Heavenly Court Token

From the original host's memories, information about the Heavenly Court was pitifully scarce!

He basically only knew the origins of the Heavenly Court and its general purpose.

The specifics of what it looked like inside, what rewards there were, were all rather vague!

But broadly speaking, the Heavenly Court had become a second cultivation world for cultivators. They had long grown accustomed to this state of cultivation—pursuing physical realm breakthroughs in reality, while entering the Heavenly Court to elevate their soul realm.

It was precisely because of this that countless cultivators avoided a major hurdle on the path of cultivation—bottlenecks!

With the Heavenly Court's existence, they no longer needed to worry about comprehending the Great Dao. As long as they calmly cultivated both soul and body to their limits, success would naturally follow.

It seemed like a high-tech product, yet it wasn't high-tech at all.

Fortunately, the residents of this cultivation world were all descendants of modern humans from a few hundred years ago. They had some understanding of what that era was like, and in certain corners, remnants of modern technology still circulated. However, under the divine power of cultivators, many technological items had become obsolete and were phased out.

Within the great world of the Heavenly Court, resources of all kinds were far more abundant than in the Earth cultivation world. Some rare materials on Earth appeared frequently in the Heavenly Court, and the White Cloud Palace Master had personally established teleportation arrays there, further strengthening connections between cultivators.

Many young prodigies also shone in the Heavenly Court, becoming rising stars and the subject of idle chatter among ordinary cultivators.

Those who were handsome and powerful became idols for many young cultivators, pursued in every possible way, much like the fan culture of a few hundred years ago.

The Foundation Establishment Realm young prodigy Xiao Munan was one such figure, with an enormous number of followers.

As for entering the Heavenly Court, one needed a Heavenly Court Token to let their soul enter, then challenge various trials to obtain rewards.

From what he understood, those rewards were very helpful for improving cultivation.

So before he had the ability to challenge the Demon King Valley, Chen Fan was quite eager to take a look at the Heavenly Court. If he could push his cultivation up in the short term, he could head to the Demon King Valley ahead of schedule!

But... the Heavenly Court Token of this body's owner had long been lost in the Demon King Valley. If he wanted to enter the Heavenly Court, he would have to find another one!

Moreover, every Heavenly Court Token was bound to its owner's soul. Even if the original token were still around, it probably wouldn't work, since the soul in this body had already been swapped!

"Chen Fan-gege, time to change your medicine!" At that moment, the Little Medicine Boy came over with a bundle of herbs, looking at him expectantly.

"Mm! Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Tian!" Chen Fan nodded.

Although his injuries were healing quickly, with the help of these medicines and the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, he might fully recover by tomorrow!

"No trouble at all, Chen Fan-gege. Lie down!" the Little Medicine Boy said with a grin.

Soon, two days passed!

Inside the small stone house, only Chen Fan remained!

In just two days, his dantian had recovered, and his cultivation had naturally advanced to the second layer of the Qi Refining Realm!

He was now sitting cross-legged on the bed, still circulating the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, converting all the true qi in his body into Sword Qi!

In his past life, he had cultivated the Blazing Heaven Sword Art, reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, become a sword cultivator, and even developed Sword Qi that could be projected outside the body.

So now, what he needed to do was refine all the true qi in this body into Blazing Heaven True Qi.

As the Blazing Heaven Sword Art circulated, the true qi within Chen Fan's body was gradually mobilized, flowing through his meridians from the Minor Circulation to the Major Circulation, moving slowly.

"True qi will determine my path from now on. In this life, I will still choose the path of the sword cultivator. I will walk the path of the Sword Immortal." His resolve was firm as he closed his eyes.

"Swish"

A moment later, a faint yellow beam of light shot from his finger.

"Bang"

The wooden table in front of him suddenly crashed to the ground, its leg severed cleanly, and a deep groove was carved into the floor.

Chen Fan frowned slightly. "Still too slow. Without abundant spiritual energy, this Sword Qi can't even reach minor success."

After pondering for a moment, he shook his head. "Forget it. I'll go get a Heavenly Court Token first and take a look inside."

With that, he got off the bed, changed his clothes, and prepared to head out.

To receive a Heavenly Court Token, he had to return to Heavy Sword Peak. Any disciple of the sect could claim one.

"Creak!"

Just then, the door was pushed open!

Chen Jingjing had returned, carrying a food basket in her hand.

Seeing Chen Fan dressed and ready to go out, she was momentarily stunned. "Where are you going? Huh, your injuries..."

"My injuries have mostly recovered. It's time to return to Heavy Sword Peak to cultivate," Chen Fan replied calmly.

Chen Jingjing looked him over in surprise, noting his good complexion, and muttered to herself, "Looks like those medicines were really useful."

But the next moment, she was startled again. "What did you just say? You're going back to Heavy Sword Peak to cultivate?"

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded again.

At that moment, Chen Jingjing felt once more that Chen Fan had changed.

In the past, he would have used his injuries as an excuse to laze around at home for at least ten days or half a month, maybe even a month, just to avoid cultivation and the daily tasks on Heavy Sword Peak.

But now, Chen Fan had taken the initiative to go back.

This made Chen Jingjing find it utterly unbelievable. She asked again, uncertain: "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Chen Fan nodded once more.

Only then did Chen Jingjing give him a strange look, muttering inwardly: "Could he really have made up his mind to turn over a new leaf? I wonder how long it'll last. I just hope he doesn't revert to his old ways too quickly."

Soon, the two left the stone house.

Chen Fan saw the appearance of Heavy Sword City for the first time with his own eyes. It was almost exactly like ancient times, with not a trace of concrete or steel from a few hundred years ago visible.

The houses were mainly built from wood and stone, the city walls still towering high, with soldiers standing guard atop them.

The population density in the city far exceeded Chen Fan's imagination, almost comparable to a bustling market.

From the moment he left home and headed toward Heavy Sword Peak, the road was packed with people—a sea of humanity...

In truth, this population base wouldn't have been so exaggerated a few hundred years ago, but now the Earth was filled with countless demonic beasts, dividing the territory with human cultivators.

As a result, the areas where humans could live had shrunk dramatically, causing so many people to gather in an ordinary small city.

Even Heavy Sword Peak itself didn't have much space, so most disciples lived in Heavy Sword City, commuting to the sect every day to train and returning home together at night.

"Chen Fan, I hope you can keep up this state and cultivate with a calm mind. Once you reach Qi Refining Layer 6 in the future, you can go find Elder Li and retrieve the Chen Clan Treasure that Father entrusted to him. Father always hoped you would bring glory to the Chen Clan. Don't let him down even in the underworld." Halfway there, Chen Jingjing suddenly spoke, her tone carrying a hint of expectation.

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded again.

He did have some memory of what Chen Jingjing was talking about.

Back then, Chen Fan's father was a strong cultivator at Qi Refining Eighth Layer, a sworn brother to Elder Li of Heavy Sword Peak. He later died on the battlefield.

Before his death, Chen Fan and Chen Jingjing had just stepped into Qi Refining Layer 1. Fearing that the clan's legacy would bring disaster to the siblings, he entrusted it to his sworn brother, Elder Li of Heavy Sword Peak, and instructed Chen Fan to retrieve it only after reaching Qi Refining Layer 6 and gaining the ability to protect himself.

Qi Refining Layer 6?

Chen Fan shook his head inwardly. That was no problem for him at all. His goal was to return to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and even achieve greater heights.

"Also, if you want Nalan Yun to become your partner, you need to train even harder. When you grow strong, she'll naturally take an interest in you. This time, as you return to Heavy Sword Peak with me, I hope you won't stir up trouble, and especially don't go looking for that woman, understand?" At this point, Chen Jingjing spoke again, essentially giving him a string of reminders.

"Mm." Chen Fan responded just as succinctly, even nodding out of habit.

Nalan Yun? He had no impression of this woman at all, and he couldn't care less!

Soon, the two walked one behind the other up the mountain.

It wasn't until several ancient buildings towering into the clouds appeared before Chen Fan's eyes that he suddenly froze!

This place was too familiar—it was where he had died back then.

This mountain had been a nearby peak centuries ago, with a villa area reserved for the wealthy. He hadn't expected that, hundreds of years later, it would be restored and used as sect territory.

"If that's the case, then the thing I lost back then..." Chen Fan thought of something, lost in contemplation.

"You're only at Qi Refining Layer 1 now, so you can't enter the Inner Court yet. It's out of my way, so I won't see you off. Remember, don't cause any trouble." After saying this, Chen Jingjing walked toward a larger building. Above its entrance, Chen Fan saw two large characters: "Inner Court."

He frowned slightly, then turned to scan his surroundings. Only then did he realize that the Outer Court was directly opposite the Inner Court, and judging by the degree of restoration, it clearly wasn't as well-maintained as the Inner Court.

As Chen Fan stepped into the Outer Court, a whistle suddenly came from the second-floor corridor. He looked up and saw the walkway packed with people. Immediately, the whole building erupted.

"Look, the Outer Court's bravest warrior has returned—the strong man who charged into Demon King Valley at Qi Refining Layer 2!"

"Haha, don't mock him. He barely made it back with his life. That luck is enviable."

"I think he'd be better off dead. Dying for love—what a noble way to go. Better than being too useless in the future and getting swallowed whole by a demon beast on the battlefield."

"True. Speaking of which, Miss Nalan has been getting pretty close to some genius lately..."

Chen Fan didn't pay much attention to their gossip and mockery. Over this period, he had already learned what kind of person the original owner of this body was—timid and afraid of trouble, yet obsessed with saving face, basically the type who wouldn't cry until he saw the coffin.

So, faced with these people's antics, he found it utterly pointless. The path of cultivation was long and arduous—why waste time and energy on such trivial matters?

The people upstairs, seeing that Chen Fan didn't talk back, were all somewhat surprised: "Is this kid trying to play the deep and mysterious act?"

"Not necessarily. They say people who've faced death undergo a complete change in personality."

"So what? If he doesn't keep stirring up trouble, I think he might lose even the last shred of his presence."

"Alright, let's all get back to training. Once we reach Qi Refining Layer 4, we can enter the Inner Court. Then we'll have a shot at the first layer of the Heavenly Court. Sticking around in the Outer Court means we'll never get ahead."

"Well said. Take Miss Nalan, for example. She's only sixteen and already at Qi Refining Layer 4. I heard she's planning to challenge the first layer of the Heavenly Court today and earn the title of One-Star Heavenly Soldier."

"Sigh, the first layer of the Heavenly Court is still too far off for me. I wonder when I'll even get into the Inner Court."

Chen Fan ignored their chatter. He slowly walked upstairs and suddenly noticed a closed wooden door with four characters written above it: "Heavenly Court Token."

He stopped in his tracks, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "Here we are."