The difficulty this time lies in the fact that the original owner has already endured half a month of pursuit, and has exhausted all his pills and magical treasures, as well as his spiritual power, leaving him at his wit's end.
Most importantly, in the timeline, he would die today.
He died silently here, carrying a fabricated sacred artifact of the sect, forever burdened with crimes and infamy he himself was unaware of, becoming Li Chen's stepping stone.
His own inherent qualities, remaining luck, and the cultivation and sword techniques he gained through thirty years of arduous training will all become experience points, which he will contribute to Li Chen.
Di Xiu let out a soft breath and withdrew his divine sense, but the pain in his head became even more intense.
From a certain perspective, divine consciousness is somewhat like a balloon; it can shrink within the soul or expand. However, his current divine consciousness is damaged, and prolonged expansion, while not causing it to shatter directly, will exacerbate the damage.
He reached out and touched his wristband, and nine spirit stones appeared out of thin air in his palm. At this point, the original owner's spatial magic treasure was almost empty.
Nine spirit stones were driven into the ground, and the array was formed instantly. If the spirit array masters on the Xuanling Continent saw this, they would probably be astonished.
The Spirit Gathering Array is not a particularly difficult array, but to set it up properly, it requires precise calculations of the location of each spirit stone based on the concentration of spiritual energy at the placement location. The grade and size of the spirit stones also need to be selected according to the range of the array.
The most powerful spirit array master on the mainland is only at level eight, yet they lack the confidence to create arrays so casually.
If Li Chen found out, "Xiao Lingchuan" would probably have another reason to commit suicide.
This was something that Emperor Xiu figured out himself when he was sealed away.
Although the Zongheng Mountains are listed as forbidden areas, it is undeniable that they are blessed lands rich in spiritual energy. Although the location of the Emperor Cultivator is on the outskirts, it is still richer than that of 70% of the mainland.
At this moment, the spiritual energy was drawn together by the Spirit Gathering Array and gathered with fierce momentum, forming a vortex of spiritual energy. If not dealt with properly, even a Grandmaster or a Spirit King would not fare well.
Spiritual energy is invisible, but spiritual cultivators can sense it. Spiritual beasts are even more sensitive to spiritual energy than humans.
Under normal circumstances, spiritual energy can make people feel comfortable, but when it reaches a certain concentration, it can make people feel oppressed and suffocated.
Although the elk has not yet developed intelligence, its instincts tell it that danger is imminent, letting it know that continuing will lead to its death.
Despite its fear of the man before it, it stumbled and crashed into the cave wall. Before it could recover, it continued to run away as fast as it could.
Emperor Xiu did not stop it; in fact, while waiting for the spiritual energy to gather, he opened a path for it to escape safely.
His eyes gleamed with a chilling light, like a sword drawn from its sheath, its brilliance dazzling.
He was born a god and has never experienced this kind of step-by-step cultivation, but his realm is there. If the conditions are right, it is not impossible for him to ascend to immortality on the spot.
It's just a pity that he is currently lacking in divinity, his divine consciousness is damaged, and his soul is unstable; otherwise... even a mere system would dare to act presumptuously in front of him.
Since we can't hide it, then we won't hide it.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the formation and began to practice the cultivation method of his original self. A vortex of spiritual energy gradually formed above his head, flowing in from the Baihui acupoint, passing through the eight extraordinary meridians, and finally gathering in the Dantian.
The excessive spiritual energy did not bring the relief of rain after a long drought; instead, it put immense pressure on the depleted meridians, causing the body to ache all over.
Emperor Xiu, however, seemed oblivious, even actively absorbing spiritual energy.
The original owner was a mid-stage Grandmaster, but in the blink of an eye, she broke through to the late stage and reached the Great Perfection.
He was about to break through to the Spirit King realm, which would attract tribulation lightning. This would temporarily stop Li Chen, and secondly... after the tribulation lightning passed, the Heavenly Dao would bestow blessings, and the injuries to his body would be healed.
As for whether he could survive the tribulation lightning, that wasn't taken into consideration.
Starting with the Spirit King, every breakthrough requires an understanding of the rules of heaven and earth. This is called enlightenment, and many people may never be able to break through it in their entire lives because enlightenment is a mysterious and profound path that cannot be explained in words or taught by example. It can only be understood intuitively.
Of the experience packs Li Chen has absorbed so far, apart from the one from Medicine Immortal Valley, none of them can be considered geniuses, nor have any of them reached the point where he can comprehend the rules. Therefore, no matter how many experience packs he accumulates, he can only become a Grandmaster at the Great Perfection stage.
Xiao Lingchuan, whose reputation is ruined and whose death would not be noticed by anyone, is clearly the best gift package in terms of comprehension, aptitude, and sword techniques. His strength is also suitable, so that Li Chen will not arouse suspicion due to his rapid improvement in strength.
Unfortunately, he will never get his wish in this lifetime.
Di Xiu focused his mind and charged at the Spirit King's gate with all his might. Although he was new to the place, he had a basic understanding of the rules here through the timeline and the original owner's memories.
He reached out and made a grasping motion, as if there were a sword there. As his hand sliced through the air, the vortex of spiritual energy momentarily slowed down.
The sword formed from spiritual energy gradually revealed itself, simple and unadorned. After a complete sword technique, the cave exploded with a roar, cut into tofu-sized cubes by the invisible sword energy, scattering everywhere.
If you have a sword in your heart, everything becomes a sword.
Thunder rumbled overhead.
Faced with this scene, Li Chen was dumbfounded and quickly called upon the system in his mind.
"Isn't he only at the mid-stage of Grandmaster? How come he looks like he's about to break through to Spirit King?"
The system remained silent, and Li Chen, unfazed, muttered to himself, "Damn it, is this the protagonist's halo? Breaking through every battle. Hmph, I'm the protagonist now. I can even injure the strongest Spirit Sword Venerable. If I wasn't worried about not being able to digest it all at once, that hypocrite Yu Qing would already be dead in my hands. Why would I be afraid of a mere Grandmaster like you?"
The vortex of spiritual energy over there stung his face. He was afraid of the pain, and also afraid that it was a trap set by Xiao Lingchuan, who would rush over and strike him with his sword.
Even though he knew that Xiao Lingchuan was only at his last gasp, he was unwilling to take any risks.
He pulled out a bunch of random magical artifacts from his spatial storage and threw them at him, trying to interrupt Xiao Lingchuan's breakthrough this time, just like he had done countless times before when he had interrupted Xiao Lingchuan's inheritance, enlightenment, and breakthrough.
His specialty is illusion magic, which he acquired by accidentally killing a fox spirit.
pity……
"puff--"
Li Chen coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breathing becoming erratic. He covered his mouth and coughed again, taking a half step back, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"What's going on? Why am I suffering a backlash? I used it on Xiao Lingchuan so many times before, and even Yuqing couldn't make me suffer a backlash. Now Xiao Lingchuan... no, he must have been possessed by someone else. Damn it, who ruined my plans and stole my experience pack?"
Thick thunderclouds gathered in the sky, and before Li Chen could figure it out, the first bolt of lightning struck down with a deafening roar, causing the earth to shake violently.
Within the inner circle of the Zongheng Mountains, a powerful, slumbering spirit beast raised its head, its orange eyes reflecting ferocious lightning. Its voice was majestic, like the resounding of a great bell: "Which fearless individual dares to attempt a breakthrough in the Zongheng Mountains?"
Di Xiu opened his eyes and was met with a bolt of lightning.
This place was locked by the secrets of heaven, and the vortex of spiritual energy dissipated. Fortunately, the spiritual power within Emperor Xiu's body had already recovered.
The first lightning bolt cannot be dodged; that is the rule here.
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