Spirit Armor Art

At the first level of Qi Refining, one is at the very bottom of the cultivation world, which is why Zhu Fang usually acted timid and played the sycophant before everyone he met.

However, today, in front of this ignorant youth, he finally found a sense of superiority.

Having gauged Zhu Fang's cultivation level, Chen Changming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brat, you only have one month to cultivate. If you don't reach the peak of the Xiantian realm, I'll kill you and feed you to the fish!"

Zhu Fang's laughter suddenly cut off, his expression turning ferocious once more.

Seeing Zhu Fang's malevolent, Sha-filled glare, Chen Changming felt a flicker of fear. After all, it had taken him an entire day just to memorize the circulation path of the Spirit Armor Art, and the man was demanding he reach the peak of the Xiantian realm in a month—honestly, he had no confidence in that.

"Immortal Master, could you not grant me a few more days?"

Chen Changming asked "weakly."

"No!" Zhu Fang slapped the wooden barrel in a fit of rage, the sound echoing with sharp slaps. "What the hell do you know? The Purple Spirit Grass will wither once the time passes! Do you understand?!"

He was a rogue cultivator with such poor aptitude that he had been stuck at the first level of Qi Refining for years; without the Purple Spirit Grass, he would never break through to the second level in this lifetime.

The location where the Purple Spirit Grass grew was extremely dangerous, and if he went himself, he feared he wouldn't make it back alive.

The reason he had sought out a youth with spiritual roots was to have him cultivate the Spirit Armor Art, providing himself with an extra layer of protection so he could venture deep into that miasma-shrouded valley and retrieve the grass.

The miasma contained corrosive poison; even with the protection of the Spirit Armor Art, he would still be injured, which was why Zhu Fang dared not risk it easily.

Furthermore, the youth before him possessed a Pure Yang body and was full of vigor; running the Spirit Armor Art would allow him to retrieve the Purple Spirit Grass.

The corrosive poison of the miasma was incredibly potent. Even if the boy managed to retrieve the grass, he would be corroded beyond recognition, and once he left the valley, he wouldn't live for more than three days.

Zhu Fang didn't care about the boy's life; he was just a stray he had picked up anyway.

The boy belonged to no sect, a mere novice who had never experienced cultivation. Once he had no more utility, he could be discarded at will.

Purple Spirit Grass?

Chen Changming paused slightly, seemingly understanding a little, and feigned ignorance: "Immortal Master, please rest assured, I will definitely cultivate to the peak of the Xiantian realm as soon as possible."

"Good. Once you reach the peak of the Xiantian realm, you will help this old man gather the Purple Spirit Grass. Once the task is complete, I may take you as my disciple."

Zhu Fang said with a solemn face.

His words were duplicitous; a piece of trash with the same five-element mixed spiritual roots as himself was meant to be killed once used, saving the boy from the agony of the corrosive poison.

"Many thanks, Immortal Master."

Chen Changming blinked rapidly, pretending to be filled with gratitude.

How could he not see through the old man's malicious intentions? Now that he was under someone else's control, he could only play along and take things one step at a time.

Zhu Fang suddenly felt out of sorts; he took a few steps back and sat to the side, lost in a daze.

He was stuck at a bottleneck, and whether he cultivated or not made no difference to him now.

Chen Changming also understood his mission, so he closed his eyes and began to formally practice the Spirit Armor Art.

Within a month, he had to break through to the peak of the Xiantian realm.

Otherwise, this old thing would deem him useless and kill him outright. As for his chance to escape, he could only pin his hopes on the mission to gather the Purple Spirit Grass; only then would he be free and have a chance to flee the clutches of the devil.

Two days later.

Chen Changming was surprised to discover that when he circulated the Spirit Armor Art, a strange energy from the mud seeped into his body, continuously strengthening the weak spiritual power within him.

So this mud has such a miraculous use. This old man really spent a fortune for the sake of the Purple Spirit Grass...

Chen Changming thought to himself.

With this realization, he became even more cautious, constantly observing Zhu Fang's reactions and trying his best to appear diligent in his cultivation so the man wouldn't find any fault.

Zhu Fang was not in the cave most of the time, often going out.

As time passed, Chen Changming's cultivation grew slowly.

On the tenth day, as he ran through a complete cycle of the Spirit Armor Art as usual, two warm currents suddenly surged from the soles of his feet, flowing through his entire body in an instant, while a thunderous sound echoed in his mind.

"Spirit Armor Art, executed one hundred times!"

The sudden voice caught the youth off guard. It took him a long while to recover his senses, and when he opened his eyes, his pupils shone brilliantly in the dim light.

The warm current and the voice had appeared again!

Last time it was the blade technique, and this time it was the Spirit Armor Art!

Two consecutive experiences of this kind allowed Chen Changming to instantly grasp the key.

It seemed that if he repeated a certain action a specific number of times, he would receive a reward. And this time, the reward was that he had successfully mastered the Spirit Armor Art before even reaching the peak of the Xiantian realm!

This was truly an unexpected surprise!

A faint, shimmering glow, like armor, appeared on the surface of his skin, giving it an incredibly sturdy feel.

"Haha..."

Zhu Fang's loud laughter drifted in from outside the cave.

Chen Changming withdrew the Spirit Armor Art, quickly closed his eyes, and focused on his cultivation.

Zhu Fang seemed to be in a good mood today. After entering the cave and casting a satisfied glance at the youth who was diligently cultivating, he sat for a while before leaving.

After completing another cycle of circulation.

Chen Changming opened his eyes and stared at the pitch-black rock wall, lost in serious thought.

Although he had achieved an early breakthrough in the Spirit Armor Art, his crisis remained; he still stood no chance of survival before Zhu Fang, who was at the first level of Qi Refining.

If I continue to increase the number of practice cycles, could there be a second breakthrough?

A bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Chen Changming was startled, yet simultaneously felt a surge of secret excitement. The breakthrough threshold for his saber strikes was ten thousand, while the Spirit Armor Art had required only one hundred; the two were completely different. If he reached one thousand or ten thousand cycles of the Spirit Armor Art, would he break through again?

At this thought, Chen Changming began to cultivate as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

The speed at which he circulated the Spirit Armor Art grew faster and faster, and the unknown energy within the wooden barrel's mud slurry depleted rapidly.

Three days later.

Zhu Fang stood beside the wooden barrel with a grave expression.

"Hm? Why is the spiritual energy in this Black Gold Stone slurry almost gone? Is this brat absorbing it that quickly?"

After speaking, he silently sensed Chen Changming's aura and, finding it was merely at the mid-stage of Xiantian, he felt reassured once more.

"Without Black Gold Stone, it is impossible to successfully cultivate the Spirit Armor Art below the Qi Refining realm..." Zhu Fang sighed, rolled his eyes, and felt a wave of irritation.

He would have to spend more money.

Otherwise, if the supply of Black Gold Stone failed, all his schemes would be rendered futile.

Zhu Fang did not make things difficult for Chen Changming; instead, he left in a hurry and only returned two hours later.

After removing the old slurry, he mixed new Black Gold Stone powder with water and refilled the barrel.

Zhu Fang looked at the innocent-looking youth and gritted his teeth, "Brat, if you don't succeed, I will hack you into eight pieces!"

Chen Changming feigned terror and stammered, "My Lord Immortal Master, this one will certainly cultivate with all his might and never slacken."

"Hm, cultivate well."

Seeing the youth's good attitude, Zhu Fang nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave again.

In the days that followed, Chen Changming cultivated desperately day and night, and the consumption rate of the Black Gold Stone slurry accelerated even further.

Seeing this rate of consumption, Zhu Fang was left wanting to cry, yet he had no choice but to keep going out to purchase more.

Within a mere month, his life's savings were completely exhausted.

By this time, Chen Changming's cultivation cycles had reached nine hundred and ninety-nine, just one short of one thousand.

He was so clear on the count because he had been intentionally keeping track.

He wanted to discern the pattern of the changes occurring within him.

Hum!

After completing the nine hundred and ninety-ninth cycle of the Spirit Armor Art, Chen Changming's body shuddered, his aura surged significantly, and his cultivation realm entered the peak of Xiantian.

"Brat, you have reached the peak of Xiantian!"

Zhu Fang was overjoyed; he grabbed the youth from the wooden barrel and hurried out of the cave.