Jiang Chen had the experience of living two lifetimes, possessing great wisdom and tremendous resolve.
After carefully weighing his options, he realized he had no choice. He stopped overthinking and settled into focused cultivation.
Previously in the Danxian Palace, there had been constant entanglements that prevented Jiang Chen from concentrating on his martial cultivation for extended periods, making it impossible to cultivate continuously.
But this time, the situation had actually provided him with an opportunity.
After swallowing a few Origin-Nurturing Pills, Jiang Chen began his push toward the sixth level of the Yuan Realm.
He had already been at the peak of the fifth level, so breaking through to the sixth was a natural progression. Approximately half a month later, he smoothly broke through to the sixth level of the Yuan Realm.
After reaching the sixth level, Jiang Chen didn't rush forward impatiently. Instead, he patiently consolidated his realm.
Once the sixth level was fully stabilized, Jiang Chen produced another pill bottle.
This bottle contained three Origin Origin Pills.
When Jiang Chen had offered the Ten Thousand Year Pill to the Danxian Palace, Palace Master Dan Chi had gifted him a storage ring, and Elder Yun Nie had given him three Origin Origin Pills.
These Origin Origin Pills were refined from First Cloud Jade Dew — a type of pill that could absorb the creations of heaven and earth.
At the time, Jiang Chen had thought Elder Yun Nie was wasting precious First Cloud Jade Dew by using it to refine Origin Origin Pills. But he no longer felt that way.
The higher the quality of these Origin Origin Pills, the more welcome they were.
Within the Yuan Realm, an Origin Origin Pill could unconditionally advance one's cultivation by an entire level.
Such a heaven-defying pill — Jiang Chen had long prepared to use it at the critical juncture of breaking from the Earth Yuan Realm into the Heavenly Yuan Realm.
Now, at the sixth level of the Yuan Realm, he was essentially at the peak of the Earth Yuan Realm.
If not now, when would he use it?
Any pill used for advancement could only be taken once. After a single use, taking a second time would yield virtually no effect.
The Origin Origin Pill was the same — one pill meant an unconditional advance of one level.
But after that advance, taking another would produce almost no result.
So after consuming one pill, Jiang Chen stored the remaining two away. He sat cross-legged and began refining the medicinal power of the Origin Origin Pill.
These advancement pills were always extremely potent in their effects. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to grant an unconditional advance of an entire level.
Typically, such unconditional advancement compressed ten or eight years of bitter cultivation into a single day or half-day. The process of leveling up was naturally agonizing.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen had long prepared himself mentally.
Three days later—
Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped ceaselessly from Jiang Chen's face, yet a hint of joy from the advancement crept to the corners of his lips.
"Truly worthy of pills refined with First Cloud Jade Dew — straightforward and direct, with overwhelming potency! If not for my cultivation of the 'Nine Transformations of Gods and Demons' and my powerful physical body, the suffering would have been far worse!"
Compared to what others would endure when taking an Origin Origin Pill, the agony Jiang Chen's body went through was actually quite mild. Breaking through to the seventh level of the Yuan Realm launched Jiang Chen into an entirely new realm. He was now a genuine Heavenly Yuan Realm powerhouse.
However, even so, Jiang Chen showed no trace of smugness.
The seventh level of the Yuan Realm was followed by the eighth, then the ninth. On the foundation of the ninth level, he would need to discover the peak state of the Yuan Realm and approach the threshold of the half-step Saint Realm.
Only by finding clues to the half-step Saint Realm would he have the chance to achieve sudden enlightenment and step into the Saint Realm.
In other words, he was still at least three or four steps away from the Saint Realm. And none of those steps would be simple.
After breaking through to the seventh level, Jiang Chen didn't rush to push further. Instead, he continued staying near the library, reading ancient texts.
He wanted to understand the situation of this cave dwelling.
It wasn't that Jiang Chen didn't want to venture deeper — it was that the areas beyond the library were beyond his strength to attempt. Powerful formation restrictions, layer after layer, stood as impassable barriers blocking Jiang Chen, leaving him no choice but to stare blankly at the deeper regions of the cave dwelling.
According to the notes, there should be a Legacy Tower behind the cave dwelling.
And all the treasures that the Danxiao Ancient Sect had left behind were inside that Legacy Tower. If Jiang Chen wanted to obtain the legacy within, he would need to pass through layer after layer of formation trials.
Jiang Chen wasn't discouraged. Having a goal was always better than having none.
He was not the kind of person to stop at the sight of a challenge or flee when the moment of truth arrived.
He could also understand the caution of this dwelling's master. For the Danxiao Ancient Sect, the entire order had perished heroically on the battlefield.
When selecting a successor for the sect, it was only natural to design trial after trial.
First, to test the successor's character. Second, to temper the successor's will.
If the successor couldn't even pass these tests, what right did they have to receive the inheritance of the Danxiao Ancient Sect?
According to the notes, to reach the Legacy Tower behind, Jiang Chen needed to break through three gates.
The first gate was the Minor Formlessness Formation.
The so-called Minor Formlessness Formation was a formation that combined the real and the illusory.
What were forms? What the eyes saw, what the ears heard, what the nose smelled, what the hands and feet touched — all were forms.
All that had form is illusory.
This Minor Formlessness Formation was a blend of truth and falsehood. After entering the formation, what you saw, heard, smelled, and touched might appear real, but could all be illusions.
To break the Minor Formlessness Formation, one could not rely on the five senses. Only divine sense would suffice.
Having just broken through to the seventh level of the Yuan Realm, Jiang Chen's divine sense had greatly strengthened, and he planned to challenge this first gate — the Minor Formlessness Formation.