Dozens of breaths later.
"Hoo..."
Chen Qiu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a hot, arrow-like mist, a sensation that was quite wonderful. He even felt as if he was floating, about to ascend to immortality.
It felt as if his body had been thoroughly cleansed.
A bit like a divine communion.
What are flirtatious skeletons compared to the exhilarating rush brought by a significant increase in Cultivation?
Only then did he perform introspection.
His Cultivation Progress had reached 96%.
He was just a step away from breaking through to the third level of Foundation Establishnt.
Honestly, he was extrely satisfied with this progress. He had a visceral understanding of how slow Cultivation progress beca after making a breakthrough to Foundation Establishnt.
He had killed tens of thousands of demon beasts, on top of being in an environnt with such dense Spiritual Energy.
And only just managed to break through from the first to the second level of Foundation Establishnt.
This speed was already exceedingly fast.
Next, even if he didn't circulate his ntal thod, just relying on the Heavenly Dao Foundation to daily rotate and absorb nature's spiritual energy, it would take him only fifty days to break through to the third level of Foundation Establishnt. If he operated his ntal thod day and night, this speed could be even faster, needing less than fifteen days.
...
Chen Qiu looked toward the Heavenly Dao Foundation slowly rotating above his Dantian.
There were now four fewer entries on it.
They were—
"Foundation Temporarily Halted," "Start from Scratch," "Never Discouraged," "Chopping Wood Sacred Body."
The first three entries were completely useless after the breakthrough in Foundation Establishnt; the last entry was also useless.
He didn't have to chop wood any longer, there was no future in it.
And it had to be said, his luck was indeed good.
For a second-level Foundation Establishnt cultivator to kill a fourth-level Golden Core, the difference in levels was enough to stuff a Fat Long between them, an almost impossible feat!
But just then.
The scholar tily activated the aura of a Mid-grade Spiritual Treasure from inside his sleeve, drawing all of the Barefoot Immortal's attention and causing him to release the Spirit Line that bound them. He transford his Spiritual Energy into an even larger cage, ready to entrap the escaping Mid-grade Spiritual Treasure.
Furthermore, at the critical mont, the scholar disturbed the Barefoot Immortal's mind, causing a mont of distraction, and he didn't imdiately activate his Protective Spirit Qi with full force. Chen Qiu then utilized the almost unthinkable tactic of self-destructing four entries in succession.
Only by these extrely forced ans was he able to surpass more than a dozen small realms and kill a fourth-level Golden Core!
If there had been the slightest mishap along the way, they would have t their demise right then and there.
If it hadn't been for the scholar's reputation causing a mont of distraction in the Barefoot Immortal—if Fat Long had said those words, it's likely the Barefoot Immortal wouldn't have been distracted at all and would've simply struck them down with a cold laugh.
Or if Chen Qiu hadn't been able to self-destruct four entries, if he hadn't just broken through to the second level of Foundation Establishnt, allowing the power of his Self-Destruction Term to match a full-force blow from a second-level Golden Core.
Or if the scholar's Flying Sword hadn't been exceptionally fast, a speed few in the world could match, they wouldn't have caught up to the fleeing Golden Core.
And if the Barefoot Immortal hadn't been overconfident, feeling that binding them was pointless and thus focusing all his attention on capturing the Mid-grade Spiritual Treasure.
They would have failed.
It was this series of coincidences that led to such a rare cross-level battle, spanning more than a dozen grades!
A full-force blow from a second-level Golden Core!
The power was extraordinary—after all, even a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm couldn't continuously deliver several full-force blows. Full-force ant a desperate move, otherwise four strikes wouldn't have nearly sent the Barefoot Immortal to the brink of demise.
After the Golden Core Realm.
Each realm is a chasm apart.
If one does not possess so supre Spiritual Treasures or other ans, even battling across a minor realm would be a fantasy.
...
Chen Qiu shifted his gaze from his Tao Foundation, the recent cross-level battle had drained a considerable amount of his foundation, leaving him with only three entries he could use for Self-Destruction.
"Alchemy Posture," "Every Plant and Tree," "Heavenly Deficiency."
Besides these three entries, the others were quite useful to him.
The "Heavenly Deficiency" entry allowed him to enhance his remaining senses when he closed his eyes, which was actually a pretty good effect and sotis very useful. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he didn't really want to self-destruct this entry.
He also had two "Mid-grade Heavenly Dao Retrospection Talismans," with which he could select any two entries that he had discarded during the last 'three choices' within the Great Realm of Foundation Establishnt.
If he was willing,
he could use the retrospection charms right now to reclaim the two useless entries from his recent advancent to the second level of Foundation Establishnt and reserve them for future self-destruction.
However, a cultivator could only use the Mid-grade Heavenly Dao Retrospection Talisman twice within the Great Realm of Foundation Establishnt. He was saving them for the contingency that during a 'three choices,' all three randomly selected entries would be incredibly useful to him.
Using them purely for the sake of Self-Destruction Terms would be a bit too wasteful.
However, if those four previous self-destructs had not killed that Barefoot Immortal, he wouldn't have held back. As long as he was willing, he would only need to pay a tiny price to self-destruct at least five more tis!
After those five tis... each subsequent self-destruction would be like stabbing a knife in his own heart.
The remaining entries were extrely well-matched to him; self-destructing any of them would cause him agonizing pain.
It would be like exchanging future potential for a chance to save his life now.
...
Just then—
Fat Long grinned, playing with several small items in his hand, "Got so good news, Brother Qiu. Only three storage rings from this guy were destroyed; three are still intact."
"As long as we find an Artifact Refiner to break the restrictions in these three storage rings, the wealth of a Golden Core Great Power is still sothing to look forward to."
Chen Qiu's mouth curved into a smile as he took the three storage rings, glanced at the pile of storage rings and Storage Bags that resembled a small mountain within his small world, and then looked towards his companions, "Let's find a place to take stock of our gains."
"Then, we'll sell what needs to be sold and exchange what needs to be traded."
"You all should also see if there's anything you need."
"?"
The scholar shook his head, "I don't want any, I'm on a stipend; taking a share of the spoils would be overstepping."
"In Da Xia, soone on a stipend like is considered an employed guest and does not share in the spoils."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."
Chen Qiu glanced at the scholar with a smile and said, "From today, you won't get your stipend anymore. I've ford this sect called 'Chao Tian Sect,' and I'll initiate you later. You might find sothing of interest in this sect."
"Inside, you may even find a chance to restore your Cultivation, and possibly advance your swordsmanship further."
"I'll give you the position of a sect elder. As an elder, you naturally share the fate of the sect, so no need for a stipend."
"I see."
The scholar turned his head towards Fat Long with a helpless expression, his eyes revealing a hint of amusent.
He actually wanted to say that sect elders usually do receive a stipend too.
But more than the stipend, what made him happier was the feeling of being part of a group, sothing he had never experienced before.
This was the first ti he was really integrating into a group.
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