Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

Chapter 494: Chapter 17: Meeting Shen Chong Again

So difficult!

In the end, Shen Changchuan had been far too confident.

Whether it was raising his Cultivation to the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer in just seven or eight years, or mastering the Power of Space, the difficulty of both had far surpassed his imagination!

One thing was certain:

If he stuck to his original plan, he would almost certainly fail to accomplish any of his goals.

’Sigh... No wonder Master reacted that way. He must have known how difficult this would be.’

’The difficulty of these tasks isn’t something I can easily overcome just by grinding away with my progress bar panel.’

Shen Changchuan was lost in thought, a clear struggle visible in his eyes.

’If this really isn’t going to work, then I’ll have to prioritize raising my Cultivation to the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer.’

’At the very least, I need to secure a spot in the competition.’

’If I can’t learn things like the Spatial Slash, I’ll just have to train in a few more Tier Two Top Level Skills.’

’I might even be able to use the accumulated experience from my progress bar panel to try cultivating some of those Quasi Tier Three Level Skills.’

’That way, even if I can’t fight for a top-ten spot, I’ll at least have a shot at the top fifty!’

Faced with this daunting reality, Shen Changchuan had no choice but to concede and adjust his plans, abandoning his efforts to control the Void Escape Gu’s Power of Space and develop techniques like the Spatial Slash.

There was no other choice. ℴℴ𝘮

After a solid month of effort, he had made virtually no progress.

Even with nearly two thousand different skills at the Perfection Level and a vast amount of accumulated Cultivation Experience, he was still facing a power that one was typically only qualified to grasp two full Realms above his own.

It was still far from enough.

If he stubbornly clung to his original plan, Shen Changchuan was certain that by the start of the Immortal Sect’s Grand Competition, he would, at best, have only a rudimentary grasp on using the Power of Space.

The price, however, was that his Cultivation Realm would only reach the Soul Emergence Eighth Layer Early Stage at most!

With a Cultivation at the Soul Emergence Eighth Layer Early Stage, he would have to face peerless geniuses who had been cultivating for decades, or even centuries.

Given the enormous gap in their Realms, that mere sliver of control over the Power of Space would be of little use in a real fight.

After all, the peerless geniuses at the Peak of the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer would surpass someone at the Eighth Layer by several orders of magnitude in both speed and reflexes.

No matter how powerful your spatial attacks were, they were meaningless if they couldn’t hit their target.

On the contrary, his opponents could rely on their incredible speed to defeat him before he could even react.

And that was precisely why Shen Changchuan had set the goal of reaching the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer in ten years.

Because only by reaching at least the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer would he be qualified to step onto the stage and compete with those peerless geniuses!

’What a shame... To think I’d have to change my plans after spending so much time and energy...’

Knowing that his original plan was now impossible, Shen Changchuan decisively resolved to change it.

At the same time, however, he couldn’t help but feel a great deal of frustration.

Just think of all the time and energy he had poured into this.

If he hadn’t, he would have already mastered at least one or two more Tier Two Top Level Skills and raised his Cultivation to the Peak of the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer by now.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

According to his master, ascending to the Divine Travel Realm was a major hurdle.

The Immortal Cultivation Realm of the Tian Nan Domain had been severely damaged after the great war with the Xiangshan Sect three hundred years ago, and the opportunities to ascend to the Divine Travel Realm were gone.

In the future, anyone who wanted a chance to reach the Divine Travel Realm would have to go to the Outer Realm and seize it.

But just thinking about it made the difficulty clear!

The Outer Realm was a more complete world, meaning there would only be more Cultivators vying for the chance to reach the Divine Travel Realm!

And the native Cultivators there would have a home-field advantage; one didn’t have to think hard to imagine how difficult it would be.

By comparison, the opportunity to reach the Divine Travel Realm offered at the Immortal Sect’s Grand Competition was undoubtedly all the more important to Shen Changchuan.

’Ah, well.’

’Actually, successfully refining the Void Escape Gu isn’t without its benefits.’

’Ignoring whether an enemy can dodge it or not, the simple, brute-force attack it can unleash is unstoppable for anyone below the Divine Travel Realm!’

’If I use it well, it might even be able to decide the outcome of a battle.’

’Besides, the Void Escape Gu’s escape capabilities are practically maxed out. If I ran into that old fiend from the Corpse Refining Sect again, I might be able to escape without my master needing to intervene.’

Shen Changchuan’s spirits lifted slightly as he consoled himself.

But this wasn’t merely self-consolation.

The Power of Space was an ability exclusive to masters at the Profound Pill Realm, and he had refined the Void Escape Gu into his Palm Heart Acupoint.

Therefore, even if that old fiend from the Corpse Refining Sect used the spiritual pressure of his Divine Travel Realm to immobilize him, as long as he could still think and his Divine Soul Power remained, he could directly activate the Void Escape Gu in his Palm Heart Acupoint and instantly teleport over ten li away.

The Power of Space transcended the power of the Divine Travel Realm.

If he truly wanted to escape, that Corpse Refining Sect fiend, who had only just reached the Divine Travel Realm, would be powerless to stop him!

This meant that Shen Changchuan now possessed an ultimate, life-saving escape plan!

Now, even if he returned to the Nanyue Territory to gain experience, he could be reasonably certain of his own survival!

A trump card like this might not be very useful in a tournament battle and wouldn’t be much help to Shen Changchuan in the Immortal Sect’s Grand Competition.

But having such a foolproof, life-saving measure was more than worth it, no matter how you looked at it!

Shen Changchuan’s initial disappointment gradually began to fade.

Centering his thoughts, Shen Changchuan began to consider his next steps.

’Alright, next, I’ll focus on cultivating the Tier Two Top Level Skill I got from Master, the Thousand Shadows Cyan Mist Sword Rain Technique, until I reach Perfection.’

’And I need to get the Golden Body Dominating Technique to Perfection as quickly as possible, too.’

’It’s perfect timing. My Cultivation Realm is a little unstable since I just broke through using the Ten Thousand Purple Mist Spirit Pills. I can use this training to properly solidify my foundation and, while I’m at it, work toward breaking through to the Soul Emergence Eighth Layer.’

’Hmph. So what if I can’t master the Spatial Slash? Once I’ve perfected more than ten Tier Two Top Level Skills, who would dare say I’m not qualified to fight for a spot in the top fifty?!’

’Senior Sister Wei came to me earlier asking for help with the trouble those so-called geniuses from the Outer Realm are causing within our Sect’s territory. Once I’ve finished my training, they’ll be perfect for testing the might of these Tier Two Top Level Skills. It’ll also be a good chance to intimidate the other rabble lurking about!’

Shen Changchuan’s mind was clear.

He now had a solid plan for his next objectives.

However, just as he was about to continue his secluded Cultivation, a clandestine visitor arrived.

This particular visitor was someone Shen Changchuan knew.

It was none other than his ’dear’ older brother, the one he suspected of having a protagonist’s halo—Shen Chong!