Chapter 136: Reward Achieved—2,400-Fold!

Cao Xuan held a drop of essence blood from a Void Refinement stage expert and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "They say human greed is bottomless, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, but I never expected to find myself in such a position."

Fairy Qingyin adjusted her dress and shouldered her Qingyin Sword, acting as if nothing had occurred.

Cao Xuan believed that since he was on the path of cultivation, even if he had to use force—or his "Aphorism Domain"—he had to ensure everything was foolproof. The gap between the Foundation Establishment stage and the Void Refinement stage was simply too vast. It was so vast that Cao Xuan dared not gamble his life on it.

He admitted that Fairy Qingyin was beautiful and possessed a stunning figure, but that was no reason for him to take such risks. After all, did he not know that the Jade Maiden Sect was filled with many such beauties? However, a demonic sect was still a demonic sect; until he had the power to protect himself, he would never consider such a place. If he were to take Fairy Qingyin’s "first blood" today, and she discovered something amiss tomorrow, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Suppressing a slight ripple in his heart, Cao Xuan chose to submit the blood immediately.

[Ding! Blood submission complete. Task completion: High.]
[Rewards compounded. Qingyin multiplier: 2,300 times. Calculation beginning!]
[Initial reward item: Dao Foundation Pill!]
[Quality enhanced by 2,400 times. Matching to host's cultivation realm!]

Seeing this, Cao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that if the completion rate were low, it wouldn't have reached 2,300 times. A high completion rate only yielded an extra 100-fold increase."

"But fortunately, the system matches the item to my realm, so maybe the 2,400-fold increase will even result in an overflow!"

He neither wanted 2,300 standard Dao Foundation Pills nor was he worried that a quality upgrade would turn them into top-tier immortal elixirs he couldn't consume. There is a saying that every medicine has its side effects; this refers not only to medicinal properties but sometimes to the constraints of one's cultivation realm. For example, a Foundation Establishment Pill might increase spiritual energy for someone at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining, but if a mortal with no cultivation were to eat it, they would explode and die.

Therefore, if the Dao Foundation Pill for the Foundation Establishment stage were enhanced 2,400 times and became an unconsumable immortal elixir, that would be fine. What he feared was the trouble that comes with "an innocent man treasuring a jade ring"—becoming a target for others' covetous eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, 2,400 times. And it’s an item I can actually use at my current level. I wonder what it is. I hope my luck is good and it isn't something useless!"

Cao Xuan felt a slight pang of anxiety. He hoped the 2,400-fold multiplier wouldn't result in something like the luxury goods of his past life—like a Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, or Rolex. The item itself would be valuable, but for the simple purpose of telling time, a cheap digital watch would do the same job. After all, if the system provided something flashy but impractical, and it only ended up increasing his success rate for reaching the Golden Core stage by a fraction, he would have celebrated in vain.

[Ding! Match successful. Reward: Ten-Pattern Golden Core!]

"Wait, what is that? A Ten-Pattern Golden Core? Aren't Golden Cores only supposed to have one to nine patterns?"
"Is that the name of some pill? It sounds quite imposing!"

Before Cao Xuan could finish his thought, his entire being shuddered, and his gaze turned resolute. At that moment, he felt as if he had gained a god's-eye view, looking down at his own body.

"Has my soul left my body?" Cao Xuan thought, only to realize he couldn't speak; it was merely a thought.

The "Cao Xuan" in front of him sat cross-legged in the void. He waved his right hand and whispered a few words. The surrounding laws instantly restored, and Fairy Qingyin’s eyes regained their clarity. She did not notice anything unusual, appearing as if she had just finished talking to Cao Xuan. She wore a gentle smile, having secured a suitable talent for the path of the sword for her Sacred Land.

Seeing Cao Xuan sitting cross-legged, she remarked, "Oh? Did you have an epiphany in the void?" Her eyes lit up. "I have heard that a rare few geniuses who study the 'Void Sword Sutra' experience epiphanies when brought into a void opened by a Void Refinement expert. But this requires at least a fourth-grade cultivation talent. Indeed, you are no mere seventh-grade talent!"

Fairy Qingyin was not in a hurry; she simply watched Cao Xuan, a glint of interest in her eyes. She wanted to see what he would comprehend.

She watched as Cao Xuan began to draw in spiritual energy from the void, and she even waved her hand to continue infusing the space with more energy.

Inside the Azure Cloud Sect’s main hall, the representatives of the other five Sacred Lands were in no rush to leave, curious about the gathering spiritual energy.

Blood-Drop said with a sinister tone, "It seems that woman Qingyin is going all out. Is she teaching him sword techniques right in there?"
"Qingxuzi, aren't you afraid your sword-path protégé will be snatched away?"

Qingxuzi snorted coldly. "As you said, he is a sword-path protégé, not a dao-path protégé. If he wishes to come to my Xuanhua Dao Sect, our Sacred Land naturally welcomes him. But if he is unwilling, I will not force him!"

Everyone present was a Void Refinement expert with keen insight; they would be able to tell at a glance if Cao Xuan had been threatened upon coming out. If he joined the Ziyang Sword Sect of his own volition, then as a fence-sitter, he was not worth worrying about.

In Qingxuzi’s view, as fellow Sacred Lands, what they could offer was limited to cultivation techniques, resources, and status. It was not that the Xuanhua Dao Sect could not offer more, but the principle that "too much of a good thing is bad" was crucial. For someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment, excessive greed was rarely a good thing. The various benefits Qingxuzi had promised, along with the rewards for reaching different stages, might seem like many conditions, but anyone from a Sacred Land would realize that his offers were perfectly measured.

This was also a test of character by Qingxuzi. For a cultivation seed like Xian Xiangqiu, the Xuanhua Sacred Land had conducted tests for decades. Even though they had extended an olive branch early on, it was only a hundred years later, when she reached the peak of the Soul Formation stage, that they had personally invited her. Her arrival had even drawn the covetous eyes of the other five Sacred Lands, precisely because Xian Xiangqiu had not only passed the tests but had done so brilliantly, showing the potential of a Sacred Land Daoist.

The Daoists, Holy Maidens, and Buddhas of the six Sacred Lands—regardless of their titles—were all top-tier, once-in-ten-thousand-year prodigies. Xian Xiangqiu’s natural talent, a seventh-forged heavenly spiritual root and fourth-grade cultivation talent, was stunning, but she had not yet reached that "only one" status. Even so, it was enough to make others envious, and Liu Ruyan had personally invited her to the Jade Maiden Sacred Land.

The six Sacred Lands could go a thousand years without a Daoist or Holy Maiden, and they would never easily bestow such a position. As for Cao Xuan, a sword cultivator whose spiritual root wasn't even an Earth-grade spiritual root, even if his cultivation talent was unusual, how strong could he really be? Gaining him would be a small profit for the Xuanhua Dao Sect; losing him would be no great loss.

Seeing Qingxuzi sitting calmly like a fisherman, Blood-Drop chuckled and said no more. He realized Qingxuzi’s intentions; provocation and sowing discord were a waste of time.

At this moment, inside the mustard-seed space opened by Fairy Qingyin, she was originally watching the scene as if it were a play, but soon, she felt a "momentum" gathering around Cao Xuan.

"Wait, don't tell me... is this kid going to break through to the Golden Core stage right here?"
"This is utter madness!!"