This year's autumn examination is set for the fifth day of the seventh month.

In other words, in one month's time, the provincial exam will officially begin.

Chen Xu heard the latest news from the "Great Li's Splendor Record" on this day and also witnessed a public opinion battle among fellow examinees, sparking a thought in his mind:

He certainly won't be like Mo Huaizhang, who drives distant relatives to spread his reputation in the marketplace and belittle his competitors, but...he has the "Great Li's Splendor Record"!

If one truly wants to stand out in this public opinion battle, the best way isn't to drive countless tongues to praise oneself in the marketplace but to let this "Great Li's Splendor Record" undergo another change on the first day of next month.

If the ranking advances a few steps, wouldn't that be better than a thousand words of debate?

Of course, this is a thought, but Chen Xu is neither hurried nor anxious in his actions.

Increasing one's ranking depends on chance, and Chen Xu has no intention of taking risks at crucial moments.

He'll just let fate take its course.

If chance presents itself to him, he must strive to rise.

If indeed there is none, then... well, creating one wouldn't be too late.

That night, Chen Xu entered the Fire and Smoke Kitchen to tally all his recent gains.

Not to mention various peculiar spiritual materials, just the auxiliary materials that were previously missing. After recent collection efforts, Chen Xu has acquired Midnight Rootless Water and Noon Water.

He still lacks Tears of the Sea of Literature and Ink Pool, Deer Return Top Scholar Blood, Last Year's Snow, Volcanic Spring, and other such rare items.

Last Year's Snow, he plans to search Lingxi Snow Mountain for it early tomorrow.

As for Volcanic Spring, he heard that several dormant volcanoes also exist within the Lingxi Mountain Range. Chen Xu plans, after tonight's rest, to explore along the Lingxi Mountain Range.

At that time, he'll ask Wei Yuan to use earth traversal magic to bring him into the heart of those dormant volcanoes.

To see if there's any opportunity to find Volcanic Spring.

In any case, Chen Xu must refine the Dragon Soaring Pill with the power of Binding Dragon and Returning Wave and the Water Spirit Crystal that enhances comprehension of water-attribute magic.

In addition, the Fire and Smoke Kitchen collected one pound of Hundred Delicacies Brew gifted by the Monkey Demon.

Chen Xu drank the Thousand Delicacies Brew, thus the Hundred Delicacies Brew is of no use to him anymore.

Recently, Chen Xu frequently brings out the Hundred Delicacies Brew, feeding small amounts to Little Hedgehog and Little Mouse. Wei Yuan has little reaction to drinking it, but the Little Mouse grows stronger by the day, which is great news.

Chen Xu's own cultivation has advanced over the past half month, moving from the late stage of 93.9% in the Meridian Passage Realm to 97.6%.

Only a step away from perfection in the Meridian Passage Realm.

Lately, Chen Xu feels a bulging sensation in his Dantian, signaling that his True Qi has reached the extremity of a stage.

Once over this threshold, he could cultivate from Meridian Passage to Core Formation!

The inner core condensed from Innate Qi is also known as the Golden Core.

At that time, when Chen Xu reaches the Core Formation Realm, possessing a Golden Core, his combat power would far exceed that of a normal Core Formation cultivator.

Actually, even while at Meridian Passage Realm, Chen Xu managed to kill the Core Formation Realm Immortal Witch with little effort.

However, it's easy to accumulate True Qi but difficult to break through bottlenecks.

Lately, the more Chen Xu practices, the more he feels an obstruction, especially when reaching 97%; every minor progression becomes more challenging.

Fortunately, Chen Xu's temperament is calm, and he isn't anxious.

He has solid goals of his own, knowing that with each steadfast step, he can eventually cross the finish line and reach the other shore.

Then there's accumulating likes.

However, progress isn't substantial.

Being far from Yunjiang Prefecture, the channels through which Chen Xu originally accumulated likes are hard to receive nowadays.

In the past half month, Chen Xu's like growth mainly relied on the Little Mouse, Little Hedgehog, and two visits to the Ghost Market.

Indeed, on the night of the first day of the sixth month, Chen Xu summoned the Tray Ghost again, allowing it to lead the Daoist Soldier into the Ghost Market.

This time, they entered a lesser-known small Ghost Market.

Lesser than even the Cauldron Ghost Market.

Interestingly, the small Ghost Market is called "Hungry Dream Ghost Market," mostly populated by starving ghosts.

Ah, this fits perfectly.

Thus, although it's a small Ghost Market, once the Daoist Soldier placed his small cauldron and set up a stall, astonished voices arose.

The Daoist Soldier and Tray Ghost conducted legitimate business at this Hungry Dream Ghost Market.

No need to sell anything else, just White Rice Porridge infused with Netherworld Essence.

Add a sprinkle of Red Vermilion Robe, enough to entice the starving ghosts at Hungry Dream Ghost Market to buy eagerly.

Speaking of good business, the Hungry Dream Ghost Market is far better than Cauldron Ghost Market, even surpassing Yellow Springs Ghost Market by several folds.

This venture into Hungry Dream Ghost Market instantly increased Chen Xu's accumulated likes by nine thousand points, compensating for the difficulty of gathering likes in late May.

Chen Xu hopes that next time if he casts Netherworld Interwoven Matching Ghost Market again, he can randomly end up at Hungry Dream Ghost Market.

If Hungry Dream Ghost Market isn't available, Cauldron Ghost Market will suffice.

After the Daoist Soldier deep-fried in it, its core improved significantly.

Originally, as Chen Xu's cultivation continued to grow, the Daoist Soldier could only withstand 30% of Chen Xu's energy infusion.

Yet after deep-frying, the Daoist Soldier's capacity for energy infusion soared up to 50%.

The best part is that this 50% strength infusion isn't an "instant infusion," meaning Chen Xu can store part of his Innate Qi inside the Daoist Soldier's body through regular nurturing.

The Daoist Soldier can utilize this portion of True Qi without needing constant energy transmission from Chen Xu.

It equates to Chen Xu granting himself an additional 50% power attachment.

During combat, when released, this attachment will consume its energy, but it can be replenished without affecting Chen Xu's True Qi reserves—a win-win situation, how marvelous!

Chen Xu initially worried about the bottleneck of the Daoist Soldier's ability, but the Cauldron Ghost Market's cauldron solved that issue directly.

It seems that if deep-frying can be repeated later, there might be more surprises.

Meanwhile, after deep-frying, the Daoist Soldier's previous water aversion is resolved, no longer requiring Chen Xu to frequently replace the Water-Repelling Talisman.

This also saves him considerable trouble.

Moreover, during these wilderness expeditions, Chen Xu has encountered several demons.

Among the cute and spirited were Little Color Sparrow, Deer Demon, Rabbit Demon, etc., whereas the fierce ones included Wolf Demon, Snake Demon, etc.

However, whether fierce or cute, they can only be considered Little Demons with no significant threat, not even possessing complete intelligence.

Large demons like Gray Monkey King are indeed rare, and intelligent Little Demons like Little Hedgehog and Little Mouse are equally hard to come by.

Avoiding crowds and traveling through mountains and fields, though suffering from exposure to the elements, provides its own unique beauty.

Chen Xu attaches his spirit to the Fire and Smoke Kitchen, focusing on cultivation, reaching another peak.

Just waiting until morning to climb the snow mountain.

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