Early Returnance. The increase in strength from the sixth layer to the seventh layer really is huge. I went from the Ninth Heavenly Layer of Saint Emperor, straight past Receival, to early Returnance.
Jian Chen determined his current strength by silently sensing his powers and comparing them to the Origin realm experts he had fought in the past. His face was filled with an uncontrollable excitement.
The difference in strength between the sixth and seventh layer had completely exceeded anything he had been expecting.
At the same time, rarely anyone would still be his opponent among Returnance due to his Chaotic Body, even though he had just reached early Returnance. His Chaotic Body coupled with with the twin swords and his comprehension of the Way of the Sword meant his battle prowess was even greater. Aside from those aspects, he had also been comprehending various but powerful sword techniques from the sword spirits, so he had grasped a few new sword techniques that could display an even greater power.
With my current strength, I can kill Reciprocity experts if I go at full throttle. Even when I come across late Reciprocity experts, I’ll be able to take them on, at the very least, even though I’m not sure I will be able to emerge victorious, because I have an advantage with the twin swords and the Way of the Sword.
It’s just that my advantages are no longer as impressive when dealing with the Spiritking. He also possesses a great sword and also comprehends the Way of the Sword. Not to mention the fact that his comprehension is no worse than mine, meaning he also possesses the power to challenge those greater than him. I wonder if the Spiritking’s made any improvement during the years I have spent cultivating…
If I exhaust all my strength, I’ll only be able to fight regular Reciprocity experts. The Spiritking is not a regular Reciprocity expert, however. He already possessed the battle prowess of someone at Godhood several years ago. I still can’t defeat him even with my Chaotic Body at the seventh layer. I probably have to reach the eighth layer to be able to hold my ground against him,
Jian Chen thought. Ouyang Yangwen was no longer a threat in his eyes now. He no longer feared the group of Origin realm experts from the foreign world. His only problem was the Spiritking.
The Spiritking was just too powerful. He could take on Godhood experts while at Reciprocity, making him a great genius. His talent was not any worse than Jian Chen’s talent, and thus, the Spiritking was Jian Chen’s final opponent.
If he could defeat the Spiritking, then the threat of the foreign world would be resolved, but if he could not, the Tian Yuan Continent would remain doomed.
I have to continue cultivating. I need to reach the eighth layer of the Chaotic Body.
Jian Chen gritted his teeth. Determination poured from his eyes as he took a step and instantly took off into the distance.
Very soon, Jian Chen arrived before the Yinyang Saint Rock again. He stared at the rock, which glowed with a black and a white light and immediately frowned.
The energy within the rock had been absorbed by him, Shangguan Mu’er, and the evil energy, so it had shrunk in size. There was not much energy left at all.
The remaining energy in the Yinyang Saint Rock is no longer enough for me to reach the eighth layer,
Jian Chen thought. Originally, he could have reached the eighth layer or even the ninth if he completely absorbed the rock according to the sword spirits’ estimations, but the evil power had been competing with him for years, so there was not enough energy to reach the eighth layer in the end.
It was also at this time that a tremendous pressure appeared from afar. It made the space around him violently tremble and almost shatter. The influence of the rock on the world had rapidly declined since its energy had been siphoned away, so the world conjured by the rock had become fragile now.
Jian Chen turned to face the direction the pressure was coming from, and he could not help but smile faintly. His gaze softened at that moment as well.
Shangguan Mu’er had broken through the Returnance realm and formally reached Reciprocity.
Without a single doubt, Shangguan Mu’er was the strongest expert among the four races if Jian Chen was not in the picture.
She was the greatest expert among all four races in terms of cultivation and battle prowess because she was the only one who had reached Reciprocity.
Jian Chen and Shangguan Mu’er continued to absorb the energy from the rock to cultivate for another nine years. The energy within the rock had finally begun to run dry, and only then did Jian Chen and Shangguan Mu’er stop.
Eighteen years had passed since Jian Chen and Shangguan Mu’er had come to this world. After eighteen years, Jian Chen’s Chaotic Body reached the seventh layer and was close to the peak. After reaching Reciprocity, Shangguan Mu’er’s cultivation slowed as well. She had only managed to reach the peak of mid Reciprocity during the following nine years, now only an inch away from late Returnance.
We can’t absorb the rock anymore. If the rock vanishes, then the evil power hidden within will break free as well. Leaving the rock allows it to function as a seal, keeping the evil power trapped in it,
Jian Chen sternly said while standing before the rock and glaring at the red light in it. Over the past eighteen years, the evil power had always been strengthening, without stopping for a single moment. Although their power had drastically increased, Jian Chen was not completely confident he could deal with the evil power.
This was because they could not help but feel chills when they saw the evil power even with their current strength. They were very fearful of it.
Shangguan Mu’er also stared at the evil power sternly. She said,
Once it absorbs all the remaining energy, it will still break free. The remaining rock won’t be able to keep it trapped for long.
I know it’ll break free soon, but I think there will be enough time. I need to raise my Chaotic Body to the eighth layer as soon as possible and then return to the Tian Yuan Continent to deal with the foreign threat. Otherwise, we’ll not have a chance of victory even with our increased strength, especially if we get caught in a pincer attack between the evil power and the foreign world, and I have a feeling that the evil power will bring a disaster countless times more severe than the foreign world,
Jian Chen said with a heavy voice. His face was grim as the light in his eyes flickered.
Shangguan Mu’er looked at Jian Chen,
Your Chaotic Body requires an extremely tremendous amount of energy. Now that we can’t absorb energy from the rock and that Violet Cloud Peaches can only be consumed once a century, what do you plan on using to reach the eighth layer?
I still have quite a variety of Immortal Tier heavenly resources that I brought back from the Xuanhuang Microcosm. These heavenly resources will be the most effective when they have been refined into pills, and if I consume them directly, their effects will be greatly reduced, and I might even explode from the violet energy, but they’re the only hope for me to reach the eighth layer under the current situation.
Jian Chen replied in a firm voice. With a wave of his hand, several heavenly resources from the Xuanhuang Microcosm appeared in his hand.
Jian Chen, can you withstand the violet energy with the current toughness of your body?
Shangguan Mu’er was very worried.
I obviously would not have been so confident if my Chaotic Body remained at the fifth or sixth layer, but now that I’ve reached the seventh layer, I believe that I can withstand the violet energy from the heavenly resources with my current toughness. Moreover, these heavenly resources aren’t of particularly high grades,
Jian Chen said confidently. He refused to believe that his Chaotic Body, at the seventh layer, was unable to withstand the violent energy from some heavenly resources that were not of particularly high grades.
