Chapter 13 - 11: Tang Xichen
In the blink of an eye, another five years passed.
Fire Room!
In front of the pill furnace.
Chen Sheng stood in the center, focused, his hands forming seals, invoking the "Profound Sun Fire Control Technique."
A faint blue flame emerged at his fingertips, stable as a bean, barely wavering despite the crosswind, never extinguishing.
"Divide the flame!"
Chen Sheng’s eyes sharpened, and his hand seals changed rapidly.
The flame split rapidly, first two flames sprouted together, then quickly to four, eight... finally splitting into 256 flames.
Sparks filled the sky, spreading everywhere, very dazzling.
"Stack the flames!"
The seals transformed again.
The scattered flames suddenly gathered like a school of fish returning to their nest, piling up layer upon layer, eventually forming several five-foot-high Li Fire Pillars.
Brilliantly shining.
Illuminating Chen Sheng’s figure, making it appear bright and dark alternately.
"Rotate!"
The fire pillars suddenly bent, connecting head to tail, twisting into a whirlpool Li Fire Wheel as thick as twelve feet in mid-air, the swirling sound causing the surrounding air to become unbearably hot!
"Conceal the flame!"
Finally.
Chen Sheng pressed his palms together, lightly touching his fingertips.
The whirl of fire in the sky immediately contracted, countless flames retreating like tide, condensing into a single point of blinding golden light, suspended at his fingertip.
The golden light seemed small, yet it caused ripples in the surrounding air, reflecting the terrifying heat contained within!
Not far away.
Huang Yueyang stroked his beard, looking at this scene with satisfaction:
"Refined skill, the timing is just right!"
His son-in-law’s understanding was average, but his great perseverance and day-by-day diligence were more touching than many geniuses.
In the past five years, Chen Sheng had studied persistently, progressing steadily, not only mastering the "Profound Sun Fire Control Technique" to the Fifth Layer but also having a profound understanding of secret medicine studies.
Now he could offer many suggestions when Huang Yueyang was improving the pill formula.
Truly, he inherited the full teachings!
How could Huang Yueyang not be satisfied with such a son-in-law?
Not far away, whenever this happened.
Li Huayao would shrink her neck, wishing she could tuck her head into the pill furnace.
Compared to Chen Sheng’s rapid progress in recent years, her progress was really unwatchable—now she had barely mastered the First Three Layers.
This was despite Huang Yueyang inspecting her progress several times and getting very angry, personally standing by her side with a ruler to oversee her.
Otherwise, even mastering the First Three Layers would have been difficult!
Huang Yueyang glanced at her, speaking with disappointment:
"Look at your junior brother, and then at you?"
"If only you put in more effort regularly, you wouldn’t just dare to watch the fun from the side of the furnace now."
Li Huayao had long developed thick skin, offering a cup of hot tea with a fawning smile.
She leaned in close to Huang Yueyang, grinning and said:
"Master, calm down, the first three layers are enough, see how steady I am with the control when purifying the melting liquid?"
Considering the cup of tea, Huang Yueyang refrained from scolding her, only sighing lightly:
"Only you, this lazy girl, can say cutting corners so righteously."
Blindly taking in this disciple back then, already having one lazy person at home who disliked cultivation.
Now it’s a complete den of laziness!
At this moment.
Chen Sheng finished the spell, the golden light at his fingertip quietly extinguished, with still seventy percent of his mana left in his body.
Thanks to proficiency in fire control skills, every trace of mana was perfectly utilized without any waste.
"Father-in-law."
Chen Sheng slightly clasped his hands toward Huang Yueyang.
Huang Yueyang nodded with satisfaction, suddenly looking him up and down, and suddenly laughed:
"Reached the peak of the Fourth Layer?"
Chen Sheng nodded:
"Father-in-law has sharp eyes, I stepped into this threshold last night, planning to go into seclusion for a few days to break through to the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer."
Huang Yueyang nodded:
"Good, cultivation is fundamental, go and focus on leveling up your realm, don’t worry about the fire room affairs."
...
Secluded Meditation Chamber for training.
The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Layers of Qi Cultivation all belong to mid-stage Qi Cultivation, with no bottleneck between them, only a matter of course.
Chen Sheng swallowed a Grain Avoidance Pill, closed his eyes, slowly operating the spell, refining the surrounding spiritual energy, eventually gathering it in the dantian, transforming it into mana.
Seven days later, a faint sound echoed in the chamber as Chen Sheng sat cross-legged with closed eyes, his body’s mana suddenly surged, operating the spell.
Unknowingly, the mana swept away obstacles in the meridians, carving out a new path, the mana in the dantian thickened, and the spiritual pressure around him rose to a new level.
Chen Sheng exhaled sharply, slowly standing up:
"Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, achieved!"
His lips curved into a smile, his eyes filled with joy.
With his aptitudes, without resource assistance, it would take at least seven or eight years to advance each layer in the mid-stage Qi Cultivation.
Now, advancing in just over five years saved two or three years’ time.
...
Under the peach tree in the backyard
A little girl with a ponytail wielded a peach wood sword, practicing in the courtyard with a particularly serious expression, every move and pose was proper.
In a nearby pavilion, Huang Wangyou was eating preserved fruits, watching his daughter practice with a smile.
At this moment, a figure crossed the corridor.
Huang Wangyou’s eyes immediately lit up, cheerfully running toward the figure:
"Husband, you’re out of seclusion?"
Chen Sheng opened his arms to catch her, the fragrance of her hair lingering at his nose:
"I broke through, so I came out. During my seclusion, have you been cultivating properly?"
Huang Wangyou nestled in his arms, her voice soft, blinking a bit shyly:
"Of course."
Chen Sheng immediately saw through his wife’s insincere words, knowing her lazy nature had returned. He gently pinched her cheek, whispering into her ear:
"It seems I need to supervise you well tonight."
"Bah, you’re so unserious!"
Huang Wangyou’s ears turned red immediately, giving him a sideways look, lightly punching his chest with her pink fist.
Truly charming and incredibly beautiful.
After a few days apart.
The couple whispered about private matters.
Under the peach tree.
Tang Xichen, who had seen her father leave seclusion, remained focused on completing a set of swordsmanship, only smiling as she ran over to tightly hug Chen Sheng’s leg.
"Daddy, you’re out. Finally, someone can practice swords with me."
Chen Sheng gently patted his daughter’s head, laughing heartily:
"Alright, alright, daddy will practice with you!"
Tang Xichen was now four years old.
Recently, a spirit test revealed she had a Middle Grade Fire Spirit Root, surpassing her father and grandfather, showing great future potential.
But she’s still young, her meridians not fully developed, so Chen Sheng only taught her a basic set of swordsmanship to build her physique, supplemented with herbal baths to nourish her meridians for future cultivation.
From the start, Tang Xichen showed remarkable talent in sword practice, inheriting both her mother’s intelligence and Chen Sheng’s diligence.
Possessing the strengths of both parents.
In just a few days, she had mastered a set of swordsmanship thoroughly. Chen Sheng had to collect more worldly sword techniques for her to practice.
He also looked forward to the day his family would produce a female Sword Immortal.