Chapter 123: "It's Fine, As Long As I'm Fed."

Chapter 123: "It's Fine, As Long As I'm Fed."

"I hope you can understand that it's not that the sect is being harsh, but with the amount of resources the sect has invested in you, they surely expect a return from you in the future. However, you seem to be too averse to conflict."

"The Elder sees no potential in you."

"He believes that instead of investing in you, it would be better to allocate those resources to others who, although may not have your talent, are more driven and willing to strive for improvement."

"Hmm."

Zhao Yi Shi shook his head, and there was no trace of sadness in his eyes, "It's fine, as long as I'm fed."

"Sigh."

The Sect Leader of the Heavenward Sect let out a long sigh and helplessly shook his head, "Perhaps you're indeed not suited for the path of cultivation, but even so, you will always be my direct disciple. I will do my best to push you to the Golden Core stage. At least, when you reach the Golden Core stage, if someone attacks the sect, you will stand up and protect it, right?"

Zhao Yi Shi was someone he had taken in.

There was a secret he hadn't shared with anyone. When he first met Zhao Yi Shi, he was already nearly two zhang tall, far exceeding ordinary people. At that time, although Zhao Yi Shi appeared to be a middle-aged man, his thoughts seemed unusually simple for some reason.

At that time, although Zhao Yi Shi already had the pink-colored entry 'Heavenward Giant', he claimed that he had never killed a demonic beast. He had been this tall since adulthood.

He had completely sealed this information.

Only he knew about it.

That was why he had been enduring the pressure from the sect elders and allocating a significant amount of resources to Zhao Yi Shi. He had always believed that there might be some bloodline within Zhao Yi Shi's body that was extremely suitable for Body Cultivators.

Otherwise, how could a normal person be nearly two zhang tall?

But after so long, no miracles had occurred in Zhao Yi Shi, and he was starting to feel the pressure from the sect elders. Perhaps he was just an ordinary freak of nature.

"Why? Why?!"

At this moment, in the courtyard of the Qu family in the capital.

Qu Qi, the young master of the Qu family, was currently smashing one porcelain item after another, his face contorting with rage. He turned to his father and shouted hysterically, "Why is it that Chen Qiu, a wandering cultivator, can achieve a Fifth Rank Golden Core, while I can only reach the Third Rank?!"

"You said that apart from His Majesty, the Third Rank Golden Core is the strongest there is?!"

"Shut up!"

The head of the Qu family, his face cold and gloomy, slapped Qu Qi across the face. Qu Qi, who was in the midst of a tantrum, was sent flying to the side, his face turning red with anger as he glared at his father from the corner.

Without paying any attention to Qu Qi, the head of the Qu family took a deep breath and forced down the complex emotions within him. To be honest, Chen Qiu's sudden breakthrough to the Fifth Rank Golden Core had disrupted many of his plans.

He had never imagined that someone could forge a Fifth Rank Golden Core.

He had once considered forging a Fourth Rank Golden Core for Qu Qi, but after spending a significant amount of spirit stones, he had learned a secret from the palace.

-

"Fourth Rank Golden Core": Requires a Nascent Soul body as a refining material to create a Fourth Rank Golden Core.

-

To forge a Fourth Rank Golden Core, one needs a Nascent Soul body.

He had almost immediately abandoned the idea of forging a Fourth Rank Golden Core for Qu Qi. Where could he find a Nascent Soul in Great Xia? Oh, they do exist, as everyone knows that each of the four forbidden lands has a Nascent Soul.

But who would dare to go there? Or who could possibly defeat a Nascent Soul? Although he wasn't sure how His Majesty obtained his Fourth Rank Golden Core or where he got the Nascent Soul body, one thing he was certain of was that forging a Fourth Rank Golden Core was almost impossible. Qu Qi's Third Rank Golden Core was already his limit.

Even he himself had only managed to achieve a Second Rank Golden Core.

When he reached the Golden Core stage, the Qu family had not yet risen to prominence, and they didn't have the means to help him forge a Third Rank Golden Core.

The requirements for a Fourth Rank Golden Core were so stringent.

He couldn't even imagine how much more stringent the conditions for a Fifth Rank Golden Core would be. He couldn't fathom how Chen Qiu had managed to attain the Fifth Rank Celestial Golden Core. He was already at a loss, and with his agitated state of mind, seeing Qu Qi's behavior only made him more irritable.

A Golden Core cultivator is already a formidable being!

Yet here was Qu Qi, a Golden Core cultivator, who would cry and throw tantrums, smashing things at the slightest provocation. How disgraceful!

Perhaps his method of educating Qu Qi these past few years had been wrong?

Meanwhile, in the guest room at the back of the Qu family compound.

The Qu family's Grand Elder lay on the bed, leisurely picking up a green grape and popping it into his mouth. As he listened to the sounds of smashing coming from the adjacent room, he felt joyful. The heavenly auspicious sign that had just appeared had directly extended his lifespan by another half a year.

Don't underestimate this half a year.

It meant that with his original remaining lifespan, he could now live for another year and a half.

Perhaps he could live long enough to see someone break through the Nascent Soul restriction, and then he could follow suit and attain the Nascent Soul stage, greatly increasing his remaining lifespan and starting a brand new life.

Sometimes he felt that his luck was not as good as Qu Qi's.

Both of them were transmigrators.

But Qu Qi had better luck, more remaining lifespan, and enjoyed more privileges within the family.

However, at times.

He also felt that his luck was far better than Qu Qi's. At least he didn't have to do anything and could just lie in bed, patiently waiting. He didn't even have the qualifications to make an effort.

Either wait to die or wait to attain the Nascent Soul stage.

He didn't have to make any choices, and his life suddenly became much easier.

".

At this moment, Chen Qiu was peacefully cultivating in a guesthouse in Fat City, while Scholar was also cultivating in the adjacent room. Chen Qiu still had some Celestial Cultivation Pills in his storage ring, which he no longer needed, so he gave them all to Scholar.

According to Scholar, since he was re-cultivating, his cultivation would progress much faster, and with the help of these pills, the speed would be even greater. He might be able to restore his Golden Core stage in a few months.

Chen Qiu had asked Scholar if he could forge a higher-quality Golden Core this time, but Scholar shook his head and said it was not possible.

Things like entry attributes and Golden Core quality couldn't be changed or improved, even if one's cultivation regressed and they had to start over.

Even if he returned to the Golden Core stage, it would still be a Second Rank Golden Core.

He didn't ask any further questions.

After more than an hour of cultivation, his cultivation base had completely stabilized at the first stage of the Golden Core. This level of cultivation was considered top-tier combat power in the Great Xia Kingdom.

Whether it was leaving behind a legacy by founding a sect, branching out to establish a bloodline family, or becoming the lord of a city, he was more than qualified.

Wherever he went, he would be respectfully addressed as a Golden Core Immortal.

He calculated with his fingers and realized that it had been less than 29 days since he began his cultivation journey by chopping firewood until he reached the Golden Core stage.

He had chopped firewood for 29 days and earned a few hundred copper coins.

After 29 days of chopping people, he directly became a Golden Core Immortal.

The gap was indeed quite significant.

He shook his head, dismissing the chaotic thoughts from his mind. He turned his attention inward, visualizing the familiar panel enveloped in clouds above his core palace. It had been a long time since he last saw this panel.

Well, it hadn't been that long.

It seemed like he hadn't been stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage for long before breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

"Cultivation base greatly increased, officially entering the first stage of the Golden Core."

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

1:

"Formula Name: Virtue Golden Core.

"Formula Rank: Blue.

"Formula Effect: When your virtue value exceeds 100 million, and you are at the Golden Core stage, there is a chance to randomly obtain this formula. This formula can transform your Golden Core into a Virtue Golden Core, equivalent in strength to a fourth-rank Golden Core."

2:

"Formula Name: Bless Successors.

"Formula Rank: Yellow.

"Formula Effect: When your virtue value exceeds 1 billion, there is a chance to randomly obtain this formula. This formula can increase the potential of your first hundred direct bloodline descendants during the Qi Condensation stage, giving them a higher chance of randomly obtaining higher-level formulas."

3:

"Formula Name: Child of Heaven's Pride.

"Formula Rank: Blue.

"Formula Effect: When you advance from the first layer of Qi Condensation to the Golden Core stage within 30 days, there is a chance to randomly obtain this formula. This formula is a one-time use item. Using it can enhance the strength and quality of one of your spiritual treasures."

---

Looking at the three random formulas before him, Chen Qiu's eyebrows raised slightly. As expected of the Golden Core stage, he couldn't randomly obtain formulas of such high rank during the Qi Condensation stage. Even the lowest-ranked formula here was blue.

The first formula was quite powerful.

The Virtue Golden Core was equivalent to a fourth-rank Golden Core.

If this formula's effect were to spread, many Golden Core cultivators would likely engage in widespread charity to accumulate virtue, all for the sake of obtaining this Virtue Golden Core.

However, for him, it was the least useful one.

Who needs your Virtue Golden Core?

A fourth-rank Golden Core is an insult! But this news might never reach the world, as only those with a virtue value exceeding 100 million can know about it. So far, in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, his virtue value was the highest, a whopping 980 million.

The second-ranked person was His Majesty, with a virtue value of just over a million. There was still a long way to go before reaching 100 million.

The second formula was also quite powerful, as it directly enhanced the potential of future generations.

This was even stronger than a Celestial Dao formula.

After all, Celestial Dao formulas only enhanced specific techniques, such as increasing the power of the Lightning Summoning Art. Moreover, the benefits or drawbacks were random. But this formula directly increased the chances of obtaining stronger formulas during the Qi Condensation stage.

At least, they wouldn't be starting with white-ranked formulas.

Initial formulas would likely be green, blue, or even yellow.

However, it was also useless to him.

The third formula, "Child of Heaven's Pride," was the most suitable for him. He was about to head to the Talented Youth Ranking, and if he secured a spot in the top three, he would obtain a Celestial Dao-forged spiritual treasure. He could then use this formula to enhance the quality and strength of the Celestial Dao treasure.

He still had two strands of Celestial Dao fortune.

This could also be used to enhance the quality and strength of the Celestial Dao treasure. By infusing another strand of Celestial Dao fortune into the treasure, it could become the strongest artifact in history!

"Huff!"

After making his choice, Chen Qiu left the inn and stepped into the air, arriving at a wasteland located about a hundred li from Fat City.

With his cultivation at the Golden Core stage, even without any specialized movement techniques, he could cover dozens of li in just ten breaths, relying solely on his cultivation base.

It was much faster than flying with a sword.

He didn't need to fly with a sword anymore; walking in the sky was as easy as walking on the ground.

Before coming here, he had already infused a strand of Celestial Dao fortune into the Lightning Summoning Art, upgrading it to a Celestial Dao technique. He could activate it with a mere thought, but he didn't feel any difference, so he wanted to test it out.

He didn't want to test it in the Little World, as he was worried that with his current cultivation base, he might accidentally collapse the back mountain of the Mock Heaven Sect.

Lightning Summoning Art.

It didn't even have a proper name, like the Nine Toxins Soul Annihilation Spell. It was just a simple technique, not exclusive to Law Cultivators. Many Sword Cultivators and Artifact Cultivators also practiced it.

After all, this technique wasn't difficult to learn. Even without the Celestial Dao version, mastering it to a basic level didn't take much time. Like the Sword Flight Technique, it was a common practice for many cultivators when they first entered the Foundation Establishment stage to refine their control over Life Energy.

But he liked this technique for two reasons.

First, it consumed very little Life Energy, and second, it was instantaneous.

That was enough.

Standing atop a rock, Chen Qiu's face remained calm as he gazed at a distant tree, his index finger trembling slightly.

The next moment—

"Boom!!!"

A deafening thunderclap reverberated through the heavens and the earth, followed by a Lightning Dragon, dozens of zhang thick, abruptly appearing beside him. Its mouth slowly opened, emitting a silent roar as it charged towards the tree!

"Boom!"

Another earth-shattering explosion shook the heavens and the earth. Within a radius of several hundred zhang, centered on the tree, everything was flattened, leaving behind a massive crater. At the bottom of the crater, countless purple-blue lightning arcs could be seen flickering.

"Chen Qiu's eyes widened in shock. He had just unleashed a single Lightning Summoning Art, yet the power it unleashed was far beyond what he had experienced before. The sheer size of the lightning dragon, dozens of zhang long, was enough to make one's breath catch in their throat.

Zhao Yi Shi was only about forty to fifty zhang tall, but the lightning dragon was over thirty zhang in diameter, making it almost half the size of Zhao Yi Shi if he were laid horizontally.

A single lightning dragon, dozens of zhang in diameter and hundreds of zhang long, shot towards him with an overwhelming sense of suffocation.

And it was at this moment—

Chen Qiu realized something.

The Twelfth Rank Golden Core not only increased his cultivation speed, spirit sense range, and Golden Core strength, but it also amplified his spell power by several times!

With the combined effects of his Golden Core cultivation, numerous formula attributes, the Twelfth Rank Golden Core, the Celestial Dao Lightning Summoning Art, and the Spirit Control Technique from his Law Cultivation heritage, his Lightning Summoning Art had reached an absurd level. A single casual casting of the art could create a crater hundreds of zhang wide on the ground.

And this was just one Lightning Summoning Art.

With the 'Double Casting' and 'Tenfold Casting' formula attributes, every spell he cast was automatically multiplied by twelve. Additionally, his 'Real and Illusion' attribute would create an illusionary spell alongside each real spell he cast, further enhancing his power.

To test the power of a single Lightning Summoning Art, Chen Qiu directed the remaining eleven real and twelve illusionary Lightning Summoning Arts towards the ground behind him.

Chen Qiu turned to look behind him, standing silently in place. Behind him was an even more terrifying crater, thousands of zhang wide, that had abruptly appeared on the ground.

He suddenly felt the urge to test his full power.

His spirit sense quickly scanned the area and found that it was a desolate land, devoid of people, roads, or even beasts.

Without hesitation, he rose into the air, hovering mid-air.

Taking a deep breath, the golden core above his core palace began to spin rapidly. The liquid-like spirit energy within his core palace surged like boiling water, and soon, a massive amount of spirit energy flooded into his meridians.

The entire world seemed to darken.

As he manipulated the spirit energy, thick dark clouds gathered above his head, and torrential rain poured down like a thousand-zhang waterfall, slamming into the ground.

Boom!!!

Countless thunderous roars reverberated through the heavens and earth simultaneously.

Thousands of lightning dragons, each hundreds of zhang long, swirled and roared around him, their presence affecting the very heavens and earth. Then, like coiling dragons emerging from the sea, they slammed into the wasteland below.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

Countless deafening explosions erupted one after another in the wasteland below.

After several dozen breaths, the dust gradually settled amidst the raging storm, and the rain ceased. The dark clouds dissipated, and the heavens returned to their former clarity, as if the all-encompassing dark clouds and thunderous roars had never existed.

Below, in the wasteland—

A crater nearly a hundred li wide had replaced the wilderness.

As far as the eye could see, the crater's end was nowhere in sight.

Its bottom was invisible.

All that could be seen was a pitch-black crater filled with lightning arcs.

This was the extent of his current full-power strike, or perhaps not quite his full power, as he still had many trump cards left unused, and he hadn't even replenished his spirit energy, only utilizing a portion of it.

If this strike were to land on Windward City, its defensive array would be unable to withstand it.

In the blink of an eye, Windward City would be wiped off the map of Great Xia.

"

Chen Qiu's lips twitched as he gazed down at his handiwork, feeling that it might be a bit overkill. He wondered if a typical first-stage Golden Core cultivator would be this powerful.

At least, in his past encounters with Golden Core cultivators, aside from finding their spirit sense attacks challenging, he hadn't felt this suffocating sense of being nearly unbeatable in terms of cultivation level.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he muttered, "Participating in the Heaven's Pride Ranking with this power might be a bit unfair, wouldn't it?"

It would be like a fully armed, armored, and experienced warrior with a sharp blade going up against a group of children.

Of course.

He was well aware of his shortcomings.

His movement techniques were inadequate, and his only means of protection was his bodyguard spirit qi. He lacked defensive artifacts or protective spells.

But, no one could land the first strike on him either. In the past, some could attack him first using spirit sense, but now, with his expanded spirit sense range, he could strike first against anyone. If they can't hit me, it doesn't matter how fragile I am.

It's said that Law Cultivators shatter with a touch.

Let me touch you and see who shatters first.

Satisfied with testing his current combat strength, Chen Qiu turned and headed towards Fat City.

The Heart Piercing Spike, a lower-grade Golden Core spirit sense attack, was something he had already mastered and cultivated to the Great Accomplishment realm.

However, he couldn't test it without a target, as it required an opponent to experiment with.

But he had discovered something during his last encounter with the Ten Toxins Sect Leader's attack.

When his Sea of Spirit Sense was attacked, he couldn't use his teleportation ability.

This was odd. Wasn't an attack on the Sea of Spirit Sense considered an attack?

Upon returning to Fat City, Chen Qiu didn't bother with the wasteland anymore.

After all, it was just a desolate land.

But someone was concerned—

A stray cat sat on the eaves of a shop in the capital, staring expressionlessly into the distance. She wondered who she had offended in her previous life for her fate to be so bitter in this one.

Her name was Qiyue Mao.

Upon crossing over, she had obtained a formula:

Formula Name: Nine Lives of a Cat

Formula Grade: Blue

Formula Effect: You will have nine lives. Each time you die, you will randomly be reborn in a different body, and your cultivation will depend on the body's cultivation level.

-

A rather useless formula.

Yes, this formula does not improve her survival abilities or make her stronger; it only allows her to die a few more times.

She can only be reborn in the bodies of dying humans or mindless demonic beasts.

The last time she died, she was reborn as a soil-eating rat, similar to a hamster. Though it couldn't cultivate, she was content, and she dug out her own underground palace in the desolate land.

Every day, she dug a little.

After waking up, she would eat, and after eating, she would continue digging her palace.

She was excited to see the progress of her underground palace in this chaotic world, and she was thrilled that this place was an uninhabited wasteland, devoid of cultivators or natural predators.

She could live happily.

However, just as she felt a bit tired and crawled out of the underground passage she had dug, she emerged onto the ground and lay on a dirt-made recliner she had made to rest.

Then—

She saw that familiar man shooting towards her from a distance and stopping far away.

He casually unleashed dozens of Thunder Dragon Strikes, and it was clear that these Thunder Dragons were stronger than before. She even felt the ground shaking, and her entire rat body was thrown several zhang high and fell to the ground.

Fortunately, she didn't die.

The man was still quite far from her, so he didn't affect her too much. Just as she was worrying about whether her hard-built underground palace would collapse, she saw the man flying in the air.

Then, amidst the raging storm and dark clouds, thousands of Thunder Dragons roared and struck down.

Good enough.

She smiled and lay back on the rocking chair, closing her eyes and preparing to await her next life. She couldn't play around; this man seemed to be destined to cross paths with her, no matter where she went, he always managed to find her.

Then, with the overwhelming might of the Thunder Dragon Strikes, she was blasted into dust.

Did you offend him?

Insane.

Soon, it was the evening of the next day.

From yesterday until today.

Chen Qiu had been cultivating, and the Foundation Establishment Cultivation Pill no longer had any effect on him. He wanted to cultivate using Spirit Stones but was frustrated that he didn't have a single one on him, and the others in Fat Dragon's group were also empty-handed.

Might as well try to directly absorb Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi and see how it affects his cultivation speed.

Then—

"Cultivation Level": Core Formation Stage First Stage (0.1%).

After more than a day, he was still at the Celestial Dao Golden Core, and even with an accelerated cultivation speed, it took almost a day for his cultivation progress to increase by only 0.1%.

At this rate.

If he didn't consume Spirit Stones, it would take him around three years to cultivate to the Second Stage of the Golden Core.

If he used Spirit Stones, he could shorten this time to a little over a year.

This speed wasn't too slow.

After all, the lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator could be extended to 500 years. He had entered the Golden Core in his twenties, not yet thirty, which meant he still had over 400 years left. If he didn't encounter any bottlenecks along the way, he could reach the peak of the Golden Core before his lifespan ran out.

But.

After breaking through small realms every few days, he was naturally dissatisfied with this cultivation speed.

During the Foundation Establishment stage, it's almost impossible to improve cultivation progress by killing demonic beasts. For the Golden Core stage, the progress gained from killing demonic beasts is even less.

On the other hand, the Scholar.

He had already reached the Fourth Layer of Foundation Establishment.

With his cultivation fully restored, the Scholar took Qi Supplement Pills less frequently, but he still needed to stop occasionally to replenish his Spirit Qi.

Chen Qiu and his group were already near the capital city, in Jizhou, the neighboring province of Jingzhou. They replenished their Spirit Qi and prepared to enter the capital city that night and participate in the Heaven's Pride Ranking the next day.

"Scholar."

Chen Qiu examined his cultivation progress and asked, "Are there any quick ways to improve cultivation in the Golden Core stage?"

"There should be."

The Scholar hesitated and shook his head. "I'm not sure about the specific methods, but Golden Core Cultivation Pills are scarce and expensive. For pill cultivators, refining Golden Core Cultivation Pills is not an easy task."

"As for the Celestial Dao Golden Core Cultivation Pill, the last time it appeared was over a decade ago."

"Most Golden Core cultivators mainly rely on finding a place with abundant Spirit Qi to absorb Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi. If they have plenty of Spirit Stones, they can set up a Spirit Gathering Formation, which will also significantly increase their cultivation progress, but it consumes a lot of Spirit Stones."

"As for other methods, I'm not sure."

"But most people rely on their remaining lifespan to endure. Every small advancement in the Golden Core realm significantly enhances one's strength, so it's not easy to improve."

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu nodded silently and didn't speak further. Since there was no other way, he had to endure. Fortunately, he had enough remaining lifespan. He could find a place with abundant Spirit Qi, set up a Spirit Gathering Formation, and break through to the Second Stage of the Golden Core in less than a year.

Not bad, not too slow.

After twenty years, he would reach the peak of the Golden Core.

Then, he could slowly seek a way to break through the Nascent Soul's shackles and find the key to Nascent Soul cultivation.

After replenishing their Spirit Qi.

Chen Qiu and his group continued their journey and soon arrived in Jingzhou. However, this time, they didn't stay in the outer city but headed straight for the capital city.

The last time they came to Jingzhou, they didn't dare to enter the capital city.

He had once said that he wouldn't enter the capital city until he reached the Golden Core.

Now, it seemed he had kept his word. As soon as he entered the Golden Core, he arrived in the capital city.

Jingzhou, the capital city.

By now, night had fallen, but the city gates were still wide open. Looking inside, the streets were brightly lit, and countless pedestrians and vendors were still hawking their wares. From time to time, one could hear the voices of brothel madams soliciting customers.

It seemed quite lively.

Whether it was the grandeur of the city walls, the size of the city, or the level of prosperity, the capital city far surpassed Windward City by several streets. The two were not even on the same level.

Great Xia, the capital city.

This was the place where the world's fortune gathered.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end