Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

Chapter 351: Chapter 348: Omen

Shen Changchuan briefly compared his own combat strength to that of Deng Xin, who was at the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer.

He realized that he would most likely still lose.

However, he wasn’t the least bit discouraged.

On the contrary, he was filled with fighting spirit.

More than half a year ago,

if it hadn’t been for Wu Tianhao’s timely Secret Technique, combined with the sudden eruption of his own Divine Seed, he wouldn’t have been able to catch his careless opponent completely off guard.

In a direct confrontation, he probably wouldn’t have been able to put up any resistance against Deng Xin.

But now, over half a year later,

his Cultivation was approaching the Soul Emergence Second Layer Middle Stage,

and his overall strength was now enough to barely survive an assault from Deng Xin.

Considering this progress,

’what was there to be dissatisfied about?’

’After all, I’m still young,’

’and haven’t been practicing Cultivation for very long.’

’It’s completely understandable that I’m not on his level yet.’

Give him another year or so, and Shen Changchuan was confident he would have the strength to contend with him!

’Besides, that Deng Xin is no ordinary person... According to Senior Brother Wu, a Direct Disciple under the Seven Extremes Old Demon is someone who has fought their way to the very top, surviving out of tens of thousands of members in the Seven Extremes Sect...’

’That kind of strength is naturally on a completely different level from an ordinary person.’

’An average Cultivator at the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer shouldn’t be as powerful as him.’

’With my current strength, I should have no problem at least surviving an encounter with a Soul Emergence Fourth Layer expert...’

Shen Changchuan silently took stock of his abilities.

The strength of the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer...

That should be considered quite decent.

It was combat power that reached the middle tiers of the Soul Emergence Realm.

However...

’This is far from enough!’

Thinking of the great war that would soon arrive,

Shen Changchuan reined in some of his joy.

In the chaos of a massive war,

there would likely be no shortage of battles even between experts of the Divine Travel Realm!

Combat strength at the Soul Emergence Realm Middle Stage...

...at best, it would only allow him to survive a little longer in some insignificant corner of the battlefield.

If he were to encounter an enemy at the Fifth Layer of the Soul Emergence Realm or higher,

death would still be inevitable.

’I still have to increase my combat strength as quickly as possible!’

Shen Changchuan recalled the news he had heard when he went to Dawan Village to deliver Elixirs,

and he couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of urgency.

Recently,

the major powers in the Tian Nan Domain had all begun buying up large quantities of Elixirs, Talismans, Arrays, Magical Artifacts, and other items that could boost a Cultivator’s strength.

As a result, the market prices for these related items were rising rapidly.

This was also why Shen Changchuan had been able to earn three hundred thousand Spirit Stones through Alchemy in just half a year.

He had caught the wave just at the right time!

Compared to the demand, the Elixirs Shen Changchuan refined were nowhere near enough to satisfy the market’s appetite.

However, such unconcealed actions had already led to much speculation from the outside world.

Something big was about to happen!

For a time,

a sense of panic spread throughout the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Discussions about the matter were happening on every street corner, and all sorts of rumors were flying around.

With the populace unsettled,

many smaller factions and Loose Cultivators had no choice but to exchange their stored Spirit Stones for items that could directly increase their combat strength.

Although the major powers at the top had not made any official announcements,

their actions already spoke volumes.

Spirit Stones could be earned again,

but one only had a single life.

This further spurred the market demand for Elixirs, Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and Arrays.

If it were any other merchant,

they might have been overjoyed at catching this wave of opportunity.

But Shen Changchuan, who knew the inside story,

only felt an even greater sense of crisis.

Things had reached a state of widespread panic, yet none of the major powers had come forward to say anything.

Moreover,

with them gathering resources so openly,

the scale of the coming war...

...would likely not be small!

Shen Changchuan had also gone to see his master, Master Wandering Dragon, to try and sound him out.

Although his master, like Senior Brother Hong Yang, comforted him and told him not to worry—that they wouldn’t let him enter the fray unless the situation became absolutely desperate—

he could still see from the exhaustion on Master Wandering Dragon’s face

that the situation was probably not looking good.

Furthermore,

Shen Changchuan, who was staying in the Sect, could feel it as well.

A grim and tense atmosphere had descended upon the entire Sect.

In just half a year, the Dragon Cloud Sect had already held two rounds of examinations to recruit Outer Disciples.

They had also relaxed some of the standards, accepting over a thousand new Disciples.

In the Sect’s External Affairs Hall,

many new missions with generous rewards had appeared, all involving infiltrating the Nanyue Kingdom.

All of these things pointed to one conclusion.

The entire Sect had already begun preparing for war!

’The great war is about to begin. Is there any way for me to improve myself in the shortest possible time?’

Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

The changing situation

forced him to seek new avenues for improvement.

Because,

as of right now,

he had actually already passed the stage of rapid strength improvement,

and was gradually hitting a bottleneck in his growth.

’At my current level, even if I cultivate a few more Tier Two Magic, the effect on my combat power will likely be minimal.’

’After all, a few more Tier Two Magic would only increase my versatility and shore up some of my weaknesses.’

’When it comes to fighting enemies, besides their method of dealing damage, is there really a huge difference between Tier Two Attack Skills like Flaming Dragon Burning World and Swift Wood Dragon Sword?’

’In reality, unless a specific counter is involved, you can just cast the same Tier Two Magic multiple times. In a real fight, it’s not that different from using a variety of Tier Two Magic...’

Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

It was like holding a saber and a sword.

When a person has no weapon, giving them a saber or a sword drastically increases their martial prowess.

But once that person already has a weapon,

adding another one or two doesn’t provide such a big boost to their strength.

In fact, carrying too many weapons could become a burden and hinder their fighting ability.

Therefore, for the time being,

the increase in Shen Changchuan’s combat power from cultivating more Tier Two Magic to the Perfection stage,

would not be significant.

As for accumulating enough resources to make his Divine Seed evolve and transform further?

That wasn’t so easy!

’In a fight between Cultivators, the best strategy is always to overwhelm the opponent with sheer power—to crush a lower Realm with a higher Realm.’

’From now on, I should focus all my energy on raising my Cultivation Realm!’

’Perhaps... I should see if I can successfully create that Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu.’

At this thought,

Shen Changchuan’s gaze sharpened.

If he could successfully create the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu,

then according to its function,

Shen Changchuan was confident that he could reach the Soul Emergence Realm Middle Stage within two to three years!

And from there, reach the Soul Emergence Peak even faster!

Only by reaching a higher Cultivation Realm

could he have the confidence to protect himself in the great war!

As he pondered,

Shen Changchuan took out the Jade Slip that Guo Cheng had given him earlier, a flash of determination in his eyes.