When he reappeared, he found himself back in the familiar desolate wilderness, only at a different fissure deep within the canyon, which was similarly infested with Human Face Spiders.
"Let's get to work."
Deep in the canyon.
Chen Qiu took a deep breath and summoned all the accumulated resentful spirits of the Human Face Spiders, repeating the previous tasks. With these resentful spirits fighting for him, the overwhelming number of Human Face Spiders in this location didn't put too much pressure on him.
He didn't feel too stressed.
Of course, before that, he used two Heavenly Dao Retrospective Talismans to reselect the two discarded entries from the eighth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, "start from scratch" and "Never Discouraged."
Fat Long sighed lightly, moved his slightly sore body, and muttered softly, then joined the battlefield wielding his long sword—he was responsible for drawing the monsters, while Chen Qiu handled the killing.
He knew one thing for sure: Chen Qiu had the opportunity to make three choices at the Qi Refinement Realm, and although he didn't know the specifics, he was certain that none who had such an opportunity were insignificant.
Being with Chen Qiu was much safer than venturing alone; at least they could watch each other's backs.
...
At the edge of a cliff over the canyon.
The bearded strongman spoke with a hoarse voice, "Brother, do you believe Mr. Chen is the young master of a great family from outside Da Xia Country?"
"Of course not."
The scholar sitting cross-legged on the ground couldn't help but laugh, "Even you have doubts, how could I believe it? Mr. Chen didn't expect us to believe him when he said that, he just made up an excuse."
"If I'm not mistaken, there must be some opportunity he finds inconvenient to reveal."
"But what does that have to do with us?"
"As long as he's willing and able to pay the price, we'll just work with him. Even if we are deceived, then so be it. In this world, no choice comes without a cost."
This world is too vast, immensely so.
Every moment, a large number of people encounter opportunities; it's quite normal for those who cultivated past the Golden Core Stage to have experienced opportunities. Opportunities aren't rare; surviving long enough is what's rare.
...
The dense mass of Human Face Spiders kept dying, and countless crying sounds of infants drifted through the deep canyon—it was incredibly shrill. The number of Human Face Spiders here far exceeded those they encountered in the previous canyon.
Meanwhile, Chen Qiu's cultivation was continuously improving.
"Cultivation greatly increased, officially advancing to the ninth level of the Qi Refinement Realm."
"Please choose one of the three random entries below within ten breaths."
There weren't any good entries this time.
He quickly glanced and chose one white entry.
-
"Entry name": Timber Chopping Sacred Body.
"Entry level": white entry.
"Entry effect": When you chop wood, it will be more efficient and you won't feel tired.
-
All three random entries for this realm breakthrough were useless white entries, but he didn't mind and chose one casually, perfect for using in an entry self-detonation as a trump card.
The effect of the entry self-detonation allows for a strike that crosses one Great Realm of cultivation by self-detonating an entry.
If he self-detonated an entry at the first level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, the power released would be that of the first level of the Golden Core Stage.
It's simple and brutal, yet effective.
The only downside is that it's somewhat a waste of entries, but he was not short on entries.
...
Soon, the sky had gradually darkened, the stars shifted, and the moon began to emerge above the dark clouds. The canyon was constantly swept by the night wind.
"Something's off with this weather."
Fat Long, visibly exhausted, gasped heavily for breath, hand on his waist as he looked up, noticing the sky had unexpectedly filled with dark clouds, creating a rather oppressive atmosphere, "Looks like there's a storm coming."
He was now at the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm. Although he mostly drew monsters for Chen Qiu to handle, the scattered kills over this extended period had also allowed him to break through to the seventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm.
Damn.
Killing these creatures really boosts one's cultivation quickly.
On Chen Qiu's side, his cultivation was once again undergoing a breakthrough.
"Cultivation greatly increased, officially advancing to the tenth level of the Qi Refinement Realm."
"Please choose one of the three random entries below within ten breaths."
Yet again, three useless entries.
He quickly glanced and once again selected a white entry.
-
"Entry name": Alchemy Posture.
"Entry level": White.
"Entry effect": Your success rate in producing Pills will slightly increase.
-
He wondered if this white entry had appeared before, was the chance of randomly getting this white entry so high? He also didn't know how many types of white entries there were in total.
He would look in the markets later to see if there was any information about an entry database for sale.
While pondering over these trivial matters, Chen Qiu, feeling somewhat fatigued, sat on the ground taking deep breaths and took out a leather water bag from his storage bag, gulping down its contents.
Meanwhile, at his side.
There were about fifty to sixty resentful spirits of Human Face Spiders fighting for him.
If resentful spirits could endure longer than an hour, there would have been even more Human Face Spider resentful spirits fighting for him.
"Continue!"
After catching his breath briefly, Chen Qiu stood up from the ground again, gripping the handle of his knife with a determined look as he once again charged towards the countless Human Face Spiders surging toward him.
This task was definitely more exhausting than chopping wood.
But it brought much more positive feedback than chopping wood.
Normally, a mortal could earn more than a hundred Wen in gains from chopping wood each day, but since he had crossed over as an unregistered resident, he could only sell the wood he chopped at low prices to others, earning a meager profit, not even enough to cover his meals.
...
Finally—
After chopping for an unknown duration, Chen Qiu felt his whole body sore and a black cloud had formed overhead, seemingly about to bring a rainstorm and gusting winds at any moment.
And he had finally broken through to the Qi Refinement Realm, level eleven!
"Cultivation greatly increased, formally stepping into the Qi Refinement Realm, level eleven."
"Please make a choice among the following three random entries within ten breaths."
1:
"Entry name": Flawless Body.
"Entry level": White.
"Entry effect": After you turn 18, for every additional ten years you maintain a Flawless Body, you gain a random entry.
2:
"Entry name": Stealing Jade and Flowers.
"Entry level": White.
"Entry effect": After you turn 18, for every person with a 'Flawless Body' entry you break, you gain a random entry.
3:
"Entry name": All In.
"Entry level"? White.
"Entry effect": All entries you own will be forcibly cleared, thereafter you cannot obtain or keep any permanent entries, but you will gain ten temporary entries every day.
-
"..."
Chen Qiu looked at the panel in front of him, sighed lightly, and this was already the third Realm breakthrough without getting an entry suitable for him; all three entries were of little use to him.
Especially the third entry, not only was it useless, but its side effects were also very severe.
His livelihood relied on entries, and to have them all forcibly cleared would be utterly nonsensical.
Without thinking further, he casually selected the "Flawless Body" entry.
So far, including this entry, he now had three completely useless entries that could be discarded at will, forming a not so small trump card. If the situation turned critical, the "Heavenly Deficiency" entry that enhanced his five senses could also be discarded.
Having many entries was always good, even if useless, just consider them as fireworks for fun.
...
Chen Qiu stood in the canyon, looking upward at the black clouds above, as the gusty winds gradually swept through the canyon, chilling his hemp garments. After a night of struggle, the surrounding area was littered with the corpses of Human Face Spiders.
And his Cultivation had now reached the eleventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm.
He only needed to fill the progress of the eleventh level of the Qi Refinement Realm to reach Great Perfection, and then he could begin Foundation Establishment.
The progress was much faster than he had anticipated.