Spring passed and autumn came.
A year had flown by in the blink of an eye.
During the year, Qin Changsheng toiled diligently mining in the Danxia Spirit Stone Mine.
At night, he cultivated his body-refining techniques and improved his strength.
After a full year of accumulation, he, along with Hu Nan and Wang Cheng, had mined over 600,000 spirit stones from the mine.
Adding these to the spirit stones mined last year, Qin Changsheng had enough to repair the high-grade Earth-level magic artifact, the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl.
Although Qin Changsheng's cultivation level hadn't broken through this year,
he had mastered the Vajra Body Refining Technique.
[Name: Qin Changsheng]
[Lifespan: 30/+∞]
[Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment Level 5 (61000/80000)]
[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique (Perfected)]
[Diamond Body Refining Technique: Great Success]
[Spells: Fire Serpent Technique (Perfected), Fire Shield Technique (Perfected)]
[Swift Wind Sword Technique: Perfected]
[Smoke Shadow Step: Perfected]
[Sword Flight Technique: Perfected]
[Spiritual Root: Top-Grade Five Spiritual Roots]
[Number of times a term can be drawn: 1]
[Terms: Cultivation, Storage Space, Avatar, Immortality, Substitute Death, Concealment, Exchange, Sword Heart Clarity, Sharing, Intelligence, Source of Mana, Fire Spells, Rebirth, Repair, Instant Casting of Spells, Body Refinement]
Mastering the Vajra Body Refinement Technique wasn't what made Qin Changsheng happiest.
What made Qin Changsheng happiest was that it was a new year again.
He could draw new terms.
If he could draw a powerful term,
Qin Changsheng's strength would definitely see a qualitative improvement.
"Draw a new term!" Qin Changsheng's gaze fell on the attribute panel.
As Qin Changsheng's voice fell, a golden light appeared on the attribute panel.
After a moment, the golden light gradually subsided, and a deep gold term, engraved with ancient runes, slowly floated in the center of the panel.
Qin Changsheng stared intently, and two ancient, powerful characters clearly appeared on the surface of the inscription: [威压] (Pressure/Aura).
ReadBestsellers
Seeing this golden inscription, Qin Changsheng was overjoyed, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. This inscription perfectly compensated for his lack of active suppression methods, greatly aiding his future ascent of the Heavenly Ladder and battles against powerful enemies.
Qin Changsheng closed his eyes, focusing his senses, and quickly grasped all the characteristics of the [威压] inscription.
[威压: Golden inscription, Passive: No need for active activation, fully effective. Whenever facing any form of pressure (including the pressure of the Heavenly Ladder steps, the pressure of a cultivator's aura, the pressure of Heavenly Dao restrictions, the pressure of magical treasures, etc.), it automatically weakens the pressure intensity by 90%, greatly reducing the feeling of oppression, and can be easily resisted without consuming spiritual power.]
[2: Can actively activate the power of the inscription, releasing its own pressure. Upon release, the pressure intensity increases by 50%. The pressure range can be flexibly adjusted according to the user's spiritual energy consumption, effectively suppressing cultivators within its range and disrupting their spiritual energy circulation and movement rhythm.]
Looking at the description of the golden inscription's pressure effect, Qin Changsheng's eyes were filled with joy.
Reducing the pressure intensity by ninety percent.
The pressure from the Heavenly Ladder had absolutely no effect on Qin Changsheng.
With Qin Changsheng's strength, he could absolutely climb the Heavenly Ladder with ease and obtain that fragment of the Heavenly Dao.
Qin Changsheng took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on the futon.
At the same time, he quickly began planning his future cultivation and path of opportunity.
His first priority was to repair the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl.
Qin Changsheng knew that the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl was a high-grade Earth-level magic artifact, capable of weakening the strength of demonic beasts.
Previously, Qin Changsheng didn't have enough spirit stones.
He couldn't repair the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl.
Now he had 1.2 million spirit stones, enough to repair the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl in one go.
After repairing the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl, he sent Hu Nan back to the sect to collect the materials needed for his natal magic weapon.
As for the spirit stone mine, a crucial resource, it couldn't be neglected. He decided to leave Wang Cheng and him to continue guarding the mine, partly to mine, and partly to monitor Li Hu.
Qin Changsheng would be informed of Li Hu's every move immediately.
After arranging matters at the spirit stone mine and within the sect, his next goal was to attend the Qingyun Tower gathering.
Every year, Qingyun Tower organizes a gathering for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
During each gathering, Qin Changsheng gains access to a wealth of information, even news of fragments of the Heavenly Dao.
After the Qingyun Tower gathering, he immediately heads to Qingyun Sect and ascends the Heavenly Ladder.
The fragments of the Heavenly Dao at the top of the Heavenly Ladder are an opportunity he has long coveted. Previously, he was hindered from reaching the top due to the oppressive aura, but now, with the [Oppressive Aura] passive ability to reduce oppressive aura by 90%, ascending the Heavenly Ladder is no longer an obstacle for him.
After obtaining the fragments of the Heavenly Dao, his next goal is to acquire the special materials needed to forge his natal magic weapon.
On the path of cultivation, the natal magic weapon is crucial, a cultivator's greatest asset, greatly enhancing their combat power and accompanying them throughout their cultivation.
Qin Changsheng has already chosen his main magic weapon: the low-grade Earth-level longsword from Yujian Villa.
However, he still lacks many auxiliary materials.
Only by collecting those auxiliary materials could Qin Changsheng successfully refine his natal magic weapon.
Qin Changsheng raised his hand, and a soft white light emanated from his palm. A flawed, dull-looking pearl slowly emerged.
This spirit pearl was the treasure Qin Changsheng had obtained during the Grand Competition.
However, due to overuse, it was already damaged, its luster gone, and the spiritual energy it originally contained was chaotic.
Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Changsheng's mind stirred, and the golden inscription in his sea of consciousness was instantly activated. A dazzling golden light surged from his sea of consciousness, enveloping his body and also enveloping the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl in his palm.
"Repairing a high-grade Earth-level magic weapon—the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl!" With that, Qin Changsheng waved his hand, and his storage space flashed. A full million spirit stones were neatly arranged before him. The spirit stones were lustrous, radiating rich spiritual energy, piled up like a mountain, dazzling and eye-catching.
As Qin Changsheng finished speaking, the golden light surrounding him surged instantly, transforming into a thick beam of golden light that shot straight towards the million spirit stones in front of him.
Wherever the golden light passed, the million spirit stones were instantly engulfed. The rich spiritual energy contained within the spirit stones was rapidly extracted and refined by the golden light, transforming into pure restorative power. This power flowed slowly along the golden light, converging towards the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl in his palm.
In a matter of breaths, the million spirit stones were completely engulfed by the golden light, transforming into boundless spiritual energy that merged into the golden radiance, making the originally soft light even more dazzling and profound.
Qin Changsheng's expression was solemn as he fully activated the golden inscription's repair function, guiding this immense restorative power to slowly seep into the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl, repairing its damaged patterns and spiritual core.
The next instant, the golden light carrying the spiritual energy of the million spirit stones abruptly contracted, transforming into a condensed golden beam that plunged directly into the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl.
As the golden beam entered the pearl, the previously dim and damaged Spirit-Suppressing Pearl instantly erupted with a dazzling white light, and the cracks on its surface healed at a visible speed.
The chaotic spiritual energy gradually became stable and mellow, and the previously dim luster regained its brilliance. A gentle yet powerful aura slowly emanated from the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl, far surpassing its pre-damage state.
Qin Changsheng was overjoyed and reached out to grasp the newly repaired Spirit-Suppressing Pearl.
A warm, smooth sensation spread through his palm, accompanied by the gentle aura emanating from the pearl.
He could clearly sense that the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl was not only completely repaired, but its power was even stronger than when it was intact.
"The restoration of the golden inscription is indeed powerful!" Qin Changsheng looked at the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl in his hand, his heart filled with joy.
With this Spirit-Suppressing Pearl, even if he encountered a Golden Core level demonic beast in the future, Qin Changsheng could temporarily suppress it.