Chapter 266: Helping You and Tormenting You Are Not at Odds!
To travel from the Eastern Continent to the Central Continent, one must pass through a journey of millions of miles.
Even though the Profound Sky Nine Flowers Great Formation is unparalleled in the world, it would still take more than half a month to traverse the Red Dust Mountain.
Three days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The disciples of the Joyful Union Sect went from surprise to getting used to it in less than half a day, and then they immersed themselves in their own cultivation.
In these past few days, both the Master and the Senior Apprentice Sister have had significant opinions about Zhou Tong.
It’s simply because Zhou Tong did not accompany them but was fully focused on training the newly accepted disciples.
“I… I can’t take it anymore… Master, can I have a break for a while?”
Zhong Ningxue cried out in pain, trembling and exhausted, kneeling on the ground covered in wounds.
“Get up! Is this all you can do?”
Zhou Tong looked down at her, cold and emotionless.
Ever since he passed on the Sealing Divine Technique to her, Zhong Ningxue has shown extraordinary talent in spiritual power.
In just a few days, she had activated ten statues in the Spiritual Temple, a rate that even Zhou Tong found surprising.
However, her current greatest shortcoming was her physical strength. Last time, she had desperately used the God King Gu to boost her power fivefold, teetering on the brink of self-destruction.
Though she was rescued and managed to break then establish, strengthening her body, she still had not crossed into the Semi-Sage realm.
This is a common flaw among contemporary cultivators.
Most people focus solely on the enhancement of their cultivation, neglecting the strength of their physical bodies.
Because the applications of spiritual energy are too broad, even a frail body can become unbreakable under its enhancement.
Therefore, people often do not spend time and energy improving their physicality.
This has also led to a bizarre phenomenon where even Sage-level strong warriors may not achieve the physical strength to cross into Semi-Sage.
As for how to strengthen the body, Zhou Tong’s method is simple yet extremely brutal.
That is to force Zhong Ningxue to her limits through continuous high-intensity battles, and then use the Dragon Transformation Pool to help her recover.
Every time Zhong Ningxue has recovered, she would be pulled up by Zhou Tong to train again—a cycle she would experience more than ten times a day, which sounds brutal.
In these past few days, whether it was elders or disciples, everyone avoided Zhou Tong, not even daring to greet him.
In their hearts, the Great Elder had become a devilish presence, and even looking at him closely made them feel spine-chilling fear.
“Get up! There’s still plenty of time today, we can do this five more times!”
Zhou Tong seemed like an emotionless machine, his tone icy, instilling despair.
At that moment, Zhong Ningxue’s body had reached the brink of Semi-Sage, a significant threshold that couldn’t be crossed with ordinary means.
Zhong Ningxue still didn’t know that Zhou Tong had already been contemplating an evil plan in his heart.
That was to have her be shattered to pieces, wandering near death dozens of times, making the breakthrough much easier.
“Master… I feel so tired today, can I take a day off? Just one day, please, I can make up for it tomorrow!”
Zhong Ningxue said with a pitiful face, unable to help but act spoiled, and unsurprisingly, she was directly rejected by Zhou Tong.
“Tomorrow for tomorrow, there are so many tomorrows! If you want to be a lazy dog, then what’s the point of cultivating? Stand up!”
“Woo… You aren’t just enjoying the pleasure of tormenting me, are you?”
“What nonsense is that!”
Zhou Tong said with an unhappy expression: “Am I that inefficient of a person? Tormenting you and helping you cultivate are not contradictory at all!”
However, as soon as the words left his mouth, the Red Dust Mountain suddenly trembled.
“Jiu Hua, what’s going on!”
Zhou Tong’s expression changed drastically as he felt a distressing aura, hurriedly asking.
“Master, not good! We’ve encountered a spatial storm, and it’s the highest level spatial storm.”
“What!!”
Hearing this, even Zhou Tong couldn’t maintain his calm.
The various continents wanting to reach the Central Continent must pass through a layer of spatial barrier, which has been calm and undisturbed for years, so quiet it’s maddening.
Yet unexpectedly, today, it has been swept by a once-in-a-millennium spatial storm, and they just happened to run into it!
Amidst the shock, he extended his spiritual power and saw countless spatial rifts swirling around, ready to obliterate everything in the storm.
This is no joke; these rifts are among the sharpest things in the world, capable of cleaving mountains and splitting seas. Even a Sage caught in it wouldn’t escape unscathed.
“Ah ah ah…”
The disciples of the Joyful Union Sect screamed in fear, witnessing a spatial rift dozens of miles long sweeping by, like the giant maw of an abyss, ready to swallow all living beings.
If hit, the entire Red Dust Mountain would be cleaved in two.
“Don’t panic!”
Zhou Tong roared, behind him manifested a void universe, and several red stars suddenly exploded with brilliant flashes, activating powerful luck.
At that moment, the gears of fate turned quietly, forcing the spatial rift to change course, saving the Joyful Union Sect.
“This can’t continue! Before the storm ends, the Red Dust Mountain will become a pile of rubble.”
Zhou Tong was drenched in cold sweat, instantly assessing the situation. In a critical moment, he wanted the Imperial Weapon to take action to resolve the danger, but unsurprisingly received no response.
“Damn mirror!”
He cursed loudly, already anticipating this in his heart. It indeed shouldn’t rely on such external forces yet.
“Master… what should we do now?”
Zhong Ningxue trembled all over, her face filled with undisguisable fear, tightly leaning against Zhou Tong.
Zhou Tong comforted her and immediately summoned the others.
In just a blink, Mu Ran Ya, the Senior Sister, Yao Xian, and Fire Heart gathered, all wearing serious expressions.
“Things have gotten urgent, so I’ll be brief. Spatial storms will automatically chase powerful individuals by their aura, which is why the Red Dust Mountain has been locked on.”
“I’ve heard of this as well, so what now?” Fire Heart asked, frowning.
In the next moment, Zhou Tong pulled out a spirit talisman.
“Spirit Seal 92, for the glorious ones.”
“Give me all your power!” he commanded decisively.
“You want to use yourself as bait to draw the spatial storm away? I absolutely disagree!”
Mu Ran Ya’s face turned pale, her heart trembling. She couldn’t bear to watch her beloved step into the thunder pool.
“Don’t argue!”
Zhou Tong nearly shouted: “If I can’t protect you, what use is it for me to live? If you disagree, I’m going out anyway!”
“Wait!”
Mu Ran Ya and the Senior Sister struggled for a moment but immediately made a decision. This wasn’t the time for romantic feelings; Zhou Tong’s method was currently the optimal solution.
In a brief moment, they all transferred their strength to Zhou Tong, allowing him to once again step into the Sage realm, and it was an extremely strong Sage realm!
“Take care, little one!”
Mu Ran Ya said reluctantly, “I’ll be waiting for you in the Central Continent with the baby.”
“Don’t worry, this is just a small scene for me!”
Zhou Tong said calmly, about to leap into the storm.
“Master, I will go with you!”
At that moment, Zhong Ningxue inexplicably grabbed Zhou Tong’s arm, getting pulled along into the chaotic flow of space.
