Chapter Eighteen: Another Surge in Power
A storm of energy swept across the land once more, sending sand and stones flying in chaos. Five figures shot out from the heart of the tempest, striding on air and hovering high above the ground. Each exuded a natural, commanding presence, their auras formidable and awe-inspiring. Apart from the Sect Master of Azure Veil Sect, whose robes were somewhat disheveled, the other four bore only minor injuries.
“Damn it! I swear by my position as the Sect Master of Azure Veil, I will see this boy slain. Should I fail in this vow, may my cultivation never advance another step!” the Sect Master roared, eyes bloodshot, his voice echoing across a hundred miles.
Though he had prepared and escaped injury, the humiliation he suffered today was beyond measure.
“The Demonflame Sect will issue a hunt as well, to aid Master Li in eradicating this foe,” a middle-aged man beside him declared in a deep voice.
“The Sword of Shadows Sect stands with you,” another intoned.
“So does the Primordial Source Monastery…”
One after another, the four other sect leaders announced their pursuit, pledging their support to Azure Veil.
They had barely arrived and found their footing before being struck by a powerful spell—injured before they could even raise their defenses. Yet their wounds mattered little compared to the greater indignity: not only had they lost several Core Formation elders, but their reputations had suffered a stinging blow. This they could not abide.
“Is it true? All five great sects are now hunting that man?”
“To kill so many Core Formation elders at the peak of Foundation Establishment—he must be a peerless prodigy. What a pity…”
“What’s to pity? He won’t live long with all five sects on his tail!”
From afar, the watching cultivators were thunderstruck. The youth was terrifying—enough to warrant the simultaneous pursuit of five major sects. In a sense, that alone was a badge of honor. Many marveled at his extraordinary talent for stirring up trouble.
Meanwhile, a solitary figure appeared as if from thin air in a secluded mountain ravine several dozen miles away—it was Chen Xiang.
Fearing that ten miles was too close to safety, he had used four or five spatial escape talismans in succession. They were cheap enough; he could always buy more.
“Haha! You want to trap me? You’ll need a few more millennia of cultivation first!” Chen Xiang laughed heartily.
These spatial escape talismans were truly useful—if he couldn’t win a fight, he could always flee, and they would never catch him. He resolved to stock up on a larger supply.
Just as he was reveling in his success, a system notification chimed in his ear.
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for being hunted by five sects. You have earned the ‘Troublemaker’ achievement and receive 300 reputation points.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe among cultivators. You have gained 20 reputation points.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe among cultivators. You have gained 40 reputation points.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe among cultivators. You have gained 30 reputation points.”
Chen Xiang stared in surprise at the notifications, then burst out laughing. “What a brilliant performance! I can’t believe I’ve racked up over five hundred reputation points in the blink of an eye.”
Stroking his chin, he mused, “I never imagined I’d end up hunted by five sects. I suppose it was that last Sea-Turning Seal that exploded among the four Nascent Soul cultivators—they survived, but none perished. Still, the power wasn’t quite enough.”
“No matter. Now that I have enough reputation points, I’ll exchange them for the second volume of the Chaos Codex. At this rate, next time they won’t be the ones hunting me.” Chen Xiang shook his head and smiled coldly.
He opened the system shop and spent 500 reputation points to redeem the second volume of the Chaos Codex.
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, for successfully redeeming the second volume of the Chaos Codex. (Note: The second volume allows cultivation up to the peak of the Spirit Void stage. Please redeem volume three to progress further.)”
“Ding! Detected: Heaven-grade technique, Chaos Codex, volume two. Begin cultivating?”
“Yes!” Chen Xiang replied, thinking that this second volume would allow him to cultivate to the very peak of Spirit Void—it was still a long road ahead.
“Ding! Chaos Codex, volume two, cultivation successful.”
At once, Chen Xiang’s body radiated dazzling light, a spectrum of colors flickering about him before finally settling. Then, with a thunderous surge, spiritual energy flooded his meridians, gathering at his abdomen.
He focused his mind and sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation.
No one was around to disturb him. After more than an hour, Chen Xiang slowly opened his eyes.
He felt a surge in his own strength—far greater than before—and now, a lustrous golden core rested within his dantian. The Core Formation stage, also known as the Golden Core stage, was the very essence and culmination of a cultivator’s progress up to this point.
Chen Xiang wiped the sweat from his brow, thinking, “I thought breaking through to Core Formation would be as easy as advancing to Foundation Establishment. Turns out, I had to focus and condense the golden core. I’ll have to be more careful with future breakthroughs.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, on leveling up—current stage: Core Formation, Level One.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, on leveling up—current stage: Core Formation, Level Two.”
The experience stored in the experience pool now had its effect—Chen Xiang instantly advanced two levels.
“Right, when I killed those Core Formation cultivators, the system confiscated their golden cores. I wonder what they’re for?” Chen Xiang suddenly remembered.
He opened the system space and found the golden cores—six in total. That meant six Core Formation cultivators had fallen to him.
“[Core Formation Cultivator’s Golden Core]: The life’s essence of a Core Formation cultivator. Use for a 30% chance to gain the target’s techniques and experience; 20% chance of suffering a backlash and losing a level; 50% chance of failure with no effect. Recycle for 10,000 experience.”
“Wait—a feature like this?” Chen Xiang exclaimed in surprise.
He had little interest in their techniques and experience, and the risk of losing a level, plus the high chance of nothing happening, hardly seemed worth it. Recycling each golden core for 10,000 experience, though—that was appealing. Killing a Core Formation cultivator would be like slaying two at once. Since he wanted to strengthen himself quickly, this was perfect.
He immediately recycled all six golden cores.
“Ding! Golden core recycled. Gained 10,000 experience.”
“Ding! Golden core recycled. Gained 10,000 experience.”
…
“Ding! Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, on leveling up—current stage: Core Formation, Level Three.”
A string of system notifications chimed in his ear.
“What? Sixty thousand experience only raised me a single level?” Chen Xiang was stunned.
He opened his personal status panel.
Host: Chen Xiang
Stage: Core Formation, Level Three (Mastery)
Experience: 14,007/100,000
Reputation: 613
Mastery Points: 137
Cultivation Technique: Chaos Codex (Volume Two)
Martial Arts: Imperial Seal Technique (Progress: 20%, Second Seal mastered), Thunderstep of Three Thousand (Perfected)
Profession: Cultivator
...
“Damn, a hundred thousand experience for a single level?” Chen Xiang leapt to his feet in shock.
That meant he’d have to slay at least five Core Formation cultivators to level up again—and that was only for the third level; the requirements would only increase from here. Where would he find so many Core Formation cultivators to kill?
“Oh well. This damned system—when the cart reaches the mountain, there’ll be a road; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will straighten itself out. I’ll take things one step at a time.” Chen Xiang shook his head.
He picked a direction and set off.
“To be continued…”