For the next seven days, Lu Chen never left his tent.
He was not in seclusion—he was recovering. The dantian of the mid-stage Immortal Life realm was twice as large as it had been in the early stage. His true essence rose from thirty percent to fifty percent, slowly, but every drop was heavy.
What he did every day was simple—circulate the Mystic Dragon Sea-Suppressing Art, sending true essence through his meridians again and again, like a waterwheel turning.
On the morning of the seventh day, he opened his eyes. The true essence in his dantian had stopped at sixty percent. It would not rise any further.
[True essence recovery speed has slowed. Cause: insufficient technique proficiency. The minor mastery realm of Mystic Dragon Sea-Suppressing Art can no longer meet the true essence circulation efficiency required for the mid-stage Immortal Life realm. Recommendation: deduce it to major mastery.]
Lu Chen glanced at his remaining lifespan. Two hundred and eighty-three years.
"Deduce it."
[Consuming 500 years of lifespan. Insufficient lifespan.]
His hand paused. Five hundred years—he only had two hundred and eighty-three.
"Is there another way?"
[Option Two: Consume 200 years of lifespan and use dragon blood to forcibly deduce it to major mastery. Success rate: 70%.]
Two hundred years. That would leave him with only eighty-three. Too risky.
"Forget the deduction. How long would natural cultivation take?"
[Estimated time: three months.]
Three months. The seal could only hold for a little over two months. There was no time.
Lu Chen rose and paced several laps around the tent. Root Severer hung at his waist, the golden patterns within its blade flowing beneath the lamplight like the blood of a living creature.
He walked to the table, picked up the Foundation Elixir Yun