Sky-rushing Palm: A Fake Letter

The effects of switching to Fourth-Order Technique are quite significant.

Although Xiao Chen is still somewhat unfamiliar with the "Disaster Transfer Art, he has only just begun to learn the basics.

However, compared to the <Myriad Images Spring Return Scripture>, which took twenty days.

After returning this time, he condensed a new true essence in just four days, five times faster than before.

With the added effect of the Yin Five Elements Seal, a total of five new streams of true essence were obtained.

"I'm so tired. Accumulating one New True Essence every day on average is really tough on me."

Xiao Chen let out a soft Turbid Qi, feeling that this was perhaps a bit too slow.

So I silently did some mental calculations.

If this pace continues, it will take him at least seven or eight years just to accumulate the three thousand strands of true essence needed for the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

Although he also understood that as he gradually became more familiar with the "Disaster Transfer Art".

Once he reaches the Lesser Accomplishment Realm, his Cultivation Speed should be able to double again.

If one cultivates further to the point of Cultivation Method, it may even be possible to refine a New True Essence every day.

It's just the same speed as the Yin Five Elements Wheel.

Even if Xiao Chen reaches that level, it is estimated that it will take him more than four years to be qualified to touch the first Minor Bottleneck of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Moreover, it should be understood that this is merely the time required to accumulate true essence.

This doesn't even take into account the extra time that might be spent practicing Law Technique, earning cultivation resources, and breaking through Minor Bottleneck.

Of course, for Xiao Chen, breaking through Minor Bottleneck would actually bring him additional benefits.

But for other cultivators, this was pure difficulty.

Is this situation really reasonable?

Xiao Chen vaguely sensed something was wrong. "Logically speaking, shouldn't cultivation become easier as I get stronger?"

"But why is it that the higher my cultivation level, the harder it seems to become in the process of cultivating immortality?"

"This feeling is so strange."

A strange thought suddenly popped into Xiao Chen's mind.

This feels just like earning Spirit Stone.

When I was still Qi Refining Cultivator, I counted my Spirit Stone on my fingers.

Back then, saving up several hundred Spirit Stone to buy Law Artifact was no easy feat.

After becoming Foundation Establishment Cultivator, accumulating a few hundred Spirit Stone is not difficult. However, only a handful of people can afford to spend ten thousand Spirit Stone to purchase Top-Grade Magical Artifact.

If you break through to the Golden Core stage, 10,000 Spirit Stone will no longer be a hurdle.

However, a single Spirit Artifact costs at least 100,000 Spirit Stone, and even among the True Disciple of powerful sects, very few can accumulate more than a million Spirit Stone.

From initially earning 100 Spirit Stone, to earning 10,000 Spirit Stone, and then to earning 1 million Spirit Stone, it seems like the increase is the same multiple.

However, the difference between one hundred Spirit Stone and ten thousand Spirit Stone is actually only a little over nine thousand Spirit Stone.

However, the difference between 10,000 Spirit Stone and 1 million Spirit Stone is a full 990,000 Spirit Stone!

As a cultivator grows stronger, he earns more Spirit Stone, but the difficulty of accumulating to the next order of magnitude increases.

Just as the difficulty of cultivation increases dramatically with each breakthrough in a Major Realm.

The Compassion Sea is home to tens of millions of cultivators, but how many of them can actually produce a million Spirit Stone?

They are probably even rarer than Nascent Soul True Lord, aren't they?

"If you think about it that way, the two do have something in common; they both get increasingly difficult!"

Xiao Chen couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Why are you sighing? Is cultivation too tiring?"

Su Li carried a plate to the beach. "I just saw some ripe Autumn Moon Pear, so I picked out a few of the biggest ones to make soup for tonight."

Would you like to try one first?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen glanced at the plate and decisively reached out to grab the largest pear in the very center.

Then he handed it to Su Li: "This biggest one is for you."

Then she picked up the smallest one. "I'll just eat the smallest one."

We must grasp the essence of traditional virtues!

If this gets out in the future, it might become a beautiful story of ' Xiao Chen giving away pears'.

Hahaha!

"You... don't like pears?"

Unfortunately, Su Li clearly didn't understand Xiao Chen's strange move, and instead, a look of confusion appeared on her face.

However, these were just minor incidents and had no real impact.

Continue with your usual training methods.

With the help of Hextech, Xiao Chen refined all the true essence of his Nascent Soul in just one month.

At the same time, it can be considered as a preliminary step in following the guidance of the mental cultivation method, integrating a trace of the Great Dao into the true essence.

Although he wasn't very familiar with the art of 'grafting' at this point, that was precisely the function of the mental technique.

If a cultivator has already comprehended the Great Dao, then what's the point of having Cultivation Method? Wouldn't that be superfluous?

It is precisely because we do not know how that we need to practice according to the Cultivation Method, and to comprehend and utilize the power of the Great Dao by following the guidance of the mental techniques.

After all the true essence of the Nascent Soul has been converted.

Xiao Chen has thus officially stepped into the threshold of the "Disaster Transfer Art".

However, after completing the initial stages of the training, he immediately stopped Cultivation Method.

After all, it seems that simply focusing on cultivation is too inefficient right now; it's better to let the Yin Five Elements Seal its power first.

This frees up valuable time, which can then be used to learn new Law Technique.

Based on the experience gained from previously cultivating the <Northern Darkness True Water Robe>.

Xiao Chen first took out the Fire-element Spirit Item, Azure Luan Incinerated Feather Ash, which he had obtained on Heaven Star Island, to accelerate his cultivation speed.

Of course, having just one Fourth-Order Spiritual Item doesn't seem quite enough.

Fortunately, he still had a Fire Element Dao Comprehension Crystal.

He skillfully used the Purple-Gold Bodhi to comprehend the Great Dao of Fire.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Chen immediately grasped the Azure Luan Incinerated Feather Ash and began practicing the first move of the Crimson Sky Mountain Severing Palm – Sky-rushing Palm.

Because the Dao Comprehension Crystal was used from the beginning, coupled with the Hextech enhancement.

He mastered the Sky-rushing Palm in less than a day.

"Tears welling up, the familiar power has finally returned!"

Xiao Chen was deeply moved. He recalled how difficult it was to practice the <Northern Darkness True Water Robe> with a bunch of Spirit Pearl before, unlike now when he mastered a new Law Technique in just one day.

For a long time, he hadn't experienced such rapid progress.

Although I've only grasped the basics so far, I still need to familiarize myself with it further.

But this is undoubtedly much simpler.

In less than three days, he had mastered the Sky-rushing Palm to the point of complete mastery.

It can be activated instantly with just a thought.

It can be said that at this point, Xiao Chen has mastered fourth-order combat techniques and truly possesses the power of Nascent Soul Stage.

And although it feels like a long time has passed, it's only the beginning of September.

Less than four months had passed since he broke through to the Nascent Soul.

This amount of time is often too much for even Newly Advanced Golden Core cultivator, let alone Nascent Soul True Lord, to not be busy consolidating their foundation.

However, Xiao Chen not only learned the new Cultivation Method, but also mastered two Fourth-Order Spell, one offensive and one defensive.

It can be said that the progress has been remarkably rapid.

Furthermore, while he is currently somewhat weak on the defensive end, this is mainly because the <Northern Darkness True Water Robe> cannot benefit from Hextech enhancements.

However, thanks to the Sky-rushing Palm, its output is no weaker than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator.

"Next, we need to try to make up for our shortcomings in Defensive Spell and Divine Sense Secret Art as soon as possible."

Xiao Chen secretly pondered, "And I should also investigate the current situation of the Compassion Sea."

"While I'm at it, I'll take some time to go back and give Chen Fan some pointers on his cultivation, and also see if there are any spiritual items suitable for resale."

Of course, the latter two things are not urgent.

There's something even more important than that: settling scores with that Old Dog Yi!

Normally, such veteran Nascent Soul Cultivator would have numerous methods and be extremely difficult to deal with.

But then again, as the saying goes, youth has its advantages.

If that Old Dog Yi were only nine hundred years old, Xiao Chen would definitely choose to respect his past achievements.

In particular, he has practiced his whole life and most likely has Law Technique more than one spell, as well as accumulated Spirit Artifact and secret techniques over the long years.

These things are enough to create a power gap of several times over with those young Nascent Soul Cultivator.

But now Old Dog Yi is over 1,300 years old. It's not quite right to say he's exhausted and dying; he's only hanging on by the Longevity Spirit Pill.

There's nothing more to say then; he has to pay the price for his actions.

They used to rely on the Major Realm to hunt down Xiao Chen, but now it's time for them to pay the price.

I'm planning to go out tomorrow.

Sitting in front of the campfire, Xiao Chen explained beforehand, "I'm mainly going to check on how things are going with the Heavenly Dipper Sect, and I also need to settle some minor grudges."

"If everything goes smoothly, this trip shouldn't take too long."

"But if any special circumstances arise along the way, it might be a little delayed, since the situation there is complicated right now."

Given the current situation, the probability of encountering unexpected events while traveling is indeed quite high.

I'm explaining this in advance so that Su Li won't worry.

"This soup is great tonight!"

Xiao Chen scooped a spoonful directly from the pot and swallowed it without fear of burning himself. "It seems there's an extra ingredient compared to yesterday, making it even sweeter."

"I feel your soup is getting better and better."

Su Li nodded immediately. "Today, we encountered mushrooms with purple spots at the foot of the sea cliff."

"I tried one and it was quite delicious, so I added two more to the soup."

"If you like it, please give me more."

"In addition, I also prepared a small garden on the east side, where I planted the remaining mushrooms and some seeds I had collected before."

"The Growth Witch Mark is quite effective. I estimate the first batch should be mature by the time you come back next time."

You're researching Witch Runes just to grow vegetables?

Xiao Chen was slightly taken aback and looked down at the soup in the bowl.

The hot steam hit his cheeks, dispelling the slight chill of the early autumn night and bringing a touch of warmth. "Uh... that's good. I'll try to come back as soon as possible."

The whole night was filled with talk.

The two chatted with great interest about what they had seen during the most recent Moon Eclipse.

Even the Moon Witch Tribe continues its wars, yet their actual Living Environment have not improved much.

Including the Autumn Sacrifice Ritual with its unique characteristics of the Witch Clan, Su Li also told Xiao Chen about some interesting parts of the Summer Ritual that he had missed because he was away.

The next morning, a surge of Spiritual Qi Tide arrived.

Using the Spiritual Qi Tide, Xiao Chen reviewed the Sky-rushing Palm once more before waving goodbye.

Then, he disguised his aura again, maintaining the appearance of Golden Core Great Perfection, and went directly to Azure Sea Market.

It is worth mentioning that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm...

Benefiting from the rapid improvement in the quality of his true essence, Xiao Chen's escape speed also increased considerably.

Although it didn't increase fivefold in a single step, it was still significantly faster than before.

It's a pity he doesn't have Fourth-Order Escape Technique right now, otherwise he could be even faster.

Two days later, he arrived at the Market Outer Perimeter and saw this large group of islands for the first time in a long time.

The main attraction is the seven artificial islands that were created by cultivators over many years; they are a unique scenic view that cannot be seen anywhere else.

"When I first came to the Compassion Sea, this was my first stop."

A hint of reminiscence flickered in Xiao Chen's eyes. "I never imagined that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul, my first stop back would be here again."

"Could this be considered a kind of fate?"

"Wait a minute, wouldn't it be too obvious if I just went in like this?"

Just as he was about to approach, Xiao Chen suddenly realized that what he was doing was somewhat illogical.

Logically speaking, after being chased twice by the Yi Family Old Ancestor, even the slowest-witted cultivator should understand that they should avoid the Yi Family's sight from now on.

The best option, of course, is to fly far away and leave the dangerous area.

Even if there is some reason that forces one to stay here, one should proactively conceal one's identity.

The best course of action is to avoid any location associated with the Yi Family and prevent being discovered.

Thus, Xiao Chen walked in openly and legitimately.

If the Yi Family Old Ancestor wasn't a fool, he would definitely suspect that Yi had some kind of backing, which was why he dared to swagger back, or even that he was deliberately luring the enemy out.

Although this is indeed the case.

However, it wouldn't be good if this kind of thing were discovered beforehand.

After all, in many rumors in the Sea of the Compassion Sea, Xiao Chen is considered to be the successor of a hidden sect.

Even if he were to appear one day with Nascent Soul True Lord, everyone would probably take it for granted.

Therefore, it is very likely that Old Dog Yi will make a similar conjecture, and instead secretly increase his vigilance and hide away.

If he were to deliberately hide inside the Sect Grand Array or remain trapped within the Market Grand Array, he would be doomed.

Xiao Chen is really not a good person to deal with.

It should be noted that, with sufficient Spirit Stone, a composite Fourth-tier Grand Array is enough to bridge the strength gap between the Nascent Soul Early Stage and the Nascent Soul Great Perfection.

Some top-tier formations can even unleash power far exceeding that of a single cultivator.

After all, the purpose of formations is to enable the weak to overcome the strong; otherwise, what's the point?

"What's a reasonable way to lure that Old Dog Yi out?"

Xiao Chen frowned slightly. This matter seemed simple, but it was actually quite a technical task.

First of all, it's impossible for Old Dog Yi to be watching the every move of all the cultivators in the market all day long.

Doing that is basically like waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump; it's not something a normal person would do.

Therefore, he mainly had to rely on the Yi Family members scattered in various places, which is also the purpose of high-level cultivators establishing sects or Lineage.

He delegated all the odd and hard work to his subordinates, only needing to step in at crucial moments.

Therefore, if Xiao Chen were to conceal himself carefully, the Yi Family cultivators might not recognize him, and nothing would happen.

But if he deliberately leaves a flaw, it would only make things worse.

When that Old Dog Yi comes over and sees this, he'll definitely be even more suspicious and wary.

In addition, some unforeseen circumstances need to be considered.

For example, the darkest place is under the lamp.

If the Yi Family members all believe that Xiao Chen would definitely not dare to come to Azure Sea Market, then the cultivators who were originally keeping watch might slack off or even neglect their duties.

If this is considered a trivial matter...

However, there are also more important special cases.

For example, disregarding the overall situation, Old Dog Yi directly activated the formation in the market, using its Formation Power to attack Xiao Chen and restrict his departure.

You know, this guy's character has never been great.

If he were a good person, he wouldn't have gone after Xiao Chen for his own selfish gain, and wouldn't have shamelessly taken matters into his own hands to bully the weak.

Given Old Dog Yi's character, he might disregard the sect's reputation and do something like that.

Therefore, Xiao Chen needed to find a way to let the other party know that he had returned.

But we can't let the other party trap us in the market.

That means that he has to secretly leave a message that he was there, while also making sure that by the time Old Dog Yi gets the message, he has already left the market.

Then you need to leave clues so that Old Dog Yi knows where he is and will chase after him.

Finally, this clue cannot be too suspicious, lest it arouse the other party's suspicion.

"Oh dear, this seems a bit difficult."

Xiao Chen pondered for a moment, and a flash of inspiration struck him. "Why not try using false information to lure people in?"

"Using Fellow Daoist Yun Ya to lure that Old Dog Yi out?"

He could easily deduce that the Yi Family, as a large Lineage, must have a very strong network of connections within the Azure Sea Immortal Sect.

Even a place like Azure Sea Pavilion would likely be no exception.

In other words, if a piece of information passes through the manager of the Azure Sea Pavilion and is delivered to Cloud Cliff True Person, with whom he had some previous interactions, then...

The contents could very well be stolen by the Yi Family members halfway through.

What if this happened to be a plea for help, stating that the person was injured and needed a certain spiritual object, and was hiding on a Desolate Island waiting for assistance?

Does that mean we can lure that Old Dog Yi out?

"I think it's worth a try."

The more Xiao Chen thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was pretty good.

Whether I succeed or fail in the end, I am very safe.

According to this plan, he wouldn't need to enter the market at all, so he certainly wouldn't get stuck inside.

"Let's give it a try first."

Without hesitation, Xiao Chen quickly wrote a letter requesting help, falsely claiming that he had encountered Sea Race Fourth-Order Great Demon.

Although he managed to escape, he was seriously injured and forced to land on a Desolate Island to treat his injuries. He urgently needs high-level elixirs to help clear away Demon Power.

They finally encountered a passing rogue cultivator and asked him to deliver a letter requesting help.

I hope that Cloud Cliff True Person will come to help me alone with the elixirs after seeing this letter.

As long as he is willing to bring the elixir, I will surely reward him handsomely.

Finally, he added in the letter that he must not tell anyone, especially not the Yi Family.

After handling the request for help...

Xiao Chen turned around and went to a place 30,000 miles southwest of the market, in the direction where many rogue cultivators were fleeing, and deliberately lay in wait.

They quickly selected a rogue cultivator at the Early-stage Golden Core and followed him.

Then, using his extended Divine Sense Range, he could see the Desolate Island along his route in advance.

Pretending to be weak, they landed on Desolate Island and waited for the other party to pass by.

Finally, when the other party flew past the Desolate Island, she deliberately emitted fluctuations of Spiritual Power to attract his attention.

"Fellow Daoist, please lend me a hand. I will repay you handsomely afterward!"

With his silver tongue, the imposing aura of Golden Core Great Perfection, and a generous reward of 300,000 Spirit Stone, Xiao Chen successfully persuaded this rogue cultivator.

Considering his strength, the other party hesitated for a moment before deciding not to kill him to silence him.

Instead, he decided to take what he could get and left with the 100,000 Spirit Stone deposit and the letter asking for help.

Xiao Chen wasn't worried that the other party would take the money and not do the job.

After all, he had Divine Sense covering thousands of miles secretly Inspector. If the other party dared to run away with the deposit, he would definitely let them know that this money was not so easy to take.

Fortunately, nothing like that happened.

I don't know if they met a kind person, or if the other party was still thinking about the remaining 200,000 Spirit Stones as a reward.

In short, Xiao Chen followed them all the way and personally watched them go into the market.

At this stage of the plan, everything can be said to be going smoothly.

The next step is to see if the Yi Family is capable enough.

Logically speaking, a rogue cultivator should be able to deliver a message from the Azure Sea Pavilion to True Disciple of the Azure Sea Immortal Sect.

Moreover, he stammered and couldn't give a specific account of the network of relationships, only saying that it was entrusted by an anonymous friend of the other party, and that the letter contained important information.

Therefore, this letter most likely won't be delivered directly to any True Disciple, but will pass through several intermediaries, or may not even be delivered at all.

Because their social statuses are too different.

Xiao Chen had even considered whether to ask Foundation Establishment Cultivator to deliver the message.

In the end, fearing that the guards at the gate would simply throw the letter away as waste paper, they changed it to "a rogue cultivator in the Early-stage Golden Core."

That way, one would have some status, so as not to be mistaken for a fraudster and unable to even get past the security guard.

The aftermath of the events unfolded almost exactly as Xiao Chen had predicted.

Although the steward who initially received the letter was not a monk from the Yi Family.

However, he also retained the arrogance typical of the Azure Sea Pavilion, and didn't take rogue cultivators with a Golden Core at all.

After receiving the letter, he said on the surface that he would definitely deliver it, but in reality, he just tossed it aside and had no intention of sending it to his superiors.

"Manager Xu, why is there still an unsigned letter here?"

It wasn't until Manager Chen, who came to relieve us, inquired that the situation became clear.

Manager Xu suddenly remembered. "I had almost forgotten, but a swindler came by during the day, saying he wanted to deliver a letter to Elder Yun Ya."

"They even claimed it came from a very close friend and contained top-secret information."

"When I asked him for the messenger's name, he stammered and couldn't answer."

Upon hearing this, Manager Chen asked curiously, "What if it's true?"

Manager Xu scoffed, "Xiao Chen, you've only been here a short time, you don't know the situation here yet."

"Let me tell you, I've seen way too many scammers like this."

"Every year, people falsely claim to know sect Elder, trying to use us to deliver messages."

"If you actually send these things up there, you'll be in big trouble."

"Let's leave it for now. I'll take it to Old Zhou tomorrow so he won't keep ignoring what I say."

The next day, Manager Xu opened the letter directly in front of Supervisor Zhou.

Then, in just half an hour, the Yi Family cultivators obtained the information first and claimed that it was a fake letter, thus sealing the secret.

That very evening, the contents of the letter reached the ears of the Yi Family Old Ancestor via the Sound Transmission Spirit Sword.

"Hmph, you little bastard, you thought you could run fast? Well, look what you've done!"

"The injury is so serious, we can't let it affect the effectiveness of the medicine."

"There's also this Yun Ya, who holds an important position but is colluding with outsiders. After we capture Xiao Chen, we can use this letter to kick him out of the Azure Sea Pavilion."