Following Ling Tian's arrangements, Fairy Sword Ji and the others did not venture out recklessly. They began working hard to increase their strength, preparing for the later reversal of their Golden Cores and for the attacks and ambushes of Chi Xue's faction and the hidden super experts. As time passed, their strength continued to grow.
Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, several thousand more years passed.
After all this time, Ling Tian's Golden Core cultivation had recovered to its peak. And because his Nascent Soul Realm cultivation had advanced somewhat, his Golden Core cultivation would break through further as well. His mental control had also grown stronger, making the Divine Yuan Power within him purer. On top of that, his larger Small World allowed him to draw on even more abundant Origin Power. His strength had thus grown considerably, far surpassing what it had been at his former peak. Now, he was confident he could easily defeat a cultivator at the peak of the fifth stage of the Quasi-Saint Realm.
Of course, the same still held true: cultivators at the sixth stage of the Quasi-Saint Realm were qualitatively stronger than those at the fifth. Ling Tian was probably still no match for such an expert, though he could put up a fight. His powerful archery skills could pose some threat, and at the very least, escaping would be no problem.
Besides Ling Tian, Hua Min'er and the others had also grown much stronger. They would soon recover to their peak, and like Ling Tian, would make further breakthroughs, greatly increasing their strength.
As for Fairy Sword Ji, Tan Tai Chang Feng, and the others, they still had some time before reversing their Golden Cores for the fifth time. Over the years, however, they had brought themselves