Chapter 724 - Fifth Earthly Martial Stage

She was certain that she would catch up with Long Chen’s Blood Warp, but the situation was different now!

“Damn!” Long Chen had disappeared. Feng Zhilin waved her Shapeless Whip wildly and blew a large hole in the ground, sending dirt and metallic sand flying everywhere.

She crushed the metallic sand even further in her rampage.

“Damn! Damn!” The angry Feng Zhilin was like a wild beast that continued to rage blindly. The sand flew continuously as she dug a large hole in front of her using the Shapeless Whip.

But no matter what she did, Long Chen was gone.

“Long Chen, I will take back the Martial God Tombstone from you! Just you wait! I refuse to believe that you will stay underground forever. The moment you step out, I will butcher you into bits!”

She howled angrily in the cavernous space.

The Martial God Tombstone was supposed to be the chance for Feng Zhilin to reach the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage, and also the key to increasing the strength of the Wind clan. The Wind clan’s patriarch had given the important task of transporting it to Feng Zhilin, even leaving the Shapeless Whip with her in hopes that she would obtain treasures for the clan.

It was supposed to be an easy mission for her, but her pride had ruined it!

“Long Chen ...” Feng Zhilin calmed down and stared at the direction Long Chen had disappeared. She was oozing bloodlust.

“To think someone below the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage could win against me like this ...”

Her laughter echoed underground.

Long Chen naturally didn’t hear her, but he could imagine what kind of face she was making. She had underestimated him, and Long Chen had actually managed to steal the Martial God Tombstone.

He had succeeded.

He sighed in relief.

I would be too anxious to cultivate up there, but with the Profound Golden Soul, I can cultivate underground in peace since I can move around freely. It won’t be too late to resurface after I’ve become stronger.

Long Chen continued to travel for another fifty Li before he stopped. During his escape, he had changed directions several times. Even though it was impossible for Feng Zhilin to find him deep underground, he decided to be careful and swam deeper.

Similar to Feng Zhilin, Long Chen carved out a space underground that could fit around ten people. It was filled with metallic sand. The deeper he dug down, the more metallic sand there was. The place was filled with the power of metal.

“This is a world of metal. The Profound Golden Soul will allow me to cultivate the Golden Emperor Veiled Heaven Seal. This is the best place to do it ...”

Long Chen looked around and felt excited. He could cultivate in peace without any worries of being attacked!

“But first, I should check the Martial God Tombstone. It is a highly sought-after treasure after all. While my martial techniques are strong with the Scarlet Emperor Burning Heaven Seal, my cultivation level is low. I should try to increase my cultivation level first!”

When he first entered the Ancient Graveyard, he had broken through the Fourth Earthly Martial Stage. Only a few had passed, yet he had started cultivating the fifth stage of the Earthly Martial Fist. With the Martial God Tombstone, he was certain that he would reach the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage soon.

The Martial God Tombstone was a treasure that could increase a person’s cultivation speed by ten fold!

I should look at it first.

Long Chen made a decision and focused on his Primordial Realm. As the master, he could see everything inside of it, especially since the Martial God Tombstone was massive. Usually, a person who stored the Martial God Tombstone in a Storage Ring would need to take it out to look at it, but Long Chen could see it directly in his Primordial Realm.

Long Chen had placed it in an independent space inside of the Primordial Realm. The place was filled with the gray Primordial Qi. It enveloped the Martial God Tombstone like towels and made it look even more mysterious.

With the Martial God Tombstone in his possession, he was much calmer. In the safe underground space, Long Chen sat down and focused on the tombstone. After the experience he had last time, the words on the Martial God Tombstone soon turned into an illusion of a cultivator before his eyes.

The illusion started practicing the Earthly Martial Fist from the first stage. Even though it was only the first stage, Long Chen did not ignore it. Becoming stronger required him to solidify his basics first. However, the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage wouldn’t be easy to break into even if he solidified his basics.

Long Chen copied the movements of the illusion. Copying it gave him a profound feeling. As he learned and cultivated, his progress sped up to the point that it was ten times faster.

He could be faster if his comprehension was better.

The Martial God Tombstone immortalized the ancestor that sought after the meaning of “martial.” The more Long Chen immersed himself in it, the more he became grateful for the ancestor. The person had never given up on cultivating even after death. It was a tenacity that went beyond death!

Long Chen resonated with the feelings radiating from the Martial God Tombstone. He was also someone who defied the heavens, so the Martial God Tombstone granted him a lot of potential to learn.

He solidified his basics after copying the first to fourth stages of the Earthly Martial Fist. The Martial God Tombstone had given him a lot of ideas, so much so that he noticed a lot of different movements that he had missed in the past. Long Chen was certain that he would become stronger as long as he continued to cultivate!

Five days later, his basics had surpassed that of others at his age. He was slowly making his way to the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage. Without the Martial God Tombstone, he would’ve needed to study the manual before advancing, but now he could just copy the illusion’s movements to improve!

As long as the form and essence was correct, his Martial Soul would naturally grow too. His strength would increase substantially.

Long Chen immersed himself in cultivation in the underground cave, where no one could disturb him. Little Cat remained silent as he watched Long Chen slowly grow stronger.

Time slowly passed. Under the guidance of the Martial God Tombstone, things finally started to change on the fifteenth day. Earthly Qi surged towards Long Chen and enveloped his fist as he cultivated. The space warped a little while aftershocks caused tremors in the earth again and again.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Earthly Qi enveloped him completely.

He punched one last time and then sat down. He had completed the fifth stage of the Earthly Martial Fist and his Martial Soul had changed once more.

The fog in his sea of consciousness surged towards his dragon-shaped Martial Soul. After completing the fifth stage, Long Chen’s Martial Soul had become substantially realistic. He could now see the traces of scales on it.

His Martial Soul was coming to life.

The increasing strength of the Martial Soul caused it to suck the surrounding Earthly Qi into his body. Long Chen transformed it into his Dragon Soul Essence as it came in. His veins had gotten stronger thanks to his Martial Soul, allowing him to store more essence. The cores within his nine Martial Meridians also became more vibrant.

Time continued to pass.

Long Chen finally stopped cultivating, signaling his success in reaching the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage. It had only been a month since he came to the Ancient Graveyard, and his strength had increased from the Third Earthly Martial Stage to the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage. Including his Dragon Soul Transformation and the Five Emperor Seals, he was now an intermediate cultivator in the Ancient Graveyard.

He stood up and felt the new power in his body. His confidence grew from feeling the new strength in him, or rather he was confident in the Martial God Tombstone. It had taken him only fifteen days to make a breakthrough thanks to the Martial God Tombstone. How much longer would it take to reach the Sixth Earthly Martial Stage?

The Martial God Tombstone would only make Long Chen stronger.