Actually, when asking this question, Jian Chou already knew Xie Buchen’s choice very well.

Because before he answered, she had already chosen to spread her half of the “Qingfeng Nunnery Forty-Eight Records” on the ground. If an ordinary person wanted to wait for someone’s inquiry, they definitely wouldn’t have made such an advance move.

It could be said that both of them were people whose reason could always overcome emotion.

The previous evenly matched death match was their choice after each had weighed the situation at the time; the subsequent sudden circumstances that followed were beyond expectations.

So at this moment, as long as reason remained, no one could refuse the cooperation Jian Chou proposed.

Xie Buchen couldn’t either.

If they couldn’t get out, after their lifespans were exhausted, both would only have a dead end.

If they could get out, though in their view it would benefit the other party, thinking rationally, wouldn’t they themselves also benefit? Only by living and getting out would they have the opportunity to preserve themselves while putting the other to death.

After hearing Jian Chou’s words, Xie Buchen quietly looked at Jian Chou once, a strange smile hanging at the corner of his lips. An indescribable meaning immediately flowed out, seeming somewhat complex.

“I would be disrespectful to refuse such kindness.”

He stood up and took out the half scroll he possessed, also spreading it flat on the ground.

Thus, separated by that almost invisible barrier between them, the scroll split in two was reunited above and below. After being divided for more than sixty years, it became a complete scroll for the first time.

The originally broken and difficult text was instantly connected!

All of Shangren Buyu’s various insights into the “Nine Curves River Chart” were finally displayed completely and entirely before these two intelligent people!

Clearly they were all extremely ordinary words, without even any strange phenomena occurring!

But the moment they saw them, their entire minds and spirits were already occupied by them, unable to find even half a gap! Like a parched desert encountering the vast ocean…

At this moment, Jian Chou and Xie Buchen stood on either side of this scroll, neither speaking.

In their eyes that faintly flickered with radiance was amazement and fascination that could not be concealed no matter what…

All struggles and hatred were temporarily forgotten.

In their eyes, apart from this long scroll, apart from these countless words, there was nothing else.

In the tall and enclosed pagoda, flowing light became fleeting in comprehension; however, at this moment in the outside world, whether it was Yashan or Kunwu, the old school or the Chan sect, all felt that every minute that passed was a torment.

Western Sea Chan Sect, back mountain meditation hall.

Inside a seemingly ordinary meditation room hung a portrait of Buddha, with a stick of sandalwood incense burning before it. In the corner position against the wall was placed an arhat bed, on which sat the pale-faced Liao Kong.

His bare upper body had originally been quite robust, showing that he hadn’t been lazy in his usual cultivation, but now it was covered with countless bruises.

He only sat cross-legged with his hands forming the arhat seal, cold sweat on his forehead, but his eyes tightly closed, as if he was enduring some great pain.

A slender palm fell upon the top of his head.

Faint, light golden light accompanied by a compassionate sigh slowly flowed from this palm, enveloping Liao Kong.

The bruises on his body immediately showed signs of beginning to improve.

But the speed was very slow.

If one looked carefully, one could still discover dark qi faintly overflowing from within these bruises, like bone-attached poison, difficult to dispel.

A full half hour passed before this palm was withdrawn.

Monk Yichen had been waiting for a long time. His face, usually always bearing a smile, showed unprecedented solemnity. Seeing him cease, he asked: “How is it?”

“The poison is deeply rooted, having entered the heart meridians. External force has been exhausted. Whether he can survive this tribulation depends on himself.”

The voice was slightly low but carried a somewhat hoarse mellowness, with a flavor of spring snow.

But the owner of this voice was a monk.

His monk’s robe was snow white, completely different from the other monks in this meditation room. His handsome features carried a few traces of transcendence after pear blossoms and snow. Only this face truly had no expression.

Looking at it actually gave people a feeling of numbness.

As if standing here was not a living person, nor one of the Three Masters of the Chan sect, but just a shell.

In those eyes that had seen all sentient beings, there was some compassion, but what was more noticeable might be that hidden sadness and loneliness between seeing through and not seeing through…

Among the Three Masters of the Chan sect, the one with the highest cultivation, the Emotion Monk, Master Xuelang.

Monk Yichen turned to see his face and demeanor that were exactly the same as always, and recalling his words, his brow furrowed deeply: “The force that injured him was definitely not from the new school’s own techniques. If that demon woman hadn’t caused trouble, Liao Kong shouldn’t have suffered this tribulation…”

The Northern Domain was inferior to the Central Domain after all, let alone the Western Sea, which was relatively desolate.

Since Buddhism split, the Chan sect’s development relied mostly on the power of preaching on isolated islands in the human world. New disciples in the sect were mostly ordinary people, and their talents mostly couldn’t match those disciples from Central Domain sects.

People like Lu Xiangleng and Young Master Ruhua who had visited recently all possessed exceptional talents, considered top-tier among the new generation, but looking at the entire Central Domain over the past hundred years, they weren’t so dazzling.

In the Central Domain, there truly was no lack of geniuses.

But their Chan sect, how many years had it been before welcoming someone with the fate of a three-lifetime virtuous person like Liao Kong?

Since his entry, everyone seemed ordinary on the surface but actually placed high hopes on him, just afraid he would be under too much pressure and not daring to let him see it.

Now in this night raid on the new school, he had suffered this great tribulation with uncertain life and death!

“The cause of pointing out the ember pool in the past, the fruit of Liao Kong’s tribulation today – in the end, it’s all roots I myself created…”

Yichen thought of the various experiences Huinian had related and finally couldn’t help but put his palms together and sigh.

The monk in snow-white robes seemed not to have heard, just gazing at Liao Kong for a long time before turning his sight to the quiet scenery of the meditation hall outside the window.

“With tribulation comes fate, cause and effect intertwined. You need not mind.”

Still that voice without much fluctuation, still carrying that loneliness after seeing through worldly affairs.

Hearing this, Monk Yichen slowly closed his eyes and laughed: “Master Xuelang’s guidance is correct. I was attached to appearances.”

As one of the Three Masters of the Chan sect, the “Heart Master,” Yichen should have been the most clear-sighted among everyone. Generally speaking, he shouldn’t need to be awakened by the “Emotion Master” among the Three Masters.

After all, Master Xuelang was the one who saw through the least.

Yichen walked to Liao Kong’s side, observing the dark qi still attached to his body. What floated up in his mind was not the current dispute between the Chan and Tantric sects, but by the ember pool, when he had inadvertently enlightened Jian Chou, causing her to become a demon in one thought…

Without this, how would this demon woman have had the opportunity to cause trouble in the new school?

Liao Kong shouldn’t have suffered this tribulation. Without anyone causing trouble, he could have successfully saved Jian Chou.

But indeed, as Master Xuelang had said, whether it was tribulation or fate, no one knew.

In the mysterious void, heaven has its own predetermined order.

“Amitabha!”

He recited a Buddhist invocation and sat cross-legged in this room, one hand forming the diamond seal, one hand holding prayer beads, counting bead by bead while chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Master Xuelang didn’t stay long in this meditation room.

Outside, autumn was thick, but the mountain was still planted with pine trees and bodhi trees. Looking at them didn’t feel very desolate. He raised his head to look, also raised his steps, and slowly walked out of the meditation room.

That figure with a few traces of solitary color slowly disappeared into the meditation hall.

This incident with the new school had already drawn the attention of the entire Nineteen Continents.

Besides Liao Kong’s severe injuries and near death, the disappearance again of those two heaven’s pride of the new generation from Yashan and Kunwu also drew all cultivators’ attention.

This time was different from that incident in Qingfeng Nunnery’s hidden realm. Many had witnessed their struggle – it couldn’t be explained away with a few words.

Kunwu and Yashan had always been connected. Even if they had some discord privately, it had never come to the surface.

During the sixty years of Jian Chou’s disappearance, relations had been somewhat tense, but with Jian Chou’s return and changes in the Nineteen Continents’ situation, the relationship between the two sects had improved.

But this incident instantly ignited surging undercurrents.

Various speculations and discussions were rampant.

Everyone was guessing what grudges existed between these two people, whether there were subtle relationships between Kunwu and Yashan that others didn’t know about…

Only at this moment, whether it was Kunwu or Yashan, neither had the mind to pay attention.

They had originally been busily holding the Left Three Thousand Small Assembly. Who could have expected these two troublemakers, Jian Chou and Xie Buchen, to disappear again? And in such a dangerous place as the snow domain!

Once the incident occurred, both Elder Fudao Shanren and True Person Hengxu disappeared from the small assembly.

The two almost personally went to the Northern Domain to explore the whereabouts of the mustard seed together with Abbot Wugou of the Chan sect.

But strangely, that demon woman had vanished without a trace, and they couldn’t even detect the whereabouts of the mustard seed, not even feeling its existence.

As if it had fallen into another space…

For a time, everyone was overwhelmed.

The only thing worth celebrating should be the result of the Chan sect’s night raid on the new school this time. Not only had they severely damaged the new school, they had even joined with Khandro Yangchen to severely wound Treasure Bottle Dharma King. With Treasure Mirror Dharma King already dead, the plans on the polar domain and new school side couldn’t proceed as scheduled.

Under these circumstances, the plan to invade the Nineteen Continents was forced to be postponed.

But these were things the two people trapped in the mustard seed couldn’t know.

Whether it was Jian Chou or Xie Buchen, both had nearly photographic memories. Although the “Qingfeng Nunnery Forty-Eight Records” was obscure and profound, with their abilities, they remembered most of it after one reading.

How Xie Buchen was, Jian Chou didn’t know, but she discovered that this scroll gathered almost all of Shangren Buyu’s life’s work!

Inside were not only his various insights into the “Nine Curves River Chart,” but also his own lifetime cultivation insights, including various key points of cultivation starting from the Nascent Soul stage.

Of course, it also included various processes of fighting against heart demons.

Even if it still seemed somewhat profound to Jian Chou, it wasn’t unreachable, much less completely incomprehensible!

Divine Movement Thousand Li.

Sorrowful Heart Drunken Blade.

Red Clay Sword Technique.

Spirit Opening Art.

Great Five Elements Prohibition Breaking Art.

Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Dharma Body.

…

Various top-level techniques, various top-level dao seals!

Who under heaven could face such temptation without being moved?

In Jian Chou’s pair of clear eyes, the shock and emotion couldn’t be hidden.

Xie Buchen standing opposite her had also completely immersed himself. After a long time, he raised his head and said: “The scroll mentions a seal called ‘Great Five Elements Prohibition Breaking Art’ that can break various spatial constraints. It might be able to resolve our predicament. Only this technique seems not easy to comprehend.”

“Let’s try.”

Jian Chou didn’t immediately draw conclusions. Although her judgment was basically the same as Xie Buchen’s, they’d have to try to know for sure.

After speaking, she didn’t even collect the scroll on the ground but turned around to look at the spiral staircase leading upward, her eyes becoming somewhat hesitant.

But after just a moment, this hesitation disappeared.

Because Xie Buchen on the other side had already directly stepped toward the stairs.

One level of stairs meant one times the time flow rate!

Cultivating on the stairs would be twice the result with half the effort no matter what. Although the time one personally experienced was still the same, if one could get out, wouldn’t it be soaring to the sky?

Xie Buchen was certainly going to try this Great Five Elements Prohibition Breaking Art, but how could he pass up this cultivation opportunity?

First level, second level, third level…

Xie Buchen actually directly stepped onto the twentieth level stair, then sat cross-legged, placed his hands in seals on his knees, and began meditation and cultivation.

The twentieth level stair – one year outside would be twenty years on the stair!

Ruthless enough.

Seeing this, how could Jian Chou not understand his plan?

Even if Xie Buchen might not know her soul was incomplete, the Heart-Questioning Dao Tribulation was dangerous for any cultivator. She was already at late Nascent Soul stage. Just a bit more cultivation and she could break through to the next realm, “Out of Body.”

At that time, she would face the Heart-Questioning Dao Tribulation at any moment!

One careless mistake could result in complete annihilation.

Not to mention, Jian Chou clearly knew her soul was incomplete.

Although she had gone to the polar domain last time and repaired part of it, it wasn’t complete. There was still a small crack on the soul pearl. Though she had passed through Jade Nirvana in the polar domain’s soul cultivation realm, she had no confidence at all in the so-called “Heart-Questioning” dao tribulation.

Below Out of Body, completely invincible; once reaching Heart-Questioning, certain death.

In other words, if she didn’t want to die on the Out of Body Heart-Questioning, she’d better stay below and not go up the stairs to cultivate. Otherwise, if her realm broke through too quickly, she’d die by herself without needing Xie Buchen to kill her.

But staying below, what difference would it make?

Xie Buchen was cultivating with twenty times the time flow rate. If she didn’t cultivate, the day they left the mustard seed would probably be the day she perished!

No other choice!

Jian Chou took a deep breath and only showed a somewhat sighing bitter smile: She still remembered that when passing the Nine Heavens Tablet at Western Sea Plaza years ago, she had heard people say that Qu Zhengfeng had been trapped at Nascent Soul peak for four hundred years, never able to break through.

At the time she had no thoughts about it. Now she faintly understood a bit.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t break through, but that Qu Zhengfeng’s heart barrier remained, so he had been forcibly suppressing his own realm, not breaking through.

He was waiting for an opportunity to break his heart barrier.

Once the heart barrier was gone, his realm would rapidly rise, and his strength would be so powerful it could shake the entire Mingri Star Sea.

The Qu Zhengfeng of the past was so similar to herself today!

Qu Zhengfeng could forcibly suppress his realm at Nascent Soul peak for nearly four hundred years. Then…

What step could she achieve?

Jian Chou took a deep breath, finally laughed, and stepped up.

One step, one level.

One step, one level.

…

Finally, when her steps stopped, she stood steadily on the twentieth level stair, exactly facing Xie Buchen across the void!