Chapter 98: Chapter 96: Devouring Spirit Root, Advancement!

Lin Chen sat cross-legged, keenly sensing.

“After absorbing this pure energy, the Devouring Spirit Root has indeed improved somewhat…”

“However, the effect is too low! It seems that I really have to completely expend one hundred thousand Spirit Stones…”

Thinking this, Lin Chen no longer hesitated.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands…

As the energy of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones was absorbed, a thick layer of gray-white powder covered the room.

At the same time, Lin Chen felt a certain mysterious change occurring in his Spirit Root.

The devouring of Spirit Stones continued—

Fifty thousand, eighty thousand, one hundred thousand…

In a daze, Lin Chen seemed to feel a vortex forming with him at its center.

This vortex, like a black hole, was crazily devouring the energy from the Spirit Stones.

Insatiably hungry, seemingly never to be satisfied.

Finally, when the number of consumed Spirit Stones reached one hundred thousand, the Devouring Spirit Root finally underwent a qualitative change!

Until a certain moment, this black hole was finally filled.

The turbulent Spiritual Energy around him and the mutation within his Spirit Root also thoroughly stabilized.

Lin Chen’s eyes trembled slightly, carefully experiencing the changes in his Spirit Root.

Under the operation of the Spirit Root, the Spiritual Energy born from the Spirit Gathering Array became much more sensitive…

“Earth, Wood, Fire, Gold, Water…”

Originally, Lin Chen could only keenly perceive the Earth and Wood Spiritual Qi in the air.

But now, within his detection, even the Fire, Gold, and Water Spiritual Qi became clear…

“Devouring Spirit Root, all five elements complete…”

Lin Chen opened his eyes, his expression somewhat complex.

Typically, the more singular and pure the Spirit Root of a cultivator, the higher the sensitivity to Spiritual Qi.

For example, suppose a person has a Wood True Spirit Root.

Then, his sensitivity to Wood Spiritual Qi is close to one hundred percent, while the other four types are nearly zero.

But if another person has Five Elements Mixed Spirit Roots.

Although all five elements are complete, the sensitivity of one hundred to Spiritual Qi is divided into five parts, with each having only twenty…

In this way, no matter what Cultivation Technique is practiced, or Spiritual Qi is enhanced, the cultivation speed is greatly reduced.

The above is usually the case in the Cultivation Realm.

This is also why, in any power, Single Spirit Roots are more valued than Multiple Spirit Roots.

But obviously, Lin Chen’s Devouring Spirit Root does not belong to this situation.

He is like having the completeness of all five elements, with each type of Spiritual Qi sensitivity at one hundred.

In this way, regardless of the attribute of the Cultivation Technique or Divine Techniques, they can all be performed.

“This is merely the first stage of the Devouring Spirit Root…”

“In the second stage, the sensitivity of the five spirit roots will reach the level of Earth Spirit Root, and the sensitivity to Spiritual Qi will be even higher!”

Lin Chen’s heart moved slightly, taking out the giant Spirit Testing Stone prepared in advance.

He placed his palm on the Spirit Testing Stone.

Boom!

Sure enough—

Yellow, green, blue, red, brown, symbolizing the five element spirit roots of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, shot out.

The light of each spirit root was as tall as a ten-foot high!

Recalling the scene of testing spirit roots at the Changchun Sect, Lin Chen sighed:

“Indeed, Anomalous Spirit Roots cannot be viewed with conventional logic…”

However, having all five elements has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage, naturally, is wider applicability.

For learning the Five Elements Divine Techniques, Lin Chen can rely on Earth Fire or Beast Fire for alchemy, but using Fire Techniques for alchemy is clearly more convenient.

Or for the arrangement of arrays, many arrays correspond to Five Elements Attributes…

Artifact Refining, Cultivation Techniques, and Divine Techniques, all have their benefits.

As for the drawbacks—

According to the Jade Scroll records, the True Essence of Devouring Spirit Root is two to three percent thicker than cultivators of the same realm, but the difficulty of cultivation is nearly doubled.

“However, overall…my current cultivation speed is still equivalent to a Top Grade True Spirit Root.”

Lin Chen pondered for a moment.

In any case, the advancement of the Devouring Spirit Root is immensely beneficial for Lin Chen.

“It’s just that the million Spirit Stones needed for the next stage…the amount is still too huge.”

Lin Chen temporarily abandoned the second advancement of the Devouring Spirit Root.

Looking at the room full of Spirit Stone powder, his fingertips moved slightly, casting Dust Clearing Technique to clean it up.

Once cleaned, Lin Chen felt much happier and pondered his next plan in the Cultivation Realm.

Lin Chen’s stable income sources in the Cultivation Realm are twofold.

The pill business of Lin’s Small Pavilion, together with the business of Guangyuan Auction.

The two together can bring Lin Chen a monthly income of over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

The income is indeed astonishing, but the auction business is probably only good in the initial months.

Once Upper Grade Magical Artifacts become rampant, the prices will certainly drop significantly.

“And I also need to not only supply my own cultivation…researching the Hundred Skills of Cultivation about the cultivators of Blue Star, which doesn’t cost Spirit Stones?”

“To ensure the steady implementation of various national plans, at least several thousand Spirit Stones are needed per month.”

Lin Chen sighed, feeling some pressure.

Fortunately, he presently has enough Spirit Stones at hand.

“However, once I make another breakthrough in Martial Path, it’s time to visit Yanlai City.”

“Next, I need to quickly breakthrough to High Level Grand Martial Master…”

…

A month later, in the Martial Arts Palace.

Lin Chen consumed one or two Demon Beast flesh and practiced Breathing Technique.

As his physical fitness grew stronger, the pain from consuming Third Tier Demon Beast flesh also diminished.

Fortunately, the effect of Demon Beast flesh has yet to decline, each consumption still enhances 30 Qi and Blood Value.

Several hours later…

Lin Chen’s body felt light, and his aura returned to calm.

He opened his eyes, glancing at the Qi and Blood Value on his wristwatch—528 points.

“Finally, I’ve successfully broken through to the High-Level Grand Martial Master!”

Lin Chen let out a small sigh of relief and stood up, heading to the training room.

In front of the testing equipment, Lin Chen began assessing his current physical qualities.

A moment later, he acquired a set of data.

“Strength: 22,000 kg, Peak running speed: 133 meters per second…”

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up slightly, quite satisfied with the progress in his abilities.

“Not bad… A piece of Demon Beast flesh boosted my base strength by nearly 2,100 kg!”

“Fist power of 22,000 kg is just the basics. By applying the Vibrating Blade Technique, it amplifies fourfold, nearing 90,000 kg!”

Lin Chen estimated that his flesh body was now approaching the level of a late Foundation Establishment Body Refining Cultivator.

If he utilized the Profound Ink Armor, he’d be unmatched below Core Formation.

“This level of strength is more than sufficient for self-preservation within Yanlai Country…”

Lin Chen glanced at the countdown on his arm.

Less than three hours remained before crossing over to the Cultivation Realm.

Lin Chen began preparing for the next crossover.

Various weapons, pills, plus two hundred Upper Grade Magical Artifacts newly forged this week.

Once everything was ready, the countdown on his arm reset completely.

“Three, two, one…”

…

Changchun Marketplace, Lin’s Small Pavilion.

After the crossover, Lin Chen placed the various materials he brought into his Storage Bag.

He looked up at the sky; dawn was just breaking.

“Counting the days, today’s the Guangyuan Commerce Association’s monthly auction…”

“Setting out now for Guangyuan Town should allow me to return by afternoon.”

Thinking this, Lin Chen tidied up and then flew northwest on his Purple Jade Gourd.

Having traveled six hundred miles, Lin Chen transformed into Master Five Thunders once more.

By morning, he had just arrived at Guangyuan Town.

The auction was underway, and Lin Chen chose not to enter, instead selling several Upper Grade Magical Artifacts at a magical treasure shop in town.

By noon, the auction concluded.

Lin Chen leisurely headed towards the auction’s backstage.

“Master Five Thunders!”

Upon seeing Lin Chen, Chairman Zheng courteously greeted him and brought forth the proceeds from the auction.

“Master, as per our previous agreement… Here are your Spirit Stones, totaling sixteen thousand pieces.”

Lin Chen took the Spirit Stone Bag and counted it, puzzled:

“Why is it so much more than planned?”

According to Chairman Zheng’s earlier words, Lin Chen was expected to earn around twelve thousand Spirit Stones from this auction.

Yet now, there were several thousand more Spirit Stones.

Upon hearing Lin Chen’s question, Chairman Zheng leaned in, whispering:

“Master, the situation within Yanlai Country has been quite unsettled recently!”

“It seems several Tribulation Cultivators have appeared. The cultivation families in Yanlai City, along with the Qi Refining Perfection and Foundation Establishment Cultivators, are eager to buy Guardian Magical Treasures, thus driving up prices considerably.”

Lin Chen furrowed his brow slightly, recalling previous Tribulation Cultivators in Smoke Wave Pool.

In his experience, Tribulation Cultivators were mostly a ragtag bunch; how could they threaten cultivation families?

Seeing Lin Chen’s confusion, Chairman Zheng quietly explained:

“Master, this time it’s different from before. It’s said that many Loose Cultivators and Sect Disciples have died, and even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was killed…”

“I hear that various Tribulation Cultivators within Yanlai Country have joined forces. It seems there are external forces interfering…”

Lin Chen’s brows knitted even more tightly, and he asked:

“A Foundation Establishment Cultivator was killed? When did this happen?”

“Within these two days, reportedly someone from the Changchun Sect…”

Chairman Zheng recollected briefly, then smiled:

“But this chaos caused by the Tribulation Cultivators has significantly raised prices for various magical treasures and pills recently…”

Lin Chen nodded slightly.

Indeed, war-related profits are always the easiest to acquire.

If these Tribulation Cultivators aren’t quelled soon, his artifacts would sell like hotcakes.

“Hmm, upon returning to Blue Star next time, I should have the Artifact Refining Department hurry and forge a batch of Upper Grade Magical Artifacts.”

Lin Chen thought silently, and prepared to deliver the artifacts needed for the next month’s auction before bidding farewell.

Before leaving, Chairman Zheng advised:

“Though Master’s cultivation is profound, it’s best to be cautious. Try not to venture north during these days.”

“Hmm, thank you, Chairman Zheng, for the reminder.”

Lin Chen cupped his hands in gratitude.

North of Guangyuan Town is the mundane realm of Yanlai Country.

After leaving Guangyuan Town, Lin Chen flew back to Changchun Mountain Marketplace using Sword Flight.

Back at Lin’s Small Pavilion, he couldn’t shake a feeling of foreboding.

“Chairman Zheng mentioned that the slain Foundation Establishment Cultivator was someone from the Changchun Sect.”

“I should inquire within the sect first…”

Taking advantage of the still-light sky, Lin Chen ascended the mountain on his Purple Jade Gourd.

Along the way, he saw the sect’s disciples were quite relaxed, seemingly unaware of the Tribulation Cultivators’ affairs.

Thus, he went directly to the Pill Peak to inquire of his master.

Approaching Pill Peak, Lin Chen’s sense of foreboding grew increasingly intense.

He glanced at the Spirit Field; his master wasn’t there.

Nor was his master in the Alchemy Room.

Hence, he knocked on his master’s residence.

“Master, are you inside?”

Lin Chen called at the door.

Rustling sounds came from inside, and after a while, it was Senior Sister Miko who opened the door.

Seeing Miko’s red eyes, seemingly from recent crying, Lin Chen’s expression changed slightly.

“Senior Sister, what has happened…”

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