Chapter 34: Losses and Gains

This was the first time Zhang Nuo had suffered such a setback since he began his cultivation; not only had his cultivation base not increased at all, but he had also sustained heavy injuries. Lying quietly on the bed, feeling the icy aura emanating from the stone bed, that sensation made his body feel somewhat more comfortable.

However, the pain within his five viscera still left Zhang Nuo with lingering fear. Closing his eyes and looking inward, he saw that the positions of his five viscera had all shifted, and some even had tiny cracks appearing on them.

Slowly using Spiritual Qi to wrap around his injured viscera, allowing the Spiritual Qi to nourish the wounded areas, a day passed, and that sense of pain finally eased somewhat. Sitting up from the bed, Zhang Nuo looked at the two large bloodstains on the floor, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It seems his master was right back then; overly hasty cultivation will only produce the opposite of the intended result. Now that his viscera are injured, he cannot cultivate even if he wants to, so he has no choice but to calm his mind and nurse his injuries.

Just at this moment, the Spirit Insect in Zhang Nuo's bosom suddenly moved. Before he could think too much, he took the Spirit Insect out to look at it, only to see it vibrate its wings, its two eyes looking at the listless Zhang Nuo.

"If you had woken up a little earlier, perhaps I wouldn't have ended up like this!"

Through their mental connection, Zhang Nuo said helplessly. The Spirit Insect let out two light "squeaks" and ignored him entirely, then abandoned Zhang Nuo and flew toward the Nine Dragon Sword Case to the side.

Zhang Nuo did not stop it either; he knew the Spirit Insect was about to produce a "White Profound Crystal Stone" again! Sure enough, after the Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect landed on the Sword Box, its tail immediately gathered a large amount of Golden Light, and within the Golden Light, a thumb-sized white crystal stone was forming.

As time passed, the white crystal stone gradually grew larger, and in the end, it was actually the size of a fist. This was the first time Zhang Nuo had seen the Spirit Insect produce such a large crystal stone. Staring with wide eyes, Zhang Nuo truly could not imagine to what degree the might of this Sword Box would grow after the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" devoured such a large crystal stone.

"Swish! Swish!"

Following the Spirit Insect's production of the crystal stone, the two dragon carvings on the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" began to roam across the surface of the Sword Box. Accompanied by two faint dragon roars, the two dragon carvings simultaneously rushed out from the surface of the Sword Box, opened their mouths wide, and swallowed the freshly produced crystal stone, splitting it in two, into their bellies.

"Two dragons!"

Zhang Nuo exclaimed in a low voice. This was the first time two dragons had appeared from the Sword Box, and looking at these two dragons, they both appeared very active, not at all like the one that had appeared before, which was very listless.

After finishing the crystal stone, the two dragon carvings returned to the surface of the Sword Box once more. Instantly, the surface of the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" emitted a faint white spiritual light. The spiritual light did not dissipate for a long time; after circling the Sword Box a few times, it all returned inside the Sword Box.

Everything returned to silence. Zhang Nuo grabbed the Spirit Insect in his hand and then carefully placed it into his bosom. Now he had no time to worry about the insect; he reached out to hold the Sword Box and examined it carefully.

The Sword Box was still the same as before, without any major changes, only Zhang Nuo felt that even during ordinary times, the Sword Box was automatically gathering Spiritual Qi, though the speed of gathering was a bit slower.

"It seems I can only wait until night!"

The peak period for the Sword Box to gather Spiritual Qi was at a specific time at night; only during that time could Zhang Nuo feel its difference.

After finally struggling through to late at night, Zhang Nuo looked at the Sword Box placed to the side. His injuries had not yet healed, so it was impossible to conduct cultivation, but he could feel the concentration of Spiritual Qi gathered by the Sword Box.

As time flowed, gradually, the concentration of Spiritual Qi around Zhang Nuo began to increase. At the beginning, Zhang Nuo did not feel anything different from before, but after half an hour, the concentration of Spiritual Qi had already exceeded the previous level and was still continuously climbing. Finally, when the surrounding Spiritual Qi reached its peak, Zhang Nuo did not need to deliberately sense the Spiritual Qi to be able to easily absorb it from the surrounding space.

This discovery made Zhang Nuo so happy he almost jumped up. If there had been this concentration of Spiritual Qi before, he might have been able to successfully advance to the Ninth Layer.

As the Spiritual Qi slowly faded, Zhang Nuo's excited nerves also quieted down. Truly, fortune plays tricks on people; he had just failed his advancement and his body was injured, but it was precisely at this time that the Spirit Insect woke up and produced such a large "White Profound Crystal Stone." The crystal stone had increased the "Nine Dragon Sword Case's" ability to gather Qi by a large margin, yet Zhang Nuo could not cultivate!

However, Zhang Nuo also understood that this failure warned him that cultivation must be done one step at a time, in a down-to-earth manner; being overly eager for success will only produce the opposite of the intended result. Fortunately, it was only a failure when charging from the Eighth Layer to the Ninth Layer; if this had been a failure during Shou Dan Jie Ying, I am afraid it would not have been so easy to rectify.

This incident had a great impact on Zhang Nuo. From this day on, he prioritized stability in everything he did; he would not do anything without absolute certainty.

People are often like this; only after receiving the lesson of failure will they slowly grow up. Without experiencing some wind and rain, how can one see the rainbow?

Half a year later, the injuries on Zhang Nuo's body were mostly healed, and his cultivation base was also very firmly stopped at Qi Refining Stage Eight.

On the night of this day, the surface of the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" glowed with white spiritual light, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi was rapidly climbing. Zhang Nuo sat in the place where the Spiritual Qi was most concentrated, his eyes slightly closed, his hands forming Dharma seals. This posture lasted until noon the next day.

When Zhang Nuo slowly opened his eyes, a smile appeared on his face. After the Sword Box improved its Qi-gathering ability, he also, with its help, safely broke through to Qi Refining Stage Nine!

This was the final layer of the Qi Refining Stage; as long as he consolidated it slightly, he could go to attempt the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The joy of the Ninth Layer did not let Zhang Nuo lose his head. He took the lesson from before to heart, and for a long time, he had been continuously consolidating his cultivation base.

This day, after Zhang Nuo finished his cultivation, he counted on his fingers and calculated that there was less than two years left until the Chief Disciple Assembly.

"Two years! The time is just about enough! Foundation Establishment Stage! Here I come!"

A flash of light flickered deep in his pupils, and Zhang Nuo, with one hand resting on the "Nine Dragon Sword Case," said with full confidence.