Reborn as a Mountain: I Defy the Heavens with a Smile

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Suddenly more golden needles flew in the air and pricked Lan Ming's acupuncture points.

"Just hold on for a while; it will be done soon," Ye Chen said calmly as he controlled the excessive energy from the spiritual root.

He could control it all, but that would mean giving up an opportunity to expand her dantian and meridians.

Lan Ming understood what he wanted to do, so she steeled her heart and endured the excruciating pain.

It was not rare to expand the dantian or meridians without a breakthrough; however, the process was painful and dangerous. Furthermore, the medicine masters who could do this were rare, and on top of that, they only did things externally, such as lessening the pain, healing with formations, and such.

Then there was also the cost of high-tier spirit fruits and only a fifty percent chance of expansion. If this was not enough to discourage them, then there was also one more thing, and that was the expansion itself, which could be just half a percent of their original size or up to the maximum ten percent.

Although the maximum amount was an eye-catching number, many cultivators could expand their dantian and meridians at smaller stages with the same results or a little less, so why look for such an expensive opportunity that doesn't even have guaranteed effects?

However, despite the setbacks, this method of expanding the dantian remained popular because from time to time someone who had gotten maximum benefits would pop out. The poor could only hate this while the rich ones were happy to try.

Lan Ming knew all of this, so she didn't hold too much hope. It was already good for her mutated spiritual root to finally get accustomed to her dantian. This would at least make her stronger, and she could excel at alchemy, refining, and fire-related martial arts.

As for the expansion of dantian and meridians, if it happens, then good; if not, she still won't have any problems.

Clearly, she underestimated Ye Chen's skills; although she accepted easily that he could help her to do this, she still didn't think the results would differ from the medicine masters of the kingdom.

But soon she found out how wrong she was; it's just that she didn't have time to think and had to endure the excruciating pain.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Her spiritual root continued to erupt as Ye Chen circulated the spirit fruit Qi inside her dantian; this process created pressure on the walls of her dantian and meridians, enlarging them forcefully.

This was not done without any internal injuries, but with Ye Chen's golden needle pouring vitality inside her, everything was proceeding calmly and without any serious injuries.

Lan Ming was not the only one who was injured. Ye Chen was too, as he had taken most of the raging spiritual Qi inside him, but with his 'Threads of Vitality' needle technique and his 'Divine Reasons Arts' suppressing the Qi, he pulled it off.

Nevertheless, it took a lot of a toll on him, especially his spiritual consciousness, as he was using needle techniques on both of them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just as Ye Chen was healing his and Lan Ming's internal injuries, her spiritual root kept erupting, making the dantian and meridians expand.

The process was neither too slow nor too fast because Ye Chen was controlling it precisely, making sure that pain caused by this is in a bearable range.

He could've lessened the pain, but he didn't think there was a need to do this. On the path of cultivation, the genders played no role; the only thing that mattered was resilience, courage, strength, wits, and strong mentality.

There were also many things to consider, but one just can't walk on this path and start complaining about how cruel and difficult it is for them.

Both Li Mei and Lan Ming didn't have any deeper understanding of such things, but it didn't mean Ye Chen would pity them for not knowing the cruelty and make them porcelain flowerpots at his house.

He would throw the truth in front of them, and only if there is a need will he lend a hand. Of course, he wouldn't be cold or detached; it's just that he would make sure they don't lack the ability to make correct decisions and fight in this cruel world for a top position.

…

"Ugh!" Lan Ming couldn't help but grunt in pain after some time; however, she clenched her fists and persisted strongly.

Bit by bit her dantian and meridians expanded.

This process lasted for a whole hour, and when it was finished, her pale face regained its color, and her mouth curled into an excited smile.

"Brother Chen! You are so good to me!" She lunged into his chest and started to snuggle like a kitten.

How could she not feel excited and grateful as her dantian, which was the size of one and a half football courts, has now expanded up to eight? As for her meridians, they were now three centimeters wide.

Furthermore, she had noticed the strange characters on her spiritual root, which boosted her strength. Not to mention her fire spiritual Qi was now 'True Refined' grade; with this, she would be able to fight five Jun Wang easily, and this all came with her being at the first stage of Qi-refining.

She had not cultivated after all, and Ye Chen controlled everything, making sure she stayed in the same realm for greater benefits in future cultivation.

"I am good to you, but look at what you are doing? Biting me with excitement and pinching me to find out whether this is a dream or not, it seems you really don't take me seriously, do you?" Ye Chen rolled his eyes at her as he stretched her soft cheeks.

"Hehe, I just can't stop myself!" Lan Ming laughed without any guilt and got out from his embrace before running toward Su Ying with excitement and asking her results.

Ye Chen could smile helplessly at this and put all the golden needles back before telling them to head in the west direction and meet up with Li Mei and the little girl Wang Yiyi, who were also going there.

Hearing this, Lan Ming's face dimmed, but she nodded, knowing he must have his things to do.

After saying a few more words to both and giving some loot, Ye Chen didn't delay and flew off.

"Sister Su Ying, what do you think about Brother Chen? Do you like him?" Lan Min inquired with a shrewd look as she saw Su Ying gazing in the direction where he flew off.

While hearing her, Su Ying cleverly hid panic in her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I don't; it's just I am curious about how many things he can do," she replied calmly.

Lan Ming felt her response was suspicious, but since she couldn't find any fault, she could only try to trap Su Ying in her words to get an answer.

But it was a pity that Su Ying could see what she wanted, and she smartly avoided the topic.

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In an open area of the mystic realm, a pure white pearl was trapped in two powerful nets that hovered in the air along with it.

Upon witnessing this, the two individuals who had been chasing the pearl for two hours heaved a sigh of relief.

"Prince Ji Feng, now we should fight and decide who gets that pearl!" Chang Bai stated as he brandished his sword.

A little distance away from him stood Ji Feng, his expression calm even after hearing him.

"Don't worry, I won't go back on my words," he replied and brandished his long spear.

They both had been chasing the pearl for quite a while; however, no matter what they did, the pearl escaped successfully. In the end, they both decided to unite and catch it before deciding the owner of the pearl through a fight.

However, before they could begin sparring, the 'Emperor Void Pearl' suddenly trembled with fear and started to destroy the net from inside.

It could've done this before, but it seemed to understand what they would do later, so it just watched, but now it could no longer do this as it felt a terrifying aura approaching from a distance.

Both Ji Feng and Chang Bai couldn't help but become stunned at this; however, they didn't hesitate and poured spiritual Qi into the nets, making it stronger.

They also considered at the same moment, wondering what the pearl was afraid of, as it would do no good if they encountered someone really powerful.

Swoosh!

It was at this moment that the sounds of wings flapping sounded from a distance, and the pure white pearl became more desperate to escape.

Looking in the direction of the sound, both Ji Feng and Chang Bai saw a handsome young man flying towards them with two massive, domineering red wings.

Who was it? Of course, Ye Chen!

Knowing that it wasn't someone strong who could kill or capture them, both Ji Feng and Chang Bai became relieved.

But it couldn't be said for the pearl, which was trying to escape. If it could express what regret was, it certainly would have.