Chapter 116: "Heaven's Pride Token"

Chapter 116: "Heaven's Pride Token"

"Hmph!"

After his scoff, the Supreme Elder of the Qu family fell silent once again, a wave of sorrow welling up within him.

He was a transmigrator.

Upon his arrival, he had already reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, the pinnacle of cultivation in Great Xia. Virtually no one could defeat him, but his lifespan was a mere year and a few months.

And that was without him engaging in any battles.

If he were to fight and sustain even a minor injury, he would likely perish within a month or two.

The only way to save him was to achieve Nascent Soul.

At times, he truly envied Qu Qi, the young master of the Qu family. Qu Qi was also a transmigrator, but his fate was much better than his. As the only male heir of the Qu family, the family had poured vast resources into him, nurturing an unparalleled Alchemy Cultivator.

At the same time, he was virtually invincible among his peers.

Not to mention the five Celestial Beauties who had a boosting effect on Alchemy Cultivators, a resource others lacked. Out of a hundred Celestial Beauties, only five had this effect, and all five of them became Qu Qi's wives.

Almost everyone in the capital believed that Qu Qi was destined to become Great Xia's number one Alchemy Cultivator.

However, when Chen Qiu appeared in Windward City, everyone's gaze towards Qu Qi carried a hint of strangeness.

The Qu family had invested so much in him, yet a loose cultivator from Windward City was the first to unlock the legacy of Alchemy Cultivation. This peculiar gaze made Qu Qi nearly explode with rage. After years of pampered living, he couldn't bear such ridicule.

He constantly smashed porcelain and other items in the house, his face contorted with anger as he shouted that he would challenge Chen Qiu to a duel and mercilessly kill him, showing the world who the true number one Alchemy Cultivator of Great Xia was.

Well, that's good.

A Golden Core initial stage Alchemy Cultivator challenging a Foundation Establishment ninth layer cultivator to a duel, even if he won, he wouldn't be ridiculed by the world.

"Sigh."

Lying on his bed, the Supreme Elder of the Qu family gazed at his right arm, its skin wrinkled and loose, covered in age spots. Though he felt reluctant, there was nothing he could do. He wanted to try, but there was hardly any opportunity to make an effort.

He even dared not leave the house, fearing that he might sustain an injury and die on the spot.

That would be a living torment.

In Great Xia, there were many like him, all of them the trump cards of various sects and families. They had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage but were unable to break through to Nascent Soul, forced to watch their lifespans gradually dwindle.

They could only wait for death, with no other option.

In Mountain Opening City, within an abandoned temple three miles away.

Chen Qiu sat cross-legged, absorbing the Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills while circulating his cultivation technique. The previous night, at midnight, he had obtained 511 Low-grade Spirit Stones and 10 Medium-grade Spirit Stones.

There was no significant change, and as of midnight, his ranking on the Reputation Ranking had not shifted.

However, after the Celestial Mandate Scroll descended, his reputation began to soar once more. He was the only one on the entire Reputation Ranking whose fame was rising solely due to the Celestial Mandate Scroll.

Others relied on word of mouth, but his name was directly proclaimed by the heavens.

At this moment, he had risen to 29th place on the Reputation Ranking, but that was as far as he could go. Those ahead of him were all ancient monsters, and surpassing them would be a difficult task.

After absorbing the effects of the 511 Low-grade Spirit Stones and two Medium-grade Spirit Stones, his cultivation finally reached—

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment ninth layer (100.00%).

In other words, he had truly reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, the upper limit of this stage.

The next step was Core Formation.

After successfully forming a core, he could break through to the Core Formation Immortal stage. Many cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment were stuck at this stage for their entire lives. Some had fought too much in their youth, accumulating hidden injuries in their Dao Foundation, making it extremely challenging to break through.

Some couldn't gather enough resources, needing seventy-seven forty-nine Medium-grade Spirit Stones for the breakthrough.

Others, too proud to enter the Core Formation stage with a First Rank Golden Core, sought a Second Rank Golden Core. However, they wasted too much time, and by the time they found a suitable Golden Core, they realized they had grown old, their Foundation Establishment lifespan had reached its limit, their Life Energy had begun to weaken, and they were unable to break through to the Golden Core stage.

Golden Cores were categorized into ten ranks.

Dao Foundation, on the other hand, had no such ranks.

Dao Foundation was divided into two types: one was the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, and the other was ordinary.

The ordinary category was further divided into two subtypes.

One was the special Dao Foundation, such as the 'Superior Foundation Establishment Earth Fire Pill' obtained by passing the third trial in the Celestial Wolf Sect's Celestial Path Secret Realm. It was said to be a pill from long ago that, when consumed during Foundation Establishment, would form an 'Earth Fire Dao Foundation' highly suitable for Fire-attributed Alchemy Cultivators.

The other was the ordinary Dao Foundation.

Similar to the Earth Fire Dao Foundation were the Golden Cleaving Dao Foundation for Sword Cultivators and others. The advantage of these Dao Foundations was their compatibility with the respective cultivation paths, but the drawback was that one's future path was set, making it impossible to switch paths or engage in dual or triple cultivation.

Upon entering the Golden Core stage, cores were ranked from one to ten, with the tenth rank known as the Heavenly Dao Golden Core, a realm never before reached.

At this moment, Chen Qiu had finished his cultivation. He glanced at the shopkeeper, whose forehead was covered in sweat, but he didn't disturb him. After all, it was an Evil Tribe's Storage Ring, and the restrictions within were unlike anything in Great Xia, possibly too difficult to break.

He couldn't offer much help, only promising a high reward and silently cheering him on.

Different fields were like different mountains.

He could kill without issue, but breaking restrictions was purely a challenge for him.

He took out a Second Rank Golden Core from his embrace and placed it in his palm, examining it carefully. Indeed, it was much more delicate and harder than the Golden Core he had seen in Ask Heaven Market.

Two cloud patterns were faintly visible on the Golden Core.

It was quite beautiful.

After reaching the sixth layer of the Golden Core stage, the core would become extremely sturdy and could even be used for external attacks as a finishing move, more powerful than most Lifebound Treasures. However, it could only be used in overwhelming battles, as any damage to the Golden Core would require a significant amount of Heavenly Materials to repair.

But if your Golden Core grade is higher, you can launch physical attacks before reaching the sixth layer of the Golden Core.

Among those with the same Cultivation Level.

The difference in Golden Core grades is like a chasm. When a first-rank Golden Core clashes with a second-rank Golden Core, the first-rank one will undoubtedly shatter. This gap is something that no means can make up for.

This is also why some Foundation Establishment cultivators at the peak of their stage would rather wait for a while, unwilling to enter the Golden Core stage with a first-rank Golden Core grade. Once the Golden Core grade is set, it cannot be improved by any means in the future.

Just at this moment—

"Done!"

The shopkeeper sitting beside him carefully placed the storage ring's restrictions aside, and then his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. He looked at Chen Qiu with a sense of satisfaction and fatigue.

"Young Master, the restrictions on this storage ring have been completely deciphered."

"You've found the right person. I estimate that no one else in Great Xia could decipher these restrictions. They are quite complex, and the methods used to set them are completely unheard of in Great Xia. If it weren't for my extensive experience in deciphering storage rings and my considerable talent, I wouldn't have been able to crack it."

Fat Dragon gave the middle-aged man, who was brimming with self-satisfaction, a strange look. He used to think that this man had some skills, but ever since he met the second Armament Cultivator in Fat City who couldn't even decipher the restrictions on a Golden Core storage ring, he realized that this man was more than just a little skilled.

It's just that

He understood that everyone had different talent points, and everyone excelled in different things.

But why would someone put all their talent points into deciphering storage ring restrictions?

Chen Qiu, who had been waiting nearby, had a flash of light in his eyes. His spirit sense transformed into threads and shot out, bringing the Evil Tribe's storage ring to his palm. He quickly inspected it.

At first glance, he saw the Nascent Soul body he had been longing for.

A brown-red pill.

After a Nascent Soul powerhouse dies, they turn their entire essence into this brown-red pill, which is the "Nascent Soul Pill."

From this point on—

He was just one Nascent Soul body and seven second-rank Golden Core pills away from a tenth-rank Golden Core.

"Good, good, good!!!"

Chen Qiu couldn't help but exclaim three times, his face filled with joy as he carefully placed the Nascent Soul body in the corner of the warehouse he used as a storage room in his Little World. Then, he found a token in the Evil Tribe's storage ring.

"Glory Token."

It was diamond-shaped, and the material felt extraordinary. However, when he probed it with his spirit sense or spirit energy, there was no reaction at all. For now, he couldn't figure out the use of this object; it seemed to be just a symbol of identity.

But at least it showed that this Evil Tribe member was indeed a Heaven's Pride.

In other words, an evil cultivator genius.

Geniuses are great; he loved geniuses.

If not for a genius, how could he pass the evil cultivator's inheritance? Although he didn't know the content of the evil cultivator's inheritance assessment, based on his own alchemy cultivator's inheritance, he inferred that with his sixth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, the fifth level would require him to fight against a puppet with a fourth-layer Golden Core cultivation.

Only a genius capable of transcending cultivation levels could obtain the inheritance, and the greater the difference, the better.

The rest were just miscellaneous items.

There were some commonly used clothes, no artifacts, and some spirit stones, about 1,000 of them. There wasn't a single medium-grade spirit stone, which was fitting for a Heaven's Pride to have over 1,000 spirit stones at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Quite wealthy.

That was all.

Wait, there were also two Malevolent Wood sticks in the corner, carefully placed in a jade box. He didn't know where this Evil Tribe genius had found them, but it seemed he was indeed a person with great fortune.

Not only did he find two Malevolent Wood sticks, but he also passed the evil cultivator's inheritance. Just as he was about to return with his spoils, he discovered that the teleportation formation to go home had been closed, which was indeed quite annoying.

He even felt a bit sorry for this evil cultivator genius.

Chen Qiu played with the "Glory Token" in his hand for a while, then put the token, the Evil Tribe's storage ring, and all the other messy items into the warehouse in his Little World.

He collected everything, regardless of whether it was useful or not.

After all, his Little World was spacious enough to hold everything, and it might come in handy in the future. He even kept the evil cultivator's robe.

Then he took out the nine Golden Core storage rings and placed them in front of the shopkeeper, saying sincerely, "Please work hard and see if you can decipher these nine storage rings as well."

The middle-aged man turned his head to look at the bright sky outside the temple, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "My spirit energy..."

"Clap."

Chen Qiu took out several large cans of Qi Supplement Pills from his bosom and threw them over without saying a word, "Qi Supplement Pills to your heart's content. Feel free to take them; when you're out and about, you'll never lack these."

"Hey."

The middle-aged man sat in the temple, fully focused on deciphering the restrictions, while Chen Qiu and the others lay on the rooftop of the temple, basking in the sun. The Northern Continent was much warmer than the Southern Continent, but it was still a bit chilly.

Fat Dragon looked at the sun above with a puzzled expression, "Qiu, have you noticed that on our journey, whether in the Northern or Southern Continent, all the temples we've seen are abandoned?"

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded lazily, "Maybe people have realized that worshipping these clay statues is useless."

He currently had two Core Formation Vengeful Spirits on his back, but his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. These two vengeful spirits couldn't pose much of a threat to him, and as his cultivation increased, so did his tolerance for vengeful energy.

"That's also possible, but it still feels a bit strange."

Fat Dragon twisted his body to get more comfortable, "Weren't the clay statues we worshipped back home also useless? But there were still many people worshipping them. Since there are so many temples, it means that many people must have worshipped them in the past, right? It's unlikely that it's deteriorated to the point where no one worships them anymore."

"Hmph!"

Chen Qiu unconsciously muttered some lazy syllables, casually responding to Fat Dragon's question. The sunlight shining on him made him feel quite comfortable, and he didn't want to think about anything. He just wanted to relax his mind and enjoy the momentary pleasure.

Scholarly Flying was currently strolling around the temple, partly to familiarize himself with walking and partly because he had been sitting for years, and his legs had finally recovered to an excited state.

As for Scholarly Flying's brother, the bearded man, he was squatting in a corner, intently observing ants carrying food.

Everyone had their own business to attend to.

It seemed quite harmonious.

The only one who didn't was the shopkeeper in the temple, whose forehead was covered in fine sweat as he cautiously tried to decipher the restrictions, not daring to make a single mistake.

At this moment, in the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect, hundreds of miles away.

The Dao Sect members who had come to investigate had already left.

The Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master stared expressionlessly at the scene that had been rewound and displayed in the air. He watched as those young men brazenly chopped down the Dragon Vein Stones in the sect's forbidden area, not even sparing the newly grown ones. His eyes filled with uncontrollable rage.

Gritting his teeth, he spoke through clenched jaws, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Chen Qiu!"

"I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"

He recognized the young man leading the group in the scene—it was Chen Qiu, who had been in the spotlight these past few days. After obtaining the Alchemy Cultivator inheritance, he had single-handedly annihilated hundreds of thousands of demons from the Evil Tribes.

You sure know how to manage your time.

Before going to Southern Continent to obtain the Alchemy Cultivator inheritance, he had even made a special trip to the forbidden area and wreaked havoc there.

Then, he looked at the "Pursuit Stone" in his hand, which the Dao Sect had made based on the aura left by Chen Qiu and the others. He sent his spirit sense into the stone to locate Chen Qiu, who was only a few hundred miles away. A glimmer of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Good, good, good! I never thought you'd dare to return to Northern Continent!"

"Since that's the case, come and sit in my Ten Thousand Soul Banner!"

With that, his body transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot towards the distance.

Even though Chen Qiu had been in the spotlight recently, he was just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. For a powerful Golden Core Cultivator at the fourth level, killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was as easy as turning his hand.

At this moment, Chen Qiu and the others were lying on the temple roof, basking in the sun. They were waiting for the shopkeeper to finish deciphering the storage ring, after which they planned to go to Transport City to find Liu Zide and have him return to Fat Province to purchase Malevolent Wood and Eight Directions Fruit in large quantities.

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu, feeling rather lazy, took out a jade slip from his pocket. It was the extra chance to choose three entries from the Heavenly Path Wheel that he had obtained, and he hadn't used it yet. He toyed with it for a while before crushing it.

Instantly, a panel shrouded in clouds appeared above his dantian.

-

1:

"Entry Name": Unwavering Love.

"Entry Level": Green.

"Entry Effect": For every member of the same race and gender who truly falls in love with you, you will gain one hundred Spirit Stones.

2:

"Entry Name": Life and Death.

"Entry Level": White.

"Entry Effect": You cannot be killed by a single attack from anyone, even a Grand Master. However, no matter what attack you suffer, you will be severely injured.

3:

"Entry Name": Talisman Forging Posture.

"Entry Level": White.

"Entry Effect": You will draw talismans faster.

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at these three entries. There was no need to mention the first entry; even a hundred Spirit Stones weren't very appealing to him. He had no prejudice against same-sex relationships, but he didn't understand or respect them.

To be honest, he neither respected nor understood them.

The second entry only had negative effects for him, so he could only choose the third one. Although it wasn't very useful, he could keep it as a material for Core Formation.

Just as he was about to make his choice—

"Die!"

A hideous roar echoed in his ears, growing louder as a powerful cultivator with a mid-stage Golden Core Cultivation Level and an overwhelming amount of Spirit Qi, carrying a boundless toxic aura, approached him without any concealment.

The murderous intent was almost tangible.

At the same time!

The sensation of being locked onto by a mid-stage Golden Core spirit sense caused Chen Qiu, who was lying on the temple roof, to suddenly feel his limbs turn cold as if he had fallen into a deep abyss. He vaguely sensed the array patterns of the "Nine Heavens Divine Perception Array" in his sea of spirit sense beginning to glow, as if anticipating an imminent spirit sense attack.

'Spirit Sense Attack'.

The concept flashed through Chen Qiu's mind. A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator had launched a full-force spirit sense attack on him without any warning. Even though he possessed the "Nine Heavens Divine Perception Array" in his sea of spirit sense, since he had not yet reached the Golden Core stage, the array could only play a minor role.

If this spirit sense attack were to penetrate his sea of spirit sense, it could take his life in an instant.

This was a crushing attack by a Golden Core Immortal against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

No matter how many means a Foundation Establishment Cultivator had, a spirit sense attack could completely overwhelm them. He wanted to escape into his Little World, but the Golden Core spirit sense had him locked down, completely isolating his spirit sense within his body. He couldn't establish a connection with the Sect Master's chair in the storage ring, nor could he enter the Little World.

It was almost certainly a death sentence.

At this critical moment, Chen Qiu, lying on the temple roof, muttered, "That Shadow Stone really brings good luck."

The next moment—

The spirit sense attack, which had appeared and disappeared in an instant, pierced through his sea of spirit sense from dozens of miles away, like a dragon entering a muddy pond. In an instant, it almost completely destroyed his sea of spirit sense. But just as it was about to do so—

The four characters "Life and Death" engraved on Chen Qiu's Dao Foundation suddenly began to glow.

An unknown force caused the spirit sense attack to gradually weaken and then disappear within the sea of spirit sense.

"Boom!"

Chen Qiu, who was lying on the temple roof and sunbathing, remained motionless, but blood began to flow from his seven apertures, a sign that his sea of spirit sense had been completely destroyed.

The Divine Sense Attack was focused on Chen Qiu, piercing him, but the surrounding Fei Long and the scholars beneath the temple were completely unharmed.

"Qiu!" Fei Long, lying beside him, looked at Chen Qiu, whose seven orifices were bleeding. With a worried expression, he held Chen Qiu in his arms and turned to look at the scholar who had already flown to the rooftop and the Golden Core powerhouse rapidly approaching. He shouted urgently, "Scholar, run!"

"Run? Where to?"

The voice of the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master, which had seemed distant just moments ago, now echoed as he landed on the temple rooftop. With a mighty surge of Spirit Qi, he slapped the scholar, sending the Green Blade that had just shot out of his sleeve flying to the side.

Then, he turned his gaze to Chen Qiu, who lay in Fei Long's arms, his eyes tightly shut and blood flowing from his seven orifices, clearly on the verge of death.

The Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master did not immediately follow up with another attack.

Instead, he laughed heartily, feeling incredibly satisfied.

"Chen Qiu, oh Chen Qiu," he said.

"You should never have provoked the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect. You could have been a peerless genius, but alas, because you dared to offend us, you will perish here today. Even if you are a genius, the chasm between the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages is insurmountable!"

"Even if I stood before you without any protective Spirit Qi, relying solely on my physical strength, you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he abruptly stopped.

"Gudong."

The Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master, standing on the temple rooftop, suddenly froze, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked at Chen Qiu and the others from New Eden. Blood bubbles formed in his mouth, and above him, a vast expanse of thunderclouds had silently gathered, stretching for miles.

A bolt of lightning, comparable to heavenly retribution, descended from the clouds, striking the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master right on the head as he boasted.

The dying Sect Master raised his hand, his eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness, and attempted to use a Divine Sense Attack to take the others with him. However, the Lightning Summoning Art, unleashed at full power by a Core Formation Peak Perfection cultivator, gave him no chance.

In the next instant—

The Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master's body shattered into four pieces, turning into powder that was blown away by the wind, vanishing from the world.

"Swoosh!"

A Golden Core emerged from the powder, attempting to escape, but the scholar, prepared for this, trembled his fingers. The Green Blade that had been slapped away earlier shot out, catching up with the Golden Core at an even faster speed. It impaled the core on the sword tip and brought it back.

"Huff,"

At that moment, Chen Qiu, who was in Fei Long's arms, slowly opened his eyes. With some difficulty, he pushed Fei Long away and sat up on the temple rooftop. He scanned the blood-filled sky, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth. Turning his head towards the scholar and the others, he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Villains always die from talking too much. This is a lesson from the past. Idle chatter is for after you've killed someone, not before."

"Damn it, they ambushed me."

He had always been the one ambushing Golden Core cultivators, but this was the first time he had been ambushed by a Golden Core, and it was a full-power attack from a Fourth Stage cultivator.

Golden Core cultivators were overwhelmingly superior to Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially in a full-power ambush. The Divine Sense Attack from the Fourth Stage cultivator had almost destroyed his entire Divine Perception in an instant. If he hadn't chosen the 'Life or Death Line' entry at the last moment, he would have died on the spot.

This time, he was just lucky.

If he hadn't crushed the three-choice entry at that precise moment and randomly selected the 'Life or Death Line' entry, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Chen Qiu struggled to get up and stretched his muscles. His body didn't seem to have any external injuries, but he felt as if someone had stuffed a meat grinder into his mind, causing excruciating pain in his head.

The pain was so intense that his vision blurred.

Spirit Qi lines emerged from his body, and from the blood in the air, he retrieved the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master's remaining Storage Ring. Looking through the hole in the temple's roof, he spotted the innkeeper pretending to be dead in the corner of the temple. He sent the Storage Ring down with his Spirit Qi and said hoarsely, "Innkeeper, there's one more Storage Ring here. Please take care of it. It's a tough job."

While the Ten Thousand Toxins Sect Master was boasting, Chen Qiu had secretly detonated the 'Life or Death Line' entry. The Lightning Summoning Art, unleashed at full power by a Core Formation Peak Perfection cultivator, instantly killed the Sect Master, reducing his Storage Ring to ashes along with his clothes.

Then, he sat down on the rooftop again.

Frowning, he rubbed his temples as his brows furrowed into a knot. Although the 'Life or Death Line' entry had saved his life, his Sea of Divine Perception was almost completely destroyed, causing him intense pain directly in the depths of his mind.

It was both itchy and painful.

He even felt like using his sword to dig out his own brain and then stomping on it.

"Scholar," Chen Qiu said, frowning as he turned to the scholar. "How do we deal with a damaged Sea of Divine Perception?"

"Take medicine," the scholar replied hurriedly.

"The 'Spirit Repair Pill,' a lower-grade Golden Core elixir, is specifically designed to repair damaged Divine Perception. This type of pill is of a higher grade and usually not available in markets or auctions. You'll need to go to an Alchemy Sect to personally request it."

"The nearest sect capable of refining this pill is the Zodiac Sect, located in the northernmost part of Xuzhou, beyond Windward City and Transport City, at the edge of the Endless Desert."

"Hmm," Chen Qiu nodded, feeling the piercing pain in the depths of his mind. He patted his head wearily and asked, "Will this leave any hidden injuries?"

"No," the scholar shook his head. "As long as you fully repair the damaged Divine Perception, there won't be any hidden injuries. However, for a while, you won't be able to project your Divine Sense outside your body. But since you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's not much of a problem."

"It's painful," Chen Qiu said.

"A pain that ordinary people can hardly endure."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end