Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 155 Upholding the Dao Heart

He opened his eyes and saw Han Wei sitting to his side with a solemn expression.

"Lord Han, you should go and rest too. I'm fine."

Han Wei shook his head: "I'm not tired. Young Master Zhou, what do you think the Heavenly Demon will send next?"

Zhou Ning was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know. But it will definitely be stronger. This clone's strength is already close to the Nascent Soul stage."

"Next time, it might be a Nascent Soul stage avatar, or even... the true form of a Heavenly Demon."

Han Wei's expression grew even more serious: "Can we stop them?"

Zhou Ning said, "Yes. As long as we are still standing, we cannot allow it to set foot in Qingfeng City."

Han Wei looked at him, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

He stood up and patted Zhou Ning on the shoulder.

"You're right. As long as we're still standing, we can't let them succeed. You get some rest, I'm going to patrol the city."

He turned and left the room.

Zhou Ning sat alone on the bed, gazing at the night sky outside the window.

The moon was obscured by clouds, and the world was pitch black.

In the distance, the occasional bark of a dog added a touch of life to the quiet night.

"The Heavenly Demon..." Zhou Ning murmured.

He closed his eyes and continued to regulate his breathing.

For the next few days, Zhou Ning secluded himself in the meditation room to recover his Nascent Soul power.

He took the "Rejuvenation Pill" given to him by Yan Chixia, and then took out several other pills to restore his true essence and took them one by one.

The medicinal properties spread throughout the body, transforming into a warm current that flowed into the dantian.

The nascent soul began to absorb the medicinal power more rapidly, and the purplish-gold light gradually brightened.

Five days later, his nascent soul power was finally mostly restored.

Within his dantian, the nascent soul sat cross-legged in the center, radiating a warm, purplish-gold light, and was even more solid than before the injury.

The Nascent Soul stage has not only been stabilized, but has also been further improved.

He could sense that the bottleneck in the Nascent Soul stage was beginning to loosen.

"Give me some more time, and I should be able to touch the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage," Zhou Ning thought to himself.

On this day, he was meditating in his quiet room when he suddenly felt the communication jade talisman in his arms getting slightly warm.

He took out the jade talisman and infused it with a wisp of true essence.

Yan Chixia's voice echoed in his mind.

"Zhou Ning, I'm back. Are you still in Qingfeng City?"

Zhou Ning was overjoyed: "Master, I am in Qingfeng City. When will you arrive?"

Yan Chixia said, "Tomorrow. The defenses of Luoxia Town and Cangmang Mountain have been completely reinforced, and Xuanzhenzi and Yuzhenzi will continue to be stationed at their respective posts. I can go back to Qingfeng City to help you."

Zhou Ning replied, "This disciple understands."

The jade talisman's light dimmed, and Yan Chixia's voice disappeared.

Zhou Ning carefully put away the jade talisman, a warm feeling welling up in his heart.

The next morning, as dawn broke, Yan Chixia arrived at Qingfeng City.

He was dressed in a light blue outfit, his face was calm, but there was a hint of fatigue in his eyes.

Clearly, the journey to Luoxia Town and Cangmang Mountain was not easy.

Han Wei and his guards greeted Yan Chixia at the city gate, and they all bowed when they saw him.

"Master Yan, you've worked hard."

After exchanging a few words with Han Wei and explaining the city's defenses, Yan Chixia looked at Zhou Ning.

"Not bad. Your foundation at the late Nascent Soul stage is already very solid, and the bottleneck at the Deity Transformation stage has also loosened. It seems you're not far from reaching the Deity Transformation stage."

He walked up to Zhou Ning, reached out and placed his hand on Zhou Ning's wrist, then closed his eyes and sensed for a moment.

"Your Nascent Soul power is profound, and your Dao heart is unwavering. Give you some more time, and you should be able to break through to the Deity Transformation stage."

Yan Chixia continued, "The Heavenly Demon has been making increasingly frequent moves lately. The last clone of his was already close to the Nascent Soul stage."

"Next time, they might send out a Nascent Soul stage avatar, or even descend in person. We must be prepared."

He paused, then continued, "I plan to set up a large formation in Qingfeng City to defend against the invasion of the Heavenly Demons."

"This grand formation will take forty-nine days to complete. During this time, you must defend Qingfeng City and prevent it from being breached."

Zhou Ning nodded: "Disciple understands. Master, rest assured, disciple will definitely defend Qingfeng City."

Yan Chixia nodded, turned around and walked into the Demon Suppression Division's headquarters.

In the days that followed, Yan Chixia began to set up formations in Qingfeng City.

Every day he would carve runes on the city wall, bury spirit stones, and set up array bases.

Zhou Ning led his guards to patrol the city walls, train in combat, and reinforce the defenses.

The whispers of the demons still come every night.

But Zhou Ning was already used to it.

No matter what the Heavenly Demon said, he remained unmoved.

His resolve to follow the Dao grew stronger with each trial.

On this day, he was patrolling the city wall when he suddenly felt his nascent soul in his dantian throb violently.

He stopped and closed his eyes to look inward.

The nascent soul sat cross-legged in the center, its hands forming a mudra, radiating a dazzling purple-gold light.

The light grew stronger and brighter, illuminating the entire dantian as if it were daytime.

He could feel the power contained within the nascent soul rapidly expanding, as if something was about to break free.

"The bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage..." Zhou Ning's heart stirred.

He quickly sat down cross-legged, focused his mind on his dantian, and guided that power to circulate within his body.

The nascent soul began to expand under the impact of the force, and with each expansion came excruciating pain.

Large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his muscles were trembling all over, but he gritted his teeth and did not utter a groan.

"Uphold your principles."

He meditated in his heart.

Righteous energy circulated within him, gradually suppressing the pain.

Just then, that deep voice rang in his mind again.

"Zhou Ning, you want to break through to the Nascent Soul stage? Do you think I'll let you have your way?"

It is a celestial demon.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and said, "You can't stop me."

The Heavenly Demon sneered, "Is that so? Then let's see."

As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful mental shock surged into Zhou Ning's mind.

The impact was like a raging storm, trying to engulf his consciousness.

Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and held firm to his spiritual center, refusing to let the Heavenly Demon succeed.

"I won't let you succeed."

He concentrated his righteous energy into his sea of ​​consciousness, transforming it into a purple-gold light shield that blocked the spiritual attack of the Heavenly Demon.

The attacks from the Heavenly Demons came wave after wave, growing stronger and stronger, but Zhou Ning's light shield also became more and more solid.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before the Heavenly Demon finally gave up.

"Your resolve is stronger than I imagined. But I will find your weakness. Just wait."

The words were spoken, and then the sound disappeared.

Zhou Ning opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

Large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his hands trembled slightly, but the nascent soul in his dantian had stopped expanding.

It was a whole size bigger than before, its purple-gold light was more dazzling, and its features were clearer.

The bottleneck in the Nascent Soul stage has loosened somewhat.

"Almost there," Zhou Ning thought to himself.

He stood up and continued his inspection of the city wall.