Chapter 130: Nurturing a Peerless Law Cultivator!

Chapter 130: Nurturing a Peerless Law Cultivator!

Could it be because of the 2000 spirit stones he gave him? Or was it because Old Man Cao ate his roasted chicken?

A Nascent Soul expert wouldn't be truly attracted by such trivial matters. Everyone has their reasons for doing things. Just like how you only go to the bathroom when you need to relieve yourself, you wouldn't randomly squat on the side of the road without the urge.

So, what was Old Man Cao's reason for doing this?

Naturally, it was to nurture a peerless Law Cultivator!

Perhaps a single peerless Sword Cultivator might not be able to break free from their constraints, but what if there was also a peerless Law Cultivator?

If his guess was correct, then Old Man Cao was none other than the Grand Master of the Great Xia Kingdom.

Chen Qiu stood silently, deep in thought. Regardless of whether his speculation was accurate or not, he was certain that there was something about him that Old Man Cao didn't know, such as his Multicolored Attribute Scroll.

After a moment, Chen Qiu gazed into the distance at the sea and spoke softly, "You said you met the Grand Master, right? Tell me more about him."

"Hmm."

The Scholar furrowed his brows, deep in thought for a moment before recalling, "The Grand Master is a young man, but he has existed for a long time, like an immortal. His skin is smooth and tender, but his eyes are cloudy, lacking the clarity of a young person."

"He looks like an old man and acts with the wisdom of age, not at all like a young person."

"And there's a white Attribute Scroll that's a bunch of nonsense. The more people you deceive, the faster your cultivation increases."

"Heh."

Chen Qiu chuckled but remained silent, feeling that everything now made sense.

The cloudy eyes were a given; that body was likely just a vessel Old Man Cao used to move about. With his age and experience, he couldn't possibly disguise his eyes.

The love for deception also matched.

Back in Ask Heaven Market, Chen Qiu had encountered a treasure called "Heavenly Treasure Earthly Treasure," which contained many rare items. A Demon Cultivator suddenly appeared, intending to take the treasure by force. Chen Qiu had used a self-destructing Attribute Scroll to kill the Demon Cultivator.

Upon returning to Ask Heaven Market, Chen Qiu learned from the captain of the guards that the fortune-telling old man had told the Demon Cultivator that he would have good luck if he traveled west that day. The west was the direction where Chen Qiu was located.

The Demon Cultivator had died by Chen Qiu's hand.

Old Man Cao had deceived a Demon Cultivator; he enjoyed tricking others.

Furthermore, when someone sought Old Man Cao for a fortune, he instructed them to bow three times towards the east each morning. This was also a deception. If there was one method that was most effective in deceiving people, it was fortune-telling and divination.

Everything fit perfectly.

"Let's go back."

Chen Qiu smiled, turned around, and walked towards the city with his cane. He didn't mind being a pawn in Old Man Cao's plan to nurture him into a peerless Law Cultivator, as Old Man Cao's goal was merely to break free from the constraints of the Great Xia Kingdom.

Chen Qiu had no conflict with that.

When he reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, he wouldn't want to watch his lifespan wither away. He also desired to achieve the Nascent Soul stage.

As long as he was given sufficient benefits, he was willing to play the role of a pawn.

However, if Old Man Cao believed he could completely control Chen Qiu, he was sorely mistaken.

The Scholar and Fat Dragon exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. Why was Chen Qiu so cheerful even though he suspected he might be a pawn? They shook their heads, took large strides to catch up with Chen Qiu, and headed towards the city together.

At the city gate, numerous sect disciples had gathered, all looking at Chen Qiu with a mix of respect and awe in their eyes.

There was no jealousy.

Jealousy only existed when someone was slightly better than you.

When someone could easily snap your neck, it was only natural to not display negative emotions like jealousy.

Night fell, and it was soon the hour of the Rat.

The daily blessing from the Talented Youth Ranking had arrived, and a jade box appeared in Chen Qiu's Storage Ring. Sitting cross-legged on the bed in the inn, Chen Qiu looked at the pill inside the jade box with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The pill in the jade box was very familiar to him.

It looked almost identical to the Foundation Establishment Celestial Dao Cultivation Pill, except that its spiritual energy fluctuations were stronger, and the pill's luster was even more beautiful.

It was—

A Golden Core Celestial Dao Cultivation Pill, and not just one, but ten of them.

"Excellent."

Chen Qiu laughed, realizing that the biggest gain from the Talented Youth Ranking might not only be the Celestial Artifact but also these Golden Core Celestial Dao Cultivation Pills. After reaching the Golden Core stage, there were hardly any quick ways to improve one's cultivation.

Killing demon beasts was no longer effective, and consuming Golden Core pills couldn't enhance one's cultivation either.

Just as Chen Qiu was preparing to slowly pass the time, the Celestial Dao Cultivation Pills appeared.

The daily blessing from the Talented Youth Ranking was available every midnight, which meant he could obtain ten Celestial Dao Cultivation Pills every night. Combined with the Spirit Gathering Formation and other methods, this would greatly accelerate his cultivation progress.

Chen Qiu wondered how much his cultivation would improve with this Golden Core Celestial Dao Cultivation Pill.

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu exhaled softly, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He swallowed the Celestial Dao Cultivation Pill, closed his eyes, and began to circulate his cultivation method, quickly absorbing the pill's power.

Half an hour later, Chen Qiu let out a long breath, feeling the abundant spiritual energy in his Core Palace. He closed his eyes and visualized the panel floating above his Core Palace.

- Cultivation Stage: Golden Core Stage, First Layer (5.1%).

A faint smile crept onto his face.

Although absorbing the Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills took more time, requiring half an hour to absorb each pill, the progress was also quite remarkable. Each pill increased his cultivation progress by 5%.

He had nine pills left.

In other words, if he absorbed all nine remaining pills tonight, his cultivation progress would reach 50.1%.

Previously, he had spent nearly two days circulating his cultivation technique to absorb Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi, only to increase his progress by 0.1%. Now, in just half an hour, his cultivation had risen by 5%.

His original plan was to spend one to two years advancing his cultivation to the second layer of the Golden Core stage.

Now, it seemed, he only needed two days.

By the day after tomorrow, his cultivation would reach the second layer.

And that day was also when the Sea Tribe would invade.

"Perfect timing."

Chen Qiu turned his head towards the Multicolored Celestial Omnipotent Umbrella placed beside the bed and muttered.

With a large gathering of demonic beasts in the Boundless Sea to the east of Great Xia, he could kill more demons and expand his dantian a little, allowing him to accommodate more Spirit Qi. Under the effect of the 'Spirit Qi Pressure' attribute, his spell power would also increase.

Everything was just right.

Perfect.

He didn't think further and instead took another Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill, sitting cross-legged on the bed and circulating his cultivation technique to absorb its power.

While the Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills were beneficial, they indeed took a considerable amount of time to absorb. It required half an hour to absorb each pill, and ten pills would take a total of five hours.

After absorbing these ten pills, the sky would be bright again.

Another night of arduous cultivation began.

His strength was still too weak; facing a sixth-layer Golden Core opponent, he would have to use the 'Self-Destruct' attribute. As long as his cultivation progressed fast enough, even against a sixth-layer Golden Core cultivator, he could handle it effortlessly. Moreover, due to the restrictions of Heaven and Earth, the 'Self-Destruct' attribute couldn't unleash the full power of a Nascent Soul's strike.

At most, it could deliver the full force of a Half-Nascent Soul.

As Chen Qiu diligently cultivated, the scholar in the adjacent guest room was also swallowing the last few Foundation Establishment Cultivation Pills while continuing his cultivation.

Inside the Little World.

In the disciple's dormitory.

A middle-aged man, his forehead covered in sweat, was intently breaking the restrictions on the three Storage Rings in his hands. These rings, which carried the aura of the Golden Core stage, had been given to him by Chen Qiu before nightfall.

He had followed Chen Qiu and left Mountain Opening City, residing in this Little World to focus on breaking the restrictions on the Storage Rings for Chen Qiu.

He never expected Chen Qiu to possess a Little World, a Heavenly Treasure.

But it didn't matter.

Anyway, in his life, he only loved one thing: breaking restrictions. He didn't care much about anything else. Since Chen Qiu had promised him a continuous supply of Storage Rings to break, he didn't mind being in the Little World or Mountain Opening City.

At that moment—

In the Endless Icy Plains, in the city lord's mansion of 'Fat City', a plump man sat on the city lord's chair, looking dazed. "Has the palace not sent an order for me to return to the capital yet?"

Thirty years ago, the Grand Master had sent him here, saying that a disaster would befall the Endless Icy Plains and that he should guard this place.

It turned out to be true.

The Evil Tribes did indeed descend, although he didn't play much of a role. He believed that the Grand Master valued his character more than his strength. If a petty and narrow-minded person had been sent to guard Fat City, they might have been killed by Chen Qiu.

In that case, when the Evil Tribes invaded, no one would have been able to stand up.

But now, the Evil Tribes had been dealt with, and no news had come from the palace. Logically, his task was complete, and he should have been able to return to the palace.

"Master."

At that moment—

The elder standing behind him whispered, puzzled, "I heard that the Grand Master has been in seclusion these past few years and hasn't been out and about. Could he have forgotten about you?"

"Impossible."

The man shook his head. "You haven't interacted with the Grand Master; you don't understand. The Grand Master is the type of person who considers everything meticulously. Since he sent me to guard Fat City, it's impossible for him to forget about me."

"There's a reason for everything."

"You only go to the toilet when you have the urge to defecate. You wouldn't just squat by the roadside and defecate for no reason when you don't have the urge."

"The fact that the palace hasn't sent an order for me to return means that Fat City still needs me. Perhaps in the near future, Fat City will face a disaster that only I can resolve."

". . ."

The elder standing behind him fell silent for a long time before speaking in a low voice, "Master, why do you always use such vulgar examples?"

"Vulgar?"

The city lord turned around, perplexed, and looked at the elder behind him. "Have you never defecated?"

"And those words didn't come from me in the first place. The Grand Master told me this. Do you mean to say the Grand Master is less refined than you?"

"I dare not."

A flash of fear in the elder's eyes as he quickly lowered his head. "This servant absolutely doesn't mean that."

"Hmph."

The middle-aged man snorted coldly and then sat back in the city lord's chair, assuming a comfortable position. "Since the Grand Master hasn't ordered me to return, it means that I'm still needed here.

"The Grand Master himself told me this."

"I am a crucial part of his plan."

"Not everyone has this honor. We must not ruin the Grand Master's plan with impatience."

In the Hundred Kingdoms.

Ji Taiping sat at the table with a gloomy expression, gazing at the two kingdoms preparing for peace talks once again. The Imperial Palace had sent him to resolve the war in the Hundred Kingdoms, but each time these two kingdoms attempted peace negotiations, they failed, and fighting resumed as soon as they returned.

This was already the fourth time they had attempted peace talks during this period.

He was eager to return home, longing to quickly go back to Jizhou and reunite with Ji Jianian in Qingfeng. Recently, Great Xia had undergone significant changes, and even the White-Robed man had returned from the dead and resumed his activities.

He was extremely afraid of what might happen if Ji Jianian disobeyed and ventured out, especially after learning that it was not Ji Taiping but the White-Robed man who had protected her during her crisis.

Would Ji Jianian abandon him and turn to the White-Robed man?

He couldn't accept this!

At this moment, his Human-Sword Unity realm was still unstable. If Ji Jianian's Celestial Beauty effect were to transfer to someone else, and with his Human Unity realm not yet solidified, he would instantly fall from his current state.

He couldn't tolerate this happening.

He could only repeatedly contact his subordinates in Qingfeng, and only after learning that Ji Jianian had never left Qingfeng and that no news from the outside world had reached her did he finally breathe a slight sigh of relief.

But even so, he still wanted to return to Qingfeng as soon as possible. Only by staying by Ji Jianian's side could he feel secure.

If not for the Imperial Palace's restrictions, he would have liked to slaughter both of these kingdoms. At this moment, his murderous intent was so strong that it had materialized, and his terrifying Golden Core Fourth Stage cultivation was no longer concealed, hanging over everyone like a heavenly punishment.

He was the "National Sword Guardian"!

This was an honor, representing power and the ability to harness a strand of Great Xia's fortune. However, it also meant he had to obey Great Xia's commands and not defy them, or Great Xia could retract this strand of fortune at any time.

But he didn't regret it!

If not for this strand of Great Xia's fortune, he wouldn't have advanced to the Golden Core Fourth Stage so quickly. The White-Robed man, who claimed to be above it all, refused to follow the Imperial Palace's orders and eventually couldn't escape death, though he faked it. His cultivation had plummeted, and he no longer posed any threat.

"Huff!"

Daybreak arrived.

In a small coastal city in Haizhou, Chen Qiu sat cross-legged on a bed in an inn, exhaling a mouthful of turbid air. He turned his head to look out the window at the bright sky and the rising sun above the sea.

He listened to the calls of seagull-like creatures circling over the sea.

And felt the chilly sea breeze on his face.

He looked within himself at the panel above his dantian, and a smile crept onto his face, but he said nothing.

-

"Cultivation Progress: Golden Core First Stage (50.1%)"

After a night of arduous cultivation, his progress had reached 50.1%, and with the Sea Tribe's invasion of the Little World just three days away, today was the second day. In other words, the Sea Tribe would invade the day after tomorrow—whether in the morning, noon, or evening, he wasn't sure.

As long as he made it through the midnight hour tonight, he could claim another ten Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills.

Then, by tomorrow morning, at this very moment, he would step into the Golden Core Second Stage.

His combat power would increase again.

And he could choose another Attribute.

Perhaps, if he had the chance to achieve Nascent Soul and continue cultivating, he might not be limited to just the "Ever-Higher" Attribute. But for his entire cultivation journey, "Ever-Higher" had been the most useful Attribute.

Although he didn't know the effects of the other Rainbow Attributes, he believed that none of them could replace "Ever-Higher" during the Qi Condensation Stage.

"My luck is incredible."

Chen Qiu got up from the bed, changed into a black robe, and stood before the mirror, adjusting his attire as he sighed, "The most appropriate timing, with the smallest probability, I randomly obtained the Attribute that helps me the most. Not everyone has this kind of luck."

Just then, he sensed something from within the Little World. He probed it with his spirit sense and discovered that the three Storage Rings he had obtained from the Master of the Flower Offering Sect the night before had their restrictions broken.

After sensing the contents of the Storage Rings with his spirit sense, he couldn't help but laugh again.

This luck was indeed extraordinary.

As he pushed open the door and stepped out, Fat Dragon, the scholar, was already waiting with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Brother Qiu."

"Is it morning already?"

Chen Qiu rolled his eyes at Fat Dragon and said with a smile, "It's almost noon. Any later, and we'd be having dinner."

Then he turned to the scholar, "How's your cultivation progress?"

"Hmm."

The scholar shook his head helplessly, "It's a bit slow. Although I'm restarting my cultivation, the progress is faster, but not by much. I've already absorbed all the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills you gave me."

"I'm still at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, and my realm hasn't improved, but my cultivation progress did increase significantly after taking the Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills last night."

"Yes."

Chen Qiu casually took out a Storage Ring from his pocket and tossed it to the scholar, "Your luck is quite good too. The restrictions on the Master of the Flower Offering Sect's Storage Rings have been broken, and they contain a considerable number of Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills. I roughly scanned them, and there are almost 2,000 pills."

"You should have enough to cultivate to the seventh or eighth layer of Foundation Establishment."

"This..."

The scholar had just examined the storage ring with his divine sense when he turned to Chen Qiu with a grateful expression, "Brother Qiu, your generosity knows no bounds. I don't know how to express my gratitude, but rest assured, from now on, if you ask me to go east, I will never go west!"

". . ."

Fat Dragon, expressionless, patted the scholar's shoulder, "Next time, before you start flattering me, let me help you with your words. Your flattery is too stiff."

"Is it stiff?"

"Stiff. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Qiu. By the way, Brother Qiu, where did the Master of the Flower Offering Sect get so many Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills from his storage ring?"

Chen Qiu smiled and leaned on his walking stick as he walked down the corridor towards the inn, chuckling, "The Master of the Flower Offering Sect has quite a few Shadow Stones in his storage ring. He replicated the grand ceremony we had in Fat Province in other provinces."

"But they were rather unlucky."

"They probably didn't have much time before the Reputation Ranking was closed, but they still invested a lot of spirit stones. They managed to obtain over 2,000 Foundation Establishment Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, which is more than enough for the scholar. With the two Golden Core pills in my storage ring, it might even be enough to directly break through to the Peak Golden Core Great Perfection."

"Then we'll have another Golden Core expert in our team."

"You, Fat Dragon, should also work harder."

"Me?"

Fat Dragon nodded with a bitter expression. His Destiny Dual Cultivation Formula allowed him to increase his cultivation progress ninefold through dual cultivation, a powerful formula, but he had been too busy lately and hadn't found any suitable demonic beasts.

"Wait a moment..."

A sudden realization struck him, "Isn't there a large number of demonic beasts during the Sea Tribe's invasion?"

". . ."

Chen Qiu, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and stood silently for a moment before turning to Fat Dragon, "Tomorrow, I'll keep an eye out for some Sea Tribe demonic beasts that you can barely handle."

"After they're heavily injured, I'll leave them to you."

Little Fish City.

A small county town near the seaside, although many mortals had fled, there were still quite a few mortals running shops in the city. After all, Little Fish City had seen an increase in Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were much more generous than ordinary people.

Although it was a bit dangerous, they could earn much more money these days.

After having some seafood porridge, Chen Qiu and his group strolled around for a while before returning to the inn. Little Fish City was so small that it didn't even have a brothel, only red houses.

Red houses were too crude and straightforward. They didn't want to go to such places, as they were looking for a place to listen to some music and cultivate their refined tastes, a small luxury. But going to red houses would be too direct, and the quality wasn't great either.

The Sea Tribe was invading the next day.

With nothing much to do, Chen Qiu and his group didn't wander for long before returning to the inn to cultivate diligently, preparing for the Sea Tribe's invasion the following day.

The Sea Tribe, the Evil Tribes, and the Demon Race were all invading.

The Great Xia Dynasty was indeed busy.

The invasions were coming from the east, south, and north, and Chen Qiu wondered if the next invasion would be from the west, perhaps the Endless Snow Mountains. An invasion of snow monsters?

He felt like he was starting to see a pattern.

After cultivating for an entire day, Chen Qiu's control over his divine sense had become more effortless, and he had also consolidated the progress from the previous night. His command over the vast spirit qi within him had reached a new level.

And so, after midnight.

The jade box containing ten Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills reappeared in the storage ring, right on time.

Chen Qiu didn't waste any time. He sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed another Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pill, circulating his cultivation technique to envelop the medicinal properties with spirit qi and send them to every corner of his meridians.

Finally—

At dawn, the hour of the snake.

Chen Qiu, sitting cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. He looked out the window at the unchanged sea, which, in the winter, brought a chilly breeze.

It was a damp and sticky kind of cold, different from the dry cold of the Endless Icy Plains, where the cold pierced to the bone.

And so, his cultivation progress finally reached—

- Cultivation: Golden Core Second Stage (0.1%).

"Finally, I've reached the second stage of Golden Core."

Chen Qiu examined the progress bar above his dantian, stretched his limbs, and stood in front of the mirror to straighten his robe before selecting the formula for this breakthrough.

He was quite satisfied with the speed of his cultivation progress.

He had asked the scholar if the daily blessings from the top rank of the Heaven's Pride Ranking included Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills, and the scholar had replied that they didn't. When he was at the top, his daily heavenly blessings were spirit stone rewards.

Golden Core Heavenly Dao Cultivation Pills hadn't been seen in many years.

It was only this time, as the Heaven's Pride Ranking was special. It was as if the blessings that used to be distributed to 100 people daily were now condensed into a single person receiving heavenly blessings each day. It was reasonable for the rewards to increase under such circumstances.

Very reasonable.

PS: Please point out any typos, and I'll fix them later. Thanks for reading!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end