Su Qingyue's firm rejection caught the three cultivators off guard and left them feeling humiliated.
But there was little they could do given the gap in strength between themselves and Su Qingyue.
Even so, they weren't ready to give up. They saw Su Qingyue as a good fit for their sect, but the main problem was the man with her.
If they could convince Mu Chen to join, they would come out ahead in a big way.
Mu Chen and Su Qingyue finished their dinner and left the eatery. The three cultivators did the same, walking out to follow them.
They trailed the two all the way to the gate of the Baiyin Spiritual Qi Vein. They watched Mu Chen and Su Qingyue enter the same room, room thirteen.
"What do we do, Senior Brother?" one of them asked.
"He is just a Qi Condensation cultivator ant. Easy to force. The problem is the woman's strength."
"We rent a room here and watch them from up close. When the moment comes, we use it."
"Understood."
Back in Mu Chen's room, Mu Chen used the night hours to cultivate again. But with Su Qingyue in the same room, he clearly couldn't bring out the Primordial Origin Qi Seed.
If Su Qingyue found out he had two, she would ask for both of them. Mu Chen understood exactly how valuable the Primordial Origin Qi Seed was for his cultivation.
"You're not sleeping?"
"No," Mu Chen said. "I'm going to focus on cultivating again. If I'm lucky, I might be able to break through to the 5th Layer of Qi Condensation tonight."
"Alright. I'll watch over you, Mu Chen."
***
The next morning, Mu Chen opened his eyes as the qi pulse in his body grew stronger. It went off twice.
The first pulse spread white spiritual qi, while the second was Primordial Origin Qi.
Su Qingyue opened her eyes, having fallen asleep sitting in the chair. The reason she woke up was the qi pulse she felt in the room, strong enough to feel like it was right beside her.
Before long, a qi burst went off in Mu Chen's body. The fatigue and pain disappeared, replaced by a wave of relief. His energy was fully restored, like being born again.
Mu Chen's eyes could clearly see the qi flow around him settling into a stronger, more stable state, the aura radiating from every joint in his body noticeably more powerful than before. Mu Chen had broken through.
"Congratulations, Mu Chen. Your cultivation is now at the 5th Layer of Qi Condensation."
"How do you feel after cultivating all this time?" Su Qingyue asked.
"Different... and real. I can feel my body is better than before."
"Cultivating is the same as detoxifying your body. A calm and positive mind helps push out all the negative aura in you."
"The higher your cultivation base, the lighter your body will feel," Su Qingyue added.
Mu Chen stopped cultivating and walked over toward Su Qingyue. The woman told him she needed to go somewhere again to cultivate.
"You can go into the city whenever you like. I can see what you are doing through the crescent mark. So I won't worry too much," Su Qingyue said.
"I'll head into the city to buy food, maybe buy another technique scroll too."
Su Qingyue smiled wide and gave a slow nod. She stepped closer to Mu Chen, her face ending up very close to his.
Without Mu Chen expecting it, Su Qingyue leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, an aggressive move he never saw coming.
Mu Chen was a little startled, still not used to it. Su Qingyue's only response was a quiet laugh at his reaction.
"You kissed me so boldly that one time, but you get nervous when I kiss you. You're weird, Mu Chen."
"I'm leaving now. Be careful, Mu Chen."
In a flash of white light, Su Qingyue vanished from the room, leaving Mu Chen alone. His heart was still beating fast from the kiss, but oddly enough, Mu Chen found that he didn't really mind it.
Focus, Mu Chen. I can't let that distract me.
He left his room at the Baiyin Spiritual Qi Vein. The cultivators from the night before spotted Mu Chen leaving, alone this time without the woman.
A grin spread across their faces. They had a real opportunity now to force Mu Chen into joining their sect, and with that, the beautiful woman who looked like the moon would agree to follow.
All three stepped out and cut off Mu Chen's path. He looked visibly startled, his eyes narrowing sharply.
"What?" Mu Chen asked.
"I don't understand why a woman like that would listen to a weak cultivator like you."
"What... do you want?" Mu Chen asked, staying on guard.
"We want you to join our Liuxi Sect. If you agree, we won't hurt you."
Mu Chen narrowed his eyes, stepped back, and stayed fully alert. "Wasn't the answer already clear? Yue'er and I have no intention of joining any of you!"
"Her name is Yue? What a beautiful and charming name. Just like her looks and her face."
"She would be a perfect candidate for our sect's Young Master."
If they knew Su Qingyue was a Soul Transformation monster, they wouldn't dare say any of that.
"So what do you say?" the man asked.
"No," Mu Chen said. "I'm not interested in your sect!"
The man in the grey-red robe let out a slow breath, swung his hand forward, and told his two members to attack Mu Chen.
Both cultivators drew their swords, gripped them, and launched themselves toward Mu Chen. He looked at them, sensing the qi aura radiating from their bodies was the same level as his.
Qi Condensation?
Mu Chen tapped his bag of holding and brought out his Earth-grade sword. He swung it to the side, striking them and driving them back after the golden qi slash hit.
"An Earth-grade weapon? How does a wandering Qi Condensation cultivator like you have a weapon like that?!"
"Even if I explained, you'd be too foolish to understand," Mu Chen said flatly.
"Tch!"
"Both of you, attack him again!"
One of the cultivators came forward and struck Mu Chen with a sword technique. His mind moved fast, recalling the Mountain Shattering Palm he had already studied.
Mu Chen formed the hand seal. Golden magic runes appeared before him, a golden palm at the center.
He thrust his hand out hard and fast, firing the golden palm strike. It shot forward and hit the sect cultivator square on.
"AKKHHH!"
Beyond the palm strike, the cultivator screamed in pain as hundreds of tiny lightning bolts crackled through his body.
He was sent flying backward and slammed into a residential building, leaving it badly damaged. His two companions were stunned, eyes wide and mouths open.
"Jun Wei!"
"Damn you!" one of them shouted.
Mu Chen was caught off guard himself. He had used the technique, but somehow his body didn't feel as drained as the last time.
Could it be that breaking through boosted my stamina?
The other man came to Mu Chen, also a Qi Condensation cultivator. Mu Chen jumped back and formed the hand seal. The golden palm technique appeared again.
He fired it forward. The cultivator was caught off guard and tried to form a qi defensive technique. The two forces clashed, but Mu Chen's Mountain Shattering Palm was stronger.
Cracks appeared, and the defensive wall completely shattered.
BLAST!
The man was sent flying, crashed into the wall of a residential building, and brought it down. He landed helpless, unable to continue fighting.
Now Mu Chen was starting to feel the fatigue in his body. But there was still one man left standing, and the qi aura radiating from that man was considerably stronger than his.
Is he... Foundation Establishment?
"You hurt my friend. You will pay for that!"
He formed a hand seal and conjured red magic runes behind him. A fire sword of considerable size appeared and shot fast toward Mu Chen.
Mu Chen pushed himself further, activated the golden palm technique, and directed it at the incoming sword. The two technique forces clashed, red qi against pure golden qi.
Another explosion went off, driving Mu Chen backward and dropping him to one knee. He coughed up blood from using the same technique three times in a row.
Through the cloud of smoke, thousands of fire swords flew toward Mu Chen. He froze, his mind jumping to the Ancient God Cauldron. The choice of whether to use it or not flashed through his head.
But bringing it out carried a risk. People would know Mu Chen was the owner of that artifact. On the other hand, he had no other choice. He had to use it to save his own life.
Just as Mu Chen was about to do it, hundreds of fire swords were shattered one by one before they could reach him.
A chain of explosions caught the Foundation Establishment cultivator completely off guard. He looked up and saw a woman named Yue hovering in the sky.
"You... tried to kill my Mu Chen?" Su Qingyue asked.
"I was just sparring with..."
THUDD!
His body was slammed face-first into the ground, coughing up blood so severely his eyes turned red.
Su Qingyue had hit a Foundation Establishment brat with full Soul Transformation cultivation pressure.
"You... are not Core Formation."
"Who are you really?!"
Su Qingyue's eyes blazed white. Her cultivation pressure was driven to its maximum, shattering the man's soul and body within seconds.
Not just him. His two companions suffered the same fate. Su Qingyue extended her hand forward and used her spiritual qi to repair the damage they had caused.
She turned toward Mu Chen, still on his feet, blood running from the corner of his mouth. She moved in a flash of lightning, arriving in front of him and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Mu Chen."
Mu Chen smiled and spoke in a rough voice. "I'm fine... just tired."