It took some time for Lei Chen’s breakthrough to be finished and his cultivation base to stabilize again. Maybe uncharacteristically compared to his earlier behavior, his Master didn’t urge him to do anything else and simply stood aside, waiting quietly.

Mei Chao Bing didn’t bother drawing attention to himself again and just circulated his own spiritual energy. For one, this could get rid of the remnants of that twisted feeling still assaulting his senses, and, on the other hand, it allowed him to stabilize the advancement in his own cultivation realm.

Needless to say, the latter was the most important. If he wanted a chance to counterattack, he had to make sure that he didn’t induce any weakness into his cultivation at this time. He was already lacking compared to the other party because his level wasn’t as high and even if it became just as high, he wouldn’t have the same experience handling this newfound strength. He definitely couldn’t allow an unstable cultivation base to add a third disadvantage to him or there would never be any hope. So, for the little time he had, he had to work hard.

Unfortunately, the time it took Lei Chen to stabilize his own newfound realm wasn’t all that long. In fact, compared to the period of time Mei Chao Bing remembered having needed when he first updated to the Nascent Soul stage, it was incredibly short. Either this was still because he was only regaining a realm instead of promoting to it for the first time or this Lei Chen was simply a heaven-defying genius of another level altogether. Somehow, he hoped it was the former because then, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about any additional risks arising and could roughly guess how matters would turn out.

When Lei Chen turned back to him, Mei Chao Bing suppressed a sigh but still honestly wanted to continue. He closed his eyes, focused on the twisted energy he could feel from the person inside, and … stopped after another moment. Opening his eyes again, he looked at Lei Chen with some hesitation. “I … have done everything you’ve asked so far and you’ve advanced twice. Can you take this as an indication that I won’t make trouble and give me the crystal? Anyway, I don’t know how to undo whatever spell you’ve used so it’s not like I can just run off with it. It’d just … make me feel a lot more at ease to have it with me.”

As soon as he spoke up, he felt his Master’s gaze on him but he ignored him and instead stared at Lei Chen. He didn’t think that either of them was trustworthy but Lei Chen was easier to talk to for sure. When asking him, there was at least a faint chance of getting him to agree, something that would be impossible with his Master.

Lei Chen looked at him quietly for what seemed like a full minute before finally projecting his voice again. “When we reach the next threshold.”

Mei Chao Bing nodded at once, even though he wasn’t sure what to feel. The next threshold, that was likely not the one between the early Nascent Soul stage and the intermediate one. No, most likely, Lei Chen was referring to the next big breakthrough, the one from the Nascent Soul stage to the Demigod stage.

Reaching that threshold was something many cultivators would never manage to do in their lives and he who hadn’t even reached thirty years of age yet, wouldn’t have thought that he’d even have to think about such an advancement in levels for a few hundred years. But now, this person seemed to believe that a few hours or days might be enough, using such a node on his path of cultivation to make promises.

Apart from how generally unhinged this whole matter was, worry and happiness also competed to fill his heart. Knowing that there was a chance to regain the crystal with Yun Bei Fen’s soul before all of this was over and being able to keep it safe on his own person was definitely a huge motivator. At the same time, who knew if Lei Chen was trustworthy, and who knew how long it would take to get there? Still, no matter what, he had to believe in his words for now and hope for the best.

“Thank you.” He didn’t say another unnecessary word, closed his eyes, and focused on transferring the energy. No matter what, he’d take it one step at a time first and then see what happened. If he could get the crystal back without issue, it’d be great.

If he couldn’t … maybe he could still convince them by playing stubborn and saying that if they didn’t honor their word on this, he was afraid they wouldn’t do so at all so that this whole matter was pointless. At the very least, they’d lose their ability to force him to do anything else then.

Reaching such a deadlock shortly before the fulfillment of their wishes, his Master would be furious and Lei Chen likely wouldn’t be happy either. Still, they also wouldn’t be willing to give up so, in the end, they should be willing to hand over the crystal one way or another. Then, he’d have at least a small chance of waking up Yun Bei Fen again, even if they later refused to hand over the actual method to do so.

Mei Chao Bing immersed himself in his current task again and Lei Chen didn’t say anything else either. Even Feng Bai Xiao quietly stood aside, not interfering. He probably didn’t want to lose any time either, now that they were so close to finishing this plan.

Due to this odd balance of everyone’s wishes and plans, things advanced slowly but surely, propelling both Lei Chen and Mei Chao Bing further and further toward the threshold of the Demigod stage, a cultivation level that was seldom reached by anyone. If not for the sudden revelation that Feng Bai Xiao had managed to do so, looking back, it seemed that the last time someone had actually reached this point on their journey, it had been hundreds of years ago.