apparent in their eyes, Gao Zhen chuckled while shaking her head and answered.

"Such misunderstandings are bound to arise. However, let me be very clear, I’ll accompany you inside the tomb. As to how I’m going to do it, I cannot tell you for now becau-"

Gao Zhen was about to finish her words, but all of a sudden, the entire place shook.

The sky, which was bright blue a second ago, got completely engulfed by dark clouds the next moment.

’...This!’

Gao Zhen’s eyes widened in realisation, and she exclaimed the next instant.

"It’s time! The Tomb is opening!"