Lin Haotian, having just obtained a spiritual treasure, needed to study the forging methods, while the Blood Demon Flood Dragon required studying the Blood Dragon Body Refining technique. For cultivators who practiced body refining, high-grade Qi and Blood Pills were as valuable as spiritual crystals. Therefore, neither he nor the beast remained underground.
As for the Unfettered Sword Immortal, his strength had reached the peak of the Core Formation realm. Continuing to absorb spiritual energy offered little benefit. What he needed now was to comprehend more sword intent, engrave the Dao patterns of his Golden Core, and thus, he returned to the surface just as Zhang Fan was preparing to enter seclusion.
Zhang Fan, Xue Jing, and the three Blood Race princes positioned themselves at the five cardinal directions of the spiritual脉, sitting cross-legged and beginning to cultivate using the spiritual脉.
Zhang Fan’s seclusion was not only for improving his realm but also, more importantly, for deducing the Gluttonous Ogre Tome in his mind and cultivating the divine ability 'Chaos Devour'. After all, if he were to fully operate his cultivation technique to absorb spiritual energy, given the domineering nature of the Gluttonous Ogre Tome, Xue Jing and the others might not be able to absorb much spiritual energy, and this entire spiritual脉 would likely be depleted by him.
As everyone began to circulate their techniques, the spiritual energy from the spiritual脉 transformed into streams of vortexes, continuously surging into their bodies…
While Zhang Fan and the others were in seclusion, in the lake island, Ailabella and the others, spurred by Zhang Fan's words, also began their own seclusions one after another. The lake island was enveloped by a spiritual rain formation, causing spiritual energy to permeate the air everywhere, with spiritual rain falling. A small portion of the spiritual rain was absorbed by the soil, gradually altering the environment, while the majority was absorbed and transformed by the formation, then circulated. Although the cultivation environment here was not comparable to the spiritual脉 beneath the Half-Moon Immortal’s cave dwelling, for a group of cultivators who had not yet condensed their Nascent Cores, it could undoubtedly be considered a celestial realm. Even Ailabella, the strongest among them, felt her bloodline stirring within her body in the third month of her seclusion on the lake island, ready to break through at any moment.
…
While Zhang Fan and his group fell into seclusion, the outside world became somewhat turbulent. First, the video of Zhang Fan leading people into the Western countries was released, causing a strong backlash. They believed Zhang Fan posed a significant threat to the national defense and security of Western countries, demanding that China impose sanctions on Zhang Fan and compensate for the destruction caused by Zhang Fan and his companions to the Western nations. The hidden Core Formation realm cultivators dared not come forward, only daring to instigate from the shadows. Even the foremost superpower of the era voiced its opinion, demanding resolute action against individuals who disrupted world peace and requiring China’s full cooperation, or else China would face sanctions.
In response to the external voices, there was a remarkably unified opinion within China. Both the government and the Chinese martial arts world expressed disdain for the Western clamor. While there was indeed a gap in overall strength between them, China was one of the five major powers at the time, and with its current comprehensive strength, any attempt by anyone to impose sanctions on China would be a complete joke. Furthermore, Zhang Fan's current strength had already surpassed the human limit; it was even questionable whether nuclear weapons, humanity’s ultimate weapon, could pose a threat to him. The United States, founded only a little over two hundred years ago, had no significant advantage in terms of cultivated powerhouses, hence its vigorous research into super-soldier programs. Back when Lin Haotian was in the Dark Organization, he accompanied Tianyi on a mission to Africa to destroy a military base established by the United States in a small African nation, where they encountered American Sanctuary-level super-soldiers. However, Sanctuary-level super-soldiers were merely the backbone of American super-soldiers; above them were God-level and Transcendent God-level super-soldiers. It was precisely because of their confidence in their research outcomes that the United States dared to make bold statements even after witnessing the video of Zhang Fan’s battle with Ostern. However, Zhang Fan remained silent regarding all external rumors and criticisms. The Dark Emperor of the Dark Organization, accompanied by Tianyi, visited Zhang Fan on the lake island concerning this matter, but upon learning that Zhang Fan was in seclusion, they returned empty-handed.
…
Time passed, and this seclusion lasted for two years…
During these two years, the four Core Formation realm cultivators and one Golden Core realm cultivator sat cross-legged on that spiritual脉, sometimes circulating their techniques to absorb spiritual energy, other times practicing divine abilities, appearing incredibly harmonious. The spiritual脉, tens of meters long and once emitting a brilliant silver glow, had completely dimmed, its contained energy exhausted. Over these two years, everyone had gained significant rewards, especially Xue Jing. Originally at the peak of the early Golden Core realm, after two years of secluded cultivation, his realm had directly advanced to the late Golden Core realm. As for the three Blood Race princes, without exception, their strength had all reached the peak of the Core Formation realm. Among them, Prince Hill, the strongest, had even comprehended a trace of the Blood Sea intent and engraved a Dao pattern of his Golden Core.
"Two years, and finally my strength has reached the late Core Formation realm," Zhang Fan felt the Nascent Core within his body constantly circulating. In these two years, it had become more than ten times stronger. "It's just a pity about this spiritual脉." Zhang Fan looked down at the now spiritual-energy-less spiritual脉 beneath his feet and sighed inwardly. He had originally intended to use this spiritual脉 as a sustainable resource for his parents and disciples to use when breaking through their realms, but now it was completely depleted, which was indeed a shame. However, thankfully, effort always yielded rewards; trading the price of a spiritual脉 for an increase in cultivation realm was worth it. Although Zhang Fan was only at the late Core Formation realm, the majestic magical power contained within his Nascent Core was more than ten times richer than that of ordinary peak Core Formation realm cultivators, comparable to some third-grade Golden Core cultivators. After the spiritual energy in the underground spiritual脉 was absorbed, the area was no different from ordinary underground terrain, with only the tens of meters of transparent crystal ore indicating its past unusual nature. Zhang Fan enveloped Xue Jing and the others with his divine sense and returned to the cave dwelling on the surface. With his greatly increased strength, Xue Jing felt much more confident about facing future crises, making him appear much more lively.
"Master, do we really not need to search for the opportunities left by Immortal Ziwu?" Xue Jing asked Zhang Fan. Zhang Fan shook his head and said, "No need. Ziwu left the Ziwu Yuan Fruit on Earth, which conceals it from divine sense detection. To find it with the naked eye, even with your large Blood Race population, it would be difficult to find it without decades or even centuries." Ostern was able to find it only through the extensive network of the Holy See, conducting a carpet search on Earth, and even then, it took hundreds of years to find. "Moreover, how precious is the Ziwu Yuan Fruit? Ziwu must have left behind methods, protected by layers of formations and restrictions. With our current strength, it would be difficult to break them. It's better to wait patiently; when the time is right, it will naturally open."
"When will the time be right?" Xue Jing asked anxiously. He had been on Earth for over a thousand years, and if he had to wait another thousand, his lifespan would be nearing its end. After all, Golden Core realm cultivators had a lifespan of only three thousand years. If they did not break through to the Nascent Soul realm within three thousand years, they would die of old age!