38: Thirty-five Silver-Armored Taoist Soldiers

The opportunity to choose three Cultivation Techniques or Spells with one purple jade token was used up, plus fifty Merit Points. Lu Chen, who had originally thought he was getting rich, didn't feel so rich anymore. His Merit Points dropped below triple digits again, leaving only eighty-six.

He still had two purple jade tokens, which could be exchanged for six more Spells. And there were indeed many more things he needed to exchange for, such as a powerful Earth Evasion Technique, and another powerful Wind Control Technique, or Cloud Riding Technique. Formations also needed to be studied, otherwise, if trapped by a Formation in the future, he wouldn't even be able to find the escape route.

Anyway, there were still many things he needed to learn, but the current Lu Chen's energy was limited, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Returning to his small courtyard, activating the Restrictions, Lu Chen fully immersed himself in cultivation.

In the morning, he cultivated the Jiuxiao Sword Sutra, in the afternoon he practiced the Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art, and in the evening he consumed pills to enhance his cultivation.

Winter passed and spring came, and in the blink of an eye, two months had gone by. The early spring wind was still cold.

But within the small courtyard, vital energy surged, like a burning furnace, the heat waves pushing away the air.

Lu Chen held a High Grade spirit sword, his blood boiling like molten lava, his Sword Intent erupting. His sword momentum was like the vast sky, overbearing yet profound.

At a certain moment, the Sword Intent on his body surged even higher, suddenly seeming to break through some kind of restraint. The early spring cold wind that struck him was also silently sliced apart by this rampant Sword Intent, disappearing into nothingness.

"Jiuxiao represents the Nine Heavens, possessing nine great sword stances. Now, I have mastered one of them!" Lu Chen slowly exhaled. Although it was done unintentionally, that breath seemed to transform into an indestructible Dharma sword, cutting through the air with a tearing sound, and finally piercing the solid ground, leaving a deep sword hole.

What is Jiuxiao? Jiuxiao is the Nine Heavens, divided into Shenxiao, Qingxiao, Bixiao, Danxiao, Jingxiao, Yuxiao, Langxiao, Zixiao, and Huoxiao!

The Jiuxiao Sword Sutra takes Jiuxiao as its nine great sword stances, and each stance is further divided into thirty-three variations, signifying the thirty-three heavens.

This sword sutra can be performed with the Sword Control Technique, or by holding the sword in hand for combat.

With Lu Chen's current strength, among the nine great stances of Jiuxiao, the only one he could practice was the 'Langxiao' stance. Now, he had cultivated this stance to the point of perfection.

What he hadn't expected was that just now, as his Langxiao sword stance reached the Realm of perfection, his Sword Intent, which had been stuck at the first level, also naturally and smoothly advanced to the second level, greatly increasing his strength.

It is also worth mentioning that he had cultivated quite a bit from the Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art.

The number of Earthly Fiend is seventy-two, representing the seventy-two baleful stars in the heavens that preside over killing and violence, the most ferocious and violent. Therefore, the Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art is also divided into seventy-two great stances, each more vicious and fierce than the last. By the seventy-second great stance of Earthly Fiend, one can even slay a True Dragon.

Lu Chen's physical strength was stronger, so he had cultivated seven great stances of the Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art: Di Kui, Di Sha, Di Yong, Di Jie, Di Xiong, Di Wei, and Di Ying.

Finally, his own Realm had broken through more than twenty days ago, smoothly entering the mid-stage Spirit Transformation Realm, and he had already progressed quite far within the mid-stage Spirit Transformation Realm.

Of the ten Purple Spirit Pills, he had refined six, leaving four. If he refined all of them, he was confident he could attempt to break through to the Late Stage Spirit Transformation Realm.

And after his Realm entered the mid-stage Spirit Transformation, he could nurture ten more Dao Soldiers in his Nurturing Soldier Immortal Coffin.

Fortunately, he had previously kept nine Tong Qiao Realm Monster Corpses and two Black-haired Zombies, which were just enough for him to nurture ten Silver Armor Dao Soldiers. Now, his Silver Armor Dao Soldiers had reached a total of thirty-five.

Also, taking advantage of the appearance of the newly nurtured ten Silver Armor Dao Soldiers, Lu Chen seized the opportunity again to comprehend True Intent. He successfully broke through his Earth Element True Intent, comprehending it to the fourth level. His Fire Intent reached the peak of the third level, and his Water Elemental Intent also smoothly entered the third level.

At the same time, the power fed back from nurturing the ten Silver Armor Dao Soldiers greatly enhanced Lu Chen's Physical Body once again. Even a Late Stage Tong Qiao Realm Body Cultivator might not be able to completely suppress Lu Chen.

If the first seven great stances of the newly cultivated Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art were also included, Lu Chen was even confident he could pin a Late Stage Penetrating Aperture Body Cultivator to the ground and rub them.

The Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art is just a technique; its power varies in different people's hands.

For someone like Lu Chen, he not only possessed the physique of the Tong Qiao Realm but also had the fourth level Earth Element True Intent, the third level Fire Element and Water Element True Intent, and the second level Sword Intent augmenting it. The power of his Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art was simply off the charts.

Within the Tong Qiao Realm, he was definitely among the top tier of Body Cultivators in terms of combat power.

In just two short months, Lu Chen's strength had undergone earth-shaking changes. Especially the Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art and the Jiuxiao Sword Sutra, which the Pavilion Guarding Elder said were extremely difficult to cultivate, he had already mastered them. If this were known, it would likely shock countless people.

However, Lu Chen was very low-key. In these two months, all he did was cultivate. He didn't go out to show off in front of others at all; that was too childish. Strength was a source of confidence for oneself, not capital for showing off. Putting the cart before the horse was unacceptable.

"Next, the direction of cultivation should change!" Lu Chen put away the High Grade spirit sword in his hand and began planning his future cultivation arrangements.

The Earthly Fiend Dragon Slaying Art and the Jiuxiao Sword Sutra had almost reached the limit for his current Realm. Further progress could only rely on the accumulation of time and daily comprehension. Therefore, Lu Chen's focus would be on increasing his cultivation and going to the True Intent Pagoda to comprehend Sword Intent.

As for the other Earth Element, Fire Element, and Water Element True Intent, he didn't need to go to the True Intent Pagoda to comprehend the True Intent Spirit Stele. He could comprehend them when his Dao Soldiers advanced, which would also save many opportunities.

However, there was no other way for Sword Intent; Dao Soldiers were not born with control over this.

Furthermore, the hundreds of practical Spells in the "Collection of Marvelous Techniques" also needed to be cultivated, which would require a large amount of time.

However, after these two months, Lu Chen had also cultivated the 'Body Cleansing Technique' and 'Dust Removal Technique' from it, as they were needed in daily life. He also put extra effort into cultivating the 'Breath Concealing Technique' and 'Invisibility Technique'. These were divine skills for hiding when going out to ambush others. Although they weren't profound enough, their practicality was astonishing.

Just as he was thinking about his future cultivation schedule, the Restriction outside the small courtyard suddenly rippled.

"Who is touching the Restriction on my courtyard?" Lu Chen's heart stirred. He opened the house door and the Restriction.

Outside the courtyard gate, he saw a young woman standing tall. She had fair skin but unremarkable facial features, wearing a long green dress. Her ethereal temperament added a lot to her otherwise plain appearance and figure.

"It's her!" A scene from Lingya Mountain immediately appeared in Lu Chen's memory. Coincidentally, this young woman was Yun Zhi, whom he had met on Lingya Mountain. She had killed the ghost cultivator who raised ghosts, and the hundred ghosts in his ghost banner had been completely devoured by Lu Chen's Dao Soldiers.

"Are you Lu Chen, Junior Brother Lu?" Yun Zhi's unremarkable eyes lingered on Lu Chen's handsome and heroic face for a moment before she asked. Her voice was clear and pleasant to listen to.

"That's right. May I ask why Senior Apprentice-Sister has come?"

Yun Zhi raised her hand to brush back the stray hair falling on her forehead. It was a casual gesture, yet it held a certain charm. "About three months ago, Junior Brother investigated and discovered news of monsters gathering at Mangniu Mountain in Donghe County. Now, the dragon transformation fruit in that mountain is about to ripen, and the monsters that should go have mostly gone. The Sect is preparing to cast a net tomorrow and surround and kill the monsters on Mangniu Mountain. The Peak Lord specifically instructed me to come and ask if Junior Brother would like to go?"

Lu Chen's eyes immediately lit up. The good things on Mangniu Mountain were indeed still there. Go? Of course, he would go! It would be best to go right now!