After he had felled the remaining demon beasts with swift strikes of his blade, Chen Qiu's Cultivation also just barely broke through to the seventh layer of the Qi Refinement Realm!
Thirty-two Spirit Stones.
For an ordinary mortal, it was a fortune they couldn't earn in several lifetimes combined, yet Chen Qiu squandered it all in the span of a few breaths.
This wealth was truly substantial, enough to drive countless people to risk their lives for it, but when it came to spending... it somehow didn't seem to go very far.
Just like that Secret Realm.
Even many Cultivators at the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm entered, and when they set foot into this Secret Realm, they surely thought about the presence of existences at the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, and they probably considered the likelihood of encountering young masters from prominent families.
They even contemplated the high chance of dying in this small world.
But still, they resolutely stepped into the entrance of the small world.
Perhaps they felt lucky enough, or perhaps the rare emergence of the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm in their vicinity made them feel that missing it would lead to regret; regardless of the reason, it didn't matter anymore.
These people all ended up dying in the Secret Realm.
...
But all of this had nothing to do with Chen Qiu.
At this moment, Chen Qiu was sitting cross-legged on the bed, his eyes tightly closed and hands spread flat in front of his chest. This breakthrough in realm was very different from the previous ones, as he could clearly feel a warm current continuously flowing along the meridians inside his body.
Time passed, and he knew not how long it had been.
When he opened his eyes again, he only felt a foul stench emanating from his body. Looking down, he saw a great deal of black sludge had been expelled from his body and was now adhering to the inside of his clothes; his brows slightly furrowed, he hurriedly got up and walked to the private bath in the adjacent guest room.
He stripped off his clothes and carefully cleaned himself.
After he had finished washing and stepped out of the bath, standing in front of the copper mirror in the guest room and looking at his reflection, a slight shock flickered in his eyes. There had been no change in his body, but for some reason, his bearing seemed a bit different.
If he had to pinpoint one change, it would be that his spine was a bit straighter.
At this time, he felt that with just the strength of his body alone, he should have no problem taking on two Cultivators at the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, which might be what Fat Long referred to as the dividing line at the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm.
Only by breaking through the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement Realm, could one's physical strength be greatly enhanced.
Gradually setting oneself completely apart from mortals.
Just then—
He suddenly felt a stirring in his heart and practiced introspection. Sure enough, that extremely familiar panel shrouded in mist once again quietly appeared above his Dantian.
"Cultivation has surged, officially entering the seventh layer of the Qi Refinement Realm."
"Please choose from the three random entries below within ten breaths."
1:
"Entry name": Self-Destruction Term.
"Entry level": White.
"Entry effect": You may self-destruct any entry to unleash an attack with the full force of a Realm Cultivation one level higher than your current Cultivation.
2:
"Entry name": Unsettled Spirit.
"Entry level": White.
"Entry effect": When you are in a state of fear, your five senses will be slightly enhanced.
3:
"Entry name": Banding Together.
"Entry level": Green.
"Entry Effect": The extra organs that have emerged on your body will mutate and possess power that is unfathomable by gods and ghosts. The specific power depends on the number of extra organs.
-
Perhaps his luck had run out in the previous few promotions, as this time, the luck for advancement was fairly average with only two white entries and one green entry. According to Fat Long's explanation, the random entries obtained when breaking through the Qi Refinement Realm were likely to be white entries, with a small chance for green entries or higher.
This time was the normal scenario.
It's just that there had been too many abnormal times previously, and he had gotten somewhat used to that abnormality.
Without much overthinking,
he chose the first entry. Compared to the other two, only this "Self-Destruction Term" was slightly stronger for him. Even though he didn't currently have any needless entries, he would gain an entry with every realm advancement.
In the future, there will certainly be times when all three randomly obtained entries during a promotion are useless. In such cases, there won't be a situation where they are completely without use.
However...
Could this "Self-Destruction Term" self-destruct the term itself?
And, he had an entry previously that absolutely could not be removed. Could the "Self-Destruction Term" self-destruct that entry?
Although he was curious, he wouldn't conduct such an experiment just to satisfy his curiosity.
"Huff!"
Standing naked in front of a bronze mirror, Chen Qiu waved the long saber in his hand. After feeling the burst of power ready to be unleashed from his body, he felt somewhat safer, even harboring a desire to find someone to spar with.
Only then did he look towards the four Storage Bags piled up next to his clothes, falling silent.
He had acquired quite a few Storage Bags in the small world, most of which he had sold, leaving only four for himself.
These Storage Bags contained many things, including dry food, Spirit Stones, and Silver Taels.
The only thing missing was a change of clothes.
Fortunately, his distress didn't last long, as a knocking on the door and Fat Long's slightly anxious voice soon came from outside the guest room, "Brother Chen Qiu, hurry and open the door, something big has happened!!!"
...
Three breaths later.
Fat Long pushed the door open, while Chen Qiu was standing in place, shielding his vital body parts with the blade and interrupted, "First go buy me a set of clothes. No matter how big the issue, I'm not in the mood to listen right now."
"Eh..."
Fat Long was momentarily stunned. He casually pulled out a clean set of clothes from his bosom and handed them to Chen Qiu, saying, "I have a clean set of clothes here that I change into usually. You can wear them for now, though they might be a bit large."
"But that's not a problem, in a while..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly caught the strong smell of blood in the guest room. His eyes swept over to the cage almost filling half the room with demon beast carcasses and the pile of clothes on the bed oozing with black muck, and he slowly opened his mouth in disbelief, trembling with shock.
"Brother Chen Qiu...you didn't break through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, did you?"
"Ah?"
"It can't be? You really reached the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm?"
"How is that possible!"
Although Chen Qiu hadn't replied yet, Fat Long was exceedingly familiar with the changes that accompanied breaking through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, the most obvious of which was a transformation of the body, like shedding an old skin. While it wouldn't extend one's life, it would greatly enhance one's physical constitution.
It could be said that after breaking through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm, one was no longer an ordinary person!
At this moment, Fat Long, standing in place, was filled with disbelief and resentment. How was that fair? He had been in this world for five months, doing all sorts of devious things—everything except risking his life. He had done everything that he could.
Despite all his efforts, he had only cultivated to the sixth level of the Qi Refinement Realm.
And yesterday, when he first met Chen Qiu, he wasn't even at the first level of the Qi Refinement Realm. In the small world, he had advanced to the third level, and now after just stepping out to gather some information, he had reached the seventh level when he came back?
You're cheating, aren't you?