Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 238
Chapter 238: Pursuers
Fang Chen spent his days on the ocean busy with all sorts of things, but these were also the most fruitful and worriless days he had since becoming a cultivator.
He felt like he had become an adventurer, freely wandering the world without anything to tie him down.
He would watch the sunrise and sunset every day with a clear mind, without having to worry about scheming or be schemed against. Whenever he felt lonely, he would chat with little sword or watch the scenery along the way.
There was once he encountered a terrible lightning storm. The sky crackled with thunderous booms, and the clouds fell so low that it felt like the lightning was right above him. Coming so close to such a devastating force made him feel insignificant and helpless.
A cultivator’s Three Calamities and Three Tribulations was a fight against the world, and the lightning tribulation was one of the trials they had to overcome. Without an unwavering heart, their fear would disadvantage them even before the fight began.
Fang Chen knew that it was only a matter of time before he had to go against such terrors if he continued on this journey. He wasn’t sure if he would be prepared when that day came.
He had 100 pinnacle Purple Lightning Talismans in his storage ring now, but he had impaired one of the talismans brushes, and he only had 100 Thunderjolt Wooden Talisman Papers and around 100 grams of Nine Tribulations Cinnabar left.
He stopped drawing talismans at that point.
While drawing talismans was part of his training too, it was slower compared to practicing the Five Elements Art. It was enough for him to have 100 pinnacle Purple Lightning Talismans in his storage ring, so it was time to prioritize raising his cultivation.
In the days to come, some of the captains traveling across the ocean would spot a massive black boat being protected by two massive water serpents that were over 300 meters long.
All cultivators could tell that it was the Five Elements Art, but it was still a bizarre sight because they knew how much the Five Elements Art depleted one’s spirit ki.
No cultivator would squander their spirit ki in such a manner unless they were certain of their safety. Otherwise, they would be put in a spot if they encountered danger while they were low on spirit ki.
Half a month later, a huge amount of spirit ki began flowing into Fang Chen’s body. His tenth immortal vein was taking shape!
Liu Mu quietly watched this sight with awe.
In the days he spent following Fang Chen, he came to realize how hardworking Great Xia’s number one War God Fang was. The latter trained almost 24 hours a day, only occasionally spending some time to rest and chat with him about things he didn’t really understand.
Some time later, Fang Chen slowly opened his eyes. Light flashed across his eyes.
He had successfully forged his tenth immortal vein.
He tried to control the surrounding water spirit ki once more. This time, he was able to conjure three massive water pythons that were 300 meters in length. They slithered and coiled around the black boat. He maintained them for around five minutes before finally running out of spirit ki.
Then, his spirit ki recovered as fast as before.
“My spirit ki capacity should have exceeded ordinary twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivators. I doubt that the reverend of the Cloudless Monastery can simultaneously control three massive water pythons of such sizes,” Fang Chen murmured.
He was neither proud nor complacent. Having crossed blows with the old daoist, he had a feeling that his current spirit ki capacity was on par with the latter. This highlighted the massive difference that could arise from a difference in cultivation methods.
The immortal veins forged through the Three Thousand Dao Gate’s initiate manual were both thick and pure, and they built a solid foundation for him.
“I have to head to the Three Thousand Dao Gates to obtain the cultivation methods beyond Foundation Establishment, so I’ll have to make my way to the Central Continent Country after reaching Foundation Establishment.”
Fang Chen was filled with curiosity about this legendary country. He wondered what sights he would see there, as well as how powerful those sects with sect ancestors would be.
“I have heard of the Central Continent Country even when I was still a mortal, and it was said to be a land filled with immortals. No one in Great Xia has seen it before, but its legend spreads far and wide.” Fang Chen chuckled. He turned to Liu Mu and asked, “Liu Mu, have you heard about the Central Continent Country?”
Liu Mu nodded.
His grandfather had once told him about it when he was younger, and there were also storybooks that described the mystical Central Continent Country. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Central Continent Country truly existed.
“It is a true land of immortals, where powerful sect ancestors reside. You should pay a visit there if you ever get a chance,” Fang Chen said with a smile.
Liu Mu was taken aback. His eyes appeared to be asking ‘Can I really do that?’
Fang Chen chuckled in response before turning his attention back to the Five Elements Art.
Other than advancing his cultivation to tenth stage Ki Refinement, he also became more adept at controlling the water spirit ki. That greatly boosted the usage efficiency of his spirit ki.
Now, he could even clearly conjure the scales on the water pythons.
This change didn’t just affect the appearance of his conjuring. The enhanced precision of his spirit ki control also greatly boosted the prowess of his water pythons.
Little sword could easily pierce right through Fang Chen’s water pythons before, but now it had to take them a little more seriously now.
Ten days later, Fang Chen finally spotted land in the distance.
According to the nautical map, what was before him was Infernoblaze’s territory, though Infernoblaze’s land mass was almost a thousand times larger than Great Xia.
At the same time, three boats appeared behind him. These boats weren’t as big as the black boat, but they didn’t pale too much in comparison. They were all mid Yellow-grade artifacts, with around 10 to 20 daosoul imprints.
Upon noticing the black boat, these three boats hastened their speed, revealing their daosoul imprints.
Fang Chen had the black boat race toward Infernoblaze’s territory. At the same time, he drew out his soul to observe the other ships.
“Our young sect master has been killed, and a Snake-grade boat has been stolen. It doesn’t make sense that the culprit isn’t at Foundation Establishment. However, the witnesses all claim that the culprit is only at Ki Refinement. What do you think?”
A group of Ki Refinement cultivators were gathered on one of the boats.
The weakest of them was at tenth stage Ki Refinement, and a couple of them had even reached twelfth stage Ki Refinement, making them no weaker than the Cloudless Monastery’s reverend.
The one who just spoke was a twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivator who looked to be around seventy to eighty years of age. He had a vicious face, and his left eye was empty, a sign that he had suffered severe injury before.
“They said that the Snake-grade boat’s spirit ki barrier failed to stop the culprit’s sword. Is there a chance the culprit is a sword cultivator?” another twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivator said.
Sword cultivator?
The faces of the others darkened. They had harbored such guesses too. Who else other than a sword cultivator could achieve such a feat at Ki Refinement?
They knew how formidable the Snake-grade boat’s defensive prowess was. As long as there were sufficient ki stones, it could even stop a Foundation Establishment for quite some time.
None of them wanted to make an enemy out of a sword cultivator, having heard about their reputation, but the one who had died was their Sea Dragon Sect’s young sect master, a direct descendent of their Golden Core old ancestor.
They couldn’t back down here.
Fang Chen’s soul eyed them from the sky.
In total, the three boats have 8 twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivators, and there are many more cultivators at tenth and eleventh stage. If I were to go against so many experts at once… I’d be put in a spot once I deplete all my Purple Lightning Talismans.
As powerful as little sword was, it needed to be channeled with spirit ki, and he didn’t have enough spirit ki to channel it for long. While his spirit ki would swiftly recover afterward, there was a small gap in between. That would be a fatal weakness for him in a prolonged battle.
