Chapter 108: "Is it that obvious?"

Chapter 108: "Is it that obvious?"

To reach the Tenth Rank Golden Core, he still lacked the following materials:

Ten random-level entries, two Nascent Soul bodies, nine Second Rank Golden Cores, one Eight Directions Fruit, and a Malevolent Wood.

Obtaining ten random-level entries was manageable; he was currently at the Sixth Layer of Foundation Establishment and only three minor realms away from the Foundation Establishment Apex. He could acquire three more entries and use the Heavenly Dao Rewind Talisman once, making it four entries.

Additionally, he could easily gather some less useful entries, create Entry Scrolls, and collect ten useless random-level entries as pill-forging materials.

This wasn't a challenging task.

However, obtaining two Nascent Soul bodies was a different story. He had no idea where to get them, unless he could pass through two more inheritances, but he didn't have the skill to successfully navigate other inheritances.

The nine Second Rank Golden Cores meant he needed to acquire Golden Cores from nine Heaven's Pride cultivators, like the Scholar.

The remaining Eight Directions Fruit and Malevolent Wood were even more unheard-of Heavenly Materials.

".

Chen Qiu's lips twitched slightly. The difficulty was indeed immense, but he had to admit that the allure of the Tenth Rank Golden Core was irresistible. If he didn't have the Seven-Colored Entry, he might have given up, but now that he had it, the most challenging task was already accomplished. To give up now would be to turn his back on a heavenly gift.

He might incur heavenly retribution.

With his current foundation, as long as he was willing and reached the Foundation Establishment Apex, he could achieve the Fifth Rank Golden Core at any time. This was a situation that had never existed in the history of Great Xia.

But...

"Brother Chen," the Scholar exclaimed excitedly from the side, "This Third Rank Golden Core is perfect for you! You only need three Golden Cores as pill-forging materials. Although it's not as good as the Fourth Rank Golden Core, it's still much better than the Second Rank Golden Core."

"Stupid," Fat Dragon said impatiently, "Didn't you hear the Celestial Mandate Scroll just now? It granted Brother Chen a strand of Divine Providence. With such a treasure, he'll definitely aim for the Fifth Rank Golden Core. If you're going to form a Golden Core, make it the strongest in Great Xia!"

"But a Fifth Rank Golden Core requires a Nascent Soul body, and there are no Nascent Souls in Great Xia. Where will you find one?"

"How did the Emperor of Great Xia get a Nascent Soul body? If he could get one, we can too."

"That's a bit unrealistic," the Scholar shook his head. "A Nascent Soul body is impossible. The Third Rank Golden Core is already very powerful, and it's a great starting point. With this Third Rank Golden Core, once you enter the Golden Core stage, your cultivation speed and power will be much stronger than others at the same level. You can achieve peerless dominance among your peers."

"As far as I know, there are only a few people in Great Xia with Third Rank Golden Cores."

"It's only slightly weaker than the Emperor's Fourth Rank Golden Core. Apart from the Emperor, no one has a Golden Core of a higher rank."

".

Chen Qiu ignored the debate between the Scholar and Fat Dragon, his mind already made up. He decided to first raise his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Apex and then slowly search for the remaining missing materials.

Let whoever wants to go to the Heaven's Pride Ranking go; he wasn't going!

He had originally planned to use the Celestial Path Cultivation Pill to quickly advance his cultivation before the Heaven's Pride Ranking and reach the initial stage of the Golden Core. With his combat strength and hidden trump cards, he was confident he could easily make it to the top three.

But now...

The Golden Core formation would have to wait. Like the Dao Foundation, the Golden Core was the foundation of cultivation, and the stronger it was, the better.

Even a Heavenly Dao Artifact had to yield to the Tenth Rank Golden Core.

After a long while, Chen Qiu spoke up, his expression calm as he looked at the Scholar and Fat Dragon. "I have a Nascent Soul body. After passing through the Law Cult Heritage, the senior left his Nascent Soul body to me before his death."

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

The Scholar and Fat Dragon stopped their argument, both frozen in place for a moment. Then, their eyes lit up with excitement as they exclaimed, "What else is there to say? The Fifth Rank Golden Core is guaranteed!"

"What are we waiting for, Brother Chen? I've been collecting the Celestial Path Cultivation Pills for you these past few days."

"Let's strive to enter the Golden Core stage before the Heaven's Pride Ranking and forge the Fifth Rank Golden Core, crushing all those Heaven's Pride cultivators!"

Just moments ago, they were debating about obtaining a Nascent Soul body, but now there was no need for further discussion.

Chen Qiu shook his head and paused, his expression calm as he continued in a soft voice.

"I also have the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment and the Seven-Colored Entry."

"Huh?"

This statement silenced the excited Scholar and Fat Dragon, who silently checked the jade slip once more.

Fat Dragon's throat trembled as he spoke, "Brother Chen, you have the Seven-Colored Entry?"

Fat Dragon knew that Chen Qiu had the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

Back then, after failing 999 times to establish his foundation in Fufeng City, the Heavenly Dao admired Chen Qiu's perseverance and granted him the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment. But Fat Dragon had no idea that Chen Qiu possessed the Seven-Colored Entry.

"Seven-Colored Entry..."

The Scholar sat cross-legged on the ground, dazed. He wasn't surprised by the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment since he had it too, but the Seven-Colored Entry exceeded his understanding. Forget about the Seven-Colored Entry, he hadn't even seen anyone with a red or golden entry.

Although the pink entry was second only to the seven-colored one, pink entries were a special case. All pink entries were growth-type entries with no upper limit, and they were even rarer than red entries, which had a higher level than pink ones.

The Seven-Colored Entry, however, was something never mentioned in historical records, and no one had even dared to guess its effects. The reason was simple: they couldn't even guess the effects of the red and golden entries, so how could they guess the effects of the Seven-Colored Entry, which was supposedly even more powerful?

Fat Dragon and the Scholar looked at each other, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes. Then, they took a deep breath and turned to Chen Qiu, their voices trembling.

"Brother Qiu."

"You're not thinking of forming a Tenth Stage Golden Core, are you?"

"Mhm."

Chen Qiu nodded slightly, his expressionless face revealing no emotion as he said, "I've decided to give up on the upcoming Heaven's Pride Ranking competition for a few days until I've gathered all the materials needed to form the Tenth Stage Golden Core."

"The reason I'm telling you this is that I need your help."

He turned to Scholar's Brother, "If I find a way to help you restore your cultivation, and you're confident you can pass the Sword Cultivator heritage, then I can gain another Nascent Soul body."

"You've already formed your Golden Core, and a Nascent Soul body is of no use to you. I'll compensate you in other ways."

"That won't be necessary."

Scholar's Brother shook his head, "Brother Qiu has already saved my life with the Heavenly Dao Treasure, and if he can also help me restore my cultivation, it would be a great favor. The Nascent Soul body should naturally be offered to Brother Qiu as a token of gratitude. But I truly can't pass that Sword Cultivator heritage; I've tried several times already."

"This... It's really a matter of strength."

"What if you were to step into the realm of Man-Sword Integration?"

"It's even more difficult," Scholar's Brother sighed, "In the entire Great Xia, only Ji Taiping has barely touched the realm of Man-Sword Integration."

Chen Qiu looked at Scholar's Brother and spoke softly, "You mentioned yesterday that Ji Taiping relied on Ji Renjian to barely reach Man-Sword Integration. If I can find a way to make Ji Renjian fall in love with you, could you then borrow the effect of Ji Renjian to enter the realm of Man-Sword Integration?"

"This..."

Scholar's Brother froze in his place, momentarily at a loss for words. This was the conversation he had with Fat Dragon yesterday, but Brother Qiu wasn't in the Little World at that time. How did he know?

"The heart of this Little World is in my hands. When I entered the Law Cultivator heritage, my connection with the Little World was cut off, but it was restored after I came out. Your conversation was recorded by the sound-preserving stones embedded in the Mock Heaven Sect's grand formation, and it was automatically transmitted to my mind when the connection was reestablished."

". . ."

Scholar's Brother remained silent for a long time, but eventually, he shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Qiu, this is actually quite a dilemma for me. I truly don't want to use such a method to enter the realm of Man-Sword Integration."

"Ji Taiping is someone I've always looked down upon."

"If I do this, I'll become just like him."

"But Brother Qiu, you've saved my life, and if you've made up your mind, I'll cooperate unconditionally."

"I'll listen to you."

Chen Qiu turned to Scholar's Brother and fell silent for a while before suddenly breaking into a smile, "Congratulations, your chances of obtaining the Sword Cultivator heritage have just increased."

"There's an old friend of mine in the heritage realm."

"He gave me some inside information. One of the most important hidden conditions for passing the Sword Cultivator heritage is the mental character test. Only by maintaining your initial heart after experiencing great ups and downs can you pass the fourth and fifth trials."

"In other words, you must experience great ups and downs to obtain the Sword Cultivator heritage!"

Chen Qiu patted Scholar's Brother's shoulder with enthusiasm, "I think you'll be fine. After I help you restore your cultivation, you can try again, and then we'll see who else can obtain the other heritages."

"That way, we'll have three Nascent Soul bodies."

"Hmm, what about Zhao Yishi? He possesses the top-tier pink entry for body cultivators."

"Not a good idea."

Fat Dragon shook his head, "That guy just seems big, but he doesn't look like he has any fighting power. Plus, we're not that close to him. If we help him obtain the body cultivator heritage, will he give us his Nascent Soul body?"

"Even if he's willing, will his sect master and elders agree?"

"If we try to take it by force, the Heavenward Sect has a Supreme Elder with peak Golden Core cultivation. We probably can't beat them."

"True."

Chen Qiu nodded and began to think about the remaining candidates. When that old man named Cao slapped him and pushed him out of the heritage realm, he secretly slipped a jade slip into his hand. The jade slip contained hidden conditions for passing the other heritages.

These conditions were unknown to the outside world.

It even included information about the Formation Cultivator heritage.

He remembered whispering to Cao, "You and the Law Cultivator guardian were friends for many years. Why aren't you sad about his passing?" Cao didn't give him an answer but looked at him with profound meaning.

In that glance, Chen Qiu understood many things that Cao couldn't say.

Several possibilities also emerged in his mind.

Although he wasn't sure of the specifics, he could deduce that obtaining the heritage might not be a bad thing for the guardian, but rather... a good thing?

Passing away?

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say 'released after serving a full sentence.'

After a brief exchange.

Chen Qiu took the storage bag filled with Celestial Dao Cultivation Pills from Fat Dragon, stood up, and strode towards the interior of the Mock Heaven Sect, intending to find a place to improve his cultivation.

Once his cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Apex, he would start preparing for the Tenth Stage Golden Core.

After Chen Qiu left.

Scholar's Brother, Fat Dragon, and the others sitting at the mountain gate of the Mock Heaven Sect fell into a long silence. After an unknown amount of time, Scholar's Brother couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked hesitantly, "What do you think Brother Qiu's seven-colored entry does?"

Upon hearing this.

Even Scholar's Brother, who usually seemed indifferent, perked up his ears.

"You go first!"

At these words, Fat Dragon, who had been feigning calm, suddenly became excited. He stood up and shouted, "Brother Qiu, did you hear that? Scholar's Brother is inquiring about the effect of your seven-colored entry! He deserves punishment, he deserves punishment!!!"

"No, I'm not!"

Scholar's Brother's face turned pale, and he didn't care about the consumption of life energy. He immediately sat on his flying sword in mid-air and covered Fat Dragon's mouth, saying urgently, "Don't talk nonsense! I wasn't inquiring; I was just asking casually."

In the cultivation world.

Inquiring about someone else's entry is a taboo that can be either major or minor, depending on the entry's level. The seven-colored entry, of course, is the most significant taboo.

There was no doubt about it.

It was no wonder that Scholar was so anxious to explain. If it were anyone else, they would indeed be worthy of condemnation. The main reason was that he had never heard of the existence of Seven-Colored Entries, a legendary item, and he couldn't help but want to discuss it.

After teasing Scholar for a while, Fat Dragon laughed and sat cross-legged again, "I don't know, don't know, and don't want to know."

"I don't want to know either."

Scholar pouted, "I never thought that Seven-Colored Entries actually exist."

"Hehe."

Fat Dragon laughed and lay back in the rocking chair, saying casually, "What's so surprising about that? Just like how you have Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment and didn't tell us about the Pink Entry."

"Hmm? How do you know?"

"You're treating people like fools. Even a fool could guess it. The example you gave about the Pink Entry last time was so obvious that you almost said your own name."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Tsk."

Inside the Mock Heaven Sect.

Chen Qiu sat cross-legged on a bare rock at a high peak in the back mountain, gazing at the bag of Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills in his arms.

This was a two-day supply.

A total of 838 pills.

However, they were all Inferior Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills. Together with the ones he didn't use up last time, he now had a total of 1085 Inferior Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.

The group of people cultivated by Liu Zide had all made it onto the Fame Ranking Chart, but they were only famous in Xuzhou. They could only receive Inferior Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, and he had already reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

The effect of the Inferior Foundation Establishment Cultivation Pills on him was significantly less than before.

He glanced at his ranking on the Fame Ranking Chart.

-

"Rank 78: Chen Qiu, Fame Value 2.53 million."

-

Just one Celestial Mandate Scroll had caused his fame value to increase by over 2 million, instantly making him famous from being unknown. His fame value was still rising rapidly, and at this rate,

by tonight, he felt he could reach the 50th rank.

He didn't know how generous the Heavenly Will Blessing would be for this rank.

There were still three to four hours until nightfall, and it was not long after noon. However, he had indeed spent quite some time in the Law Cult Heritage Secret Realm. At this point, there were only four days left until the Heaven's Talent Competition.

At this time—

All the Heaven's Pride from the ten provinces of Great Xia, as well as some Heaven's Pride from the hundred countries, had arrived in the capital and were preparing to enter the Celestial Path Secret Realm to compete.

This day was a significant day every year.

After circulating his cultivation technique for a few hours, Chen Qiu, who had cleared the impurities from consuming a large number of Supplement Qi Pills in the Law Cult Heritage Secret Realm, took a deep breath and swallowed a Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill. During these few days in the secret realm, he was unable to absorb spiritual energy, so his cultivation had not progressed at all.

Otherwise, even without circulating his cultivation technique, his cultivation progress would not have stagnated due to his Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.

After a few breaths—

This Inferior Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill had been completely absorbed by him. However, a single Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill could now only increase his cultivation progress by 0.3%.

From the initial 0.7% to 0.5%, and now to 0.3%.

As his cultivation level increased, the effect of the Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills also weakened.

But it didn't matter.

After all, he had too many Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills. These pills were more than enough for him to break through to the Foundation Establishment Apex.

An hour later.

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu opened his eyes and exhaled a turbid breath, gazing into the distance.

After absorbing 334 Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, his cultivation successfully advanced from the sixth level of Foundation Establishment to the seventh level! He still had 751 Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills left, and he could obtain another batch after nightfall.

It was enough.

At the same time—

A familiar panel, long unseen and shrouded in clouds, appeared once again above his Dantian.

-

"Cultivation Level Surge, Entering the Seventh Level of Foundation Establishment."

"Please choose one of the three random entries below within ten breaths."

1:

"Entry Name": Precise Throwing.

"Entry Rank": Green.

"Entry Effect": The distance, speed, and accuracy of the talismans you throw will greatly increase.

2:

"Entry Name": God of Logistics.

"Entry Rank": Blue.

"Entry Effect": You can only refine Supplement Qi Pills, but the ones you refine will be free of impurities, and their effect will be twice that of ordinary Supplement Qi Pills.

3:

"Entry Name": For My Use.

"Entry Rank": White.

"Entry Effect": When your body is attacked and injured, you can recover a small amount of Life Energy.

-

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he immediately noticed the third entry. An entry that could recover Life Energy was a god-tier entry for him, as he lacked a quick method to restore Life Energy.

Both Spirit Stones and Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment were too slow, and they were insufficient during battles.

While Supplement Qi Pills were faster, they contained a lot of impurities, making it impossible to rely on consuming large amounts of them for prolonged combat.

"God of Logistics."

To be honest, he really liked this entry. If it had appeared on someone else, he could directly recruit an Alchemy Cultivator to join him. Then, this Alchemy Cultivator would only need to focus on refining Supplement Qi Pills.

With a large supply of impurity-free Supplement Qi Pills that were twice as effective, Scholar's movement speed would greatly increase, and he wouldn't need to rest during the journey. He could just keep consuming the pills.

Chen Qiu wouldn't have to worry about the slow recovery of Life Energy either.

He could just keep consuming the pills as well.

If an Alchemy Cultivator got angry, it wouldn't be unreasonable for them to angrily consume a jar of Supplement Qi Pills. He did need this.

As for the first entry, it was clearly meant for a Talisman Cultivator and had nothing to do with him.

Without any hesitation, he chose the third entry.

Chen Qiu then stood up, and a strand of Lightning Summoning Technique emerged from his palm, striking his abdomen as a test.

"Boom!!!"

His body was uncontrollably blasted several zhang away, and blood seeped from his abdomen. To test the effect of the entry, he didn't activate any protective measures, enduring the attack with his physical body.

Even though he intentionally limited the power of the Lightning Summoning Technique to less than 30%, he still sustained some injuries.

Without saying a word, he immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began circulating his cultivation technique to recover his Life Energy.

Under the effect of the 'Reviving Breeze' entry, as he absorbed Life Energy, his injuries gradually healed at the same rate as his Life Energy recovery.

Then, he tried again with a weaker Lightning Summoning Technique.

After several experiments, he drew two conclusions:

1. Regardless of the power of the attack on his body, the amount of Life Energy recovered was fixed, enough for him to cast the Lightning Summoning Technique at half power, and no more.

2. Under the effect of the 'Reviving Breeze' entry, the moment he was attacked and recovered Life Energy, a small portion of his injuries would instantly heal.

Chen Qiu's eyes flashed with awe, as if he had discovered a perpetual motion machine. Who said perpetual motion machines didn't exist?

Through his experiments, he found that as long as he was constantly bombarded by spells or directly stabbed with a sword, he would recover about one-eightieth of his Life Energy each time he was attacked. And the injuries caused by those low-power spells on his back would be instantly healed by the 'Reviving Breeze' entry.

It was just right.

Of course, these attacks must not hit his protective Life Energy, but his body, and he must be injured. Although it sounds like a strict condition, it is still quite useful in certain situations.

For example, during a demon invasion, he could stand alone on the city wall, continuously unleashing tens of thousands of heavenly thunderbolts. Then, after removing the protective Life Energy behind his body, he could have Scholars and Fat Dragon continuously stab his back with their swords, quickly replenishing his Life Energy.

And the injuries caused by the sword stabs, as long as the force was controlled, would instantly heal at the moment his Life Energy recovered.

Chen Qiu suddenly stood silently, his face expressionless. It did sound powerful—as long as the speed of his sword swings was fast enough and he could wield enough swords, he could replenish his Life Energy in an instant.

But...

It's a bit unrefined.

Imagine that scene.

In the dark night, with the wind howling, he stands alone on the city wall, his face cold, facing hundreds of thousands of ferocious beasts. With a casual wave of his hand, nearly ten thousand Lightning Dragons descend, and his Life Energy seems endless, as each swing of his hand unleashes another ten thousand Lightning Dragons.

And behind him, Scholars, Fat Dragon, and the others, their faces red with exertion, continuously stab his back with their swords, creating several afterimages in the air.

Although he wouldn't be injured, it would indeed be a loss of dignity for a master.

He silently made a decision in his heart: if he ever encounters a demon invasion again, he will definitely prepare a large enough cloak that can also block Divine Sense scans, covering Scholars, Fat Dragon, and the others. This way, not only will others not see this scene, but they will also be left wondering where his Life Energy comes from.

As long as he doesn't tell them, those people might never figure it out.

The combination of the 'Reviving Breeze' and 'For My Use' entries is truly excellent, and they complement each other well.

However, Chen Qiu couldn't help but feel a bit helpless, and he twitched his mouth. He still needed to prepare ten random entries for the Tenth Stage Golden Core Formation, and he was reluctant to use this entry for that purpose. He needed to find a way to obtain more Entry Scrolls.

He was hesitant to use any of his current entries for the Golden Core Formation.

If Entry Scrolls could be auctioned at the Ask Heaven Market, then in the coming year, before the next Heaven's Talent Competition, he could not only collect materials for the Tenth Stage Golden Core Formation but also gather more Entry Scrolls.

Not only would this prepare him for the Golden Core Formation, but it would also provide more entries for his self-destruct entry.

"I feel a bit uncomfortable."

Standing on the peak of the mountain behind the Mock Heaven Sect, Chen Qiu stretched his body and muttered.

At this moment, he had no Malevolent Spirits on his body, and the only Golden Core Vengeful Spirit had been used up for the Law Cultivator Heritage. As a result, he felt a little unaccustomed and struggled to adapt.

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Instead, he sat cross-legged again, circulating his cultivation technique through several grand cycles, consolidating his Cultivation Level until it was almost stable. Only then did he start taking the Celestial Path Cultivation Pills again, determined to break through to the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer in one go!

After one and a half hours...

"Huff!"

Chen Qiu exhaled a turbid breath, his face filled with helplessness as he looked at the remaining 251 Celestial Path Cultivation Pills in his embrace. After reaching the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer, the effect of the pills had weakened again, dropping from 0.3% to 0.2%.

As a result, he had to consume 500 Celestial Path Cultivation Pills to break through to the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer.

He stood up, feeling the abundant and powerful Life Energy within his body. With his current Cultivation Level, if he were to stand in Fu Feng City during the demon invasion, he wouldn't even need Scholars' help.

With his current Cultivation Level, he could instantly melt those demons.

At the Foundation Establishment Eighth Layer, the Lightning Summoning Technique, combined with the power of the entries and the 'Spirit Control Technique' he learned from the seniors in the Law Cultivator Heritage, became even more formidable. Even a single Lightning Dragon would be difficult for a peer cultivator to block.

With two or three Lightning Dragons, a peer cultivator's protective Life Energy would likely be shattered.

After four or five Lightning Dragons, even protective Spirit Treasures and protective talismans would be destroyed.

From then on, it would be a one-sided slaughter.

He could now be considered absolutely invincible among peers. Unless his opponent was a Heavenly Dao Child, there was no reason for anyone of the same Cultivation Level to defeat him. If the Heaven's Talent Competition only allowed participants at the Foundation Establishment Apex or below, the remaining competitors, even if they all attacked together, would not be able to defeat him.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end