Chapter 320: Rapid Progress

Chapter 320 Soaring Progress

Three fires illuminate six palaces, four fires shine upon seven palaces, five fires brighten eight palaces!

At this moment, beneath Xu Qing’s fate-mist, the six illusory heavenly palaces emanated a hazy glow, forming a force of station that lifted his cultivation from the Foundation Establishment tier in a single bound, firming it within the Golden Core tier.

And within the fate-mist, the seventh and eighth illusory heavenly palaces, though veiled by the mist, still blazed with radiance; yet compared to these eight palaces, the ninth palace at the very summit was truly unparalleled, dazzling beyond measure.

That ninth palace was formed from the Seven-Colored Wind-Chime Lamp, its light piercing, penetrating the fate-mist, illuminating all directions.

Within it, the Seven-Colored Wind-Chime Lamp held dominion, generating terrifying ripples that transformed into an awe-inspiring pressure; this single palace alone possessed the power of six fires.

Now, as Xu Qing raised his second fate-lamp, a thunderous roar, like a god’s howl and all things’ bellow, erupted in his sea of consciousness, sending ripples spreading outside his body, stirring the winds and clouds, changing the hues of heaven and earth.

Then, the Great Black Umbrella pierced through everything, appearing above the ninth palace in the fate-mist, where it suddenly flashed with blinding light. The thunderous roar continued, the light like a sea, sweeping over all. Meanwhile, around this fate-lamp of the Great Black Umbrella, heavenly palaces swiftly formed, manifesting visibly to the eye.

Not illusory, but substantial.

This was the tenth palace!

Unlike the ninth palace’s swirling seven-colored radiance, the tenth palace was pitch-black, with endless black flames burning within, making it seem a hellish nether palace.

While striking to the eye, a formidable power also emanated from within, making Xu Qing’s combat strength at this moment soar far beyond what it had ever been!

He not only advanced to Golden Core but in a single step formed two heavenly palaces!

In the Wanggu Continent, heavenly-palace Golden Core was a watershed for cultivators. Below Golden Core were all low-level cultivators, focusing on foundations; only upon stepping into Golden Core did the foundation become complete, and subsequent cultivation would undergo a qualitative leap.

Especially for someone like him, who upon advancing had already surpassed many Golden Core protectors of the alliances—such a feat was rare in the world.

For instance, Sima Ru had never completed the construction of a second heavenly palace over many years.

From this, the importance of fate-lamps could also be seen.

But Xu Qing’s combat strength was not limited to this; he also had the royal-grade technique undergoing transformation.

Taking it all together, Xu Qing’s combat strength had already surpassed that of ordinary cultivators with two heavenly palaces.

Not to mention his venomous core.

What now lay before Xu Qing was to quickly form his third heavenly palace, suppressing the venomous core within it, so that his cultivation and combat power could erupt once more.

Then, in one go, all the remaining heavenly palaces would turn from illusory to real existence. By then, with ten heavenly palaces upon him, his combat strength would reach a terrifying degree, shocking cultivators of the same realm.

This process would not be very long, for his Golden Core technique was unlike that of others.

Xu Qing’s eyes suddenly snapped open. The mark formed in his mind by his master’s taught Ghostly Abyssal Plunder Dao Technique diffused at this moment, merging into his mind, while his right hand slowly turned transparent.

As if caught between the real and the unreal.

Xu Qing lowered his head and looked at his right hand. He could feel within it a terrifying aura, and an endless strangeness as well.

This hand could reach into an enemy’s sea of consciousness, break open their heavenly palaces, seize the Golden Core within, and plunder it out alive. Moreover, in Xu Qing’s perception, this right hand of his also filled the strange with awe.

“Master said that when this technique is cultivated to the extreme, my entire body can exist between the real and the unreal, thus evading most dangers.” Xu Qing murmured in his heart, a look of decisiveness in his eyes.

He urgently wanted to improve himself, to become stronger.

After a long moment, Xu Qing took a deep breath. He knew he had to be even more diligent than before. With a thought, his right hand instantly returned to normal.

Xu Qing stood calmly, faced the sky, and saluted the Third Peak Master, who had been protecting his path, with a respectful clasped fist.

“I thank Third Lord.”

In this opening of his dharma apertures and advancement, Third Lord had been watching from the sky the whole time. Xu Qing knew this was due to his master, but he was still deeply grateful.

In the heavens, the Third Peak Master’s eyes glittered with strange light as he looked at Xu Qing, his admiration undisguised. In his view, Xu Qing could be counted among the most brilliant disciples of the Seven Blood Eyes in recent years.

“Survive, and in the future, the Welcome Emperor Prefecture will have a place for you.” The Third Peak Master spoke slowly.

Xu Qing bowed again.

The Third Peak Master waved his hand; the surrounding formation dissolved, and his figure also faded from the sky.

Xu Qing gazed at the spot where the Third Peak Master had vanished, then looked at the vast bronze ancient mirror high above. After a while, he took out his dharma vessel, stepped onto it, and with a thought, the vessel’s spirit let out a roar, suddenly emitting power equivalent to Golden Core, shooting off toward the distance.

So fast that in an instant it brought Xu Qing to the harbor; without pause, he leaped away, charging into the Forbidden Sea.

When he came, he was a Fourth-Fire Foundation Establishment cultivator; when he left, he was a Two-Palace Golden Core cultivator.

The difference in combat strength was like a chasm.

In this rapid flight, Xu Qing gazed into the distance, and after a long moment suddenly spoke.

“Wandering Spirit.”

“Master!” The next instant, the black iron slip appeared beside Xu Qing, and within it the form of the Vajra Sect Ancestor manifested, traces of awe still on his face, kneeling and speaking nervously.

“Your combat strength is a bit weak. If you can’t keep pace with me…” Xu Qing didn’t finish, looking at the Vajra Sect Ancestor with deep eyes.

The Vajra Sect Ancestor shuddered, immediately lifted his head, pounded his chest, and shouted loudly.

“Master, rest assured! This servant has been preparing for that all along, and was just about to report to you. At most six months—no, at most three months! This servant’s lightning spirit body will advance again, transforming spirit into soul!”

The Vajra Sect Ancestor’s eyes were red; he was giving it his all.

In truth, he was still far from breaking through, but now there was no choice. He felt that if he didn’t work countless times harder, given Xu Qing’s current state, he would surely become cannon fodder.

But to break through in three months, he needed a lot of nourishment. After hesitating, the Vajra Sect Ancestor spoke in a low voice.

“Master, actually I can also absorb souls. Before, when advancing to lightning spirit, I needed to absorb dharma artifacts; now, to advance to lightning soul, I need a great many souls…”

“Good.”

Xu Qing looked at the Vajra Sect Ancestor. He had originally intended to say that if the other couldn’t keep up, he would release him, since the Vajra Sect Ancestor had done things to his satisfaction over the years.

But since the other had said this, Xu Qing thought about it and didn’t bring it up.

Meanwhile, the shadow, seeing this, also grew anxious and spontaneously emitted emotional fluctuations.

“Three… same!?”

“Fragment… me… three… break!”

Without needing the Vajra Sect Ancestor to interpret, Xu Qing understood that the shadow was referring to the forbidden artifact fragment he had obtained from Sima Ling earlier.

Before, Xu Qing felt he couldn’t easily give it away; the shadow’s instinct for backlash could easily cause trouble.

But now that he had stepped into Heavenly Palace Golden Core, the situation was different. So Xu Qing nodded, waved his hand to produce that fragment, and tossed it onto the shadow on the ground.

The next instant, the shadow cheered, rapidly spreading over it, enveloping it, and greedily began to absorb.

Several days later, Xu Qing saw the harbor of the Eight Sect Alliance from afar. This entire journey had taken him over half a month—not very long, but for the sect’s restoration, with the Alliance’s collective effort, the traces of the calamity’s descent were already nearly invisible.

The miasma had been dispelled to the extreme; what remained, amid the diffusion of the immortal energy from the Ancient River of Soaring Immortals, was almost imperceptible. Meanwhile, the sect had also built several arrays specially for dispelling miasma, always active.

All buildings had been repaired. Except for the lingering oppression and silence in the city that wouldn’t soon vanish, everything else was as usual.

Xu Qing’s return was only told to his master, not to anyone else.

After arriving, Xu Qing sat cross-legged at his dock and continued cultivating, familiarizing himself with the state of his Heavenly Palace Golden Core while also studying the Ghostly Abyssal Plunder Dao Technique in his mind.

At the same time, he was adapting to the techniques that had changed in power due to his breakthrough.

Whether it was the Abyssal Nether Finger, the Roaring Sea Ninefold, or the Under the Nine Springs, Xu Qing was re-exploring them all.

In addition, his lifebound Flood Dragon had also changed after the breakthrough.

This Flood Dragon, as the spirit within his lifebound dharma aperture, would have become the first Golden Core Xu Qing refined and suppressed within the first heavenly palace, if not for his venomous core and fate-lamp palaces.

For this, Xu Qing would not yield; he prepared the poison dan and the Golden Dan to nurture in unison.

"As for the Golden Crow refining the Ten-Thousand-Spirit, another devouring is needed to ascend to the second stage." Xu Qing closed his eyes, sensing his Emperor-level law, and pondered deeply.

Time ebbed and flowed as Xu Qing adapted to the Golden Dan realm, day by day. With the alliance's recovery, the fervor for seeking information about the Candles had grown exponentially.

Especially the Seven Blood Eye, which the Seventh Lord personally oversaw the pursuit of Candles' traces.

Whether it be the Eight-Clan Alliance or the Seven Blood Eye, each required a massacre to vent their suppressed fury—and Xu Qing did as well. So he waited.

Yet the search for information and the peeling away of truths demanded time; no one would underestimate the Candles at this juncture, nor dare fall into any trap.

Thus, before the information was confirmed, the Seven Blood Eye welcomed visitors from the East Islet's Dongyong Island, where hundreds of cultivators surged like a tempest.

The leader was the Dongyong elder and his granddaughter, Yan Yan.

As intimate allies of the Seven Blood Eye, their arrival underscored the gravity of the matter, prompting the duo to conspire alongside the Seven Blood Eye for a grand design against the Candles.

Almost upon their arrival, Yan Yan stealthily slipped away during the meeting between Blood-Forged Son, the Seventh Lord, and the Dongyong elder.

She evidently held the Seven Blood Eye in deep regard, yet more so for Xu Qing.

Thus, without needing to inquire about Xu Qing's whereabouts, Yan Yan hastened to his mooring at once.

"Xu Qing gege, Yan Yan misses you so much."

Beyond the warship, Yan Yan stood aloof, her voice a whisper.