Chapter 604: Thundercloud Cicada Wings, Magnetic Golden Mountain

Since Jiang Chen had received a Minor Artifice Formation’s formation disk, this meant that he’d also received a Minor Artifice Formation. This was nothing less than an incredible profit. Armed with this formation disk, even someone utterly hopeless at formation techniques would be able to activate the formation to confront any enemies as long as he had enough spirit stones at his disposal. Thus, Jiang Chen was naturally aware of the disk’s benefits.

Creating a formation disk was a very complicated process. The difficulty of distilling such an enormous formation into such a tiny disk could well surpass the difficulty of setting up the formation in the first place. Moreover, the materials required to put together such a formation disk were uncommon, and not every formation could be condensed into a disk form.

However, if a disk containing a particular formation could be manufactured, it instantly became a more effective tool in battle. Leaving aside other considerations, the advantage of an instant deployment left its user with a significant edge over their opponents. Although techniques that could hasten the activation and deployment of formations existed, they could never surpass the direct speed of a disk.

In his previous life, Jiang Chen had extensively studied formation disks, even drawing up theoretical plans for various formation disks. It was just that his achievements regarding formation disks paled in comparison to his prowess with pills. Nonetheless, Jiang Chen was not satisfied with just breaking through this Minor Artifice Formation.

In order to exit this Tower of Inheritance, he needed to break through three formations, of which this Minor Artifice Formation was only the first. The second and third formations would only be increasingly difficult. Although Jiang Chen wanted to leave as soon as possible, he knew the principle of “more haste, less speed”. If he simply blindly rushed forward and ended up in a trap, things would take an immense turn for the worse.

The first formation tested the level of his consciousness. The second was a pure combat formation. Jiang Chen estimated that he didn’t have much of a chance to break through this combat formation before he entered the ninth level origin realm.

Fortunately, the environment of this cavern was highly suited for training. If he single mindedly focused on his cultivation, he could actually accomplish twice as much with half the effort. Fortunately, he didn’t lack for any resources at the moment.

After entering the seventh level origin realm, Jiang Chen decided to refine the dragon crystal. Although he carried many upper rank Origin Fostering Pills with him, the spirit power and essence within those pills wasn’t on par with the dragon crystal. The spirit power that a single dragon crystal contained could rival that of at least a thousand Origin Fostering Pills. And Long Xiaoxuan had given Jiang Chen quite a number of dragon crystals.

Jiang Chen took out a crystal and began to refine it. The spirit power of the dragon crystal was so dense that Jiang Chen spent ten days just to completely refine it. Jiang Chen pulled streaks of rich spirit energy into his dantian, reforging his entire body in the process. The might of the dragon crystal was most impressive. It was able to provide the energy necessary for cultivation while tempering his physical form at the same time. Since Jiang Chen practiced the Nine Transformations of Demons and Gods, the energy that overflowed from the dragon crystal wasn’t wasted in the slightest.

Besides absorbing spirit energy everyday, Jiang Chen also did not neglect his arts and techniques.

The superiority of the Thundercloud Cicada bloodline was finally displayed after entering the sky origin realm. Jiang Chen had finally trained to the point where he could summon the Thundercloud Cicada Wings at will. Shapeless and transparent, the wings were invisible to the naked eye.

Although the wings he’d just cultivated could not yet be considered strong, once Jiang Chen had grown used to them, he would be on par with a sage realm cultivator in terms of flight capability. Incidentally, the Thundercloud Cicada Wings were capable of growth. Once his Cicada Wings had fully matured, his speed would definitely far surpass that of a similarly-ranked practitioner. Moreover, his agility and burst speed would grant him an even heftier advantage. The Cicada Wings were a great gain that markedly lifted Jiang Chen’s spirits.

Now that he had entered the seventh level origin realm, he could finally begin using the previously untouched magnetic golden mountain. Ever since Jiang Chen had refined the magnetic heart, that magnetic golden mountain had already become one of his personal treasures. It was just that he had never made full use of everything the magnetic golden mountain had to offer. With his current realm of seventh level origin realm, Jiang Chen wanted to summon the mountain and integrate it into his combat ability as a suppressive tool.

The magnetic golden mountain was not just a simple mountain. It also possessed a strong source of magnetic and metal power. Once he summoned the magnetic golden mountain, any opponent weaker than him would be crushed beneath it, and any stronger opponents would have their movements constrained by the mountain’s magnetic ability. Coupled with the lethality of the metal power, it would be a shockingly formidable weapon.

Although Jiang Chen was now seventh level origin realm, his true strength was at the peak of the origin realm. Hence, when he summoned the magnetic golden mountain for the first time, its form was bigger and grander than he had imagined. Only, compared to the magnetic golden mountain at the peak of its glory, its appearance was less than a thousandth as impressive.

Of course, Jiang Chen wasn’t upset at this. He believed that as his own potential increased, the might of this magnetic golden mountain would also rise step by step.

Even if its power was only at a thousandth of its original form, the kind of all-oppressing grandeur generated from having a small mountain suddenly crash down on one would be enough to complete petrify most other similarly-ranked practitioners.

......

Within the Regal Pill Palace.

Three months had passed since the trip to Mt Rippling Mirage, and no one had any word from Jiang Chen. Although Palace Head Dan Chi was very optimistic about Jiang Chen’s chances, his spirits were still somewhat dampened.

“Yun Nie, what progress have you made with the Longevity Pill?” Dan Chi asked.

Elder Yun Nie replied with a wry smile, “The requirements for this Longevity Pill are incredibly high. I’ve attempted multiple times, but I’ve always failed at the most crucial moment. It seems that...”

Palace Head Dan Chi sighed softly. “If even you, Yun Nie, cannot refine this pill, it seems that this Longevity Pill is quite extraordinary. Ole brother Tian Ming of the Dark North Sect has been quite urgent on this matter. He’s already messaged us twice within the past three months to inquire of the pill’s progress.”

“This pill exhausts so much of my consciousness that at most, I can only attempt it once every three months. Fortunately, my previous two attempts were both been failures so I managed to escape harming the foundation of my consciousness.” Elder Yun Nie’s tone was extremely exasperated as he spoke about the Longevity Pill.

Jiang Chen had not only given them the pill recipe, he had even passed them every secret and detail regarding the refinement process. From Elder Yun Nie’s perspective, he shouldn’t have too many problems refining it. However, only when he had truly tried to do so had he come to realize how tedious and difficult the refinement process was.

Even with Elder Yun Nie’s current level of consciousness, he still felt helpless. If he could not raise his level of consciousness, then he could at most raise his success percentage to about ten or twenty percent when it came to refining this Longevity Pill. When he thought ruefully about his chances, he could not help but admire Jiang Chen. He’d been able to withstand the pressure and circumstances in Mt. Rippling Mirage to completely refine the Longevity Pill in just one go.

Just how astonishing was his mental strength? Just how stunning was his level of consciousness? Elder Yun Nie and Palace Head Dan Chi glanced at each other, amazement sparkling deep in their eyes. It was clear that these two people were simultaneously thinking about Jiang Chen’s level.

Palace Head Dan Chi laughed ruefully. “If that is so, then Jiang Chen’s level...”

“Has definitely surpassed mine,” Elder Yun Nie finished for him.

“I pray that the heavens will help such a worthy person. Nevertheless, this trip to Mt. Rippling Mirage has definitely been a fruitful one. I’ve noticed that as of today, the geniuses of Rosy Valley have become much more united. In particular, Shen Qinghong seems to have gained much motivation. He’s not only broken into the sage realm since his return, but he has actively sought to pass on his cultivation experiences to younger disciples through his lectures. This is truly unusual behavior.”

Elder Yun Nie smiled, “Shen Qinghong was provoked time and again by Wang Han and the rest on Mt. Rippling Mirage. His courage stems from the fact that he has experienced humiliation. His realization of this is a blessing that emerged from a curse. Moreover, Jiang Chen repeatedly helped him out of his predicament. Even if he doesn’t say anything, his heart is genuinely thankful towards Jiang Chen. He’s come to realize that in times of crisis, fellow sect members are ever the most reliable.”

“Haha, Elder Yun Nie, have you realised that ever since Jiang Chen entered our Regal Pill Palace, our sect has run smoothly and has been improving day by day?

Elder Yun Nie nodded and exclaimed, “Indeed. Palace Head, back when you allied us with the Precious Tree Sect, I was still slightly skeptical. I have to say, Palace Head is truly far-sighted.”

Actually, this matter was not just due to Palace Head Dan Chi’s far-sightedness. The only reason for this was Elder Shun. If Elder Shun hadn’t mentioned Jiang Chen, Palace Head Dan Chi never would have noticed Jiang Chen, thought to check his background, and discovered the child’s miraculous growth. Only then had Dan Chi resolved to ally with the Precious Tree Sect due to his love for talent. He had never imagined that Jiang Chen would bring about so many unexpected benefits to the sect in just one short year.

Their victory atop Mt. Rippling Mirage had more or less been solely orchestrated by Jiang Chen. During their harvest on the mountain, Jiang Chen had been the one to reverse the tides and obtain quite a number of sky spirit herbs, the bulk of the earth spirit herbs and an even bigger quantity of Sage Fledgling Grass. Any one of those assets were enough to propel his wealth far above the six major sects.

Even a single stalk of sky spirit herb was unquestionably priceless. Now, the Regal Pill Palace possessed a grand total of seven sky spirit herbs, five of which were with the sect and the other two with Jiang Chen. Naturally, the Regal Pill Palace would avoid revealing any such news. Currently, the six major sects all believed that the bulk of the sky spirit herbs were entirely in the hands of the Regal Pill Palace, and they’d only held the initial allotment of two stalks of sky spirit grass. Moreover, as opposed to the Regal Pill Palace, the other sects all considered Jiang Chen to be dead without question.

If he was truly trapped in the ancient herb garden, who would still care about his life or death after three thousand years?

Palace Head Dan Chi sighed lightly. “What a pity. Jiang Chen has contributed so much to our Regal Pill Palace, but is now trapped in Mt Rippling Mirage. I had hoped that he would amaze the world during the Myriad Grand Ceremony in three years time. It seems that this plan is now nothing but dust.”

“Not necessarily. If it was anyone else, they might truly be trapped in the mountain. But this is Jiang Chen... I remember reading a tidbit from his past that said he had been trapped in some forbidden territory back in the Sixteen Kingdom Alliance. Didn’t he escape in the end?” Elder Yun Nie was speaking of the time that Jiang Chen had been imprisoned in Eternal Spirit Mountain.

At that time, Elder Shun had been the one to disturb the fundamental formation of the mountain. As a result, the mountain had been sealed earlier than expected, trapping Jiang Chen within. Elder Yun Nie did not actually know the details of this event and had only heard all of this via hearsay.

“Indeed. This child is a miracle maker. If anyone in the Myriad Domain can escape from Mt Rippling Mirage, the first person this seat thinks of is him. Yun Nie, take a bit more care of our sect matters. I’ve decided to undergo secluded cultivation to break through the sky sage realm.” With everything he’d gained this time, Palace Head Dan Chi had broken through to the sixth level from the fifth level of the sage realm. As of today, he made up his mind to use all his strength to break through to the sky sage realm in one go. After all, their trip to Mt Rippling Mirage had granted them some hefty profits, especially those stalks of Sage Fledgling Grass that could now be refined into sufficient numbers of Heroic Sage Pills for his use. To Dan Chi, it was as if he’d been granted freedom, as unrestrained as a fish that roamed the seas or a bird that soared through the skies.