So Poor

Blood essence and spiritual energy poured in continuously, but neither could affect the purple qi.

The Primordial Chaos Heart Scripture circulated steadily.

At that moment, the spiritual energy passed through the Heavenly Meeting, then flowed down into his dantian.

The spiritual energy gathered and compressed in his dantian, seemingly battering against a barrier.

Crack!

Bang!

Under the intense compression, the spiritual energy became purer and far more abundant.

Only then did Jiang Hao breathe a sigh of relief, before continuing to circulate his energy.

He also absorbed all the remaining twenty-odd points of cultivation and blood essence on the panel.

He needed to consolidate his cultivation to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

The next day.

Jiang Hao opened his eyes. He raised a hand and clenched his fist hard, delighted by the powerful strength coursing through it. After so many years in the Heavenly Sound Sect, only strength could give him a sense of security.

Without strength here, he could only be a lamb led to slaughter, without even the slightest ability to say "no."

He was now at the Foundation Establishment late stage. Though he was still far from powerful, he had taken another step toward it.

His trip to the Demon Cave would also be a little easier to handle.

But it still was not enough. He had too few advantages.

Upon entering the courtyard, Jiang Hao collected a few more bubbles.

[Cultivation +1]

[Blood essence +1]

[Strength +1]

The strength had come from Blue Lotus.

Once outside, Jiang Hao tested his fist.

A thunderous boom rang out.

A boulder shattered.

This was the strength of his physical body.

It came from blood essence and his daily gains in strength.

"By the look of it, even if I lost all my cultivation, I'd still have considerable fighting power."

Picking up white bubbles day after day truly brought enormous benefits.

After practicing Demonic Sound Slash for a while longer, Jiang Hao went to the Spirit Medicine Garden to continue his daily routine.

For the next month, no one came to disturb him.

During that month, he spent almost all his time at his residence.

While honing Demonic Sound Slash, he also studied the Nameless Manual. His control over his strength had now become much more effortless.

His strength had improved a little.

He had to admit that the manual that woman had given him was truly a priceless treasure.

At night, he would begin making talismans.

He made Focus Talismans and Divine Sword Talismans most often.

He also frequently made Myriad Sword Talismans, but did not sell them.

These talismans had considerable offensive power and might help him on his trip to the Demon Cave.

He had prepared fifteen.

He would take the others to sell.

Over the course of a month, his savings had reached seven hundred and twenty-three spirit stones.

In truth, he had not earned much that month.

Business had been poor, and the Myriad Sword Talismans had consumed some of his funds as well.

After leaving the Spirit Medicine Garden that day, Jiang Hao planned to buy a magical treasure.

"There are only seven days left before I enter the Demon Cave. I can't keep waiting."

He needed those last seven days to familiarize himself with the magical treasure, or he would not be able to unleash its full power.

There was just one thing he was hesitating over.

He glanced at the panel.

[Name: Jiang Hao]

[Age: Twenty]

[Cultivation: Foundation Establishment late stage]

[Cultivation methods: Heavenly Sound, Hundred Turns; Primordial Chaos Heart Scripture]

[Divine abilities: Nine-Turn Substitute Death (unique), Daily Appraisal, Clear Mind, Pure Heart]

[Blood essence: 46/100 (can cultivate)]

[Cultivation: 51/100 (can cultivate)]

[Divine ability: 1/3 (cannot obtain)]

His blood essence and cultivation were now both around halfway full. Should he wait until they were full and attempt a breakthrough, or extract them to cultivate now?

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Hao decided to save them for now.

His cultivation was already consolidated. Extracting them would not let him advance, so it would not help much.

"They're unlikely to attack me immediately after we enter the Demon Cave. That means I'll have time to clear out demonic beings and keep accumulating cultivation."

Having made his decision, Jiang Hao went to the sect market.

He stood before the Star Pavilion and observed it for a moment, feeling that it was considerably grander than the Snow Lotus Pavilion.

"A saber-type Foundation Establishment magical treasure?"

Upon hearing Jiang Hao's request, the attendant led the way:

"Follow me, senior brother."

A short while later.

The attendant laid out three sabers before Jiang Hao.

The first was crimson throughout, roughly three fingers wide, with a blade three feet long.

The second shimmered all over, roughly two fingers wide, with a blade one foot long. It was a short saber.

The third was pitch-black throughout, roughly three fingers wide, with a blade two feet long.

"The first is the Blazing Sun Saber. It contains powerful flame energy, and its saber qi carries intense heat, giving it tremendous destructive power. It costs eight hundred and eighty-eight spirit stones."

"The second is the Seven-Colored Moon-Slicing Saber. Its blade passes without a trace and contains seven-colored secondary blades that can shoot out together to kill unseen. It costs eleven hundred spirit stones."

"The third is the Shadow Saber. At night, it leaves neither form nor shadow, making it difficult to track. It isn't as powerful as the first two, but its material makes it exceptionally sturdy. It costs eight hundred and thirty spirit stones."

Jiang Hao picked up the Shadow Saber, because it was the cheapest.

What he really wanted was the Seven-Colored Moon-Slicing Saber.

But it was too expensive.

In the end, he bought the Shadow Saber for seven hundred and twenty spirit stones. That was his limit.

Any higher, and he could not afford it.

After obtaining the saber, he sold some more talismans, barely leaving himself with twenty or thirty spirit stones on hand.

After that, apart from the Spirit Medicine Garden, he went nowhere else, spending all his time getting used to the Shadow Saber.

In the darkness of night, he swung the saber, stirring up a towering wave.

Boom!

Saber shadows swept in all directions with tremendous destructive force.

Looking at the power of Demonic Sound Slash, Jiang Hao felt that the saber had been worth the price.

But the two were not quite compatible.

The Shadow Saber suited assassination.

Demonic Sound Slash drew far too much attention.

Still, its power was indeed formidable.

"If I keep it hidden, I can catch them off guard."

With that thought, Jiang Hao put the saber away.

Then he glanced at the sky. The sun was slowly rising.

Today was the day he would head to the Demon Cave.

Whether he could return was still a question mark.