771 Skipping a Level

Chen Fan then scanned the entire planet.

It was only one kilometer in diameter. Therefore, it only took Chen Fan a few minutes to scan the entire planet with his Divine Will. He found that there were no remaining Predators.

However, he noticed a strange monolith at the center of the planet.

Three characters were etched onto its surface.

"The Southern Gate of Connate."

"Is this the legendary Southern Gate of Connate?" Lu Yanxue peeled her eyes in surprise.

"The Legends of Ancient China were not entirely fiction. This was the nearest ancient planet to Earth, and in the ancient times, it could very well have been the gateway to Earth," Chen Fan said.

There were many smaller characters at the back of the monolith, detailing the origin of the Southern Gate of Connate.

During its heyday, The Southern Gate of Connate had been guarded by four Perfected Cultivators. More than a dozen sages had lived there and over a hundred thousand people were scattered in seven settlements. It was a linchpin on the interstellar travel route.

However, Chen Fan knew what the former bustling city had become from what he found in the Divine Soul of the Predator's leader. He saw countless predators storm The Southern Gate of Connate, razing it to the ground.

In the end, the ancient cultivators retreated toward the other size of the galaxy with the Predators hot on their heels. The ancient cultivators had never fully recovered from the defeat and were unable to return to earth.

Chen Fan had lingered around The Southern Gate of Connate for a while and then said to Lu Yanxue, "Let's move. The Path of Heaven is dangerous, but I'm confident that I will pull through."

Right before he returned to Kunxu, he cast many Dharma Arrays around the planet just in case some Predators returned. However, after thinking further, Chen Fan considered the tactic as overly cautious. The leader of the Predators had been waiting for thousands of years, but he had still not been reunited with his kin.

"Hum…"

The ancient Dharma Array was lit up again, sending out rays of colorful lights into the sky.

Chen Fan and Lu Yanxue disappeared from the altar as the ancient planet fell back into slumber. No one knew when it would awaken again.

Seeing Lu Yanxue and Chen Fan return safely, Qi Xiu'er let out a sigh of relief.

She then took a long hard look at herself; she felt ashamed for lacking the courage to accompany Chen Fan as Lu Yanxue did. Meanwhile Chen Fan's run in with Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao and his experience on the Path of Heaven was a wake up call for him.

"I need to improve myself.

"Be it those mysterious Grand Cultivators or the Predators, they all pose a significant threat to me. I need to strengthen myself and regain my former powers; otherwise, I won't be able to protect the people I care about."

He had decided to adopt a different approach than in his previous cultivation path.

Chen Fan had always struggled to gather enough resources while he was on Earth.

The amount of resources he could scrounge up was only a fraction of what a former disciple of the True Martial Celestial Sect could get.

However, things had changed for the better. As the master of Kunxu, when he said jump, the sect masters would ask how high. They would spare no efforts to gather whatever Chen Fan desired.

"Kunxu is a small world, but it has much more resources than Earth."

Chen Fan sat inside the cultivation chamber, examining the pile of Spirit Stones and Spirit Medicine as a smile surfaced on his face. Not only the Seven Exalted Sects offered their tribute, but also many minor sects and factions.

For the minor sects, Chen Fan was a lesser evil than the Seven Exalted Sects since he would consume much less resources than the seven sects would.

"Whoosh."

Once Chen Fan had gathered enough resources, he announced that he would enter a secluded cultivation. He was determined to make significant progress this time. However powerful the Golden Core was, it could only be used a few times more.

"I won't see the outside world again until I become invincible!"

Chen Fan's eyes were lit up with determination.

His cultivation had reached a bottleneck a few months back and was stuck at the mid-stage of the Connate Level. Chen Fan wagered that it would take him at least three years to enter the late-stage of the Connate Spirit.

However, those spirit stones and spirit medicines changed many things.

"Boom!"

Chen Fan charged up his energy and completed another two Heavenly Paintings.

Suddenly, the two giant beasts were manifested behind Chen Fan. One was the behemoth Kun Peng, while the other was the Thunder Loch. Energy burst out from Spirit Stones scattered around the ground and flew toward Chen Fan. The Spirit Qi first formed a trickle, then it became a stream, followed by a river until it was as vast as the ocean. The giant Kun Peng opened up its mouth and swallowed the energy with ease.

"Whoosh."

It was the Kun Peng's Swallowing Divine Power.

Boundless energy disappeared into Chen Fan's system as the pile of spirit stones was reduced in size.

One day, two days, three days…

A powerful presence started to emerge inside of the Yuntian Palace. It felt like a primordial Malignant Beast was waking up from its slumber. People tiptoed around the palace grounds, wary of stirring the beast.

The Artifact Spirit watched Chen Fan's progress quietly in a corner.

One month, two, three…

In a blink, half a year had passed.

Chen Fan had disappeared during those six months as Lu Yanxue and Qi Xiu'er managed Kunxu on behalf of Chen Fan. Under their careful management, normalcy gradually returned to the Realm of Kunxu.

However, many people started to feel resentful toward Chen Fan because of the massive amount of resources he consumed.

Each day, piles upon piles of Spirit Stones were transported into the Yuntian Palace. The place had become a veritable blackhole that would consume everything in Kunxu.

"If you don't want my master's protection, you don't have to send in your tribute."

Lu Yanxue snorted.

She then showed everyone the battle between Chen Fan and the Predators. Lu Yanxue had recorded everything using a Dharma Spell.

"Oh my god!"

The elites of Kunxu were shocked.

They were not only terrified by the predators who had slaughtered ancient sages, but also by Chen Fan's invincibility.

"Are these recordings real?" Fire Spirit King asked incredulously.

The Artifact Spirit stepped forward and confirmed the existence of the predators and The Southern Gate of Connate. He was also relieved after finding out the reason behind his master's absence.

Although not many people believed in Lu Yanxue, they believed in the Artifact Spirit.

He was the backbone of Kunxu, and his words were the bible.

After knowing the threat they were under, the elites of Kunxu offered everything they had to Chen Fan. Chen Fan could single handedly bring Kunxu to heel… what did they have to fend off the assault of a horde of Predators? Just one Predator could have wreaked havoc in the Realm of Kunxu, turning the peaceful land into a bloodbath.

With the nearly unlimited supply of resources, Chen Fan made colossal improvements day by day.

Five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, one million Spirit Stones, one point five million Spirit Stones…

A year later, the powerful presence hidden deep within the Yuntian Palace was palpable even from miles away. Many people felt Chen Fan had gotten as powerful as the Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao.

"Perfected Cultivator Beixuan has leveled up!"

Fire Spirit King squinted his eyes as he looked into the distance.

"His level of attainment is getting close to that of the Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao. He has reached the peak of Core Formation and is only half a step away from becoming a Sky Immortal," another Earth Level Deity added.

Flickers of jealousy flashed in everyone's eyes.

Chen Fan was powerful even before the improvement, but a big portion of his strength came from the Divine Powers. However, after gaining a Golden Core, he wouldn't even need the Blade of Time to defeat Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao.

As everyone thought Chen Fan was going to pause his cultivation, he was still nowhere to be seen.

One month later, two months, three…

Two years later, the energy inside the Yuntian Palace had increased so much that it could be felt in every corner of Kunxu. A funnel cloud had formed above the palace, drawing immense amounts of energy into Chen Fan each second. What was Chen Fan doing?

Everyone was perplexed every time they looked up at the funneling cloud.

Many Earth Level Deities noticed that Chen Fan had entered a territory that was unknown to them. However, they were convinced that if Chen Fan was successful, he would become truly invincible and killing Perfected Cultivator Yunxiao would have been child's play by then.

"Is he going to reach the Sky Immortal realm?"

The air was filled with a suspense that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Even the Artifact Spirit watched Chen Fan's progress attentively. Chen Fan reminded him of many Perfected Cultivators he knew.

However, three days later, the powerful presence along with the funneling clouds disappeared altogether.

"Strange. I didn't see any Thunder Tribulation. Did he fail?"

Fire Spirit King furrowed his brow.

"Even if he didn't become a Sky Immortal, he must be very close."

Many people heaved a sigh of relief thinking the wait was at an end.

To their surprise, Chen Fan was still nowhere to be seen

The gate of the cultivation chamber remained shut, however, Chen Fan no longer asked for tributes from them.

Meanwhile, Time had lost meaning inside the Yuntian Palace…

One more month, two more months, three…

As time flew by, Chen Fan was making daily progress by leaps and bounds.