bookpub Chapter 339 Next Step Plan
Chapter 339 Next Step Plan
Zhang Chi had wanted Gu Youyou to plant a demon mark on Hong Li long ago, as the advantages of a demon mark were much stronger compared to the human slave mark.
The human slave mark had a significant distance limitation. Once the distance between the mark and the servant was too far, the mark would become ineffective.
If Zhang Chi had planted a slave mark on Hong Li and he went to the Secret Realm, it wouldn't be long before Hong Li could break free from the mark.
Moreover, the target marked with a slave mark would have increased mental resistance, making it impossible to plant a second mark.
The demon mark was different. It had no distance or spatial limitations. Once enslaved, one would be a slave for life.
Furthermore, the demon mark was compulsory. Even if it went against one's own will, one could not disobey the command given by Gu Youyou.
The slave mark was different. Back then, Zi Mian had often acted against it.
The demon mark had irreplaceable advantages over the slave mark, but unfortunately, when Hong Li was captured, Gu Youyou had just planted a demon mark on Ao Long.
Although the demon mark was powerful, it also had its limitations.
Otherwise, if the Demon Race planted demon marks everywhere, it wouldn't take long for them to dominate the human world.
A demon mark could only be planted once a month, and a demon could only have seven servants.
The replacement could only be done after the death of a servant.
At that time, Gu Youyou's demon mark skill was still on cooldown, so Zhang Chi chose to keep Hong Li locked up, neither killing her nor letting her go, just waiting for the cooldown.
Unexpectedly, the Secret Realm incident occurred, allowing Hong Li to escape.
A Monster King with dragon blood was still valuable for cultivation.
Zhang Chi relied on absorbing dragon blood from her to greatly enhance his physical strength.
A living Monster King was a treasure, while a dead Monster King had little value and could only be used for soup. It was somewhat regrettable.
Hong Li was still sensible, so Zhang Chi didn't make things difficult for her and let her go first, planning to have Gu Youyou capture her later.
"She has said what she needed to say. What do we do now that we've let her go?" Zhang Chi looked at Jin Ling'er and discussed with her.
Jin Ling'er was also someone who kept her promises. Since she had already promised Hong Li before, she naturally wouldn't go back on her word.
"You can go now!" Jin Ling'er released her lock on Hong Li, and Hong Li immediately used water escape, heading straight for the Dragon River at an extremely fast speed.
Only by the water's edge could she feel a little sense of security.
Seeing this, Jin Ling'er couldn't help but comment, "The Monster Kings here are so timid."
Zhang Chi smiled calmly and said, "The River Monster Race is more cautious."
Jin Ling'er nodded without saying much.
Come to think of it, fish and shrimp were generally more timid, while the monsters in the Golden Cauldron Mountain territory were mostly jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, naturally fierce creatures, even more so after becoming monsters.
However, precisely because of their ferocity, the monsters in the Golden Cauldron Mountain territory cannot establish a foothold. They basically each rule their own mountains, and the White Tiger Sect does not have the power to exterminate them.
When the humans and monsters joined forces to resist the devil and demon races in the past, after their victory, it was not appropriate to completely exterminate the Monster Race.
Therefore, the policies towards the Monster Race in various regions are basically the same. If the Monster Race does not cause trouble, the human race does not make a big fuss about exterminating them.
As for conflicts that arise, they are to be resolved by themselves and do not escalate to the level of racial confrontation.
The rampant River Monsters on the Dragon River side are also due to the fact that the human race on this side has completely occupied the living space of the River Monster Race. It is not surprising to have such a disaster.
After watching Hong Li leave, Jin Ling'er spoke seriously, "Are you really not letting her destroy the spiritual veins because you don't believe in the formation, or because you want to preserve Long Yan's heritage?"
Jin Ling'er's question was a bit sharp, but that's just her personality. She had doubts in her heart and didn't want to keep them to herself, so she directly asked Zhang Chi.
They had gone through life and death together, so shouldn't they be able to face this kind of question?
Bringing up Long Yan was indeed a sensitive topic.
Zhang Chi helplessly said, "It's a bit of both. I don't believe what she said, but I also don't want Long Yan's heritage to be destroyed. It's better not to let Long Yan know about this."
"Okay."
Jin Ling'er agreed, but she still couldn't help but express her disapproval, commenting, "With the qualifications of the Long Family to produce Dao Integration cultivators, they are already ahead of others by a large margin. With the talent of the next generation, they have a complete chance to break through Dao Integration. Why bother to fish in troubled waters and harm one side?"
The effectiveness and method of destruction of the Luck Formation have not been completely determined, but Jin Ling'er already believed about seventy to eighty percent.
Hong Li said that the formation was destroyed, and there really haven't been any Dao Integration cultivators from the Long Family in Dragon River for thousands of years.
"People have their own selfish desires that are hard to fill. Let's not worry about this matter for now. We'll talk about it when we become stronger. There are huge risks and benefits involved. Ling'er, you haven't broken through yet, so it's not advisable to get too involved."
So he's afraid that I'll mess things up?
Jin Ling'er felt warm in her heart and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't mess things up. Let's first sort out the chaotic spiritual energy here!"
After chatting for so long, Jin Ling'er finally remembered that she came here to do something important.
Indeed, love can make people full of motivation.
She wasn't even tired from working now.
Jin Ling'er immersed herself in the spiritual veins, using her own spiritual energy to harmonize the spiritual veins. Since Golden Cauldron didn't directly intervene, the progress was slower, but the spiritual veins were gradually recovering.
Zhang Chi stood by and protected her, but he was pondering the meaning behind Long Yi's move.
There were many calculations, but Zhang Chi couldn't say them all to Jin Ling'er. He could show his intelligence, but he couldn't show his suspicion and calculations.
So he could only hint at certain things, and it was understandable that Hong Li and Jin Ling'er didn't believe his views.
"The Long Family is truly a dangerous place, and what's even scarier is that he has set his sights on me."
Zhang Chi sighed helplessly. He actually didn't want to provoke an enemy as powerful and cunning as Long Yi, but the other party targeted him first, so he couldn't blame him for fighting back.
"Don't be afraid. Once I regain my physical body, I can easily kill someone like Long Yi."
Gu Youyou had absolute confidence in her own strength, of course, on the condition that she retrieves her physical body.
Otherwise, she could only help Zhang Chi escape from Long Yi's hands.
Long Yi is still very powerful. According to Zhang Chi's analysis, he is the one who killed the strong Dao Integration experts from the Eastern Sovereign Palace.
Being able to kill strong opponents of the same level without being detected, it can only be said that his strength is already top-notch within the same level, and he may even have touched the edge of a higher realm.
At that level, it would be very difficult for Gu Youyou to deal with him.
"In ten years, if I focus on cultivation, I should be able to make it," Zhang Chi said.
Others might think that what Zhang Chi said was just a pipe dream, but Gu Youyou found it very reasonable.
With Zhang Chi's Innate Breathing Technique, as long as he fully utilizes it at full speed, he can quickly break through to the Foundation Building Late Stage.
However, cultivating the Divine Soul is a slow process and cannot be rushed.
But Gu Youyou also has a shortcut.
There are two options, and the simplest one is to take the Demon Dao route.
The Demon Race's cultivation technique allows them to absorb others' emotions to strengthen their own Divine Soul. In the eyes of the Demon Race, a person's thoughts and emotions have a divine charm.
This method allows for rapid progress, but it will definitely lead to demonic transformation. Since Zhang Chi is unwilling to enter the Demon Dao, this option can be ruled out.
The other option is to find a more powerful method of replenishing the Divine Soul than the Nine Probes of the Divine Dragon.
The Nine Probes of the Divine Dragon can only replenish physical strength, but if there is a method that surpasses this limit, it should be able to replenish the strength of the Divine Soul.
The Demon Race definitely has such a technique. Gu Youyou remembers that the Demon Race has an 18th-level replenishment technique, but she had no interest in this method of replenishment back then.
Compared to gaining power through plunder, she prefers her own cultivation.
It's a pity that if she had taken a look back then, she wouldn't have to go elsewhere to find a technique now.
After learning about Gu Youyou's plan, Zhang Chi had a direction in mind.
"This kind of 18th-level technique is extremely rare. If we want to find it, we can only look for it from the largest power in Western State."
If the major powers don't have it, it's even less likely that independent cultivators will have it.
And there are only two major powers in Western State.
One is the Eastern Sovereign Palace, which is undoubtedly the largest power.
The other is the Snow Mountain God Temple.
The Snow Mountain God Temple used to be the most powerful force and the oldest power in Western State. Even after its split, it still ranks second.
Compared to the Eastern Sovereign Palace, the Snow Mountain God Temple is more likely to possess an 18th-level replenishment technique.
"So, our next stop is the Snow Mountain God Temple?"
Gu Youyou became interested. She smelled the scent of trouble.
Zhang Chi: "..."
Can't we have a peaceful period?
While Zhang Chi and Gu Youyou were privately discussing, Jin Ling'er slowly sorted out the spiritual veins of the Sword Sect.
The broken spiritual veins were already a settled matter. Jin Ling'er's task was not to repair them, but to slowly dissipate the spiritual energy contained within the spiritual veins, so as to prevent the spiritual energy from becoming violent.
Otherwise, under the violent spiritual energy, all living beings in this area would suffer.
After being sorted out, the spiritual energy in the Sword Sect area would become extremely abundant in the short term.
However, once it reaches its peak, the spiritual energy here will gradually dissipate, eventually becoming a barren area of spiritual energy, just like those mundane realms.
The former site of the Sword Sect is completely gone.
Upon hearing this result, Zhang Chi couldn't help but sigh.
The Sword Sect is really unlucky.
But it doesn't matter, he has no attachment to it anyway.
Afraid that Zhang Chi would be sad, Jin Ling'er planned to find something for him to do.
"After the spiritual veins are broken, the spiritual energy here will be very abundant for a short period of time. Seize the opportunity to cultivate well and don't waste it."
Deliberately damaging the spiritual veins for cultivation would be taking advantage of others, but since the spiritual veins have already been broken, there is no need to waste them.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chi didn't hesitate to start meditating and absorb the scattered spiritual energy.
Since the spiritual energy is now surging like a tide, no one will notice any abnormalities even if Zhang Chi absorbs it quickly.
The feeling of crazily absorbing the Entering Spirit Qi is wonderful. Zhang Chi immersed himself in it and lost track of time.
Jin Ling'er was just guarding by the side and not cultivating.
Ten days passed as Zhang Chi continued to absorb the spiritual energy.
In his dantian, the small star expanded a bit more. However, Zhang Chi's cultivation level did not break through, but his foundation became even more solid.
The amount of true essence stored in his dantian has even surpassed that of a Divine Soul cultivator, estimated to be able to support him in full combat for five to six hours.
Full combat refers to continuously using true essence to release spells or martial techniques without rest, excluding recovery time. Zhang Chi can fight for that long.
An ordinary Foundation Building Late Stage cultivator can only fight for one hour at most.
In a battle between Foundation Building cultivators, the one who can release more true essence at once has the highest power, while the one with a larger total amount of true essence has better endurance.
Zhang Chi surpasses both aspects compared to cultivators of the same level.
"From now on, leave the battles at the Foundation Building Stage to me!"
Gu Youyou: "..."
With your configuration, you can defeat a mid-stage Divine Soul cultivator, and yet you still only want to fight at the Foundation Building Stage? (End of this chapter)