After Wang Fugui left, Jia Ren did not stay long in the Temporary Cave Dwelling.

It was safer to cultivate in seclusion within a Divine Transformation Cultivator's cave and strive to reach the Late Golden Core Stage as soon as possible. Once the cultivation of the Five Metals Divine Escape was completed, his ability to preserve his life would be enhanced. Then, venturing out to acquire Spiritual Medicines and seal new Bizarre Demons would not be too late.

Wang Fugui's dwelling was located at the center of the Four Great Desolate Domains, able to extend its care over all four. No matter where Bizarre Demons appeared, he could offer timely support. From this place, Lingyuan City was less than 30,000 li away. With the speed of an Insect External Incarnation, it would take at most six or seven days to reach it.

「Seven days later, Jia Ren arrived at his destination.」

Outside the cave, a clan of several thousand guarded it. A voice from among them warned, "This is the dwelling of a high cultivator! Entry is forbidden!"

The clan bore the surname Wang, and the highest Cultivation Level among them was the Early Golden Core Stage, which made one suspect they were descendants of a lineage left by Wang Fugui.

"I am invited!" Jia Ren took out a Token and only then was able to pass smoothly under their reverent gaze.

This was a place of green mountains and clear waters, a treasure land rich with Spirit Mountains, not far from a spiritual lake boasting uniquely beautiful scenery.

He uttered, "Open!"

The Formation trembled incessantly, shifting like ripples on water and revealing a path for Jia Ren to pass through. Rich nature's spiritual energy surged out, several times more concentrated than even that within the Mountain and Sea Pearl. The Mountain and Sea Pearl, with its thousands of Spirit Stones constantly emitting vast Spiritual Energy, and its Spirit Vein unceasingly releasing nature's spiritual energy, still paled in comparison to Wang Fugui's cave dwelling.

Using the Earth Vision Technique to peer into the depths of the ground, Jia Ren couldn't help but gasp in awe. Nine Spirit Veins converged underground, continuously spouting out nature's spiritual energy, all of it pooling at the top of the mountain.

"There are nine Spirit Veins here?! How extravagant!"

It wasn't difficult for a Divine Transformation Cultivator to obtain nine Spirit Veins, and each of these nine was superior to the one acquired at Cold Mountain Temple. Nine top-tier Spirit Veins converged in one place; only the Sects of the four great Divine Transformation Cultivators could compare. Super Sects still had their Sect Disciples share the nature's spiritual energy within their Spirit Veins, but here… Wang Fugui enjoyed it all alone.

I really want to dig them all up...

Taking them away shouldn't be hard!

Wang Fugui would be leaving this realm soon. If he couldn't take the Spirit Veins with him, he would naturally collect them into the Mountain and Sea Pearl.

First, cultivate!

I want to try cultivating with such a dense concentration of nature's spiritual energy and see what kind of results it will yield.

His main body flew out from the Mountain and Sea Pearl, soaring toward the cave dwelling atop the peak.

The higher he went, the more concentrated the Spiritual Energy became. It felt as if the Spiritual Energy had its own intelligence, drilling into his pores. In this kind of cultivation treasure land, even without actively circulating a Cultivation Technique, one's body could be cleansed by the Spiritual Energy, preventing all sorts of illnesses.

Jia Ren arrived inside the dwelling and gently pushed open the heavy stone door. In that instant, a vast amount of Spiritual Energy and radiant light flickered, dazzling his eyes. Only when he became accustomed to the environment could he see the interior clearly.

The mountain had been hollowed out into a deep pit. The interior formed a pond constructed from Bai Ling Spirit Jade, with the glow of restrictions flickering all around. Countless mists of Spiritual Energy were absorbed into the Jade Pond, transforming into white Spiritual Liquid. The depth of the pond was unknown, flowing with Spiritual Liquid that had been accumulating for a long time.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jia Ren leaped into the pond of Spiritual Liquid. He absorbed the Spiritual Liquid with all his might, feeling the joy of his Cultivation Level skyrocketing.

This is too extravagant!

He had never imagined that in his lifetime, he would have the opportunity to bathe in Spiritual Liquid.

If I could always cultivate here, absorbing Spiritual Liquid, the cultivation time would be further shortened.

Let's begin!

The Mysterious Heavenly Water Strategy operated, and a massive amount of Spiritual Liquid furiously surged into his body, constantly being transformed into Spiritual Power. A Yellow Dragon Spirit Pill was consumed, exploding into medicinal power within his body. The Spiritual Power within his meridians was so dense that it started to exert a load on the meridians themselves. If he had not cultivated the Black Dragon Vajra Body, which made his physique and meridians far surpass those of normal cultivators, he would have been absolutely unable to withstand such an astonishing amount of Spiritual Power. An average Golden Core Cultivator would even burst from too much nature's spiritual energy...

After four hours, Jia Ren had to stop cultivating. His meridians sent out sensations of tearing and swelling; only after taking a Third Turn Resurrection Pill did the pain ease. If he maintained this intensity of cultivation every day, the time for his advancement could be further reduced to within four years.

Next, he cycled the Star God Art to enhance his soul power. Two hours later, he entered the Alchemy Room to refine Elixirs and craft Talismans, improving his Proficiency Level. Once the Elixirs were refined, his Proficiency Level in the Black Dragon Vajra Body, Five Metals Divine Escape, Mirror Flower Water Moon, and other Divine Skills also continuously advanced.

After this cycle of activities, Jia Ren consumed a Vein-protecting Pill to protect his meridians. Then, he took a Yellow Dragon Spirit Pill, which transformed into medicinal power, and continued to cultivate while soaking in the Spiritual Liquid. Only in this way could he ensure that his cultivation speed was maximized, advancing as quickly as possible.

Jia Ren kept his state at its peak every day, extremely disciplined. He never forgot that this was a world where the strong prey upon the weak; living a better life was never about relying on someone else's charity. If he were to slack off, fishing for three days and drying his nets for two, Wang Fugui would not invest in him, let alone increase his stakes. This cultivation environment was already the life he had dreamed of, so he naturally cherished it all the more, determined not to squander the resources he possessed.

As time passed day by day, Jia Ren's progress was astonishing. First, the Divine Skill Mirror Flower Water Moon broke its limit for the second time, reaching the unprecedented fifth level: Mirror Flower, Dark Moon.

Mirror Flower, Dark Moon went a step further than Mirror Flower New Moon, pulling the target into a triple illusion. In addition, a brand-new effect was added: it affected the target's perception!

Before, the Divine Skill of Mirror Flower Water Moon was limited to external illusionary influences, with the only alteration being that a part of the illusory became reality, possessing tangible lethality. After reaching the Dark Moon realm, it misled the target's perception on a deeper level, causing actual damage. If a target within Mirror Flower, Dark Moon suffered burns and their perception was affected, the burn injuries would actually appear on their body. This differed from previous psychological suggestions; it changed cognition to a certain extent.

With the threefold illusion combined with perception influence, the Divine Skill Mirror Flower, Dark Moon was quite perverse and difficult to break. Relying solely on Mirror Flower, Dark Moon, he would have no equal below the Nascent Soul Stage.

No matter what Divine Skills you possess, you will obediently become my toy, to be manipulated to death within my illusion.

Breaking limits twice has made it this powerful! What about the third time?!

Today was his lucky day. Several strong presences surged up from within the Demon-Sealing Tower Treasure. Three Yakshas were promoted simultaneously! Zhang Pengpeng had already completed her advancement earlier, reaching a level comparable to the Mid Nascent Soul Stage. Subsequently, three more Yakshas reached the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, further improving their combat power.

Controlling the Yakshas became strenuous; he had reached his own limits. If they continued to advance, he feared they would become utterly uncontrollable. Jia Ren halted the supply of Corpse-Ritual Fire to the four Yakshas and subsequently introduced several new Flying Stiffs to be assisted in their promotion to Silver Moon Yakshas.

It's time for Artifact Refining!

Since learning that he could join the Lingbao Sect by offering Spiritual Treasures, he had new ideas: to create several Spiritual Treasures. Whether to trade for precious cultivation resources or to keep for other uses, it was necessary to start preparations early.

The first thing Jia Ren wanted to create was the Xuan Gui Shield. The Thousand-Year-Old Black Turtle Clan advanced too slowly. They had yet to break through and were already unable to keep up with his pace. The Fathead Fish were even stronger than them, having overtaken them by reaching the late Third Rank. As the threats he would face became increasingly greater, the Thousand-Year-Old Black Turtles were no longer of use.

The shed shell of a Thousand-Year-Old Black Turtle was of remarkable quality. One such shell had withstood the attacks of three Golden Core cultivators for several months without being completely destroyed. Using this material to craft a defensive Magical Treasure would surely yield astonishingly strong defense. Should it ascend to the Spiritual Treasure Level, it would be akin to a defensive miracle.

Creating a purely defensive Magical Treasure wasn't difficult; the most crucial part was matching it with suitable Inscriptions of Magical Treasures. Sifting through over ten different defensive Inscriptions of Magical Treasures and pairing them according to the material was the only way to maximize the material's effect. The matched inscriptions could then also be utilized to their maximum potential.

Jia Ren specifically set aside time for Artifact Refining, spending time outside of his cultivation to perfect the ideas in his mind. Only when his plan was fully formed did he officially start Artifact Refining.

The Magical Treasure he was refining, named the Xuan Gui Shield, used a Thousand-Year-Old Black Turtle's shell as its primary material, augmented with other materials obtained from the Xuan Shui Sect and Cold Mountain Temple. The Inscriptions of Magical Treasures were the Fire-Absorbing Glyph, Solid Inscription, Counter-Injury Inscription, Damage Absorption Inscription, and Thorns Inscription.

Different from the Mountain and Sea Pearl, which, although possessing strong defensive power, was essentially a Cave-Heaven Magical Treasure, the Xuan Gui Shield was a purely defensive Magical Treasure. The Fire-Absorbing Glyph allowed the Magical Treasure to join the Suppressing Demon Tower's Sacrificial Fire system, absorbing Sacrificial Fire to advance. This was the core of the Xuan Gui Shield's potential promotion to a Spiritual Treasure!

Both the Solid Inscription and the Damage Absorption Inscription could enhance the Xuan Gui Shield's durability and defensive strength, allowing it to last longer. Finally, the Counter-Injury Inscription and Thorns Inscription were chosen to complement the inherent counter-attack properties of the Xuan Gui Shield. Attackers would face a triple counter-attack effect from the Xuan Gui Shield itself, the Counter-Injury Inscription, and the Thorns Inscription. The force accumulated from the Damage Absorption Inscription could be continuously built up and also reflected outwards, dealing a significant blow to the enemy.

With its fourfold counter-attack effect, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the ultimate counter-attacking turtle shield in the realm of defensive Magical Treasures. Once it ascended to a Nascent Soul Grade Treasure, or even a Spiritual Treasure… an enemy's sword slash that couldn't break the shield's defense would still have to endure a much stronger counter-strike.

「Three months later, the Xuan Gui Shield was officially formed—a defensive and counter-attack Magical Treasure even purer than the Mountain and Sea Pearl.」

Let the sacrificial refinement begin!

Most of the Sacrificial Fire from the Demon-Sealing Tower was prioritized for the Xuan Gui Shield. In just over a month, it would be enough to promote it to a Nascent Soul Grade Treasure.

Could this be considered... the first Magical Treasure to ascend to a Spiritual Treasure?

To ensure that the Xuan Gui Shield would continue to be useful after its promotion, Jia Ren made some modifications. The Xuan Gui Shield had two operational states: low-consumption and peak. In low-consumption mode, only a portion of his power was needed to activate it, unleashing part of the shield's defensive capabilities and inscriptions. This was prepared as a fallback for when his own Realm was too low, so that after it ascended to Spiritual Treasure Level, he wouldn't exhaust his Spiritual Power after one use and lose his combat strength.

The Mountain and Sea Pearl could be nested inside the Xuan Gui Shield. Combined with the Mountain and Sea Pearl's ninety-nine layers of thousandfold defenses, the two together would offer a defense that was practically heaven-defying. Paired with the counter-attack power of the Xuan Gui Shield, it would surely fill the enemy with a sense of deep malice.

Mirror Flower, Dark Moon affects the enemy's perception of their own state. They wouldn't 'feel' the counter-attack effect of the Xuan Gui Shield and would think they were just bullying a weakling.

Attacking the Xuan Gui Shield will feel good for a moment, and attacking it continuously will feel consistently good—right up until they are struck dead by its counter-attack!

They won't even realize what's happening until death claims them...

Instantly, a brand-new tactical concept formed in his mind.

The Xuan Gui Shield will surely become the nightmare of my enemies!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.