Dragon Glide Step

Three days later.

Chen Changming slipped out of the Lingxiao Sect once again, boarded the Azure Eagle from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, and arrived at the Ziyuan Secret Realm to water the medicinal fields.

That young lady did not appear this time either; others were responsible for piloting the Azure Eagle to escort him back and forth.

After months of continuous watering, the spiritual herbs were growing impressively. Chen Changming had observed them silently and realized that in less than a year, this entire patch of herbs would likely reach maturity.

The moment he thought about how the supply of Spirit Gathering Pills would be cut off once they matured, a sense of anxiety instinctively welled up within him.

Now that he could no longer grow spiritual rice within the Lingxiao Sect, almost all of his channels for earning money would be blocked off after a year.

No need to rush for now, just focus on comprehending the Dragon Glide Step...

Back in his sect cave dwelling, Chen Changming sighed softly and resumed his study of the Dragon Glide Step.

His aptitude was truly poor; it had taken him a full half-month just to grasp the technique, and only then could he begin formal practice.

For Chen Changming, there was still a massive chasm between comprehending a footwork technique and executing it in its entirety.

He spent another month before he could finally perform the complete set of the Dragon Glide Step.

"So difficult!"

The youth couldn't help but shake his head.

Fortunately, he hadn't neglected his Evergreen Art during this time. His cultivation at the second level of Qi Refining continued to improve, and he was now only a step away from the third level.

Chen Changming decided to focus his efforts on the Dragon Glide Step from here on out.

He wanted to see if the limit for breaking through in this movement technique would be one hundred times or ten thousand times.

"Dragon Glide Step, one hundred times!"

Three days later, after practicing it for the hundredth time, that long-absent phenomenon appeared once more. A strange sensation emerged within his body, which left Chen Changming feeling incredibly excited.

The first enhancement of the Dragon Glide Step increased his speed tenfold!

Of course, with the increase in speed came an increase in spiritual energy consumption, but fortunately, the spiritual energy in Chen Changming's dantian far exceeded that of an ordinary person, and he could easily withstand the drain.

"One hundred to one thousand isn't far off. I might as well strike while the iron is hot and continue breaking through..."

Chen Changming was extremely excited and continued his practice.

It seemed that for any cultivation technique from the world of immortality, the initial enhancement required one hundred repetitions, whereas the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade was a martial arts technique of a lower grade, which was why it started at ten thousand.

Once he had figured everything out, Chen Changming felt it was necessary to learn a sword technique.

After all, the entire Lingxiao Sect focused primarily on swordsmanship; as an outer disciple, constantly brandishing a blade was ultimately not a viable path.

Thinking of this, he sighed to himself.

Back when he was a chore disciple, he had lacked a sense of security, so he had painstakingly practiced the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade as his only offensive skill.

Now that his status had changed, the sheer number of subsequent enhancements required for the Five Tigers Soul-Severing Blade was truly daunting, so he decided to abandon it.

He felt helpless facing such a choice, but he had no other option.

He was now an outer disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, and the world he was exposed to had expanded. To become stronger and gain a greater sense of security, he had to choose better techniques.

Over a month later.

Chen Changming's Dragon Glide Step reached one thousand repetitions, earning him a second enhancement.

The enhanced Dragon Glide Step brought him another surprise: his speed surged by another fivefold, while his spiritual energy consumption decreased by fivefold, which left Chen Changming overjoyed.

This meant that his chances of survival had greatly increased.

"Alright, it's time to go take on some missions to earn contribution points..."

Stepping out of his cave dwelling, Chen Changming headed straight for the Mission Hall.

He was currently stuck at the second level of Qi Refining, and the one hundred Spirit Gathering Pills provided by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion each month were no longer enough, nor were the ten pills issued by the sect. He needed to perform missions to earn contribution points to exchange for more pills, striving to break through to the third level of Qi Refining as soon as possible.

When Chen Changming arrived at the Mission Hall, it was crowded with both outer and inner disciples.

No matter their rank, disciples in the Lingxiao Sect could not rely solely on the resources provided by the sect to cultivate; they had to complete missions issued by the sect to earn contribution points, which were then used to exchange for various cultivation resources.

Inside the hall, there were four shadow walls with lines of text scrolling across them. As a newcomer unfamiliar with the place, Chen Changming headed toward a less crowded wall to observe the missions.

"A ghostly evil spirit has appeared in Penglai Village at the foot of the mountain, specializing in devouring cattle and sheep. Kill it to receive 200 contribution points."

"There is a first-level tiger demon in Tiger Leap Gorge that frequently comes down the mountain to harm people. Kill it to receive 100 contribution points."

"Lingyin Mountain is rich in Purple Spirit Grass. Harvest it and turn it over to the sect; 100 contribution points per stalk."

"..."

The endless stream of missions was overwhelming. Chen Changming felt a surge of eagerness and was just about to accept one to test his skills when he suddenly heard Yu Hailong's voice behind him.

"Chen Changming, my Junior Brother Chen, why are you picking up missions here?"

"It's less crowded here."

Chen Changming turned back and smiled.

Yu Hailong stepped forward, grabbed him, and pointed at the shadow wall to the west, saying, "The contribution points for tasks here are too low, which is why there are so few people. Look over there where a crowd has gathered; you can tell at a glance that the contribution points for those tasks are high."

Chen Changming was stunned.

At this moment, Yu Hailong pulled him over to the outside of the western shadow wall, stood behind the crowd, and stood on his tiptoes to peer at the wall.

"A beast tide recently occurred at Cloud Mist Mountain, and many demonic beasts have run out to wreak havoc, devouring many commoners. Although our Lingxiao Sect is not particularly close to Cloud Mist Mountain, we have issued tasks for disciples to go and exterminate the demonic beasts."

Yu Hailong pointed at the shadow wall and said excitedly, "This lists various extermination tasks for the demonic beasts of Cloud Mist Mountain. If you kill them and bring their carcasses back to the sect, you can earn a handsome amount of contribution points."

"So that's how it is."

Chen Changming nodded and looked carefully at the shadow wall.

Yu Hailong was right; heading to Cloud Mist Mountain to kill demonic beasts indeed offered generous rewards. Even the lowest-level Rank 1 demonic beasts started at 200 contribution points, with the highest reaching 600.

Chen Changming suddenly felt a bit puzzled: "Brother Yu, for the same Rank 1 demonic beast, why is there such a large difference in contribution points?"

"Demonic beasts of any rank are divided into early, middle, and late stages, corresponding to the different realms of us cultivators. For instance, a Rank 1 early-stage demonic beast is equivalent in strength to a cultivator at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm..."

Yu Hailong explained.

"Are you kidding me?"

A male disciple turned around and sneered, "Demonic beasts possess innate skills; at the same realm, they are far more formidable than us human cultivators."

"I know, I just hadn't gotten to that part yet."

Yu Hailong said with a huff.

Seeing that Yu Hailong had a rather fiery temper, the male disciple fell silent and continued to observe the shadow wall.

Hearing their conversation, Chen Changming nodded silently.

He now had a clear understanding of the strength of Rank 1 demonic beasts.

Continuing to scan the shadow wall, Chen Changming asked in surprise, "There are even Rank 2 demonic beasts at Cloud Mist Mountain?"

"Of course there are, but Rank 2 demonic beasts rarely come out; they all hide deep within Cloud Mist Mountain. As long as those of us in the Qi Refining Realm don't venture too deep, we won't have any trouble."

Yu Hailong said dismissively.

Chen Changming asked again, "How strong are Rank 2 demonic beasts?"

Yu Hailong replied, "Rank 2 demonic beasts are equivalent to human cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, which is levels one to three of Foundation Establishment. Rank 3 demonic beasts are equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and Rank 4 demonic beasts are equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and peak."

"How does one accept a task?"

Chen Changming felt eager to give it a try. If he could kill a few more demonic beasts at Cloud Mist Mountain, he could earn a large amount of contribution points, and his Spirit Gathering Pill would be within reach.

"Exterminating the demonic beasts at Cloud Mist Mountain is a major task. Once you understand the beasts involved, you just need to go to Elder Liu at the entrance and register. That way, the sect knows where you've gone..."

Yu Hailong pointed toward the entrance as he spoke.