Chapter 140: Spirit-Hardening Accomplishment (Seeking Subscriptions)

"This, this, this evil cultivator, how dare he?!"

Xiang Tao felt his vision go dark for a moment, his heartbeat accelerating violently, and for a time, he was even dazed by a ringing in his ears.

Being able to instantly kill a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—who could be considered second-rate—right under his nose meant the attacker could naturally also wound him if he were careless; if there were any other tricks, it might even be possible to severely injure him!

Therefore.

How long has it been!

How long has it been since he felt his hair stand on end!

How long has it been since he felt this sense of crisis where his life was threatened!

It has become faster!

Once the Dao Foundation condenses and densifies to a certain standard, it drives the rapid sensing and absorption of spiritual Qi; simply put, a high-density mass will naturally generate gravitational pull, beginning to capture the subtle, drifting spiritual Qi to accelerate the filling of empty spaces.

The reason he did not use the stored flesh on his body to make up the numbers was mainly because there was not enough of it.

Around the camp, the soil was very hard, as if it were steel, so the trees that could grow in such soil were certainly not ordinary goods, yet right now they were completely like paper.

Once there was movement here, a slight clue was immediately detected; Xiang Tao stomped the ground and collapsed it, rushing out with a boom, actually able to rely solely on mana to maintain brief flight.

Therefore, the increase in cultivation efficiency was no longer ten percent, but fifteen percent.

【Divine Ability: Burying Death, Flourishing Life (Entry-level 19/20)】

"Stay further away, go and look for them."

At the very least, it would take ten moves!

Considering the existence of the Earth Armor Technique, it is estimated that two or three more moves could be added.

The reason it was only fifteen percent was that the original dual-core drive of the upper and lower dantian eventually lost half its power due to the gradual filling and construction of the lower dantian.

The Dao Foundation was tamped and solidified once more, however, the accumulation of cultivation had reached seventy-three, already close to a breakthrough.

Although he could now begin to spontaneously draw spiritual Qi into his body, it did not mean the basic characteristic—that the more one cultivates, the more difficult it becomes—would disappear; it was just that various breakthroughs offset each other, and in the end, a tiny positive value was still saved.

Immediately, there was movement.

Charging and crashing, he smashed everything blocking his path, rushing straight toward Du En, who had taken the initiative to reveal his tracks.

Du En's ample ammunition depot, which continued to accumulate after his liver-grinding refinement, was no bluff!

His expression at this moment was extremely gloomy, his entire body's mana burning like fire, appearing glaringly bright in the dark forest!

"Sure enough, I didn't misjudge; this guy is not on the same level as the others, and his cultivation method is Wood-element, he studies evil arts, a sneak attack can severely injure him, but it shouldn't be able to kill him, and his counterattack will be very fierce."

"Good thief!"

Normally, it should break through when built up to sixty percent, but now, the relative trend between the condensation of the Dao Foundation and the growth of the accumulation degree has become obvious, and what this brings is a change in cultivation efficiency.

When the time comes for a recovery state, full health and full mana, it will definitely make Xiang Tao feel despair!

Silently pondering, Du En felt confident; seeing Xiang Tao had calmed down, he quietly left and returned to the state he should be in during normal patrol.

"How bold!"

Now that the real evil cultivator had begun to act, he naturally did not rashly attack other patrol guards again, but instead turned his gaze toward the somewhat overlooked demonic beasts.

Divine sense increased by ten zhang in range, lifespan limit increased by eight years.

However, he had not been grinding and practicing in vain for so long; the integrated Breath Concealment Technique was actually still useful, making it impossible for Xiang Tao to fully grasp his accurate position.

Xiang Tao stared with wide eyes, his divine sense expanding outward; at this moment, he held nothing back, actually sweeping past like a gust of wind, startling the others into suddenly coming to their senses, not daring to scream, only trembling and shivering as they looked at Xiang Tao.

Manifested on Du En, it meant his physical body became further "Spirit-Hardened," his mana further purified, and the proportion of crystal dust within it reached two-fifths, invisibly pressing down on the gradually thickening lower dantian Dao Foundation, causing it to condense back from a state of just over fifty percent to forty-five percent.

Xiang Tao stopped, secretly annoyed, and then was suddenly startled.

The demonic beast meat in his storage bag had been pre-processed to better categorize and store more, with the offal removed and the usable materials already refined into magical artifacts.

The level of a master of the craft.

"This place, is?"

Since the main goal, the cultivation method, had successfully broken through, Du En could go a bit further away, into the depths of the mountain forest's miasma and poison, to search for two more second-tier demonic beasts to make up the numbers.

Therefore, after not waiting for Xiang Tao in the morning and basically determining where the other party's focus was, Du En began to whip his horse and race against time to cultivate.

In the few days, Du En did not return to the camp, and in his spare time, he did not practice spells, but instead spent his time attacking everywhere.

With such a large capacity, even using a magical artifact to self-destruct could blow Xiang Tao into a cripple.

"Considering the possibility that he might still have one or two tricks hidden, it is better to set up the premise based on the situation of mastering at least three master-level mid-grade spells."

Then, he slightly relaxed his Breath Concealment Technique, dropping from "Perfected" to "Integrated."

【Cultivation Method: Spirit-Hardening Art (Master 0/5000)】

Moving the Evergreen Wood would take a while, and pulling strings with Tang Yiping would take another while; by the time both were settled, it was estimated that many days would have passed.

Upon reaching the predetermined position, the Breath Concealment Technique was suddenly pulled up and refreshed; Du En used this to calmly avoid Xiang Tao's capture, no longer having his clues detected.

Xiang Tao might come looking for him next.

"It's not that I can't fight; after all, I have the Breath Concealment Technique, I naturally occupy the advantage, and I cultivate both body and magic, with strong pressure resistance. Even if his cultivation is two minor stages higher than mine, it's impossible for him to rely on a surprise attack to cripple me in a few moves."

Du En hid in the dark, watching Xiang Tao, who had become completely serious in his rage, and thought this to himself.

Du En, having retreated in time, observed the situation here and judged the level of Xiang Tao's mid-grade Piercing Thorn Technique.

His heart raced, and he turned his head to look; sure enough, not far away was the small outer array where he cultivated the Evergreen Wood!

Du En was provoking and threatening him!

I know your secret; if you have the ability, catch me and kill me, otherwise, hehe!

They existed in quite large numbers, lingering near the patrol line; although they were wary of the patrol guards moving in groups, they were still reluctant to leave, coveting the tender meat that had become somewhat addictive from eating new patrol guards, so they had been lurking nearby, watching for an opportunity to hunt.

After chewing over these new insights in his mind, Du En's gaze glanced at another column.

As if hearing the evil cultivator's sneer in the dark, Xiang Tao finally could not hold back his anger; he raised his hand to form seals and cast a spell, and suddenly, there was a rumbling in the forest, and black wooden thorns broke through the soil, rushing like a tidal wave in all directions, directly plowing up the entire surrounding area.

However, Du En felt that it was more likely he would first go to move his treasures, and then, for the sake of safety, go to seek help from Tang Yiping.

Following the traces left by these activities, he conversely found their temporary lair, and Du En had already wiped them all out.

That consummate Firm Spirit Art, self-taught and mastered, converged the various schools of thought, then drew out a new path of development that converged toward perfection without flaw.

"Taking oneself as the starting point, covering a range of about ten zhang in radius, the destructive power at a single point is passable."

One chasing and one fleeing, they left the others behind.

One hundred and ninety-eight corpses had already been buried, and now two more were needed, and then the divine ability would be able to break through to a new stage.

Through his diligent grinding and practice, he finally completed the breakthrough before the situation changed.

Even if this Xiang Tao had numerous trump cards and could still take it, ending up in a mutual destruction, but, Du En still had his divine ability!

Moreover, as Du En's footsteps fell, it relied entirely on the propulsion of his physical body; it was like a giant boulder rolling down a high mountain, incomparably fast, yet also like drifting clouds in the mountains, always able to lightly twist and turn to avoid obstacles.

It was mainly because this side was misunderstood as bait for an evil cultivator, and Xiang Tao might start from this direction.

"It's just that, two more are still missing."

Just like that, time arrived at five days later.

In other words, it was fundamentally impossible to piece together a single corpse that could be considered complete.

After making the decision in his heart, Du En had to set off immediately to achieve his goal with the fastest speed.

(End of this chapter)