That was the second step indeed. Mu Yi had the Bamboo Tree of Life and the copper lamp but he couldn't do anything but use his fists and feet when fighting against Leng Yu, and only for a tie, not even a victory. He may even be weaker than her. Without his precious items, he would have gotten destroyed.

She was really amazing.

Mu Yi had thought his foundations were extremely thorough and resistant. He thought his cultivation couldn't be more stable. He had even thought that at the same cultivation level, n.o.body could defeat him. He had had lots of incredible battles after all. And he often defeated people whose cultivation levels were higher than his. And now he felt under pressure because of Leng Yu.

“Actually, you can also choose to break a chakra and make it open again. Your cultivation level is low at the moment so it's easy to do.” suggested Leng Yu suddenly. But she seemed embarra.s.sed, noticed Mu Yi.

As if breaking a chakra and fixing it wasn't as easy as it sounded. If it had been that easy, everybody would have chosen that path.

“The Envoy in charge of Xuan Ming's flag is brave, powerful. I am just a small Taoist monk. I try to extend my knowledge everyday. I practice cultivation really hard. I can't know everything from one day to another.” said Mu Yi straightforwardly. He really meant that.

“If you were stuck and had no hope anymore, you wouldn't say that.” said Leng Yu sighing. She had also felt that way at some points in her life.

“Can you reach the third difficulty when you break a chakra and fix it?” asked Mu Yi. Even though the old Taoist Priest had taught him to do things slowly and step by step, he had become different after he had started practicing cultivation. He was like a new man. There were so many things he didn't understand. And opportunities to find answers were too rare. He couldn't let such an opportunity slip.

Cultivation was directly connected to tools, money, property, Tao friends etc… Mu Yi had money and tools. He had no land though but he didn't care. But he didn't have a Tao friend.

Why a Tao friend? Cultivators also had friends. And Tao friends were naturally cultivation partners who cherished and aimed for the same ideals. People who thought alike. People helped each others, not to mention that that way, Tao friends could also progress a lot by talking about and exchanging views on cultivation.

But strictly speaking, Mu Yi and Leng Yu weren't really Tao friends because Mu Yi wasn't qualified to be her friend yet. At best, he could describe himself as someone who had learnt a few things from Leng Yu.

Of course, Leng Yu didn't mind telling and teaching Mu Yi things. Otherwise, she wouldn't have invited him there. Besides, the strongest Mu Yi was, the better it was for her.

“With that technique, you have at least thirty percent of chances of reaching the third difficulty. But if you add the Sutra of the Seventh Methods of the Yin and the Fu and the precious magic tools, then the chances raise to fifty percent.” said Leng Yu.

“Congratulations.” said Mu Yi honestly and wholeheartedly. He now knew how difficult breaking through to the third difficulty would be. Fifty percent… That was already an astonis.h.i.+ng number. Therefore, Leng Yu could be proud of herself.

“Is the process very difficult?” asked Mu Yi. If it wasn't difficult, many people would have the strength of the third difficulty.

“Difficult?” Leng Yu seemed pensive for a while and then she said, “Breaking a chakra and fixing it is equivalent to destroying your own cultivation but you have to be extremely precise so you don't die. Besides, if anything goes wrong and something breaks, then fixing the chakra becomes almost impossible. Out of a hundred people, only one will succeed. Therefore, many people know that method but don't dare try.”

When Mu Yi heard Leng Yu, he was dumbstruck. He also looked at Leng Yu with new eyes. Besides, she had already surpa.s.sed ninety percent of the men of the world. How awesome!

But it wasn't over, she now needed wings to fly up the hill of the third difficulty.

“Little boy, don't look at me like this. On the path of cultivation, courage, power, wisdom and fate are all very important. Therefore, I can tell you I've been lucky, not only did I succeed but on top of that, I am now very strong, and with the Sutra of the Seventh Methods of the Yin and the Fu, I will become even stronger.” said Leng Yu confidently.

“If you want to solve the mystery of the Heavenly Curse, you first need to reach the third difficulty. Only then, you will be qualified to talk about the Heavenly Curse and solve its mystery.” said Leng Yu.

“Thank you very much for all those pieces of informations. I will help you obtain the Sutra of the Seventh Methods of the Yin and the Fu in the king's grave.” said Mu Yi straightforwardly. He decided that for Leng Yu and for himself. Even though he only had the strength of the second step, he would reach the top of the second difficulty sooner or later. So he wanted to start getting ready now.

“Alright, it's a deal but you stay in the light and I stay in the shadow, alright?” said Leng Yu smiling teasingly.

“You want people to choose me as their target?” said Mu Yi pulling a long face. He wasn't an unknown cultivator of no significance. He had the key of the Yellow River's ancient road, so if one of those old and powerful cultivators saw him and got angry, they may slap his face and kill him on the spot. Then his life would be over.

And those people Leng Yu called old and powerful cultivators probably had the strength of the top of the second difficulty already. And Mu Yi couldn't resist against such people.

“Since you're not saying anything, I will take this as a yes. Don't worry. I will be in the shadow protecting you. Plus body subst.i.tution charms, you won't have any problem.” said Leng Yu firmly.

“Body subst.i.tution charms?” Mu Yi looked at her curiously. It was the first time he heard of such charms.

He could easily guess what they were though considering the name. A clone appeared at the most crucial moment and replaced the user. Such charms were ultimate methods to save one's life in case of imminent danger but Mu Yi didn't have any.

“What? Hasn't your teacher taught you that?” asked Leng Yu curiously.

“Indeed. I had never heard of body subst.i.tution charms before.” said Mu Yi.

“What? Come on. It can't be!” said Leng Yu. She suddenly looked pensive.

“He didn't teach you anything to protect yourself before dying?” Leng Yu couldn't help but feel shocked.

Mu Yi pulled a long face suddenly. He didn't think the old Taoist Priest was that kind of person, regarding why he hadn't taught him about body subst.i.tution charms, he guessed the old Taoist Priest probably had a good reason. Or he simply hadn't had enough time? Besides, Mu Yi had the feeling that the old Taoist Priest had planned everything for him. Everything he experienced was something caused by the old Taoist Priest. Mu Yi also thought he may be lucky someday and b.u.mp into the body subst.i.tution charm.

“Since you don't have body subst.i.tution charms, you've studied the thunder technique, right?” asked Leng Yu.

“No. I just know the five thunders charm.” said Mu Yi. His cheeks burnt. He didn't know about the body subst.i.tution charm and he didn't know about the thunder technique either. After he had obtained magic figures, he had focused on studying the basics of magic figures and consolidating his cultivation. He hadn't studied the thunder technique, he had just glanced at it. It was too dangerous. He couldn't learn it from one day to another.

“Alright, forget it. It seems like you're the one who's going to benefit the most from our partners.h.i.+p.” said Leng Yu suddenly.