Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 376 - 370: Flowing Sand River blocks the Tongtian Hierarch [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
The spider spirits and Chang E returned, each with their own problems to resolve. Sha Chen couldn’t fully concern himself with them; those were their own destinies to face. As for him, he still had more to do.
Having reached the Quasi-Saint Realm in his cultivation, his previous resources were no longer sufficient, only enough for a few years of cultivation. Luckily, Sha Chen didn’t solely cultivate Mana, but also his Primordial Spirit and physical body, as well as various Divine Powers, and also Apprentice Treasures. If he allocated time to all of these, he could postpone the depletion of resources for Mana cultivation. He estimated that, once completely depleted, they could barely sustain him for another eight to ten years.
Sha Chen couldn’t afford to dwell on it too much. At his level of cultivation, without venturing out, it was exceedingly rare to have endless resources to sustain cultivation for ten years, or even half a year. Such instances were countable on one’s fingers. Others who went into reclusive cultivation had already accumulated wealth over thousands or even tens of thousands of years, only to expend it all in a single retreat. He hadn’t even gone out to struggle or seek opportunities. To possess such wealth already was certainly something to be grateful for.
My cultivation base and physical body broke through not long ago. Although the physical body broke through some time ago, it’s unlikely to advance further any time soon. However, my Primordial Spirit has surged considerably recently; I must find a way to push it forward.
Sha Chen had already fulfilled his agreement with Immortal Taiyi, thereby completing the system’s task as well. He then took out the Qingwei Pure Qi rewarded by the system. This was created by the Qingwei Sect, utilizing the collective Pure Qi of the entire sect. Even the entire Qingwei Sect didn’t possess much of it, as they had not been established for long and were still primarily in a state of expending resources, having had little time to accumulate this power.
But after Sha Chen extracted it, Immortal Taiyi then saw a massive sphere of Qingwei Pure Qi, hundreds of times larger than all the Qingwei Pure Qi their Qingwei Sect had gathered over several thousand years of its existence, flying towards the Flowing Sand River. Initially, they thought this Qingwei Pure Qi had been accumulated by some influential figures within the sect and were thrilled for a moment. However, upon seeing the Qingwei Pure Qi drift away, they were utterly dejected. Then, after investigating up and down the sect, they discovered it had entered the Flowing Sand River Cave. Every one of them despaired and reported back to Immortal Taiyi, hoping he could lead them to reclaim the Qingwei Pure Qi.
Immortal Taiyi remained silent for a long time before sighing, "No wonder he has me at his mercy. It turns out he can also gather Qingwei Pure Qi. In a single day, he achieved a hundred times what took me several thousand years of effort." He felt a sense of frustrating powerlessness. He then issued an order forbidding anyone from provoking Sha Chen. Furthermore, he declared that the Flowing Sand River and the Qingwei Sect would henceforth be bound by a Qin-Jin alliance. No one in the Qingwei Sect was allowed to cause trouble for the Flowing Sand River.
At first, the members couldn’t accept it. But upon further reflection, they speculated this might be the collective will of the Chan Sect, to which their Qingwei Sect was subordinate. Naturally, they had to comply.
However, they were mistaken. The alliance between the Qingwei Sect and the Flowing Sand River, and Immortal Taiyi obeying Sha Chen’s instructions, was purely a personal transaction between the two of them. The Chan Sect did intend to win over Sha Chen, but they would never cooperate with him in such a manner. In their eyes, Sha Chen was someone who could be won over, but their intention was merely to prevent Buddhism from becoming too dominant, nothing more.
「Within the Flowing Sand River Cave」
Sha Chen looked at the large mass of Qingwei Pure Qi floating towards him, feeling the immense Divine Power emanating from it, his face a mixture of joy and surprise.
Such powerful Divine Power! Is this the Qingwei Pure Qi, one of the one hundred and eight primordial auras of the prehistoric world? The system mentioned that it can enhance the Primordial Spirit. I wonder if such a massive amount can elevate my Primordial Spirit to the Middle-level Quasi-saint Realm?
His eyes filled with anticipation, his face etched with hope. Such a vast quantity of Qingwei Pure Qi was already as large as a cloud. The sheer density of the Divine Power within was enough to make Sha Chen ecstatic. He was somewhat expectant, hoping it could elevate his Primordial Spirit to a new realm. Once his Primordial Spirit broke through, his true combat prowess would also take a substantial leap. After all, the Primordial Spirit influenced a vast array of factors, significantly impacting the execution of spells, Divine Powers, and Magical Tools, as well as the comprehension of Dao Techniques.
WHOOSH.
Without further ado, Sha Chen immediately absorbed the Qingwei Pure Qi into his body. He then circulated his Dao Techniques, using his Primordial Spirit to absorb, devour, and refine the Qingwei Pure Qi.
OMMM.
The moment it entered his body, Sha Chen felt an overwhelming power. His Primordial Spirit, which had already been on the verge of a breakthrough, instantly broke through. It immediately propelled his Primordial Spirit to the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint Realm, yet only one-tenth of the Qingwei Pure Qi had been consumed. Without reservation, Sha Chen devoured and refined the remaining ninety percent.
Three months later, Sha Chen’s Primordial Spirit had become immensely powerful, reaching the peak of the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint, just half a step away from stepping into the High-rank Quasi Saint Realm. He himself was astounded.
This Qingwei Pure Qi is so potent! A single mass allowed me to directly cross a major sub-realm, and the next breakthrough is not far off.
One should not underestimate Sha Chen’s breakthrough. While it might seem like only a single sub-realm, its true significance was terrifying. For anyone else, to elevate their Primordial Spirit from the peak of the Initial Quasi-sage Level to the peak of the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint would be an immense chasm, like a celestial abyss. Without cultivation resources, relying solely on cultivation would require at least a million years. Even with ordinary resources, it would still require hundreds of thousands of years. For instance, Bi Xiao of the San Xiao, who primarily cultivated her Primordial Spirit, took eighty thousand years to advance her Primordial Spirit from the peak of the Initial Quasi-sage Level to the peak of the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint. She, who focused on her Primordial Spirit, had the backing of the great Sect of Interpretation and the support of her sisters, with various resources piled up, yet it still took her eighty thousand years. For an ordinary person, achieving this in a million years would be considered fortunate. Indeed, many, even after a million years, would exhaust their potential and still be unable to break through.
With the Primordial Spirit having broken through first, subsequent breakthroughs in cultivation level would become much faster and more convenient. Now, with his Primordial Spirit stronger, Sha Chen felt a lightness pervading his entire being, a sensation of complete ease and comfort. When executing various Divine Powers and spells, he felt even more proficient, as if they were extensions of his limbs, and his speed increased.
The most significant change was that even when he used the Wordless Heavenly Scripture to reflect the Three Pure Ones Taoism, he could now project it completely without any sign of fainting. Reflecting the Three Pure Ones Taoism in succession now only caused a slight dizziness, which vanished as soon as he closed his eyes for a moment. It must be understood that before Sha Chen broke through to the Quasi-Saint Realm, reflecting even a single line of the Three Pure Ones Taoism would cause him to faint. That dizzying sensation made him want to vomit, though he couldn’t, and countless times he had wanted to give up. Fortunately, he hadn’t given up and had subsequently cultivated the Three Pure Ones Taoism.
Now, with the original scroll of the Tao Te Ching in his possession, he had a deeper understanding of Primordial Spirit cultivation. The original scroll of the Tao Te Ching was well-suited for Primordial Spirit cultivation, which was why Sha Chen could absorb the Qingwei Pure Qi so quickly and greatly strengthen his Primordial Spirit. Naturally, Sha Chen would need to spend more time comprehending the Three Pure Ones Taoism. After his Primordial Spirit’s breakthrough, he found that even comprehending Dao Techniques came more naturally. Even when cultivating Mana, he felt his progress was somewhat faster than before.
Having settled these matters, Sha Chen began cultivating Universe in the Sleeve. This Great Divine Power, featured in the Journey to the West and comparable to Tathagata’s Buddha Land in the Palm, was a subject of much discussion and admiration among countless people. Sha Chen had long yearned to cultivate it but had never found the opportunity. Now, having completed the task—not engaging with Zhenyuanzi and making Zhenyuanzi retreat in the face of difficulty—he had also obtained the reward.
Sha Chen directly extracted the system reward. When he began cultivating this Divine Power, it was indeed as he had predicted: the system allowed him to reach the introductory level directly. To truly master this Divine Power, one needed the power of space, which Sha Chen clearly did not possess. Yet now, he was able to learn it due to the system’s reward, which also directly endowed him with the power of space.
With a flick of his hand, Sha Chen’s sleeve instantly billowed out, expanding with the wind to cover the sky and obscure the sun. He drew the Eight-Treasure Water Tower and numerous palace structures into his sleeve. This was not achieved using a Magical Tool, nor a Space Magical Treasure like a Qiankun Bag or a mustard seed pouch; it was accomplished directly using Universe in the Sleeve.
Sha Chen formed a seal, used One Qi into Three Pure Ones to create a duplicate of himself, and then promptly drew that clone into his sleeve. The clone struggled within the sleeve, unleashing Imperial Gods’ Thunder, Samadhi True Fire, and various other Divine Powers, yet it could not breach his Universe in the Sleeve. Sha Chen was overjoyed and amazed; he hadn’t expected this Divine Power to be so formidable.
It was far more powerful than mustard seed pouches, which could only store inanimate objects. Sha Chen also possessed an Innate Qiankun Bag, a Magical Tool obtained from Maitreya Buddha. It could also capture people, much like Universe in the Sleeve. However, its trapping ability was rather ordinary and its properties fixed; someone with sufficient cultivation could easily break free. If it encountered special Divine Powers like Samadhi True Fire, it could even be directly incinerated.
Universe in the Sleeve, however, was different. This Divine Power constructed a space within the sleeve, a space capable of transforming attacks directed into it. If the trapped person’s cultivation was far inferior to the caster’s, any resistance would be futile. If Zhenyuanzi were to use Universe in the Sleeve, he could probably capture an ordinary Quasi-Saint with ease. And no matter how that Quasi-Saint thrashed about and tried to turn things upside down within the sleeve, they would not be able to escape. Of course, while someone was trapped inside, Zhenyuanzi also couldn’t inflict harm upon them from the outside; otherwise, opening the sleeve would allow the person to escape. This was a Great Divine Power primarily used for capturing individuals.
Sha Chen had no intention of going out, nor would he normally capture people. He learned this Divine Power primarily to study the power of space. Through this Divine Power, he had already grasped the power of space and planned to study it meticulously to thoroughly strengthen it. If the power of space could be integrated into his physical body, and if he mastered more of it, it would undoubtedly allow Sha Chen to act with impunity.
The leader of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Di Jiang, was the Ancestral Witch of Space. With that heaven-spanning, earth-penetrating power of space, even if he encountered Saints he couldn’t defeat, he could still escape. Within the same cultivation realm, he was practically invincible. Sha Chen even mused that if he cultivated his power of space to a certain level, he would definitely transform this place into an impregnable fortress. If necessary, he could also dig out spatial wormholes to easily travel wherever he wished, launch a sneak attack, and then return. Essentially, at that point, the entire world would be at his doorstep.
The dream was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Strengthening the power of space—how exceedingly difficult it was!
「Ten years passed.」
Sha Chen’s resources were exhausted. His cultivation level had advanced considerably, and his physical body had also strengthened quite a bit, yet his power of space had only shown minimal progress. Just as Sha Chen was feeling troubled about his depleted resources, the slowing pace of his cultivation, and the sluggish growth of his power of space, a calm voice came from outside, "Not bad at all. You’ve even obtained the Chaos Chicken Cover; even I cannot get in now."
Sha Chen’s scalp tingled—it was the voice of the Tongtian Hierarch. This old fellow was the person he least wanted to see or face. Because he didn’t know whether he should let the person in or not.
