Chapter 363 - 188: Obtaining a Prismatic Augment Again
Chapter 363: Chapter 188: Obtaining a Prismatic Augment Again
Some Golden Core True Men, particularly those who were reclusive or lived in remote areas, would gradually become indifferent, short-tempered, ruthless, or debaucherous over the long years. They would come to see mortals and even Low-tier Cultivators as nothing more than livestock or weeds.
By comparison, such situations were less common in places like the Eastern Domain, where Golden Core Cultivators were more numerous.
Furthermore, rumors claimed it was extremely difficult for a Golden Core Cultivator to have children with a Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
One Golden Core True Man was said to have kept several hundred concubines, spending his days and nights in debauchery.
Yet in three hundred years, he only managed to sire a few dozen children.
To put that in perspective, a mortal or Qi Refining family could have expanded to several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of clan members in that same three-hundred-year span.
The White Jade Wall had once read: "Casting the Golden Body grants eternal life; an ageless face, by sickness untouched."
This meant that in addition to longevity, Golden Core True Men also possessed a natural ability to preserve their youthful appearance.
As long as a Cultivator made an effort to maintain their appearance, they could look as if they were in their twenties or thirties, even at two or three hundred years old.
Only after passing the four-hundred-year-old threshold of senescence would they begin to gradually show their age.
At the same time, the kinds of incurable ailments that plagued mortals were no longer a concern for a Golden Core True Man.
This final step, Casting the Golden Body, was also the most time-consuming.
Xiao Chen patiently circulated his True Essence, sending it flowing through his entire body again and again.
A faint golden light gradually began to emerge, enveloping his body.
Bathed in the golden light, his old skin rapidly aged and sloughed away, replaced by new, fair skin.
.
「Outside the volcanic crater where Xiao Chen was making his breakthrough.」
Despite the scarcity of Spiritual Qi, specks of golden light began to permeate the area within a ten-li radius.
Then, wisps of Spiritual Qi converged high above the crater, slowly forming a cloud.
As the cloud grew, it descended, pressing closer to the ground.
At a certain point, it seemed to reach its limit, and droplets of spiritual rain began to fall.
The rain fell for three days and three nights.
After the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased, anyone passing by would have seen that small blades of grass had sprouted across the ten-li radius around the crater.
At the very top of the crater, a bright purple morning glory had even quietly bloomed.
The place was simply too remote. Had he achieved his breakthrough within his clan, all the members with a Wood Spirit Root could have reaped substantial benefits from this spiritual rain.
’The Casting of the Golden Body is complete!’
Inside the crater, Xiao Chen’s eyes snapped open, a look of elation finally spreading across his face.
He had now fully achieved the Golden Core Realm, truly standing at the apex of the Southern Domain.
Under normal circumstances, there was virtually nowhere in the vast Southern Domain he could not go.
’Unfortunately, there’s still the threat of the Demon Dao out there.’
Xiao Chen still didn’t know the exact situation with the Lingyuan Sect.
But he didn’t need to be a genius to know the situation was undoubtedly dire.
The Divine Fire Sect already had the upper hand, and with the advent of the White Bone Demon Body, Hezhou was truly plagued by disaster.
The White Bone Demon Body in particular, if handled poorly, could unleash a calamity upon all life in the Southern Domain.
’Considering the current situation, I’ll probably have to pick an Augment that boosts my Combat Power.’
Even if only for self-preservation, Xiao Chen couldn’t let the Demon Body grow unchecked.
SHING! Three cards suddenly lit up before his eyes.
Each card shimmered with a diamond-like, prismatic brilliance.
[Forest Illusion: Perfectly replicate nine clones that possess your full strength! When you achieve a Breakthrough Realm, the clones’ strength will increase accordingly. If a clone dies, it will respawn beside you after twelve hours.]
[Worth the Wait II: Gain a random Tier Five Spirit Beast cub. Hereafter, it will break through a small bottleneck every ten years until it reaches the Great Perfection of Divinity Transformation.]
[Featherweight III: The cultivation speed of Yellow Level Cultivation Techniques is increased tenfold, and their Magic Power is increased tenfold. This effect is multiplicative and stacks.]
’Just as I thought, it’s a Prismatic tier this time too!’
Breaking through a Major Realm for the second time confirmed Xiao Chen’s earlier suspicion.
A breakthrough into a Major Realm granted the highest tier of Augments: Prismatic!
As usual, Xiao Chen examined the choices in order. ’Let’s see... the first one is an enhanced version of Forest Illusion?’
He vaguely recalled that Forest Illusion was supposed to create a single clone. He never expected it to be buffed to create a full nine.
Including himself, that was enough to form two five-a-side soccer teams.
The Three Great Sects of Li State only had three Golden Core Cultivators each.
If Xiao Chen chose this, he could found his own Sect and instantly become the top Sect in Li State—its sole and undisputed ruler.
And according to the description, the clones possessed his full strength and he didn’t have to worry about them dying. It was like gaining an inexhaustible supply of Death Warriors.
’Speaking of which, if they’re perfect copies, does that mean I can form a small-scale Array all by myself?’
Some Arrays required multiple people to power them simultaneously, and more complex ones even required every participant to have mastered the Array Dao.
With perfect clones, setting up such Arrays would become far more convenient.
However, Xiao Chen frowned slightly. ’But this Augment doesn’t seem like it can deal with the White Bone Demon Body, can it?’
While it would certainly boost his Combat Power significantly, Forest Illusion increased quantity, not quality.
That made things tricky.
The Ancient Texts stated: "It cannot be defeated unless several cultivators at the Great Perfection of Golden Core join forces."
It didn’t specify whether the Demon Body could be defeated by sheer numbers.
He read on to the second Augment: Worth the Wait II.