23: Chapter 23: A Sudden Increase in Strength!

Yellow Maple Valley sect rules: Anyone who harms a fellow Disciple shall have their cultivation base abolished!

But this rule had essentially no effect on Zhao Changsheng.

First, because he possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root; second, because his Revered Master was a Core Formation Stage Cultivator; and third, because there was a justifiable reason.

With these three conditions combined, even if it were known, he would not face any consequences.

Thus, Zhao Changsheng naturally had no worries. After dealing with Senior Martial Brother Lin, he gave him a proper burial.

The poison he used was obtained from his Third Senior Sister, called Spirit-Dissolving Soul-Sealing Powder. Its effect was to prevent a Cultivator from mobilizing any spiritual energy in their body and make them lose all strength. It had cost him over a hundred Spirit Stones.

His Third Senior Sister was a Poison Cultivator, most proficient in poison arts and the study of various toxins.

She was an existence feared by everyone throughout Yellow Maple Valley, whom no one dared to provoke lightly.

She was also the only Disciple who could consistently Cultivate in his Revered Master Hong Fu's Immortal Cave, and she was the one with whom Zhao Changsheng had the best relationship.

However, she had a cold temperament; as long as one didn't take the initiative to speak, she would never answer any questions.

Zhao Changsheng only gained her recognition by relying on his medical knowledge from his past life and his experience with Mo Juren. Only then did they have common topics and the best relationship.

Even Hong Fu had intentions of playing matchmaker for the two of them. Unfortunately, neither of them had such feelings for each other.

That Third Senior Sister of his was focused solely on her cultivation, poison arts, and toxin research, while he currently only wanted to Cultivate and was even less in the mood to become a Dao Companion with her.

And now, Zhao Changsheng had finally gotten his wish and successfully obtained the Great Evolution Art.

Although it was only the first few layers, it was enough for the current Zhao Changsheng.

After carefully reading through the Great Evolution Art, he couldn't help but marvel at the brilliance of the Divine Lord Dayan.

To be able to create such a profound and mysterious Cultivation Technique was truly admirable to the extreme. No wonder he had successfully condensed a Nascent Soul and broke through to the Nascent Soul Stage in just over two hundred years.

One must know that even the current Zhao Changsheng was not certain he could condense a Nascent Soul by the age of two hundred.

At most, he had a seventy to eighty percent certainty, but not a hundred percent.

Thinking of this, Zhao Changsheng began to actively study and Cultivate it.

Although with his Heavenly Spiritual Root Aptitude, he would certainly be able to successfully condense a Golden Core in the future, he didn't mind increasing the probability a bit more.

Besides that, the most important and critical point was that he needed a sufficiently powerful Divine Thought. After so many events, he fully understood what a powerful Divine Thought meant for a Cultivator.

It meant being able to anticipate the enemy's moves at critical moments, being able to strike a step ahead of the enemy, and being able to sense the enemy's presence faster.

That was why he took such a big risk and paid such a high price to obtain this Cultivation Technique.

And he had finally gotten his wish and successfully obtained it.

However, while he was happy to have obtained the Great Evolution Art he wanted, something happened outside in Yellow Maple Valley.

Regardless of anything, Senior Martial Brother Lin was a manager of Yellow Maple Valley, a Cultivator with a certain status and position. Therefore, his sudden disappearance still caused quite an impact on Yellow Maple Valley.

This impact eventually came to nothing because some managers speculated that Senior Martial Brother Lin might have returned to his hometown.

Although not many people were convinced by this speculation, it was ultimately used as the final conclusion to settle the matter.

No one suspected or associated it with Zhao Changsheng, mainly because Senior Martial Brother Lin was not cautious enough and hadn't left a message saying he was going to Zhao Changsheng's Immortal Cave.

This was primarily because Senior Martial Brother Lin hadn't expected Zhao Changsheng would actually make a lethal move against him.

That's why he didn't leave such a message; otherwise, someone would have definitely looked for Zhao Changsheng.

But let alone the lack of evidence, even if there were evidence proving Zhao Changsheng did it, no one would dare to do anything to him. This was still because of Zhao Changsheng's identity, which was incomparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage Disciple.

Thus, the matter was dropped, and no one questioned it further. As for Senior Martial Brother Lin's original duties, they were taken over by other managers.

After all, such manager positions were highly favored by those Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples who had no hope of further advancement.

Not only because the annual stipend was higher, but also because they could hold a certain amount of power and occasionally receive gifts and favors from other Disciples. The benefits they could obtain definitely surpassed most Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples.

Naturally, it led to a struggle among many Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples, and ultimately, Yellow Maple Valley's Sect Head, Sect Master, decided on the candidate.

Zhao Changsheng was unaware of these matters because he was now fully focused on cultivating the Great Evolution Art.

His talent for cultivation in this area was also not weak; in just half a year, he successfully cultivated the first layer.

This brought Zhao Changsheng both surprise and joy. First, because he cultivated fast enough, and second, because his Divine Thought had been significantly enhanced.

Consequently, he cultivated even more earnestly and also began to study the art of Puppets.

Of course, he didn't forget his own cultivation and didn't become obsessed with Puppets.

Zhao Changsheng knew very well that only with sufficient strength could he resolve many issues. Although Puppets could provide some assistance, for the current Zhao Changsheng, the help they provided was not much, far inferior to his own strength.

However, he still discovered several Puppets crafted by Senior Martial Brother Lin among his belongings. These Puppets were quite powerful and were of considerable help to Zhao Changsheng.

But because his Divine Thought was insufficient, controlling them was quite troublesome. He couldn't even control too many Puppets, only about ten or so.

This was also a point that gave Zhao Changsheng a headache, so he hurried to continue cultivating the Great Evolution Art.

In this way, time flew by like a shuttle.

Soon, two years had passed.

During these two years, Zhao Changsheng's cultivation, Divine Thought, and Puppet Arts had all made significant progress, which made him incredibly happy.

"Finally broke through. As expected of a Wood Attribute Heavenly Spiritual Root. It really wasn't easy, truly not easy."

In the Immortal Cave, Zhao Changsheng felt his soaring True Essence Mana and Divine Thought, his face beaming with joy.

After all, over these two years, he had not only successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage but had also successfully cultivated the first two layers of the Great Evolution Art.

This greatly increased his Divine Thought, allowing him to control over a hundred Puppets.

In this way, he became increasingly confident in eliminating the Black Fiend Cult and learning the location of the Ancient Teleportation Array from the Leader of the Black Fiend Cult.