Kong Xuan had acted this way because he feared the Sages. Deng Jiugong could understand his decision, but he didn't agree with it.
Without the courage to take risks, how could anyone carve out a place for himself in the world?
Still, there was nothing Deng Jiugong could do about Kong Xuan's decision. After all, the gap in their strength was too great. He couldn't exactly say that a powerhouse like Kong Xuan hadn't even dared to kill Juliusun.
If Kong Xuan had really killed Juliusun, it would only have drawn the Sages out of seclusion sooner.
Deng Jiugong's cultivation was still too low. With Kong Xuan around, at least Jiang Ziya wouldn't dare act recklessly. So Deng Jiugong had to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
Back at the Marshal's Mansion, Deng Jiugong began taking stock of what he had gained.
He had reaped a very bountiful harvest from this battle.
First, there was Juliusun's Immortal Binding Rope, along with a gourd of immortal pills.
Then there were the various rewards from the system.
He had also gained three Innate Spirit Fruits, a jade slip containing the Five Elements Great Escape Divine Ability, seven million Great Dao Merit, and a Treasure Map. His cultivation had also advanced by two minor stages.
This was an enormous haul!
So, as soon as he returned to his own Marshal's Mansion, Deng Jiugong went straight into seclusion.
I'll start by improving my root.
With a thought, Deng Jiugong first took out the Time Dao Disk.
The Time Dao Disk was a wondrous treasure. It could not only accelerate the time he spent cultivating but also conceal the secrets of heaven. It was an extraordinary treasure indeed.
Thanks to it, even Kong Xuan couldn't sense the time around Deng Jiugong speeding up as he cultivated.
After all, the Law of Time was profound and mysterious. With Deng Jiugong's cultivation, it was impossible for him to master it.
The Time Dao Disk accelerated his cultivation. If Kong Xuan sensed it, he would probably come over to investigate immediately.
Without further hesitation!
Deng Jiugong activated the Time Dao Disk. In an instant, time around him began to flow a hundred times faster.
Hum!
With a thought, Deng Jiugong drew one million Great Dao Merit into his body and began refining it. His root began to improve rapidly.
Only after he had refined all one million Great Dao Merit did his root finally reach the level of a Junior Innate Demon God.
A Junior Innate Demon God root was already considered quite good in the Primordial World.
It could greatly enhance his comprehension and improve his potential!
However, Deng Jiugong's root could still be improved further.
He drew more Great Dao Merit into his body and continued to improve his root.
This time, he spent five million Great Dao Merit in quick succession, finally raising his root to the Intermediate Innate Demon God level.
An Intermediate Innate Demon God root was already quite profound.
An improved root enhanced comprehension and sped up one's understanding of the Dao. In a sense, it raised one's potential for the future. Deng Jiugong had forcibly used Great Dao Merit to raise his root to the Intermediate Innate Demon God level.
The improvement had not only increased Deng Jiugong's potential, but had also made his comprehension of the Dao far faster than before.
Though Deng Jiugong's cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, his speed in comprehending the Dao was now comparable to that of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
That was the tremendous benefit of improving one's root.
Now, with time flowing a hundred times faster around him, one could only imagine how quickly Deng Jiugong would comprehend the Dao.
Next, I'll improve my cultivation!
With a thought, Deng Jiugong took out the three Innate Spirit Fruits he had obtained.
The system hadn't provided the exact names of these Innate Spirit Fruits.
The three fruits were different: one was an apple, one a persimmon, and one an orange!
But they weren't ordinary fruits. They contained innate spiritual energy.
Just smelling them gave Deng Jiugong an indescribably refreshing feeling.
Instinctively, he sensed that these Innate Spirit Fruits would greatly benefit his cultivation of the Mortal Scroll of the Pangu Divine Art.
I'll eat them!
With a thought, Deng Jiugong ate one of the fruits.
Hum!
As soon as he swallowed it, a terrifying energy erupted inside him. Deng Jiugong's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly circulated his cultivation art to refine it.
By the time he had refined all three Spirit Fruits, his physical cultivation had reached the early stage of the True Immortal Realm.
The results were incredible!
Cultivating the Pangu Divine Art didn't raise one's physical cultivation and primordial spirit cultivation in tandem.
The Three Pure Ones, for example, mainly cultivated their primordial spirits, while the Witch Clan focused exclusively on cultivating their bodies.
These were two different cultivation systems.
If one cultivated both the primordial spirit and the body, they had to work on them one at a time.
Now that Deng Jiugong's physical cultivation had reached the early stage of the True Immortal Realm, he couldn't let his primordial spirit cultivation fall behind.
Fortunately, he still had a gourd of immortal pills.
Kong Xuan had previously taken them from Tu Xingsun and given them to Deng Jiugong. Now they were just what he needed to improve his primordial spirit cultivation.
He opened the gourd. There were quite a few immortal pills inside.
Their grade wasn't high, nowhere near the famed Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir of the Primordial World.
Still, they were good enough for Deng Jiugong to improve his primordial spirit cultivation.
These immortal pills had various effects. Some could heal injuries, some could restore magical power, and others could improve one's cultivation.
Earlier, when Deng Jiugong and Deng Chanyu had been injured, Tu Xingsun had taken out one, dissolved it in water, and only then dared to let them drink it to heal their injuries.
After all, Deng Jiugong and Deng Chanyu had both been mortals at the time. They couldn't withstand even a single immortal pill. If they had swallowed one outright, they might have exploded.
But Deng Jiugong no longer had to worry about that. He took out several pills and swallowed them.
Hum!
As soon as the immortal pills entered his body, Deng Jiugong swiftly circulated his divine art and refined them, drawing their energy into his primordial spirit to improve his cultivation.
Only when Deng Jiugong's primordial spirit cultivation had also reached the early stage of the True Immortal Realm did he finally stop.
"There aren't many immortal pills left!"
Deng Jiugong sighed.
If he had enough cultivation resources, with his Intermediate Innate Demon God root, he could probably raise his cultivation even further.
But cultivation had to be built up step by step and digested gradually. No one could become fat in a single bite.
Even so, Deng Jiugong's strength had increased tremendously once again.
He kept the remaining immortal pills.
After all, he had a whole family to look after. He had to save some for them!
"Next, I'll cultivate divine abilities!"
With a thought, Deng Jiugong took out the jade slip containing the Five Elements Great Escape.
He had already cultivated Dragon Subduing Tiger Subduing to Minor Accomplishment. That divine ability amplified his strength.
As for the Five Elements Great Escape, it was also one of the thirty-six great divine abilities among the Thirty-six Heavenly Dipper Arts. It was a speed-enhancing divine ability.
With a divine ability that amplified his strength, what Deng Jiugong lacked was one that increased his speed.
Now that he had the Five Elements Great Escape, he could study it.
Comprehending divine abilities was incredibly difficult. Even after reaching the True Immortal Realm and raising his root to the Intermediate Innate Demon God level, Deng Jiugong still made slow progress.
Fortunately, he still had Great Dao Merit!
Hum!
He drew Great Dao Merit into his body, and his comprehension speed suddenly increased considerably.
Before long, he had passed the entry-level stage. Using Great Dao Merit, he forcibly raised the Five Elements Great Escape Divine Ability to Minor Accomplishment.
"So I only spent three hundred thousand Great Dao Merit this time?"
Deng Jiugong murmured.
Improving his root had let him comprehend the Five Elements Great Escape and Dragon Subduing Tiger Subduing to the same level while saving him some Great Dao Merit!
Improving his root increased his speed in comprehending the Dao.
That was another benefit of improving his root!
"Lastly, I'll refine the Immortal Binding Rope!"
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