Chapter 15: Back to Tribulation Crossing Stage?

Bai Li, overhearing Leng Qingqiu’s words, squirmed guiltily, puffing air in her mind.
Who’s the bad woman insinuating about, meow?!

Leng Qingqiu finished putting the necklace on Chu Huaizhou and walked to Bai Li, grabbing the scruff of her neck like a chick and whispering something.
She must’ve used a soundproofing spell—Chu Huaizhou couldn’t hear, only seeing Bai Li nod frantically, looking utterly obedient.
When they finished, Leng Qingqiu tossed Bai Li back into Chu Huaizhou’s arms, saying as she walked away, “I’ll be busy for three or four days. Bai Li, protect Master well.”

Bai Li stood on her hind legs, raising a paw to her head in a salute, her soft, cute voice replying, “Got it! I’ll protect the human, meow!”
Leng Qingqiu left the room, her jade hand grasping the air to tear open a spatial rift, vanishing in a streak of blue light.

Chu Huaizhou sighed inwardly. Great Vehicle cultivators were terrifying. If she wanted to harm him now, he’d be powerless.
He had to find a way to restore his strength.
“Sigh—”
He slumped lazily in his chair, staring at the clouds drifting outside, his mind blank.
“Ugh… I just want to slack off.”
He couldn’t help muttering.

Waking up to this mess was too much for a slacker like him.
First, there was a Great Vehicle peak demon to deal with. But that wasn’t too hard.
Thanks to his experience clearing the game’s first playthrough, he knew these high-level threats well.
Give him basic info, and he’d have the demon’s secrets laid bare.
Then he’d let his disciples handle it. With four Great Vehicle cultivators like Leng Qingqiu, could they not beat a weakened, long-sealed demon?
Would they win?
They’d win!
Chu Huaizhou mentally declared victory.

He patted Bai Li, still shaken from Leng Qingqiu’s threat, in his lap.
Her fox ears twitched as she looked up, asking softly, “Hm? What’s up, human, meow?”
“What do you know about that Great Vehicle demon whose seal is loosening?”

Bai Li rubbed her chin with a paw, pondering, then looked up seriously. “I… don’t know, meow~”
Well, no surprise there.
Back when his cultivation was intact, a late Tribulation Crossing, half-step Ascension cultivator like him could’ve crushed such a demon with a wave.
Why would Bai Li bother with it, taxing her limited brain cells?

Glancing at the clear sky, Chu Huaizhou noted it was still early. He’d rest, then ask a sect elder about it and see how the sect had developed.
For now, he just wanted to sleep… wait.
Speaking of sleep, he recalled the healing elixir Bai Li had brought when he woke—the Nine-Revolving Rosy Essence Dew.
Why not try it?
Leng Qingqiu said his injuries weren’t from the tribulation, but what if it worked?
If he could restore his cultivation and memories, all his problems would be solved.

The thought excited him.
Restored, he’d have Tribulation Crossing strength—unmatched in the world. Just thinking about it got his heart racing.
Alright, let’s do it!
He rubbed Bai Li’s head. “Bai Li, you have that Nine-Revolving Rosy Essence Dew, right? Let me try it to see if it restores me.”

Bai Li froze, then chirped excitedly, “Oh, right! If you drink it, you’ll recover your memories and strength, meow! Here, meow!”
Thrilled at the thought of her biggest backer returning, she perked up.
She stood in his lap, rummaging through her nine tails to pull out an ornate storage ring.
Like presenting a treasure, she extracted the dew, uncorked it, and handed it to him with both paws.
“Human, drink quick, drink quick, meow!”

Chu Huaizhou took the jade bottle shoved in his face, eyeing the shimmering liquid and the ethereal glow rising from it.
Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes, tilted his head, and downed it.
A warm, clear spring seemed to flood his body, flowing to his limbs, utterly soothing.

Crack—
Before he could savor it, a shattering sound came from within. Focusing inward, he saw his flawless Golden Core… cracking?
Spiderweb-like fractures spread across it. His pupils shrank, and he tried to suppress it with his technique.
But soul flames surged from his Violet Palace, scorching the core.
Moments later, it shattered, revealing a glassy infant sitting cross-legged.
His cultivation soared through three stages, reaching Nascent Soul.

The infant’s features sharpened, growing organs and mirroring his appearance—a miniature him in his Violet Palace.
He hit Spirit Transformation.
Before he could marvel at the rocket-like surge, the changes continued.
His body began to etherealize, vague insights into the Dao stirring within, though unclear.
Then his body vanished, merging with the heavens, eternal as the sun and moon.

Bai Li watched his cultivation climb to Void Refining, thinking he’d soon return to Tribulation Crossing.
Her nine tails wagged furiously.
See, I knew the dew would work! That bad woman Leng Qingqiu tried to stop me, so mean, meow!

Thud—
Before she could celebrate, Bai Li felt the ground give way, falling flat.
Chu Huaizhou had vanished, his scent gone from the room.
Panicking, she searched, only for him to reappear, his aura now at Body Integration.

Clenching his fist, Chu Huaizhou felt one with the Dao, every move radiating its charm.
His aura kept climbing, stopping at Tribulation Crossing!
He sensed the terrifying Dao aura within, unmatched in the world, though he recalled no matching techniques.
Before he could adjust, his cultivation rewound like time itself, plummeting back to early Golden Core.
The Dao phenomena and aura vanished without a trace.

Chu Huaizhou: ??? Where’s my cultivation?!
Bai Li: Meow meow meow?
“Human, what… happened to your cultivation, meow?”
“If I saw right, you hit Tribulation Crossing, right? Why’d you drop back to Golden Core, meow?”