CHAPTER 289: PROGRESS 3

Although his comprehension ability improved by leaps and bounds, his understanding of the rune carved on his spiritual root remained the same.

No matter what he tried, he still couldn’t get past the door.

After discovering this problem, Shen Xu felt frustrated but suddenly became thoughtful.

’Could it be that I am lacking something?’ He wondered.

When he first failed to comprehend the rune, he thought his comprehension ability was lacking.

However, his comprehension ability had reached an unimaginable level but he still couldn’t comprehend the rune!

Didn’t this mean that comprehending the rune required more than comprehension ability?

’What am I lacking?’ Shen Xu wondered.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure it out, so he let the matter rest for the time being.

After refining five hundred drops of clarity, Shen Xu began absorbing his other cultivation resources.

Fire element pills, fire type treasures, fire souls, spirit stones, ...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was three thousand space years later.

During the past three thousand years, Shen Xu not only advanced his cultivation from the mid stage of the void refining realm to half a step into the fusion realm, but also practised a sword art.

The sword art was called the True Inferno sword style.

As the name suggested, it was a fire-type art and its essence was compatible to the double’s cultivation.

After learning and practising it to the point of comprehending its intent, Shen Xu was certain he would be able to clear the sword tower.

That said, his cultivation was only initially stable and his body uncontrollably exuded a burning fire aura.

Zhen Yuan also made a lot of progress.

Like Shen Xu, he first refined five hundred drops of clarity and also achieved a leap in comprehension ability.

After that, he comprehended all the laws he had previously memorised and advanced his cultivation from the early stage of the fusion realm to the peak stage.

At the same time, his second golden pillar lit and he instantaneously understood the heavenly law of gravity.

The heavenly law of space allowed him to create a domain.

Similarly, the heavenly law of gravity allowed him to affect the world’s gravity within a certain range.

Most importantly, it could seamlessly fuse into the domain created by the heavenly law of space.

In addition to comprehending the heavenly law of gravity, Zhen Yuan integrated the laws of gravity into his void body.

The domain and void body were different.

Basically, the domain was external and could trap enemies, while the void body was internal and could only trap attacks directed at him.

After integrating gravity into his void body, Zhen Yuan felt more confident in avoiding serious injuries.

’This will let Xiaoxu worry less.’ He thought.

Later, Zhen Yuan also learned a sword art.

However, instead of the True Inferno Sword art, he practised the Formless Sword art.

As the name implied, the artistic conception of the Formless sword art was rooted in not only the natural laws, but also the practitioner’s will and intent.

Fortunately, Zhen Yuan had a high understanding of natural laws and could easily comprehend the sword art’s intent.

On this day, Shen Xu and Zhen Yuan were drinking cloud-seeking fruit wine at the Peach Pavilion when Yang Shi rushed over.

"Master, Lord Zhen, you are finally out." He shouted.

"Why are you so excited?" Shen Xu asked, and Yang Shi rolled his eyes.

"We have been waiting for a long time."

As they spoke, Feng Xue and Li Wenqiang also came.

"Sit down. Let’s eat and drink before going out."

After that, the five ate fruits and drank wine while talking about their progress.

Like their master, Yang Shi, Feng Xue, and Li Wenqiang had improved their comprehension ability and advanced to the peak of level six.

Seeing this, Shen Xu was satisfied and happily drank more wine.

"What’s the next plan?" Yang Shi asked, his eyes shining in anticipation.

"We have been in retreat for one hundred real years." Shen Xu started and quickly continued.

"Our first task when we go out is to gather information. A lot must have happened in the five hundred years we were in the secret realm and the hundred years we were retreating."

Everyone nodded when they heard this.

"The next step is to prepare for clearing the towers."

"Prepare? We are not clearing them right away?" Yang Shi asked, and Shen Xu shook his head.

"We plan to arrange teleportation formations near each tower city. That way, we can clear the towers at the most advantageous time."

"When will it be the most advantageous time?"

"After we explore some dangerous areas."

Before entering the Yunshan secret realm, Zhen Yuan and Shen Xu earmarked some dangerous places they wanted to explore.

Two were fire-related, one was a weapons grave, another was a mysterious lake, the fifth was a ghost village, and the final was a desert where space cracks often appeared.

The desert was similar to the space crack area in the forbidden zone.

Knowing this, Zhen Yuan was especially interested in the desert and planned to see if they could find a way to the Tianxuan continent.

"We will use the city’s teleportation formations to move from tower city to tower city. After arriving at each new city, we will arrange our own teleportation formation outside the city before moving to the next place."

"Do we have enough materials to arrange eight teleportation formations?" Feng Xue asked in a concerned voice.

After all, only a level seven formation was powerful enough to teleport from one tower city to another.

"The formations are one-way, one-time use, teleportation arrays. This will reduce the number of materials needed." Zhen Yuan said.

In fact, they didn’t have level seven materials.

However, Zhen Yuan was a master of formations, talismans, and inscriptions.

With level six materials, he could use a combination of formation, talisman, and inscription runes to arrange a level seven teleportation formation.

"Why go to so much trouble? Isn’t it easier to use the city’s teleportation formations?" Yang Shi asked and Shen Xu rolled his eyes.

"Do you dare?" He asked.

After clearing a tower, they would need to leave the city as soon as possible to avoid trouble.

However, the cities’ teleportation formations were monitored; hence, using one would leave a trail that would lead to them.

In that case, their only option was to use a private teleportation formation to leave the city after clearing each tower.