Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 154 Golden Core Disciple
In the days that followed, Chen Li's Immortal Skin and Jade Bone Skill progressed by leaps and bounds.

He started taking medicinal baths once every three days, which gradually became once every two days. With the consumption of a huge amount of spirit stones, the strength of his bones increased at a visible rate and became increasingly crystallized.

Even their strength has increased to varying degrees, their skin and muscles have become firmer and more resilient, and their defense has greatly improved.

What surprised Chen Li even more was...

As physical strength improved, the practice of basic swordsmanship became smoother, and the progress accelerated considerably.

Before this, Chen Li predicted that it would take about two and a half years to reach the maximum level in basic swordsmanship, but with the current trend, he felt that it would only take a year and a half at most.

……

Time flies.

Summer passes and autumn comes.

The True Sect has gained another Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Chen Li has finally shed the title of newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The new Foundation Establishment cultivator is a young inner disciple of the sect. The Foundation Establishment ceremony is much grander and more lively than when Chen Li entered as a guest elder. There are twenty-eight Foundation Establishment cultivators attending the ceremony, and even most of the Foundation Establishment families outside the mountain gate have come.

"Tsk tsk, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the age of twenty, he's probably the first one in our True Sect to be so young. Even among those Nascent Soul sects, he's considered a top genius!" An old Foundation Establishment cultivator with wrinkles stroked his long beard, his face showing both amazement and envy.

"No, our ancestor established his foundation at the age of eighteen." A Foundation Establishment cultivator bowed respectfully to the sky.

"Ancestor is such a figure, of course he can't be counted. Twenty years old is already remarkable. At twenty years old, I was only in the late stage of Qi Refining."

'What was I doing at twenty?' Chen Li thought to himself, then shook his head helplessly.

The original owner of this body was only at the third level of Qi Refining when he was forty years old.

Even in his previous life, he was just an ordinary person who accomplished nothing.

"This is a seed of a Golden Core! As long as it doesn't die prematurely, it will at least reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. It's incomparable, incomparable!"

A group of middle-aged and elderly Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had no hope of achieving the Great Dao, sat together, their words tinged with bitterness. They wished they could take their place, for such young people had already achieved Foundation Establishment; with such talent and aptitude, their path to the Great Dao would obviously be much smoother.

Soon, the newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived at the palace gate accompanied by Luo Shen.

The new master is named Ding Jian. He is of medium build and has an ordinary, even somewhat dull, appearance. Only the brilliance in his eyes reveals his inner wisdom.

Under the introduction of Xia Hongyi, the head of the general affairs department, Ding Jian politely and respectfully greeted each of the Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"This is our guest elder, Fellow Daoist Chen Li," Xia Hongyi introduced with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Chen is also a newly established Foundation Establishment cultivator, just like you. He has only been a Foundation Establishment cultivator for three years, yet he has already killed a second-tier demon beast on his own. His combat strength is extraordinary. You two can have a good exchange in the future."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Chen." Ding Jian bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Ding." Chen Li returned the greeting with a smile.

Ding Jian was originally a disciple of the sect, so there was no formal initiation ceremony. After seeing the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall, he was led by Xia Hongyi to pay respects to the Golden Core Ancestor.

After Chen Li entered the sect.

In fact, I only met the Golden Core Ancestor once. He usually lived a secluded life and rarely showed his face.

The affairs of the sect, both large and small, are basically handled by Xia Hongyi, the head of general affairs, who is essentially the chief steward of the Zhen Huan Sect.

After Xia Hongyi and Ding Jian left.

The atmosphere relaxed, and everyone gathered together to chat and exchange ideas on cultivation. Chen Li, who was always humble and good at flattery, easily joined the conversation.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao's Daoist techniques are profound. May I ask how you break the earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from the earth)?"

"I haven't learned the Earth Escape Technique, but I do know a thing or two about how to counter it." Xiao Yuan, who liked to teach others, smiled and said, "For someone in the early Foundation Establishment stage, the Earth Shaking Technique, level 1 of the second tier, can perfectly counter the Earth Escape Technique."

"Fellow Daoist Chen, the Earth Shaking Technique alone is not enough; you also need to learn the Clairvoyance Technique!"

Everyone revealed mysterious smiles, and several female Foundation Establishment cultivators blushed slightly, secretly spitting out their own words.

"I've learned a lot!" Chen Li said with an honest smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

He had actually overlooked this technique before.

He lacked the means to deal with enemies from underground, and the Earthshaking spell could fill that gap.

Next, the group followed this line of conversation and discussed some practical tips for combat using several commonly used techniques in the Foundation Establishment stage. Chen Li listened from the side and benefited greatly from the conversation.

Foundation Establishment cultivators have long lifespans, and most of them have encountered obstacles in their cultivation and have no hope of reaching the Great Dao. They usually have plenty of time to study life-saving techniques such as spells, especially middle-aged and elderly Foundation Establishment cultivators, who are all proficient in them.

The group chatted about everything from magic techniques to the merits and demerits of various cultivation methods, then to the surrounding situation and gossip about several Golden Core cultivators. They talked until almost noon, but Xia Hongyi and Ding Jian still hadn't returned.

Just as Chen Li was muttering to himself, a Qi Refining disciple hurriedly ran over.

"The sect leader summoned me to inform all the senior disciples that Uncle Ding has been accepted as a personal disciple by the sect leader and is about to go into seclusion, so he will not be coming."

"Hiss!" Upon hearing this, the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall gasped in shock, followed by a commotion.

"This is true!"

"Such a big matter, even if I had several times the courage, I wouldn't dare to lie."

Chen Li was puzzled, so he asked a Foundation Establishment cultivator next to him and learned that this sect leader rarely accepted disciples.

So far, there have only been two people.

One is Xia Hongyi, the current head of the General Affairs Department and the only late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in the True Sect.

Another one failed to break through to the Golden Elixir stage a hundred years ago and died in meditation.

In other words, being accepted as a disciple means there is a very high chance of becoming a Golden Core cultivator.

Even Chen Li felt a little envious.

A Golden Core Elder personally taught me... Why wasn't I chosen?

Alas, different people have different fates!

He can only rely on himself.

Despite this minor incident, the atmosphere in the hall became even more lively. Everyone was in high spirits and, even after the midday banquet, they didn't disperse but held another small exchange meeting.

They take out items that they don't usually use and put them up for trade.

Chen Li took a fancy to a second-tier mid-grade magic weapon that one of the cultivators had taken out, but the price of nine high-grade spirit stones made him hesitate because he was short of money.

The party continued until evening before everyone dispersed, saying goodbye and heading home.

Ding Jian was accepted as a disciple by the sect leader, and for a long time, he was the topic of conversation among the True Sect members.

To become a figure admired by all.

This autumn there was no large-scale forced labor like in previous years, but the sect had quite a few tasks, most of which were neither too big nor too small, such as searching for man-eating monsters, clearing out rampant evil spirits, and capturing groups of rogue cultivators. They were generally not very dangerous and the rewards were generous.

However, with so many Foundation Establishment cultivators around, it wouldn't be Chen Li's turn, as a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Chen Li ignored everything else and spent his free time learning the Rainbow Transformation Technique and the Earth Shaking Technique. Both were second-tier, first-level techniques. He already possessed the Rainbow Transformation Technique, which he obtained when he assassinated Zhou Xutang.

In his earlier years, he focused his main energy on similar magnetic gliding techniques and was too lazy to learn them.

The Earth-Shaking Technique was something I was suddenly enlightened about during our last exchange of Taoist arts.

Chen Li lived a peaceful and fulfilling life. His only slight regret was that, despite his diligent efforts and tireless work, Zhou Hong was unable to conceive.

He vaguely suspected that the original owner of this body had damaged his fertility due to his long-term life in brothels.

The bewitching women in brothels are the most ruthless and depraved.

It is said that there is also the practice of absorbing yang energy to replenish yin.

In the throes of ecstasy, one's vital energy is taken away.

Think about...

It's terrible!
Fortunately, he didn't place too much importance on having children.

It's good to have it, but it doesn't matter if you don't.

Chen Li often comforted Zhou Hong, telling her not to overthink it, not to rush, and to believe that hard work pays off and that diligence will eventually bring rewards.

……

Half a month later, in the wild.

Chen Li silently chanted a spell while rapidly forming hand seals.

"Earth Shaking Technique!"

He raised his foot and then stomped down heavily, the force of his magic making the stomp seem as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"boom!"

The earth trembled violently.

The ground weeds were shattered and bounced half a meter high, and the surrounding trees were also shaken and bent over, just like a small-scale earthquake.

Chen Li looked at the mess within a radius of about thirty meters and used his X-ray vision technique.

He looked down.

Sure enough, it was ten meters underground.

The strata have been compressed and deformed, and the rocks have broken.

The insects, ants, snakes, and rats hiding inside were all crushed into a pulp and died a violent death.

"What a powerful force!"

He believed that if someone were lurking nearby, this single kick would be enough to leave them dazed, their bones shattered, or even strangled underground.

……

Time flows like water, passing by peacefully day by day.

Winter passes and spring comes.

Chen Li has been in this world for ten years, which is also his fourth year of Foundation Establishment.

On the day of the New Year, Chen Li asked Bai Wei to see off Gu Mengqing, who came to deliver gifts.

The Yu family didn't come again this year.

There has been no news for two years.

Chen Li guessed that the Yu family had either been wiped out or relocated to other places. In recent years, the True Sect had been cracking down on and capturing band of rogue cultivators. They were either killed or exiled to remote towns to fill the population gap.

He shook his head, returned to the talisman-making room, and began to set up the accounts.

"We're almost out of money!"

He counted the spirit stones and found that, including his miscellaneous savings, he only had six high-grade spirit stones left.

"This amount of money can only last for half a year at most," Chen Li thought to himself, even taking into account the future progress in his cultivation and the increase in the number of talismans he could draw.

Actually, it's gotten so fast that it's unsustainable.

That's not quite it.

He now only draws a talisman once a day in the morning, which exhausts his spiritual energy. If he wants, he can draw one in the morning and one at night, and his income can easily double, which can barely cover his expenses and stop the bleeding.

However, this will delay the progress of spell practice.

"Does he really want to follow Feng Qi's example and risk hunting second-tier demonic beasts, living a life of licking blood from the edge of a knife?"

Chen Li walked out the door with a headache.

Zhou Hong came up to her and said, "This year is your fiftieth birthday. Do you want to have a big celebration?"

Chen Li was taken aback upon hearing this.

Have I turned fifty without even realizing it?
Thinking about it, I feel nothing at all.

He still has a youthful mindset and a vigorous body...

“I don’t see many Foundation Establishment cultivators inside the mountain gate who are making a big fuss. Let’s just forget about it. We’re not like those Foundation Establishment families outside who build their families, become ancestors, and have many descendants,” Chen Li said.

Celebrating a big birthday party will cost a fortune.