Chapter 652: Three Goals

After arriving in the Kunlun Realm with its incredibly dense Spiritual Energy, Xiao Chen’s first goal was to refine his Quintessence properly.

He was in no rush to advance his cultivation. He wanted to stabilize and improve the purity of his Quintessence, slowly closing the gap between him and the local cultivators of the Tianwu Domain.

If he had the chance, he wanted to break into the seventh layer of the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. However, doing so was not urgent. This Cultivation Technique was even more mysterious than a Heaven Ranked Cultivation Technique. The latter layers were increasingly harder to break into.

Xiao Chen’s second goal was to continue to temper his physical body. He wanted to raise his Firmament Body Tempering Art to the peak of the sixth layer, making his physical body even stronger.

Not only was the Body Tempering Cultivation Technique painful, but it also required an increasing amount of natural treasures with each layer.

After reaching the sixth layer of the Firmament Body Tempering Art, the natural treasures that he had to use were worth cities. Given his current resources, it would be difficult to obtain them.

Xiao Chen’s third goal was to comprehend the second move of the Heaven Ranked Martial Technique Dragon Subduing Slash—Soaring Dragon.

With a strong physical body and deep cultivation, one naturally needed a Martial Technique that could unleash all this power.

Xiao Chen thought through these goals once more and could not help but feel a headache. Each of these goals was not easy to accomplish.

Not only did they require a substantial number of Spirit Stones, but they also demanded a considerable amount of time and excellent comprehension ability to succeed.

The first goal might be easier to achieve, but the latter two were quite difficult. Xiao Chen needed to spend a lot of Spirit Stones in the inner sect. Although he had some savings, it would not last long.

He shook his head and sighed, “Never mind, I will refine my Quintessence again. I don’t need Spirit Stones to do that; all I need is time.”

Xiao Chen’s gaze fell on a prayer mat on the floor of the room. Complicated formations were woven into the inner section of the prayer mat, connecting it to a Spirit Vein’s origin deep underground.

When he sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, he immediately felt a human-head-sized Rank 1 Spirit Vein’s origin. It connected to ten locations and sent out Spiritual Energy to them.

Even when this vast and pure Spirit Vein’s origin split into ten, each stream still surged like a river. It was unknown how much strong Spiritual Energy was contained within.

However, Xiao Chen could feel the other nine people excitedly drawing on the Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Vein’s origin to raise their cultivation.

He was not that excited or impetuous. Every time, he would only draw a small amount of Spiritual Energy, circulate the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, and compress the Spiritual Energy over and over again without stopping.

Only when Xiao Chen could no longer compress the Spiritual Energy did he infuse it into his meridians.

One of the ninety-nine transparent drops of Quintessence in the dantian slowly turned purple. At first, it was just a light purple; then the color intensified and became deep purple.

Eventually, the purple drop of Quintessence turned as smooth and as solid as a pearl.

Given this, even after Xiao Chen had spent a lot of time, his cultivation did not increase. He remained at Inferior Grade Martial Monarch with no apparent improvement.

Half a month later, thirty of Xiao Chen’s ninety-nine drops of Quintessence turned as smooth as pearls, giving off a beautiful glow.

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“Dong! Dong! Dong!”

On this day, after Xiao Chen rested, he prepared to refine his Quintessence as usual when he heard knocking at the door.

Xiao Chen stood up from the prayer mat and waved his hand. He sent out some energy, and the door opened.

A thin man in yellow clothes stood at the door. He looked very ordinary, but his cultivation was pretty good; he had already advanced to late Inferior Grade Martial Monarch.

Unfortunately, that yellow-clad man’s Quintessence was not very pure. In Xiao Chen’s opinion, it was somewhat pompous.

Xiao Chen found this person rather familiar. This person should be the same as him, someone from a lower realm. They had probably seen each other in that courtyard at the beginning.

Xiao Chen walked over, invited the person in, and brewed a pot of tea. Then, he asked, “This friend, what’s the matter?”

The yellow-clad man smiled and said, “My humble self is Zhuo Yushi from the Cloud Sea Realm. My room is right next to yours. There is nothing much; I’m just here to introduce myself. I hope I did not interrupt your cultivation.”

Out of the great realms in the Martial God Palace’s control, the Cloud Sea Realm was one of the great realms ranked close to the last; its situation was not much better than the Sky Dome Realm’s.

Xiao Chen thought back to what he had heard of the Cloud Sea Realm as he picked up his teacup and took a sip. He smiled and said, “It’s fine. I had been cultivating for the past two weeks. It is good to chat with someone.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Xiao Chen from the Sky Dome Realm.”

When Zhuo Yushi heard Xiao Chen’s words, astonishment appeared in his eyes. He said, “You… You mean that you have been holed up in this room for the past two weeks cultivating?”

Xiao Chen felt something was off. He asked, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

Zhuo Yushi smiled embarrassedly and replied, “Brother Xiao is really unconventional. In the past few days, no one else from our batch was able to resist the loneliness. In this half month, all of us already familiarized ourselves with the eastern city.

“This place abounds with Earth Ranked Martial Techniques, which are considered treasures in the lower realms. You can buy them as long as you have sufficient Spirit Stones. Furthermore, there are many Medicinal Pills that aid with cultivation—so many that they are countless. Just looking at the sheer number makes you dizzy.

“There is also the auction house in the inner city. Heaven Ranked Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques can be found there. There are also all sorts of Superior Grade Secret Treasures. The only problem is that the amount of Superior Grade Spirit Stones needed is astronomical.”

This person was very entertaining to converse with. All Xiao Chen had to do was say a sentence, and Zhuo Yushi would go on and on without stopping. This reminded Xiao Chen of his old friend Bai Lixi.

Bai Lixi and Zhuo Yushi were the same kind of people—chatterboxes. Although Zhuo Yushi spoke about idle matters a lot, some things interested Xiao Chen.

In the past half month, Xiao Chen had not gone out. So, Zhuo Yushi’s arrival came at a good time.

“Right, Brother Zhuo, I’ve got a question for you. Your cultivation is increasing rather fast. Have you never thought about the purity of your Quintessence?”

The people selected to come up here from the lower realms were exceptional talents of a great realm. If Xiao Chen could think about the problem of Quintessence purity, Zhuo Yushi would definitely be able to think of it as well.

Zhuo Yushi laughed loudly, “Of course I’ve thought about it. However, there is no need to worry. After I reach the peak of this cultivation grade, I will just go to the inner city’s herb store to buy a Quintessence Gathering Pill.”

Quintessence Gathering Pill? What is that? Xiao Chen frowned slightly.

Zhuo Yushi knew that Xiao Chen had not gone out, so he explained the Quintessence Gathering Pill and its purpose to Xiao Chen in detail.

Since dense Spiritual Energy filled the Kunlun Realm, cultivators cultivated at a rapid rate. To prevent Quintessence from becoming unstable, the Alchemists created a Medicinal Pill for compressing Spiritual Energy.

Each cultivation realm had a corresponding Medicinal Pill. The Quintessence Gathering Pill was especially for Martial Monarchs.

After consuming the Quintessence Gathering Pill once, the cultivator’s Quintessence would automatically refine itself. After that, when these cultivators cultivated, their cultivation speed would be much slower. This was also why the Kunlun Realm cultivators advanced cultivation realms at a slower rate.

Whenever a Medicinal Pill for compressing Spiritual Energy was taken, it was like cultivating the same cultivation grade a second time. Naturally, the Kunlun Realm cultivator’s Quintessence would be much purer than the lower-realm cultivator’s.

Suddenly, Zhuo Yushi seemed to have thought of something. He asked, “Brother Xiao, have you been spending the past half month refining your Quintessence? That is a big waste of time.”

Xiao Chen smiled bitterly. This was the very definition of building a cart behind closed doors. Had he gone out, this situation would not have occurred.

[TL Note: Building a cart behind closed doors means being overly subjective and disregarding the outside world.]

“How many Quintessence Gathering Pills can one take within one cultivation grade?” Xiao Chen asked casually.

Zhuo Yushi said, “You can only use it once per cultivation grade. You can only take it again when you have advanced to Medial Grade Martial Monarch.”

In that case, there is no problem. I will refine the Quintessence once myself, and then I can use the Quintessence Gathering Pill to refine it once more. At that time, my Quintessence will be much stronger than others’.

However, this would mean that Xiao Chen’s cultivation would grow slower. Such a situation would test a cultivator’s mentality.

One would have to endure a protracted period of tedium and unbearable loneliness. They had to resist the honor and glory within reach.

It was hard for the younger generation not to be prideful; the youth liked to stand out from the crowd, gaining fame. It was already hard for them not to try and take shortcuts to advance their cultivation. It would be even harder to get them to spend more time to solidify their cultivation.

Xiao Chen sought the great Dao; his aim of reaching the peak of cultivation never changed. He knew very clearly what he sought.

On the path to the peak, the glory and honor before him were no more than fleeting clouds; they would disappear sooner than later.

Xiao Chen continued asking, “How much is this Quintessence Gathering Pill? Do you know?”

When the cost of the Quintessence Gathering Pill was mentioned, Zhuo Yushi’s smile instantly faded away. He sighed, “An Inferior Grade Quintessence Gathering Pill costs fifty thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones; a Medial Grade Quintessence Gathering Pill costs a hundred thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones; a Superior Grade Quintessence Gathering Pill costs one hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Stones.”

Damn! Xiao Chen could not help but curse in his heart. This price was extraordinarily high.

Right now, the total amount of Superior Grade Spirit Stones that Xiao Chen had was no more than two hundred thousand. After buying a Superior Grade Quintessence Gathering Pill, he would be almost broke.

Zhuo Yushi smiled bitterly and added, “Don’t get angry yet. What I told you is the special price for inner sect disciples. If you go to other places, it would be even more expensive.

“However, there is no need to worry. As inner sect disciples, we can take some sect missions with relatively high rewards. It will not be difficult to earn several ten thousand Superior Grade Spirit Stones.”

After chatting for a while longer, Zhuo Yushi stood up and took his leave. Before he left, he said, “Brother Xiao Chen, in the future, it is best we go out more. Cultivation is not only about undergoing bitter cultivation all the time.

“I heard that the competition within the inner sect is extremely intense. With the addition of our batch of lower-realm cultivators, the inner sect competition would only intensify, especially when the amount of resources have not been increased.”

Xiao Chen stood up and saw Zhuo Yushi off. Zhuo Yushi’s final words gave him food for thought. Sometimes, there were things that one did not think clearly about which others would be able to clarify.

“Only when I become strong can I be calm. Only with that calm can I be at peace.”

A resolute look appeared in Xiao Chen’s eyes. Then, he sat on the prayer mat again and continued refining his Quintessence.

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The sun rose and set. The world outside Xiao Chen’s room carried on, bustling and full of clamor.

The new disciples quickly found stronger backers, gaining the peak Earth Ranked Martial Techniques they dreamed about, their combat prowess improving vastly.

Some new disciples purchased Quintessence Gathering Pills. The purity of their Quintessence immediately soared, and they surpassed the others.

Other new disciples went out on experiential training. The news of their fortuitous encounters made everyone else envious of them.

Situ Gang worked with the other four people from his battle realm. In the inner sect with all the intense competition, they formed a strong faction of their own, rivaling the other five big factions.

That thin man from the courtyard that day gathered other lower-realm geniuses and formed another faction of his own.

Several peak geniuses of the lower realm, who had kept a low profile, revealed their strength after they gained some accumulations. They became famous after beating up some of the older inner sect disciples to the point those disciples could not raise their heads.

News of all these reached Xiao Chen’s ears via Zhuo Yushi.

The world outside the room was hectic. Every time Zhuo Yushi shared some news, his eyes filled with envy, his blood surging.

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