Ever since his Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique reached Tier Seven of the Fusion Realm, he had made almost no progress for days, even when cultivating with all his might.
But now, upon performing Introspection, he discovered that an earth-shattering change had occurred within his body.
He saw the Copper Mirror the Xiezhi had given him, the Juntian Mirror. It was floating at the very top of his Dantian, emanating a golden light that made his once pitch-black Dantian clearly visible.
His Dantian was now like a world, with the Juntian Mirror as its brilliant sun and a sea of True Qi below.
For an ordinary Cultivator, True Qi turning to liquid meant they had reached the Heartbeat Realm. Upon reaching the Perfection of the Heartbeat Realm, this True Qi Liquid would condense into a Golden Core, allowing them to step into the Golden Core Realm.
After all, he had already been a Golden Core Realm Cultivator before his body was crippled, so he had walked this path once before.
But compared to his Dantian now, the one he had back in the Heartbeat Realm was a world of difference.
If his current Dantian was an ocean, then the one he had before his cultivation was crippled was merely a small pond.
’Isn’t the Realm after the Fusion Realm in the Miaolian Celestial Stabilization Technique called the Lotus Formation Realm?’
’Could "Lotus Formation" be the same as "Heartbeat"?’
Just as he was pondering this, he saw a lotus bud, waiting to bloom, floating on the sea of True Qi. Below the flower were three lotus leaves.
"This is the Lotus Formation Realm? A lotus flower can actually grow inside a Dantian?"
He felt the shock, amazement, and excitement of someone encountering the world of Cultivation for the very first time.
’Miaolian... so there really is a wondrous lotus!’
Not only that, but even though he wasn’t actively cultivating, the meridians in his body were circulating on their own. Tracing it back, he realized the cause was the Copper Mirror.
He moved his consciousness closer to the Copper Mirror.
Observing it closely, he saw that the golden radiance was coming from its perfectly smooth, mirror-like face.
The back was engraved with countless intricate patterns.
At the center was an irregular taiji symbol, from which radiated nine concentric circles. Many small characters were embossed between the circles, but Chu Fan couldn’t recognize a single one.
Now he believed that the Xiezhi had truly bestowed a great fortune upon him. Unfortunately, he had lost the chance to ask about it in detail; he didn’t even know what other functions the Copper Mirror possessed.
The Xiezhi had only told him that a fortunate encounter would allow him to undo the seals it had placed, but he had no idea what kind of encounter that might be.
Thinking about this, Chu Fan couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. ’I should have asked it more questions back then. Why didn’t I just believe it?’
’Oh, right. It said it was an old acquaintance of my ancestors. Does that mean that part was true, too?’
"Fuck!" Chu Fan cursed, jumping to his feet.
’Damn it, that was the closest I’ve ever been to learning my origins, and I just let the chance slip away?’
’Even if I didn’t believe it then, I should have asked a few more questions!’
Chu Fan was filled with immense regret and self-blame.
"Greetings, My Lord!"
The sudden voice pulled Chu Fan from his remorse. He looked up to see eight men kneeling neatly before him.
He recognized five of them, of course. But the other three—the man who had been half-devoured by the beetle, the one decapitated by some unknown Qi Power, and their leader who had been riddled with arrows—were somehow alive as well.
And when he checked their Cultivation, he saw they had all reached the Heartbeat Realm.
’Weren’t the five survivors all in the Foundation Establishment Realm before?’
"All of you, get up! Don’t call me ’My Lord,’ just call me Chu Fan," he said hurriedly.
"We are eternally grateful to you, My Lord, for saving our lives. From this day forward, we will walk through fire and climb mountains of blades at your command," said their leader, the very same man who had been riddled with arrows.
From his earlier chat with the five survivors, Chu Fan knew the leader’s name was Jing’an.
"How are you alive?" Chu Fan asked.
"That Upper God said it was because you, My Lord, pleaded for him to save us. He even granted us a great fortune on your behalf."
"What kind of fortune?" Chu Fan asked.
"We each received a fragment of the Divine Beast’s Divine Bone and a drop of its Divine Blood. Our bodies have been completely transformed. But from now on, our fates are tied to yours, My Lord. Only when your Cultivation improves will our own Realms advance accordingly, even without us cultivating."
After that, the eight men took turns explaining the whole process to Chu Fan.
Not only had they received the Xiezhi’s own bone and blood to transform their bodies, but the Divine Beast had also made them sign a Celestial Dao Contract with Chu Fan.
Their bodies were originally too weak to withstand the Xiezhi’s blood, so the Divine Beast placed a seal on it at the same time it was given to them.
This seal was linked to the Celestial Dao Contract.
Every time Chu Fan advanced a Realm, a layer of the seal on the Xiezhi’s blood within their bodies would be undone, causing their own Cultivation to rise to a corresponding level.
The contract demanded their absolute loyalty to Chu Fan. Furthermore, if Chu Fan were to die, they would die along with him, no matter where they were.
The Xiezhi’s methods stunned Chu Fan once again. It was just as the Divine Beast had said: the universe was vast, and all he had ever seen and heard was but a drop in the ocean.
Chu Fan was, of course, overjoyed to have gained eight new subordinates out of thin air.
’And their Cultivation will increase along with my own. It might not seem like much now, but what about when I become truly powerful?’
’A fortune... this is truly a massive fortune!’
Since the Xiezhi was on his side, Dingfeng Slope likely held no other dangers for them. What were they waiting for? It was time to gather treasure!
With a wave of Chu Fan’s hand, the eight men went and gathered all the weapons together.
Staring at the mountain of equipment before him, Chu Fan felt a headache coming on.
Excluding the ordinary armaments, there were over a thousand weapons that could be considered Masterworks. How could they possibly carry them all?
"My Lord, no need to worry. We also found eleven Storage Rings."
"Storage Rings? What are those?" Chu Fan asked, confused, as Jing’an handed over a dozen or so ancient-looking rings.
He had genuinely never heard of Storage Rings.
Only after Jing’an’s explanation did he realize just how incredible these things were.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing for the Hua Xu Empire. ’No wonder its people call the other four domains barren wastelands!’
Following Jing’an’s instructions, he inspected each ring one by one and was stunned to find that the mountain of weapons before him suddenly lost all its appeal.
’As expected of the top Cultivators on the continent three thousand years ago!’
There were countless Elixirs, countless Cultivation Techniques, countless Spirit Medicines, countless Spiritual Jades, and countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.
And that was to say nothing of the gold, silver, and other valuables.
What excited him most was that the Elixirs, Spirit Medicines, and other items inside the Storage Rings were as good as new, completely untouched by the passage of three thousand years.
He took everything out of the Storage Rings and sorted it all into categories.
He gave each of the eight men a Storage Ring and, with a wave of his hand, told them to pick whatever they wanted. Anything they took a fancy to, they could put directly into their own ring.
Chu Fan couldn’t care less about these material possessions. Besides, the eight men were bound to him by a Celestial Dao Contract, ensuring their unwavering loyalty. What reason was there to be stingy?
Seeing that Chu Fan was letting them choose first and take whatever they pleased, the eight men were naturally moved beyond words.
Looking at the scene, Chu Fan couldn’t help but laugh aloud. ’Yu Zongding and Li Mosheng... they would never imagine in their wildest dreams that not only am I not dead, but I’ve stumbled upon a great fortune and a treasure that could rival the wealth of a nation!’