Godly Revival System: I Buy My Killer's Stats #Chapter 65: Mission Completed - Read Godly Revival System: I Buy My Killer's Stats Chapter 65: Mission Completed Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT
'Ding,
Due to the host's actions, the host has gained Elias' absolute loyalty.
'Ding,
Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the Mission: Revival Saint.
'Ding,
The host has received the main reward: 1000 Life Points.
'I completed the mission?'
As far as Ethan remembered, the mission was to help Elias break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Elias did not even reach the Qi Perfection Realm, much less become a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator.
However, the system congratulated him on the completion of the mission.
'Wait a second… the main reason why the system generated that mission was to solidify Elias's loyalty to me.'
'It must be because I gifted him a Foundation Establishment Pill that made Elias completely loyal to me.'
'With Elias being fully loyal to me, there is no need for that mission any longer.'
Soon, Ethan thought about it and found the reason why and how he had completed the mission without Elias's breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm.
'Looks like I can complete missions in alternate ways.'
Coming to that conclusion, Ethan shook his head, 'However, I still think it is much better to complete the mission directly rather than stressing over alternate ways.'
'Ding,
Because the host has completed the mission in a short time, he will be rewarded with the following bonus rewards.
1) 1000 Life Points.
2) Revival Life Card.
3) Heavenly Luck Card (Small).
'What? The Bonus Rewards are… so cool.'
Amidst his thoughts, Ethan received Bonus Rewards from the system for the recently completed mission, giving him another huge shock.
Although Ethan was expecting bonus rewards, he was not expecting that he would get three of them, which were quite valuable for Ethan.
"Elias, go and continue to cultivate and try to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Suppressing his excitement, Ethan ordered Elias to cultivate, whereas he returned to his room to check out his rewards.
'From this mission, I have received 2000 Life Points, totaling my Life Points to 2976. Next time I die, I won't have any problem increasing my cultivation by another level.'
Ethan had close to 3000 Life Points now and when he died, he could easily get at least 2000 Life Points, which were enough to break through to Level 4 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Although it was one level, Ethan was making progress towards his goal of becoming a Golden Core Realm Cultivator within six months. So, of course, he was happy with it.
'With this Revival Life Card, I have a total of four Revival Life Cards.'
So far, Ethan had only one Revival Life Card to exchange for 1000 Life Points and had safely stored the remaining three.
He hoped he wouldn't get to use them anytime soon.
He planned to accumulate as many as possible for the future because having more of them gave him more confidence in his future explorations.
"As for the last reward, it is a new type of card."
Thinking of the Heavenly Luck Card, a white-coloured card with small clouds on it, he appeared in Ethan's hands, followed by the system's information.
'Ding,
Life Card: Heavenly Luck Card (Small).
Effect: Upon activating it, the host will be lucky for the next one minute.
'Lucky for only one minute?'
From the name of the Life Card, Ethan could guess what the card could do; however, he felt one minute was extremely short.
'Hm… how should I make use of that one minute?'
Ethan thought about it and felt, 'I think using it together with the Multiplier Life Card might be a good choice.'
'It's decided. I will use it before I die.'
Not only would it increase the number of Life Points he received, but Ethan believed that with the Heavenly Luck, the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] would have some interesting items.
….
The next day,
Ethan woke up early and planted 1100 Spirit Grass Seeds in the Spirit Field and used his farming techniques to speed up their growth.
'After 19 days, I can extract another 1100 Life Points from them.'
Even though his mastery of the [Green Pulse Art] had increased to the Completion Stage, he could not reduce the maturity time of the Spirit Grass any further.
Since they were Rank 1 Spirit Grass, Ethan didn't have to spend much effort on them. So, Ethan was not worried much about it.
In fact, he was satisfied with 1100 Life Points every 20 days.
'Moreover, I have already planted the Special Rank 3 Spirit Plants, the Azure Profound Grass and will be planting more of them. So, in the future, I can harvest lots of Life Points from them.'
Compared to the Clearheart Lotus, Ethan believed that he could harvest more Life Points from the Azure Profound Grass because of its extreme environmental requirements along with its 500-day maturity period.
Ethan planned that if he visited the small floating island in the Azure Serpent Realm once a week and nurtured the Azure Profound Grass, he believed he could harvest them within five months.
'I just hope things go as smoothly as I planned.'
Other than praying, there was nothing Ethan could do about things going awry.
"Anyway, let's not worry too much about it and focus on the upcoming trip to the Azure Serpent Realm."
With that thought in mind, Ethan set all his thoughts aside and stood up.
'I should go and pick some good attack-type cultivation techniques and while I am at it, I should visit Uncle Merrick.'
Previously, when he was fighting the Azure Serpent Fiend, he was unable to break through the defense of the Azure Serpent Fiends.
Therefore, Ethan planned to learn some powerful cultivation techniques.
As for informing others about successfully harvesting the Clearheart Lotus, Ethan didn't have any plans to reveal it anytime soon.
Soon, Ethan made a trip to the Hall of Scriptures, a place where the Lin Family stored all the cultivation techniques they had collected for hundreds of years.
'I will go with [Blazing Sun Palm] and [Sky-shattering Sword Art].'
There were hundreds of cultivation techniques, however, Ethan chose only two cultivation techniques.
'Why is there not a single cultivation technique to hide my cultivation level from others?'
Other than the attack-type cultivation techniques, Ethan was looking for a cultivation technique to hide his cultivation from others.
Since his cultivation was rapidly increasing and would continue to increase, sooner or later, someone might develop evil intentions to learn the secret behind his rapid progress.
So, to escape such situations, Ethan wanted to learn a cultivation technique to hide his cultivation; however, there were no such cultivation techniques in the Lin Family's Hall of Scriptures.
'Looks like I have to keep an eye out for this type of Cultivation Technique in the Cultivator's Gathering or Markets.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan quietly left the Hall of Scriptures without picking any scriptures.
That's right!
He didn't take the scriptures for the two cultivation techniques he chose; instead, he used the [Godly Cultivation Insight] and spent one Life Point each to learn those two new Cultivation Techniques to the Spark Stage.
Time continued to pass and another two days went by as the day of his meeting with Felix arrived.
'I wonder how many Azure Profound Grass Seeds Felix has collected.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan put on a mask and quietly went to the Azure Serpent Realm to meet Felix.
Report chapter Comments
At the entrance of the Azure Serpent Realm, Felix was already waiting for Ethan.
"Ethan, here."
Seeing the familiar mask, Felix became excited and called Ethan's name out loud.
'This idiot… is he trying to announce that I am once again forming a team with him to prove that he is not really a Cursed Cultivator?'
Ethan was annoyed with Felix's high-profile behaviour, attracting all the unnecessary attention.
He wanted to maintain a low profile because 'Ethan' was his second identity in the world that he wanted to use to explore the Secret Realms.
"Felix, how did it go? How many Azure Profound Grass Seeds did you collect?"
Nevertheless, Ethan stopped worrying about it and directly asked Felix about his collection of Azure Profound Grass Seeds.
"How about you take a guess on how many seeds I collected?"
Felix didn't answer Ethan; instead, he asked Ethan to take a guess.
'...'
Ethan was speechless at Felix's childish behaviour; however, he still answered, "250 seeds?"
"Wrong. I worked hard for the whole week and got 300 seeds by selling off all my wealth."
First, Felix bragged about his wealth, but he became sad when mentioning his wealth.
"Felix, you suck at acting."
Ethan could easily tell that Felix was lying about selling off all his wealth and openly commented.
"Is that so?"
Felix rubbed the back of his head and smiled without retorting.
'300 seeds are more than enough. Also, don't worry, you will make more than tenfold returns on your investment.'
Although there was no one close to them, Ethan said the last line in a low tone, making Felix excited.
"Let's go."
Soon, Felix and Ethan entered the Azure Serpent Realm, and once inside, they rushed to the Small Floating Island.
Along the way, they made sure no one was following them, and Ethan even suggested they take a detour.
Because of that, the original two-hour journey became a four-hour journey to reach the grove filled with the Azure Profound Grass.
"Huh? Did someone find this grove?"
As soon as Felix entered the hidden grove, he could not help but frown.
Compared to last week, Felix noticed there were more than 100 Azure Profound Grass missing, making him think that someone must have found the grove.
"Don't worry about it."
Ethan didn't explain to Felix; instead, he checked the [Live Status] of the Matured Azure Profound Grass.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Azure Profound Grass]
[Grade: Rank 3 Special]
[Maturity: Ready to harvest]
[Status: Unhappy. I need Plant Essence. Give me some Plant Essence and harvest me; otherwise, I will wake up a Rank 3 Azure Serpent Fiend.]
. . .
[Status: Slightly Angry. How long has it been since the Azure Serpent Fiend King appeared? I am not in a good mood. So, don't harvest me unless you want me to wake up two Rank 3 Azure Serpent Fiends.]
. . .
[Status: Unhappy]
. . .
[Status: Happy]
. . .
[Status: Slightly Angry]
. . .
[Status: Happy]
Half of the Azure Profound Grass were slightly angry, and another half were unhappy, and there was even a small portion of Azure Profound Grass that was happy.
'Looks like my latest talent [Radiant Clear Heart] is not effective on these Azure Profound Grass.'
Ethan was expecting some good treatment because of his talent.
Nevertheless, Ethan felt it was a good thing because his plan would be executed much better this way.
'Huh? What is he doing?'
On the other hand, Felix didn't understand what Ethan was doing by gently touching the Azure Profound Grass without harvesting it.
However, Ethan didn't bother to explain; instead, he said, "Let's start working."
'Pluck'
As soon as he finished his sentence, Ethan harvested an Azure Profound Grass that would summon two Rank 3 Azure Serpent Fiends.
That's right!
Instead of harvesting the Happy Plants, Ethan harvested the Slightly Angry Plant.
'Rumble'
'Hiss~'
Soon, the ground outside the grove shook a little, and two familiar Rank 3 Azure Serpent Fiends walked out of the ground.
'There is no way I am willingly giving up on the free rewards.'
Since killing the Azure Serpent Fiends gave them rewards, Ethan didn't want to miss out when both he and Felix had the ability to kill them.
Therefore, Ethan intentionally chose to harvest the Slightly Angry Azure Profound Grass.
"I will take the left one. You stall for time for the right one."
Felix didn't know what Ethan was trying to do; however, he was good at killing Azure Serpent Fiends.
So, he quickly joined the action.
'Swiish'
[Ripple Slash]
After exchanging a few moves with the Azure Serpent Fiend, Felix found an opportunity to use one of his powerful attacks to swiftly kill his opponent.
"Ethan, I am coming…"
As usual, after taking care of his Azure Serpent Fiend, Felix rushed to help Ethan in taking care of his Azure Serpent Fiend.
However, this time, Felix saw a scene that he didn't expect to see.
[Blazing Sun Palm]
'Puchi'
'Boom'
Ethan used his latest cultivation technique to explode the Azure Serpent Fiend to death.
'T-this… he knew a Powerful Attack-type Cultivation Technique?'
Felix was shocked and continued thinking, 'From the looks of it, it must have reached the Completion Stage.'
Having a powerful cultivation technique was one thing, but having a higher mastery was another thing, and Ethan had both, which helped him easily kill the Azure Serpent Fiend.
'Although the explosive power of the technique was good, it cost me nearly 25% of my Spirit Essence?'
On the other hand, Ethan was happy with the power displayed by the cultivation technique; however, the cost made him a bit disappointed.
'Anyway, the 700 Life Points I spent on upgrading the [Blazing Sun Palm] were not in vain.'
Nevertheless, Ethan was satisfied with the cultivation technique.
"Let's collect the rewards."
Soon, Ethan stopped thinking about the cultivation technique and focused on the rewards after waking Felix up from his thoughts.
'10 seeds and 10 Azure Essence Pills.'
In one box, there were seeds, and in another, there were pills, making Ethan nod his head in satisfaction.
Seeds could be planted in the grove to harvest more Matured Azure Profound Grass, whereas the Pills could be used to speed up cultivation.
Both were valuable, and they basically got these rewards for free.
"Let's continue."
Soon, Ethan continued to harvest the Slightly Angry Azure Profound Grass to awaken the Rank 3 Azure Serpent Fiends and kill them to get additional rewards.
Time continued to pass, and in no time, they harvested 9 Azure Profound Grass.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Azure Profound Grass]
[Grade: Rank 3 Special]
[Maturity: Ready to harvest]
[Status: Fuming with Rage. You have harvested enough. It is time to leave now and come again later.]
. . .
'It is time to plant the seeds now.'
Like last time, harvesting the 10th Spirit Plant would summon the Azure Serpent Fiend King, and thus, Ethan decided to change the strategy.
"Well… well… well… what do we have here? So many Azure Profound Grass, and you didn't want to share such good things with us, Felix?"
Just when Ethan was about to use his Farming Techniques to plant and nurture the Azure Profound Grass, a group of cultivators wearing sect robes walked into the Hidden Grove with greedy eyes.
Report chapter Comments
There were six cultivators in the group, each one had a cultivation of Level 2 or Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm, whereas the leader of the group had a cultivation of Level 5 Foundation Establishment Realm.
In short, it was a group that Ethan and Felix couldn't stop if they had any ill intentions on their mind.
"Senior Brothers, do I know you?"
Seeing that the newcomers were wearing the sect uniforms and had higher cultivation, Felix respectfully asked the leader of the group.
"How could anyone not know the famous Cursed Cultivator of the Greenfire Sect?"
One of the cultivators chuckled at Felix.
"Senior Brothers, I am not a Cursed Cultivator."
Felix was angry; however, he didn't show it as he still spoke in a respectful tone.
"You got your teammates..."
"It doesn't matter, and I don't care about it either."
Before one of the cultivators could mock Felix, the leader of the group interrupted and continued, "Just leave this place and don't mention it anywhere else unless you want to die."
The leader warned in a low but steady voice, while emitting his aura to suffocate Felix and Ethan.
The aura was powerful, and Felix unconsciously took a step back; however, on the other hand, that aura had no effect on Ethan thanks to his [Predator's Spirit].
"Felix, let's go."
Without any external pressure, Ethan was able to remain calm and composed and said to Felix.
"But….."
Felix had great expectations of harvesting many Azure Profound Grass today, and they had only harvested nine so far.
Hence, Felix didn't feel good about leaving just like that.
'Idiot…did you forget about the Azure Serpent Fiend King?'
Ethan quickly whispered to Felix, reminding him about the Azure Serpent Fiend King that would appear when the tenth Azure Profound Grass was harvested.
That's right!
The main reason why Ethan didn't bother to argue or fight with the group of cultivators was that there was really no need to do it.
Currently, all the Azure Profound Grass in the groove were quite angry, waiting to awaken the Azure Serpent Fiend King. Thus, Ethan wanted to leave the Small Floating Island and let them dance with the Azure Serpent Fiend King.
"That's right! Compared to the Azure Profound Grass, our lives are more important."
Felix acted along with Ethan and intentionally made everyone think what Ethan had whispered into his ears.
'Not bad. He has some quick thinking.'
Soon, Ethan pulled Felix along with him to leave the Small Floating Island.
"Wait a second…give us the items you received from killing the Azure Serpent Fiends and the ones you harvested."
Just as Ethan and Felix were about to leave, the leader of the group demanded the rewards they collected from killing the Azure Serpent Fiends.
'B*astard, he is going too far.'
Felix cursed the leader in his heart; however, remembering the Azure Serpent Fiend King, he swore, 'Just you wait. For messing with me, you will be cursed.'
Soon, they gave the nine boxes they received from killing the Azure Serpent Fiends along with the nine harvested Azure Profound Grass before quietly leaving the Small Floating Island.
"This should be a good distance to watch the show."
After leaving the small floating island, Felix quickly found a spot where they could watch what was happening on the small floating island.
"Although we can't see them yet, once the Azure Serpent Fiend King awakens, we will see them."
Currently, those Senior Sect Disciples were standing inside the groove and since it was a well-hidden place, they couldn't see the disciples.
"It won't be long before we see them running out of the Small Floating Island like crazy…Haha."
Felix laughed out and patiently waited with Ethan.
…..
Inside the Small Groove,
"Brother Silas, we are going to be rich…very rich."
Once Ethan and Felix left, the cultivators behind the leader excitedly shouted out loud.
Every time they explored the Azure Serpent Realm, they would be excited to get a dozen Azure Profound Grass; however, now, they had nearly five hundred of them.
So, how could they not be excited?
"Everyone, be careful and control your excitement."
However, the leader of the group, Silas Wei, remained calm and asked his team members to suppress their excitement.
"Yes, Boss Silas."
"Yes, Brother Silas."
The moment they heard Silas' words, everyone hurriedly nodded and realized that they were too excited.
Inside the Secret Realms, when someone got too excited, it could lead to their death. So, they calmed themselves.
"They were harvesting only one Azure Profound Grass at a time. So, let's follow at the same pace."
Earlier, when they found the Small Floating Island, they observed Ethan and Felix's actions of fighting only two Azure Serpent Fiends at a time and guessed that they must be harvesting one or two Azure Profound Grass at once.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, Silas suggested that they should also harvest only one Azure Profound Grass at a time.
"Since we are not only stronger than them but we also have numbers on our side, we can quickly harvest all of them before nightfall."
They had been following Silas for a few years now, and they knew Silas was good at planning. So, they had no problems with following his plan.
"Brother Silas, since you have more luck than us, why don't you harvest the first Azure Profound Grass?"
One of the cultivators suggested, and Silas gladly agreed with a smile.
'Pluck'
Soon, Silas picked a mature Azure Profound Grass, and in the next second, the ground shook violently.
"Huh? What's happening?"
"Is this normal for the ground to shake this violently?"
"Everyone, prepare yourselves. There must be more Azure Serpent Fiends than we expected."
.
.
.
Soon, Brother Silas and his team became alert and looked at the cracks on the ground.
'Hiss~'
After a few seconds, a three-meter-tall Azure Serpent Fiend King climbed out of the ground and angrily hissed at Silas and his team.
"T-this…it's an Azure Serpent Fiend King….Run."
As the strongest cultivator of the group, Silas was the first one to react and, without any hesitation, he pushed two cultivators in front of him toward the Azure Serpent Fiend King.
'Swiish'
Once he pushed them toward the Azure Serpent Fiend King as a distraction, Silas quickly left the Small Floating Island without caring for his teammates.
'Swiish'
'Slash'
As for the two cultivators he just pushed, the Azure Serpent Fiend King swiped at them with its long and sharp claws, cleaving them into two halves.
"Brother Silas, what are you doing?"
"You b*stard…we trusted you so much."
"You backstabbing b*tch."
The remaining three cultivators, who were relatively lucky compared to the two cultivators who just died, looked at the scene unfolding in front of them with shock and terror.
They didn't expect their so-called 'Brave Leader' to be the first one to run away the moment they encountered the Azure Serpent Fiend King.
They would not have cursed him much if he had just run away alone, but he sacrificed two cultivators for his escape route.
"Let's fight together."
"Idiot…do you think we can kill that monster?"
"The reason why that Silas B*stard ran away in the first place is because it is something that even Golden Core Realm Cultivators have difficulty dealing with."
The three cultivators lost hope, and before they could even think of any plans, they died without knowing how they had gotten killed.
…
Felix, who observed the entire scene of what happened on the small floating island, was shocked to see Silas's actions.
"He acted all mighty and powerful earlier but ran away like a p*ssy upon seeing the Azure Serpent Fiend King."
He could not help but make fun of Silas and asked Ethan, "What do you say, Ethan?"
"He is definitely a p*ssy."
Ethan agreed with Felix's words and added, "And I am sitting beside another one who did the same thing a week ago."
Although Felix didn't push Ethan towards the Azure Serpent Fiend King, he directly disappeared the moment the Azure Serpent Fiend King climbed out of the ground, leaving Ethan behind just like how Silas left his teammates to die.
"Ethan, I thought you had already forgiven me for my actions."
Felix was a bit embarrassed.
"I did, and that's why we are still a team, aren't we?"
Ethan replied with a smile.
Although Ethan was angry at that time, he knew that Felix and he were not that close for Felix to die along with him. If he had been in Felix's place, Ethan believed he would have done the same thing.
30 minutes later,
"Felix, let's go and harvest all the Azure Profound Grass now."
Report chapter Comments
30 minutes later,
"Felix, let's go and harvest all the Azure Profound Grass now."
Ethan didn't wait for Felix and rushed to the grove.
From Ethan's past experience, he knew that after killing the three cultivators, the Azure Serpent Fiend King would enter the grove to plant some new Azure Profound Grass seeds and tend to them for exactly 30 minutes.
After tending to the plants, the Azure Serpent Fiend King would disappear.
Although Ethan and Felix could not see the grove from their current location, he was sure that the Azure Serpent Fiend King had disappeared.
Therefore, after confirming with the system that 30 minutes had passed, Ethan didn't waste any time and rushed into the grove.
"Ethan, are you sure that the Azure Serpent Fiend has disappeared?"
Felix was a little doubtful; however, he still followed Ethan with full alertness.
"He…really disappeared."
Soon, Felix got excited; however, he didn't rush into the grove but to the corpses of his fellow disciples.
"I will be taking your wealth, but in exchange, I will submit your bodies to the sect, who will take you to your families."
"I just hope you will find a good boss to follow in your next life."
First, he collected the storage rings from the bodies and carefully stored them in one of the new storage rings he just emptied.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
'Swiish'
[Flourishing Spirit Rain]
'Swiish'
On the other hand, Ethan started planting the seeds and gave them a Spirit Rain, followed by the [Green Pulse Art] to speed up their growth.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Azure Profound Grass]
[Grade: Rank 3 Special]
[Maturity: 480 days]
[Status: Happy]
Once he took care of more than 400 Azure Profound Grass seeds, Ethan checked their [Live Status] and [Maturity] and nodded his head in satisfaction.
'Let's see the plants I planted last week.'
Before he could begin harvesting, Ethan wanted to check on the Azure Profound Grass he planted last week.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Azure Profound Grass]
[Grade: Rank 3 Special]
[Maturity: 440 days]
[Status: Happy]
'Huh? Why is it 440 days? Isn't it supposed to be 453?'
When he saw the maturity of the Azure Profound Grass from last week, Ethan was pleasantly surprised.
Back then, using his [Green Pulse Art, he reduced the maturity of all 100 Azure Profound Grass by 20 days to 480 days, and today, he once again reduced those plants' maturity by another 20 days.
Adding the 7 days of normal growth between Ethan's first and second nurturing sessions, the maturity of those 100 plants should be around 453 days.
'Is it because of the Azure Serpent Fiend King's nurturing? Or the pure Azure Essence in the realm? Or maybe both.'
In the end, Ethan concluded that it must be because of the two reasons.
'Since that is good news to me, there is no need to think about it.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan walked to the matured Azure Profound Grass and soon, he started harvesting them.
'A happy plant bears no Azure Serpent Fiends.'
Ethan was quick with his hands as he harvested one Azure Profound Grass after another, under the shocked eyes of Felix.
"W-what is happening? Where did all the Azure Serpent Fiends disappear to?"
Felix was already a bit surprised that Ethan was a Spirit Farmer and seeing that Ethan was peacefully harvesting the Azure Profound Grass without awakening a single Azure Serpent Fiend shocked him.
"It must be the rule of this location. Plant a seed and harvest a plant."
Nevertheless, even without Ethan's explanation, Felix could easily figure out the reason why Ethan was able to harvest the Azure Profound Grass without awakening the Azure Serpent Fiends.
In less than an hour, Ethan harvested more than 400 Azure Profound Grass in the grove.
Right now, in the grove, there were only seedlings left and the number was close to 1000.
'Among these 1000, I planted more than 500 of them. Once they mature, I will get tons of Life Points.'
Ethan was excited about it and as for someone else harvesting the plants before them, he was not worried.
'With a Rank 5 Azure Serpent Fiend King looking after my garden, why should I be worried about anything?'
Ethan smiled and decided, 'However, I should come here more often.'
He decided to enter the grove more often to speed up the growth of the Azure Profound Grass and harvest the Life Points.
"So many good-quality Azure Profound Grass and even perfect-quality ones…we are rich…we are rich."
On the side, Felix became excited to see the 500 harvested Azure Profound Grass.
The reason for his excitement was, among the 500 Azure Profound Grass, nearly 200 of them reached perfect quality, making Felix jump in joy.
A good-quality Azure Profound Grass is equivalent to 1.5 regular-quality Azure Profound Grass, whereas a perfect-quality plant is equivalent to three regular ones.
So, how could Felix not be excited?
"Ethan, with this, I don't have to worry until I reach the Perfected Foundation Establishment Realm."
Felix clenched his fists in excitement as he muttered in a serious tone, 'Once I break through to the Golden Core Realm, I will have my revenge.'
'Huh?'
Ethan noticed the sudden change in Felix and frowned; however, he didn't think much about it.
"I will store them until we reach the Greenfire Exchange Hall."
He informed Felix that he would hold onto the Azure Profound Grass until they reached the Greenfire Exchange Hall.
Since his Vital Bloom Ring keeps the harvested plants fresh, and even if Felix tries to kill him along the way, Ethan could get them back with his revival.
Hence, he decided to keep them with him.
"Sure"
Felix didn't seem to mind; instead, he asked Ethan, "Ethan, you must have a talent for Spirit Plants. Why don't you join the Greenfire Sect? I can recommend you to one of the Elders I am close to."
"Thank you for the offer; however, I will not join any sect."
There was no way Ethan would dare to have such thoughts of joining a big sect like the Greenfire Sect.
Although he had the Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm, he had the worst Spirit Root.
Unlike the Lin Family Brothers, the Sect Leaders and Elders wouldn't let Ethan go even if he said he got the cultivation as a reward from the Mystic Soil Domain.
In short, they would try all kinds of methods until they find out the reason for his high cultivation.
'Moreover, I will be rapidly increasing my cultivation every week or two, and it would only put me in more danger.'
With all those reasons, Ethan decided not to join any sect until he got a Spirit Root.
With all the benefits and cultivation resources a sect disciple gets, who doesn't want to join one?
Even Ethan was no exception; however, he had to wait for the right time to join the sect.
"Felix, let's go."
Soon, they left the Small Floating Island with faces full of hope.
'Hiss~'
Just as they left the Small Floating Island, the Azure Serpent Fiend King appeared in the grove and looked at the disappearing silhouettes of Ethan and Felix.
…..
"Damn you…b*stards, because of you, I lost my entire team. I am going to kill you."
At the same time, another pair of bloodshot eyes were looking at Ethan and Felix.
Report chapter Comments
"Ethan, are you sure you don't want to join the Sect?"
As they were rushing towards the exit of the Azure Serpent Realm, Felix repeatedly asked Ethan to join the Sect.
"Forget it…I won't ask you anymore."
Seeing that Ethan was ignoring him, Felix gave up before changing the topic.
"Ethan, there is a Cultivator's Gathering in Greenfire City in five days. We can exchange some of the Perfect Quality Azure Profound Grass there to get some good cultivation resources."
"A Cultivator's Gathering?"
Ethan's eyes lit up upon hearing about the Cultivator's Gathering because it was a good way to get his hands on unique cultivation techniques, resources that increase lifespan, and many more.
So, obviously, Ethan was interested and asked for more details.
Greenfire City was a city that was developed by the Greenfire Sect due to its proximity.
As the saying goes, one cultivator's trash is another cultivator's treasure, which is why many cultivators and even sect disciples occasionally gather there to exchange their cultivation resources.
"I will come."
Ethan agreed to go with Felix.
"With our haul of Azure Profound Grass, we can not only buy a good amount of cultivation resources from the Exchange Hall but also from the Cultivator's Gathering!"
Felix imagined getting lots of cultivation resources and breaking through to the Golden Core in a short time.
"If we don't get jumped before leaving the Azure Serpent Realm, we can enjoy our haul."
Ethan shook his head as he sensed something through his [Predator's Spirit].
"Who would dare—"
Felix laughed and was about to say something when he heard Ethan's shout,
"Felix, move to your left!"
'Swoosh'
Felix quickly followed Ethan's words and moved to his left.
'Kacha'
'Boom'
A sudden whoosh cut through the air as a dark blade of energy sliced past him, piercing into a boulder before exploding into pieces.
"I would dare,"
A familiar cold voice came from behind them as Silas stepped out from the shadows.
"You have a good skill for sensing danger."
Despite his dislike of Ethan, Silas couldn't help but praise Ethan for his instincts.
"Hand over all the Azure Profound Grass, and I will give you a quick and painless death."
His eyes gleamed with a mix of killing intent and greed as he demanded the Azure Profound Grass that they had harvested.
"B*stard, what are you talking about?"
Felix burned with rage at Silas' earlier sneak attack. If not for Ethan's warning, he would have been killed already.
So, he couldn't control his anger and asked in a furious tone while pretending that he had no clue about their complete harvesting of the Azure Profound Grass in the grove.
"Looks like you chose the hard way."
[Phantom Serpent Strike]
Silas didn't bother to continue speaking as he launched a snake-shaped dark energy attack aimed straight at Ethan.
"You need to be faster if you want to harm me."
[Shadow Steps]
'Swiish'
Ethan activated his movement technique, easily avoiding the attack.
'How is he…..'
Silas was shocked to see Ethan's speed.
"How can you space out in the middle of a fight?"
[Ripple Slash]
Seeing that Silas was careless, Felix quickly used one of his powerful sword techniques and repeatedly slashed at Silas.
'Clang'
'Slash'
'Clang'
However, to Felix's surprise, none of his sword strikes did any damage.
"You're only a Level 2 Foundation Cultivator, Felix," Silas mocked. "Do you really think you are a match for me?"
"What about me then?"
'Swiish'
[Blazing Sun Palm]
With his speed, Ethan appeared behind Silas in an instant and launched his attack.
"You…"
Silas had been keeping an eye on Ethan; however, he noticed that Ethan's speed increased to the point where he disappeared for a moment.
By the time Silas could react, Ethan had already placed his fiery palm on his back.
'Puchi'
'Boom'
There was a huge explosion as Silas was blasted into a huge tree.
"Am I powerful enough to kill you?"
Ethan scoffed at Silas.
He was an emotional person; however, that didn't mean Ethan wouldn't kill others who dared to harm him…especially the ones who dared to sneakily attack others.
If not for his [Predator's Spirit, Felix would have been killed and in a one-on-one fight, Silas believed he could easily kill Ethan.
'However, he didn't expect that I would have mastered a Greater Completion Stage [Shadow Steps, which puts me on par with a perfected Foundation Realm Cultivator.'
'A Level 5 Foundation Establishment Cultivator got killed just like that?'
On the other hand, Felix was a bit slow to react, and by the time he realized what had just happened, he was shocked and looked at Ethan as though he was some kind of monster.
'He is definitely not your average loose cultivator. No wonder he doesn't want to join any sect.'
Felix racked his brains trying to understand why Ethan didn't want to join a Big Sect like the Greenfire Sect, and he finally got an answer, 'He must have a secret, and joining the sect would cause a problem for him.'
"Cough…you…"
Silas coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tried to stand up and speak.
"You are still alive? No wonder you're the team leader."
Ethan was surprised for a moment because in his earlier attack, he had used almost all his Spirit Essence to blast Silas.
He thought it would be enough to kill him, but seeing him still alive made Ethan realize how strong Silas was.
"Felix."
Ethan looked at Felix, and Felix understood immediately, quickly finishing off Silas.
From the moment he first encountered Silas, Felix had disliked Silas. On top of that, Silas had repeatedly angered him.
And the most important thing was, Silas had tried to silently kill him using sneaky methods.
Combining all these things, Ethan felt that Felix could vent his anger by killing off Silas.
"Let's burn the corpse, just in case someone connects his death to us and seeks revenge."
Soon, they burned the corpse and resumed their journey towards the exit of the Azure Serpent Realm.
Unlike before, Felix remained silent, maintaining high alert throughout the journey.
'Hm…should I have died in his hands this week?'
Along the way, Ethan couldn't help but think about whether he should have let himself die in Silas' hands.
Not only could he have received their week's Death Benefits and later killed Silas, triggering [I am Your Killer] to get more rewards.
'Forget it…not dying also has its benefits. I can just return to the Azure Profound Grove again to nurture the Azure Profound Grass I planted, reducing their maturity period by another 20 days.'
Ethan smiled at the thought of his 500 Azure Profound Grass in the grove.
'Swoosh'
"Phew…finally, we are safe."
Along the way, they didn't encounter any dangers, and Felix's curse didn't trigger, making both Felix heave sighs of relief.
As for Ethan, he seemed a bit disappointed regarding his successful return without dying; however, he didn't dwell on it.
"Let's go to Greenfire Exchange…..Ethan, be careful. It's an Azure Killer Bee!"
Felix noticed a fist-sized black bee flying towards Ethan and hurriedly alerted him with an anxious tone.
'Sting'
Ethan had spotted the Azure Killer Bee out of the corner of his eye; however, it was much faster than his reaction speed, and before he could react, the bee struck.
It drove its venomous stinger deep into his side, leaving behind a searing pain that made his body stiffen and fall to the ground.
Report chapter Comments
At the entrance of the Azure Serpent Realm,
"Hey…look at that. An Azure Killer Bee flew out of the Azure Serpent Realm and stung that loose cultivator."
"What? An Azure Killer Bee appeared? Stop joking, Azure Killer Bees are the rarest but deadliest creatures in the depths of the Azure Serpent Realm."
"It really is an Azure Killer Bee, and from the patterns on its body, it is a Rank 4."
"By the way, I have heard that Azure Killer Bees always move in groups, but why is it alone?"
"That's not the main question you should ask; instead, why would it come out of the Azure Serpent Realm to sting that cultivator and go back?"
A group of cultivators standing at the entrance of the Azure Serpent Realm was surprised by the appearance of an Azure Killer Bee because it was not a common creature but one of the rarest and deadliest.
However, they had many questions regarding the solo appearance of the Azure Killer Bee.
"I know the answer to it."
"What is it?"
"Did you see the cultivator standing beside the one who got bitten by the Azure Killer Bee?"
"Who?"
Hearing that, all the onlooking cultivators looked at Felix, who was supporting Ethan.
"Isn't that…the infamous Cursed Cultivator of the Greenfire Sect?"
"What are the chances of someone getting stung by one of the rarest creatures that never leaves the Azure Serpent Realm?"
"Did another cultivator die because of his curse?"
"He just added another cultivator to his list."
"He is that Cursed Cultivator everyone warned me not to form a team with?"
"He once asked me to form a team with him, saying that there was a secret place filled with lots of Azure Profound Grass; however, I rejected it, and I am glad I did."
"Me too. Otherwise, I would have met my maker too."
"Hey, maintain some distance from him; otherwise, who knows what kind of deep-shit events we'll encounter."
When everyone noticed that Ethan was Felix's teammate, they were no longer surprised by the unusual events, like the solo appearance of the Azure Killer Bee, and how it came out of the Azure Serpent Realm, stung Ethan, and then went back.
Instead, they hurriedly kept their distance from Felix, worried that they might get unlucky if they stayed close to him.
…..
'Damn it…why is this happening to me? Why?'
On the other hand, Felix was cursing his damn luck and hurriedly apologized to Ethan, "I am sorry…I am very sorry, Ethan…because of my…."
Felix was sad, frustrated, and angry to the point that he was unable to speak properly.
'Slap'
"Felix…I am…not…dead…yet."
Ethan slapped Felix and reassured him that he was still alive.
"I know…I know that. But…you will be dying within five minutes because of the Azure Poison in your body."
Felix had explored the Azure Serpent Realm many times, and he knew about the Azure Killer Bee and how deadly its Azure Poison could be.
So, he knew that Ethan didn't have much time left.
"I know that."
Even Ethan knew that he didn't have much time left because he had already received the system notification.
'Ding,
The system has detected deadly Azure Poison in the host's body.
'Ding,
In less than 5 minutes, the Azure Poison will spread throughout the host's body, and then he will die.
Even though he had less than 5 minutes to live, Ethan was not worried much about it; instead, he was excited.
'I wonder what kinds of stats I could buy from the Azure Killer Bee.'
Since the Azure Killer Bee was not only a rare but also a deadly poisonous creature that cultivators fear, Ethan was looking forward to the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] displaying the Azure Killer Bee.
'Before that, I have to move to a quiet and secluded place.'
Ethan was not worried about death but rather showcasing his ability to revive.
Although he could revive in one of the Safe Points, his corpse would disappear right in front of everyone's eyes.
'Even though no one can guess that the disappearance of my corpse is related to my revival, there is no need to draw unwanted attention.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan quickly asked Felix, "Bring me to a secluded place."
"Huh? What?"
Felix was still cursing his curse when he heard Ethan's words, making him puzzled.
"Idiot…I am dying here, and can't you even do what I ask without questioning me?"
As time passed, Ethan spoke in a weaker voice, but he used all his energy to shout at Felix.
"Sorry…sorry. I will do it."
Felix hurriedly picked Ethan up and rushed into a secluded place covered with trees and boulders.
"Ethan, if you have any unfulfilled..."
"Felix, don't act crazy. I am not going to die. And until I die, just follow my instructions without questioning them."
Before Felix could finish his sentence, Ethan interrupted him and prepared him for his plan.
"Okay."
Felix didn't know what instructions Ethan had for him, but he swore to do as he was told.
He was guilty that Ethan was going to die because of his cursed luck, and the least he could do for Ethan was to follow his instructions until he died.
Once he finished preparing Felix, Ethan checked the time remaining for the Azure Poison to spread throughout his body.
'Ding,
Two minutes until the host's body is filled with Azure Poison.
'There is still time to use the Heavenly Luck Card.'
Although he had already set the system to trigger the Heavenly Luck Card when he died, Ethan decided to change his plan a bit.
Since the effects of the Heavenly Luck Card last for one minute, Ethan thought he could use it for another purpose before his death.
'One minute…why is time running so slow?'
For Ethan, time seemed to move very slowly as he patiently waited while enduring the searing pain from the Azure Poison.
When it was only 50 seconds left, Ethan realized that he couldn't move his hands.
'Let's do it.'
Nevertheless, Ethan executed his plan as he ordered the system, 'System, activate the Heavenly Luck Card.'
'Ding,
The host has activated the Heavenly Luck Card. He will be extremely lucky for the next one minute.
"Felix, feed me the Azure Spirit Fruit now."
With a thought, an Azure Spirit Fruit came out of his storage ring as Ethan asked Felix to feed him.
It was the same Azure Spirit Fruit that he and Felix had obtained from killing the Azure Serpent Fiend, and consuming it would increase a cultivator's lifespan by anywhere between 20 to 50 years.
Ethan had been waiting for a perfect moment to eat it, and right now was a perfect moment for him.
Because he was using the effects of the Heavenly Luck Card to trigger the maximum increase in his lifespan.
"Sure."
Since Ethan had already prepared Felix, despite having a head full of questions, Felix followed Ethan's instructions without questioning.
'Gulp'
'Gulp'
In three bites, Ethan quickly ate the Azure Spirit Fruit in less than 10 seconds and waited for the effects of the Azure Spirit Fruit to appear.
'Swiish'
Soon, the mysterious Azure Energy from the Azure Spirit Fruit rapidly spread throughout Ethan's body as he received the system notifications, making him wonder whether he had made a mistake by consuming the Azure Spirit Fruit.
Report chapter Comments
Once Ethan consumed the Azure Spirit Fruit, the mysterious Azure Essence spread through his body.
'Swiish'
However, since Ethan's body already contained Azure Poison, this Azure Essence mixed with it.
'Argh'
Suddenly, Ethan felt the searing pain from the Azure Poison increase to an unimaginable level, making Ethan groan in pain.
'I can endure it…it's just a few more seconds.'
Maybe it was Ethan's willpower or whether it was Ethan's special talent [The Radiant Clear Heart, Ethan was able to still keep his rationality.
'Ding,
The Azure Essence from the Azure Spirit Fruit has merged with the Azure Poison in the host's body.
'Ding,
The Pure Azure Essence is stabilizing and amplifying the potency of Azure Poison, refining its lethality while enhancing its precision.
'Ding,
Due to the increased lethality of the Azure Poison, the host will die in less than 15 seconds.
'What? The lethality of the Azure Poison increased?'
Ethan was shocked by the system notifications because he was not expecting this turn of events.
'Don't tell me that I am lucky to die a few seconds sooner?'
Since the pain from the Azure Poison was unbearable, it could be considered lucky to die a bit sooner; however, Ethan was not interested in it.
'I want an increment of a 50-year lifespan.'
An Azure Spirit Fruit can increase a cultivator's lifespan by a maximum of 50 years, and since he had used the Heavenly Luck Card, Ethan was expecting that.
Amidst his thoughts, Ethan received a few more system notifications, and upon reading them, all his worries disappeared.
'Ding,
In return, the volatile nature of Azure Poison stimulated the Azure Essence, increasing the more concentrated and powerful flow of energy in the host's body.
'Ding,
Due to the concentrated flow of energy, the effects of the Azure Spirit Fruit have doubled.
'Ding,
The host's lifespan has increased by 100 years.
'Ding,
Congratulations! The host's lifespan has completed a hidden achievement by achieving a lifespan of 1000 years.
'Ding,
For completing the hidden achievement, the host is rewarded with a roulette spin.
'Ding,
Do you want to spin it now?
'What? A roulette spin?'
Ethan was already shocked by the increase of 100 years in his lifespan and seeing that he unlocked a roulette spin because of a hidden achievement which he completed without his knowledge, he was shocked even more.
'T-this…is this how Heavenly Luck works?'
In the end, Ethan finally understood how powerful the Heavenly Luck Card was, and he hoped he would get more of them in the future.
'I want to….'
Since the effects of the Heavenly Luck Card were still active, Ethan wanted to spin the roulette and get another good reward from the system.
However, before Ethan could finish his words, his heart stopped beating.
Nevertheless, he had an ear-to-ear smile on his face because of the lucky things that happened to him.
By the time Ethan opened his eyes, he was already in his soul form as he received the much-awaited system notifications.
'Ding,
The [Godly Revival Ability] has been triggered. The host will be revived in one hour.
.
.
.
.
.
'I want to spin the roulette.'
However, Ethan didn't check out the system notifications; instead, he spun the roulette.
The effects of the Heavenly Luck Card would disappear in less than half a minute.
Hence, no matter how curious and excited he was about the system notifications, Ethan focused on the roulette.
'Swiish'
As soon as he made the choice, a huge golden roulette appeared in front of him.
On the roulette, there were only five items, and when Ethan read them, he was pleasantly surprised. The five items on the roulette were:
1) 5000 Life Points.
2) Level Breakthrough Card (Foundation Realm).
3) 1000 Years of Lifespan.
4) Mid-level Spirit Root.
5) Godly Revival Life Card.
No matter what item he won, Ethan would be happy; however, since he now had the Heavenly Luck, he hoped for the one and only reward, Mid-level Spirit Root.
That's right! Ethan wanted the Mid-level Spirit Root because, in his eyes, it was the most valuable item right now.
In this world, once someone is born without a Spirit Root, he will forever remain a mortal without having a chance to cultivate.
'Even though it is just a Mid-level Spirit Root and not a High-level Spirit Root, it is still much better than my current Inferior Impure Spirit Root.'
Although a Mid-level Spirit Root still won't explain his current cultivation at his current age, it raises far fewer suspicions compared to his Inferior Impure Spirit Root, with which it is almost impossible to reach level 5 Qi Refining Realm, much less Level 5 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Life Points are good, but he can get them through multiple ways, and as for the second one, breaking through a level in the Foundation Realm costs only 5000 Life Points, which makes it relatively less valuable.
'1000 Years of Lifespan is a good reward for the long term because I can get an additional 1000 Life Points every time I die, and it would be more if I use Multiplier Life Cards.'
If not for the benefits of having a Mid-level Spirit Root, Ethan would have prayed for the 1000 years.
'As for the Godly Revival Life Card…without any explanation, I know it is a good card, but I still hope for a Mid-level Spirit Root.'
'Wait a second…why am I thinking so much? Let's just leave my selection to Heavenly Luck.'
Suddenly, Ethan realized something and stopped thinking too much and waited for the roulette to stop spinning.
'Ting'
Soon, the roulette slowed down on the Godly Revival Life Card, making Ethan a bit disappointed.
'What am I disappointed in? With the Godly Revival Life Card, I can get all the benefits I get from my [Godly Revival Ability].'
'Swiish'
Just as he consoled himself, the roulette jerked one last time, and it stopped on the next column on which 'Mid-level Spirit Root' was present.
'Ding,
Congratulations to the host for getting a Mid-level Spirit Root.
'T-this….thank you so much, my dear Heavenly Luck Card.'
Report chapter Comments
Ethan was very happy that he couldn't help but repeatedly thank the Heavenly Luck Card for all its help.
Without the Heavenly Luck, there was no way he could have double-upgraded his Impure Inferior Spirit Root to a Mid-level Spirit Root.
'With a Mid-level Spirit Root and my current cultivation, I can join the sect without any issues.'
Even though Ethan thought like that, he didn't have any plans to join the sect yet.
It was because he was planning to become a Golden Core Realm Cultivator within six months, and joining the sect would raise suspicions regarding his quick cultivation.
'If they think that I am following a Demon Path, then I will be hunted down.'
Just because he had a [Godly Revival Ability] with a weekly revival, Ethan didn't want to take such risks and instead slowly gain power in a peaceful environment.
'Ding,
The Mid-level Spirit Root will replace the host's existing Impure Inferior Spirit Root upon his revival.'
'Good.'
Ethan smiled at the system notification before checking out the system notifications from earlier.
'Ding,
The host has received 1,064 Life Points.'
'Ding,
Since the host has used a Multiplier Life Card, the received Life Points will be multiplied by five.'
'Ding,
Instead of 1,064 Life Points, the host will receive 5,320 Life Points.'
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 8,296.'
'Ding,
The [Interface of the Killer's Stats] is being generated. Please wait for a while.'
'Haha…Heavenly Luck Card…my Heavenly Luck Card…you are really something.'
Looking at his available Life Points, Ethan couldn't help but start laughing.
'With my current Life Points, I can break through another level in my cultivation, and I will still have more than 3,000 Life Points.'
'What's more, for my next death, I will have enough Life Points to break through another level.'
Ethan was in a good mood today because of the back-to-back good things happening to him.
Not only did his Lifespan increase by 100 years, and he gained a Mid-level Spirit Root, but he received a huge number of Life Points.
'If only I could get more Multiplier Life Cards, I could have easily completed my mission of becoming a Golden Core Realm Cultivator.'
Ethan had only two Multiplier Life Cards, and he had used them both for his previous death and his current death respectively.
So, he was hoping he could get more Multiplier Life Cards in the future.
'Also, I wonder what kind of stats are generated in the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].'
Ethan was curious about it; however, it would still take some time. So, Ethan activated the [Soul Sight] by spending one Life Point to check on Felix.
….
'It is my first time seeing someone die with such a big smile.'
Despite having lots of questions regarding Ethan's earlier actions, Felix couldn't help but get even more confused by the big smile on his face.
'Forget it.'
Nevertheless, in his current state of mind, he didn't want to think much about it.
'Ethan, as I promised, I will burn your corpse.'
Felix felt guilty that Ethan died because of him and decided to at least fulfill his last wish, which was to burn Ethan's body as soon as he died.
'Swiish'
'Even in his death, he told me not to worry about his death and to become powerful. He is the kindest person in my life.'
Looking at the burning corpse, Felix couldn't help but recall the few moments they shared together and how Ethan always assured him that he was not a Cursed Cultivator.
What's more, despite abandoning him amidst danger, Ethan still formed a team with him and even asked Felix to abandon him whenever they encountered any danger.
'From now on, I won't form a team with anyone else.'
All these things eventually made him cry and he swore not to form a team with anyone in the future.
….
'H-he is crying?'
Seeing the scene in front of his eyes, Ethan, who was in soul form, couldn't help but feel shocked.
Ethan never, even in his wildest dreams, expected Felix to cry over his death.
'Looks like he is an emotional person despite his projected cunning look in his eyes.'
Ethan smiled and changed his opinion of Felix.
'Other than being emotional, he seems pretty loyal.'
While preparing Felix on what to do after his death, Ethan had given half of today's gains to Felix, and as for his share, he asked Felix to burn it away.
Hence, when he saw that Felix didn't take his Vital Bloom Ring (which was filled with many Azure Profound Grasses) and instead burned it with his corpse, Ethan was satisfied with Felix's character.
How many cultivators can fulfil a dead teammate's final wish when it includes burning away valuable resources?
'It looks like I can keep him around.'
It was a small test Ethan set for Felix to see whether Felix was trustworthy or just another cunning sect disciple.
Seeing Felix's actions, Ethan felt he could still continue to form a team with him.
'As for how to explain my coming back to life, I have already come up with something.'
While taking care of his Spirit Plants, Ethan had a lot of time to think, and he was always preparing ahead for some situations he might encounter in the future.
One of them was how to explain his coming back to life if someone witnessed his death.
'Moreover, with his 'Cursed' status, I don't have to go searching for death because death will come searching for me.'
Ethan smiled as he realized Felix was quite useful to him.
After a few minutes, Ethan received the system notification he was waiting for.
'Ding,
The [Interface of the Killer's Stats] has been updated. Do you want to check it?'
'Yes.'
Ethan nodded his head as he excitedly checked the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] with curiosity, wondering what stats he could get from the Azure Killer Bee.
'T-this…is this for real?'
However, when he saw the stats, Ethan was very shaken as he hurriedly checked the information on his killer.
'I…I was killed by a human? How is it possible?'
Report chapter Comments
'I…I was killed by a Human? How is it possible?'
When Ethan checked the information on his killer, he realized something shocking – he was not killed by an Azure Killer Bee; instead, it was a human.
[Killer Name: Shadow Bee]
[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Realm (Perfection)]
[Lifespan: 25 / 1000]
[Information: The last survivor of the Primal Fang Tribe who joined the Eternal Shadow Guild to become powerful but later regretted his decision. He has received a task through the guild to kill Felix's teammates and make everyone believe that he is a Cursed Cultivator.]
'Not only was I killed by a human, but he is from the Eternal Shadow Guild.'
Ethan was a bit surprised that it was a member of the Eternal Shadow Guild; however, when he read the last line, he was once again shocked.
'All the previous teammates of Felix were killed by this killer named Shadow Bee, and I was also killed for the same reason, which was forming a team with Felix?'
Soon, Ethan started understanding the mysterious deaths of Felix's previous teammates and why Felix became a Cursed Cultivator.
'Why would someone want to go to such an extent?'
Ethan could not help but think, 'Did he offend some powerful cultivators?'
With the strength of this killer named Shadow Bee, it was a piece of cake to either kill Felix or torture him to death.
However, the mastermind is killing his teammates and making everyone believe that he was a Cursed Cultivator as though he wanted Felix to be alone throughout his life.
'In short, Felix was not a Cursed Cultivator, but someone is trying to make him one.'
Ethan nodded his head and wondered, 'Who might that be?'
'Also, the system mentioned that Shadow Bee is the last survivor of the Primal Fang Tribe. Is it their tribal trait to have a huge Lifespan?'
Another thing that attracted Ethan's attention was Shadow Bee's huge Lifespan.
Generally, a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator has a lifespan of 250 years, and through treasures and other external resources, it can be increased to 500 years.
However, Shadow Bee has a lifespan of 1000 years, making Ethan think that it must have something to do with the tribe.
'Anyway, I am not sure, but that tribe sure looks powerful. I should try asking Uncle Rowan about it.'
Since Rowan had explored many Secret Realms, Ethan believed he could find some answers from him.
'He is an interesting target for my Special Talent [I am Your Killer].'
Ethan thought about all the benefits he could get from killing this Shadow Bee and triggering his [Special Talent].
'I can not only receive 974 Life Points, but I can increase my lifespan by 100 years.'
He rubbed his hands in excitement.
'What's more, finding him is much easier compared to my previous killers.'
As long as he stays close to Felix, Ethan can easily meet his killer once again, making things easy for him.
'Anyway, it's time to shop.'
Soon, Ethan sorted his thoughts and shifted his attention to the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].
'Ding,
[Interface of Killer's Stats]
[1) [Cultivation] Level 4 Foundation Establishment Stage - 5000 Life Points]
[2) [Cultivation Technique] Primal Beast Transformation Art (Completion Stage) - 2000 Life Points]
[3) [Inventory] Primordial Beast Blood - 1000 Life Points]
[4) [Cultivation Talent] Primal Beast Master - 5000 Life Points]
'Everything looks useful to me.'
Like always, there were only four things he could buy from his killer; however, Ethan needed all of them.
'I need cultivation to complete my goal of becoming a Golden Core Realm Cultivator and complete the mission.'
'As for the Cultivation Technique, I am very much interested in it.'
Although Ethan didn't get the full information on the Cultivation Technique, he could tell the main use of it.
For someone like him, having such a cultivation technique would be of great help.
'Moreover, compared to the regular cultivation techniques, this Primal Beast Transformation Art is ten times more costly.'
Previously, he bought the Completion Stage mastery for his [Shadow Steps] for just 200 Life Points, whereas the Primal Beast Transformation Art costs 2000 Life Points, which is ten times more.
From this, Ethan was even more sure that the Primal Beast Transformation Art was very powerful.
'As for the Primordial Beast Blood, I don't know what it is used for; however, since it costs 1000 Life Points, it must be quite valuable.'
Soon, Ethan's eyes landed on the last stat of the interface, urging him to buy it.
'I already have a talent related to Spirit Plants, and having a talent related to Spirit Beasts helps me create an army of Spirit Beasts to protect my parents and Spirit Plants.'
Moreover, Ethan thought he could convert it into a Special Talent, gaining another source to earn Life Points.
'If I had enough Life Points, I could have easily bought all the stats from the interface instead of having to think multiple times regarding my choice of purchase.'
A few moments ago, Ethan was happy about his Life Points; however, after seeing the cost of the stats in the interface, he realized how poor he was.
'I could either give up on [Cultivation] or [Cultivation Talent].'
With his current Life Points, Ethan obviously could not buy all of them. He had to sacrifice at least one of the two high-cost stats from the interface.
'If it were between the [Cultivation] or [Cultivation Talent, choosing the [Cultivation Talent] is the wisest choice.'
Increasing his cultivation was easy, whereas awakening a new [Cultivation Talent] was difficult.
So, Ethan didn't have to think much before making his choice to select the [Cultivation Talent].
'System, I will buy everything except for the cultivation.'
Once he made up his mind, Ethan no longer bothered to think and bought the items from the interface.
'Ding,
The host has spent 5000 Life Points and bought a Cultivation Talent [Primordial Beast Tamer].
'Ding,
The host has spent 2000 Life Points and bought the Cultivation Technique [Primal Beast Transformation Art] along with its mastery of the Completion Stage.
'Ding,
The host has spent 1000 Life Points and bought Primordial Beast Blood.
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 295.
'Ding,
All the purchased items will be settled once the host successfully completes his revival.
Soon, a series of system notifications resounded, confirming his purchases.
'I am back to being poor again.'
Ethan bitterly smiled for a moment; however, soon, his eyes lit up, 'Isn't this a perfect time to enter the Mystic Soil Domain?'
By entering the Mystic Soil Domain, not only could he complete his second visit to the Mystic Soil Domain, but he could also plant a batch of Spirit Seeds in that secret realm.
'Since there is a Time Flow Distortion Effect in the Mystic Soil Domain, I can rapidly mature the batch of Spirit Plants and harvest them for Life Points.'
Thinking of this, Ethan was excited and decided to revive in the Mystic Soil Domain.
Time continued to pass, and in a flash, Ethan's one-hour mandatory waiting period in his soul form had passed.
'Ding,
Host, please select the location you want to revive.
'Mystic Soil Domain.'
Since he had already decided, Ethan didn't think much and chose his revival spot, and in the next second, he woke up in the Mystic Soil Domain.
[Welcome to the Mystic… you…you entered the Mystic Soil Domain again?]
Report chapter Comments
[Welcome to the Mystic….you…you entered the Mystic Soil Domain again?]
As soon as Ethan gained consciousness in the Mystic Soil Domain, he heard the familiar [Gentle Voice].
"Didn't I say I would come again?"
Ethan had already gotten used to his revivals. So, he quickly stabilized his condition and replied to the [Gentle Voice] with a slight smile on his face.
[How did you do that?]
The [Gentle Voice] could not help but ask Ethan about it.
It was because it had been hundreds of years since this moving-type Secret Realm was created, and no one was able to enter it twice.
The [Gentle Voice] was losing hope that it wouldn't be able to find a master for the Mystic Soil Domain before it disappeared into nothingness.
However, Ethan had achieved what it thought was impossible to achieve.
The thing that shocked the [Gentle Voice] even more was that it had been less than a month since he had left the Mystic Soil Domain, and now, Ethan had entered it once again.
Thus, it could not help but ask Ethan about his secret to entering the Mystic Soil Domain again for the second time.
'It looks like it didn't see my revival process.'
Ethan was happy that the [Gentle Voice] didn't seem to know about his revival in the Mystic Soil Domain.
"Does it matter how I entered? Don't you want to find an inheritor for the Mystic Soil Domain?"
There was no way Ethan was going to tell the [Gentle Voice] about his revival , so he cleverly changed the topic.
[That's right! As long as you have entered the Mystic Soil Domain once again, I can initiate the Inheritance Trial for you.]
The [Gentle Voice] agreed with Ethan's words because it didn't matter how a participant entered; all it cared about was a participant entering the Mystic Soil Domain.
"So, what tasks do I have to complete to leave the Mystic Soil Domain this time?"
To leave the Mystic Soil Domain, the participant had to complete the tasks issued by the [Gentle Voice, and it was also the main reason why Ethan chose to revive in the Mystic Soil Domain.
[Yes]
The [Gentle Voice] didn't think much before issuing the next task for Ethan, [Since you nurtured 1,000 Rank 1 Spirit Grass during your first visit, you have to nurture 1,000 Rank 2 Spirit Plants.]
'Nurturing Rank 2 Spirit Plants?'
Ethan frowned at those words.
[Don't worry. As long as you harvest at least 500 good-quality Spirit Plants, you can leave the Secret Realm.]
The [Gentle Voice] thought that Ethan was worried about not being able to harvest all 1,000 Rank 2 Spirit Plants. So, it explained it to him.
"I am actually not worried about it."
On the other hand, Ethan snapped out of his thoughts and explained, "The last time I visited, you asked me which rank of the Spirit Plants I wanted to nurture, right?"
[Yes]
"So, I was just expecting to pick Rank 3 Spirit Seeds for my task. Can I do that?"
The higher the rank, the greater the Life Points he could harvest. Hence, Ethan thought of nurturing Rank 3 Spirit Plants.
That's why he asked the [Gentle Voice] whether he could nurture some Rank 3 Spirit Plants.
[Sorry, but you can't nurture Rank 3 Spirit Plants.]
The [Gentle Voice] rejected Ethan's request and explained, [In your first visit, you nurtured Rank 1 Spirit Plants. According to the rules, in your second visit, you have to nurture Rank 2 Spirit Plants.]
[Of course, when you visit the Secret Realm for the third time, the task will be to nurture Rank 3 Spirit Plants.]
"Is that so?"
Ethan was slightly disappointed; however, he quickly recovered and decided to focus on his task of nurturing the Rank 2 Spirit Plants.
"Right! Aren't you going to give me a welcoming gift?"
Ethan remembered something and shamelessly asked for a gift.
[Welcome gifts are for first-time visitors, not for second-time visitors like you.]
[However, if you can complete the task of nurturing the Rank 2 Spirit Plants like your previous task, you will receive good rewards.]
[Now, I will go to sleep. Wake me up when you harvest the Rank 2 Spirit Plants.]
The [Gentle Voice] explained the rules to Ethan and ended its conversation with him.
"I am looking forward to the rewards then."
Ethan smiled and focused on completing his task.
'Swiish'
Soon, a Seed Bag filled with 1,000 Rank 2 Spirit Seeds appeared in front of Ethan.
'Let's see what Spirit Plants I will be nurturing.'
Ethan took out a single Spirit Seed from the Seed Bag, and his Special Talent displayed the information about the seed.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Seed: Blood Spirit Grass]
[Grade: Rank 2]
…
'Blood Spirit Grass? A common Rank 2 Spirit Plant used in creating Healing Pills or that can be directly fed to Rank 1 and Rank 2 Spirit Beasts.'
Ethan had been reading books about Spirit Plants in his courtyard. So, he knew what the Blood Spirit Grass was used for.
'Let's not waste any time and plant them.'
Ethan wanted to complete his task and leave the Mystic Soil Domain as soon as possible so he could return to the courtyard to nurture his own Spirit Plants.
Hence, he didn't waste any time and started working on the task.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
The first step was to enrich the soil in the Spirit Field with spirit essence before opening up small holes to plant the seeds.
[Flourishing Spirit Rain]
'Sprinkle'
Once he had planted all 1,000 Blood Spirit Grass, Ethan supplied them with Spirit Rain before checking their [Live Statuses].
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Blood Spirit Grass]
[Grade: Rank 2]
[Maturity Period: 200 days]
[Status: Unhappy - Do you think I am a regular Spirit Grass that only needs Spirit Rain? I want Blood…Blood…Blood.]
'As expected of Blood Spirit Grass—they require blood.'
Ethan was not surprised about the requirements for nurturing Blood Spirit Grass.
'Other cultivators mostly used the blood of normal animals; however, there are no animals in this Secret Realm. So, I can only use my own blood to nurture them.'
Report chapter Comments
When a cultivator loses his blood, although it won't harm him, it would affect his daily cultivation. So, the Spirit Farmers who already have low cultivation, don't use their own blood.
Also, at the same time, they won't buy the blood of Spirit Beasts because it won't be cost-effective for them to nurture a Rank 2 Spirit Plant. Instead, they buy animal blood, which is cheap.
Even if there were animals in the Mystic Soil Domain, Ethan would have still used his own blood to nurture the Blood Spirit Grass because a Cultivator's Blood…especially a Level 3 Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Blood would greatly enhance the quality.
'Unlike other cultivators, I don't cultivate at all, and losing some blood won't affect my cultivation at all.'
Once Ethan had enough Life Points, he could directly buy the cultivation from the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].
'Although losing blood is not good, everything will be fine if I can harvest Perfect-Quality Blood Spirit Grass.'
The higher the quality of the harvested plants, the greater the Life Points he would receive. So, of course, Ethan would put more effort into increasing their quality.
'Since you want some blood, I will give you some.'
Soon, Ethan started supplying his blood to the Blood Spirit Grass and checked their [Live Status].
[Status: Excited: It's blood…It is very sweet…Bloody Sweet. I am loving it]
[Status: Excited: He has such sweet blood. I love him]
[Status: Excited]
.
.
.
'Let's strike the iron while it is still hot.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan activated his Special Cultivation Technique [Green Pulse Art].
'Swiish'
While absorbing the Plant Essence released by Ethan, all the Blood Spirit Grass rapidly devoured Ethan's blood and started growing rapidly.
[Maturity Period: 180]
'What? They have grown by 20 days in just a single session?'
Ethan was shocked at their growth speed.
Previously, Ethan nurtured Spirit Grass, Clearheart Lotus, Mistvine, Mutated Ironleaf Grass, and even Azure Profound Grass, and none of them grew that fast in a single session.
At maximum, it was Clearheart Lotus and Azure Profound Grass that had their maturity period decreased by three days and five days, respectively, in a single session.
'What's more, they are still not tired, and if I can provide them with more blood and use the [Green Pulse Art, they will continue to grow even more.'
However, the problem was Ethan was already pale and tired from using his blood and nurturing techniques.
'Forget it…I will recover for today and repeat the process again tomorrow.'
Ethan didn't want to risk his life while taking care of the Blood Spirit Grass, and he was already satisfied with reducing their maturity period by 20 days in a single session.
'If I can maintain a session every day, I can harvest the Blood Spirit Grass in just 10 days.'
Thinking of that, Ethan's tired look disappeared as he added another exciting thing to his thinking, 'It might be 10 days in the Mystic Soil Domain; however, in the Cultivation World, it will be less than two days.'
Due to the Time-Flow Distortion Effect, one week in the Mystic Soil Domain is equivalent to one day in the Cultivation World.
"Enjoy and grow up as Perfect Plants."
With a satisfied look on his pale face, Ethan told them to grow as he walked into the small hut.
'First, let's recover both Spirit Essence and Blood.'
Instead of using the Spirit Essence for cultivation, Ethan decided to use it to replenish his blood.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
'Swiish'
As soon as he circulated the Main Cultivation Technique, the pure Spirit Essence in the Mystic Soil Domain rushed into his body before entering his Dantian.
'T-this…is this the benefit of having a Mid-level Spirit Root?'
For a moment, Ethan was shocked by the dense Spirit Essence he absorbed in a single rotation of his Main Cultivation Technique.
Previously, if he struggled to absorb 100 units of Spirit Essence, now, with the help of the Mid-level Spirit Root, he absorbed more than 1000 units of Spirit Essence with ease.
'I should check what type of Mid-level Spirit Root I got and the other things I got after my revival.'
Suddenly, Ethan realized that he had not only checked his Spirit Root, but he also hadn't checked the things he purchased from the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].
'Ding,
Host: Ethan.
Cultivation: Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Spirit Root: Mid-level Earth Spirit Root.
Main Cultivation Technique: Earth Essence Integration Technique (Completion Stage).
Secondary Cultivation Technique: Primal Beast Transformation Art (Completion Stage), Shadow Steps (Greater Completion Stage), Flourishing Spirit Rain (Completion Stage), Green Pulse Art (Completion Stage), Verdant Thorn Armor (Small Success Stage), Blazing Sun Palm (Completion Stage), Sky Shattering Sword Art (Spark Stage)...18 more.
Skill: Azure Serpent Eyes.
Cultivation Talent: Primordial Beast Master.
Special Talents: [I am Your Killer, [Heaven's Harvest, [Radiant Clear Heart].
As soon as Ethan thought of it, the system displayed his full details.
'I awakened an Earth Elemental Mid-level Spirit Root, great.'
Ethan was pleasantly surprised by the type of Spirit Root he awakened.
Depending on the elemental type of his Spirit Root, a cultivator has to learn his Main Cultivation Technique; otherwise, his fate would be like Elias, who was stuck in the Qi Refining Realm even after 10 days of cultivating with his High-level Spirit Root.
For Ethan, the Element of the Spirit Root didn't matter much because he could spend Life Points learning a compatible Main Cultivation Technique.
'Nevertheless, awakening an Earth Elemental Spirit Root saved me hundreds of Life Points, and it is a perfect root for cultivating inside the Mystic Soil Domain.'
As its name suggests, the Mystic Soil Domain is not just filled with pure Spirit Essence but also rich in Earth-type Spirit Essence.
'Wait a second...what if I cultivate and break through to the next level using the Spirit Essence?'
Adding his Earth Elemental Spirit Root together with his Main Cultivation Technique, and rich Earth-type Spirit Essence in the Mystic Soil Domain, Ethan believed he could break through to the next realm.
'Let's give it a try and try to save 5000 Life Points.'
Report chapter Comments
Previously, Ethan tried cultivating in the Small Courtyard once; however, with his Impure Inferior Spirit Root, it was useless no matter how long he cultivated, it wouldn't improve his cultivation a single bit.
However, things were different now.
Now, he had a Mid-level Earth Elemental Spirit Root, a Completion Stage Earth-Elemental Main Cultivation Technique, and a Secret Realm filled with Earth Spirit Essence.
Hence, he decided to try cultivating and see whether he could break through to a level.
If he could really break through a level, it would save him 5000 Life Points.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
'Swiish'
Soon, he started circulating his cultivation technique and crazily devouring the Spirit Essence around him.
'T-this is awesome. I didn't know cultivating would be this good.'
As the Spirit Essence entered his body, Ethan felt a pleasant feeling all over his body, and at the same time, he also noticed that his blood was also replenishing much faster amidst his cultivation.
'Now, I understand why cultivators always enter seclusion. It is not as tiring of a process as it was when I had the Impure Inferior Spirit Root.'
The last time he tried cultivating, the process was a bit painful, and he could not understand how other cultivators could cultivate for years or even decades.
However, finally, he understood that having a good spirit root not only makes things easier, but it also changes a painful experience into a pleasant one.
'Let's continue.'
In just an hour, he fully recovered his Spirit Essence, and after another hour, his blood was replenished, turning his pale face into a healthy, vibrant complexion.
'Excellent. Not only can I focus on cultivating, but I can also continue to use my blood to nurture the Blood Spirit Grass.'
After learning that his cultivation speed was fast, Ethan considered giving up on using his blood to nurture the Blood Spirit Grass.
However, when he learned that it took less than two hours to replenish his blood, Ethan decided to continue supplying blood to the Blood Spirit Grass.
'It's decided. I will spend two hours nurturing the Blood Spirit Grass, two hours replenishing my blood and Spirit Essence. As for the remaining 20 hours, I will cultivate.'
Soon, Ethan prepared a schedule and started following it strictly.
'Before I leave the Mystic Soil Domain, not only should I break through to the Level 4 Foundation Establishment Realm, but I should collect a good number of Life Points.'
He swore to complete two goals before he left the Mystic Soil Domain.
Time continued to pass, and in a flash, five days passed by.
During the last five days, Ethan strictly followed the schedule he prepared on the first day.
Under his care, the Blood Spirit Grass were always excited and thrived.
Their maturity period also came down to 100 days, and within 5 days, Ethan was confident in harvesting them.
'Phew…I have refined my Foundation Bead by 50 percent. At this rate, I can break through to the next level within another week.'
Although Ethan obtained many good things, breaking through to the next level wasn't something that could be completed overnight.
He had to continuously use the Spirit Essence to refine the Foundation Bead in his Dantian. So far, Ethan had refined it by 50 percent. So, he was excited that he could break through to the next level within a week.
'Ding,
Due to the host's manual cultivation, there are some changes in the [Interface of the Killer's Stats]. Do you want to check it?'
Just as Ethan planned to resume his cultivation, he received a system notification, making him raise his brows.
[Interface of Killer's Stats]
[1) [Cultivation] Level 4 Foundation Establishment Stage - 2500 Life Points]
[2) [Cultivation Technique] (Purchased)]
[3) [Inventory] (Purchased)]
[4) [Cultivation Talent] (Purchased)]
'The cost for my [Cultivation] has been reduced by half.'
Noticing the price change for his breakthrough, Ethan was pleasantly surprised.
'It is good that I can reduce the cost by manually increasing my cultivation; however, I still have no Life Points to buy it.'
Even if he had the Life Points, Ethan would not have bought the cultivation.
'Instead of buying the cultivation, I can save the Life Points for the later levels.'
Breaking through from Level 1 to Level 2 was relatively easy compared to advancing from Level 2 to Level 3. The difficulty only increased further at higher levels, with breakthroughs from Level 7 to Level 8, Level 8 to Level 9, and finally, Level 9 to Perfection being exponentially harder.
Yet, according to the system, the [Interface of Killer's Stats] required the same amount of Life Points to break through each level, regardless of difficulty.
Therefore, Ethan thought it would be much better to use the Life Points for the later levels rather than using them now, where it was much easier to cultivate manually.
After that short break, Ethan went back to his serious routine for the next five days.
Maybe it was because of his Special Talent [Radiant Clear Heart, he was able to focus on his cultivation without having any distracting thoughts.
On the tenth day since he entered the Mystic Soil Domain, Ethan finished his two hours of daily nurturing session for the Blood Spirit Grass.
'All my Blood Spirit Grass have matured.'
Without any surprises, all the Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field had matured, making Ethan excited.
'Let's harvest the Blood Spirit Grass and focus on the cultivation later.'
Although he was on the verge of a breakthrough, Ethan decided to harvest the Blood Spirit Grass because the best time to harvest a spirit plant was right after its maturity.
Delaying it longer would reduce its quality, and reducing its quality would decrease the number of Life Points he would receive.
Therefore, Ethan decided to harvest the Blood Spirit Grass first before resuming his cultivation to break through to the Level 4 Foundation Establishment Realm.
'Swoosh'
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Spirit Plant Name: Blood Spirit Grass]
[Grade: Rank 2]
[Maturity Period: Ready to Harvest]
[Status: Grateful: Thank you for all your care, Spirit Farmer. It is time to claim me as your reward.]
As usual, Ethan checked the [Live Status] of each Blood Spirit Grass before harvesting to make sure he harvested Perfect-Quality ones.
'Ding,
The host has harvested a...
'Ding,
The host has...
'Ding,
The host has harvested a Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and received 2 Life Points.
'Ding,
Due to the special effect of the [Heaven's Harvesting, the host received additional Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and 2 Life Points.
'2 Life Points?'
Ethan was not overly happy but at the same time, he was not sad either as he muttered, 'Looks like nurturing the Rank 1 Spirit Grass is better than nurturing Rank 2 Blood Spirit Grass.'
Although he got double Life Points compared to harvesting the Perfect Quality Spirit Grass, the efforts he had put in nurturing the Blood Spirit Grass were greater than nurturing the Spirit Grass.
Spirit Grass just needed Spirit Rain, whereas the Blood Spirit Grass needed both Spirit Rain and Blood.
'But, since Life Points are valuable, I don't mind putting in such effort.'
Since his Life Points doubled, he was getting two extra Life Points per Blood Spirit Grass compared to the Spirit Grass, making all his efforts worthwhile.
'Ding,
The host has harvested a Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and received 2 Life Points.
'Ding,
Received an extra Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and 2 Life Points.
'Ding,
The host has….
'Ding,
Received….
.
.
.
'However, if I can replace my Blood with the Blood of Spirit Beasts, then I can lessen my work by half, and what's more, with large quantities of Spirit Beast Blood, I can further speed up the growth of the Blood Spirit Grass.'
While harvesting the Blood Spirit Grass, Ethan was analyzing and comparing his nurturing of Spirit Grass and the Blood Spirit Grass.
Currently, the only thing Ethan lacked was wealth. He had lots of Perfect Quality Spirit Grass, a good portion of Perfect and Good Quality Azure Profound Grass, and 2,000 Spirit Stones.
Unlike other Spirit Farmers, Ethan could afford to use Spirit Beast Blood to mass nurture the Blood Spirit Grass.
Hence, he thought that he should buy some Blood Spirit Grass Seeds and nurture them in his Small Courtyard.
'Phew…finally completed the harvest.'
Compared to his nurturing session, the harvesting session was completed much faster in just an hour.
'Ding,
Harvesting Summary.
1) 2000 Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass.
2) 4000 Life Points.
'When the results are good, one can really forget all his hard work.'
In his previous life, no matter how much he worked, Ethan had never felt the way he was feeling after each harvest, making him understand that he truly wasn't living back then.
'I will call the [Gentle Voice] after I break through.'
After storing all the Blood Spirit Grass in his Vital Bloom Ring, Ethan hurriedly sat down cross-legged and started cultivating.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
'Swiish'
Soon, he started circulating his cultivation technique and crazily devouring the Spirit Essence around him.
First, he replenished his Blood and Spirit Essence for the next two hours to return to his peak condition.
'Now, let's break the bead and enter the Level 4 Foundation Establishment Realm.'
After two hours, Ethan was ready to focus on his cultivation as he directed all the incoming pure Spirit Essence towards the Foundation Bead in his Dantian.
'Swirl'
The Foundation Bead spun crazily and hit the Dantian walls like a mad bull that had seen a red cloth.
'Aargh'
Initially, Ethan didn't feel any pain; however, as time passed, Ethan started feeling pain when the Foundation Bead hit the Dantian walls.
Although it was painful, Ethan endured it and continued to supply the Pure Spirit Essence into the Foundation Bead, making it run wild even more.
"Break for me…break for me….JUST BREAK FOR ME."
Ethan gritted his teeth and with a face full of determination, he shouted out loud.
'Kacha'
At the end of his loud shout, the Foundation Bead finally went crazy and released a mysterious energy from it.
'Swiish'
The mysterious energy slowly spread throughout his Dantian, expanding it while making the Dantian walls stronger.
As for the cracked Foundation Bead, it healed in no time and compared to before, it was bigger and looked stronger too.
'Ding,
Congratulations to the host for successfully breaking through to the Level 4 Foundation Establishment Realm.
'Ding,
There are some changes in the existing [Interface of the Killer's Stats]. Please check it.
'Phew….finally I have done it…I broke through a level on my own without using any Life Points.'
Ethan heaved a sigh of relief as he relaxed on the ground.
After coming to this world, it was Ethan's first breakthrough without using Life Points. So, of course, he was excited and a bit proud.
'I wonder what kind of changes happened in the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] now.'
After celebrating his breakthrough for a few moments, Ethan checked the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].
[Interface of Killer's Stats]
[1) [Cultivation] Level 5 Foundation Establishment Stage - 5000 Life Points]
[2) [Cultivation Technique] (Purchased)]
[3) [Inventory] (Purchased)]
[4) [Cultivation Talent] (Purchased)]
'Huh? I can buy the next level in my cultivation now?'
Ethan was surprised with that change; however, thinking about it, he understood the reason behind it.
'It must be because the killer's cultivation was higher, and since I broke through on my own, naturally it got updated.'
When the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] generates the list of available options, it only shows the ones that are within Ethan's budget.
So, it only showed the next-level breakthrough because that was what Ethan could afford.
Of course, if Ethan had '0' Life Points, the interface would still show the next-level breakthrough because, at a minimum, it is programmed to display a level breakthrough and cannot show anything lower than that.
'Since now I can increase my cultivation manually, I will not buy it; instead, I will save them for my Golden Core Realm Breakthrough.'
Although Ethan didn't know the exact cost for breaking through to the Golden Core Realm, he knew it wouldn't be cheap.
'I expect it to be at least 50,000 Life Points.'
Ethan made a rough guess and decided to save 50,000 Life Points.
"Now, it is time to submit the Blood Spirit Grass…or should I just continue cultivating?"
Ethan suddenly realized something and wondered what would happen if he continued cultivating without calling the [Gentle Voice]?
'Let's see.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan resumed his cultivation, trying to stabilize his Foundation Bead in the Dantian.
[What? Are you trying to settle in the Mystic Soil Domain forever?]
Report chapter Comments
[What? Are you trying to settle in the Mystic Soil Domain?]
Just as he started cultivating, the familiar [Gentle Voice] resounded in the Secret Realm.
"You woke up already?"
Rubbing the back of his head, Ethan smilingly said, "Didn't I say I want to become the owner of this Mystic Soil Domain? So, I am having a free trial before that."
[You still have a long way before I entrust you with this Mystic Soil Domain]
The [Gentle Voice] replied and asked Ethan to submit the harvest.
"Here, you go."
With a thought, 2000 Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass appeared in front of Ethan for a few moments.
[T-this…how did you ... .Wait a second. Don't tell me you awakened a Cultivation Talent that doubles the yield of your harvest from the Talent Awakening Fruit I gave during your first visit to the Mystic Soil Domain?]
The [Gentle Voice] was shocked by Ethan's harvest.
"Yes. It's thanks to the Talent Awakening Fruit you rewarded me with."
Ethan didn't lie about it because he did awaken the talent related to it; however, he turned it into a Special Talent which later got merged into his existing talent [Bountiful Harvesting] to become a new Special Talent [Heaven's Harvest].
[You really are a lucky participant, which really makes you a qualified cultivator to become the new owner of the Mystic Soil Domain]
'Swiish'
"Thank you."
Putting back all the Blood Spirit Grass into the Vital Bloom Ring, Ethan thanked the [Gentle Voice] and asked, "You said I will get generous rewards after I complete the task, right?"
[Yes…yes. I won't go back on my word]
The [Gentle Voice] already had a good opinion of Ethan, and after learning about Ethan's talent, she liked him even more.
Therefore, she decided to give him some good rewards.
'Swiish'
As soon as she finished her words, a few light rays appeared from the surrounding mist wall and stopped in front of Ethan.
'Five rewards? Great.'
Seeing the five items hovering in front of him, Ethan was excited because, last time, he only received three rewards, but now, it was five.
Although they were within reach, Ethan was not in a hurry to pick them up as he waited for the [Gentle Voice] to explain each reward.
[The first reward is the Mystic Seed Condensation Stone, which, as you already know, can record the Seed Condensation Method for the Spirit Plants before transferring the information to the user]
[However, unlike the previous one, this one can be used to record the Seed Condensation Method for Rank 3 Spirit Plants]
'I can learn the Seed Condensation Method for Rank 3 Spirit Plants?'
Ethan was excited to hear that and thought, 'With this, I can record the Seed Condensation Method for Clearheart Lotus or Azure Profound Grass.'
For now, he decided not to think much about it and instead do the thinking later.
[The second reward is a Rank 3 Special Treasure: The Mystic Water Pearl that can turn small water bodies into Spirit Water Bodies]
'I really need this treasure.'
Ethan's eyes lit up hearing about the pale blue-coloured crystal in front of him.
'With this, I can turn the Small Pond into a Spirit Pond to nurture Clearheart Lotuses.'
He decided on how to use the Mystic Water Pearl and attentively listened to the [Gentle Voice's] explanation about the remaining three rewards.
[The third reward is the recipe for Rank 3 Spirit Brew [Mystic Root Wine] that has multiple uses, which you will know soon]
'Okay…not bad.'
Although it didn't excite him as much as the previous two rewards, Ethan felt it was not bad to learn a recipe for a Rank 3 Spirit Brew.
[The fourth reward is a Mystic Earth Fruit, which can help you break through a single level in the Foundation Establishment Realm]
"What? I can use it to break through even from level 8 to level 9?"
Ethan was shocked and hurriedly asked the [Gentle Voice] for confirmation.
[Yes. The higher your cultivation, the higher your chances of completing the Inheritance Task. So, I just hope you have a good cultivation before you enter the Mystic Soil Domain again]
"I will definitely work on it."
Ethan excitedly nodded his head.
[As for the last reward, it is a Rank 5 Special Spirit Seed, the Dragonheart Lotus. If you can harvest a Perfect Dragonheart Lotus, you can receive a Cultivation Talent from it]
"Dragonheart Lotus? It will bless me with a Cultivation Talent?"
It was not Ethan's first time seeing such a Special Plant because he had already gained talent through that method.
However, Ethan was surprised that he was getting another similar spirit seed, but this one was two ranks higher than the Clearheart Lotus.
'Looks like I will have another Special Talent soon.'
Although cultivating a Special Rank 5 Spirit Plant was much more difficult than a Special Rank 3 Spirit Plant, Ethan was not worried, thanks to his Special Talent that gave him the ability to see the [Live Status] of the Plants.
According to the [Gentle Voice, it might give a Cultivation Talent; however, due to the [Double Yield] effect of his [Heaven's Harvest, that Cultivation Talent would automatically convert into a Special Talent.
So, Ethan thought that another Special Talent would be added to his list of Special Talents.
'I wonder how many Life Points a Special Rank 5 Spirit Plant will give when I harvest it?'
Other than the Special Talent, Ethan was looking forward to the Life Points he could get from the Dragonheart Lotus.
"You are really very generous with the rewards. Thank you."
Ethan hurriedly thanked the [Gentle Voice] for all the rewards given by her.
[I have great expectations of you…Hehe]
The [Gentle Voice] smiled gently as she continued, [You can leave the Mystic Soil Domain with a thought just like before]
"Hm"
Ethan nodded his head; however, he was not in a hurry to leave.
Instead, he asked the [Gentle Voice, "If you don't mind, can I stay a few more days here?"
[…]
Hearing Ethan's request, the [Gentle Voice] remained silent for a moment before saying something that made Ethan excited.
Report chapter Comments
[According to the rules, you can stay in the Mystic Soil Domain for a month]
[It's been only 10 days since you entered the Mystic Soil Domain. So, you can stay for another 20 days]
"Really? Thank you."
Hearing those words, Ethan became happy and thanked her.
With 20 days left, Ethan hoped to break through to another level in his cultivation, saving another 5000 Life Points.
"Can I get some Blood Spirit Grass Seeds to plant during my stay?"
Ethan hesitated a bit and asked for seeds from the [Gentle Voice, who straightaway rejected his request.
[I am only letting you stay because the environment in the Mystic Soil Domain is good for your cultivation session. So, focus on it]
[After the next 20 days, even if you don't want to leave, you will be automatically kicked out of the Secret Realm. Now, enjoy your stay]
After saying those words, the [Gentle Voice] no longer resounded in the Secret Realm.
"20 days are more than enough for me."
Ethan smiled and started thoroughly planning what he could do in the next 20 days.
'Cultivation is a must-do thing, and….'
His eyes landed on the empty Spirit Field, and his eyes lit up, 'What if she doesn't give me any seeds? There is no way I am going to leave the Spirit Field empty for 20 days.'
Previously, when Ethan condensed the seeds from the Spirit Grass, he got 2800 seeds, among which he planted 1000 in the Courtyard's Spirit Field, leaving him with 1800 seeds.
Therefore, Ethan decided to use 1000 seeds to plant in the Spirit Field and harvest them during his stay in the Mystic Soil Domain.
'Since I have harvested the Blood Spirit Grass today, I will let the Spirit Field rest for today.'
Ethan was not in a hurry to plant the Spirit Grass immediately and focused on his cultivation.
Until the next morning, Ethan fully stabilized his Foundation Bead and new cultivation before starting his farming.
He quickly planted 1000 Spirit Grass Seeds, which was the ideal number of plants that could be grown in the Spirit Field.
[Flourishing Spirit Rain]
[Green Pulse Art]
After repeatedly using the [Flourishing Spirit Rain] and the [Green Pulse Art, all the Spirit Grass had reached their limit for the day.
[Heaven's Harvest]
[Plant Name: Spirit Grass]
[Status: Exhausted; it is feeling an intense pressure due to the external accelerated growth]
[Maturity: 88 days]
'The maturity has reduced by 12 days?'
However, unlike before, the Spirit Grass's maturity had decreased by 12 days instead of 10 days, making Ethan a bit happy.
'It must be because I have upgraded my [Green Pulse Art] to the Completion Stage.'
Nevertheless, Ethan quickly found the reason behind it.
During his first visit to the Mystic Soil Domain, Ethan's mastery of the [Green Pulse Art] was only at the Beginner Stage.
However, during the last few weeks, he had upgraded it to the Completion Stage with the Free Coupons he had received from the Weekly Survival Rewards.
'Interesting…interesting. I can successfully harvest two batches of the Spirit Grass before I leave the Mystic Soil Domain.'
With that, Ethan finished his today's nurturing session before starting his cultivation session.
Time continued to pass as Ethan repeated his daily routine of taking care of the Spirit Plants for two hours and working on his cultivation for 20 days.
As for eating and sleeping, the moment Ethan became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could use Spirit Essence as the source of his body's functions. So, the days were peaceful without any external threats or predators.
After nine days,
'Huh? What is this?'
On the day of harvest, Ethan noticed something interesting while checking out the [Live Status] of the Spirit Grass.
[Heaven's Harvesting]
[Plant Name: Mutated Spirit Grass]
[Status: Excited]
[Maturity: Ready to Harvest]
[Information: By absorbing the residual energies from the Blood Spirit Grass and the host's blood from the Spirit Field, the Spirit Grass has mutated. If it had more of that residual energy, it would have become a Rank 2 Blood Spirit Grass]
'What? It would have mutated into a Rank 2 Blood Spirit Grass?'
Ethan had read that mutation in Spirit Plants was not rare, and it was even more common in low-level, common-type Spirit Plants like Spirit Grass.
However, Ethan was not expecting that the residual energies from the Spirit Field would mutate the Spirit Grass.
'Maybe it was because of the environment in the Mystic Soil Domain combined with my farming techniques.'
This was the only conclusion Ethan could come to as he checked another Spirit Grass, which had also mutated.
'It's not just one — all the Spirit Grass in the Spirit Field have mutated.'
Soon, Ethan realized that all 1,000 Spirit Grass in the Spirit Field had mutated… mutated toward becoming Blood Spirit Grass.
'I think it must be because of the Spirit Field…this Spirit Field is definitely not a normal one.'
Suddenly, Ethan remembered that he could harvest a Spirit Grass in the Mystic Soil Domain in just 10 days, but back in his Small Courtyard, he had to wait 20 days.
Previously, he thought it was because of the Mystic Soil Domain, but then he thought, 'What if it was not? What if the Spirit Field in the Mystic Soil Domain is a special one that has special effects?'
'The Mystic Soil Domain not only has rich Spirit Essence and a Time Flow Distortion Effect, but it also has a Special Spirit Field.'
Thinking of all this, Ethan's interest in becoming the owner of the Mystic Soil Domain grew even stronger.
'Once I become the owner of the Mystic Soil Domain, I will see what other effects this Spirit Field has.'
Since he had a limited time to stay on his current visit, Ethan decided not to think much about the Spirit Field for now and decided to check it out after he owned the Mystic Soil Domain.
'Why don't I condense some seeds and replant them to see whether I can evolve them into Blood Spirit Grass?'
Report chapter Comments
Suddenly, Ethan thought of evolving the Spirit Grass into Blood Spirit Grass, and his eyes lit up.
Since Ethan already had experience in condensing and extracting the seeds from the Spirit Grass, along with his ability to see the [Live Statuses] of the Spirit Plants, it was very easy to do the same with the Mutated Spirit Grass.
'Let's harvest 900 and use the remaining 100 for condensing seeds.'
With that plan, Ethan quickly started harvesting the 900 Mutated Spirit Grass.
'Ding,
Harvested a Mutated Spirit Grass, received 1 (1) Perfect-Quality Mutated Spirit Grass, and 1.5 (1.5) Life Points.
'So, harvesting a Mutated Spirit Grass gives 0.5 more Life Points than harvesting a Normal Spirit Grass.'
Ethan was not surprised, but he was happy to receive more Life Points.
Maybe because of that extra Life Point per plant, Ethan was much faster in harvesting as he finished collecting all 900 Mutated Spirit Grass in no time.
'Ding,
Harvest Summary:
1) 1,800 Perfect-Quality Mutated Spirit Grass.
2) 2,700 Life Points.
'It always feels good to harvest.'
Ethan could not help but smile, looking at his harvest.
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 6,995.
'By the time I leave the Mystic Soil Domain, I will have close to 10,000 Life Points. By visiting the Mystic Soil Domain, I have gained more than I thought.'
Ethan smiled, looking forward to his third visit to the Mystic Soil Domain.
Following that, Ethan set aside his thoughts and carefully started condensing and extracting seeds from the Mutated Spirit Grass.
'Ding,
The host has successfully extracted six seeds of Mutated Spirit Grass. (6 seeds thanks to Heaven's Harvest).
'It was much easier than I thought it would be.'
From the next spirit plant onwards, Ethan was fast in condensing and extracting the seeds, and what's more, he even extracted eight seeds, which was the maximum number of seeds one could extract from a Spirit Grass.
'I have harvested 700 Mutated Spirit Grass Seeds, but thanks to the [Heaven's Harvest, I received another 700 seeds, making it a total of 1,400 Mutated Spirit Grass Seeds.'
After counting the seeds, Ethan no longer wasted any time as he said, "Let's replant it."
Unlike before, Ethan didn't want to give any rest to the Mystic Spirit Field and decided to plant the next batch.
Since the residual energies from the previous batch of Blood Spirit Grass were helpful to the Spirit Grass planted in the next batch, Ethan didn't want to waste any time.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
Ethan enriched the soil and made some small holes at equal distances to plant the Spirit Seeds.
[Flourishing Spirit Rain]
Next, he watered the Spirit Seeds he planted.
[Heaven's Harvesting]
[Plant Name: Mutated Spirit Grass]
[Status: Excited]
[Maturity: 150 days]
'As expected, the maturity period of the Mutated Spirit Grass has increased.'
A Spirit Grass required only 100 days, whereas Blood Spirit Grass required 200 days, and it was within Ethan's expectations that the Mutated Spirit Grass would require 150 days to mature.
'Anyway, let's speed up their growth.'
[Green Pulse Art]
The final step of the process was to speed up the growth of the planted Mutated Spirit Grass, and Ethan did it like an expert.
Soon, Ethan repeated the process for the next two hours while checking the [Live Statuses] of the plants.
[Heaven's Harvesting]
[Plant Name: Mutated Spirit Grass]
[Status: Exhausted: Are you trying to get me killed by overfeeding me?!]
[Maturity: 135 days]
'Phew…the maturity period has been reduced by 15 days, which means I can harvest the Mutated Spirit Grass before I get kicked out of the Mystic Soil Domain.'
Although Ethan had guessed that he could harvest the Mutated Spirit Grass before he left the Mystic Soil Domain, he was happy to get the confirmation at the end of his daily nurturing session.
'It's time to continue cultivating.'
Once he completed the farming session for the day, Ethan sat cross-legged to cultivate.
'As they say, as cultivation advances, the harder it gets.'
During the past 10 days, Ethan had been spending 22 hours, which was more than what he used to spend before his breakthrough.
However, even with that, he had barely refined 25 percent of his Foundation Bead.
'At this rate, I can barely refine my Foundation Bead by 50 percent. Which is not a bad thing.'
Although cultivation had become harder after his breakthrough, Ethan was still happy that he could save 2,500 Life Points.
It was peaceful in the Mystic Soil Domain, and time passed without any unexpected events during Ethan's stay for the remaining 10 days.
[Interface of Killer's Stats]
[1) [Cultivation] Level 5 Foundation Establishment Stage - 2,500 Life Points]
[2) [Cultivation Technique] (Purchased)]
[3) [Inventory] (Purchased)]
[4) [Cultivation Talent] (Purchased)]
'Finally, I have completed the mini-target I set for myself.'
Looking at the change in the Life Points for his cultivation, Ethan revealed a satisfied smile.
'Now, it is time to nurture the Mutated Spirit Grass and help them mature today.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan nurtured the Mutated Spirit Grass in the Spirit Field for the next two hours to help them reach maturity.
[Heaven's Harvesting]
[Plant Name: Mutated Spirit Grass]
[Status: A bit sad: I was so close to evolving into a Blood Spirit Grass.]
[Maturity: Ready to harvest]
[Information: The mutation in the Mutated Spirit Grass has increased even more; however, it fell just a bit short of evolving into a Blood Spirit Grass.]
'Huh? So close to becoming a Blood Spirit Grass?'
Seeing that, Ethan also felt sad for the Mutated Spirit Grass.
'Wait a second…What if I use my blood as a replacement for the residual energies from the Blood Spirit Grass?'
Ethan thought of something to evolve the Spirit Grass into a Blood Spirit Grass; however, he was not sure whether it would work or not.
'Anyway, it's just a drop of blood.'
Ethan decided to give it a try and soon dropped a single drop of his blood on one of the Mutated Spirit Grass.
'Slurp'
As soon as the blood dropped on it, the Mutated Spirit Grass devoured it like it was the tastiest thing in the world.
'Swiish'
In the next second, the Spirit Grass shone with a hint of green and red light for a few moments before it completely turned red, just like that of Blood Spirit Grass.
'It really works.'
Ethan was thrilled to see that his assumption was correct, and the Mutated Spirit Grass had successfully evolved into a Blood Spirit Grass.
[Heaven's Harvesting]
[Plant Name: Blood Spirit Grass]
[Status: Moved to tears: I thought I would be harvested just as a Spirit Grass, but thanks to you, my dear Spirit Farmer, I have successfully evolved into a Blood Spirit Grass. Thank you…thank you very much.]
[Maturity: Ready to harvest]
Seeing the thoughts of the Evolved Blood Spirit Grass, Ethan could not help but feel emotional too and lightly patted it.
"It is true that I helped you a bit; however, it is because of your will that you successfully achieved your dream."
Ethan spoke to the Blood Spirit Grass, and he gently harvested it.
'Ding,
Harvested a Perfect-Quality Blood Spirit Grass and received 2 Life Points.
'Ding,
The Special Effect [Double Yield] has been triggered. The host has received another Perfect-Quality Blood Spirit Grass and 2 Life Points.
'Excellent. I will evolve all these Spirit Grass into Blood Spirit Grass.'
Report chapter Comments
All the Mutated Spirit Grass in the Spirit Field have the same status, and thus, Ethan was confident that he could help all the Spirit Grass evolve into Blood Spirit Grass.
'Not only can I get two Rank 2 Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass Stalks, but I can also receive four Life Points.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan quickly repeated the same process, which was to use a blood drop to evolve the Mutated Spirit Grass into Blood Spirit Grass.
'Ding,
Harvested successfully. Two Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and Four Life Points.
'Ding,
Harvested successfully. Two Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass and Four Life Points.
.
.
.
.
To his surprise, Ethan was able to evolve 800 Mutated Spirit Grass into Blood Spirit Grass, making him praise the Mysterious Spirit Field.
As for the remaining 200 Mutated Spirit Grass, they didn't fail their evolution; instead, they condensed and extracted 2800 Mutated Spirit Grass Seeds that were on the verge of becoming Blood Spirit Grass.
'Compared to nurturing Blood Spirit Grass, nurturing and harvesting these Mutated Spirit Grass is much easier, and they give the same amount of Life Points.'
Because of this, Ethan decided to condense the seeds and repeatedly use them in his Courtyard's Spirit Field.
'System, show me the results of my harvest and seed extraction along with my total available Life Points.'
Ethan asked the system, and it showed the results without any delay.
'Ding,
1) 1600 Perfect Quality Blood Spirit Grass.
2) 3200 Life Points.
3) 2800 Mutated Spirit Grass Seeds.
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 10,195.
'Finally, my available Life Points have broken 10,000. It looks like breaking through to the Golden Core Realm within five months is not as hard as I think it is.'
Due to the huge influx of Life Points, Ethan became confident in completing his Golden Core Mission and was looking forward to the rewards from it.
'This trip was very fruitful.'
There were still half a day left before he could get kicked out of the Mystic Soil Domain; however, Ethan didn't plan to cultivate.
Instead, he just sat down to enjoy the smell of the Mystic Soil Domain and reminisced about his gains from it.
'Right! I have completely forgotten about my new Cultivation Talent, my new Cultivation Technique, along with the Primordial Beast Blood that I bought from the [Interface] of the Killer's Stats].'
After reviving, Ethan entered the Mystic Soil Domain, and after experiencing how good the cultivation sessions were, and how he could save thousands of Life Points, Ethan fully dedicated his time to cultivation.
The remaining bit of time, he spent nurturing the Spirit Plants in the Mysterious Spirit Field, making him completely forget about the things he got from the Shadow Bee.
Now, he finally got the time to check them out.
'Ding,
Cultivation Technique: Primal Beast Transformation Art.
Mastery: Completion Stage.
Effect: The cultivator who learns this cultivation technique can add a number of Spirit Beasts to his list to transform into them and even use some of their skills for a certain time depending on the technique's mastery.
Note:
1) At the Beginner Stage: A cultivator can transform into one Spirit Beast for 5 minutes in a single day.
2) At the Small Success Stage: A cultivator can transform into two Spirit Beasts for 10 minutes in a single day.
3) At the Completion Stage: A cultivator can transform into three Spirit Beasts for 30 minutes in a single day.
4) At the Great Completion Stage: A cultivator can transform into five Spirit Beasts for 60 minutes in a single day.
'As I expected, with this special cultivation technique, a cultivator can temporarily transform into a Spirit Beast. But how is this possible?'
Despite his expectations, Ethan still couldn't help but wonder about a cultivator transforming into a Spirit Beast.
'And that killer named Shadow Bee used this same cultivation technique to transform into an Azure Killer Bee to kill me, making everyone witness the most unexpected death possible… he was quite meticulous.'
Ethan could not help but praise the meticulous planning of the killer and the mastermind behind him to make Felix turn into a 'Cursed Cultivator'.
'They might be meticulous, but what they can't expect is that one of their victims is still alive and becoming stronger with each passing week.'
Ethan smiled and stopped thinking about them before focusing on the tiny crystallized blood drop.
'Ding,
Item Name: Primordial Beast Blood.
Grade: Rank 5 Item.
Use:
1) Crushing it can summon a projection of an Ancient Primordial Beast with the strength of a Rank 5 Spirit Beast for a limited time to fight for the user.
2) It can be fed to a Peak Rank 4 Spirit Beast to help it break through into a Rank 5 Spirit Beast.
'It is… quite a valuable item.'
Either the first one or the second one, Ethan liked them both.
'I can keep it aside for now and wait until Pebble becomes a Peak Rank 4 Spirit Beast. Before then, if there comes a time when I need it, I will just use it to summon the Ancient Primordial Beast's projection.'
Ethan decided to save it for Pebble for now before checking out his Cultivation Talent.
'Ding,
Cultivation Talent: Primal Beast Master.
Effects:
1) The cultivator can form a special contract with a Spirit Beast for each realm. After the contract, the cultivator can awaken a skill related to the Spirit Beast he formed a contract with.
'This talent is very powerful.'
Although there was only one effect under the Cultivation Talent, Ethan felt it was a powerful talent that gave him a sense of security.
That's right!
Not only does the cultivator have the Spirit Beasts to help him with fights, but he would also awaken skills through the Special Contract he forms with the Spirit Beasts.
'If it's already this good, how powerful would it be if I converted it into a Special Talent?'
Ethan smiled as he asked the system to convert it.
'Ding,
The host has spent 10 Life Points and successfully converted a Cultivation Talent into a Special Talent.
'Swiish'
The conversion was quick, and the system displayed the full details about his new Special Talent, making Ethan thoroughly shocked.
Report chapter Comments
'Ding,
Cultivation Talent: Primal Beast Sovereign.
Effects:
1) The cultivator can form a special contract with two Spirit Beasts for each realm. After the contract, the cultivator can awaken a skill related to the Spirit Beasts he has formed a contract with.
2) The cultivator's affinity with the Spirit Beasts is good and with minimal effort, he can become friends with the Spirit Beasts.
3) The cultivator can see through the Spirit Beasts and gain their full information after becoming friends with them.
4) Whenever the Spirit Beasts taken care of by the cultivator break through, he will receive a certain amount of Life Points.
From [Primal Beast Master] it was converted into [Primal Beast Sovereign]; however, what shocked Ethan was the effects listed under it.
Previously, the cultivator could form a Special Contract with only one Spirit Beast per realm; however, that number has now increased to two.
As for the additional effects, they were not as powerful as the first effect; however, they each had their own unique advantages that were quite helpful for Ethan.
'This has become even more powerful after becoming a Special Talent.'
Ethan became more and more excited while reading about the effects of his new Special Talent.
'It looks like I need to start finding some good Spirit Beasts to form the Special Contract with and even consider keeping some as normal Spiritual Pets.'
He decided to nurture as many Spirit Beasts as possible and earn Life Points by raising them.
Time continued to pass and after a few hours, Ethan heard the [Gentle Voice].
[It is time for you to go home.]
'Swiish'
The [Gentle Voice] didn't wait for his reply before kicking Ethan out of the Mystic Soil Domain.
….
A couple of kilometers away from the Azure Serpent Realm's Gate.
"Ethan, I wasn't sure what kind of foods you liked, but I hope you aren't a picky eater."
At the spot where he burned Ethan's corpse, Felix placed five different types of Spirit Fruits and lit an incense.
It was the fifth day since Ethan's passing, and according to the tradition of this world, offerings were made to honour the departed on the fifth day.
"I can't believe that it's already the fifth day. Did you enter the reincarnation cycle? I hope you did so without any grievances regarding your death."
In this world, if a Cultivator dies with regrets, grudges, or grievances before their death, their soul turns into an Evil Spirit and as time passes, it slowly grows powerful.
Although Felix was not worried about Ethan's revenge as an Evil Spirit, he just didn't want his only friend to wander the world as one.
"Accept my offerings and leave this world peacefully."
Soon, Felix kneeled and touched his forehead to the ground to apologize for his mistakes.
'Swiish'
"Felix, it's alright! You can stop feeling guilty."
"How can I not feel...You….you became an Evil Spirit?"
In the next second, Felix heard Ethan's voice and was about to retort, but when he raised his head, he saw a familiar person with a familiar mask on his face, standing in front of him with a smile, scaring him senseless.
"Idiot… I am still alive."
Ethan slapped Felix's head to snap him out of his weird thoughts.
"Y-you… how are you still alive? I burned your body with my own hands."
Although it took a while for Felix to realize that the masked person standing in front of him was Ethan, he was still unable to believe his eyes.
"The one you burned was not my real body but a High-Grade Treasured Avatar."
During his last few hours in the Mystic Soil Domain, Ethan had thought about what to do with Felix, like whether he should reveal that he was alive or not.
If he revealed his survival, then what kind of explanation should he give?
After a lot of thinking, Ethan decided not to meet Felix until he had become a Golden Core Realm cultivator and would give an explanation like he had been using an Avatar while exploring the Azure Serpent Realm with him.
But, who would have thought that Felix would still feel guilty and even offer food on the fifth day at the place of his supposed death?
Since he had already decided to reveal himself after reaching the Golden Core Realm, Ethan chose to reveal his survival ahead of schedule to free Felix of his guilt.
"What? An Avatar? You created an Avatar when you were still in the Foundation Establishment Realm?"
Hearing Ethan's words, Felix was shocked.
In this world, it was not rare for wealthy cultivators to create avatars; however, they would wait until they broke through to the Golden Core Realm for multiple reasons, such as Soul instability, lack of Spirit Essence, and foundation instability, among many others.
But, there was one main reason why Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators couldn't create avatars—they needed Divine Sense, which only awakens after breaking through to the Golden Core Realm.
Although Felix could not exactly see through Ethan's cultivation, he was certain of one thing – Ethan was still a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator.
Because of this, Felix was shocked to hear that Ethan had created an Avatar before reaching the Golden Core Realm.
"Who said I am a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"
Ethan asked Felix with a slight smile under his mask.
"What? But… you have…."
Felix frowned and was about to say something when Ethan interrupted, "What if I told you the one in front of you is also an Avatar?"
"What?"
This time Felix was utterly shocked and many questions ran through his head.
'How many High-Grade Treasured Avatars does he have?'
'How powerful and wealthy is his background?'
'No wonder he wasn't interested in joining the Greenfire Sect when he has such a powerful background.'
'No wonder he always wears a mask to cover his face — in order to not reveal his identity.'
Even creating a Low-Grade Avatar requires an enormous amount of resources, let alone a High-Grade one. Only those with deep foundations and vast resources would dare to attempt it.
For most cultivators, the Golden Core Realm is the earliest stage where they can afford such a luxury.
Before that, their Qi reserves are too unstable, and their spiritual essence is insufficient to support a fully functional avatar.
The process demands not only an immense amount of spiritual energy but also rare materials to ensure the avatar is durable and sustainable.
Despite all these conditions, Ethan had created two High-Grade Avatars, making Felix believe that Ethan's background was not as simple as he previously thought.
'Looks like that killer named Shadow Bee doesn't always follow Felix.'
While Felix was lost in his thoughts, Ethan scanned their surroundings to see whether the killer was still around.
As long as his killer was nearby, Ethan would be able to detect him.
Upon seeing that the killer was not around, Ethan concluded, 'It looks like that killer only follows Felix while he's exploring Secret Realms and only attacks when Felix teams up with someone.'
'Let's enter the Azure Serpent Realm after two days and see how that 'Shadow Bee' will react.'
Ethan didn't bother to hide his presence; instead, he wanted to provoke him into action and at the same time, gather some details about the one who hired him to make Felix look like a 'Cursed Cultivator.'
"Felix, didn't you say there was a Cultivator's Gathering in Greenfire City? Shall we attend now?"
Report chapter Comments
Just because he now got a Mid-level Earth Spirit Root and the generous rewards from the Mystic Soil Domain didn't mean Ethan could break through to the Golden Core Realm.
He wanted to accumulate some useful cultivation resources, and treasures that increase his Lifespan for both himself and his parents.
Ethan wanted to visit the Cultivator's Gathering to see whether he could find the things he needed.
Therefore, he reminded Felix about it as they both rushed towards the Cultivator's Gathering.
'Although I have informed my parents that I might not return for a while, they must be worried. I should return home as soon as possible.'
While rushing, Ethan thought about his parents and decided to go as soon as possible.
'I wonder whether Felix has started his preparations to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.'
At the same time, he thought about Felix because Ethan got excited thinking about having a Foundation Establishment Cultivator as a loyal subordinate.
In the future, with Felix protecting his parents, Ethan would be less worried about his parents' safety.
'Swiish'
'Swiish'
With such thoughts in his head, Ethan and Felix rushed towards Greenfire City.
….
Greenfire City,
Greenfire City is the largest and most prosperous city in the Emerald Green Plains Region that stands as a beacon of power and wealth.
Enclosed by towering jade-green walls infused with protective formations, the city pulsed with life, its streets bustling with cultivators, merchants, and rogue wanderers seeking fortune or refuge.
"Greetings to the Sect Disciple."
Seeing Felix, the two guards standing guard at the entrance of Greenfire City, bowed respectfully.
Anyone who wanted to enter Greenfire City had to pay 10 Spirit Stones; however, it was free for the Sect Disciples.
Moreover, the Sect Disciples could bring one or two cultivators with them into the city without paying the fee.
Because of that, Ethan didn't have to pay any fee just like how he didn't pay the entrance fee for his second visit to the Azure Serpent Realm.
'It is a good privilege that saves a lot of Spirit Stones in the long run.'
Ethan shook his head and soon, Felix guided him straight to the busiest building named [Starlight Merchant Association].
"According to the information I got, the Cultivator's Gathering will be happening in this building."
Felix informed Ethan before entering the building where they were guided by some attendants to a huge hall on the second floor where some cultivators were already waiting.
"Looks like it hasn't started yet. Let's go and sit somewhere."
Soon, they found seats and patiently waited for an hour before a Perfected Foundation Realm Cultivator in Greenfire Sect's uniform walked onto the stage.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Galen and I am the one in charge of today's Cultivator's Gathering."
"First of all, sorry to keep you waiting but the starting items for this gathering are delayed a bit."
First, he introduced himself and quickly explained the reason for the delay and apologized as he looked at the thirty cultivators in the hall.
Among the thirty cultivators, there were twenty from the Greenfire Sect and the remaining ten were loose cultivators who entered the Cultivator's Gathering through the Sect Disciples just like how Ethan entered via Felix.
"Let's not waste any time and start the exchange. Anyone can walk onto the stage and exchange the things they want to exchange."
"Remember one thing, all exchanges should be fair and voluntary. No forceful trades will be tolerated."
The host declared with a sharp gaze sweeping across the gathered cultivators.
The moment Galen finished speaking, a robed loose cultivator stepped onto the stage, his aura restrained yet undeniably powerful.
'Swoosh'
With a wave of his hand, a jade box appeared, releasing a faint golden glow.
"This is a Special-Rank 4 Treasured Fruit called the Holy Spirit Fruit. As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, you must know its usefulness, right?"
That cultivator intentionally didn't reveal its usage and gave a few moments for the cultivators below the stage to discuss it.
"What? A Holy Spirit Fruit?"
"He is exchanging a Holy Spirit Fruit? But why would he do that?"
"Idiot. I think he must have already used a Holy Spirit Fruit. So, consuming another one is useless."
.
.
.
As he expected, the Holy Spirit Fruit created a wave of discussion among the cultivators.
"What are the effects of the Holy Spirit Fruit?"
As for Ethan, he didn't have any clue about it and could only ask Felix about it.
"You don't know about the Holy Spirit Fruit?"
Felix was surprised that Ethan, who supposedly had a powerful background, didn't know about it.
'Is that how it works in powerful families that their youngsters don't know the names of the treasured fruits?'
Even though he thought this, Felix still explained, "When a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator consumes it, it temporarily upgrades his Mid-level Spirit Root to a High-level Spirit Root until he breaks through to the Golden Core Realm."
"What? There is such a good fruit?"
As someone who had experienced the effects of the Mid-level Spirit Root, Ethan could guess the effects and benefits of having a High-level Spirit Root.
Even though it was a temporary upgrade of the Spirit Root, the Holy Spirit Fruit was quite valuable…especially to those who had Mid-level Spirit Root and a Foundation Establishment Cultivation.
"Should I buy it?"
Ethan believed that by consuming it, breaking through to the Golden Core Realm would be a lot easier than before.
Moreover, it would save him a lot of Life Points which he could use to rapidly increase his cultivation in the Golden Core Realm.
"I should get it…I will get it."
The main reason why he came to the Cultivator's Gathering was to get cultivation resources like the Holy Spirit Fruit. So, of course, he was not going to miss it.
"I'm looking for Rank-5 or Special-Rank-4 Spirit Metals or Spirit Ores or even rare metal-type cultivation manuals."
Seeing the reactions from the cultivators, the owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit smiled with a satisfied look on his face and revealed what he wanted in exchange.
Report chapter Comments
'Rank 5 Spirit Metals and Ores? Metal-type Cultivation Techniques.'
'He must have a Metal-type Spirit Root.'
'No wonder he took out the Holy Spirit Fruit for the exchange. It is very rare to find Metal-type Cultivation Techniques without joining a sect.'
Murmurs spread through the crowd as various cultivators sized up the offer. Some were disappointed, while others whispered amongst themselves, debating whether they had something of equal value.
'I have a piece of Gold Star Essence. Let's trade.'
One of the cultivators excitedly took out a chunk of Gold Star Essence, a rare and highly durable Rank 5 Metal used in forging powerful weapons and armour.
"Wait!!"
Not a moment later, a middle-aged man clad in dark armour raised his hand, revealing a deep red ore crackling with faint arcs of electricity.
"I have a Rank 5 Crimson Thunder Ore."
Although both the Gold Star Essence and the Crimson Thunder Ore were Rank 5 Spirit Metals, the Crimson Thunder Ore was rare and valuable.
Hence, the middle-aged cultivator was confident in getting it.
"I like the Crimson Thunder Ore; however, I am not satisfied with the quantity of the Crimson Thunder Ore I am getting for my Holy Spirit Fruit."
The owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit seemed a bit disappointed.
"How about this? I will add another 50,000 Spirit Stones to make up for the difference."
The armoured middle-aged cultivator gritted his teeth and replied.
"Wait a minute."
Before the deal could be sealed, another voice cut in, and it was none other than Ethan.
Because of Ethan's mask, everyone curiously looked at him to see what he was going to exchange for the Holy Spirit Fruit.
"Currently, I don't have anything that you want."
With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved a small, sapphire-hued grass stalk from his spatial ring and said, "I have Azure Profound Grass. It can be exchanged in the Greenfire Exchange Hall for rare metal-type cultivation techniques or high-quality metal ores."
"What?"
"He wants to exchange the Holy Spirit Fruit with a stalk of the Azure Profound Grass?"
"Is he crazy or what?"
"Maybe he has enough Azure Profound Grass to exchange for a Holy Spirit Fruit."
"Will he be kicked out of the Cultivator's Gathering?"
.
.
.
Soon, the entire hall was filled with whispers as they looked at Ethan.
"How could I forget about the Azure Profound Grass and the Greenfire Exchange Hall?"
Although the owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit was about to accept the deal with the middle-aged cultivator, he was not exactly excited about the exchange.
However, thanks to Ethan's words, he got an idea, "You gave me an interesting exchange idea, fellow cultivator."
Back when Ethan and Felix entered the Greenfire Exchange Hall, there were limited items to exchange the Azure Profound Grass with.
However, when someone had lots of Azure Profound Grass, they could buy many things from the Greenfire Sect…especially the rare metal-type cultivation techniques that the owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit was looking for.
Therefore, the owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit hurriedly accepted Ethan's idea.
"As this fellow cultivator suggested, I will accept stalks of the Azure Profound Grass in exchange for the Holy Spirit Fruit. But, I want at least 100 good-quality Azure Profound Grass stalks."
Without waiting for Ethan, the owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit informed all the cultivators to bid for the fruit with Azure Profound Grass with a starting bid of 100.
"Really?"
Hearing those words, half of the cultivators became excited; however, compared to them, Ethan was the happiest one because he had lots of Azure Profound Grass on him.
However, he was not in a hurry to bid for the Holy Spirit Fruit as he watched others bid for the Holy Spirit Fruit.
"110 Azure Profound Grass."
"120 Azure Profound Grass."
.
.
.
"200 Azure Profound Grass."
In no time, the bidding rose to 200 Azure Profound Grass, making Ethan's smiling expression freeze.
'How can these cultivators have so much Azure Profound Grass on them?'
The reason why Ethan suggested exchanging the Holy Spirit Fruit with Azure Profound Grass was because he believed others might not have enough stalks whereas he could easily buy them.
But, soon, he realized that a few cultivators had accumulated lots of Azure Profound Grass.
'Looks like I have to use the Perfect Quality Azure Profound Grass if I want to get the Holy Spirit Fruit.'
Taking a deep breath, Ethan calmed himself and patiently watched the crazy bidding for the Holy Spirit Fruit.
"250 Azure Profound Grass. If anyone bids again, I will give up."
After a few moments, a cultivator shouted out loud and declared that he had reached his limit.
'...'
There was silence in the hall and no one bid after 250 Azure Profound Grass because they could not afford more.
"250 Azure Profound Grass….Is there really no one who can outbid this?"
The owner of the Holy Spirit Fruit was satisfied with 250 Azure Profound Grass; however, he still hoped for a few more.
'Looks like no one wants to bid higher than that.'
Ethan heaved a sigh of relief that the crazy bidding war had come to an end and it was finally time for him to bid.
"I will exchange 260 Azure Profound Grass for the Holy Spirit Fruit."
Without wasting any time, Ethan made the bid, making the cultivator who bid 250 Azure Profound Grass a bit angry.
"Let's trade."
After Ethan's bid, no one outbid him and Ethan successfully got the Holy Spirit Fruit.
"Congratulations, Ethan."
Felix congratulated Ethan and was happy for him because after consuming it, it would be a matter of a few years before he became a Golden Core Realm Cultivator.
"The first item of our gathering took an interesting turn."
Galen spoke and continued, "Let's continue."
"I want to exchange a Golden Ember Leaf with a Rank 5 Fire-type Ore to upgrade my weapon."
Soon, a cultivator stepped forward, holding a crimson leaf radiating faint heat.
"I'll trade it for a Rank 5 Blazing Meteorite Ore."
Without hesitation, another cultivator tossed a chunk of glowing metal onto the stage, sealing the deal.
"A Rank 5 Beast Core. I want a wind-type cultivation resource."
"I have a Storm Essence Pearl. It enhances lightning comprehension."
The exchange was swift, and both sides were satisfied.
"This is a Titan Iron Fruit. It strengthens the body to withstand heavy impacts."
Next, a burly man stepped up, holding a dark golden fruit and explained its effects.
"I'll trade you a Dragon Marrow Elixir."
The moment the exchange was completed, a cloaked figure revealed a silver-blue lotus.
"This is a Moonshadow Lotus. It's good for soul cultivation."
.
.
.
.
The exchange continued between the cultivators and Ethan's knowledge about the various cultivation resources increased.
Each cultivation resource was powerful and useful; however, Ethan was not interested in most of them since they were not as useful as the Holy Spirit Fruit was.
Therefore, he patiently waited along with Felix.
During the exchange, Felix bought an item that increased his comprehension of the water-type cultivation technique.
As the exchanges continued, a hooded cultivator silently stepped onto the stage, holding a small jade box.
"I have a Special Treasure Fruit called the Heavenly Gamble Fruit. It has exactly a 33.33% chance of awakening a Cultivation Talent, a 33.33% chance of having no effect, and a 33.33% chance of causing death."
The crowd stirred at the effects of the fruit.
A fruit that could grant unparalleled power or lead to certain doom.
Report chapter Comments
"I don't have any specific items I want, and I will accept the highest valued bidder."
The hooded cultivator smiled and stated he would accept anything in exchange for the Heavenly Gamble Fruit.
"If it was a 50 percent awakening of talent and 50 percent chance of not awakening, I would have bought it; however, that 33.33 percent chance of death… I don't want to take such an unnecessary risk."
"I still have more than 300 years to live, and I have hope of becoming a Golden Core Cultivator. There is no way I will waste my life or money on a gamble."
Among the 30 cultivators, more than 20 cultivators quickly lost interest in the Heavenly Gamble Fruit.
"I will exchange 30 Azure Profound Grass."
"I can give 40."
.
.
.
"I will offer 90 Azure Profound Grass. That is worth 6 Foundation Establishment Pills."
As for the less than 10 cultivators who were interested in the Heavenly Gamble Fruit, they decided to use the Azure Profound Grass in their possession to bid.
There might be a 33.3 percent chance of dying; however, that 33.3 percent chance of awakening a Cultivation Talent would change their lives.
In the past, they had taken risks that had a more than 70 percent chance of dying. Compared to those risks, 33.3 percent was nothing.
Nevertheless, the price for the Azure Profound Grass didn't increase crazily, and it was stopped at 90 Azure Profound Grass.
"100 Azure Profound Grass."
Unlike the other cultivators, the Heavenly Gamble Fruit was much more valuable to Ethan, and if there was anyone who was worthy of consuming the Heavenly Gamble Fruit, it must be him... at least that's what he believed.
Thus, Ethan didn't hesitate to bid 100 Azure Profound Grass.
"What the… how many Azure Profound Grass does he have?"
"Most importantly, where did he get so much Azure Profound Grass from?"
However, when Ethan made his bid, it only caused an uproar in the hall.
Just earlier, he had spent 260 Azure Profound Grass, and now another 100, making others wonder where he got so much Azure Profound Grass from.
No one placed a bid after Ethan, and thus, he successfully acquired his second item from the exchange.
"Felix, can you pay for it?"
As for Ethan, he didn't care about the whispers and asked Felix to pay for him.
In his earlier exchange, Ethan had used all his Good-Quality Azure Profound Grass, and he didn't want to take out the Perfect-Quality Azure Profound Grass to draw even more attention than he already had.
"Yes."
Even Felix understood what Ethan was trying to do, and he paid without any hesitation.
After the transaction, the exchanges between cultivators continued, gradually approaching the final round—the Host's Specials.
"Now that all the cultivators have exchanged their resources, it's time for the host to reveal a few star items prepared specially for today's gathering."
As soon as those words fell, the atmosphere in the hall shifted. The idle murmurs died down, and all eyes turned toward the stage.
Unlike the previous exchanges, where cultivators bartered amongst themselves, the Host's Specials were exclusive treasures, handpicked for their rarity and value.
As the final round began, the host, named Galen, clapped his hands, and three items covered with clothes were brought forward.
"The first item of the Host's Special is a Rank 5 Spirit Beast Egg. The species is unknown, but a beast of this level is bound to be extraordinary."
Galen removed the cloth from the first item and revealed a crystalline egg that was placed on the table, with faint elemental energy swirling within its shell.
"A Rank 5 Spirit Beast Egg"
Everyone became excited because whoever possesses it can have a Spirit Beast that can reach Rank 5 as long as it is properly taken care of.
However, most of the cultivators didn't have anything that they could use to exchange for the Spirit Beast Egg, cursing their poverty.
"Disciple Galen, since you are a Perfect Foundation Cultivator, you must be looking for treasures that increase the success rate of your Core Formation, right?"
One of the cultivators took out a golden crystal and said, "What do you think about the Dragon Marrow Crystal?"
No one was able to claim that they had a better item than the Dragon Marrow Crystal.
"Deal."
Dragon Marrow Crystals not only increase the success rate of core formation, but they also strengthen and expand the dantian of the cultivator.
Therefore, Galen didn't think twice as he directly exchanged the Spirit Beast Egg for the Dragon Marrow Crystals.
'I don't have anything that is more valuable than a Dragon Marrow Crystal.'
Even Ethan could only watch as the Spirit Beast Egg was bought by someone else.
Although he had Perfect-Quality Azure Profound Grass, Galen would not have accepted Ethan's offer because he needed Dragon Marrow Crystals to break through to the Golden Core Realm.
"The second item is a Talent Awakening Fruit, and since I already got what I want, you can use Spirit Stones to exchange for it."
Galen revealed the second item in front of him, which was a fruit that had a 50 percent chance of awakening a Cultivation Talent.
"Woah… a Talent Awakening Fruit."
"200,000 Low-level Spirit Stones."
"300,000 Low-level Spirit Stones."
.
.
.
"1 Million Low-level Spirit Stones. I am taking that Talent Awakening Fruit."
Since Galen asked everyone to bid with Spirit Stones, everyone excitedly raised the bid, and in no time, the price increased from 100,000 to 1 million Low-level Spirit Stones.
'Even if we use all our Perfect-Quality Azure Profound Grass, we won't be able to afford it.'
Finally, Ethan realized exactly how powerful these cultivators were.
Before attending the Cultivator's Gathering, because of the Azure Profound Grass in his possession, Ethan had thought he was quite rich; however, his wealth was not even comparable to some of the Foundation Establishment Realm Loose Cultivators.
'I should start accumulating some Spirit Stones.'
With Spirit Stones, no matter where he went, a cultivator could do almost anything, and there were lots of harvested Perfect-Quality Spirit Plants lying in Ethan's Vital Bloom Ring.
Hence, he decided to sell them all and accumulate Spirit Stones for future cultivator's gatherings and auctions.
'For now, I can only watch others bid for the Talent Awakening Fruit.'
Report chapter Comments
The thing is, this Talent Awakening Fruit was useless to him because he had already consumed one and awakened a Cultivation Talent.
Consuming another Talent Awakening Fruit would have no effects on him.
'I wanted to give it to my father or mother after they become a cultivator.'
Currently, his parents might not even have a Spirit Root; however, Ethan was planning to help them sooner or later. So, if he had enough Spirit Stones, he would have bid for it.
Nevertheless, he was not too disappointed in not getting the Talent Awakening Fruit as he would have many chances to buy one in the future.
"1.5 Million Low-level Spirit Stones."
Soon, the middle-aged cultivator wearing the armour made the highest bid and successfully bought the Talent Awakening Fruit.
"Are you guys ready for the final item of the Host's Specials?"
After the second transaction, Galen asked all the cultivators with a mysterious smile on his face.
"We are ready, Disciple Galen."
Although they were unable to buy many items, so far, the Cultivator's Gathering didn't disappoint them…especially the last two items.
Moreover, it was a known fact that the best item was always kept for the last.
Hence, they were looking forward to the final item of the Cultivator's Gathering with excitement.
"The final item is a Special Item that was refined by my Elder Brother, who is not only a Golden Core Realm Cultivator but also a Rank 5 Puppet Master."
While explaining, Galen removed the cloth from the third item, revealing a beautiful woman dressed in a delicate robe, with a blank expression and lifeless eyes.
'A Rank 4 Puppet? She looks just like a regular human?'
'Did that Senior turn a human into a puppet?'
'Isn't that considered demonic?'
.
.
.
Murmurs spread through the crowd as cultivators stared at the beautiful woman standing beside Galen, their expressions filled with shock and unease.
Turning fellow cultivators into puppets was a forbidden practice—one that fell under the path of Demonic Cultivation. Those who dared to walk that path were hunted down and eliminated without hesitation.
Yet, Galen openly claimed that the puppet before them was refined by his own brother—a Golden Core Realm Cultivator and a Sect Elder of the Greenfire Sect.
The weight of that statement sent a ripple of uncertainty through the gathering.
However, no one dared to ask Galen any questions about the puppet on the stage.
"I know what you all are thinking."
Galen could easily guess what everyone was thinking as he hurriedly explained, "My brother indeed refined her into a puppet; however, she is not a human but a demon…to be more exact, a Night Demon."
"A half-demon?"
"No wonder the sect elder refined her into a puppet."
"He is very righteous."
.
.
.
Hearing Galen's explanation, everyone felt there was nothing wrong with the puppet and they could use it without any problem.
"Show what you can do."
With a single word from Galen, the beautiful woman on the stage walked into a corner and disappeared without a trace.
"Open your eyes now."
With another command from Galen, the Night Demon Puppet opened her eyes, which shone with a bright red colour, giving chills to everyone below the stage.
"Senior has made a great contribution to the human race by turning a Night Demon into a puppet."
With Galen showcasing the abilities of the Night Demon Puppet, everyone felt that it was the right thing to turn a Night Demon into a puppet.
"This beautiful Night Demon was once a level 7 Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator, but now, she is nothing more than a puppet. My Elder Brother has sealed her will using the Soulforged Command Insignia. Whoever possesses it will have complete control over her."
Galen took out a small purple-coloured token and gave more details on how to control the Night Demon Puppet.
"Disciple Galen, what is the price for this Rank 4 Night Demon Puppet?"
"I am going to buy it at any cost."
"You... do you think you can afford it?"
.
.
.
Although the Night Demon Puppet was not very powerful, it was good to have.
Many cultivators felt that by having that puppet, their status among the loose cultivators or even among the disciples would greatly increase.
So, everyone who thought they could buy it hurriedly asked Galen about the price.
"Let's go, Felix."
On the other hand, Ethan was not interested in the Night Demon Puppet; instead, he felt pity for her.
She might be a Night Demon who must have harmed many humans, but turning her into a puppet… was too cruel.
Of course, Ethan was not a hero who would go out of his way to buy her and free her by destroying the puppet.
He was neither rich nor powerful. So, all he could do was turn around and leave the hall to avoid looking at the Night Demon Puppet.
'Ding,
A Choice-based New Mission has been generated. Please check it.'
Just as he turned around, Ethan received a system notification that Ethan could more or less guess what it was about.
'Check.'
Nevertheless, he quickly checked it, making him bitterly smile.
'Ding,
Mission Name: Demon Hater.
Mission Details: You feel the Night Demon is serving her punishment by becoming a puppet. Just walk away without bothering.
Reward: 100 Life Points.
'Ding,
Mission Name: Free the Night Demon.
Mission Details: Whether it is a human or a demon, it is truly cruel to turn them into puppets. Destroy the Night Demon Puppet and free the trapped Night Demon Soul inside.
Reward: Random High-level Life Card and 1000 Life Points.
Penalty: None.
'Ding,
Please make your choice between the two missions.'
'High-level Life Card?'
After reading both missions, Ethan's eyes were attracted to the 'High-level Life Card' and he thought he should pick the second mission.
A High-level Life Card definitely had good effects, and Ethan felt that he should get that card at any cost.
'But, the problem is I don't have any Spirit Stones to buy the Night Demon Puppet.'
Ethan didn't choose immediately but started thinking about whether he could find a way to buy it.
'I have a Mystic Earth Fruit which can be exchanged, and there is also this Primal Beast Blood.'
Ethan thought about the things he could exchange to get the Night Demon Puppet until he heard Galen's voice, which made him feel surprised.
"I am not going to sell this puppet but give it away for free to one of you."
Galen responded to the cultivators who wanted to buy the Night Demon Puppet at any cost.
"What? Disciple Galen wants to do a Free Giveaway?"
Everyone was shocked, and those who couldn't afford to buy the Night Demon Puppet became excited, including Ethan.
"Since it is my first time hosting the Cultivator's Gathering, I wanted to do a Free Giveaway."
Galen revealed a generous smile as he explained the giveaway, "Although the Night Demon was converted into a puppet, she still has a bit of consciousness left in the puppet that lets her follow the commands of its owner."
"So, I will let the Night Demon Puppet pick its owner. Whoever she picks can take her home."
After explaining this, Galen didn't wait for the cultivators' reaction before he ordered, "Go and select your new owner."
'Swiish'
Receiving the command from Galen, the Night Demon Puppet's eyes shone with a red light, and she walked forward.
'Please pick me.'
'I will take good care of you.'
.
.
.
Everyone started praying and hoping to get picked by the Night Demon Puppet; however, she walked straight to Ethan and said, "I choose you."
Report chapter Comments
In the Cultivation World, there were races other than humans, and one of them was Demons.
Among the Demons, Night Demons were feared the most, not because of their power or abilities; instead, because of their appearance, which looked just like humans.
Unless they revealed themselves, it was almost impossible for anyone to know their existence.
Because of their human-like appearance, the Night Demons had seamlessly mingled into human society, walking among cultivators unnoticed and only making their move when necessary.
"I choose you."
The beautiful Night Demon walked up to Ethan and said in her sweet voice, making all the cultivators in the hall, including Ethan himself, shocked.
'Don't tell me there are still some lingering effects from using the Heavenly Luck Card?'
Looking at the Night Demon Puppet, this was the first thought that came to Ethan's mind.
'If not, the host must have other thoughts regarding his so-called Free Giveaway.'
However, Ethan instantly rejected this idea because he had never met Galen, and at the same time, except for the Holy Spirit Fruit, he hadn't bought anything valuable during the exchange.
Moreover, there were other cultivators who had bought valuable things, and compared to them, he was a poor cultivator.
Hence, Ethan believed there was no way Galen would go that far just for the Holy Spirit Fruit, which he didn't seem to have any use for.
'Maybe there are really some good cultivators in the world, trying to boost their public image.'
Ethan silently thought in his head as he concluded, 'Even if it is a trap, I am going to destroy the Night Demon Puppet after leaving here anyway. There is nothing he could do about it.'
'I will choose the second mission.'
Without wasting any time, Ethan quickly selected the second mission that required him to destroy the Night Demon Puppet.
"Since it has chosen me, it will be mine, right?"
Ethan looked at Galen and asked him.
"Yes. It is yours now."
'Swish'
Saying that Galen threw the Soulforged Command Insignia to control the Night Demon Puppet.
"Congratulations, Friend."
"Your luck is damn good, Friend."
"Friend, are you willing to sell the Night Demon Puppet?"
Soon, everyone congratulated Ethan and even asked whether he wanted to sell it.
"Thank you, everyone; however, I won't be selling it to anyone."
Ethan politely rejected them before thanking Galen for the Night Demon Puppet.
"Friend Ethan, the puppet has chosen you."
Galen shook his head and informed everyone, "The Cultivator's Gathering has come to an end. I will let you know the date of the next gathering through your Sect Friends."
After saying that, Galen left the hall in a good mood as he took one last look at Ethan and Felix.
…..
"Ethan, be careful with the puppet. I sense that Galen has some other intentions for giving you that Free Giveaway."
After leaving the building, Felix warned Ethan to be careful with the Night Demon Puppet because he felt something was not right with the whole setup.
"You felt it too?"
The look on Galen's face while leaving the hall triggered Ethan's [Predator's Spirit] as he sensed a subtle killing intent.
If not for his [Predator's Spirit, Ethan would not have noticed at all.
So, he was surprised that Felix noticed Galen's subtle killing intent.
"If not for the whole messed-up situation, the Night Demon Puppet would have been a great trump card for you to make unexpected moves in the middle of a battle."
Felix nodded his head as he explained more about the Night Demon, "It could hide in the shadow and be your silent protector, catching your opponents off guard."
"But, if they did something to the puppet, it would not be your protector but your killer."
Felix repeatedly warned Ethan.
"I will be careful."
Ethan smiled at Felix's worries and said, "Felix, can you convert 50 of these Perfect Azure Profound Grass into Azure Essence Pills when we meet in two days?"
Since Ethan's Spirit Root was upgraded to a Mid-level and after consuming the Holy Spirit Fruit, it would even temporarily upgrade to a High-level Spirit Root, so he wanted to buy some cultivation resources that increased his cultivation speed.
For that, Azure Essence Pills were the best for the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Therefore, he asked Felix to buy the Azure Essence Pills in his stead.
As for re-entering the Azure Serpent Realm, Ethan's [Godly Revival Ability] would come out of cooldown in two days, and other than that, he had multiple reasons to enter the Secret Realm.
"Sure."
Felix nodded his head as he took all the Azure Profound Grass from Ethan and asked, "What about the remaining 50 stalks?"
"It is for you."
Earlier, Ethan took 100 stalks of Good-Quality Azure Profound Grass from Felix to buy the Heavenly Gamble Fruit. So, he repaid it with 50 stalks of Perfect-Quality Azure Profound Grass.
"T-this…I will accept them."
Felix was surprised a bit; however, he quickly accepted them because he also needed cultivation resources to become stronger.
"See you in two days."
Soon, they bid farewell and went their ways with Felix going back to the sect and Ethan heading towards Greenfire Town.
'Before going home, I should complete the mission related to the Night Demon Puppet.'
Ethan was worried about the trap set by Galen. So, he wanted to destroy it before going back home in order to sever the tracks that might lead Galen to his home.
'I still don't know who tried to kill me back in Ironwood Town, and now, I have another enemy for some unknown reason.'
Ethan felt like he was a real 'Cursed Cultivator' when he thought about his situation.
'The only reason I could guess why Galen gifted me the Night Demon Puppet was to find out the location of the Azure Profound Grass.'
Ethan was constantly thinking about Galen's motive behind gifting him the Night Demon Puppet and could only think of this.
Since he was the one who used the most Azure Profound Grass during the Cultivator's Gathering, it wouldn't be surprising if Galen became suspicious of him.
After all, such a rare resource wasn't something just anyone could get their hands on.
'Let's use this cave to take care of the Night Demon Puppet.'
Amidst his thoughts, Ethan found a cave on his way, easily tamed the wild animal in it before settling in it as a temporary guest.
'My new Special Talent [Primal Beast Sovereign] is quite good.'
Although Ethan was yet to see the effects of this Special Talent on Spirit Beasts, the effect on the wild animals was quite good.
At first, the bear was scared of Ethan's hidden power; however, the moment he patted it, the wild bear turned docile like a cat wanting Ethan to caress its fur more.
"I have something to do. Go and play outside."
After sending the bear away, Ethan resumed his thoughts about the Night Demon Puppet.
'So, is this Night Demon Puppet meant to spy on me?'
Ethan glanced at the elegant puppet standing silently in the corner of the cave.
'Galen, if you think you can use me to lead you to the Azure Profound Grass, you're sorely mistaken.'
[Blazing Sun Palm]
With a smirk, Ethan used his palm technique to blast the Night Demon Puppet into ashes.
Report chapter Comments
'Boom'
Although the Night Demon Puppet was a rank 4 Puppet, it could not withstand Ethan's attack.
Without any surprise, the puppet exploded; however, what Ethan didn't expect was a black-coloured soul flying out of the destroyed puppet.
"Human, thank you for freeing me from that damn puppet body of mine."
The soul materialized into a beautiful woman who looked just like the Night Demon Puppet and thanked Ethan for his help.
"Hm"
Thanks to his [Predator's Spirit, Ethan was not at all scared to see the Night Demon Soul hovering in front of him as he listened to her.
At the same time, the system notifications resounded in Ethan's mind regarding the mission.
'Ding,
The host has successfully destroyed the Night Demon Puppet and freed her trapped soul.
'Ding,
Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the mission.
'Ding,
The host is rewarded with 1000 Life Points and a Random High-level Life Card.
'Finally, got the rewards.'
Ethan smiled at the rewards; however, he didn't check the High-level Life Card yet; instead, he listened to the Night Demon Soul.
"Human, before I disappear, I want to tell you something about the Night Demons."
Seeing that Ethan was listening, the Night Demon Soul continued speaking, "We, the Night Demons, do not belong anywhere."
She let out a bitter chuckle, her crimson eyes reflecting pain that ran deep.
"To humans, we are nothing more than Demons. They fear us. Hate us. Hunt us like beasts, and turn us into puppets without ever trying to understand."
Her gaze darkened, the weight of past memories pressing upon her.
'Huh?'
Ethan frowned upon hearing those words and silently thought, 'So, what do you think humans should do? Make friends with them?'
From Kai's memories, Ethan knew that there were so many casualties because of the Demons. So, obviously, Ethan didn't find anything wrong with humans' actions except for turning the Night Demons into puppets.
Nevertheless, Ethan wanted to just listen to the Night Demon Soul's frustration before she parted from this world.
"But the demons… they despise us even more."
A cold, empty laugh escaped her lips, making her look really demonic.
"To them, we are abominations—too human in form, too weak in our demonic bloodline. In their eyes, we are nothing but defects, outcasts unworthy of the name 'demon'."
She clenched her fists, her translucent form flickering with unstable energy.
"Really?"
When Ethan learned how the Night Demons were treated by the other demons, he was surprised because he didn't expect the so-called deadly Night Demons to be the outcasts of the Demonic Race.
"Yes."
She nodded her head and explained, "Rejected by both sides, we were forced to hide in the shadows, mingling with humans. We had no land to call our own, no allies to rely on—only survival, always running, always pretending."
She shook her head. "But in the end, no matter how much we hide, once found by demons, we will be consumed as food, whereas if we are caught by humans, we will be turned into puppets."
"We did not wish for endless war, nor did we crave power like the demons. We only wanted to live peacefully with our families… yet neither the light nor the darkness would accept us."
Her voice grew weaker as she shared some of her painful experiences, and at the end, she spoke her wish.
'It's truly a pitiful situation.'
Ethan was already an emotional person, and hearing her story made his heartache.
Moreover, the Night Demon's wish was exactly the same as his, which was to live peacefully together with his family.
"Sorry, human, if I am boring you with my nonsensical story."
Maybe because she was sharing things that she had never shared with anyone, the Night Demon felt a bit relieved as she quickly apologized to Ethan.
"No no no… your words made me understand things I didn't know in the past."
Other than being emotional, Ethan learned so many things related to the demons from her words. So, they were not boring at all.
'Swiish'
It had been a while since Ethan freed the Night Demon Soul from the puppet, making the soul flicker, indicating that it might disappear at any moment now.
"Although it is impossible to change the fate of my Night Demons, I shamelessly request that the human destroy the other Night Demon Puppets and free their trapped souls from them."
The Night Demon Soul knew that it was time for her to disappear. So, she quickly requested Ethan to help the other Night Demons that he would encounter in the future.
"I will try my best to destroy all the Night Demon Puppets I encounter in the future. You can rest assured now."
Ethan didn't think much of it as he instantly agreed to the Night Demon Soul's request.
As the Night Demon Soul had said, he could not change the fate of the Night Demons; however, he could at least help the trapped Night Demon Souls inside the puppets.
"Thank you, human. If only I had met you before I was turned into a puppet, maybe, we could have become friends. But, it is too late now."
Seeing that Ethan agreed to her request instantly, she was happy and believed that Ethan was different from the other humans she had met in her life.
Because of that, she believed she could have become friends with Ethan.
"Aren't we friends now?"
Ethan asked her, and at the same time, he thought of something and mysteriously smiled, "Also, who said it is too late now?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Ethan's initial words, the Night Demon Soul was happy that she finally had a first friend in her entire life; however, the latter part made her confused.
"If you come back to life, will you be following me forever?"
Ethan asked her in a low but mysterious voice.
"What are you saying? Coming back to…."
"I want you to be my shadow, my protector, as we save more Night Demons together, and if possible, we should change the fate of the entire Night Demons."
The Night Demon Soul trembled, her ethereal form flickering like a dying ember. Her crimson eyes widened in disbelief as if she had never expected to hear such words from a human.
For decades, she had known only hatred from both humans and demons alike.
Yet, here she stood, in front of a human who was offering her not just freedom, but a purpose.
If it were not for her soul form, tears would have already streamed down her face.
"To be your shadow... to protect you and my kin…. Yes, I will follow you, human. Together, we will change the fate of the Night Demons."
There was no hesitation as she instantly agreed to the purpose that Ethan was giving her.
Although she didn't know how the human in front of her would bring her back to life, and she didn't care whether the human in front of her was telling the truth or not, just imagining herself pairing with a human and saving her kin made her quite thrilled.
Thus, she could not help but agree to Ethan's words.
"I will make sure you do not regret becoming my shadow."
With a smile, Ethan took out a white-coloured card and crushed it.
Report chapter Comments
On one of the mountain peaks of the Greenfire Sect,
"Brother Ronan, I have given the Night Demon Puppet to the b*stards who killed and burned our brother to death."
As soon as the cultivator's gathering came to an end, Galen excitedly rushed to his brother, who was an Elder in the Greenfire Sect, to inform him of the news.
"What? You found the b*stards who killed Silas? Who are they?"
Ronan, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, stood up upon hearing Galen's words.
Galen and Ronan were none other than the elder brothers of Silas Wei, the one who had been killed by Ethan and Felix.
"It was none other than Felix, the Cursed Cultivator, and a Loose Cultivator who had formed a team with him."
Galen nodded as he hurriedly took out a white-coloured crystal and injected a bit of Spirit Essence into it.
'Swiish'
Soon, the crystal projected a scene where Ethan blasted Silas into a huge tree and how Felix burned the corpse in the Azure Serpent Realm.
"T-this…where did you get the Memory Crystal?"
Looking at the scene, their eyes turned red with rage; however, they suppressed their rage before Ronan asked Galen about the Memory Crystal.
Memory Crystal was a low-level item that could be used to record a particular scene from one's mind. Later, it could be used to project that memory for others to watch.
Obviously, Galen had received the Memory Crystal from somewhere and, thus, Ronan asked about it.
"T-this…"
Galen hesitated a bit; however, seeing the serious look on his brother's face, he gritted his teeth and explained everything.
"After learning about Little Silas' death, I commissioned a mission in the [Eternal Shadow Guild] about Silas' death, and the next day, I received a Memory Crystal."
"What? You commissioned [Eternal Shadow Guild]?"
Ronan frowned for a moment; however, in the end, he shook his head, "Since it is related to Little Silas' matter, I am leaving this alone; however, you do know the consequences of using the [Eternal Shadow Guild's] services, right?"
"I know. Once the Sect knows about it, I will be kicked out of the sect."
Galen hurriedly replied to his brother.
"You are just one step away from breaking through to the Golden Core Realm. As long as you do, you can become a Sect Elder like me and strengthen our faction."
"I understand, Elder Brother."
Thinking about it, Galen was excited; however, he added, "I have made all the preparations for my breakthrough and I even got a Dragon Marrow Crystal."
"But, before the breakthrough, I want to kill and burn those two b*stards in the same location where our Little Silas was killed and burned to ashes."
Galen clenched his fists as he showed how much he wanted to kill Ethan and Felix.
"So, is it because of that that you have given them my Night Demon Puppet?"
Ronan knew how close Galen and Silas were and knew Galen wouldn't be able to break through to the Golden Core Realm without killing Silas's killers.
"Yes. I wanted to use your puppet to keep track of them and when they enter the Azure Serpent Realm, that is when I will make my move."
Galen nodded his head as he added, "As for why I am sure they will enter the Azure Serpent Realm again, it is because they found some special location that was filled with Azure Profound Grass. So, if my guess is right, they will re-enter the Azure Serpent Realm within a week."
"Not bad…not bad…you are calm and composed. You will definitely take perfect revenge."
Ronan was surprised at Galen's meticulous planning because if it was him, he would have killed them as soon as possible and gotten it done with.
Nevertheless, he was satisfied with Galen's plan.
'Kacha'
"Oh no…it's bad."
Suddenly, Galen's expression changed as he took out a broken Soulforged Command Insignia from his storage ring.
"Brother Ronan, the second Command Insignia for the Night Demon Puppet I gave to the killers has broken."
Galen hurriedly informed his brother as he became anxious, "Damn it…how am I going to keep track of them? Do I have to wait at the entrance of the Azure Serpent Realm until they show up?"
How could Galen not have an alternative in case his Night Demon Puppet didn't work out?
However, waiting at the entrance of the Azure Serpent Realm would be time-consuming and tiring.
Nevertheless, for his beloved brother, he could only do that.
"Haha…it's a small thing, Galen."
On the other hand, Ronan laughed as he took out a mirror and gave it to Galen, "Do you think I would let someone go after destroying my Night Demon Puppet?"
"What is it, brother?"
Galen knew full well about his brother and was not surprised that he had a plan to track the one who destroyed the puppet.
"It is a Special Artifact called the Puppet Eye Mirror that lets me share my view with all my puppets."
Ronan explained the usage of the mirror and in the mirror, Galen saw Ethan's masked figure inside the cave.
"Secretly follow him and inform me when he enters the Azure Serpent Realm."
A silhouette flew out of Ronan's shadow and disappeared in a flash.
"Don't worry. I will let you know when they enter the Azure Serpent Realm and make sure you take perfect revenge for Little Silas's sake."
"Thank you, Brother. I won't let you down or Little Silas."
Galen smiled with a serious glint in his eyes.
…..
In the cave,
Ethan was completely oblivious to the fact that Galen was Silas' brother and that he was planning the perfect revenge.
Even if Ethan knew that Silas' background was powerful, he would still kill Silas to make sure that the Azure Profound Grove remained secret.
It was a location that nurtured thousands of Life Points for Ethan.
Anyway, currently, Ethan was observing the revival process of the Night Demon in front of him.
That's right!
After learning about the pitiful fate of the Night Demons and feeling emotional about the stressful life led by the Night Demon, Ethan was reminded of his stressful life in the past.
All they wanted in their lives was a peaceful time with their parents.
Moreover, Ethan had also thought of the unique abilities of the Night Demons, which were quite good for protecting.
Most people think of using the Night Demons or Night Demon Puppets for killing; however, Ethan only planned to use her to protect his parents until he became a bit more powerful.
In the end, Ethan used the General Revival Life Card in his possession to revive the Night Demon and give her a second chance, just like how the heavens had given him a second chance in this world.
'Once I break through to the Golden Core Realm and gain some footholding in this world, I can buy more Night Demon Puppets and even Night Demons.'
Regarding the Night Demons, Ethan had many plans; however, they required him to become a Golden Core Realm cultivator first.
'With her, my parents' protection is fully secured, and I can focus on improving my cultivation and skills.'
'Ding,
The host has used a General Revival Life Card and successfully revived the Night Demon: Seraphis.
'Ding,
Due to the emotional support provided by the host to the Night Demon Seraphis, she has revived with full loyalty towards the host.
"What? Full loyalty?"
Ethan was pleasantly surprised by the system notifications.
Report chapter Comments
Although the Night Demon was turned into a Night Demon Puppet, she was not dead… at least not officially.
Only when Ethan destroyed the puppet, she was considered dead as her soul left the body.
According to the rules of the General Revival Life Card, the entity had to die before his eyes, and he had to use the Life Card to revive that entity within one hour of death.
Since the Night Demon met all the requirements, Ethan was able to revive her by using the General Revival Life Card.
"What? Full loyalty?"
Ethan was pleasantly surprised by the system notifications.
As for the full loyalty mentioned by the system, it meant that no matter what, the Night Demon would remain loyal to him forever.
Previously, when Ethan revived Elias using the General Revival Life Card, he was also loyal to Ethan; however, it could decrease in the future when Elias became disappointed in him.
However, in the case of the Night Demon, she was revived with full loyalty, which eased Ethan a little as he didn't have to separately work on increasing her loyalty.
'T-this… I really am alive?'
Seraphis whispered, staring at her hands, feeling the warmth of life once again.
"Didn't I say I would revive you? Welcome back to…."
'Swiish'
Before Ethan could finish his sentence, Seraphis tightly hugged Ethan, "Thank you… I am very grateful for the miracle blessed upon me by my master."
Tears welled up in the Night Demon's eyes as she whispered into Ethan's ear.
"T-this…"
Ethan stiffened for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden embrace. Seraphis' body trembled against his, her emotions raw and overwhelming.
In the end, he didn't say anything and lightly patted her back, letting her release her pent-up emotions.
After a few moments, she pulled back, crimson eyes shimmering with tears yet filled with resolve as she vowed, "My newfound life belongs to you, Master. I will be your shadow… and together, I want to change the fate of the Night Demons."
"Yes; however, before we start that journey, we should become powerful."
Ethan didn't hide it and briefly shared his future plans with her.
"What Master says is true. I will focus on increasing my strength to become a Golden Core Night Demon as soon as possible."
Seraphis agreed with Ethan's plan and decided to focus on increasing her strength.
'System, show me the information on Sera.'
To gain a better understanding of Seraphis, Ethan quickly checked her information.
'Ding,
Subordinate Name: Seraphis.
Race: Demon (Night Demon).
Strength: Level 7 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Innate Skills:
1) Shadow Shelter: A Night Demon can rest in the shadows, gradually absorbing power from the owners' shadows. The stronger the owner, the more powerful she could become.
2) Night Vision: She can see through the darkness.
Note: More Innate Skills will be awakened upon breaking through to higher realms.
Demonic Root: Mid-level Root (Dark).
Cultivation Techniques: Blood Moon Assimilation Art (Completion Stage), Abyssal Shift (Small Success Stage), Shadow Claw Technique (Completion Stage), and Night Phantom Concealment (Beginner's Stage).
'She has innate skills and some good cultivation techniques.'
The innate skill [Shadow Shelter] and the cultivation technique [Blood Moon Assimilation Art] caught Ethan's eyes.
The innate skill [Shadow Shelter] helps the Night Demon passively grow powerful by resting in the shadows of the powerful, whereas the cultivation technique [Blood Moon Assimilation Art] not only helps her rapidly increase her cultivation by devouring blood but also heals her injuries.
'Also, it looks like I finally found the Cultivation Technique I was looking for.'
Among the list of cultivation techniques that Seraphis had cultivated, Ethan wanted one of them, making him feel, 'It looks like I am reaping more benefits than I expected for using a single General Revival Life Card.'
'Although she only has a Mid-level Demonic Root, if she is provided enough blood from powerful cultivators and beasts, she can break through to the Golden Core Realm sooner than me.'
For humans, it is the Spirit Root that helps them in their cultivation, whereas for Demons, it is the Demonic Root. As for their classification, it remains the same.
'Let's see whether there are any cultivators like Silas who seek death. They would surely become a good source of power for her.'
Ethan didn't want Seraphis to actively kill others, but that didn't mean he wouldn't give her any blood packs that came looking for trouble.
"Sera, if you don't mind, can you help me learn your [Night Phantom Concealment]?"
After fully checking out all her details, Ethan asked her about the cultivation technique that would be useful for him.
It was the [Night Phantom Concealment] that allowed one to hide one's cultivation, and Ethan had been searching for similar cultivation techniques for a while now and luckily found it within Seraphis.
Moreover, except for the [Blood Moon Assimilation Art, Seraphis's remaining cultivation techniques were not demonic in nature, and thus, Ethan was not worried about learning them.
"It's a small thing, Master. I can teach you."
Soon, Seraphis helped him understand the basics of the [Night Phantom Concealment, as Ethan quickly received a system notification.
'Ding,
The host has learned the [Night Phantom Concealment] and reached the Spark Stage.
'Huh? It has already reached the Spark Stage without spending a single Life Point?'
Ethan was surprised a bit; however, he didn't think much because reaching the Spark Stage in a Cultivation Technique was quite easy.
"Sera, it's enough. I got it."
As Seraphis was still teaching him, Ethan asked her to stop because he could instantly upgrade it with his [Godly Cultivation Insight].
"But, I haven't completed….."
"It's alright! I got it under control."
Without wasting any time, he quickly ordered the system, 'System, upgrade it to Completion Stage.'
'Ding,
The host has spent 100 Life Points on [Night Phantom Concealment] and upgraded its mastery to [Beginner's Stage].
'Ding,
The host has spent 200 Life Points on [Night Phantom Concealment] and upgraded its mastery to [Small Success Stage].
'Ding,
The host has spent 400 Life Points on [Night Phantom Concealment] and upgraded its mastery to [Completion Stage].
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 10,485.
In less than a minute, Ethan's mastery over the [Night Phantom Concealment] had reached [Completion Stage, where he could easily hide his cultivation from everyone below the Golden Core Realm.
Although Ethan decided to save his Life Points for his breakthrough into the Golden Core Realm, that didn't mean he wouldn't spend them on Cultivation Techniques.
With Cultivation Techniques, not only would his battle prowess increase, but even his survival rate would also improve, and a cultivation concealment technique was very important and useful for him.
'Conceal'
With a single thought, the aura exuded by Ethan became chaotic and soon, it started regressing backwards.
Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Level 1 Foundation Establishment Realm.
It only stopped when his cultivation aura reached the Level 1 Foundation Establishment Realm, making Ethan nod his head in satisfaction.
It not only concealed his cultivation but also erased his presence if he wanted, perfectly complementing his [Shadow Steps].
'For now, this will do just fine to hide my cultivation.'
Once he was done with it, he shifted his focus to Sera, who looked at him as though he was the real demon.
'Haha.'
Ethan smiled in reply as he shook his head and thought, 'It is time to check out what High-level Life Card I have received.'
Report chapter Comments
Earlier, Ethan completed a mission by destroying the Night Demon Puppet and received 1000 Life Points along with a Random High-level Life Card.
Until now, he was busy listening to Seraphis' story and later reviving her before learning the [Night Phantom Concealment].
Before he left the cave, Ethan wanted to check out his new High-level Life Card that he got from the mission.
'System.'
As soon as he thought about it, the System showed the information on his new High-level Life Card.
'Ding,
Card Name: Godly General Revival Life Card.
Effects: Using it, the host can revive others and help them buy things from the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] of their killer.
Rule 1: The target has to die in front of the host's eyes.
Rule 2: The target has to be revived within one hour from the time of death.
Rule 3: The cost of the options in the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] for them will be doubled. It is entirely up to the host whether to buy them the things from the interface because he has to use his own Life Points.
'T-this…I finally got the Life Card I was expectantly waiting for.'
Reading the information on the Life Card, Ethan could not believe his eyes as he rubbed them to check it again to make sure he was seeing it right.
'The first two rules of this card are the same as the General Revival Life Card, and as for the third rule, it is a small thing.'
Ethan was ready to pay whatever the cost of Life Points was to turn his parents from mortals to cultivators, let alone pay twice the regular price.
'Also, my father's leg will also be regenerated, and soon, he will be able to walk again.'
He considered receiving the Godly General Revival Life Card as a blessing and wanted to rush home as soon as possible.
"Sera, go and rest in my shadow. We are going home."
Without wasting any time, Ethan quickly kept the Godly General Revival Life Card in his storage ring and asked Sera to rest in his shadow.
"Yes, Master."
Hearing Ethan's words, Seraphis jumped into Ethan's shadow, leaving no traces of her behind.
Soon, Ethan rushed to Greenfire Town and used the dark night as cover, and with his two cultivation techniques [Shadow Steps] and [Night Phantom Concealment, he moved like a shadow and returned to the Small Courtyard, without anyone noticing him.
'Swiish'
However, what he didn't know was that a pair of red eyes watched him as he entered Greenfire Town.
…..
In the Small Courtyard,
"Finally, I am back. Nothing beats the feeling of returning home."
Ethan heaved a sigh of relief after returning home.
After returning home, Ethan checked on his parents first as usual; however, seeing that they were resting, he didn't disturb them.
"Elias must have entered seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Next, he checked on Elias and guessed that he was in seclusion.
Ethan was looking forward to Elias's breakthrough as he wondered, "How would the Feng Family feel if they learned about Elias's breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm?"
For cultivation families like Lin and Feng, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were essential. The more, the better, and if one was from the main line of the family, it would be celebrated even more grandly.
It was also because of Ethan's breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm that he was directly promoted as a temporary Elder, and upon passing the Elder Promotion Assessment, he would be a Permanent Elder.
Since Elias was kicked out of the Feng Family thinking that he was a failure, Ethan was curious about their reactions.
"Let's leave it to the future and for now, let's focus on nurturing the Spirit Plants."
Although it was night, Ethan didn't rest; instead, he wanted to nurture the spirit plants because he had already missed the nurturing sessions for six days.
Therefore, he continued with the nurturing sessions for two whole hours until his Spirit Plants were tired.
"It is time to use the cultivation resources I got from the Mystic Soil Domain and from the Cultivator's Gathering."
First, Ethan took out a blue-coloured Pearl from his Storage Ring.
'Mystic Water Pearl, turn my Small Pond into a Spirit Pond.'
Ethan directly tossed the small pearl into the Small Pond and checked with his Spirit Sense.
'Swiish'
As soon as the Mystic Water Pearl touched the surface of the pond, a gentle yet powerful ripple spread across the water.
'Swiish'
A faint, blue light enveloped the pond as an ethereal blue mist rose from the surface, carrying a refreshing spiritual aura.
'It's working.'
Ethan could feel the rich Spirit Essence shifting and transforming the ordinary pond into a Spirit Pond.
The once-plain water darkened into a deep blue colour, shimmering with traces of liquid spiritual energy, gradually spreading through the small pond.
'The transformation has just begun, and it will take a couple of days for this small pond to become a Spirit Pond.'
Since he had yet to get the Clearheart Lotus Seeds, Ethan didn't have the urgent need for a Spirit Pond. So, he didn't mind the time taken for the transformation.
'Once it is done, I can try planting the Dragon Heart Lotus in the Spirit Pond.'
Compared to the Clearheart Lotus, Ethan was more interested in the special Rank 5 Spirit Seed he got from the Mystic Soil Domain.
'As for the other three rewards, I can't use them yet.'
Ethan shifted his attention to the items he bought from the Cultivator's Gathering.
'There is the Holy Spirit Fruit and the Heavenly Gamble Fruit.'
One temporarily upgrades his Mid-level Spirit Root to a High-level Spirit Root until he becomes a Golden Core Realm, whereas the other one has a 33.3 percent chance of awakening a Cultivation Talent in him.
'Since my [Godly Revival Ability] is still on cooldown, I will eat the Heavenly Gamble Fruit after two days.'
Ethan only thought for a moment before keeping the Heavenly Gamble Fruit away because it has a 33.3 percent chance of killing him.
Although he had four Revival Life Cards, he didn't want to use them to take a gamble on his life.
'Let's eat the Holy Spirit Fruit.'
Report chapter Comments
'Let's eat the Holy Spirit Fruit.'
Ethan grabbed the Holy Spirit Fruit, feeling its soft texture and the faint warmth emanating from it.
'This looks delicious.'
The fruit's surface shimmered with golden veins, exuding a fragrance so rich that it invigorated his very soul.
'Bite'
Without hesitation, he took a bite.
'Sweet… and it is filled with pure spiritual energy.'
As soon as the first piece entered his mouth, it melted and turned into an extremely pure Spirit Essence.
This Spirit Essence rushed through his meridians, filling every corner of his body with warmth.
'Let's eat the whole fruit.'
Ethan was worried that the delay in eating the fruit might affect the effects of the Holy Spirit Fruit. So, he quickly ate the fruit in a few bites.
'Swiish'
Once he finished the whole fruit, his entire body was filled with extremely pure essence…so pure that it leaked out of his body through his skin pores.
Internally, his dantian trembled slightly as waves of Spirit Energy spread through his limbs.
'Kacha'
There were two crisp sounds in his body followed by two system notifications.
'Ding,
The host has consumed the Holy Spirit Fruit. A Mid-level Spirit Root is temporarily upgraded to a High-level Spirit Root until reaching the Golden Core Realm.
'Ding,
The host has successfully broken through to Level 5 Foundation Establishment Realm.
Before he could check out the system notifications, Ethan immediately felt the difference.
His body became lighter, his senses sharper, and the flow of spiritual energy within him grew exponentially smoother.
'This is incredible… I can already feel the Spirit Essence entering my body on its own.'
One of the benefits of having a High-level Spirit Root is that the cultivator's body absorbs Spirit Essence on its own, and depending on the environment, he might even increase his cultivation without actually cultivating.
Of course, it takes years to increase cultivation through passive absorption; however, it helps cultivators when they are doing something other than cultivating.
'Other than temporarily upgrading my Mid-level Spirit Root to a High-level Spirit Root, I even broke through to Level 5 Foundation Establishment Realm.'
After checking the changes in his Spirit Root, Ethan was thrilled to notice that his cultivation had increased.
'There are still five months left to complete the mission, and I am confident that I can do it.'
Finally, Ethan was 100% confident in forming his Golden Core and becoming a Golden Core Realm Cultivator.
'It is time to cultivate.'
Since he enjoyed cultivating with a Mid-level Spirit Root, Ethan wanted to experience how good it would be to cultivate with a High-level Spirit Root.
Without any hesitation, he sat cross-legged in his usual spot close to the Spirit Field.
[Earth Essence Integration Technique]
Taking a deep breath, he activated his cultivation technique.
'Swoosh'
As soon as he started cultivating, Ethan immediately noticed a drastic difference.
The surrounding Spirit Essence surged toward him like a flood, much denser and purer than before. If cultivating with a Mid-level Spirit Root was like drawing water through a straw, then cultivating with a High-level Spirit Root was akin to opening a massive floodgate!
'The speed…it is incredible.'
Ethan marveled as he felt the Spirit Essence being rapidly absorbed into his Dantian and refined his Foundation Bead.
'It is close to the speed I achieved in the Mystic Soil Domain.'
That's right!
Even though he now had a High-level Spirit Root, his cultivation speed was still not matching the cultivation speed he achieved in the Mystic Soil Domain.
It was because the Mystic Soil Domain was not only filled with much denser Spirit Essence than his courtyard but also had rich Earth Essence, which was barely present in the courtyard.
Nevertheless, Ethan was still happy with the cultivation speed he was able to achieve in the Small Courtyard.
'As long as I enter the Mystic Soil Domain again, I can rapidly increase my cultivation to the Perfection Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm.'
With a High-level Spirit Root, Ethan had no doubt about it.
'As for the Golden Core Realm, I can break through by manually cultivating; however, it is not possible within a short time.'
Hence, he decided to use Life Points to break through to the Golden Core Realm after perfecting his Foundation Establishment through manual cultivation.
'So, I should accumulate as many Life Points as possible for my breakthrough.'
Ethan had already set a target to accumulate at least 50,000 Life Points within the next three to four months.
'Let's continue.'
Soon, he kept all his thoughts aside and peacefully started cultivating until morning.
In the morning, he had breakfast with his parents and spent some quality time with them.
'Please bear with it for a little bit longer, father. I will not only heal your leg but also make you a strong cultivator overnight.'
Ethan silently thought to himself as he looked at his father's missing leg.
When he received the Godly General Revival Life Card, he wanted to use it on his father as soon as possible.
However, because of the [Radiant Clear Heart, his thoughts were cleared as he realized, 'Even if I use the Godly General Revival Life Card now, I can at most upgrade my father's cultivation to Level 1 Foundation Establishment Realm.'
'If I want to upgrade it any further, I need to get another Godly General Revival Life Card.'
Moreover, there was still his mother, who should be turned into a cultivator too.
Thus, Ethan decided to wait for a couple of months to finish his breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm.
'I believe after my breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm, not only can I get more High-level Life Cards, but I can also get more Life Points.'
Back when he was still a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator, he struggled to gather 1000 Life Points and had to exchange his Revival Life Card.
However, after the breakthrough, he was able to achieve 10,000 Life Points in no time.
Hence, Ethan believed that after his breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm, he could earn more Life Points, and at that time, he would help his father reach at least the cultivation of a Perfected Foundation Establishment Realm.
'The Spirit Grass has recovered from its exhaustion. It is time to begin the nurturing session.'
In the evening, Ethan noticed the change in the [Live Statuses] of the Spirit Grass and started his nurturing session, speeding up their maturity by 10 days.
Previously, he was only able to speed up their maturity by 5-6 days, but with the increase in the mastery of the [Green Pulse Art, it had increased to 10 days.
'At this rate, in another 5 days, they will mature, and I can harvest 1100 Life Points.'
Whenever he thought about the harvesting day, Ethan revealed an excited smile.
'As for the next batch, I won't plant Spirit Grass anymore, but instead, the Mutated Spirit Grass that is on the verge of becoming Blood Spirit Grass.'
Ethan had already planned this, and for this reason, he only harvested 800 Mutated Spirit Grass back in the Mystic Soil Domain and condensed seeds from the remaining 200.
'From the next batch, instead of 1100 Life Points…..'
'Swiish'
Amidst his thoughts, a wave of powerful energy came from Elias's room, making Ethan excited.
However, what excited him even more was the system notifications he received following Elias' breakthrough.
Report chapter Comments
'Ding,
The host's subordinate has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
'Ding,
The host's Special Talent [Primal Beast Sovereign] has triggered.
'Ding,
The host has received 1,000 Life Points for nurturing Elias into a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator.
'Ding,
The host's Special Talent [Heaven's Harvest] has triggered and doubled the Life Points he received.
'T-this… I received Life Points for his breakthrough and the [Heaven's Harvest] further doubled the Life Points?'
Looking at the series of system notifications in front of him, Ethan was thoroughly shocked at first but became excited later.
'So, through the [Primal Beast Sovereign, it not only considers the Spirit Beasts but also the cultivators I nurture.'
One of the effects under his Special Talent [Primal Beast Sovereign] was that he would receive some Life Points whenever his nurtured Spirit Beasts broke through their rank.
However, from the series of system notifications, he realized that the talent also considered his subordinates as his pets.
As for the [Double Yield] effect under the [Heaven's Harvest, Ethan was already expecting that it would double the Life Points he received from his Spirit Beasts' breakthroughs.
Hence, he was not too surprised about it.
'With these 2,000 Life Points, my available Life Points have increased to 12,485.'
Ethan was happy as he was getting one step closer to his goal.
'Since I can get Life Points by nurturing the people around me, it seems like I should recruit more people.'
He decided to get more loyal subordinates in the future and nurture them.
'Since it worked for Elias, it should work for Sera too, right? I wonder how many Life Points I will get if she breaks through to the Golden Core Realm.'
According to the Special Talent's description, the amount of Life Points he received depended on the breakthrough of the Spirit Beasts. The higher their breakthrough was, the more Life Points he received.
So, he was excited about Sera's breakthrough to the Golden Core Demon Realm.
'Let's go and check on Elias and at the same time, I should reward him for his hard work.'
As a subordinate in his previous life, he had never known what 'rewards' were while working for his tyrant boss.
Having been a subordinate in his previous life, Ethan had wished for a great leader but instead ended up serving a tyrant boss who not only stole his entire credit and overworked him to death, but also killed him in the end.
Now, in this new life, with subordinates of his own, Ethan was determined to become the kind of leader he had once dreamed of.
"Master."
On the other hand, as soon as he had broken through, Elias rushed out of the room to share the good news with his Master.
"Congratulations, Elias. You have finally reached the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Seeing Elias, Ethan congratulated him.
"Thank you, Master, and the Foundation Establishment Pill you gave me was a great help for my breakthrough."
With a High-level Spirit Root, even without the Foundation Establishment Pill, Elias could have broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm; however, it would have taken a few months, if not a year.
So, Elias didn't forget about the pill and mentioned how helpful it was in his breakthrough.
"You left the family and decided to follow me. So, it is the least I can do for you, Elias."
Ethan smiled as he took out a jade box and gave it to Elias, saying, "It is a very useful gift I have prepared for you."
"Thank you, Master."
Elias didn't hesitate as he took the jade box and opened it to see an unfamiliar pill.
"It is an Azure Foundation Pill, much rarer than the Foundation Establishment Pill."
Seeing the same look on Elias's face when he first received the Azure Foundation Pill back in the Azure Serpent Realm, Ethan smiled slightly and explained its usage.
"Once you consume it, not only will your newly created Foundation Bead in the Dantian stabilize, but you will also break through to the Level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm."
"What? There exists such a useful pill?"
Without surprise, Elias was shocked and became excited, 'With this, I can catch up to one of my brothers and won't be far from catching up to that so-called genius of the Feng Family.'
Elias had made a vow to his father that he would become strong… stronger than the two sons whom he only cared for.
Thinking of catching up to his younger brothers, who were hailed as geniuses and had even joined the Greenfire Sect, Elias could not help but become excited.
"Master, I will go back to cultivate."
"Come, have a drink and relax a bit… just for today."
Just as Elias was about to return to his room to cultivate again, Ethan stopped him and asked him to sit down with him for a drink.
From the time he revived Elias, they hadn't communicated much.
Although Ethan knew Elias had goals and dreams through the system, Ethan wanted to learn more about Elias directly from him.
Soon, they drank the Morning Mist Brew as Ethan listened to Elias's past.
Ethan already knew Elias was from the Feng Family, but he didn't know exactly how unfairly he was treated. He was constantly compared to his younger stepbrothers, who joined the Greenfire Sect, while he was cast aside.
While his stepmother always found ways to get him into trouble, making him receive beatings from his father.
Elias's frustration was clear; it wasn't just about talent but favoritism and rigid family hierarchies.
'It's one thing to be looked down upon by outsiders, but when it's your own family, the pain cuts the deepest.'
Hearing his story, Ethan truly felt pity for him, and at the same time, he felt blessed for having the best parents in both his previous life and his current life.
"Kai, are you there?"
Amidst their discussion, Ethan heard the familiar voices knocking on the courtyard's gate.
"It seems like the Uncles have arrived after sensing your breakthrough."
Ethan could tell the reason behind the arrival of Uncle Merrick and the others.
Without any delay, he opened the barrier and let them enter his courtyard.
"Kai, we sensed the fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from your courtyard… it must be Elias."
"Congratulations, Elias."
Soon, Merrick and Rowan rushed to Ethan to ask about the fluctuations they had sensed earlier.
However, before they could finish their sentence, they noticed the unstable aura released by Elias and hurriedly congratulated him.
Although Elias was from the Feng Family, he had now left and become Ethan's follower.
Who was Ethan now? A Lin Family Temporary Elder who would become a Permanent Elder in no time. Therefore, the three Lin Brothers considered Elias as one of them.
With his breakthrough, the Lin Family added another Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator, making them slightly stronger than before.
Even though they didn't fully trust Elias, they trusted Ethan after their recent incident with the Feng Family.
"Thank you, Seniors."
Elias thanked them with a slight smile.
"Elias, even though you are staying in the Lin Family, there is still much opposition from the Elders of the family."
After some time, Merrick slowly said, "However, there is finally an opportunity to not only shut all of their mouths but also earn some rare cultivation resources and treasures."
"What is it, Uncle Merrick?"
Both Ethan and Elias curiously asked.
Report chapter Comments
Elias was not bothered about proving his loyalty to the Lin Family; however, when he heard 'Cultivation Resources,' Elias was excited.
After becoming Ethan's subordinate, he was always on the receiving end, and Elias felt that he could use that opportunity to earn some treasures and give them to Ethan.
As for Ethan, the word 'Treasures' instantly lit up his eyes as he never said no to them.
Other than using them for himself, Ethan had Elias, Sera, and his parents to take care of.
So, he wanted to see whether he could use whatever opportunity that Merrick was talking about to earn some treasures and cultivation resources.
Thus, both Ethan and Elias asked Merrick about it.
"Just a few days ago, the Greenfire Sect announced the date of the annual competition of the Five Cultivation Families of the Emerald Green Plains, the Beast Extermination Trial. It will be held exactly ten days from today."
It was Rowan who revealed the opportunity that Merrick was talking about.
"Beast Extermination Trial?"
"Beast Extermination Trial? Great!"
Ethan didn't know about the competition, whereas Elias knew about it as it was not his first time hearing about it.
"Kai, since you have been away from home for a few years, you must not know about it."
Merrick was not surprised that Ethan didn't know about the competition. So, he started explaining it.
"The Greenfire Sect owns dozens of Secret Realms, and one of them is the Berserk Beast Realm. Inside it, there are countless Rank 1 and Rank 2 beasts, along with hundreds of Rank 3 and a dozen or so Rank 4 Berserk Beasts."
"Every year, the Greenfire Sect hosts a competition for the five families: Lin, Feng, Wu, Zhao, and Han."
"Each family has to send three teams, with each team consisting of no more than three participants, into the Berserk Beast Realm to kill those Berserk Beasts. Depending on the number of kills, a ranking is given to the five families."
"Based on these rankings, the Greenfire Sect will allocate the Special Cultivation Resources."
While explaining the event, Rowan became excited as he said, "Previously, the Lin Family ranked third and received some good cultivation resources that helped me break through a level close to the Golden Core Realm."
"Of course, other than the rewards for the families, the participants will also be separately rewarded by the Greenfire Sect, and the families have no right to take those rewards from the participants."
From the side, Merrick explained the most important thing that Ethan and Elias needed to know as he added:
"Most importantly, there is almost no danger in the Secret Realm because the Sect Elders in charge of overseeing the event would almost immediately teleport the participants who are in danger out of the Secret Realm."
"Interesting."
Ethan felt it was a good event; however, he could not help but ask, "There are other Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators in the family, right? Why do you want to send me and Elias?"
No matter how much Ethan contributed to the Lin Family, he was still an outsider, and how could the Lin Family leave two outsiders to join the event when there were only limited slots?
"Master, it is because only cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm before the age of 25 are allowed to participate in the competition."
It was Elias who answered Ethan's question in a respectful tone.
"That's right! Two of the participants from last year have crossed the age limit set by the Greenfire Sect."
Merrick nodded and explained to Ethan, "Before you arrived, there were only seven members from the Lin Family who met the qualifications to participate in the event.
"Back then, I felt it was a Heaven's Blessing for the Lin Family when I learned you entered the Mystic Soil Domain and became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"So, I instantly offered you the position of an Elder of my Lin Family and even convinced others."
Merrick revealed one of the main reasons why he offered an Elder position to Ethan.
"Oh."
Ethan raised his eyebrows at Merrick's words; however, thinking about it, he felt that Uncle Merrick was a bit reckless in promoting him to an Elder of the Family.
"Just as we were wondering how to fill the ninth participant from the Lin Family, Elias broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Rowan hurriedly shifted the topic to Elias and said to Merrick, "Brother, after our Grandfather disappeared, the Heavens are looking after our Lin Family. Don't you think?"
"Yes."
Merrick was a person of belief who believed in the Heavens, and until now, the Heavens hadn't disappointed him … except for one thing, which was his missing Grandfather. Merrick thought there was still time for him to return home.
"Elias, as long as you join the event as a Lin Family member and contribute towards a good ranking, no one will talk about you staying in the Lin Family's courtyard."
After explaining to Ethan about the event, Rowan turned to Elias and asked him about his decision.
They didn't ask for Ethan's decision because Ethan, as a Temporary Elder, had to join the event for the sake of the family.
Since there was no danger in the Secret Realm, Merrick didn't think Ethan would refuse to join the event.
"Once you join the event as a Lin Family Member, it would be a slap in the face for the Feng Family. So, of course, you can reject it."
Merrick didn't forget to add one of the major consequences if Elias entered the Beast Extermination Trial as a Lin Family member.
"Since the Master will be entering the event, I will enter along with him."
Elias stopped caring about the Feng Family, and he wanted to earn his cultivation resources in order not to become a burden to his master.
"Good."
Merrick smiled, seeing the determination in Elias' eyes as he explained, "Since there must be three participants in a team, I will send your third teammate in a couple of days. So, you three can train together and plan some tactics for the upcoming event."
"Sure, Uncle Merrick."
Ethan nodded and asked some more questions related to the Beast Extermination Trial to understand more about it.
They continued talking, and after checking on Ethan's parents, both Merrick and Rowan decided to leave.
"Uncles, other than Elias's breakthrough, I have another good news to share."
After thinking for a moment, Ethan took out one of the two Perfect Quality Clearheart Lotus flowers and showed it as proof of completing his Elder Promotion Assessment, "I have successfully nurtured the Clearheart Lotus."
"What? You nurtured the Clearheart Lotus already?"
"Wait a second… this quality… it is a Perfect Quality Clearheart Lotus."
Hearing that Ethan successfully nurtured the Clearheart Lotus within a single month was one shock; however, when they noticed the quality of the harvested lotus, they were both thoroughly shocked.
"Does this mean I am now a Permanent Elder of the Lin Family, right?"
Ethan liked the shocked looks on their faces as he asked with a smiling face.
"Definitely. I will inform the Family Head about it and officially announce your status."
Merrick hurriedly nodded his head as he thought, 'As I expected, he is a Born Spirit Farmer.'
Soon, they left the courtyard to discuss Ethan's achievement with their Second Brother, Family Head Edwin.
…
Next day,
'The Small Pond… it has completed its transformation into a Spirit Pond. It is time to plant the Dragonheart Lotus.'
Report chapter Comments
Next day,
'The Small Pond, it has completed its transformation into a Spirit Pond. It is time to plant the Dragonheart Lotus.'
It's been two days since he placed the Mystic Water Pearl inside the Small Pond, and now, it has successfully become a Spirit Pond.
Since he now has a Spirit Pond, Ethan decided to plant the Dragonheart Lotus, which was a reward from the Mystic Soil Domain.
'I just hope that I can still nurture the Clearheart Lotuses along with this Dragonheart Lotus.'
Generally, the higher the rank of the Spirit Plant, the more Spirit Essence it requires, and nurturing other spirit plants close to such high-level spirit plants would make things harder for the low-level spirit plants.
Yesterday, he asked Merrick for more Clearheart Lotus Seeds, and Merrick promised to bring him some.
Nevertheless, Ethan believed that the small pond was enough to nurture some Clearheart Lotuses along with the Dragonheart Lotus, but he could only be sure when he actually grew them.
'For now, let's focus more on the Dragonheart Lotus.'
Since he was already planting lots of Azure Profound Grass in the Azure Serpent Realm, Ethan was more interested in nurturing the Dragonheart Lotus compared to a bunch of Clearheart Lotuses.
'Swiish'
Soon, Ethan used the usual farming techniques to plant it on the edge of the Spirit Pond, showered it with Spirit Rain, and then checked out the full information on the Dragonheart Lotus.
[Spirit Plant Name: Dragonheart Lotus]
[Grade: Rank 5 (Special)]
[Status: Unhappy: Are you going to provide me with something good or just some Spirit Rain?]
[Maturity: 10,000 days]
[Information: The Dragonheart Lotus needs Dragon Blood and someone to circulate a Lotus-related Cultivation Technique beside it.]
[Additional Information: There is a myth that if someone successfully nurtures a Perfect Quality Dragonheart Lotus, they will awaken a Cultivation Talent [Dragonheart].]
Ethan's eyes widened when he saw the maturity period of 10,000 days.
"That's nearly thirty years just to fully grow!"
Although he knew and expected to see a high maturity period for a Rank 5 Spirit Plant, Ethan didn't expect it to be this high.
Then, he saw the nurturing requirements—Dragon Blood and a cultivator circulating a Lotus-related technique nearby.
'But, let's see how much I can reduce its maturity period with my Special Cultivation Technique.'
With that thought, Ethan tried using the [Green Pulse Art] on the Dragonheart Lotus to reduce its maturity.
[Live Status: Unhappy: I want Dragon Blood or someone to circulate a Lotus-related cultivation technique sitting in front of me.]
[Maturity: 9,999 days]
'Huh? Only one day?'
After using the [Green Pulse Art] five times, he was able to reduce its maturity by one day, making Ethan understand one thing, 'Just the Plant Essence from the [Green Pulse Art] wasn't enough for it. I need to find Dragon Blood or a Lotus-related cultivation technique.'
Previously, when he nurtured the Spirit Grass, he used to provide Spirit Rain for them while using the [Green Pulse Art] to reduce their maturity period.
Since the Dragonheart Lotus is a Special Rank 5 Spirit Plant, it was not satisfied with the Spirit Rain but wanted Dragon Blood and a Lotus-type Cultivation Technique.
'I can look for a Lotus-related Cultivation Technique in the Lin Family's Scripture Room, whereas the Dragon Blood… I should buy it from the markets or from the Greenfire Exchange Hall.'
With that thought in mind, Ethan stopped thinking about the Dragonheart Lotus.
…..
'Swiish'
As Ethan was taking care of the Spirit Grass, he sensed slight fluctuations of the Spirit Essence from Elias's room.
'Looks like he used the Azure Foundation Pill to stabilize and break through to the next level.'
Ethan was a bit excited and waited for some system notifications, hoping to trigger the [Primal Beast Sovereign] to get some Life Points.
However, Ethan was left disappointed as no system notifications appeared, making him realize, 'So, I will get Life Points only when they break through a Major Realm.'
….
Inside Elias's room,
'Phew... finally, I have reached Level 2 Foundation Establishment Realm.'
Elias heaved a sigh of relief and took out a bottle filled with azure-colored pills inside.
'With these ten Azure Essence Pills, I must not only break through to Level 3 Foundation Establishment Realm before the event [Beast Extermination Trial] begins, but I should also increase the mastery of my cultivation techniques.'
'As long as I do well in the event, I can help Master get some cultivation resources.'
After knowing the date of the [Beast Extermination Trial, Elias became serious and set two small goals to achieve before the event began.
….
Time continued to pass, and in a flash, another day passed by; however, there was no response from Merrick or Rowan, making Ethan wonder what they were discussing so much about.
Nevertheless, he was not too worried and focused on nurturing Spirit Plants, spending time with his parents, and the remaining time cultivating.
'I am able to refine my Foundation Bead by 13-15 percent every day. At this rate, I can break through to Level 6 Foundation Establishment Realm before the event.'
Even Ethan was excited about the upcoming event because he was confident in his [Shadow Steps] and the [Blazing Sun Palm].
'Also, there is [Primal Beast Transformation Art, using it, I can transform into three spirit beasts for an hour.'
He was just hoping to find some useful spirit beasts that he could record into his cultivation technique to transform into in the future.
'As for my Special Talent [Primal Beast Sovereign, I wonder whether I can form a contract with these Berserk Beasts.'
Thinking about all these, Ethan was excitedly looking forward to entering the Berserk Beast Realm.
'Ding,
The [Godly Revival Ability] has come out of cooldown.'
Finally, Ethan received the system notification he was waiting for, and without wasting any time, he took out the [Heavenly Gamble Fruit].
'It's time to consume the [Heavenly Gamble Fruit].'
'Kacha'
'Gulp'
Ethan ate it in three bites and waited with his heart pounding with anticipation.
The Heavenly Gamble Fruit was true to its name, carrying three possible outcomes:
1) 33.33% chance of awakening a new Cultivation Talent.
2) 33.33% chance of nothing happening at all.
3) 33.33% chance of instant death.
As the fruit's essence spread through his body, Ethan clenched his fists, anticipation and tension coiling within him.
"Will I gain power, feel nothing, or die on the spot?"
For a moment, Ethan felt nothing unusual, which made his brows furrow as he assumed, "Did I trigger the 'Nothing will happen' effect?"
But before he could be disappointed that he didn't awaken a Cultivation Talent, a sudden, excruciating pain exploded in his chest.
His vision blurred, his limbs convulsed, and his spirit energy spiraled wildly out of control.
His body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
"Don't tell me I triggered the third effect... Instant Death?"
How could Ethan not guess what was happening to him? However, he could only bitterly smile, enduring the excruciating pain for a while.
After a few moments, his vision turned black, and by the time he regained consciousness, he was in his soul form, receiving a series of system notifications.
'Ding,
The host has been killed by the Heavens and triggered the [Godly Revival Ability].
'Ding,
Generating the [Interface of the Killer's Stats]
'Ding,
.
.
.
'What? Killed by the Heavens?'
Report chapter Comments
'What? Killed by the Heavens?'
Looking at the first system notification, Ethan was not disappointed with the Heavenly Gamble Fruit; instead, he was excited.
That's right!
Ethan was excited about being killed by the Heavens because he hoped he could buy some exciting stuff from the [Interface of the Killer's Stats].
'Ding,
The host has received 1064 Life Points.
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 13549.
'I am missing my Multiplier Life Card.'
Looking at the Life Points he received for his death, Ethan could not help but think of the Multiplier Life Card.
After a few moments of waiting, the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] had finally generated and appeared in front of Ethan's soul.
[Interface of Killer's Stats]
[1) [Cultivation] Level 7 Foundation Establishment Realm - 10,000 Life Points]
[2) [Heavenly Technique] Heavenly Spirit Essence Refining Technique (Beginner's Stage) - 10,000 Life Points]
[3) [Heavenly Item] Heavenly Lifespan Dew - 10,000 Life Points]
[4) [Heavenly Talent] Heaven's Virtue - 10,000 Life Points]
[5) [Heavenly Beast Companion] Spirit Beast Egg - 10,000 Life Points]
Like he expected, the [Interface of Killer's Stats] offered tempting options, each carrying immense value.
He couldn't help but notice that every option, except for [Cultivation, was labeled with the word 'Heavenly,' emphasizing their divine origins.
'T-this…what should I buy?'
Except for the [Cultivation, Ethan was interested in all the other options in the [Interface].
Actually, the options in the interface were from the Heavens, which he could afford, and if he had more Life Points, then the options would have been even more terrifying.
But the problem was, with his current Life Points, Ethan could only afford one option from the interface.
'Let's think and make a wise decision.'
With his Special Talent [Radiant Clear Heart, Ethan believed he would make a wise decision.
Hence, Ethan started checking out the pros and cons of each option that was available on the Interface.
'With my High-level Spirit Root, I can easily increase my cultivation now.'
He directly eliminated the [Cultivation] and focused on the remaining options.
'The Heavenly Technique…just the beginner's stage mastery costs 10,000 Life Points. How crazily fast will my Cultivation Speed become if I use that cultivation technique?'
Although there was no additional information available on the items listed on the Interface, Ethan knew that all the options displayed on the [Interface of the Killer's Stats] were greatly useful to him, the host…at least, that's what the system had said.
So far, it hadn't been wrong.
'With this, I can definitely break through to the Golden Core Realm in no time, and after breaking through, I could earn more Life Points and unlock new System Features.'
Ethan kept it on hold before focusing on the next item.
'Heavenly Lifespan Dew…if my guess is right, it might increase my Lifespan by at least 1000 years, but I can increase my Lifespan through other methods.'
If it had said it would increase his Lifespan by 10,000 years, Ethan would have blindly chosen it; however, he was not sure about it.
'The third option is Heavenly Talent, [Heaven's Virtue]...Although I don't know its exact effects, I do know it has something to do with doing good things.'
Moreover, he believed that he could potentially add another source of earning Life Points through this talent as he thought, 'If this talent is what I think it is, I can earn lots of Life Points.'
'As for the last one, I wanted a Spirit Beast…especially one related to the Heavens; however, it is relatively the least useful option to me when compared to other options.'
Ethan eliminated the Spirit Beast Egg, and in the end, Ethan was down to only two options.
[Heavenly Spirit Essence Refining Technique]
[Heaven's Virtue]
"Which one should I choose?"
Ethan's mind raced as he stared at the two options on the glowing interface before him.
After thinking for a moment, his gaze lingered on [Heaven's Virtue] for a moment longer.
'It's decided. I will choose [Heaven's Virtue].'
In the end, Ethan chose the [Heavenly Talent].
The ability to passively earn Life Points just by doing good deeds was too powerful to ignore.
'Ding,
The host has spent 10,000 Life Points and bought the Heavenly Talent [Heaven's Virtue].
'Ding,
Available Life Points: 3549.
'There goes my goal of accumulating 50,000 Life Points.'
Ethan bitterly smiled, looking at his available Life Points and thought, 'If I can accumulate another 6500 Life Points in a week or two, I can buy the Heavenly Technique.'
That's right!
Although he had bought the [Heaven's Virtue, Ethan had not given up on the Heavenly Technique…at least not yet.
'As long as I don't die, I can stop the options on the interface from disappearing just by spending one Life Point.'
According to the rules of the [Interface of the Killer's Stats, all the options on the interface would expire within a week regardless of whether Ethan bought them or not.
Of course, by spending one Life Point, he could stop the available options on the interface from disappearing.
However, there was a twist in that rule, which states that the host should not die, and if he did, the old interface would disappear, and a new interface with different options would appear in front of Ethan.
'Although I won't be able to get my weekly 1064 Life Points, as long as I can stop the Heavenly Options from disappearing, it is totally worth it.'
Ethan didn't know when he could get the Heavenly Options again, and thus, he decided not to die for the next few weeks and earn as many Life Points as possible.
'It looks like I should speed up the nurturing of my Azure Profound Grass in the Azure Serpent Realm.'
Currently, Ethan believed that his only source of getting a huge amount of Life Points was from harvesting the Azure Profound Grass in the Azure Serpent Realm.
'But, even if I regularly nurture them for the next nine days, I can't harvest them. Do I have to wait to harvest them until I return from the [Beast Extermination Trial]?'
While he was in his soul form, many thoughts ran through his head, thinking of all possible ways to earn 10,000 Life Points as soon as possible.
'I can get 1100 Life Points from harvesting the Spirit Grass in four days.'
'After that, I will plant the Mutated Spirit Grass, and as long as I evolve them into Blood Spirit Grass while harvesting them, I can get another 4400 Life Points in 15 to 20 days from planting the seeds.'
Ethan started calculating how many Life Points he was guaranteed to get in the next few days.
'Since I only need less than 6500 Life Points to buy the [Heavenly Spirit Essence Refining Technique, I just need to find a way to earn 1000 Life Points.'
'Since I have multiple Special Talents and even the new addition, Heavenly Talent, earning 1000 Life Points in 20 days shouldn't be difficult, right?'
'I…I think I can buy that cultivation technique.'
At the end of his thoughts and calculations, Ethan could not help but feel excited because he was confident in buying that Heavenly Cultivation Technique.
One hour quickly passed, and Ethan successfully revived.
'It's time to check my Heavenly Talent.'
The first thing he did after reviving was to check out the information on his new talent, which only made his eyes light up.
'Ding,
Heavenly Talent: Heaven's Virtue.
Effect:...
