Chapter 19: Ruthless Mobile Turret

Lacking actual combat experience was indeed Luo Chen's biggest shortcoming.

But this shortcoming was caused by many factors, among which the cultivation realm was the biggest shackle.

You couldn't expect a loose cultivator without good magic artifacts, powerful spells, or a high cultivation realm to have rich combat experience.

Wang Yuan's case was a rare example.

A secular Grandmaster of Martial Arts was inherently stronger in physical strength than the vast majority of Qi Refining cultivators.

And before cultivating immortality, Wang Yuan had already accumulated enough experience fighting humans.

Otherwise, in the Great River Market, among ten thousand loose cultivators, there were hundreds in the late Qi Refining stage; why was it that Wang Yuan possessed such a resounding reputation? With the realm of the seventh layer of Qi Refining, selling magic artifacts of unknown origin at the market every day, and still living well?

Now, Luo Chen could be considered to have a good magic artifact (Soul-Breaking Nail) and a powerful spell (Perfect-level Fireball Art).

Improving his realm had become the top priority.

Just right, Luo Chen possessed the basic conditions to improve his realm!

That bottle of Qi-Nurturing Pills contained ten whole pills, and they hadn't even been opened yet.

It was rumored that as long as you were willing to spend the capital, one thousand bottles of Qi-Nurturing Pills could create a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.

Of course, that was just a rumor.

One thousand bottles would cost one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones; converted to high-grade spirit stones, that was ten!

Even a large sect wouldn't spend such a huge amount of capital.

And people with good spiritual root aptitude would cultivate very quickly even without taking elixirs.

Luo Chen's spiritual roots were very poor, so with elixirs available, he would definitely take them.

With the help of the calming incense, Luo Chen ran the Evergreen Technique again, maxing out his state.

In this complete state, he swallowed a Qi-Nurturing Pill.

As the elixir entered his body, stimulated by spiritual power, it turned into a rolling hot current that filled him, heading straight for his meridians and spiritual channels.

A feeling of expansion and fullness filled Luo Chen's body.

He frowned, ran the Evergreen Technique, and mobilized this medicinal power to return to his dantian.

The spiritual power absorbed and refined by the cultivation technique would be affected by spiritual root aptitude, greatly reducing efficiency.

But elixirs wouldn't!

As long as it was swallowed, it would at most be refined slowly, but the medicinal power would ultimately be in the body.

Spend some time, and sooner or later it could all be refined and returned to oneself.

The process of swallowing the elixir and transforming the medicine lasted for an hour.

When Luo Chen felt the situation in his body and opened his eyes, he was full of joy!

He clicked on the attribute panel.

【Name: Luo Chen】

【Lifespan: 27/75】

【Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth】

【Realm: Qi Refining Stage 3rd Layer: 78/100】

【Technique: Evergreen Technique Proficient: 280/300】

【Spells: Fireball Art Perfect 355/500, Li Li Xiaoyao Travel Proficient 203/300, Entanglement Art Skilled 176/200, Cleaning Art Novice 52/100】

【Skills: 1st-Order Alchemist: Grain-Bigu Powder Grandmaster 540/1000, Myriad Wonders Pill Novice 37/100】

【Achievement Points: 1 point】

It rose! It rose!

Having a panel that displays attributes in real-time is just great.

Luo Chen could observe his state at any time.

The last time he checked, the realm column was Qi Refining Stage 3rd Layer: 76/100.

After refining the Qi-Nurturing Pill, it rose by a full two points, reaching 78.

In fact, Luo Chen also discovered that the attributes displayed on this panel were not based on the same standard.

For techniques, spells, and skills, they were all proficiency.

But for lifespan and realm, they were progress bars.

If he completely refined this bottle of elixirs, the progress bar should reach 96/100; the distance to breaking through to the fourth layer was not far at all.

"The proficiency of the Evergreen Technique is also rising very quickly; with the help of the calming incense, it should soon reach the perfect level."

"The Fireball Art underwent a qualitative change when it reached the perfect level. Then, what changes will occur when the Evergreen Technique reaches the perfect level?"

Luo Chen was very expectant!

The next day, Luo Chen entered that regular life again.

Regular, but not boring.

Pill after pill refined was the growth of wealth.

The refining of Qi-Nurturing Pills was the improvement of cultivation.

The growth of proficiency in Fireball Art and Li Li Xiaoyao Travel was the strengthening of combat power.

This visible, constant climbing was simply addictive.

If he didn't consider the limited resources and external dangers, Luo Chen would even be willing to cultivate quietly like this for a lifetime.

Late one night, three days later, Luo Chen shuddered all over.

Then he opened his eyes, overjoyed.

"The proficiency of the Evergreen Technique has reached the perfect level!"

"I wonder what changes there are?"

After resting a little, Luo Chen tried to run this technique again, feeling carefully, trying to find the difference from before.

Half an hour later, his expression was a bit strange.

"The time has been shortened by half; it used to take an hour to run it completely, now it only takes half an hour."

"The amount of spiritual energy refined has also doubled."

If the efficiency of spiritual energy absorption and conversion for a five-spiritual-root cultivator was standard 1, a four-spiritual-root cultivator was about 2 times the standard, three-spiritual-root was 4 times, and dual-spiritual-root was 8 times.

Luo Chen didn't know the specific standard for a single-spiritual-root cultivator, that is, a heaven-spiritual-root cultivator; he had never seen one.

But at least it was 20 times the standard!

After all, there was a legend in the cultivation world that heaven-spiritual-root cultivators could reach Foundation Establishment in ten years without taking any elixirs.

That was truly terrifying!

Why didn't those sects recruit Luo Chen before? Age was one aspect, but the main reason was that his five-spiritual-root aptitude dragged him down.

Without any external aid, it would take him at least two hundred years to reach Foundation Establishment.

But the lifespan limit of a Qi Refining stage cultivator was only one hundred and twenty or thirty.

And now, the efficiency of the Evergreen Technique in absorbing and converting spiritual energy had doubled!

What did this mean?

It meant that his current aptitude could now be compared to a four-spiritual-root aptitude; without relying on external aid, he only needed a hundred years to reach Foundation Establishment.

"This is good news; it means my speed of recovering spiritual energy has greatly accelerated, and I can have more spiritual power to improve spell proficiency."

"However, I cannot be arrogant or complacent."

"It's said to be comparable to a four-spiritual-root cultivator, but four-spiritual-root is also waste aptitude. And I only have forty-eight years of lifespan left, and Foundation Establishment is even further away. So, blindly cultivating hard still won't work."

Ultimately, he still had to take drugs!

Taking drugs required spirit stones, and Qi-Nurturing Pills weren't something everyone could afford.

The grand plan to earn spirit stones could not stop.

This was a hundred-year plan that would span his entire life!

After settling his mood, with the lingering scent of the burned calming incense, Luo Chen fell asleep peacefully.

The sky was slightly bright.

On the misty plain by the stream, a figure rose and fell like a giant roc.

Every time the figure flashed by, it left behind trails of afterimages.

"Fireball Art, go!"

With a low shout, a ball of scorching fire suddenly flew out, smashing a huge pit in the overgrown plain.

The figure didn't stop at all, nor did he stop to check the results, continuing to dash to the other side with super-fast movement techniques.

Then, just like before, he fired another Fireball Art from an inclined angle.

*Boom! *

*Boom! *

*Boom! *

When Luo Chen stopped, the wilderness was a mess, and the pits of various sizes were emitting scorching heat.

Panting slightly, Luo Chen was very satisfied with today's training results.

He no longer fantasized about flying through the sky and escaping the earth, or killing with a single sword strike.

Instead, he began to imitate Wang Yuan's combat mode.

Wang Yuan transitioned from martial arts to immortality, but his combat mode still retained part of the style from his mortal days.

Using a powerful physique for rapid movement, combined with sharp magic artifacts and various means, to deal with the enemy.

The image of Wang Yuan dragging a broadsword, stepping on the rafters, and descending from the sky had truly given him a huge shock.

The result of fighting three enemies alone was even more shocking.

Luo Chen was no fool, and he quickly absorbed its advantages.

"Although I don't have powerful close-combat ability, the perfect-level Fireball Art has super-fast release speed and decent power."

"With the help of the Li Li Xiaoyao Travel movement technique, I can become a ruthless mobile turret."

"If I encounter an enemy that the Fireball Art cannot break through, I still have two Soul-Breaking Nails as a trump card."

Close-quarters combat was truly too dangerous for the weak physique of a cultivator.

A remote mobile turret was relatively safe, capable of both attacking and fleeing.

Through constant practice these days, Luo Chen had initially determined his future combat style.

Once his realm improved, he could start increasing his actual combat experience.

And that day was not far off!

With the refreshing morning breeze, Luo Chen leaped over the stream and returned home.

"Alchemy, alchemy!"

Now, he just wanted to make money! ===== CHAPTER 20 =====