Every few days, Long Chen and Bai Xiaole would go to challenge Bai Zhantang. This master of the Battle God Palace truly had unimaginable power.
Long Chen was also aware that Bai Zhantang did this to help him and Bai Xiaole grow stronger. However, no one bothered directly saying it, instead keeping up the pretense of revenge for Bai Xiaole.
To be able to fight against a terrifying expert like Bai Zhantang, even if he was suppressing his cultivation base, just his gaze and aura were enough to give Long Chen immense mental and spiritual pressure.
Exchanging blows with him allowed Long Chen’s divine flame energy to quickly grow more solid. Hence, Long Chen only consumed pills and fought. In just five days, he advanced two Heavenstages, reaching the seventh Heavenstage of the Divine Flame realm. That was the late Divine Flame realm.
Every star now had seven clumps of flames. And as his cultivation base grew, his physical body also rapidly strengthened, which resulted in Bai Zhantang finding it harder and harder to fight him. Moreover, Long Chen’s fighting moves were treacherous, and even Bai Zhantang would suffer if he slipped up. That was especially the case with his own son, Bai Xiaole, working against him. He had no choice but to secretly circulate his bloodline power to block Long Chen’s attacks.
Long Chen needed to use Bai Zhantang’s power to temper himself, which allowed his aura to rapidly condense so that he could make a breakthrough to the next realm.
Time slipped by quickly. One month passed just like this. Long Chen’s cultivation base had reached the ninth Heavenstage, but he didn’t encounter any barrier. He now confirmed that his Divine Flame realm would also have thirteen Heavenstages as always.
After reaching the peak of the ninth Heavenstage, he ran out of medicinal pills. From the eighth to ninth Heavenstage, he had consumed over thirty thousand Divine Whisker Flame Spirit Pills. Over five hundred of those had been treasure pills.
Without enough medicinal pills, Long Chen temporarily stopped cultivating and continued fighting with Bai Zhantang, stabilizing his realm. With a single punch, divine flames raged, and even Bai Zhantang had to be careful against him.
Bai Xiaole was also very powerful now. His spatial arts were well practiced. Long Chen even taught him a few treacherous tricks that made Bai Zhantang suffer several times. At that time, he cursed them furiously. But inside, he was delighted. Seeing his son advancing every day made him ecstatic.
As for Bai Xiaole, he had gotten revenge and was more excited than anyone. Furthermore, he was improving daily thanks to the experience of fighting alongside Long Chen, a monster with immense combat experience.
During this time, Bai Xiaole also went to challenge Bai Shishi. However, Bai Shishi ignored him. That made him grow even more arrogant and think that she was afraid of him. He swaggered through the roads.
The Nine Prefecture Convention was still half a month away. And at this moment, Long Chen and Bai Xiaole finally stopped challenging Bai Zhantang. Long Chen needed to think.
It had almost been a year since he had arrived in the High Firmament Academy. During this year, it felt like he had gained a great deal. But it also felt like he had gained nothing at all.
He walked over to the entrance of the academy. Thinking of his state when he first joined the academy, he was filled with various emotions.
“I wonder how everyone is? Are they doing well?”
Standing at that gate, Long Chen looked at the endless mountain ranges around him and couldn’t help feeling mournful. Everyone had been apart for so long. They were his greatest support, but he didn’t even have any news about them.
“Meng Qi, Chu Yang, Wan-er, Mingyu, Zi Yan, Zhiqiu, Xiaoqian, Ruyan, Cloud, Gu Yang, Li Qi, Mingyuan, Zifeng, Xia Chen, Guo Ran, Wilde, Mo Nian…” Long Chen muttered their names. Their faces appeared in his mind, and he was lost in sentiment.
He also thought of the Netherworld’s Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue, as well as the Pill Fairy who had died for him. Long Chen suddenly felt like he had far too many things he needed to do.
All of these things were connected together. Right now, his first priority was to spread his name through the Nine Prefecture Convention. The name of Boss Long San would shake the entire immortal world, and he trusted that they would find ways to gather with him once they received word of him.
Although he had made many friends in the High Firmament Academy, he still felt lonely. He wanted to see them.
Suddenly, the sound of a broom sweeping drew him out of his emotions. He once more saw the sweeping elder.
“Senior, what a coincidence…” Long Chen hastily went over and greeted him.
The sweeping elder smiled and stopped his actions. “Youngster, are you homesick?”
“Yes. Very much so.” Long Chen nodded.
The elder said, “It seems that you’ve made your preparations to welcome even greater challenges.
“Yes, I’m prepared. With them present, I have unlimited confidence,” said Long Chen.
For some reason, when Long Chen faced this mysterious elder, he felt a rare sense of ease and a strange sense of confidence. Long Chen didn’t need to conceal anything in front of him.
“Senior, let me help you!” Long Chen reached his hand out for the broom. Last time, the elder had refused him, saying that he wasn’t qualified to sweep.
“With your current mental realm, it seems that you can try it?” Unexpectedly, the elder smiled and handed the broom to him.
When he received the broom, he found that it seemed to be made of ordinary wood and grass. However, this elder had clearly been using it for a long time, and there was zero wear and tear.
It seemed that this elder was wrapping it in some kind of energy when sweeping. Hence, Long Chen also wrapped it in his Spiritual Strength and lightly swept with it. When his soul swept over the ground, his body quivered. A feeling that he had never felt before pierced deep into his soul.
It was as if the broom was not just sweeping across the ground, but also sweeping through his soul. Long Chen felt the earth’s heartbeat. All the feelings of sweeping the ground were transmitted to his soul.
“How does it feel?” The elder smiled.
“Excellent.”
“When your mood is good, the entire world becomes bright. When your mood is bad, the world becomes dark. In truth, what decides whether this world is beautiful or ugly is not the world itself, but your own heart. The heart can easily be covered in dust. Occasionally sweep it and you will find that when the dust flies, you will be able to see wider and deeper. You will also be able to see yourself,” said the elder slowly.
“Many thanks for your pointers, senior. Junior understands. If the heart is covered in dust, it means that desires have clouded the eyes, that anger is raging through the soul. With the heart not being clear, it is impossible to see. Without being able to see, every single step is difficult. Only by seeing yourself clearly, using the self as a mirror, can you see further,” said Long Chen.
“Well done, child.” The elder nodded and smiled with satisfaction. He slowly left.
As for Long Chen, he continued to lightly sweep the ground. Through the elder’s pointers, he swept up the leaves, revealing the clean ground. It felt as if the vexations of his heart were being wiped away, as if the dust of his mind was being cleaned. He felt refreshed. It felt as if his mental state had risen just from sweeping.
Long Chen had never expected that such a simple action could be such a profound cultivation. The Dao was truly unfathomable. There were no major or minor Daos. All things could lead to becoming one with the world.
“Hey, little fellow, come over here. I have something to ask you.”
Just as Long Chen was immersed in that beautiful feeling, a sharp and thin voice rang out. It was like a duck cry, not a pleasant sound for Long Chen.
The golden invitation card had some information on the Nine Prefecture Convention, including the time, length, and location. It also requested a reply detailing the number of people from the academy participating in the Dao discussion and the martial competition.
“The martial competition is two months from now? It’s so soon?” Long Chen was surprised.
Time always felt like it was slipping past him quickly. These two months were quite a short time for the current Long Chen.
“Your cultivation base is growing too slowly. With such a cultivation base, to tell the truth, we don’t really recommend that you participate in the martial competition,” said Heaven Master Dong Ming.
The Nine Prefecture Convention would be a gathering of heavenly geniuses. At that time, those heavenly geniuses would have their cultivation bases at the peak of the Divine Flame realm. But Long Chen was still in the initial Divine Flame realm. He hadn’t even reached the first Heavenstage. In the Divine Flame realm, every single level caused one’s power to change immensely.
The Nine Prefecture Convention would be full of powerful opponents, and there might even be awakened Primals. Long Chen’s realm was too low to fight them. After all, the likes of Zhao Wuzheng, Xie Tianyu, Lu Chunyang, and the others would only be second-rate experts.
Even Bai Shishi would only be classified as being in the front ranking, and a Primal that had awakened their bloodline would be a first-rate expert. No matter what Long Chen did during these two months, there was no way that his cultivation base could catch up.
Heaven Master Dong Ming seemed to be saying that Long Chen should focus on the Dao discussion and simply give up on the martial competition.
“Heaven Master Dong Ming, are you not worried about the Battle God Palace causing trouble for you if you say such a thing?” said the head judge with a smile.
Heaven Master Dong Ming coughed awkwardly and said, “Of course, this is just a suggestion. You can decide for yourself.”
After all, the martial competition was arranged by the Battle God Palace. They wouldn’t be happy with Heaven Master Dong Ming if he persuaded Long Chen to back out.
Long Chen smiled slightly. “Senior’s words are heavy. Junior is well aware of the problem. However, I can’t miss such a good opportunity. Victory is victory, defeat is defeat. If I am defeated, I will be able to see where I am lacking. That’s not a bad thing.”
“Excellent. Such an attitude is good,” said Heaven Master Dong Ming.
“Senior Yun Yang, can you introduce me to the senior who healed me? I want to properly thank her. I also want her to teach me some things,” said Long Chen.
The one who had healed him this time was Heaven Master Yun Yang’s senior apprentice-sister. It seemed that her position in the academy had to be quite high. She didn’t usually reveal herself. However, she healed him to give Heaven Master Yun Yang face.
This person was an extremely powerful wood cultivator. Originally, Long Chen had thought that Fallen Daynight’s god will couldn’t be wiped out by external forces. However, she had easily done so.
Furthermore, Long Chen had sensed an extremely primal wood energy in her. He thought of a certain possibility, so he requested to meet her.
After that, Heaven Master Yun Yang brought him to an immortal cave. After reporting their arrival and obtaining permission, Long Chen entered.
The middle-aged woman seemed to have a smile in her eyes. It was as if she was seeing through his heart.
“What kind of benefits are you looking for this time?”
Long Chen was surprised to have his intentions read. He said, “Junior felt that senior’s wood energy should be a kind of source energy amongst the trees of the world. Thus, I wish to ask senior whether it is possible for me to obtain the object of that source.”
“You’re very impressed to be able to tell that my wood energy isn’t ordinary after a single healing. When I was young, I had a fortuitous encounter and found a Wood Foundation Divine Fruit. Using its essence, I was able to change my bloodline, awakening the Wood Foundation Divine Radiance. Thus, my wood energy is different from other wood cultivators.”
“Wood Foundation Divine Radiance. You… you are a Primal?” asked Long Chen. Someone who could awaken a divine radiance could only be a Primal.
She nodded. “I can barely count as an acquired Primal since this talent was not innate to me. After I absorbed the fruit, the pit was all that remained. There are four seeds in the pit containing its essence. Consuming a single one can heal someone on the border of death. If you want one, I can give you one. But if you want more, then I can’t.”
“Just one is enough.” Long Chen was delighted. He hadn’t expected this senior to be so generous and directly give him something so precious.
The Wood Foundation Divine Tree was from ancient times. Its wood was extremely tough, tougher than metal. The wooden spears made from it were often used as weapons.
However, its growth was extremely slow. It took thirty million years to flower, thirty million years to bear fruit, and thirty million years for the fruit to mature.
From its birth to its fruit being ripe took ninety million years. In the current era, this tree was almost extinct. It could not be found in the outside world. There were only some sects that had some, and they were viewed as their priceless treasures. They were often kept secret as well in order to avoid others growing covetous.
Long Chen obtained a peanut-sized seed that looked like a cashew nut. It emitted an immense amount of life energy. Those fluctuations refreshed him, filling him with energy. It was as if his longevity was increasing just by holding it. This was the seed of the Wood Foundation Divine Tree.
Long Chen profusely thanked the senior before leaving. At his residence, he carefully planted it in the primal chaos space.
After that, Long Chen’s 108,000 stars circulated, sending divine energy into the primal chaos space. The medicinal plants inside crazily grew. Time seemed to have increased by tens of thousands of times.
After gaining control of his divine flames, he could once more urge the growth of the plants in the primal chaos space. But after two hours, he was sweating. This was extremely taxing.
However, he was delighted to find that the Wood Foundation Divine Tree had taken root. A tiny soft shoot had appeared out of the ground, standing up like a chopstick and continuing to grow. Once it reached a height of three meters, it was the thickness of an egg but still remained one single, straight stick. It didn’t have any leaves or branches.
Breaking this sapling, he found that it was extremely heavy in his hand, like steel. It was very tough despite this being its weakest sapling state.
Long Chen broke it into pieces and planted half-a-foot-tall rods into the soil again. After another hour, a radiant smile appeared on his face. Small saplings were now growing.
Long Chen then spent a whole day and night breaking and planting the Wood Foundation Divine Trees. His primal chaos space was now full of saplings.
“Haha, now I don’t need to worry about being injured. Once they’re grown up, what will I have to fear?” Long Chen clenched his fists, an excited light in his eyes. Once they bloomed and bore fruit, he would essentially have an undying body.
After that, Long Chen took out a long and thin strand. This was the Divine Whisker Daffodil’s whisker.
“Hehe, two months? It’s time to increase my cultivation base.” Long Chen took out his medicinal furnace and got to work.
