Chapter 200 - 182: One’s Own Strength, the Power of Self-Preservation
Chapter 200: Chapter 182: One’s Own Strength, the Power of Self-Preservation
「Three months later.」
Lu Zhao opened his eyes within the stone chamber of his cave residence. The sharp glint in his gaze was restrained, and his aura was as deep and still as an abyss. Over the past three months, Lu Zhao had refined the bottle of Ageless True Water. Not only had his Thousand Waters Spirit Body advanced another step, but he had also formed two more drops of Liquid Magical Power.
Sixteen drops of ethereal blue Liquid Magical Power now swirled like quicksilver within his Dantian, emitting immense fluctuations. He rose to his feet, brushed the non-existent dust from his robes, and walked straight out of his cave residence, heading once more for the Artifact Hall.
Inside the Artifact Hall, furnace fires blazed as Spiritual Qi billowed through the air. Zhou Xianlu was hunched over a desk, drawing a complex Artifact Refining Diagram. Sensing Lu Zhao’s aura, he looked up with a smile. "Junior Brother Lu, your timing is perfect. No need to worry, both Magical Artifacts are complete."
He set down his brush and reverently retrieved an item from his Storage Bag. The once ink-black Hundred Waters Magic Disc had transformed into a lustrous blue Jade Disc. A Spirit Light rippled across its surface like water, and the Cold Qi and immense watery aura it contained were many times stronger than before.
"Take a look, Junior Brother," Zhou Xianlu said, his tone carrying a hint of pride. "Fortunately, I didn’t disappoint. I used a Tier Two Middle-Grade Water Spirit Stone as the base and repeatedly tempered it with an entire bottle of Tier Two High-Grade Cold Abyss Spirit Water, ultimately upgrading it to Tier Two Middle-Grade. Its foundation is exceptionally solid, and the Spirit Patterns are as if they were formed by nature itself. With the right opportunity in the future, raising it to Tier Two High-Grade shouldn’t be a problem."
Lu Zhao accepted the Jade Disc. It was cool to the touch. When he extended his Divine Sense into it, he felt a surging, pure Water Element Spiritual Power that he could command at will. It was several orders of magnitude stronger than before. He was overjoyed. "Thank you, Senior Brother! The power of this treasure has increased immensely. It will be a tremendous asset to me!"
He paused for a moment before asking, "Senior Brother, and the other one...?"
"Haha, not so fast," Zhou Xianlu chuckled, taking another item from his Storage Bag. This object was the size of his palm and shaped like a Turtle Shell. It was as black as polished jade, and a deep, heavy luster flowed across its surface, where profound Runes faintly flickered in and out of sight. An aura of the Power of Water Essence, as solid as a mountain and as deep as the sea, washed over them, causing one’s very Heart Spirit to shudder.
"I poured all of my effort into this shield." Zhou Xianlu lightly tapped its surface, his voice tinged with pride. "Junior Brother, among Tier Two Middle-Grade Defense Spiritual Artifacts, this one is truly top-tier."
With a flick of his finger, the small shield HUMMED and instantly transformed into a massive, ten-foot-tall black shield. It hovered in the air, a thick, solid curtain of light flowing like water and securely protecting the space behind it.
"Once you refine it, Junior Brother, you need only a thought to change its size at will. Even a full-power strike from an ordinary Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would find it very difficult to break through its light curtain."
At this, a glint flashed in Zhou Xianlu’s eyes. "What’s even more brilliant is that the shield comes with its own Defense Magic, which I’ve named the Black Water Profound Turtle Shield!"
"When activated, this magic instantly forms an impenetrable, perfectly spherical shield of deep black Water Essence around you, protecting your entire body without any blind spots. If you combine this magic with the shield’s own defenses, even a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator won’t be able to break through the two layers easily in a short amount of time!"
"This is my proudest work in recent years. Why don’t you give it a name, Junior Brother?"
Lu Zhao’s heart surged with excitement as he listened to the introduction. The black shield’s power far exceeded his expectations! He gave Zhou Xianlu a deep, solemn bow. "I, Lu Zhao, will never forget this great kindness, Senior Brother! The shield is like black jade and contains a Profound Light. Let’s call it the Black Jade Profound Light Shield!"
"Black Jade Profound Light Shield? Excellent! A fitting name!" Zhou Xianlu clapped his hands in praise.
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Lu Zhao paid the required Middle-Grade Spirit Stones for the artifact refining and took his leave.
After returning to his cave residence, he immediately began refining the two new Magical Artifacts. Three days passed in a flash of meditative refining. When the final Divine Sense Brand was etched into the core of the Black Jade Profound Light Shield, both artifacts were connected to his will, moving as extensions of his own limbs.
「Three days later.」
Lu Zhao left his cave residence, transforming into a streak of pale blue water light. Using the Thousand Waters Spirit Transformation Escape, he was over sixty miles from the Bixia Sect Mountain Gate in just half an hour, arriving at a remote, secluded valley due north of the Marketplace.
The place was deserted, making it the perfect spot to test the power of his Magical Artifacts.
Lu Zhao first took out the completely renewed Hundred Waters Magic Disc. With a thought, he injected his Magical Power, and the Jade Disc flared with brilliant blue light. He casually began by casting basic spells from the Qi Cultivation Stage, like the Water Bullet Technique and the Ice Cone Technique.
Under the enhancement of the Tier Two Middle-Grade Magic Disc, these Qi Cultivation spells, which would normally seem mediocre to someone in the Foundation Establishment Stage, now posed a genuine threat to Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
The concentration of the Water Bombs, the sharp Cold Qi of the Ice Cones, and their launch speed and destructive power had all more than doubled! A Water Bomb slammed into the cliff face, blasting open a crater more than ten feet wide. An Ice Cone easily pierced straight through a massive, hundred-foot-thick slab of bluestone.
Seeing this, Lu Zhao still shook his head. Although the spells were quite powerful with the Magic Disc’s enhancement, they were ultimately just Qi Cultivation spells. For the current Lu Zhao, they were no longer of much use.
His expression turned serious. His finger seals changed as he muttered, "Thousand Waters, Hundred Spirits—Condense!"
The Spirit Patterns on the Hundred Waters Magic Disc flared brightly. A Water Arrow appeared first, but it quickly began to shift its form—now a blade... now a sword... constantly changing.
Finally, a foot-long, deep blue Water Blade instantly coalesced at the disc’s center. The blade looked small, but it emitted an unsettling sharpness and an icy Cold Qi, letting out a faint hiss. The sheer power of it sent a jolt of alarm through Lu Zhao himself.
"Go!"
The Water Blade shot forward, transforming into a streak of ethereal blue light. It silently flew toward a small hill several hundred feet tall and a thousand feet away.
HISS—!
There was no earth-shattering boom, only an extremely faint slicing sound. The top of the hill, as if grazed by an invisible Divine Weapon heated to an impossible temperature, was sheared clean off! The severed surface was as smooth as a mirror, with wisps of icy water vapor still clinging to it.
Lu Zhao’s pupils constricted, and he marveled inwardly. ’What terrifying power! With the enhancement from the Tier Two Hundred Waters Magic Disc, the power of the Thousand Waters Hundred Spirits Skill has increased by at least fifty percent! A strike like that is probably close to a casual blow from a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!’
After testing the spells enhanced by the Hundred Waters Magic Disc, Lu Zhao composed himself and solemnly took out the Black Jade Profound Light Shield. He poured his Magical Power into it, and the palm-sized shield expanded in an instant, becoming a massive, heavy shield thirty feet high and ten feet wide. It stood before him, somber and imposing, its surface flowing with a deep Profound Light and emitting an indestructible, heavy aura.
"Come!" At Lu Zhao’s command, black qi billowed from the mouth of his Corpse Nurturing Bag. The thirty-foot-tall, Dark Gold Strong Demon Ape Corpse Puppet, a Tier Two Lower-Grade creature radiating a terrifying Evil Qi, landed with a CRASH. Its scarlet eyes locked onto the black shield.
"ROAR!" The Demon Ape Corpse Puppet let out a bellow. Its millstone-sized fists, wreathed in thick Corpse Evil and carrying overwhelming force, smashed violently toward the Black Jade Profound Light Shield!
BANG!!!
An incredibly deep thud echoed through the valley. The shield’s dark luster rippled and it trembled slightly, but it didn’t move an inch! The Demon Ape Corpse Puppet’s punch, a blow powerful enough to shatter mountains, had been blocked completely. Not a single crack was left on the shield’s surface.
A sharp glint flashed in Lu Zhao’s eyes. "Excellent!"
He held nothing back. With a command from his Divine Sense, three more bluish-black figures shot out from the Corpse Nurturing Bag—the three Tier One High-Grade Strong Iron Ape Corpse Puppets. The auras of the four Corpse Puppets instantly linked, their Evil Qi merging as they vaguely formed a Battle Array, their ferocious might intensifying!
"Attack!" Lu Zhao commanded.
The four Corpse Puppets roared in unison. Four giant fists, wrapped in a vicious wind that tore at the air, simultaneously smashed into the Black Jade Profound Light Shield!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four consecutive, deafening explosions! This time, the dark luster on the Black Jade Profound Light Shield fluctuated violently, letting out a low HUM. Although the shield itself wasn’t knocked back, Lu Zhao could clearly feel that a significant amount of the Spiritual Power within it had been consumed, and its Spirit Light had dimmed slightly.
’The combined strike of the four Corpse Puppets in their Battle Array is already far more powerful than an ordinary Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The shield can block it, but the consumption is considerable. If I just keep taking hits, it won’t last long.’ Lu Zhao now had a clear understanding of the defensive limits of the shield’s normal form. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the four Corpse Puppets.
Standing in the valley, Lu Zhao closed his eyes and focused, carefully assessing his own strength.
’My Cultivation is at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment. My foundation is stable, and though my total Magical Power is still lacking, my Cultivation Technique is of a high tier, making my Magical Power pure. In terms of my own Cultivation and magic alone, I should be stronger than the Zheng Family Ancestor I killed. But against a true Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, I would struggle to win without external aid.’
’With my Magical Artifacts, the Tier Two Middle-Grade Hundred Waters Magic Disc greatly increases the power of my spells. The Thousand Waters Hundred Spirits Skill, in particular, can now threaten even a peak Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’
’Besides the Hundred Waters Magic Disc, the Defense Power of my Tier Two Middle-Grade Black Jade Profound Light Shield is even more astonishing. Its normal form can withstand a fierce assault from a Mid-stage Cultivator. If I add the Black Water Profound Turtle Shield, I can even block a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator for a short time.’
’With the help of these two Magical Artifacts, it shouldn’t be difficult for me to fight a peak Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator for a short period.’
’If I also include my Puppet Battle Formation, my strength will rise to another level. Just the one Tier Two Lower-Grade Demon Ape Corpse Puppet and the three Tier One High-Grade Iron Ape Corpse Puppets, once in their Battle Array, are enough to take on a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’
’Not to mention, the synergy between myself and the Puppet Battle Formation is far greater than a simple one-plus-one equation.’
’By this calculation, with the enhancement of my Magical Artifacts and the Puppet Battle Formation, my strength is among the absolute peak of Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators.’
’If I use all my trump cards, I should be able to hold my own against an ordinary Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if I can’t win, with the formidable defense of the Black Jade Profound Light Shield and the instantaneous speed of the Blood Shadow Escape, retreating unscathed should be no problem.’
"I finally have some power to protect myself." Lu Zhao let out a long breath, and the tension that had been perpetually etched between his brows seemed to loosen ever so slightly.
In this perilous Cultivation Realm, this level of strength wasn’t enough to run rampant, but it finally gave him the confidence to stand his ground and the space to breathe. As long as he wasn’t unlucky enough to run into the true peak experts of the Foundation Establishment Stage, or a Fake Core or Golden Core Ancestor, self-preservation would not be an issue.
He lingered no longer. Once again using the Thousand Waters Spirit Transformation Escape, he transformed into a streak of pale blue water light and quickly returned to his cave residence.