Chapter 173 - Advancing to Earthly Venerable Rank

Gradually, Ye Chen felt his dantian swell after being strongly squeezed by Celestial Chi and a little crack finally appeared on the originally unbreakable rank barrier. Once the first crack appeared, it could no longer be suppressed and the crack spread rapidly like a spider web. Then, with a loud bang, the level advancement rank barrier shattered to pieces.

Celestial Chi rushed out like a flood as his dantian expanded several times and even the Celestial Chi he originally had seemed insignificant compared to how much his dantian was expanding now. The Flying Dagger in his mind hurriedly released more Celestial Chi which flowed to his dantian and within ten minutes, his dantian was filled with pure Celestial Chi.

Success!

Ye Chen was ecstatic. The strength in his body soared several times and just waving his hand carried a kind of crazy and unparalleled power. His heart and body grew even closer to the world around him and his thoughts pierced impossibly deeply. A divine light burst forth in his mind as his enlightenment brought him closer to the realm of nature!

Ye Chen had the power of a hundred elephants with just a flick of his sleeve. As expected, it was amazing. His eyes sparkled with excitement as he felt that he was in a completely new state.

The gap between the Tenth Level and Earthly Venerable Rank was like a great chasm!

Ye Chen had finally crossed the threshold and stepped into a completely new domain!

After reaching Earthly Venerable Rank, Ye Chen felt some changes happening to his Astral Body. The heavy wounds left by the divine light which Tantai Ling inflicted had healed and his Astral Body had reached a completely new state. There were qualitative changes compared to before!

Ye Chen sat cross-legged and released his Astral Body. The gold-armored soldier formed by his Astral Body stood in the air, burning with a purple flame.

“Go!” Ye Chen ordered lowly. The gold-armored soldier swiftly leaped two hundred meters into the woods outside and hit his palm against a tree so thick that three people would be needed to carry it. With a “bang”, the tree was snapped in half and slowly fell with a creak. The part of the tree that had been hit by the gold-armored soldier had exploded into pieces.

This only took a fraction of his power. If Ye Chen’s Astral Body went all out, even a tree made of Black Xuan-iron could be snapped with one palm.

The power of this palm was even better than some peak Earthly Venerable Rank masters!

Ye Chen’s Astral Body was still illusory and seemed to just short of being able to solidify. However, there was still a long way to go before reaching that state. That was because the strength exhibited by an apparition was less than one percent!

Nevertheless, this one percent was already better than some Earthly Venerable Rank combatants! It was approximately around beginner Heavenly Venerable Rank.

If it could solidify, Ye Chen’s Astral Body could even trample on a hundred Heavenly Venerable Rank combatants!

After familiarizing himself with the uses of his Astral Body, Ye Chen realized that the gold-armored soldier could only move quickly within a radius of a few hundred meters. It was powerful but there were also some flaws. If a battle was too fierce, it was very taxing for the Astral Body. Furthermore, when using the Astral Body, his main body must not be attacked or it would be extremely dangerous!

Breaking a large tree with just one palm had already shocked some people. The Astral Body was his hidden trump card. It was better not to expose it for now. Ye Chen immediately retracted his Astral Body.

Just as Ye Chen felt the changes in his body, the Chi flow in Little Tanuki’s body also had a little reaction. The sixth tail had grown as long as the other tails at a speed visible to the naked eye. The fur on its body had become more lustrous and dazzling, like a glittering white jade. Its Astral Body also expanded bit by bit, devouring the Psyche that used to belong to the Celestial Beast. Ye Chen felt that Little Tanuki’s Astral Body had formed some faint shapes. However, the shapes were still very thin as no concrete form could be seen.

Little Tanuki had also advanced in level!

Ye Chen could feel that the chi movement on Little Tanuki’s body was triggered by himself. The two of them were closely linked. In other words, if he advanced, it would also greatly boost Little Tanuki’s level of advancement!

Little Tanuki was originally a Tenth Level Celestial Beast but it should have entered the rank of Earthly Adept now. Celestial Beasts did not cultivate Celestial Chi, so there were no Celestial Chi fluctuations on Little Tanuki’s body. However, the strength of its Astral Body was no inferior to the Psyche of mid-Earthly Adept Celestial Beasts.

“Squeak squeak.” Little Tanuki opened its eyes and looked overjoyed. It also felt the infinite wonder of its Astral Body. Its mystical cultivation had increased by leaps and bounds.

Ye Chen smiled and stroked Little Tanuki’s back. Little Tanuki’s fur had become smoother and more delicate, likened to the soft touch on a girl’s skin. Today’s cultivation was extremely fruitful. Both Little Tanuki and he had advanced to Earthly Venerable Rank and their Astral Bodies had grown much stronger. Now, they would be able to calmly cope with ordinary dangers!

After increasing his attainment level, Ye Chen felt like he had become brand new. The Celestial Chi in his body surged up violently. As if struck by sudden inspiration, Ye Chen flicked his right hand and the Celestial Chi in his body rushed out and formed a Flying Dagger in front of him. The Flying Dagger that had suspended in the air looked like the Flying Dagger in Ye Chen’s mind.

There were some essential differences between this Flying Dagger and the Flying Dagger that he had formed the first time.

The first time he had formed the Flying Dagger, there was a feeling of emptiness. However, this time, Ye Chen felt that this Flying Dagger which was formed by Celestial Chi contained a powerful intent and an inexplicable killing aura.

The moment Ye Chen had formed the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger, the armguard, Black Pearl, porcelain bottle, and Hell Rupture Sword artifact spirits hummed and trembled as if sensing a terrifying existence. It felt like they were submitting to the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger.

It was just Celestial Chi taking on the form of a Flying Dagger but it already had such might!

Ye Chen could not help but feel surprised. Did this Flying Dagger have any offensive power?

“Little Tanuki, you can continue cultivating. I’m going out for a while.” Ye Chen excitedly exited the side courtyard and arrived at a secluded forest on the island.

The Central Lake Island was quite large and Xuan Pavilion had only occupied a small part of it. More than eighty percent of the island was quiet and secluded forests.

After using his Astral Body to ensure that no one was around, Ye Chen’s Celestial Chi swiftly formed the shape of a Flying Dagger.

The Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was suspended in front of Ye Chen and with a thought, the Flying Dagger flew a few meters in front. It was not that fast but with a “thunk”, it pierced through the trunk of a large tree.

The tree was easily pierced like a layer of air which could not obstruct the Flying Dagger at all. This Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was razor sharp!

After flying for five to six meters, the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger had dissipated into the air.

Ye Chen walked to the large tree and looked at the gap blown out by the flying knife. The gap was smooth and flat, and after using his Astral Body to take a closer look, he was surprised to find that after being pierced by the dagger, a small vein in the tree had been broken and shredded into pieces.

Not only did the Flying Dagger cause a wound but also damaged the surrounding meridians. If this Flying Dagger pierced through a human body, as long as it did not hit the arms or legs, that person would most likely die immediately!

This Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was amazing!

The Flying Dagger Ye Chen had formed using his Celestial Chi only slightly resembled the Flying Dagger in his mind but was already this powerful. Ye Chen could not even imagine just how strong the Flying Dagger in his mind was.

Although the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger was extremely powerful, it was too slow and easy to avoid. If Ye Chen could increase its speed, it would be able to take the enemy by surprise when fighting them!

How could Ye Chen increase the speed of the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger?

The Flying Dagger was driven by Ye Chen’s mind. Perhaps he needed to improve his thoughts to improve the speed of the Flying Dagger.

Ye Chen frowned thoughtfully. He had formed a Flying Dagger with a flick of his right hand and focused his thoughts on it. Immediately, he felt a vague connection to the Flying Dagger as if there was a silk thread connecting him to the Flying Dagger.

“Go!” With a thought, the Flying Dagger shot forward and hit a tree five meters away with a “thunk”.

The speed was faster than before! Ye Chen was pleasantly surprised. The speed of the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger could be improved!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Ye Chen formed Flying Daggers again and again and practiced how to enhance its speed and accuracy. Currently, he could make the Flying Dagger fly for around six meters. His accuracy was quite high and the deviation in which he hit his targets within six meters would not exceed one centimeter. Although the speed had been improved, it was still too slow.

The speed of the Flying Dagger could be used against combatants below mid-Tenth Level but it would only work on a peak Tenth Level combatant if taken by surprise.

If Ye Chen could double the speed of the Flying Dagger, even beginner Earthly Venerable Rank combatants might not be able to resist!

With the continuous practice of throwing the Flying Daggers, Ye Chen felt that his mind had improved. The speed of the Flying Dagger had increased by more than fifty percent compared to the first time but there was still a lot of room for improvement!

Ye Chen had practiced until he was proficient in using the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger and also grasped the trick to the Flying Dagger. No weapons would be a match for his Flying Dagger! If he wanted to use the Flying Dagger, it had to be quick and accurate. As long as Ye Chen could grasp those two points, he would be able to kill his opponent at a critical moment!

Two hours later, after a feeling of exhaustion welled up, Ye Chen realized that using his consciousness like this had greatly consumed his energy. If the fatigue grew too much without recovering, it might even affect the usage of Celestial Chi! Of course, his mind could be improved by practicing. Using Ye Chen’s consciousness and recovering it time and time again, it would slowly lead to a strengthening!

Ye Chen was quite excited when he found himself able to use the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger. He sat on the ground and started to rest before continuing to practice with the Flying Dagger. However, at this time, his Astral Body seemed to have sensed something and extended outside and saw two figures emerging from the water in the direction of the lake. The two figures were dressed in black, acting sneakily.