Chapter 553 - 543: Terrifying Cultivation Speed

Chapter 553: Chapter 543: Terrifying Cultivation Speed

"Well, can’t be helped then."

He hadn’t had a barbecue in a long time and was hoping to show off his skills, but without any firewood, it was impossible. With a sigh of resignation, Mu Chen glanced at the Ten-Colored Lotus Platform. After a moment of contemplation, he said to the two women, "How about this? Just be patient for a little while, and we’ll skip lunch for now. I have to go experience the cultivation speed in the Eternal Holy Domain first. If there’s time this afternoon, I’ll make you all some barbecue. How does that sound?"

Mu Junwu looked at Mu Chen in surprise. "You know how to barbecue?"

Mu Chen smiled. "When you’re out and about, you’ve got to treat yourself well."

As he spoke, Mu Chen strode toward the Ten-Colored Lotus Platform. Turning his head back to Mu Junwu, he pointed at the dark green petal and said, "It looks like the door is closed again."

Mu Junwu pursed her lips. With a graceful leap, she raised a hand and performed the Seal Decision from before. Yet, even though she executed the seal with painstaking slowness, Mu Chen couldn’t commit it to memory. It was like watching a trickle of water flow past; you could see it, but trying to find that exact same water again was an impossible task.

A flash of green light and a ripple in the air later, the circular door reappeared. Mu Junwu let out a breath. "It’s open. We won’t be going in with you this time, though. We can see what’s happening from the outside, anyway. I don’t want to feel that weak again; it’s a terrible sensation."

Chu Aoqing, who had come over at some point, watched Mu Chen take a step forward and said with concern, "Be careful. If anything happens, just shout for us."

"Haha." Mu Chen nodded with a smile. "Okay, I will." With that, he stepped inside.

Just like before, the moment he entered the Lotus Platform, an indescribable sense of comfort spread throughout his body. He hadn’t even begun to circulate the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, yet immense amounts of Primordial Power were already surging into him. As he focused his senses, he realized there were even traces of Light Attribute Elemental Power mixed in. While not as dense as on Holy Beast Mountain, it was better than nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen strode quickly to the Ten-Color Light Shield. As he drew near, its appearance was reflected clearly in his eyes. For some reason, he felt a sense of déjà vu as he faced the shield. ’But now’s not the time to be thinking about that.’ He focused his gaze. Inside the shield was an even smaller ten-colored lotus platform, not much different from the giant one outside. This one, however, seemed to be condensed from pure Primordial Power. The Primordial Qi had solidified—a testament to how incredibly dense the Primordial Power here was!

Without a second thought, Mu Chen reached out his right hand toward the light shield. He had expected it to be solid, but when his palm touched the surface, it passed right through to the other side.

Instantly, the pores on the back of his hand and arm dilated, and countless streams of visible, ten-colored Primordial Power frantically poured into his arm. In a flash, an unprecedented feeling of fullness spread from his arm.

Snatching his arm back, Mu Chen stared at it in amazement. "Such astoundingly pure Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi!" he exclaimed.

He was still reeling from the shock, but an excited smile spread across his face. In that single second, he had actually felt his Martial Arts Realm improve. The speed was unbelievable! It far surpassed the fifty-fold cultivation speed of a single Five Elements Sacred Domain.

’Will I just burst if I go all the way in?’ Mu Chen worried that his body wouldn’t be able to withstand the influx of Primordial Qi. But the opportunity was right in front of him, and he would be a fool not to take it. ’Screw it. I can rush out at any time. If things go south, I’ll just get out.’

With that thought, Mu Chen’s expression hardened. He gritted his teeth and plunged his entire body into the Ten-Color Light Shield, immediately sitting cross-legged on the small Ten-Colored Lotus Platform. Before he could even begin circulating the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, an overwhelming torrent of Heaven and Earth Primordial Power descended, surging madly into his body. In an instant, Mu Chen’s slender frame swelled up like a rapidly inflating balloon.

Seeing this, both Chu Aoqing and Mu Junwu, who were outside, were startled. Noticing that the circular door on the petal hadn’t vanished yet, Chu Aoqing prepared to dash into the Lotus Platform to rescue Mu Chen. But just as she was about to move, Mu Junwu flashed in front of her, blocking her path.

"Don’t be impulsive." Mu Junwu’s calm voice held a hint of authority. "Look at Mu Chen’s expression. He should be fine."

At her words, Chu Aoqing looked at Mu Chen’s face and saw that, despite being swollen, it showed not a hint of worry. In fact, there was a faint smile on his lips.

Indeed, Mu Chen had anticipated this. He wasn’t panicked in the slightest. He rapidly circulated the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique, which immediately took hold of the chaotic Primordial Power rampaging within him and began to integrate it. First, he guided a portion of the Primordial Power to seal all the pores on his body, then completely sealed the Soaring Air Vortex on his back, cutting off the external supply. Now, all he had to do was slowly digest the Primordial Power already inside him, and the process would naturally fall into a steady rhythm.

As time went on, the Primordial Power within Mu Chen was rapidly digested and assimilated, flowing into his Dantian. In an instant, his seemingly vast Elixir Field Space began to fill at a visible rate. As he processed the power, his body returned to its normal size.

Seeing this, Chu Aoqing’s face flushed slightly as she said, embarrassed, "Sister Jun Wu, I was too impulsive just now."

Mu Junwu smiled faintly, a playful glint in her eyes. "Worry clouds one’s judgment, as they say. It seems you care about him a great deal."

"Ah..." Chu Aoqing’s heart skipped a beat. Face flushed, she simply nodded at Mu Junwu.

Though no words were spoken, Mu Junwu could clearly read the affection in Chu Aoqing’s expression. This brought a flicker of displeasure to her heart. She recalled that during the Empire’s tournament, he already had two beautiful female companions. Now, only a few days after entering Holy Tomb Mountain, even Chu Aoqing had fallen for him.

However, judging from Mu Chen’s attitude and behavior, it seemed he was completely unaware of Chu Aoqing’s feelings. With this realization, her slight disapproval of him vanished. On the Extreme Martial Continent, the strong were revered. Although she dreamed of a faithful, one-on-one love, if his charisma was simply too overwhelming, then she could only let things take their course.

’Oh, well. Let’s just see what your limits truly are.’

With this thought, Mu Junwu focused her gaze intently on Mu Chen. By now, he had completely entered a state of Meditation. The Primordial Power inside the Ten-Color Light Shield enveloped him, transforming into streaks of colorful lightning that flickered and danced around his body.

Within his body, Mu Chen’s soul felt as if it had entered an endless ocean of Primordial Power. Drifting within it, he felt a sense of complete transformation. His Dantian was already suffused with a colorful radiance, and the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique was operating at its absolute limit. As it ran, nine enormous Primordial Energy Vortexes appeared around him, swirling like eddies and spinning rapidly above his head.

With every rotation of these nine vortexes, the Primordial Power fluctuations in Mu Chen’s body grew stronger. Before long, ripples of pure Primordial Power began to emanate from him, pulsing in perfect sync with his breathing.

In the eyes of Chu Aoqing and Mu Junwu, the interior of the Lotus Platform had transformed into a living depiction of an Elixir Field World. Mu Chen was the vortex at its core, and the nine colored vortexes surrounding him were like individual, perfectly formed Dantians. Beyond them were what looked like the mysterious orbits that guided power within a Dantian. It was a bizarre sight that neither Chu Aoqing nor Mu Junwu had ever witnessed; they had no doubt that even Dilaka had never seen such a thing!

However, just as they were marveling at the changes within the Lotus Platform, the nine vortexes erupted with a violent roar. A massive whirlwind of Primordial Power swept outward, blasting Mu Junwu and Chu Aoqing back several dozen meters before it finally dissipated.

"This is..." Chu Aoqing’s eyes went wide, and she stared at Mu Chen inside the Ten-Colored Lotus Platform, her expression one of dawning realization.

Mu Junwu lowered the arms she had raised to shield herself. "He actually broke through," she said with a wry smile. "How long has it even been?"

In truth, Mu Junwu was unaware that while Mu Chen’s Martial Artist Realm hadn’t advanced after signing the Illusion Spirit Contract, Xiaohai’s Bloodline Power had already pushed him from the Early Stage of a First-Ring Martial Sect to the peak of that realm. A breakthrough was only a matter of time, and the Eternal Holy Domain had provided the perfect opportunity.

The exhilarating feeling of breaking through the Martial Artist Realm washed over him. A smile touched Mu Chen’s lips; he had no intention of stopping. The purity of his Primordial Power had long since been compressed to its absolute limit. Coupled with the supreme purity of the power in the Eternal Holy Domain, there was no need for him to stop and consolidate his new realm. The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique sped up once more. He could feel that even this flood of Primordial Power had yet to reach his body’s threshold.

’This is the Eternal Holy Domain!’

A low murmur escaped his lips, unable to conceal his excitement. He had already done the math. The cultivation speed inside the Eternal Holy Domain was eighty times faster than the outside world! A full eighty times! That was thirty times faster than even a single Five Elements Sacred Domain! With this kind of speed, not only could he meet the terms of his one-year pact, he could blow past them!

As his Mental Realm quieted completely, Mu Chen entered a state of deep cultivation. At that moment, he lost all track of time.

...

「Five days later.」

With a massive surge of Primordial Power, Mu Chen’s tightly shut eyes finally opened. Two beams of colorful light shot from his pupils, traveling three meters before slowly fading away.

"How invigorating!"

Taking a deep breath, Mu Chen leaped to his feet and shot out of the Ten-Color Light Shield in a single bound. The instant he was out, however, two ice-cold glares locked onto him.

Startled, Mu Chen followed their gazes and froze. His mouth twitched. ’Oh, crap...’ he muttered under his breath. ’I got too carried away with my cultivation and completely forgot about them.’

Outside the Ten-Color Lotus, Mu Junwu and Chu Aoqing squinted at Mu Chen, their faces breaking into sweet, gentle smiles. "Junior Brother Mu Chen, just you wait. We promise we won’t beat you to death..."

Mu Junwu opened the circular door again. Cracking her knuckles, Chu Aoqing lunged straight for Mu Chen...