"Sending ordinary Golden Core cultivators would likely result in them being killed by his subordinates before they even see the revered Master Zhang. And for one of us four to go, there's probably a life-threatening risk as well."
"Therefore, to test their strength, for safety's sake, two of us four must go. This way, we can look out for each other."
"I've already exposed myself, so it doesn't matter if I'm seen by those natives again. However, at least one of you three must go, and we'll need to dispatch three more third-class Golden Core cultivators to accompany us."
After some thought, Dao Zun voiced his plan.
He knew that none of them would agree to send just one person alone, so he didn't hesitate to volunteer.
Despite his caution, Dao Zun was quite confident in his own strength. Even if he couldn't defeat an ordinary first-class Golden Core realm expert, he was sure he could escape.
Moreover, it had only been a little over half a year since the last battle. Even with abundant cultivation resources, how much could those natives have improved in such a short time?
"I'll go!"
Seeing Dao Zun speak, Bai Zhen volunteered. Having been in the Milky Way for five hundred years without a good fight, he felt stifled.
At the same time, he was eager to see what this land of opportunity was truly like, and what methods its powerful inhabitants possessed that caused the renowned Dao Zun to treat them with such caution.
"Good. With fellow cultivator Bai Zhen accompanying me, we can at least get a sense of their capabilities," Dao Zun nodded.
Although Bai Zhen's strength was significantly weaker than his, he could at least tie down the Undying Bloodline expert. The other third-class Golden Core peak expert would be handled by the three accompanying third-class Golden Core cultivators.
As for himself, Dao Zun would focus entirely on Zhang Fan.
"Sect Master Wenxin and fellow cultivator Li Yangzi, lead the remaining Golden Core cultivators and lie in wait. Once the others are dealt with, join me in suppressing Master Zhang.
"As long as we subdue him, no one on this planet will be able to stop our progress, and the opportunity will be ours to explore."
After selecting the personnel, Dao Zun laid out his plan.
With the plan formulated, Dao Zun led ten Golden Core realm cultivators, including Wenxin Daoist, and departed from the starship, stealthily infiltrating Earth.
They passed through the atmosphere one by one, undetected. After the last Golden Core realm cultivator breached the atmosphere, on the vast Siberian Plateau of Russia, the snow-covered land began to slowly rise, as if something was about to break through the earth.
To avoid alerting Zhang Fan, the one-armed Dao Zun and his companions maintained an extremely low profile upon landing on Earth, disturbing no one.
"I didn't expect the spiritual energy on this planet to be so thin. It's almost impossible to condense a Golden Core here," Bai Zhen and the others learned about Earth through Dao Zun's general assessment upon their arrival.
"Fortunately, we all brought a large amount of spirit crystals, allowing us to quickly recover our magic power during battle. Otherwise, it would take an unknown amount of time to recover by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth," Li Yangzi also lamented.
"Alright, according to the plan, Bai Zhen and I, along with three Golden Core realm cultivators, will launch a surprise attack on Lakeside Island. We will break through the island's formation as quickly as possible. If we can kill a few of Lakeside Island's experts in the process, that would be best.
"Even if we don't kill them, we will do our best to force them to reveal their trump cards. Once they have exhausted their resources, Sect Master Wenxin and fellow cultivator Li Yangzi will join me in suppressing them!"
The one-armed Dao Zun reminded everyone again.
"Caution is good, but Dao Zun might be overestimating these natives. With our strength, they won't be able to cause any trouble."
Bai Zhen declared with full confidence, feeling somewhat impatient.
In fact, Dao Zun felt the same. The four of them, second-class Golden Core experts, seven Golden Core realm cultivators, plus a host of Core Formation realm cultivators, were more than enough to crush any force on Earth.
...
Zhang Fan had been in seclusion for over five months. After raising his realm to the peak of the Core Formation stage and inscribing nine Golden Core Dao patterns, he began cultivating the 'Wordless Sword Manual.'
The Wordless Sword Manual was indeed a manual without a single word. It was divided into ten layers, each layer being a unique scroll painting.
Although Zhang Fan had comprehended the artistic conception of all ten scroll paintings in his previous life, to enhance the power of his sword intent, he needed to inscribe each painting within his body using his sword intent, guided by the Wordless Sword Manual. When he used his sword intent, its power would be greatly amplified through these scroll paintings.
The first scroll painting of the Wordless Sword Manual depicted a majestic and imposing mountain peak, standing in the center of the scroll as if it were the center of heaven and earth.
Zhang Fan named the first layer of the Wordless Sword Manual "The Path to Heaven," symbolizing that after entering the gate of the sword path, he had to traverse this path to reach the summit.
Sword intent was a magical power that gradually emerged after comprehending the true meaning of the sword path and inscribing Dao patterns. The strength of this power depended on the number of Golden Core Dao patterns.
Zhang Fan had inscribed nine sword Dao patterns, making his sword intent extremely powerful. However, it still took him over a week to inscribe the first scroll of the Wordless Sword Manual.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Fan continued to cultivate the second scroll of the Wordless Sword Manual. This was currently the fastest way he knew to increase his strength in a short period.
The second scroll painting depicted an incredibly sharp divine sword. Zhang Fan named it "Sharpness Revealed!"
He spent nearly half a month cultivating the second scroll. Just as he was about to finish the second layer, he suddenly felt a vague sense of unease in his heart.
This was a premonition of danger brought about by his powerful divine sense.
"Boom!"
Just as Zhang Fan was preparing to end his cultivation and go out to investigate, he heard a deafening roar. Then, Zhang Fan sensed that the protective mountain formation covering Lakeside Island had exploded.
The powerful aftershocks spread, causing ripples on the碧波 Lake.
Zhang Fan released his Disintegration Domain, nullifying the aftershocks that were spreading towards the interior of Lakeside Island. He walked out of the underground chamber and looked up to see a familiar figure.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Figures rapidly approached from all directions of Lakeside Island. They stood behind Zhang Fan and looked up to see a group of powerful cultivators slowly descending from the sky.
The leader was the one-armed Dao Zun, who had been forced to flee Earth by Zhang Fan six months ago.
Beside him stood a young man wearing brocade robes, carrying a long sword.
"I didn't expect them to come so soon. Just in time, as I need some Golden Cores for alchemy. How thoughtful."
Seeing this, Zhang Fan's lips curved slightly. Five Golden Core realm experts could be used to refine quite a few Golden Scale Breaking Pill.
As his strength increased, Zhang Fan's alchemy skills also improved. Previously, he could only refine three Golden Scale Breaking Pills from one Golden Core, which was quite wasteful.
But now, his cultivation in Qi manipulation was not inferior to that of top-tier second-class Golden Core experts, and his alchemy skills were comparable to some Nascent Soul stage alchemy grandmasters. He could fully utilize the efficacy of a single Golden Core.
...
ps: There have been many things happening recently, so updates will be very unstable. However, I will remember all the ones I owe.
I didn't update yesterday, and combined with today, I owe you four updates. I might not be able to make them up today.
This is the first update!