Jin Ji was taken aback by his father’s words.
“I never thought Wu Yuan would still be alive. Unexpectedly, even the worm devil couldn’t get rid of him.” Jin Quan shook his head slightly.
Jin Ji sighed inwardly.
Years ago when he first heard Wu Yuan’s name, he simply saw the youth as a young prodigy who could potentially become a qi cultivator. Hence, he didn’t pay much attention to him.
But out of the blue, Wu Yuan rose to the pinnacle of the Middle Land, and even his father saw him as a great enemy. Wu Yuan’s talent was truly inconceivable.
“Wu Yuan’s strength may have improved, but it is unlikely that he has reached the Spiritual Body phase,” Jin Quan said. “He hasn’t cultivated for long. Even with his exceptional talent and unique treasures, achieving progress that rapid would be extremely difficult.”
Jin Ji listened silently, trusting his father’s judgment.
“However, issuing a formal challenge suggests that he possesses a measure of confidence. It is highly probable that they are planning to besiege us.” Jin Quan spoke slowly. “Wu Yuan, Fang Xia, Qiong Sea King, and the others will most likely launch a joint assault.”
“What should we do?” Jin Ji asked anxiously.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jin Quan replied indifferently. “We have no choice. If they decide to attack the Holy Capital, are we not going to defend ourselves?”
“If we don’t have the courage to retaliate even with the support of the defense array, all territories belonging to Great Jin are doomed to fall.”
Jin Ji listened, recognizing the validity of his father’s words.
When the Middle Land Immortal Cultivators Alliance hindered Jin Quan at Cloudhill, it obstructed Great Jin’s mission of unifying the world.
If Jin Quan failed to protect the Holy Capital, what was the point of continuing the war?
“Don’t worry. With the aid of multiple arrays, even if I lose, my safety is assured. And if circumstances reach a dire point, we can always leave the Middle Land via the treasure realm,” Jin Quan assured him.
“Understood,” Jin Ji realized that his father had already formulated an escape strategy.
Of course, leaving the Middle Land was a last resort.
“Alright, focus on your cultivation and work hard to reach the ninth-stage Qi Sea phase as soon as you can,” Jin Quan instructed.
“Yes, Father,” Jin Ji said respectfully as he bowed and withdrew.
Jin Quan was the sole person remaining in the chamber.
Wu Yuan? Jin Quan stood up, his eyes filled with a cold glint. After pondering for a moment, he walked further into the hall.
After passing through many strange light screens, he entered a spacious hall. Here, a huge circular crystal platform was located right in the middle. From this platform, several passageways extended further into the depths.
Treasure realm, third hall. Jin Quan surveyed the various passageways and slowly walked to the enormous crystal platform.
Jin Quan gazed at the round crystal platform. Peculiar beams of light extended from all sides of the platform into the air, and seemed mysteriously connected to the surrounding space in some way.
The inside of the platform was filled with a strange liquid that shimmered like starlight, and was completely enclosed by the crystal walls of the platform.
At the center of the liquid floated a gigantic, oval white egg, measuring about two meters in length. Countless intricate patterns decorated the eggshell, and it radiated a powerful and divine aura.
Without a doubt, it was a precious treasure.
It’s close to completion. Once I unify the world, squash these obstacles, and propagate my Faith, I can truly aspire to reach the Amethyst Cradle phase.
Many powerful individuals throughout the history of the Middle Land had yearned to unify the world. Yet, few ever truly achieved this goal. The benefits were not enough to outweigh the detriments for all other factions, which only led to enmity from all sides.
Since the Great Jin Empire’s inception, its primary mission had always been to unite the world.
Jin Quan was never worried about reaching the Golden Core phase; his real goal was the Amethyst Cradle phase!
Wu Yuan? Fang Xia? Everyone thinks I was only able to reach the Golden Core phase due to luck. Just wait, I’ll crush each and every one of you.
Jin Quan followed a passageway and entered a meditation room. Wu Yuan and Fang Xia were growing stronger at a rapid pace. As someone who had just advanced to the Golden Core stage, Jin Quan’s progress was not slower than theirs at all.
…
Soon after the formal challenge reached the Holy Capital, the Jin royal family gave their reply – challenge accepted!
When the news broke, the entire world was sent into a frenzy. Countless Heavenly Rankers and numerous martial artists eagerly awaited the day of the battle.
The horrific destruction of the Holy Capital caused by Fang Xia and the others when they previously stormed the city left many commoners and nobles in a state of panic. Many decided to temporarily flee the Holy Capital.
However, Wu Yuan remained completely absorbed in his cultivation, oblivious to the situation of the external world.
It took him a full three days to prepare for the opening of his qi sea. This lengthy preparation time was not only due to the great caution required when opening one’s qi sea, but the complexity of the ‘Dark Earth Sword Path’.
I never expected Wu Yuan’s soul to develop this rapidly. The realm master observed him patiently. Just 21, yet already at the fifth-stage Communion phase and the Yang Soul level.
Wu Yuan’s insane progress had occupied the realm master’s mind over the past few days. In all his years of experience and knowledge, he had yet to encounter such a heaven-defying talent.
If Wu Yuan’s previous state astonished the realm master, Wu Yuan’s current state completely shook him to his core.
A genius like this could easily earn a place among the most prestigious nations and sects within the Greenridge Macrocosm. He may even have the opportunity to become a disciple of a great powerhouse…
Hm? Is it finally about to begin? Holding his breath in anticipation, the realm master observed Wu Yuan closely. I hope the unlocking of his qi sea proceeds without an issue.
…
Within the cultivation chamber.
Flow through the 108 acupoints, the pathways of the meridians, to collide with the middle dantian lobe, unlocking the qi sea, then condensing the sword soul. Wu Yuan reviewed the important steps of the cultivation method once more.
Wu Yuan had spent the past three days diligently simulating the process of unlocking the middle dantian lobe numerous times, ensuring there were no errors. The only part he was still uncertain about was the degree of immortal root he would establish.
Let’s begin. Wu Yuan closed his eyes. With a mental command, his soul circulated throughout his body following the Dark Earth Sword Path.
The Dark Earth Sword Path was an earth attribute cultivation method that perfectly suited his Terranean Body.
But no matter the cultivation method, the process of unlocking one’s qi sea remained the same – circulating spiritual qi through the meridians and ultimately converging the qi at one point to bombard the middle dantian lobe.
The immortal root was the foundation of the qi sea. There were three main factors that contributed to the degree of one’s immortal root. Firstly, the strength of one’s meridians and the number of meridian channels the spiritual qi was circulated through.
Secondly, the strength of the root establishment treasures during the initial opening of the qi sea.
Thirdly, luck. Even if someone followed the same teachings and had identical root establishment treasures, the resulting qi sea immortal root would still differ.
With a loud crackling sound, the concentrated spiritual qi in the meditation chamber surged through all 108 acupoints, flowing through each of his meridians before being condensed and compressed.
This was an easy task for Wu Yuan given his strong soul. Land Rankers with weaker souls, on the other hand, could only engage twenty meridians at most, leading to a lower degree immortal root.
This was why the realm master believed Wu Yuan had the potential to establish a fourth-grade immortal root.
Converge. Under Wu Yuan’s guidance, every limb, bone, and meridian in his entire body seemed to tremble. As though bursting out of a broken dam, liquid-like spiritual qi converged on his middle dantian lobe with an impact capable of instantly tearing apart a weaker individual’s body. However, Wu Yuan effortlessly withstood the force.
Boom! In an instant, as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart, the previously dense middle dantian lobe exploded.
With the opening of my qi sea, my journey to immortality has begun.
The soul chamber inside his body represented a whole new realm. Meanwhile, the newly opened qi sea was vast and empty, its true size unknown. It seemed real, yet shifted like an illusion.
Waves of spiritual qi poured into his qi sea, quickly transforming into liquid. This was essentia!
The large quantity of essentia in his qi sea rapidly converged to form a lake. At the center of the lake, a swirling whirlpool formed.
Several crystals flew through the air and landed in the lake with a splash. Under Wu Yuan’s precise control, the two merged, causing his qi sea to undergo a transformation.
This was the root establishment treasure, Soul Ethercrystal. As the two interacted, his qi sea began to expand at an astonishing speed, continuously refining and accumulating vast amounts of spiritual qi, producing large quantities of essentia.
After a whole day, the Soul Ethercrystal was fully refined by the qi sea’s essentia. At this point, Wu Yuan’s qi sea had expanded to a mind-boggling size.
It’s nearing its limit? Wu Yuan felt a little dissatisfied. Will it be a fourth-degree immortal root, or maybe a third-degree immortal root?
Wu Yuan felt that the size of his qi sea had yet to reach the third-degree immortal root level.
Blood mist, integrate! Wu Yuan willed.
In an instant, blood-red mist spread across the sky, merging with the qi sea. This was Wu Yuan’s last attempt to strengthen his qi sea’s foundation.
As the blood mist cleared, the qi sea, which resembled a large lake, began to churn, expanding at an even faster rate. Wu Yuan’s aura grew turbulent as well, like crashing waves in a storm.
Finally, the qi sea reached its limit of expansion, and the waves calmed down. Breaking through this point would either necessitate reaching the Golden Core phase or having a fortuitous encounter.
Within the vast expanse of the essentia lake, a massive vortex emerged, causing visible ripples to radiate outwards.
The second-stage Qi Sea phase!
After breaking through, I reached the second-stage Qi Sea phase immediately? This should be related to my strong soul. Wu Yuan felt elated. Considering the size of the qi sea and referencing the cultivation method, it should be… a third-degree immortal root.
The blood mist is indeed effective at increasing the rate of essentia production. Wu Yuan was impressed.
Without the blood mist, his newly opened qi sea wouldn’t have reached the third-degree immortal root level. The fact that he was able to establish a third-degree immortal root during the opening of his qi sea already made him a peerless genius.
Hum~ Mysterious lights danced above the swirling qi sea, converging to form a figure that looked exactly like Wu Yuan. An aura of sword energy began to naturally manifest around his body.
It was his sword soul!
There were a variety of cultivation teachings a qi refiner could choose from, which would also result in differences in the qi sea and soul condensed. These formed the core of the various teachings.
The sword soul originates from the soul. I believe the strength of my sword soul is able to surpass a majority of Golden Core cultivators by far. Wu Yuan’s sword soul smirked.
A rush of strange lights whirled around his sword soul, each carrying a fraction of his soul power. Each additional light beam seemed to strain his sword soul and qi sea. Wu Yuan’s spirit felt as though there was a heavy weight pressing down on it.
Seven strands of sword soul light?
In the sword cultivator class, refining three lifebound flying swords at once was already enough for someone to be hailed as a prodigy.
Still, I will surpass that. Wu Yuan’s eyes were filled with determination.
Once a route was chosen, it was difficult to change course. It was better to forge the maximum number of flying swords possible from the beginning. As one progressed, increasing the number became far more difficult.
Swoosh! The sword soul seemed to pulse with unbearable pain, as though on the verge of crumbling. Another strand of soul light shot out from it, causing his heart to tremble despite his unwavering will.
If a qi refiner’s soul strength was lacking, splitting their soul light into three or four strands would lead to total soul destruction, let alone seven.
Press on! Wu Yuan gritted his teeth, exerting every ounce of strength to cultivate the ‘Sword Soul Splitting Art’ once more.
A fracture formed on the sword soul as another strand of soul light flew out.
Ahh! Despite his strength, Wu Yun felt a fierce pain wracking his spirit, causing his sword soul to waver. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
Nine is the maximum number. Nine strands of soul sword light is the limit.
With a thought from Wu Yuan, each strand of soul light began transforming according to the method recorded in the ‘Dark Earth Sword Path’.
At the same time, Wu Yuan’s Soul Force guided the nearby precious metals into his qi sea. There, they were melted and separated by his essentia. After which, the metal essence was merged with the strands of soul light.
After seven whole days, nine resplendent flying swords merged subtly into one entity, encircling the sword soul. They trembled slightly, their profound sword aura influencing the entire qi sea.
Nine swords of the Dark Earth Sword Path come together in a single array.
The eyes of Wu Yuan’s sword soul burned with battle fervor. Jin Quan, I wonder how many strikes you can withstand?”