Chapter 170: Fortune Awaits

Chapter 170: Fortune Awaits

At the back mountain peak of the Mock Heaven Sect.

Chen Qiu sat cross-legged on an oval-shaped stone, exhaling a turbid breath as he gazed at the cultivation panel floating above his dantian—

"Cultivation": Primordial Soul Level Three (46.0%).

He had finally reached the third layer of the Yuan Ying stage.

After a grueling twenty-four hours of cultivation, or two days, his cultivation had advanced from the first layer to the third layer of the Yuan Ying stage, slightly faster than he had anticipated.

By the time he exited seclusion, he should be able to reach the fourth layer of the Yuan Ying stage.

There were still 17 Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills left.

Once he finished them all, he would be ready to exit seclusion.

He glanced at the panel floating above his dantian, enveloped in clouds.

-

"Cultivation Surge: Officially entering the third layer of the Yuan Ying stage."

"Please choose one of the three randomly generated Entry Names within ten breaths."

1:

"Entry Name": Yuan Ying Defense.

"Entry Level": Purple.

"Entry Effect": Each time you encounter a rule kill, your Yuan Ying will sacrifice itself to protect you once.

2:

"Entry Name": Wine Sword Immortal.

"Entry Level": Yellow.

"Entry Effect": Spirit wine will significantly enhance your cultivation progress.

3:

"Entry Name": Daily Virtue.

"Entry Level": Blue.

"Entry Effect": By performing one good deed daily, you can obtain a Middle-grade Spirit Stone.

-

"Yuan Ying Defense?"

Chen Qiu rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. This was the first purple entry he had randomly obtained after entering the Yuan Ying stage, and it was undoubtedly a valuable one.

The main difference between the Yuan Ying and Jin Dan stages was—

For Jin Dan cultivators, the shattering of their core meant certain death. From another perspective, the Jin Dan was their Achilles' heel; once it shattered, even divine beings couldn't save them, and they would die without a trace.

However, for Yuan Ying cultivators,

Even without their Yuan Ying, they could still survive, but their cultivation would never progress further and would significantly regress. If they quickly withdrew from the muddy Cultivation World, they might find a place to spend their later years in peace.

But if they didn't have the courage to retreat, they would face death and the loss of their cultivation.

In the face of a rule kill, both the cultivator and their Yuan Ying would perish. With this entry, the Yuan Ying could sacrifice itself to protect against a rule kill.

Rule kills were a rare attribute.

Currently,

He only knew of one rule kill, the "Untying Until Death" entry. This entry's effect was that when a loving couple bound themselves together, if either of them fell for someone else, all three individuals would self-destruct.

Regardless of cultivation level.

Usually, most of these entries had cultivation restrictions. For example, if the person they fell for had a cultivation level one major realm higher, the entry wouldn't take effect. But this entry was rare in that it had no cultivation restriction.

It became one of the very few entries that could ignore cultivation levels and kill enemies of higher realms.

With this entry, his safety would increase significantly. His Yuan Ying could protect him from one attack, and with the "Continuous Birth" entry, he wouldn't have just one Yuan Ying; he could birth a small Yuan Ying every month to serve as a shield against rule kills.

"Continuous Birth," "One Feed One Pull," and "Yuan Ying Defense."

These three entries formed a small entry group.

It was a good combination.

Every day, his Yuan Ying could swallow Heaven-Endowed Materials to produce a treasure, and every month, he could birth a small Yuan Ying. These small Yuan Yings could not only continue to produce treasures but also defend against rule kills.

It was perfect.

Chen Qiu nodded in satisfaction and without hesitation, chose the first entry, "Yuan Ying Defense."

His safety had greatly increased.

As for the remaining two entries, they were completely unsuitable for him. The "Wine Sword Immortal" entry was clearly designed for sword immortals and was likely part of a larger entry group.

For example, it might enhance sword intent while drunk.

The "Daily Virtue" entry was suitable for beginners but not for him.

It was similar to the "Stepping into Immortality" entry; these spirit stone economy-related entries were quite effective in the early stages, but at his current cultivation level, even a single spirit stone wasn't enough for his daily expenses.

Performing daily virtues for an entire year would only yield 365 middle-grade spirit stones.

He could obtain more than that by casually visiting any sect.

However, the value of a middle-grade spirit stone was indeed high, equivalent to 600 lower-grade spirit stones. If a Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivator obtained this blue entry, it would be a perfect fit.

Not only could they earn spirit stones, but they could also accumulate virtue.

It was a double benefit.

After selecting the entry, Chen Qiu didn't hesitate. He looked at the 17 Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills in his embrace, took a deep breath, and entered seclusion once more.

This time—

He secluded himself for twelve hours.

He consumed all the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills he had, leaving none behind.

When he opened his eyes again, his cultivation had reached—

-

"Cultivation": Primordial Soul Level Four (69.0%).

-

He had entered the middle stage of the Yuan Ying stage.

Chen Qiu sat cross-legged on the peak of the Mock Heaven Sect, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes. He hadn't even tested his strength at the early stage of the Yuan Ying stage, and now he had directly skipped it.

He had wanted to see if his early-stage Yuan Ying could defeat a late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator.

There were still five Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills left.

But that was it.

He decided not to consume any more for the time being. After reaching the fourth layer of the Yuan Ying stage, which was the middle stage, consuming one Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill would still increase his cultivation progress by 1%, and with the tenfold effect, it would be 10%. However, he needed to stabilize his cultivation first.

His cultivation had advanced through three realms in just three days, and even his Primordial Soul was feeling the strain. Advancing too quickly could lead to an unstable cultivation base.

He would take some time to stabilize his realm and then consume the remaining five cultivation pills in one go, striving to break through to the fifth layer of the Yuan Ying stage!

But before that—

He needed to choose an entry.

Chen Qiu looked at the panel floating above his dantian, shrouded in clouds. After breaking through to the fourth layer of the Yuan Ying stage, the panel didn't appear again. It was truly an incredible feeling to combine the tenfold cultivation speed with the Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills.

The only slight regret was...

The Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills were almost gone, with only five left.

"Cultivation has greatly increased, officially entering the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul stage."

"Please choose from the following three random entries within ten breaths."

1:

Entry Name: Waterfall Hair.

Entry Level: White.

Entry Effect: Your hair will grow incessantly and rapidly, and as your cultivation realm improves, its toughness and hardness will also increase accordingly.

2:

Entry Name: Virtue Primordial Soul.

Entry Level: Purple.

Entry Effect: When your virtue points exceed one billion, and you are at the Nascent Soul stage, there is a chance to randomly obtain this entry. This entry can transform your Nascent Soul into a Virtue Primordial Soul, with a strength equivalent to a fourth-rank Nascent Soul. You can further enhance it by consuming virtue points, up to a maximum of a ninth-rank Nascent Soul.

3:

Entry Name: Fortune Awaits.

Entry Level: Blue.

Entry Effect: When choosing from three entries, you can spend 100,000 virtue points to get one more chance to rerandomize. This rerandomization can only be applied to a single entry, and you can use this ability at most once during each three-choice selection.

"Hmm?"

A glint of light flashed in Chen Qiu's eyes. The first entry was a white-level entry, and it was indeed surprising to obtain a white-level entry at the Nascent Soul stage. Typically, entries of this level appeared during the Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation stages, and it was rare to obtain them at the Nascent Soul stage.

The effect seemed to have no use.

But it was clearly a powerful entry or a prerequisite for a set of entries.

This one had a bit of a gambling nature to it.

If you obtained this entry at a lower cultivation level and chose it, but later failed to obtain related entries to complement it, this entry would not only fail to enhance your combat power but also become a burden.

So far, he had not seen any entry that could synergize with the Waterfall Hair entry.

He had no need for the Virtue Primordial Soul.

Just like the Virtue Golden Core, he did not think much of it.

With a twelfth-rank Nascent Soul in hand, why would he care about the Virtue Primordial Soul that could only reach a ninth-rank at best?

Instead, the third entry, "Fortune Awaits," caught his attention. This entry meant he could have one more chance to rerandomize during each three-choice selection, increasing the probability of obtaining more suitable entries.

Without hesitation, he chose the third entry before the ten breaths were up.

"Continue!"

Chen Qiu spent three to four hours consolidating his cultivation realm, preventing instability due to rapid progress. With the effects of the twelfth-rank Nascent Soul, consolidating his realm was relatively simple and effortless.

Before resuming cultivation, he fed his Nascent Soul a Malevolent Wood.

This time, instead of pulling out a Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill, he obtained a Superior Enlightenment Stone.

Its effect could instantly enhance the cultivation realm of his Nascent Soul and all spells below it to Great Perfection.

Indeed, a valuable item.

Although most of his spells had already reached Great Perfection, and he had no immediate use for the Enlightenment Stone, it was still a good idea to keep it for learning new spells in the future.

After completing these tasks, Chen Qiu sat cross-legged on the elliptical stone, slowly closing his eyes. He swallowed a Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pill, circulated his Heart Method, and the surrounding middle-grade spirit stones flickered, indicating that their spiritual energy was about to be exhausted.

Five hours later, the middle-grade spirit stones around Chen Qiu had lost their luster, turning into fragments scattered on the ground. After several consecutive days of cultivation, the Spirit Gathering Array could no longer support it, and it completely shattered after exhausting all its spiritual energy.

Even a small Spirit Gathering Array like this consumed so many middle-grade spirit stones.

It was unimaginable how many middle-grade spirit stones the gigantic Spirit Gathering Array of the Mock Heaven Sect would consume daily when activated. Was the Mock Heaven Sect that wealthy back then? Where did they get so many middle-grade spirit stones?

They didn't leave behind any means of getting rich, which he could learn from.

The only way to get rich that he could think of was—

Slaying demons and eliminating monsters.

But it was a bit distasteful, and he felt that the Mock Heaven Sect should have had a more efficient way of getting rich. Otherwise, how could they have afforded such a gigantic Spirit Gathering Array that devoured spirit stones like a golden beast?

Chen Qiu opened his eyes and checked his cultivation progress.

Cultivation: Nascent Soul Stage, Fifth Layer (19.6%).

He had reached the middle stage of the Nascent Soul.

In just three days, he advanced from the first layer to the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul stage, a terrifying speed in the entire cultivation world. Unless it was a major sect's all-out effort to nurture a Heaven's Pride, it would be impossible for an ordinary elder of a regular sect in Quzhou to advance from the first to the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul stage in less than several decades, even with everything going smoothly.

And he had done it in just three days!

Of course, the price was forty Primordial Soul Dao Cultivation Pills, which were now completely gone.

Moreover, consuming these pills seemed to be addictive.

If not for these pills, he might have cultivated at a normal pace. But now that he had experienced the rapid cultivation boost and was without them, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Forget it!"

Chen Qiu took a deep breath, preparing to stand up and check on the progress of breaking the seals on the storage artifacts obtained from the Chain Sect. There were only fifteen days left until the arrival of the Heavenly Dao version of "Heavenly Chaos."

There were only twenty-seven days left to enjoy the tenfold cultivation speed boost.

The path of slaying demons and eliminating monsters was imminent.

It was said that only three powers in Quzhou had reached the Divine Transformation stage: the Su Family, the Qi Zong, and the Dao Sword Sect.

He had a certain relationship with the Su Family, and the other two sects feared that the Heavenly Dao version would go into seclusion, so the strongest cultivator in Quzhou, aside from the Su Family Patriarch, was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

But he was not intimidated by the peak of the Nascent Soul stage! At this point, he could walk freely in Quzhou.

Since he could walk freely, it would be a shame not to do something.

"How's the progress?"

Chen Qiu stood at the entrance of the disciple's dormitory, looking at the shopkeeper who was sitting amidst a pile of spirit artifacts. He asked, "How's it going?"

The shopkeeper, whose face was slightly pale and devoid of any trace of blood, nodded and said, "The spirit artifacts from the Chain Sect, including the one belonging to the Peak Nascent Soul powerhouse, have all been unlocked. Only a few disciples' spirit artifacts remain."

"Not bad," Chen Qiu praised.

Chen Qiu glanced at the shopkeeper's pale face and frowned slightly. He took out thirty Golden Core Celestial Cultivation Pills that had been delivered over the past three days and handed them over, saying, "In your free time, work on improving your cultivation. The higher your cultivation, the easier it will be to unlock these artifacts."

"Remember to balance work and rest," the shopkeeper reminded him.

"Thank you for your concern, Sect Master," the shopkeeper said after bidding farewell.

After the parting, Chen Qiu once again brought a large number of unlocked spirit artifacts to the peak of the mountain behind the sect.

As expected, the Sect Master of the Chain Sect had left him quite a stash. There were a full 1000 medium-grade spirit stones hidden in the spirit artifact, much less than he had anticipated. It seemed that the Sect Master had indeed placed most of the medium-grade spirit stones in the sect's treasure vault for the sake of the sect's lineage.

Even the Sect Master didn't have many spirit stones, and the elders had around 1000 or so spirit stones as well.

If every sect were like the Chain Sect, then the richest place would indeed be the sect's treasure vault, and the spirit artifacts wouldn't have much in them.

The remaining items in the spirit artifacts were a hodgepodge of divine artifacts, medicinal herbs, and spells.

There wasn't a single valuable item in sight, not even an Enchantment Scroll.

Chen Qiu decided to throw everything directly into the Mock Heaven Sect's warehouse.

He had already instructed the Golden Core disciples of the Mock Heaven Sect to build several warehouses overnight, as the existing ones were getting crowded with all sorts of miscellaneous items. There were too many things, and they hadn't been sorted yet, making the place look chaotic. He needed to find someone to manage the warehouse.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Dezhui seemed like a good choice.

However—

It was time to go out!

Quzhou.

As night fell, the sky in the distance still retained a hint of twilight, and a sliver of the moon stood out against the deep blue sky.

The scene before him was beautiful.

Beautiful enough to take one's breath away.

However, some people didn't have the time to appreciate this scenery.

"You're going too far!!!"

North of Quzhou, on a mountain shrouded in evil aura, stood the Gui Xie Sect. The Sect Master of the Gui Xie Sect was currently backing away in panic and anger, looking towards Chen Qiu, who was slowly approaching along the mountain path.

"We have no grudges, so why are you slaughtering us?"

"Are you really going to force us into a life-and-death struggle?"

In his eyes, the young man in the green robe was leaning on the Heavenly Clue Umbrella, slowly approaching him, with 38 Nascent Souls following behind. His own cultivation base was at the mid-stage Nascent Soul, making him look quite formidable!

38 Nascent Souls? Where did they get so many?

He, of course, recognized Chen Qiu, especially since these people wore the same sect uniforms, and each had the character 'Mock' engraved on their chests. Even if he was a fool, he would know that these people were from the Mock Heaven Sect.

He wasn't sure if he could defeat Chen Qiu. Although his cultivation base at the Peak Nascent Soul was far superior to Chen Qiu's, Chen Qiu was clearly not someone who followed conventional logic. When he was at the Golden Core Perfection stage, he had killed an Early Nascent Soul, and with his ultimate move, he could even slaughter an entire state! Now that he was at the mid-stage Nascent Soul, his strength was even more unfathomable, like the deep sea.

Therefore—

Even though Chen Qiu had shattered his Mountain Defense Array and killed many of his disciples, he hadn't taken any action. He had hoped to persuade Chen Qiu to retreat by appealing to his emotions and reasoning.

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu, wearing a green robe with the character 'Mock' embroidered on his left chest, stood on the peak of the Gui Xie Sect's mountain, holding the Heavenly Clue Umbrella. He casually took the information about the Gui Xie Sect's sins from Fei Long and spoke in a calm voice.

"The Gui Xie Sect has a lineage of over four hundred years, and the current Sect Master has a cultivation base at the Peak Nascent Soul. After failing to forcefully break through the Divine Transformation stage, he was injured by thunder tribulation, causing a slight drop in his cultivation level. His injuries have not fully healed yet."

"The sect's inherited heart method is the Evil Heart Art, which can convert all spiritual energy into evil energy. Spiritual energy from heaven and earth is useless for your cultivation progress, but absorbing evil energy and vengeful energy can rapidly enhance your cultivation."

"When combined with some entries that interact with evil energy and vengeful energy, both your cultivation speed and strength will far surpass your peers."

"To produce large amounts of evil energy and vengeful energy, you slaughter countless mortals, and it's not just slaughter. You torture every mortal."

"Eye gouging, human beasts, slow slicing, finger cutting, and flaying."

"In addition to physical pain, you also defile wives in front of their husbands, kill children in front of their parents, and force people to kill their own families."

"Through various means, you create a large amount of vengeful energy, significantly accelerating the Gui Xie Sect disciples' cultivation progress."

"How about it?"

Chen Qiu looked up at the Gui Xie Sect's Sect Master and asked calmly, "Do you have any grievances?"

"No," the Gui Xie Sect's Sect Master replied.

The Sect Master of the Gui Xie Sect didn't refute this, but his face darkened as he stood on the peak, his gaze fixed on Chen Qiu. Waves of evil energy emanated from his body, suppressing his inner anger and fury. "But what does this have to do with you?"

"The Gui Xie Sect only kills mortals on its own territory. It has never gone elsewhere."

"Your benevolence is so great; do you think you can protect all the mortals in the world?"

"Or do you think that after obtaining hundreds of millions of virtue points and topping the Xuantian Continent's virtue ranking, you've become the Sage of the Heavenly Way and should bear the responsibility of protecting all mortals? Don't forget that."

"Not only did you top the Xuantian Continent's virtue ranking, but you're also at the top of the continent's sin ranking."

"If you want to use the excuse of acting on behalf of heaven to eradicate our Gui Xie Sect, I don't accept this reason. My sin value is not even one percent of yours. Shouldn't you be the one who should be eradicated?"

"No, you're wrong."

A mighty spiritual energy began to surge from Chen Qiu's body, and dark clouds had already gathered above the Gui Xie Sect's head without anyone noticing. A fierce storm followed closely behind, howling in its wake.

The howling wind made the already tense atmosphere even more intense, and a hint of murderous intent filled the air.

Chen Qiu looked at the furious Ghost Demon Sect Master, shaking his head and speaking softly.

"You want to debate the Dao with me again?"

"I've said it before, my Dao is simple: if you can't beat me, you die."

The next moment—

Countless thunder dragons appeared out of thin air, enveloping the Ghost Demon Sect Master on the mountain peak!

"Boom!!!"

Amidst the deafening explosion, the Ghost Demon Sect Master, who exuded a dense evil aura, was visibly disoriented by the strike, but managed to maintain a relatively good state as he burst out of the explosion.

Holding two evil flames, he transformed them into molten light and shot them towards Chen Qiu, throwing the flames at him and cackling.

"Are you really that confident?!"

"Heavenly Evil Domain!!!"

The next moment—

The dense evil aura instantly shrouded the entire Ghost Demon Sect, reducing visibility in an instant. From within the evil aura, the sounds of ghost wails and wolf howls could be heard from time to time.

Chen Qiu's eyes narrowed slightly. In this environment, he could clearly sense that he was unable to absorb the external spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It was as if the entire Ghost Demon Sect had been instantly pulled into a small world.

His divine sense couldn't probe outside, and the figure of the Ghost Demon Sect Master had disappeared from sight, leaving no trace.

".

Chen Qiu raised his eyebrows slightly. After blocking the two evil flames with the Heavenly Clue Umbrella without much effort, he looked around.

Domain?

Isn't this a technique only available to Spirit Transformation cultivators? The Ghost Demon Sect Master was only at the peak of Nascent Soul, and that was after a failed breakthrough. How could he possess such a technique? But upon closer inspection, it was clear that this domain was rather crude.

It was merely a crude creation of a domain filled with evil energy, expelling all spiritual energy and allowing only the Ghost Demon Sect Master to recover his own. Other cultivators were unable to restore their spiritual energy, and their divine sense couldn't probe outside, leaving them vulnerable to hidden attacks.

It was far inferior to the domains of Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Once fully unleashed, a Spirit Transformation domain would have a much more powerful effect than this.

However, Chen Qiu shook his head. He had just used a mere one-tenth of his spiritual energy. He was currently at the fifth level of Nascent Soul, and his rapid cultivation growth meant he wasn't entirely sure of his own strength.

But with just one-tenth of his spiritual energy, the Ghost Demon Sect Master seemed to be struggling, his aura becoming disordered.

It seemed his strength was even greater than Chen Qiu had imagined.

At that moment—

"Chen Qiu!"

The voice of the Ghost Demon Sect Master, filled with evil energy, echoed through the domain, sounding rather smug: "Do you think I've been avoiding you because I'm afraid of you?"

"It's just that my domain technique is still imperfect. I didn't want to use it so hastily, as it could easily backfire on my Nascent Soul!"

"But since you've angered me, I'll show you my true power!"

"This domain is a Spirit Transformation technique. During my forced breakthrough to Spirit Transformation, I didn't succeed, but I was lucky enough to comprehend a thread of domain power!"

"With your inferior cultivation, you'll never be able to break through my domain."

"You'll be trapped here forever."

"There's no real grudge between us, so why not just let it go?"

"I won't bother you, and you won't bother me. There are so many demon sects in Quzhou, do you really think you can handle them all, Chen Qiu?"

Although the Ghost Demon Sect Master's voice was filled with smugness, Chen Qiu, hidden in the shadows, had a deathly pale face, and his entire body was trembling.

The domain was a unique technique of Spirit Transformation cultivators.

He was forcing it with his peak Nascent Soul cultivation, which had already suffered a setback. The backlash was immense.

Even the corners of his mouth were seeping blood.

He could only hold on for a hundred breaths at most.

If he had broken through to Spirit Transformation and fully unleashed this domain, countless vengeful spirits and night-marching ghosts would have surged towards Chen Qiu like an endless tide.

But now, due to the domain's immaturity, it only had two effects.

One was to expel all spiritual energy, leaving only evil energy, and the other was to allow the user to hide in the shadows.

He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to remain calm, not wanting to reveal his weakness. When Chen Qiu's thunder dragons had enveloped him earlier, he had realized something.

In a head-on confrontation, he couldn't beat Chen Qiu.

A battle of Nascent Souls?

How could his Nascent Soul possibly compete with Chen Qiu's top-grade Nascent Soul, the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dao? And what was going on with Chen Qiu? Just three days ago, he had attained the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dao's Nascent Soul, and now, just three days later, he had already reached the fifth level of Nascent Soul?

A small realm breakthrough every day?

And that wasn't all.

The fastest way to improve one's Nascent Soul cultivation was with the Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul Cultivation Pill, but even if you ate them like candy, it was impossible to advance to the fifth level of Nascent Soul in just three days!

He had already made up his mind.

After scaring Chen Qiu off, he would leave the Ghost Demon Sect, no, he would leave Quzhou entirely. Something was off about Quzhou lately, it was too eerie.

This was clearly no longer a place fit for humans.

When the Demon State was destroyed, he had already considered leaving. After all, in all his years of life and cultivation, he had never heard of a state being directly shattered and absorbed into the sea.

It was too absurd! But he had hesitated, after all, his century-old foundation was in the Ghost Demon Sect.

But after hesitating for a few days, he was trapped. If he could escape this time, he would leave. Who cared about the Ghost Demon Sect? Survival was the most important thing; everything else was secondary.

".

Chen Qiu, leaning on the Heavenly Clue Umbrella, listened to the Ghost Demon Sect Master's voice echoing through the evil aura. He couldn't probe with his divine sense, nor could he pinpoint the Ghost Demon Sect's location.

But.

It didn't matter.

He wasn't the kind of cultivator who needed to lock onto his target with divine sense to kill.

The next moment—

An immense amount of spiritual energy surged out, forming a raging storm that enveloped the entire evil domain.

Hundreds of thousands of thunder dragons roared with terrifying might within the domain, recreating a scene from the Demon State's skies.

Heavenly Thunder Punishment!

PS: There will be two more chapters later, and typos will be corrected later.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end