"Phew!"
Two days later, Jiang Chen opened his eyes from meditation once more. Breaking through to the eighth level of the Spirit Realm had given him even more inspiration on the martial path—ideas flowed like a fountain.
The effects of refining the Flame Crow King's crystal core were also becoming more apparent with each passing day.
"Who would have thought the Flame Crow King's crystal core would be this effective. At this rate, if I stayed in the Heavenly Spirit Region for three months, breaking through to the ninth level of the Spirit Realm would be no trouble at all."
Jiang Chen could clearly feel that after refining the Flame Crow King's crystal core, the endless stream of spiritual energy had filled his Spirit Sea to the brim.
"Now this is the martial path I, Jiang Chen, want. This is what an exciting martial life should feel like." He sensed the surging spiritual energy within his Spirit Sea and felt his entire being brimming with vitality.
"It's just that I've been away for so long—I wonder what's changed out there? I killed Long Juxue, and the Purple Sun Sect definitely won't let that go. If they take their anger out on my subordinates, nobody in the entire Tiangui Kingdom can protect them."
Jiang Chen was worried. Even though the Immortal Spirit Mountain was perfect for cultivation, he firmly made up his mind to leave.
Otherwise, preoccupied with worry day in and day out, his mind would never be at peace, and that would only hinder his cultivation.
"I'm now at the eighth level of the Spirit Realm, just one step from the ninth level. Once I reach the ninth level, aside from the four Great Venerables, the entire Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance would be mine to roam freely! Even now at the eighth level, I wouldn't fear anyone at the ninth level. Even against a Spirit King, I'd have the power to fight."
With his constant breakthroughs, Jiang Chen's confidence had grown considerably.
As his cultivation rose, he had mastered every technique of his Ocean Reversal Blade, and the blade intent was gradually sublimating in ways that hadn't existed before.
Jiang Chen's comprehension of the blade path had now surpassed what it was when he killed Long Juxue.
The Kurong Shenquan had long since completed its cycle of nine decays and nine revivals. The true strength of this fist technique lay in its power of derivation.
The profound mysteries within the Kurong Shenquan provided tremendous fusion and generative power for Jiang Chen's cultivation of other martial techniques.
He had now achieved full mastery of all four ultimate techniques of the Moon-Shattering Flying Knife. Combined with the flying knives forged from the Flame Crow King's tail feathers, it was like adding wings to a tiger.
Most importantly, as the four Divine Abilities of the Moon-Shattering Flying Knife continued to improve, the power of this hidden-weapon art would only keep growing.
His Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil, Wind-listening Ear, Heart of Rock, and Seven Apertures Spiritual Resonance all rose in tandem with Jiang Chen's breakthroughs.
As for his trump card, the Ice Fire Demon Lotus—after reaching the eighth level of the Spirit Realm, he could now directly control all forty-nine of them.
The potential of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus was tied to Jiang Chen's own cultivation.
The stronger his physical body, the more powerful his Spirit Realm, the greater the potential of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.
In other words, the potential of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus was continuously improving, constantly evolving.
The Ice Fire Demon Lotus was already a treasure of Myriad Heavens caliber, but its current evolved potential was still a far cry from its peak state.
Jiang Chen knew this perfectly well, and he was extremely attentive to the evolution of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus.
"It's a pity I couldn't devour Long Juxue right there on the arena that day. If I had absorbed his Innate Constituted body, the boost to the Ice Fire Demon Lotus would have catapulted it to a whole new level."
Though he felt a slight twinge of regret, Jiang Chen didn't dwell on it. On the martial path, there would be plenty of opportunities like this in the future.
Beyond the Ice Fire Demon Lotus, the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain was another great treasure trove.
After entering the Heavenly Spirit Realm, Jiang Chen's control over the Yuan Magnetic force had become far more effortless. Manipulating it to form a Yuan Magnetic field was now something he could do almost reflexively. However, he was still far from achieving a Yuan Magnetic Storm.
"If I could form a Yuan Magnetic Storm, even if I ran into a Yuan Realm ancestor, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible to fight. Even if I couldn't win, escaping unscathed would be easy enough."
Of course, the Yuan Magnetic Storm still needed more refinement. But the Evil Golden Eye—that was something Jiang Chen had already begun cultivating.
When he had entered the tenth floor of the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain, during the three trials, that towering metallic giant had fired a beam of the Evil Golden Eye, leaving a deep impression on Jiang Chen.
This Divine Ability was even more useful than any hidden weapon—a single glare, and before the enemy could react, they would be frozen by the overwhelming force of Golden Essence. What a tyrannical power!
So Jiang Chen had spent these days comprehending and cultivating this Divine Ability.
The Evil Golden Eye was not easy to master. Fortunately, Jiang Chen had cultivated the Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil and possessed a formidable foundation in eye techniques.
Each day he used the Golden Essence to temper his divine pupil, refining its oppressive force.
The Evil Golden Eye was not merely an ocular technique—it was also a mental-force Divine Ability. It combined the power of Golden Essence with mental force to generate an overwhelming pressure that could instantly freeze a person's soul and consciousness, then use the Golden Essence to petrify the opponent in an instant.
For Jiang Chen, the Evil Golden Eye was practically tailor-made.
Because everything required to cultivate it, he already possessed—and in superior form, no less.
For eye techniques, he had cultivated the Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil, and his ocular abilities already far surpassed those of his peers.
For mental force, he had trained the Heart of Rock, and the strength of his mind was something even Yuan Realm ancestors admired.
As for the Golden Essence, the Yuan Magnetic Gold Mountain provided an inexhaustible supply. Add to that the fact that Jiang Chen refined Golden Essence daily to temper his physical body and cultivate the Nine Transformations of Gods and Demons—he was never short on it.