There was a dark sky in a dreary world. There was no sun, no moon, and no stars. The ground was desolate. There were no signs of life as far as the eye could see. The land was filled with a deathly silence.
A young man, who seemed to be in his twenties, currently sat in the center of that world. Two swords hovered before him, one shining with an azure light while the other let out a violet light. A roaring flame in the young man’s hand gave off a terrifying heat. He was currently refining the two glowing swords.
At a closer glance, it was quite obvious that the two swords were covered in a layer of thin cracks. The cracks were extremely dense, spanning the swords like a spider’s web.
The cracked swords were gradually being repaired by the terrifying flames. Although they were not being repaired at an extremely fast rate, cracks would completely disappear if this continued.
The young man was Jian Chen. He had remained there for three whole years. Of course, those three years were only applicable to the outside world. In that hazy gray world, there was obviously no difference between day and night with the absence of the sun, moon, and stars. It was impossible to sense the flow of time in such an environment because the surroundings never changed. He had no idea how much time had passed whenever he went into secluded cultivation.
Over the past three years, Jian Chen and Shangguan Mu’er had always been cultivating by absorbing the yin and yang Qi from the Yinyang Saint Rock. Both of their strengths had drastically increased every passing day during those three years. Shangguan Mu’er’s improvement rate was so fast that she even surpassed Jian Chen.
Jian Chen’s Chaotic Body remained at the fifth layer. Although the amount of energy he had absorbed across the three years was not enough for his Chaotic Body to reach the sixth layer, his chaotic neidan was now full. If he continued, he would break through very soon.
Since each layer of the Chaotic Body required ten times more than the last, Jian Chen’s cultivation became more difficult the further he advanced.
Jian Chen sat there as he transformed Chaotic Force into Chaotic Flames to repair the twin swords. Even though the fusion of the swords had failed, it had still damaged them, causing the sword spirits to become weak. However, the damage this time was not extremely severe. He just needed to spend some time refining them again and the cracks would disappear.
Jian Chen had no idea how much time he had spent repairing the swords in this world that had no sense of time. In the end, he finally fixed all the cracks on the twin swords. Even though the sword spirits were still rather weak, the swords looked the same as when they were first refined. They let out dazzling glows.
Jian Chen stood up after the swords had been repaired. He stood on the Zi Ying Sword and shot off into the distance in a single instance as a streak of violet light.
In the blink of an eye, Jian Chen appeared several dozen kilometers away. A single earthen hut stood there on the dreary ground. It seemed simple, but powerful pulses of energy emanated from it. The earthen hut had been grown from the ground through Shangguan Mu’er’s techniques, so it was extremely tough even though it looked like an ordinary hut.
Jian Chen stood outside and stared at the hut. His gaze seemed to be able to pass through the walls, and when he saw what was happening inside, a sliver of gentleness appeared in his eyes.
Mu’er still hasn’t refined the yin and yang Qi. Looks like I’ll have to wait outside for a while,
thought Jian Chen. He was used to waiting after the past three years. Whenever the two of them absorbed the yin and yang Qi, he would always refine the energy extremely quickly because of his Chaotic Body. However, Shangguan Mu’er always required more time than Jian Chen.
Whenever they absorbed the yin and yang Qi, Shangguan Mu’er would take ten days or even half a month while Jian Chen only needed three days.
However, Jian Chen would not dare to absorb the yin and yang Qi without Shangguan Mu’er
If he did, it would mean certain death. As a result, Jian Chen could only wait patiently while Shangguan Mu’er refined her energy. At this moment, the door to the earthen hut slowly opened. Shangguan Mu’er appeared at the entrance and slowly walked out.
Mu’er, you’ve emerged!
Jian Chen immediately smiled.
Shangguan Mu’er sweetly smiled in return. Her smile immediately made the world around her seem dull. Even with Jian Chen’s mental fortitude, he still could not help but feel stunned.
I’ve already reached Returnance. If this continues, I’ll be able to reach Reciprocity in a few year’s time,
Shangguan Mu’er smiled. She was in a cheerful mood.
Shangguan Mu’er had completely forgotten about their dispute after three years of being together. Her impression of Jian Chen had only improved, and she now truly admitted that they were a couple.
Shangguan Mu’er’s heart was no longer cold. Perhaps due to Jian Chen’s influence or the change in her relationship with her father, she thought through a lot of things and gradually became more outgoing. Although she could not be compared to some other lively women, there would still be a sliver of a smile on her face from time to time. A smile was extremely rare in the past.
My Chaotic Body is about to break through to the sixth layer as well.
Jian Chen smiled, before making his way over to where the rock was with Shangguan Mu’er.
When Jian Chen arrived, he immediately frowned upon seeing the rock. He became stern. He stared at the rock for quite some time before saying,
Oh no, the evil power absorbing Yinyang Saint Rock has actually sped up.
Jian Chen’s voice was very serious.
Shangguan Mu’er became extremely stern as well. Her enchanting eyes were fixated on the red light hidden within the rock, and she sensed that the situation was bad. She knew extremely well just how powerful the rock was. It was small, but the amount of energy it possessed was terrifying, enough to shock any Origin realm expert. The evil power’s growth rate was extremely astonishing as it absorbed the yin and yang Qi from the rock. If this continued, she could not imagine just how powerful the evil energy would be once it broke free.
Jian Chen, what are we going to do? Are we just going to let this evil power continue to strengthen?
Shangguan Mu’er asked. She was also very solemn. Both her and Jian Chen feared the evil power because just a single glance at the red light within the rock was enough to make them shiver.
They had met many different experts throughout their lives. Jian Chen, in particular, had even seen Godkings before. However, he had not experienced such an intense feeling even while dealing with Godkings.
Jian Chen helplessly shook his head,
There’s nothing we can do. We can’t touch the rock. The evil power’s hidden within, so we can only watch as it rapidly strengthens. The only thing we can do is absorb more yin and yang Qi so that our difference in strength with the evil power is reduced.
Jian Chen was extremely certain now that the evil power was the source of the disaster of the world. Although he possessed the Primordial Godsilk, which existed to counter the disaster, he had no idea how to use it to stop the disaster. He did not even know how to use it in general. Even the sword spirits were unable to give him an exact answer. The only thing he was certain about was that the power from the Primordial Godsilk would awaken at a crucial moment in time.
Jian Chen and Shangguan Mu’er dared not waste any time due to the threat of the evil power. They immediately began to absorb the yin and yang Qi, using the dual cultivation method to balance it out. It would take them three days to absorb it, and after that, they would leave and enter seclusion to refine that energy.
Jian Chen’s Chaotic Body was at the cusp of breaking through after three years of absorption. After absorbing some more energy, his Chaotic Body finally broke through to the sixth layer. His body underwent the painful process of reforging itself once again, becoming even more powerful than before.
The sixth layer of the Chaotic Body is equivalent to the Ninth Heavenly Layer of Saint Emperor.
Jian Chen silently sensed his strength. With his familiarity of the system used on the Tian Yuan Continent, he immediately discerned the power of the sixth layer.
The Ninth Heavenly Layer of Saint Emperor was nowhere near Shangguan Mu’er’s power at Returnance, but Jian Chen believed that his battle prowess had far exceeded what he had been capable of at the fifth layer. He was only able to achieve a stalemate with Xiong Zhong while his Chaotic Body at the fifth layer, where he even sort of lost the upper hand. In the end, he relied on his recovery rate as a Class 9 Radiant Saint Master to emerge victorious.
But, now that Jian Chen had reached the sixth layer of the Chaotic Body, he still belonged to the level of Saint Emperors according to the divisions on the Tian Yuan Continent, but he believed he was now powerful enough to fight against Ouyang Yangwen.
