Cultivating Immortality: I Have a High-Martial World

Chapter 111 One year later, Foundation Establishment Level 8

"Within a year and a half... the ancient ruins will open ahead of schedule?"

Lin Chen was somewhat surprised.

As he had previously thought, he had no intention of exploring the ruins at all.

After all, he had already successfully formed his core in four or five years, and had reason to refuse.

But the early opening of the ruins caught him off guard.

Having already accepted Jiang Liqian's favor, he seemed unable to directly go back on his word.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen asked:

"Junior Sister Jiang, what are the risks involved in these ancient ruins? Why are you so determined to explore them? Would you mind telling me?"

Jiang Liqian fell silent upon hearing this, then sighed:

"Sigh, I never intended to keep this from you, but now that the ruins are opening ahead of schedule, I don't know if taking you there will help you or hurt you..."

"That ruin was originally the cave dwelling of a Golden Core cultivator thousands of years ago."

"Legend has it that the Core Formation cultivator only possessed dual spiritual roots, yet he condensed a ninth-grade golden core, a feat unparalleled in ten thousand, thanks to a secret Core Formation technique—the Three Revolutions Golden Essence Technique!"

Secret techniques for forming a golden core? A ninth-grade golden elixir?

Lin Chen rubbed his forehead in thought.

A ninth-grade golden elixir—this is truly a one-in-a-million quality elixir.

Let alone a small place like Yanlai Realm, even in the entire Qingzhou, there are only a handful of geniuses who can condense a Golden Core of this quality.

"Could you elaborate?" Lin Chen asked in a deep voice. If it concerned a ninth-grade golden core, he was genuinely interested.

Jiang Liqian didn't hide anything and explained in detail:

"The quality of the Core Formation is related to the path after Core Formation, and even to the future path of Nascent Soul Formation and Deity Transformation."

"Moreover, it differs from perfect Foundation Establishment, which only requires superior aptitude and sufficient financial support. Even the Changchun Sect, if willing to invest heavily, could easily cultivate one or two perfect Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

"However, the quality of the Core Formation is only related to one's own aptitude. Even the Golden Essence Pill, which is extremely rare, can only improve the quality slightly."

"Only this technique is different! For example..."

"If you were originally only capable of condensing a sixth-grade golden core, that would be considered excellent talent. However, if a cultivator uses the Three Revolutions Golden Essence Technique... the quality of their golden core can be raised by three grades, ultimately reaching a ninth-grade golden core!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat.

One cultivation technique can improve the quality of a Golden Core by three grades?

This is simply... too outrageous!

The difference between a sixth-grade Golden Core and a ninth-grade Golden Core is like heaven and earth!

According to the common sense of the cultivation world, a sixth-grade Golden Core cultivator has a chance to glimpse the Nascent Soul realm; while a ninth-grade Golden Core cultivator almost always enters the Nascent Soul realm!

"Tsk tsk, no wonder... wouldn't the major powers of Qingzhou be fighting tooth and nail for such a secret method of Core Formation?"

Lin Chen thought to himself, with such a heaven-defying technique, it's understandable that Jiang Liqian would want to delve deeper into the ruins.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Liqian dropped another bombshell.

"Moreover, the effects of the Three Revolutions Golden Essence Technique are not limited to this!"

"Legend has it that if an eighth-grade Golden Core cultivator practices this technique, they might even have the chance to condense a legendary Super-grade or even Heaven-grade Golden Core!"

Lin Chen was stunned upon hearing this. Super Grade Golden Pill, Heaven Grade Golden Pill?

This was a Core Formation quality he had never even heard of before!

Those who reach the ninth rank of Golden Core stage are almost guaranteed to form a Nascent Soul...

What about the Heavenly Golden Elixir? Could it be a chance to glimpse... the Nascent Soul realm?

Thinking of this, even Lin Chen's breathing became a little heavier.

"Given its immense historical significance, why haven't the top powers in Qingzhou sent their experts to search for it?"

Lin Chen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Liqian explained:

"The major powers of Qingzhou have already sent people to explore it, but they discovered that the ruins are protected by an array. If any cultivator above the Foundation Establishment stage forcibly enters, the ruins will self-destruct, and the Three-Turn Golden Essence Technique will be lost forever..."

Lin Chen nodded slightly after hearing this, which made much more sense.

Jiang Liqian then said:

"According to intelligence, the cultivator who practiced the Three-Turn Golden Core Technique was probably a Nine-Turn Golden Core cultivator before he died, only one step away from forming his Nascent Soul."

"Therefore, there must be many magical treasures and rare gems within those ruins... Perhaps the entire life savings of a ninth-stage Golden Core cultivator are contained within them!"

Lin Chen was even more tempted after hearing this. The wealth that the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir could provide for a lifetime was probably no small amount.

"So, the specific opening time for the ruins is a year and a half later?"

"Not necessarily. It could be as late as a year and a half, or as early as a year..."

Jiang Liqian shook her head and said again:

"Because the ruins restrict the cultivation level of those who enter, cultivating both body and spirit undoubtedly has a huge advantage."

"That's why I came to find you before... but I didn't expect the ruins to open ahead of schedule. In such a short time, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment..."

Jiang Li sighed softly, "When the time comes, there will probably be quite a few Foundation Establishment stage prodigies coming to this ruin, so the competition will be extremely fierce..."

Lin Chen remained calm upon hearing this, but inwardly he thought:

"A year from now? The timing is perfect..."

Lin Chen estimated that if the ruins were to be opened a year later, his cultivation level would still be at the Foundation Establishment stage, which would be the best time to explore the ruins.

Jiang Liqian then explained some things and information to Lin Chen.

He instructed Lin Chen to focus on his cultivation.

After Jiang Liqian left, Lin Chen went back to attend the Foundation Establishment Celebration.

Li Zhenqian looked around, but only saw Lin Chen return. So he asked:

"Where's Senior Sister Jiang? What does she want with you?"

Lin Chen casually replied, "She went back after taking care of her personal matters..."

"Personal matters!?"

Li Zhenqian seemed to have sensed the key point, and felt even more uneasy.

After the Foundation Establishment Celebration ended, Lin Chen returned to the Lin Family Pavilion.

When contemplating ancient relics.

"The Three-Stage Golden Essence Technique can improve the quality of your Golden Core... Don't miss out!"

"This is such an important secret technique; we have to give it a shot!"

Lin Chen thought to himself, although his aptitude was not bad, he was still far from being able to condense a Nine-Turn Golden Core, let alone a higher quality one.

"However, it's said that the quality of one's spiritual root affects the quality of their core formation... If only I could upgrade my Devouring Spiritual Root to the second stage before forming my core..."

Lin Chen thought to himself.

……

Spring goes and autumn comes, and in the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

The Great Xia Kingdom, Martial Arts Palace.

Lin Chen sat in the lounge and swallowed a Qingyuan Pill.

Hundreds of spirit stones scattered around him, and the spirit-gathering array provided abundant spiritual energy that surged into Lin Chen's dantian.

The true energy within his dantian surged like waves, one after another.

Several hours later, Lin Chen felt the spiritual energy in his dantian finally reach a certain critical point, and he broke through naturally.

"Phew~"

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Lin Chen slowly stood up, feeling the increase of 20-30% in his true essence, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Eighth level of Foundation Establishment..."

With a slight thought, Lin Chen spread his divine sense around.

In the blink of an eye, it spread to a distance of 230 feet.

The entire area of ​​the Martial Arts Palace was within Lin Chen's perception.

"At the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, my divine sense is only 160 feet... but the Heavenly Evolution Technique at the third level has greatly amplified it!"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

A divine sense spanning 230 feet is almost beyond the realm of a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator.

A powerful spiritual sense has many wonderful uses, whether in combat or for self-defense.

"Unfortunately, the incomplete Heavenly Evolution Technique only goes up to the fourth level..."

Lin Chen thought to himself.

I looked up at the sky; it was still some time before nightfall.

"Let me eat another piece of demonic beast flesh... I'm not far from reaching the Martial Spirit level now..."

Lin Chen took out a piece of flesh and blood from a third-tier demon beast.

After swallowing it in a few bites, it takes half an hour to digest.

The body's Qi and blood are replenished once again...

He glanced down at the health and mana levels on his watch.

—2536 points!

There are less than 500 points left to reach the Martial Spirit level standard.

This is all the growth Lin Chen has achieved in the past year!

His health and mana increased by nearly 1,400 points, propelling him from a novice general to a high-level general!

His cultivation level also jumped from the fourth level of Foundation Establishment to the eighth level!

Having broken through the threshold of the late Foundation Establishment stage, the path to Foundation Establishment Perfection is not far off...

"Ding ding~"

At that moment, Lin Chen received a text message on his watch.

"Xiao Chen, are you coming home for dinner tonight? I made some pork rib soup..."

The text message was from his aunt, and Lin Chen felt a warmth in his heart. He got up and called Li Nian.

"Hey, Brother Li! Could you please take me home?"

……

A moment later, at the Lin family's home in the military dependents' community.

A family of four was eating at the table while the news was playing on the television.

"Wow, it's stewed pork ribs!"

Lin An'an ladled herself a bowl of soup and began to devour the pork ribs, savoring their delicious flavor.

A year has passed, and Lin An'an's strange illness has long been cured.

She no longer has the slender figure she used to have; the little bit of fat on her stomach has appeared.

The nearly sixty Marrow Cleansing Pills also granted her the acquired Immaculate Body.

In other words, Lin An'an's martial arts talent is now considered top-tier in the Great Xia Kingdom.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is eating!"

"Mom's asking you, how's your preparation for the martial arts exam going?"

"You'll be taking the college entrance exam next year... I heard from your teacher that you've never passed any of your academic subjects? Why don't you learn from your brother?"

During the meal, Aunt Kong Shan started rambling again.

Lin An'an pouted, covered her ears, and looked utterly dejected.

Seeing this, Lin Chen felt somewhat helpless. This kind of nagging must be a must in every household, right?

Seeing An'an give her a wink, Lin Chen quickly smoothed things over, saying:

"Oh, by the way, Auntie, I just transferred my scholarship money to your bank account, it's 500,000!"

"real?!"

Upon seeing this, the aunt quickly checked her communication watch and couldn't stop smiling when she saw the bank card balance.

Lin Chen smiled knowingly upon seeing this.

Since gaining the ability to travel between two worlds, Lin Chen was often away from home, so he used the excuse of going to martial arts university to study.

At the same time, it's also reasonable to occasionally send some money back to improve the family's living conditions.

After her initial joy, the aunt added:

"Sigh, you're at the peak of your martial arts development, how can you send money home every day?"

"Auntie will send it back to you; buy a few more bottles of nutrient solution..."

As she spoke, the aunt manipulated the money again, transferring it back intact, and even adding an extra 100,000 yuan.

Seeing this, Lin Chen felt somewhat helpless. He wanted to repay his family, but his aunt was always worried that he would mistreat her.

At this moment, my aunt said again:

"Look at your brother, he's already sending money home! When are you going to give me, his mother, a break?"

Seeing that the flames of war had once again drawn to her, Lin An'an gave Lin Chen a resentful look.

Uncle Lin Jianhe, who had been shoveling food into his mouth, interjected upon hearing this:

"Xiao Chen, I told my old comrades last time that you were an outstanding student at Kyoto Martial Arts University... and they didn't believe me!"

"Bring me your certificate of excellence another day, and I'll show it to them in person! Humph!"

Lin Chen felt somewhat helpless after hearing this, but could only offer a perfunctory reply:

"Okay, Uncle, the certificate is in my school dormitory. I'll bring it back another day..."

He felt rather helpless.

As the saying goes, once you tell one lie, you have to tell countless others to cover it up.

Lin Chen told his uncle that he had joined a special forces unit and was studying at Kyoto Martial Arts University.

Over the next year, he took his uncle to Kyoto University three times, took a photo of his student ID once, and even attended a parents' meeting...

Of course, given the Martial Arts Palace's status, these certificates could be issued casually, but they still caused Lin Chen some distress.

"What if my sister gets into Kyoto Budo University and keeps looking for me at the school?"

Lin Chen thought to himself.

Just then, the news came on the television next to us.

"The whole nation is celebrating as the ninth-generation breathing method is officially launched and is expected to be available nationwide within a week..."

The news immediately caught the family's attention.

After seeing this news, Lin Jianhe sighed:

"Times are changing so fast! The eighth generation of breathing techniques was only released a year ago, and now the ninth generation is already out..."

He found it somewhat unbelievable.

According to his understanding, each generation of breathing techniques requires hundreds of years of refinement.

Two generations have been launched in just two years... That's an amazing speed!

After hearing this, the aunt rolled her eyes and said:

"What's wrong? I advise you to put away your little schemes!"

"Times have changed! A decade or so ago, your old bones were still somewhat useful on the battlefield."

"In my opinion, in a few years, martial arts instructors like you will be everywhere..."

At this point, a look of worry returned to her face.

The majority of the family's income comes from Lin Jianhe's teaching at the martial arts school.

If martial arts masters were everywhere, wouldn't Lin Jianhe be out of a job?

Lin Jianhe snorted after hearing this and said smugly:

"Breaking through martial arts realms may have become easier, but I still possess this martial skill! Besides, I'm not far from becoming a Grand Martial Master..."

After recovering from his broken leg, the life-giving water seemed to further stimulate Lin Jianhe's potential.

His health and vitality, which had been slowly declining, actually began to gradually increase.

"But speaking of which, our Great Xia's breathing techniques are indeed at the forefront of the world!"

"I've heard that the other six countries have recently asked Great Xia to share its breathing techniques, saying that it's a treasure of all humanity and should be shared to fight against the monsters..."

Lin Jianhe clearly keeps up with current events.

"Uncle, what did the government say?" Lin Chen blinked and asked from the side.

Lin Jianhe said with considerable pride:

"What could we say? Of course we refused! It's true we'd fight the monsters together... but we can't just give away this breathing technique for free, can we?"

"They said they traded the eighth-generation breathing technique for a batch of resources and cutting-edge technology..."

At this point, Lin Jianhe suppressed a laugh and said:

"Look, the eighth generation of breathing techniques was just introduced last month, and the ninth generation is already out this month... Do you think our country is doing this on purpose?"

Seeing Lin Jianhe's winking and grimacing, the whole family couldn't help but laugh.

Lin Chen smiled without saying a word; he naturally already knew about this news.

The Great Xia Dynasty did indeed intend to share its breathing techniques, since the human race was on the same side against the demon race.

But it absolutely cannot be given away for free; this eighth-generation breathing technique came at the cost of a huge amount of resources and technology.

"But then again, even if we don't share it, other countries will steal it before long..."

Lin Chen thought to himself.

After finishing his meal, he glanced at the countdown timer on his arm.

Tomorrow is the day I'll travel to the cultivation world again.

So she said, "Aunt and Uncle, I'm going to school now! I'll come home next week..."

"Wait, take the pork rib soup with you. Auntie specially saved half a pot for you..."

Kong Shan hurriedly went to the kitchen and then handed over a thermal container.

After greeting everyone, Lin Chen went downstairs and sent a message to Li Nian.

"Brother Li, please take me to the Martial Arts Palace!"

Along the way, Li Nian drove, glancing at Lin Chen from time to time in the rearview mirror.

Seeing that he had something on his mind, Lin Chen couldn't help but ask, "Brother Li, what do you want to say? Just say it."

Li Nian didn't mince words after hearing this, and complained:

"Lin Chen, you know... over the past year or so, I've practically become your personal driver."

"In my opinion, your strength shouldn't be much worse than mine, right? Why don't you talk to your Uncle Wang... about transferring me back to the front lines?"

Lin Chen chuckled after hearing this:

"How could that be? Brother Li is probably not far from the Martial Grandmaster realm, how could I be a match for him... Besides, it's not easy to find a driver as skilled as Brother Li!"

Li Nian sighed after hearing this and focused on driving.

He was used to the life of fighting in the martial world, and during the year or so that he was Lin Chen's bodyguard, he was in a semi-vacation state.

The benefits and salary are naturally excellent, even better than before.

But a soldier like him always feels uneasy if he doesn't fight in the martial world.

……

The hovercar sped towards the military area and soon stopped in front of the Martial Arts Palace.

Upon arriving at the time-space chamber, Wang Lishan and the others had been waiting for quite some time.

After replenishing Lin Chen's weapons and equipment, Wang Lishan handed Lin Chen a piece of intelligence.

This intelligence was naturally the think tank's prediction of the situation in the cultivation world.

Over the past year, every time Lin Chen returned successfully, the think tank would immediately assess the situation and do its best to provide him with the greatest convenience.

After carefully reading the intelligence, Lin Chen put it into his nanobag.

"By the way, Uncle Wang, are the latest improvements to Long Ba and Feng Jiu complete?"

After hearing this, Wang Lishan smiled mysteriously and said:

"It's all prepared! We got the latest artificial intelligence technology from Mexico..."

"These two martial arts robots are much more useful now than before."

"Furthermore, the firepower and kinetic energy systems have undergone a major upgrade... I reckon that encountering a Martial Spirit level expert now wouldn't be a problem!"

Lin Chen nodded after hearing this.

Over the past year, Long Ba and Feng Jiu have made more than ten improvements.

Martial arts robots are also gradually maturing.

According to Wang Lishan's idea, the next step should be mass production.

We will produce at least several dozen units to ensure Lin Chen's safety in the cultivation world to the greatest extent possible.

After all, you can't bring living people with you, but you can bring as many robots as you want.

Soon, Lin Chen met the improved Long Ba and Feng Jiu.

Compared to a year ago, its appearance hasn't changed much, but it's clearly more intelligent.

"Sect Master!" Long Ba and Feng Jiu exclaimed in unison upon seeing Lin Chen.

His face even carried a lifelike expression of respect.

In the underlying logic of the martial arts robots, Lin Chen is their sect leader.

They are also people they absolutely cannot betray...

Lin Chen nodded slightly and put the two martial arts robots into the nanobag.

After more than ten improvements, the martial arts robot became even heavier.

The two together weigh nearly thirty tons.

If it weren't for Lin Chen's strength as a high-level martial general, it probably wouldn't have been easy to move it...

After installing the martial arts robot, Wang Lishan said again:

"Oh, right, there's also the further improvement of the Heavenly Demon Armor..."

"Once you put on this armor, even ordinary Martial Spirit level cultivators wouldn't be a match for you... Would you like to give it a try?"

Lin Chen was quite intrigued after hearing this, so he decided to give it a try.

He stood there, and the various parts of the Heavenly Demon Armor automatically attached themselves to Lin Chen's body, just like in a science fiction movie.

The heavy armor was completely attached to Lin Chen's body in less than ten seconds.

This is the automatic donning function of the armor.

After entering the battle armor, Lin Chen heard an artificial intelligence voice in his ear.

"Mr. Lin Chen, the improvements to the Heavenly Demon Armor version 2.6 have just been completed. Let me introduce the new features of the armor to you..."

(End of this chapter)