CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36 TONGTIAN HIERARCH INVITES AGAIN [ASKING FOR COLLECTION AND RECOMMENDATION VOTE]_1

"One Qi into Three Pure Ones" allowed Sha Chen to create many avatars, but his mana and vigor were limited. One avatar was already enough, yet he had it bring several small avatar embryos out with it. If the main avatar died, these could appear in its place.

After settling the matter of the avatars, Sha Chen once again plunged into deep cultivation. He aimed to reach the peak of the Golden Immortal realm as soon as possible, for only with great strength could he obtain what he desired.

Once no others were present in the Formation, Sha Chen allowed his body to grow wildly once more: massive, terrifying, with boundless strength, and indestructible.

However, cultivating both the physical body and mana together, Sha Chen found the difficulty had increased severalfold compared to before. It was not as simple as one plus one. Because his physical body started from scratch, rebuilding it naturally came with numerous challenges. Luckily, he possessed the Gluttonous essence blood, which he could directly consume to enhance both his physical body and mana, saving him from many diversions in his cultivation.

However, as his cultivation level gradually increased, the required resources multiplied, and those in his dojo soon became insufficient. After cultivating for half a year, Sha Chen found that the Immortal Herbs in the Spiritual Field and the rice in the paddies were still not ripe. He had already exhausted the resources provided by the Spider Demon. What used to last for years now only lasted for half a year, and that was while being frugal. The simultaneous advancement of his physical body and cultivation was hugely resource-intensive. With the increase in strength, the demand grew even larger.

Sha Chen was constantly considering how to acquire more resources without leaving his sanctuary. He was lacking a clear way to obtain them.

The Tongtian Hierarch, who was within Zi Zhi Cliff, had been observing Sha Chen for a while and suddenly laughed. "Hehe, it seems he has begun to experience the distress of lacking resources. Let’s see if he will come out looking for a helping hand!"

He transmitted a message to Sha Chen, saying, "Kid, leave the Flowing Sand River, join my Sect of Interpretation, and I can consider taking you as an inner disciple. Resources will be at your disposal."

Sha Chen was stunned for a moment.

"Discovery: Tongtian Hierarch invites Host to join the Sect of Interpretation. You have the following choices."

"Choice One: Agree to Tongtian Hierarch, join the Sect of Interpretation, become a disciple of a Saint, command the world, and receive the reward Magical Tool ’Four Symbols Tower.’ Four Symbols Tower: A Magical Tool of the Golden Spirit Holy Mother, it can suppress all evil in the world and possesses immeasurable weight."

"Choice Two: Refuse Tongtian Hierarch, continue to cultivate in seclusion. If difficulties arise, overcome them, and receive the reward of one ’Lower Grade God Origin Mine Mountain.’ God Source Mine Mountain: Composed of God Source Stones, which contain Divine Power; absorbing them can increase mana. They are divided into lower, middle, upper, and extreme grades. The Divine Power differs greatly between each grade."

When Sha Chen saw the God Source Mine Mountain, his eyes widened with overjoyed surprise.

As the former Great General for Folding the Curtain to the Jade Emperor, he knew how precious this thing was. The Heavenly Court had many God Source Mine Mountains, but for them, it often waged war against the Demon World, the Devil World, and various major local powers. God Source Stones were similar to the spiritual stones used by mortal cultivators, but spiritual stones contained Spiritual Power, while God Source Stones contained Divine Power. The salary and rewards for immortals in the Heavenly Court consisted of these God Source Stones and cultivation elixirs. God Source Stones, like Immortal Rice, were vital cultivation and strategic resources in the Three Realms, utterly indispensable.

When he had obtained the Immortal Rice, Sha Chen had wondered when he might get the chance to find a God Source Mine Mountain. That would be perfect.

His avatar had left this time with one of its missions being to search for such a mine.

However, he also knew the hope was slim.

Now, he could choose to obtain one.

Without hesitation, Sha Chen chose to refuse becoming Tongtian Hierarch’s disciple and immediately acquired a Lower Grade Divine Source Stone Mine Mountain.

The Tongtian Hierarch, having been rebuffed, felt somewhat annoyed. He was about to say that Sha Chen was ungrateful and, lacking sufficient food and clothing, could never hope to achieve greatness in cultivation.

However, outside the Formation, a God Source Stone Mine Mountain flew in, resembling a dragon, and coiled next to the Spiritual Field.

The God Source Mine Mountain was a thousand zhang tall and a thousand li long.

Although it consisted only of Lower Grade God Source Stones, the sheer volume of this mine was enough to allow Sha Chen to cultivate to the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm.

At that moment, Sha Chen was beyond excited. "Fantastic! With this God Source Stone Mine Mountain, I have enough to cultivate to Greater Primordial Golden Immortal without worrying about running out of resources."

Tongtian Hierarch, at Zi Zhi Cliff, was speechless. How can he be so lucky as to encounter a Communicative Spirit God Source Stone Mine Mountain seeking its master? If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have doubted whether Sha Chen had always owned this mine.

Sha Chen began to grab the God Source Stones, holding one in each hand, and started to absorb them frantically.

Ordinarily, to completely absorb a God Source Stone of one cubic meter would take at least ten days. But since Sha Chen had mastered the Taotie’s devouring technique, it only took about half a day to absorb it completely.

Even so, Sha Chen still felt he was absorbing them too slowly.

"If only I could get more Gluttonous essence blood," he thought, "it would make my devouring power even stronger."

Sha Chen felt that if swallowing power were graded, the Taotie itself would be at Great Perfection, while he was merely a beginner. In between, there were also the realms of "gaining entry to the hall," "minor accomplishment," and "great accomplishment." Each realm likely represented a world of difference.

He longed for his devouring power to be stronger, as it determined his cultivation speed and, to some extent, represented his potential. However, given Sha Chen’s current talent and potential, this devouring power was barely sufficient. Any faster, and he might absorb the energy without being able to assimilate it properly.

Therefore, he needed to find ways to increase his talent and potential, as well as enhance his devouring power.

In short, he wanted everything.

However, he also knew that one must eat one bite at a time and walk step by step.

After all, as long as he could continue cultivating here, even less-than-ideal conditions wouldn’t be a problem.

Sha Chen refused Tongtian Hierarch’s invitation and continued to cultivate.

Meanwhile, Tongtian Hierarch was somewhat frustrated. He had invited Sha Chen multiple times, yet Sha Chen still refused him. As a result, he became even more determined to have Sha Chen join the Sect of Interpretation. Otherwise, it would be quite a blow to my pride.

Sha Chen was cultivating. With the God Source Stone Mine Mountain, he felt he wasn’t far from the peak of the Golden Immortal realm. Without it, what seemed like a short distance might actually take thousands or even tens of thousands of years to cross.

His avatar, meanwhile, acting on his orders, was to find a master to learn from and increase its cultivation, then gather resources and wreak havoc.

In selecting a master, Sha Chen had a few candidates; Patriarch Subhuti and Zhenyuanzi were actually the best choices. But he ultimately rejected both.

Firstly, Patriarch Subhuti was an avatar specifically created by Zhunti as part of a scheme involving Sun Wukong, making him too difficult to find.

As for Zhenyuanzi, though known as the ancestor of earth immortals, he didn’t seem to have any notable disciples. Having lived for countless years, Zhenyuanzi was focused on striving for sainthood, neglecting the prospects of his followers. Following him, one’s future would likely be bleak.

After much deliberation, Sha Chen decided to arrange for his avatar to go overseas and seek out Immortal Taiyi, a Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect.

Immortal Taiyi was known to be one of the more amiable Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect. Moreover, he was notably generous with his disciples. Nezha, under his guidance, was one of the very few who attained divinity with a physical body during the Divine Enthronement. Nezha also received numerous Magical Tools from Immortal Taiyi, who could truly be said to treat his disciples with exceptional generosity.

His avatar didn’t need a powerful backer, but it was crucial that its master treated it well and provided plenty of resources.

After all, everything would eventually fall into his hands, and then the avatar could just find an opportunity to ’clock out’ for good.