Over the following months, Jiang Chen did not continue to challenge the Glazed Stele. Instead, he secluded himself within his private space, quietly refining his abilities.
Although breaking through to the ninth level of the Saint Realm was not something that could be achieved overnight, Jiang Chen remained completely unwavering.
Breaking through to the ninth level of the Saint Realm — that was his minimum goal for entering the Glazed King Tower.
After all, within the Glazed King Tower, a single day of cultivation was equivalent to ten or twenty days in the outside world. By that calculation, even if he stayed inside for only two years, it would be at least equivalent to two or three decades outside.
Since first stepping onto the path, Jiang Chen had never before had such abundant time and such an excellent environment, allowing him to cultivate without the slightest distraction.
His months of seclusion and dormancy may have caused the outside world to gradually forget his prominence, but the true gains — Jiang Chen himself knew them clearly.
His exploration of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain continued to deepen, raising all of its divine abilities to new heights. In particular, the summoning of the Golden Seal Sovereign had become increasingly proficient, and his relationship with the Golden Seal Sovereign had grown ever more harmonious.
As for the Primordial Magnetic Dao Armor's divine ability, Jiang Chen had also grown more and more proficient, wielding it with ever greater ease.
The Primordial Magnetic Dao Armor had gone from his initial unfamiliarity to his current mastery, to the point where he could now instantly bestow the armor upon ten people simultaneously, with defensive power absolutely comparable to the early stage of the Emperor Realm.
And as his own cultivation continued to rise, the defensive power of this Primordial Magnetic Dao Armor would only continue to increase.
"The Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain truly is a great treasure. However, I've already uncovered the various potentials of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain. I simply haven't pushed them all to their absolute limits yet."
Jiang Chen had indeed slowly uncovered all the various potentials of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain.
However, discovering potential was one thing — utilizing it to its utmost was another matter entirely.
The Golden Seal Sovereign in particular — to push the Golden Seal Sovereign's potential to its absolute limit would likely not be accomplished overnight either.
The same applied to the Evil Golden Eye. He knew what potentials it possessed, but cultivating it to perfection and bringing it to its full power would require prolonged effort.
Beyond the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain, Jiang Chen had also never stopped refining his own cultivation base. Although he was still some distance from breaking through to the ninth level of the Saint Realm, he was gradually beginning to see hope.
Martial cultivation was like walking a winding, twisting road.
Each level of realm was like a rest stop. At this point, Jiang Chen could already see from afar the rest stop that was the ninth level of the Saint Realm, beckoning to him.
In addition, Jiang Chen's "Five Thunder Divine Sound Sword" had also grown increasingly proficient. Its various mysteries were continuously being comprehended and mastered.
As a result, the power of this sword technique continued to rise.
Of course, what Jiang Chen was currently focusing his main cultivation efforts on were the eight statues. Controlled through the formation disk, these eight statues had clearly seen a significant boost in power.
Moreover, these eight statues themselves contained boundless potential. The more Jiang Chen explored, the more he felt that the hidden potential within these eight statues was in no way inferior to that of the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain.
Jiang Chen continuously fused with the eight statues through his spiritual consciousness.
As the degree of fusion deepened, his control over the eight statues grew ever more profound. Their power when deployed grew ever stronger, and manipulating them became ever more effortless.
The eight statues were already controlled through the formation disk, and together with the Eight Desolations Spirit-Absorbing Formation, their combat power had received an enormous boost.
"I wonder what the true origins of these eight statues are. But these statues actually possess some kind of miraculous will, as if they once had life — there's a faint aura of a powerhouse's will within them. Unfortunately, with my current strength, I still can't fully unearth the potential of these eight statue puppets. What a pity."
Jiang Chen was in no rush for results.
He couldn't become a giant in a single bite. These eight statues were undoubtedly extraordinary in origin. As for how much potential they held, Jiang Chen couldn't yet judge.
But his instincts told him that these eight statues possessed such a powerful will — one that even he couldn't fully uncover — that they certainly couldn't be any less impressive than the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain.
In the world of martial cultivation, one could never have too many treasures.
Even if there was no more potential to uncover, these eight statues could be used both for attack and defense, making them absolutely formidable weapons against any enemy.
Naturally, Jiang Chen had no reason to underestimate them.
As his previous trump cards were continuously discovered by others, and as some of his earlier equipment was gradually phased out, these eight statue puppets would inevitably become an important weapon in his arsenal going forward.
This period of closed-door cultivation lasted a full six months before Jiang Chen finally emerged.
Six months had passed, and naturally, great changes had taken place in the outside world. Of the thirty-six geniuses on the Young Lord Rankings, those still remaining in the Glazed King Tower were now fewer than half.
Third Young Master Ji was still around, clearly having not relaxed during these months but instead closing himself off in diligent cultivation, hoping to break through to the Emperor Realm in one leap.
However, the step from half-step Emperor Realm to full Emperor Realm, though it appeared to be a mere hair's breadth, was actually an enormous leap. Countless martial artists spent their entire lives unable to cross this threshold.
Though Third Young Master Ji was extraordinarily talented, he had still not managed to cross this particular step.
That said, his months of bitter cultivation had clearly yielded rich rewards. The True Dragon Blood had been completely refined by him, and through this refinement, both his body and soul had undergone a thorough strengthening — a transformation akin to being reborn.
Over these past months, his primary focus had been refining the True Dragon Blood. As the blood was refined, his bloodline power and bloodline density had reached an atavistic level — a true return to his bloodline roots.
Some of the True Dragon Clan's inherited memories had also begun to show first stirrings of awakening in his mind, causing the True Dragon totem within his body to grow exponentially more powerful.
This meant that the potential of his natal totem was now virtually limitless. One could even say it had surpassed that of all his ancestors.