Chapter 560: A Great Increase in Strength

Zhu Ju opened his storage pouch and put away the treasures that had been arranged inside the Exquisite Treasure Pagoda.

In truth,

The half-remaining Exquisite Treasure Pagoda and the dozens of chains used to suppress demons were also treasures.

Worth at least one hundred thousand Primordial Crystals!

Unfortunately, the storage pouch he had was limited in space and couldn’t fit such colossal objects.

“This is all stuff for Mages.”

Zhou Ruxuan picked up a Jade Scroll, pursed her lips, and tossed it over.

“Very few of these are useful for Martial Artists.”

“Li Chengxia was a Mage, so of course most of her collection is related to Cultivators.” Zhu Ju reached out, caught the Jade Scroll, and placed it in his storage pouch.

“But as the daughter of Prince Yong’an and a Fourth-Grade Peak Mage, anything she took a fancy to would be of exceptional quality.”

As he spoke, he picked up a Treasure Pearl imbued with Water Element Qi, his face filled with amazement, and carefully placed it into a box.

Fourth-Grade Peak wasn’t considered strong in this world.

Leaving aside top-tier Sects like Divine Heaven and True Martial, even Martial World Sects had their share of Upper Three Grades Martial Artists.

But Fourth-Grade Peak Mages were few and far between.

Moreover, Li Chengxia’s father was Prince Yong’an of the Divine Dynasty. Her knowledge and methods far surpassed those of ordinary Upper Three Grades Martial Artists.

In Ming Nianwei’s memories, during her peak, this Commandery Princess was covered in top-tier Magical Treasures. Her combat prowess could even crush a Second-Grade Martial Artist, and any random item on her person was of the Upper Three Grades.

“Why aren’t you cultivating?”

Zhu Ju glanced to the side.

“That Ice Soul Pearl can help you quickly stabilize your Cultivation. Reaching Sixth-Grade Peak should be no problem.”

“One must always be on guard against others.” Zhou Ruxuan glanced at Ming Nianwei, who was meditating with her eyes closed, a wary look on her face.

“You’re too quick to trust people.”

“Heh…” Zhu Ju chuckled and shook his head.

“Don’t worry, she won’t hurt me.”

“You trust her that much?” Zhou Ruxuan pressed her lips together.

“And you still say there’s nothing between you two?”

“Think what you will.” Zhu Ju couldn’t be bothered to explain again. He took the Demon Heart and walked over to a platform.

“There are fish in the pool back there. If you get hungry, you can catch a few to eat. The Spiritual Qi here is abundant, so they might even be Spirit Fish.”

With that, he closed his eyes and tossed the Demon Heart into the air with one hand as his Qi Blood rushed out, Transforming Illusion into Reality.

The Qi Blood formed what looked like a blooming lotus, suspending the human-head-sized Demon Heart in mid-air.

As the petals closed, they gradually enveloped it completely.

Ten Thousand Spirits Body Forging Technique!

Refine!

His Qi Blood split into thousands of strands, piercing into the Demon Heart to refine the Essence within using a Mysterious Method.

While increasing his Cultivation, it also remolded Zhu Ju’s Physical Body.

Zhou Ruxuan gave Zhu Ju a somewhat surprised look, clearly not expecting his Qi Blood to be so abundant.

Lower Seventh Grade?

It was probably on par with the upper Seventh Grade.

With such a foundation, plus the Essence provided by the Demon Heart, breaking through to the Sixth Grade before the age of thirty should be no problem.

A faint smile appeared on her face at this thought.

Her gaze shifted to Ming Nianwei.

The bamboo-hat-wearing Mok Ying stood guard by Ming Nianwei’s side. A palm-sized Flying Sword bobbed up and down, supported by a True Flame.

She was refining her Flying Sword.

If she succeeded,

not only would her methods and strength increase greatly, but the Magical Treasure would also feed back Spiritual Qi, helping her Cultivation advance.

Before long, she would likely advance to the Sixth Grade.

‘I should work hard too. I can’t let Ming Nianwei catch up. Otherwise, if she turns on us one day, I’ll still be able to protect Zhu Ju.’

With this thought, Zhou Ruxuan took out the Ice Soul Pearl, held it in her palm, and sat down, leaning against the Exquisite Treasure Pagoda.

She kept a sliver of her attention on Ming Nianwei, but dedicated the rest of her thoughts to her Cultivation.

A Sixth-Grade Martial Artist refines Gang Force. The next step is Gang Sha Unity and Transforming Qi Blood from Illusion into Reality.

At that time,

enveloped by Qi Blood, one could fly through the sky and burrow through the earth.

One wouldn’t need to seek Gang Sha from external sources. The circulation of Qi Blood would devour the world’s Qi, naturally allowing one to refine Celestial Spirits and Earthly Evils.

Her Ice River True Gang circulated in an orderly fashion. With each pass through the Ice Soul Pearl, it grew a fraction stronger.

Time slowly passed.

All three of them fell deep into Meditation.

However, unlike the two women, Zhu Ju had run into trouble.

‘No wonder Li Chengxia didn’t take this Demon Heart with her, instead letting its Essence dissipate. It actually contains a remnant soul.’

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness,

Zhu Ju’s brows were tightly furrowed as he stared at the Ox Demon roaring at the sky before him.

This Demon had four horns and a thick coat of fur. It was a hundred zhang tall, and its aura was terrifying.

A Second-Grade Demon King!

An existence of this level was an entire Realm stronger than he had been at his peak.

‘Thankfully!’

‘Thankfully, it’s just a remnant soul. I happen to specialize in Divine Soul Secret Techniques. Otherwise, I would have taken a serious fall today.’

Enveloped in the Formless Divine Light, Zhu Ju steadied his mind as a Luminous Treasure Sword appeared in his hand.

Ten Directions Killing Realm!

“SHWISH!”

His myriad thoughts transformed into an overwhelming torrent of Sword Light that instantly enveloped the Demon King in a frenzied assault.

“MOO!”

The roar echoed, sending tremors throughout his entire Divine Soul and Sea of Consciousness. Even with Zhu Ju’s resolute will, the Sword Light wavered in disarray.

The Ox Demon seized the opportunity to thrust its head forward, its four horns striking a weak point in the Sword Light.

“Oh?”

“You even know how to engage in Combat?”

Slightly surprised, Sword Light once again filled his Sea of Consciousness.

The Demon Race was long-lived, especially Demons with the bloodline of an Ancient Divine Beast. They often lived for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. With that much time, even a pig could learn to read, let alone a Demon that possessed intelligence from the start.

Knowing how to fight was only natural.

“BOOM!”

Their Divine Thoughts clashed, and the Sea of Consciousness churned violently.

*

*

*

「More than twenty days later.」

“CLANG!”

Following a sharp ring of the sword, Ming Nianwei let out a soft cry and shot into the sky in a state of Human-Sword Unity.

Enveloped in Sword Light, she looked as graceful as a celestial fairy in her white robes.

A sharp Sword Intent swept out in all directions, causing the chains binding the Exquisite Treasure Pagoda to rattle and hum.

“Sixth Grade?”

Zhou Ruxuan’s expression was grave.

“You actually advanced to the Sixth Grade? So quickly?”

“I had a fortunate opportunity. My Divine Soul is a bit stronger than that of an ordinary Cultivator, so I was lucky enough to break through.” Retracting her Flying Sword, Ming Nianwei drifted lightly to the ground.

“Speaking of which, I have my Master to thank for this.”

“Zhu Ju?” Zhou Ruxuan narrowed her eyes.

“What’s the deal with your Sword Formulas?”

It was understandable that her Cultivation had improved, but to be able to execute such an exquisite Sword Technique right after refining her Flying Sword was extraordinary.

Although the two of them had never fought, Zhou Ruxuan could sense the sharpness of that Sword Technique.

“The Fuyao Sword has a set of Sword Formulas inscribed within it. They naturally appeared in my mind as I was performing the Refinement.” Ming Nianwei said with a charming smile.

“These Sword Formulas are called the Fuyao Sword Technique. And speaking of which, they have some connection to your Ice River True Gang, Miss Zhou.”

Hmm?

Zhou Ruxuan’s expression changed slightly.

“Hee hee…” Ming Nianwei giggled.

“Miss Zhou, there’s no need to worry. I mean you no harm.”

She had obtained over three hundred years of Li Chengxia’s memories, so she naturally knew many secrets that ordinary people did not.

Among them

was information related to the Ice River True Gang.

“You’re both awake.”

Just then,

Zhu Ju’s voice sounded. He slowly stood up, a hint of exhaustion in his eyes, and subconsciously reached out to steady himself on a nearby jade pillar.

“What happened to you?”

“I’m fine.”

Zhu Ju shook his head.

“I just exhausted some of my mental energy, but thankfully, everything went smoothly. My Cultivation has reached the middle Seventh Grade.”

“It seems…”

“Reaching Seventh-Grade Peak before thirty should be no problem.”

“What’s the situation outside?”

Ming Nianwei waved her sleeve, activating the Array. With her improved Cultivation, her execution of Magic was much faster.

“That Fifth-Grade Expert is gone.”

A smile appeared on her face as she scanned the area.

“A Fifth-Grade Expert is a top-tier figure among the major powers near Ze Lake. It’s impossible for them to stay in one place for too long.”

“Master.”

“We can take this chance to leave.”

Although the people outside haven’t found the treasury yet, they have already locked down the general location.

Discovering the Array is only a matter of time.

“Mm.”

He glanced at the situation outside, and a strange feeling arose in his heart, but Zhu Ju didn’t dwell on it. He simply nodded.

“It’s time to go.”