Chapter 66: Charity Auction Gala

After a brief pause, the Dragon King continued, “You have now directly entered the Realm of Divine Courage; there’s no longer any need to worry about the strength of your body. From now on, you can focus your cultivation on the spiritual aspect.”

Chen Yu nodded. He had always been thinking about how to break through, yet unknowingly he had already done so. The thought of gradually cultivating magical power excited him.

“Those who enter the path of magic are my nourishment. If I can't find spiritual herbs in the future, I can simply seek out more practitioners to absorb.” The idea made him feel a bit proud.

Suddenly, a new technique appeared in his sea of consciousness: the Primordial Spirit Refining Method.

“This is the most basic spiritual power technique. Once you’ve mastered it, you can move on to cultivate greater supreme arts.”

Chen Yu nodded again and began to practice according to its instructions.

Gradually, he followed the Primordial Spirit Refining Method for cultivating the mind: first, he imagined his Heavenly Gate acupoint as a world shrouded in darkness.

This visualization represented his understanding of the brain as a domain of darkness.

Next, he imagined the blood, marrow, organs, and fascia throughout his body transforming into a pure white color, slowly rising and reaching the interior of his Heavenly Gate.

This was the process of using the essence of his body to dispel the darkness from his mind, to understand himself.

The meaning behind this visualization was profound.

Within these imaginings, Chen Yu distinctly felt that his body was slowly being emptied, his vital energy all transformed into radiant light, illuminating his mind.

He felt a sense of emptiness in his body.

Cultivating the spirit, awakening the latent powers of the mind, required a strong physique as a foundation—he finally understood this principle.

Gradually, the darkness within his Heavenly Gate was dispelled by the white radiance, and in the distant depths of that darkness, Chen Yu seemed to vaguely see a grand, ancient, heavy gate—neither round nor square, mysterious in shape.

The patterns on the gate were rich and delicate, as if they were the intricate ridges of the brain.

The entire appearance of the brain was actually a Gate of Divine Power!

“This is the Gate of Divine Power. When you break through this gate, you will be able to touch the secret realm of divine abilities!” the Dragon King said solemnly.

Chen Yu exerted his spirit, visualizing his vital energy as white light shining upon the mind.

Yet no matter how he tried, the dark mist within his mind only increased. Even the Gate of Divine Power became obscured, let alone opening this mysterious, unfathomable gate within his mind.

“Don’t worry, you haven’t reached that stage yet. Take your time. Since you can already see the gate, one day you will open it,” the Dragon King comforted him.

Exhaling deeply, Chen Yu finally gave up.

Now he felt mentally exhausted and wanted to sleep. Quickly, he dispersed all visualizations from his mind.

After practicing the Primordial Spirit Refining Method, Chen Yu rested for a while before recovering.

But once he did, he felt that his hearing and vision had grown sharper, his mind more agile, and he could almost picture the shape of his own brain.

Just then, he received an unexpected phone call.

The caller was Sister Yun from Dragon Pool Manor.

“Mr. Chen? Sorry to disturb you. I managed to get your number from Young Master Bai, so please don’t blame him, haha! I won’t waste your time. Mr. Chen, are you free tonight? I heard you’re interested in rare spiritual herbs, so I’d like to invite you to a charity auction tonight. It’s said an old herbalist will be putting up a valuable medicinal ingredient for auction, so I immediately thought of you. Are you interested?”

Chen Yu pondered briefly, “Alright, where is it?”

Sister Yun was delighted on the other end, “The Splendid Water Garden. Would you like me to pick you up, Mr. Chen?”

“No need, I’ll go myself. Thank you for letting me know,” Chen Yu replied politely.

His answer made Sister Yun exceedingly happy, “Mr. Chen, there’s no need to be so formal. See you tonight!”

After hanging up, Chen Yu touched his nose. This was the perfect opportunity to deal with those leftover medicinal pills.

The Splendid Water Garden was a distinctive location in River City, surrounded on all sides by water, elegant and tranquil. It was a private estate, inaccessible to the general public. Its owner, a philanthropist, often held charity auctions there, earning considerable renown.

That evening, Chen Yu simply told his father-in-law he had business and left.

His father-in-law was left bewildered; he had gone to the trouble of cooking, hoping to win the favor of his admirable son-in-law, only to find he wouldn’t even be dining at home.

Old Lady Shen had not visited the main house for some time, staying in her small building, and Shen Zhuyun rarely returned home punctually, so only Xu Ruizhi and her daughter found themselves at the dinner table.

Xu Ruizhi’s appetite was unusually robust today. With Chen Yu present in the past, she usually ate without much enjoyment, but now she indulged heartily.

Shen Youlin seemed indifferent to the presence or absence of anyone; even when Chen Yu was there, she treated him as invisible, never once calling him brother-in-law or sparing him a glance.

Only Shen Chengde shook his head and sighed while eating, feeling the meal lacked flavor.

“Chengde, honestly, you treat that son-in-law of ours far too well. Did you owe him money?” Xu Ruizhi remarked with displeasure, though it was just a joke—she hardly believed their son-in-law had any money.

Shen Chengde, however, blushed. In truth, he had taken three or four million from Chen Yu over time, money he certainly would never be able to repay, nor did he intend to, especially since he still coveted that twenty-billion bank card.

Naturally, he wouldn’t reveal this to his wife, merely offering a sheepish smile, “Ruizhi, could you be a bit kinder to our son-in-law? He is family, after all.”

“Dad, did that good-for-nothing hypnotize you or something? Why do you keep speaking up for him?” Shen Youlin prodded her chopsticks, unable to bear hearing her father praise Chen Yu.

“You silly girl, what do you know about him? Your brother-in-law…” Shen Chengde stopped mid-sentence, almost blurting out that her brother-in-law was wealthy. He decided it was best to keep that secret for now.

“Who recognizes him as a brother-in-law anyway? Someone like him isn’t worthy of that title. I’m full now; you two enjoy your meal.” With that, Shen Youlin slammed her chopsticks down and stormed off. In her mind, though he looked somewhat decent, he was nowhere near her ideal brother-in-law.

Most importantly, he treated her as invisible too—outrageous! She, who toyed with young masters at will, was being slighted by a cheap brother-in-law. Hmph, what brother-in-law? Just a nobody!

Back in her room, Shen Youlin received a call from Fang Kai.

“Youlin, I managed to get two invitations to tonight’s charity auction. I had to pull strings with my uncle for them. Want to go and see what it’s like?”

Shen Youlin, having no plans for the evening, readily agreed and asked Fang Kai to pick her up.

Chen Yu did not wear a suit tonight; although it suited his image, he found it uncomfortable and avoided it unless necessary.

At the entrance to the Splendid Garden, luxury cars were already parked, and dedicated staff guided the parking.

Seeing Chen Yu arrive by car and dressed plainly, the gatekeeper eyed him skeptically. Still, he did not drive him away; charity events often invited not only wealthy guests but also impoverished individuals to fulfill their philanthropic purpose.

Thus, the gatekeeper assumed Chen Yu was a specially invited guest from a poor background, but wanted to confirm.

Just then, a mother and daughter approached. Their clothes were outdated but meticulously clean. The mother appeared to be in her thirties or forties, but deep wrinkles and graying hair made her look closer to fifty. The daughter, around ten, was thin and frail, her face pale, supported by her mother, but her eyes were large and bright.

They walked up beside Chen Yu. The mother addressed the gatekeeper, “We were invited by Mr. Huo, and we’ve come today seeking help for my daughter.”

She twisted her fingers nervously as she spoke, mustering great courage.

The little girl, lips pale, spoke weakly and timidly, “Mr. Huo said we should mention his name when we arrive, and you’ll let us in.”

The gatekeeper, compassionate and evidently influenced by the estate’s owner, replied gently, “Come with me, I’ll arrange a place for you to rest first.”

As for Chen Yu, he was assumed to be with them.

Chen Yu didn’t bother clarifying and followed the mother and daughter into a side hall.