Chapter 668: Minor Breakthrough
When Xiao Chen cultivated the fifth layer of the Firmament Body Tempering Art, he had experienced a similar torment. However, it was not as intense as this time. Furthermore, when the Medicinal Energy spread, the pain seemed to double.
Xiao Chen did not rush into consuming that Spirit Freezing Pill. He relied on his tenacious willpower and endured the pain from the tempering.
The night passed in a flash, and the dawn quickly brightened the sky. As the sun rose and set, Xiao Chen completely lost track of time.
With the aid of the Firmament Body Tempering Art and the Dragon Jelly Ointment, Xiao Chen’s physical body rapidly grew stronger. The pain that he felt was like maggots gnawing on his marrows, continuously wearing down his will.
As long as Xiao Chen circulated the Firmament Body Tempering Art, that pain would gnaw at him relentlessly as his strength increased.
If Xiao Chen stopped cultivating, that pain would end. At this moment, a cultivator’s willpower and mentality were extremely important.
One might be able to endure loneliness, withstand temptation, have excellent talent, exceptional physique, and outstanding comprehension.
One might be ruthless to one’s enemies, not showing any mercy.
However, if one did not dare to be ruthless to oneself, unable to endure the pain of tempering their body over and over again, they could not become a peak expert, could not stand out from the crowd and look down on everyone.
Endure! Endure! Endure!
Xiao Chen roared in his heart, having no intention of giving up. The Firmament Body Tempering Art circulated continuously. Only when that pain exceeded the limit of what he could bear, almost causing him to faint, did he crush that Spirit Freezing Pill with his teeth and consume it.
Instantly, a bone-chilling feeling soothed the heat raging in his body, decreasing the pain that went beyond his limits.
The Spirit Freezing Pill could not completely eliminate pain; it could only decrease it. However, when Xiao Chen used it, it allowed him to retain his consciousness—an excellent use of it.
The Spirit Freezing Pill would not last very long, so Xiao Chen made full use of his time and cultivated. He prepared to surpass his limits in one go. Each time he transcended his limits, he would make a small breakthrough in the Firmament Body Tempering Art.
Not long after, the Spirit Freezing Pill’s effects wore off. Xiao Chen immediately stopped cultivating because the pain would make him faint. Trying to endure longer would end up wasting more time.
The water splashed as Xiao Chen stood up from the tub and got out. As he casually wiped off the medicinal liquid on his body, he could feel a strong Vital Qi as he clenched his fists.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!” The bones in Xiao Chen’s body started crackling. Formless energy spread out uncontrollably. A violent wind blew within the room, causing some items to explode, their fragments flying in the air.
This was not the end of it. An acupoint at the bottom of Xiao Chen’s right foot burst open. As it emanated azure-colored Dragon Qi, he felt tremendous explosive power fill his right leg.
Joy appeared on Xiao Chen’s face as he said, “I reached Small Perfection in the Firmament Body Tempering Art’s sixth layer. My Vital Qi grew stronger by fifty tons of force, and I finally opened another acupoint. My defensive powers are probably more than twenty percent stronger than before now.”
He turned his head and looked at the tub. The Dragon Jelly Ointment in there had been more or less used up. So he simply emptied it out, pouring it all away, and refilled it with fresh water.
“I still can use the Dragon Jelly Ointment two more times; that is two more opportunities. Furthermore, there is still the Blood Refinement Pill and the Yellow Spirit Flower. I should be able to reach the late phase of the sixth layer. After that, I should be able to reach the peak of the sixth layer’s late phase,” Xiao Chen mumbled to himself before entering the tub and cultivating again.
Ten days later, Xiao Chen had consumed all his Spirit Freezing Pills, the Dragon Jelly Ointment, the Blood Refinement Pill, and the Yellow Spirit Flower.
The results were as Xiao Chen had expected. The Firmament Body Tempering Art reached the late-phase of the sixth layer. His Vital Qi strengthened by one hundred tons of force. Now, without using Quintessence, his Vital Qi was now capable of six hundred and fifty tons of force.
Xiao Chen had not suffered in vain for the past few days. He had also not wasted the Medicinal Pills that had cost him several hundred thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones. Now, if he fought Situ Gang, he would be able to put up a fight without having to use Quintessence; Situ Gang’s vast Quintessence would not force him back like last time.
Aside from the acupoints on his right leg, he also opened two acupoints on his left leg. Each foot had twenty acupoints. In order to maintain balance, he intended to open the acupoints of both legs concurrently.
This way, he would avoid having a right leg with high explosive power but an ordinary left leg—a condition that would limit the flexibility of his movement in combat and would be easily noticed by his opponent.
Xiao Chen walked out of the cultivation room and arrived in the large yard. Then, he carefully took out the half drop of Dragon Marrow and the Monarch Blood Grass.
These two items were worth cities. Even now, Xiao Chen still could not believe he had them. Indeed, it would not be too much to call them a spectacular windfall.
However, no matter what, these two items were really sitting in his hands now. They could raise his strength significantly.
As for the other matters, there was no point in thinking about them. So why would Xiao Chen do so?
The Monarch Blood Grass was a golden color with a scarlet line down the middle. The stalk of Spirit Herb looked very ordinary, seeming to belie its fame.
However, Xiao Chen’s sharp Spiritual Sense could detect the might of an ancient sovereign from the herb. Although the might was now very faint, it was definitely there. The pressure that it gave off was tangible.
Nuan Muyun had found the Monarch Blood Grass under dangerous circumstances, in the Savage Battlefield. Legend had it that in the Ancient Era, there had been an earth-shattering battle where ancient sovereigns fought the other races, like the Fiend Race, the Beast Races, Half-Fiends, Half-Demons, and even the Divine Race, for the sake of humans. All the participants were Emperor-level experts of the various races.
The scale of that battle was epic and mighty; it could not be described with words. In the past, there had been nine suns. After that battle, only one sun remained.
After that battle, the humans gained a piece of resource-rich land, the Tianwu Domain, in the vast Kunlun Realm. They created a border separating them from the other races and ruled their own land.
Those cultivators who were called Emperors were the overlords of the world; they possessed great Luck. However, many of them died in that battle.
The Monarch Blood Grass was originally the Golden Blood Grass, a common herb. However, the blood of those ancient Emperors had stained the Golden Blood Grass in the Savage Battlefield.
The Golden Blood Grass that survived these Emperors’ blood was the Monarch Blood Grass people saw today.
Xiao Chen sat cross-legged and used his purple flame to refine the Monarch Blood Grass into a liquid. Then, he swallowed it in one go and quickly circulated his Quintessence, increasing the rate of his blood flow.
“Chi! Chi!”
As the Monarch Blood Grass permeated his body, the impurities in his blood seeped out his pores and turned into azure smoke dissipating wisp by wisp.
At the same time, Xiao Chen’s aura slowly changed. Strands of tyrannical Qi flowed out, kicking up a strong wind that picked up countless leaves in the yard.
The clouds churned endlessly, and mysterious phenomena appeared in the sky. The movements of the wind and clouds gave the impression a sovereign approached.
After one hour, Xiao Chen completely absorbed the strand of a sovereign’s bloodline in the Monarch Blood Grass. He opened his eyes and revealed a sharp gaze like two incredibly sharp treasured sabers.
A boundless aura poured out, and the trees in the yard shook wildly. The lush green grass bent over, not daring to raise their heads.
Xiao Chen moved slightly and stood up. His aura intensified suddenly, and with cracking sounds, the shaking trees snapped into two under the pressure of this aura.
The countless bent green grass popped out of the ground, then scattered into airborne pieces.
With a thought, Xiao Chen withdrew his aura, and the strong howling wind instantly stopped. The shredded bits of grass fluttered to the ground.
That insufferably arrogant king’s aura abruptly calmed down. However, this calm was just a momentary respite. As long as Xiao Chen willed it, it would burst forth once again.
“The trace of bloodline from the ancient sovereigns is indeed strong. Now, I will not fear even the aura of a Martial Sage.”
Seeing the chaos in the yard, Xiao Chen thought to himself, This is only a thin trace of the bloodline. With this trace amount already having such might, how strong exactly were the ancient sovereigns? Probably even stronger than my wildest imagination.
Collecting his thoughts, Xiao Chen took out the half drop of Dragon Marrow. The value of a true dragon’s marrow was no lower than that of the Monarch Blood Grass.
In the current epoch, true dragons no longer existed. However, true dragon skeletons from the Immortal Epoch remained in some extremely dangerous Remnants.
Wang Meng, one of the Tianwu Domain’s seven giants, found this half drop of Dragon Marrow in an underground dragon grave. He obtained it after going through great perils. He had not been able to bring himself to use it all this time. Unexpectedly, it ended up benefiting Xiao Chen.
The Dragon Marrow could penetrate the hard bones of cultivators, changing the structure of the marrow and reinforcing the strong bones. It was far more effective than regular Spirit Herbs or Medicinal Pills by severalfold.
Xiao Chen took much longer to refine this half drop of Dragon Marrow compared to the Monarch Blood Grass. All in all, he used half a day. When his entire skeleton completely absorbed the energy in the Dragon Marrow, his bones underwent significant modification.
His physical body’s defense increased by at least twenty percent. Compared to the strengthening of his aura, he preferred this kind of objective change.
When Xiao Chen felt this change, he was somewhat disappointed when it ended. He said, “This is too little. There is only half a drop. In the future, after I’m stronger, I have to get myself some more Dragon Marrow and Monarch Blood Grass.”
The Monarch Blood Grass reinforced his blood vessels, allowing him to not fear the pressure of Martial Sages. The half drop of Dragon Marrow fortified his physical body’s defense. These two items induced a transformation akin to rebirth. The benefits he gained could not be measured in Spirit Stones.
After Xiao Chen used the natural treasures and Medicinal Pills, he cultivated the Firmament Body Tempering Art through the night. Finally, before dawn, he raised the Firmament Body Tempering Art to the peak of the sixth layer. His Vital Qi strengthened by another fifty tons of force, bringing a perfect end to this half month of seclusion.
The morning glow filled the sky as the sun shone brightly, pervading Xiao Chen’s room. When he looked at the time indicated in the hourglass, he realized that it was the start of the month again.
“It is time to take a mission. This time, I have to reach the top of the Contribution Ranking,” Xiao Chen said softly to himself. His eyes radiated strong self-confidence. Within the inner sect, Xiao Chen did not fear anyone.
The top rank of the Contribution Ranking would obtain five hundred thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones in the next month. On top of that, there would be a hundred Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls and ten Medial Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls.
Superior Grade Spirit Stones and Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls were not a big deal. They were obtainable if one worked hard. However, the ten Medial Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls were important. Even if one had sufficient money, one would not be able to buy them outside. Xiao Chen had to work hard to get them.
He had a feeling that with the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, Inferior Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls would be useless when he tried to break through to Medial Grade Martial Monarch; he would likely need to use Medial Grade Spirit Gathering Pearls.
