Chapter 2024: Cultivating Inner Strength

As dawn approached, the two finally arrived at Zhu Xian Town. With the new day, this ordinary mortal town was as vibrant as ever, filled with bustling street vendors hawking their wares nonstop. The steamed bun seller in the eastern part of town was the loudest, his cages of hot meat buns steaming enticingly.

“Want to come to my house and sit for a bit?”

“I’d better go back to my own home; it’s safer.”

Yang Ge Lao replied meaningfully, and with that, he left, his steps unsteady like he was walking on sponges, swaying with every move. His head spun dizzily as he made his way back to the inn, and due to severe blood loss, he collapsed the moment he stepped inside.

Compared to him, Ye Chen was in much better shape, full of energy and bouncing around.

Before long, people saw Ye Chen carrying his gear out of the small courtyard and setting up a fortune-telling table at the inn’s entrance. From a distance, the three characters “Ye Ban Xian” stood out the most.

The awkward part was that no one paid him any attention.

Ye Chen was quite content with the quiet, resting his chin on one hand and idling away. He reflected on the events of the previous night, feeling fortunate to have found the reincarnated Qin Xiong, who was barely clinging to life but could still be saved—if he could regain his magical powers, that is. And then there was Yin Yue Huang Fei, truly an extraordinary woman who understood the five elements and the eight trigrams. Her insight was something many cultivators couldn’t match.

“This mortal ancient star must have been visited by cultivators before.”

Ye Chen thought to himself.

That much was clear from the source crystal.

It was possible that some senior cultivator had lived in seclusion and passed away here by chance, only for Yin Yue Huang Fei to stumble upon it. Otherwise, how would a mere mortal ancient star have something like a source crystal?

As he pondered, someone emerged from the inn.

Taking a closer look, it was the child who had sought him out for a fortune-telling the day before and had been adopted by Yang Ge Lao, now settled at the inn. Compared to his previous gaunt and sallow appearance, the boy’s face was now rosier, and at first glance, he looked healthy, no longer starving.

The little guy was thoughtful, bringing Ye Chen some hot steamed buns.

Ye Chen smiled and didn’t refuse.

“Grandpa Yang is really kind; he even gave me a name, Yang Fan.”

The little guy looked up with a pure, innocent grin, his chubby face radiating simple sincerity.

“Yang Fan.”

Ye Chen murmured, feeling a brief daze.

The name Yang Fan had been buried in his memories for a long time. Back in the day, the young girl A Li’s brother was also named Yang Fan. He had been a soldier in Qin Xiong’s army, young but unyielding as steel. At the Battle of Hulao Pass, he was Ling Chi’d to death with a thousand cuts and never made a sound.

Poor A Li, her soul obsessed for ten years of blooming flowers and ten years of wilting, all for nothing.

Thinking of A Li brought back another ancient tale.

To this day, he still didn’t know the connection between the Heavenly Maiden and the Demon Sovereign and the young girl A Li.

“Old grandpa?”

Seeing Ye Chen lost in thought, Yang Fan waved his little hand.

Ye Chen smiled and snapped out of it.

“I’m off to the private school to learn my characters.”

Yang Fan said, then scampered away, full of excitement.

Ye Chen gave a gentle smile and slowly closed his eyes.

The street remained lively, thronged with people showcasing the hustle and bustle of the mortal world. In contrast, Ye Chen’s spot felt rather deserted; he’d come out today without a single customer yet.

Ye Chen lay down on the table again, silent and lost in thought.

In this vast sea of mortals, he didn’t know whom he was waiting for or when they would arrive. This whole cultivation journey was beyond his grasp, and he couldn’t fathom its meaning.

Time passed, and evening fell.

Yang Fan returned from the private school, an eager little fellow reciting from a book as he walked. As he passed Ye Chen, he pulled out a hot steamed bun from his pocket, grinning with simple honesty.

Yang Ge Lao finally woke up and immediately headed over to Ye Chen.

This old man had lost a lot of blood but had consumed plenty of tonics, and with his strong inner force protecting him, he now looked full of vitality. An ordinary person would have been bedridden for days.

“What do you want me to divine this time?”

Ye Chen asked idly.

“Divine for me whether I can live to a hundred.”

“You can’t.”

Before Yang Ge Lao could finish, Ye Chen gave his answer. He had seen through it at first glance when they met, no divination needed.

“Then how long can I live?”

Yang Ge Lao asked tentatively.

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn’t help but laugh.

“How about it, great master? Haven’t you seen through life and death yet?”

“To be honest, I haven’t.”

Yang Ge Lao gave an awkward smile.

“Straight talk: You won’t make it past your seventies. It’s because you were too obsessed with inner force in your early years, recklessly cultivating ice and fire attributes in a rush for results, which damaged your core.”

Ye Chen said casually.

“So that means I only have less than twenty years left.”

Yang Ge Lao murmured.

“Oh well, I’ll give you an extra twenty years. Who asked us to have this karmic tie?”

“Give me twenty years?”

Yang Ge Lao looked up in surprise.

Under his gaze, Ye Chen took out paper and a brush, writing as he smiled.

“What I’m writing here is a method for cultivating the mind and nurturing one’s nature. Follow this, and you can mend your damaged foundation and gain an extra twenty years of life easily. Even so, you still won’t escape the hundred-year limit.”

Yang Ge Lao listened in a daze. Could lifespan really be given like that? How mysterious.

By the time Ye Chen finished writing, he handed the paper to Yang Ge Lao and started packing up his things. Night had fallen, and fortune-tellers avoided divining in the dark—it was taboo.

Watching Ye Chen’s retreating figure, Yang Ge Lao hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue.

A few seconds later, he lowered his head to look at the method Ye Chen had given him, and what he saw truly shocked him. It included various mind cultivation techniques like meditation, breathing exercises, and spirit calming methods. Even as a martial arts expert, he found it enlightening. This method was incredibly profound.

It might actually work.

Yang Ge Lao clutched the paper tightly and hurried back to the inn. For some reason, he believed what Ye Chen said—that through this mind cultivation, he could extend his life. Ye Chen was incredibly capable, after all.

That night, the small courtyard was filled with the aroma of wine.

Ye Chen had a touch of elegance, hanging red lanterns all around the courtyard, though he himself sat on the rooftop drinking alone, quietly gazing at the stars and missing his homeland. This trip away had been far too long.

He didn’t know when he finally set down the wine jar and sat cross-legged.

Under the moonlight, he closed his eyes slightly, sitting in meditation like an enlightened monk, exuding a dignified aura.

Specks of starlight fell upon him, making his divine body shimmer brilliantly. If you looked closely, you’d see the starlight slowly merging into his body and vanishing.

This wondrous phenomenon wasn’t random.

It was because he was operating a technique, one specifically for absorbing star power, called Jiu Tian Xing Chen Jue. This supreme method came from the forbidden desert of ancient Chu. Without it, he might never have escaped the desert and could have become just another speck of history’s dust.

He had long mastered the dominance of Jiu Tian Xing Chen Jue.

In the past, absorbing this star power would have converted it into magical force through the technique, but now, in his mortal state, it transformed into the inner force of a mortal. In battles among experts, inner force was key.

That’s right—he was cultivating inner force.

Sealed as a mere mortal without his vast magical powers, he needed to grow stronger to protect himself. Who knew when the person he was waiting for would arrive? Might as well make use of the time: fortune-telling by day, cultivating inner force by night. It was all beneficial, and he didn’t want to get killed in the mortal world.

The night was peaceful.

As Jiu Tian Xing Chen Jue operated, more starlight was drawn in and integrated into his body. The inner force converted from the star power flowed through his meridians—it was a kind of internal energy, or inner strength. A single palm strike from it could kill a mortal.

Compared to other mortals, he had unique advantages in cultivating inner force.

Beyond the technique itself, his physical constitution was far superior. His meridians were fully unblocked, tough and expansive, so no amount of inner force could harm his foundation. Others might suffer setbacks from rushing their cultivation, but not him.

Ye Chen embodied the phrase “profound foundations.”

For someone like him, cultivating inner force would be much faster than for others. He might even beat Yang Ge Lao in a fight in just a few days. There was no helping it—he had a god-tier cheat; you couldn’t argue with that.

Under the moon, Ye Chen was deep in meditation, with more star power being converted.

The inner force he generated was extremely pure, rigid and yang in nature. Streaks of lightning occasionally appeared on his skin’s surface—that was the attribute of his inner force. When it came to aggressive power, nothing beat lightning.

This sight left the Yama lords of Jie Ming Mountain speechless in astonishment.

The mighty Archaic Holy Body was determined to become a martial arts master in the mortal world!

Not to brag, but at this rate, he could probably even become the leader of the martial arts world.

The Ten Yama Lords didn’t understand, but Di Huang and Ming Di knew full well. The Human King had instructed the evil spirits to cast Ye Chen into the mortal realm, and the intent was profound. It was meant as a trial for Ye Chen and others, but also a different kind of cultivation. This so-called inner force was part of it.

Cultivators were hailed as immortals, but at their root, they were still human.

True foundation building for cultivators wasn’t the Qi Condensation stage, but the mortal phase before it. If one solidified their base as a mortal, that was the most fundamental strength. The two supreme beings understood the Human King’s intention: to have Ye Chen build from the ground up.

Suddenly, Ming Di turned his head and looked toward the Ten Yama Lords.

Caught in his gaze, the Ten Yama Lords felt a chill run through them, their hearts pounding. As subordinates of Ming Di, they knew his temperament all too well. Whenever he had that look, trouble was coming—getting beaten was the least of it.

Ming Di stroked his chin, just watching without speaking.

In his mind, he was pondering whether he should send these ten out to experience life too, like Ye Chen—for example, seal them as mortals and have them cultivate inner force.

Hmm, that made sense.

But before he could act, the Ten Yama Lords were flung away—more precisely, swept off by a single palm from Di Huang. They flew off to who-knows-where, not even in the same direction, and each was sealed as a mortal.

Ming Di raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at Di Huang.

His expression seemed to say: You’ve got quite the nerve!

Di Huang said nothing, standing firmly on the mountain peak, completely ignoring Ming Di’s look, as if nothing had happened. His demeanor seemed to reply: I did it, so what?