CHAPTER 79: SECT MING YUAN TREASURE DIMENSION

Li Shen successfully broke through, albeit falsely. He changed his cultivation level from Mid-Stage Nascent Soul to Perfect Nascent Soul, equivalent to Ming Yue’s cultivation level.

The blue pillar of light in the sky disappeared, and the rumbling black clouds and lightning also subsided. Ming Gong and Ming Yue saw what happened and speculated that Li Shen had successfully broken through the realm safely.

"That boy did it," Ming Gong replied, impressed.

"Even so, it’s not easy for a Perfect Nascent Soul cultivator to ascend to Soul Formation. He must find his own dao concept, or if that’s not possible, he can steal someone else’s dao," Ming Gong explained.

Ming Yue fell silent. What Li Shen had experienced was exactly the same as what he was going through. At this moment, he was struggling to find his own dao concept in accordance with the path of heaven. He had tried several methods, but none had worked.

"He has only just ascended to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm; his path in life is still very long, Father," Ming Yue replied. Ming Gong smiled and cleared his throat.

"That’s right. It’s still too early for him to think about the concept of the dao and break through to Soul Formation. Now, he can fully focus on the pill tournament," explained Ming Gong.

Ming Gong turned his head and patted Ming Yue’s shoulder gently, "Go inside and rest, Yue’er."

"Yes, Father."

Ming Yue took his leave and stepped inside the palace. Seeing Li Shen break through the stage gave Ming Yue a sense of relief.

Li Shen and Ming Yue were at the same cultivation stage and neither dominated the other, so Ming Gong had no reason not to accept Li Shen if he won the pill tournament.

However, the obstacle was Ji Haofei. The young man’s talent was unusual, even extraordinary. He was famous for his genius in refining pills, and for him, the Ming Yuan Pill Sect Tournament was one of the events he had been looking forward to in order to show his true abilities.

"Your journey to becoming the pill tournament champion will not be easy, Shen Li. Whether you can win the tournament or not depends on your abilities," explained Ming Yue.

"But I really hope you succeed," replied Ming Yue, turning back to look at island 23 where Li Shen lived.

On the island, Li Shen began to focus on restoring his drastically depleted spiritual energy. He pulled a celestial-level spirit stone from above his house and placed it directly above his head, causing the flow of spiritual energy to become fast and efficient.

Li Shen did not practice or study the pill materials for the next round of the pill tournament. Unlike the other participants who used this break to improve their abilities and spiritual strength.

The man did nothing. He simply sat in the lotus position, allowing the spiritual energy from the celestial-level spirit stone to flow out and be absorbed into his body. His focus was on restoring the spiritual energy lost in his body, so he could perfect the pill to its fullest potential in the next round.

"Wait for me, Ming Gong. After the next round is over, you will be my next target!"

***

Three days later.

Ming Yuan Sect.

As scheduled, today was the next test in the main round. The day before, a sect elder came and gave Li Shen an information plate.

Through the plate, Li Shen learned what pills he had to make in the next round. They wanted more specific pills; there were three types of pills they could make: cultivation pills, curse-breaking pills, and age-increasing pills.

Among the three types of pills, only the life-extending pill was difficult to make. Such a pill required complex materials and a complicated pill refinement process. According to Li Shen, the other 11 participants would definitely choose the cultivation pills.

The duration of the exam was extended to three months. Whoever finished first and succeeded would be eligible to advance to the semifinals. The four fastest participants would qualify for the semifinals.

"Hmm... this exam is starting to feel quite interesting," Li Shen replied.

Li Shen recalled the Curse-Breaking Pill for Ruo Fei. That pill was a Grade 6 pill, aligning with the theme of this exam. However, due to the rarity of the materials and the fact that the pill would be in the sect’s possession, Li Shen did not want to create it.

The man thought of creating another type of pill that he believed would attract a lot of attention, such as an age-enhancing pill. If he gave it to Ming Gong, he might be pleased.

"Alright. I know what pill I need to make."

The participants flew from their islands to arrive at the Alchemist’s Hall. Li Shen did the same, meeting Ji Haofei on the way there. The two were still at odds with each other due to what happened that day.

"Listen, Li Shen. I will make sure you fail this exam," replied Ji Haofei, making Li Shen smile slightly.

"How? I’m very interested in knowing how you plan to sabotage me," said Li Shen.

"You’ll see for yourself later."

Ji Haofei flew away quickly, leaving Li Shen confused and curious about his plan. Li Shen would be more cautious to prevent Ji Haofei from carrying out his plan.

Arriving at the Alchemist Hall, Li Shen’s attention was immediately drawn to the Ming Yuan Sect Leader and five other elders who were flying in front of the podium, welcoming the 12 participants who had arrived.

"Welcome to the 12 participants in the main round. I’m sure you’ve already received information about today’s exam, right?" asked Yun Zhi.

Li Shen and the others fell silent, then nodded. Without further ado, Yun Zhi formed a hand seal and opened the Ming Yuan Sect’s treasure dimension.

They were indeed giving this test to the participants, but they still provided the materials they needed. However, due to limited materials, only a few types of pills could be made.

"You can enter the Ming Yuan Sect’s treasure dimension to obtain the materials you need. The rules in the treasure dimension are the same as in the first round," replied Yun Zhi.

Li Shen glanced over, his suspicion rising dramatically as Yun Zhi explained the rules. There was a possibility that Ji Haofei would immediately attack Li Shen as soon as they arrived at the Ming Yuan Sect’s treasure dimension.

"The time you spend in the treasure dimension is one week. Those of you who have obtained the materials you need can leave by activating this token," said Yun Zhi.

Elder Mo handed 12 access tokens to the 12 participants in front of him. Yun Zhi explained one thing: the access tokens could only be used once and would be immediately deactivated. If they returned from the treasure dimension without materials, they would have to make do with whatever they had.

"That means withdrawing indirectly. Am I correct?" asked Li Shen.

"Correct, Participant Shen Li."

When there were no more questions, the participants flew into the location one by one. Ji Haofei and Li Shen were the last to enter. Their tension could even be felt by others, including Ming Yue.

Ji Haofei released his powerful spiritual aura toward Li Shen, and Li Shen also showed off his abilities. Ming Gong laughed and clapped his hands, enjoying their rivalry. Ming Yue looked worried, even though she knew Li Shen would be fine.

"See you in the Treasure Dimension, Shen Li. If I were you, I wouldn’t go in there," said Ji Haofei.

The man entered, leaving Li Shen alone. Li Shen sighed and exhaled slowly. He had already guessed that Ji Haofei was waiting for him in the Treasure Dimension, where there were no rules against fighting.

Ji Haofei had been waiting for this moment to destroy Li Shen!

"Be careful, Shen Li," Ming Yue shouted from the podium, startling Ming Gong and the others.

Shen Li reflexively turned and smiled. He tapped his magic pouch and summoned his name token. He flew the token toward Ming Yue, who caught it.

"If I die, the token will be destroyed. You will know then," said Li Shen firmly.

"Very well."

After preparing himself, Li Shen flew into the treasure dimension until he arrived in the sky above thousands of floating hills. His appearance was almost the same as before, but the level of the sky was different.

This place had abundant spiritual energy and was comfortable, suitable for cultivation. However, unfortunately for Li Shen, the first person waiting for him was Ji Haofei.

"Shen Li. No one can save you here," Ji Haofei replied.

Ji Haofei snapped his fingers, summoning four cultivators of varying cultivation levels—three at the Perfect Nascent Soul stage and one at the Soul Formation stage. They were ordered by Ji Haofei to kill Li Shen.

"A battle like this will cause you to lose a lot of spiritual energy, or perhaps even die. Are you still willing to do this?" Li Shen asked.

"HAHA! You’re only at the Perfect Nascent Soul stage, you have no right to talk to us like that!" snapped one of Ji Haofei’s subordinates.

Li Shen cleared his throat and sighed. He looked up at the sky and saw many camouflaged cameras shaped like eyes floating invisibly. They were used to monitor what was happening inside the Ming Yuan Sect’s treasure dimension.

The man raised his hand and directed his spiritual energy at the hundreds of thousands of cameras scattered throughout the treasure dimension. This caused the image projections to disappear and turn into a black blank.

Ming Gong was shocked by Li Shen’s ability. He immediately ordered Yun Zhi to open the treasure dimension and go investigate.

In the Treasure Dimension, they had no idea what Li Shen was doing. However, they remained ready to fight Li Shen according to Ji Haofei’s orders.

"If I kill everyone here, then that will be enough for me to become the pill tournament champion. Am I right?" asked Li Shen.

"Even if what you say is true, you can’t kill all of us!" explained Ji Haofei.

"Really? How about we prove it?"