Chapter Seventy-Five: Additional Benefits
“What?” The elder at the front was taken aback when he heard this, as were the three Nascent Soul cultivators. They followed the gaze upward to the fifth floor, and saw that the identity token outside the sixth floor was floating there, swaying slightly from time to time, but undeniably lingering on the sixth level.
“This boy is mine!” the Third Elder declared resolutely.
“Hmph, Ziyang, this young man is mine. Don’t even think about it!” the old man snapped, shooting a glare at him and speaking in an icy tone.
Ziyang met the old man’s gaze coldly and replied calmly, “What, Yaoxuzi, do you want to fight?”
With that, his aura burst forth, pressing down on the old man.
“As if I’d be afraid of you!” the old man retorted with a snort, unleashing his own pressure to counter Ziyang’s.
The two auras collided, creating a terrifying storm that sent the surrounding cultivators sprawling, and only a few with profound cultivation could remain upright.
“Damn! What’s gotten into these two elders from Snowveil Sect? Looks like they’re about to fight!”
“This is bad. If Nascent Soul cultivators start fighting here, we’ll definitely get caught in the crossfire!”
“Surely they won’t, right? They’re elders from the same sect!”
“Sigh, fellow cultivator, you’re still too young!”
...
Aside from the Snowveil Sect’s sect master, everyone present was struggling under the oppressive force of the two Nascent Soul elders, looking rather disheveled.
The sect master could only sigh helplessly. One elder specialized in alchemy, the other in formations—both fields required powerful spiritual sense as a foundation. These two were peers, and having reached the limit of their talents at Nascent Soul, with little lifespan remaining, it was only natural they’d be eager to pass on their legacies. No wonder they were so agitated.
At this moment, the sect master intervened, placing both hands on their shoulders and barking, “Enough!”
Instantly, the oppressive force from both elders vanished.
They ceased their confrontation at the sect master’s intervention, but the argument continued.
“Sect master, tell us—which is superior, alchemy or formation?” the Third Elder demanded hotly.
“Uh...” The sect master was momentarily speechless. If he could answer that outright, of course he’d say alchemy was better!
Both alchemists and formation masters required powerful spiritual sense to reach true accomplishment, but for a sect’s development, an alchemist was a walking treasure trove of cultivation resources!
As for formation masters, though also important—useful for formations, restrictions, and the like—when it came to long-term growth, alchemists were the sect’s first choice.
Seeing the sect master hesitate, the Third Elder realized his own question was rather foolish. Most of the cultivators present would surely side with alchemy! Though his passion for formations ran deep, he couldn’t deny that alchemists were what the sect needed most.
The old man shot the Third Elder a satisfied look—wasn’t the answer obvious?
The sect master cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment and said in a deep voice, “Alchemy and formation are equally important, but since you both wish to take the young man as your disciple, it should be his decision. You’ll each have to present your terms and see who can win him over!”
At these words, both elders’ eyes lit up. In terms of their own status, they were equals—but to a little cultivator who had just completed Core Formation, the resources they could offer would be unimaginably vast!
They both readily agreed to the sect master’s proposal.
On the sixth floor, Chen Xiang dropped to his knees the moment he stepped in.
He braced himself against the floor with trembling arms.
He had severely underestimated the pressure here. He thought the fifth floor was like carrying a stone on his back and the sixth would only be slightly heavier. Little did he know—it wasn’t just heavier, it was like being crushed by a mountain!
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe in cultivators, earning 140 reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring admiration in cultivators, earning 130 reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe in cultivators, earning 150 reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring awe in cultivators, earning 140 reputation points!”
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for inspiring admiration in cultivators, earning 120 reputation points!”
...
A string of system notifications sounded in his mind.
Chen Xiang smiled through the pain. This was a good haul! He hadn’t expected that a bit of suffering would net him over four thousand reputation points!
It seemed his plan for a windfall was working!
Fortunately, his spiritual sense was strong enough to withstand it, but advancing any further was impossible—the pressure here was simply overwhelming.
Just as he was pondering a solution, two new messages popped up.
“Ding! Host ‘Chen Xiang’ is detected to be in a Spiritual Sense Tempering Sanctuary. Remain here for one hour to automatically temper your spiritual sense. Upon completion, spiritual sense will be enhanced by 30 points!”
“Ding! Host ‘Chen Xiang’ is detected to be in a Spiritual Sense Tempering Sanctuary. Cultivating the Spirit Refining Technique here will be 30% faster!”
Chen Xiang was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
He had only expected to be able to train the Spirit Refining Technique faster, but there was an unexpected bonus—just by staying an hour, his spiritual sense would increase by 30 points! And with no side effects—this was equivalent to half a drop of Fragrant Soul Essence, worth five hundred reputation points!
“Train! Of course I’ll train!” Chen Xiang exclaimed delightedly.
He endured the pressure and began silently circulating the Spirit Refining Technique.
He could clearly feel his cultivation speed soaring—like he was flying!
...
Soon, an hour had passed.
“Ding! Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for successfully tempering your spiritual sense. Spiritual sense increased by 30 points!”
“Boom!”
As the system notification ended, Chen Xiang’s mind felt as if it exploded, turning momentarily blank.
In that instant, his divine sense broke through its shackles and burst forth from his body. He could feel it had become denser—if before it was like a sheet of paper, now it was like a piece of cloth!
“So this is the benefit of tempering spiritual sense? If I do this a few more times, I’ll never have to fear spiritual assaults again!” Chen Xiang thought in amazement.
Speaking of spiritual assaults, he remembered the mysterious power radiating from the “King” character on Pipishan’s head. That was an experience he never wanted to repeat!
In fact, his spiritual sense had increased by more than 30 points—the accelerated Spirit Refining Technique over the hour had added another five or so.
As his spiritual sense strengthened, the pressure on his body abruptly lessened. The mountain became a boulder, and he could stand up.
The tempering reward for this level had been completed, and as his spiritual sense increased, the boost to his Spirit Refining Technique’s speed dropped—from 30% down to 12%. If he wanted more benefits, he’d have to climb higher!
Chen Xiang’s gaze fell upon the staircase to the seventh floor.
“To be continued...”