“Hew!”
A current of white energy flew into Chen Fan’s nose. This flow of energy was made out of condensed Spirit Qi. By now, each and every breath Chen Fan took could consume enough Spirit Qi to fill a bottle of Yun Wu Spirit Water.
After each day of cultivation, he drained so much Spirit Qi that it would take the Green Dragon Grand Array an entire month to accumulate. Only a Spirit Source that had been gathering Spirit Qi for thousands of years could meet Chen Fan’s consumption.
However, just a year later, the Spirit Dew inside the pond had gotten visibly lower.
Xie Yan examined the Spirit Spring and noticed that nearly half of the Spirit Dew was already consumed by Chen Fan,
“What art does Sect master cultivate? How could he consume so much Spirit Qi in such a short period of time.”
Xie Yan was taken aback.
Xie Yan had been cultivating alongside Chen Fan in the Cave Abode. Chen Fan had given him enough Essence Gathering Pills so that he wouldn’t have to worry about things like food or water. While Chen Fan focused on his cultivation, he turned his mind on to the Sword Art of Nine Abandonments.
The cultivation had breathed new life into his aging appearance. His white hair started to turn dark and his wrinkled skin smoothened. Xie Yan registered that his power had quickly passed the mid-stage of Immortal State and, by now, he was not very far from the late-stage of Immortal State. This one year of cultivation was more effective than the combined effort of the last ten years.
That was merely the benefits of the overflow of Spirit Qi from Chen Fan’s system. Chen Fan had been absorbing a hundred times more Spirit Qi than Xie Yan, so his improvement was even much greater.
The thought of how powerful Chen Fan had gotten scared Xie Yan.
“Kaboom!”
Suddenly, a powerful wave of energy shot out from Chen Fan’s body and quickly filled up the entire cave. The energy was overwhelming even to Xie Yan and forced the Dragon Lord to back a few steps.
“Did the Sect Master level up? To what level though? Did he reach the peak level of Immortal State or is he an Earth Level Deity now?”
Xie Yan’s face changed a little.
Chen Fan’s overbearing presence made Xie Yan’s hair stand on end. Not even Ye Qincang nor Lin Shuming could match Chen Fan’s level of attainment.
What happened next shook Xie Yan to his core.
“Bang, bang, bang!”
A few strange things happened around Chen Fan.
The two golden flames in Chen Fan’s eyes grew in size and intensity as a pulse of vigorous Wood Element Spirit Qi sprouted out from under Chen Fan’s feet, forming countless twisting vines. One small blade of grass that had grown out from the stone wall suddenly multiplied its size and created a giant hole where it lodged its root.
Then a golden flame set Chen Fan’s body ablaze. Slowly, the fire morphed into a suit of armor, making Chen Fan look like a powerful invincible general on the battlefield.
What stunned Xie Yan the most was an operation behind Chen Fan.
Despite the illusionary and blurry image, Xie Yan could tell that it was a statuesque man in the emperor’s garb, complete with a crown. Time and space seem to have lost their perspectives around the appreciation, as the figure weaved itself in and out in between the future and the past.
Xie Yan watched as a fast-growing vine approached the apparition, but quickly withered as if an entire season had passed.
“What is going on?”
Xie Yan let out a gasp of cold air.
Each one of the incredible sights: Fire in the eyes, Wood Element Spirit Qi, Armor of Golden Flame and the apparition of the man in the emperor’s outfit represented one of Chen Fan’s four Divine powers. Unlike Dharma Spells, the potency of Divine power grew with the level of attainment of the cultivator.
Once Chen Fan had reached the Dao Reunion level, he could have annihilated the entire world with a gaze and turn back time with a snap of fingers.
As Chen Fan reached the mid-stage of the Divine Sea Level, his divine powers also became much more powerful.
“Huhuhu.”
The energy flowing around Chen Fan’s body finally abated.
A smile surfaced on Xie Yan’s face. He knew Chen Fan had finally finished his cultivation and it wouldn’t be long before they could leave the cave.
Although cultivation had kept Xie Fan busy, he could really use some fresh air after being stuck in the cave for a year.
However, after a month had passed, Xie Yan saw no sign of Chen Fan ending his cultivation any time soon.
“Does Sect master want to level up twice in a row?”
Xie Yan was stunned.
The last breakthrough had brought Chen Fan enough power to dominate the world and bring down Lin Shuming and Ye Qincang. However, Chen Fan was not satisfied and he wanted more. If he was successful, he should be powerful enough to fight face to face against an Earth Level Deity.
Xie Yan simply couldn’t wrap his mind around how powerful Chen Fan would have gotten, but what he was certain was this: Lin Langya’s Art of Blood Sword wouldn’t even make a dent on Chen Fan once Chen Fan leveled up again.
For the days that followed, Xie Yan watched as Chen Fan’s became observably stronger by the day. It wasn’t long before the air in the cave became so saturated by Chen Fan’s energy that it was outright impossible for Xie Yan to channel his own force. Therefore, Xie Yan had to move out of the cave and waited for his sect master outside.
One month, two, three…
Half a year had passed since Xie Yan moved out of the cave.
By now, Chen Fan had disappeared into the Valley of No Return for a year a half.
It was just another ordinary day and Xie Yan was cultivating the sword art as usual.
“Shu!”
He commanded the ebony blade as the latter swooshed across the sky, making a high pitch sound.
“Kaboom!”
The ebony blade landed on a cliff and cracked open the rocks.
“I have finally achieved the initial success of the Sword Art of Nine Abandonments.”
Xie Yan pulled back the ebony sword and heaved a sigh of relief.
The deeper he delved into the Sword Art of Nine Abandonments, the more in awe he was with the great sword art.
Although his progress was much slower than he had expected, his True Essence was strengthened greatly. Even a casual wave of the hand was deadlier than Xie Yan’s most powerful attack in the past. If Chen Fan had seen his level of attainment he had achieved, he would know that Xie Yan had indeed reached the early-stage of the Divine Sea level.
Although on paper, Xie Yan seemed to be not too far behind Chen Fan, in reality, his power was much more inferior compared to Chen Fan. Plus, Chen Fan made leaps and bounds each day and would soon be ungodly powerful.
“The power of the Sword Art of Nine Abandonments is already unbelievable, I really can’t imagine how powerful Sect master’s arts are.”
Xie Yan lamented.
Suddenly, he registered a powerful gush of force that rose from the cave straight into the firmament. It churned the misty clouds that loomed over the mountain.
“Here we go!”
Excitement contorted Xie Yan’s face.
He had never sensed anything more powerful than that gush of energy. Already, Xie Yan knew that Chen Fan had reached a level of attainment that was as powerful as Earth Level Deities, if not more.
However, to Xie Yan’s surprise, Chen Fan’s energy didn’t maintain that level, instead, it quickly diminished.
“What happened?”
Xie Yan was confused.
By now, he could no longer register any trace of Chen Fan’s energy. Xie Yan walked into the cave and saw Chen Fan sitting still on a large rock.
Before Chen Fan was an empty pond with only an inch thick of Spirit Dew left in it. Somewhere in the pond was the source of the Spirit Qi where creamy Spirit Dew continued to drip out. It would take another thousand years to fill up the pond at this rate.
“Sect master.”
Xie Yan moved closer to Chen Fan and bowed.
Even at close range, Xie Yan could not register any sign of Chen Fan’s unimaginable power. He just sat there like an ordinary person. However, Xie Yan knew that the absence of Chen Fan’s energy in the air was the true sign of his great enlightenment and attainment.
“Sigh”
Chen Fan heaved a sigh and then asked.
“What year is it now?”
“Master, you have been at it for a year a half. So it’s almost 2012 now.” Xie Yan replied.
“A year a half, already?”
Chen Fan looked down at the empty pond, regret and disappointment were written all over his face. He expected to reach the late-stage of Divine Sea level, but he only made it to the mid-stage.
He was very close to his goal, and if he wanted to, he could force himself to make the breakthrough. However, he had learned the importance of building a solid foundation, so he had chosen not to rush through the earlier levels. In addition, even at his current level, he could easily defend himself against an Earth Level Deity with the four powerful divine powers at his disposal.
“I think it’s about time to leave a cave.”
Chen Fan rose to his feet and said.
“Yes..”
Xie Yan replied.
Chen Fan packed the remaining Spirit Dew, and the Spirit herbs into the gourd, he had saved them for his parents and Xiao Qiong.
Before he left, Chen Fan also found five Dharma Artifacts that the Exalted Cultivator used to cast the Array of Five Elements.
“Golden Edge Blade, Li Fire Banner, Kui Water Pearl, Yellow Earth Deal, and Divine Wood Emblem.”
Each one of these artifacts was Spirit Artifact, and they were the source of the Five Elements Array’s power. Chen Fan thoroughly searched the valley and salvaged anything that he could use.
On January 3, 2012, two men emerged from the Valley of No Return on the Island of Borneo.
One was a young man with black hair and dark eyes, and the other was a scholarly looking middle-aged man wearing an azure outfit.
“Hew, we are finally out of the valley.”
Chen Fan heaved a sigh as the chilly autumn wind kicked up a pile of fallen leaves. The tree branches were scrawny and gnarly, and the forest dark and foreboding.
“It’s been a year a half, I wonder if the world has forgotten about me?”
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back as a cold smile surfaced on his face.