Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

The next morning, Wang Chen left Huai Mountain County.

Zhao Hongyi accompanied him for a hundred miles.

Having completed his task, Wang Chen was eager to return, speeding back to West Sea Sect at the swiftest pace possible.

He then went to the Merit Department's mission hall in the Inner Sect Main Hall and submitted his proof of task completion.

An Evil Soul Bead, the Evil Cultivator's Storage Bag, as well as a letter of certification written by Guarding Envoy Zhao Hongyi!

As the Sect required time to review the submissions, rewards were not immediately issued, so Wang Chen returned home to continue his cultivation.

During the time he had been dispatched to the outskirts of Central State to eliminate Evil Wraiths, he had not been able to properly cultivate.

Although his experience in battle had increased significantly, his Cultivation Realm hadn't improved much.

In fact, Wang Chen was already very close to a breakthrough!

Three days later, Wang Chen received a summons from the Merit Department and once again rushed to the mission hall.

His task had passed the audit, and he was eligible to collect his rewards!

This reward was extremely important for Wang Chen at the moment because he had already spent all his Merit Points and was unable to exchange for the necessary Purple Essence Pills to absorb purple qi.

Furthermore, the time to pay his "rent" again was also drawing near.

It truly was a lifesaver.

At the mission hall, Wang Chen collected his reward smoothly.

It was so generous that it took him by surprise.

First and foremost was the most critical and important Merit Points. Wang Chen had unexpectedly been awarded one thousand three hundred and seventy-six Merit Points!

He had no idea how the Sect had calculated it, as he initially thought that five or six hundred points would have been a great reward.

He never expected to receive more than one thousand three hundred points.

Now, not only could he pay his rent, but he could also exchange for a couple of hundred Purple Essence Pills.

Besides the Merit Points, Wang Chen also got back the Storage Bag he had previously submitted!

That truly came as a surprise to him.

Wang Chen was never a greedy person, but the Sect returning the Storage Bag to him was unexpected indeed.

After all, this was a Magic Artifact belonging to a Purple Mansion-level Evil Cultivator.

For the Sect to return it as a reward, it definitely meant that it had been handled and was free of any restrictions and curses.

And the capacity of this Storage Bag was over a dozen times larger than Wang Chen's current best Storage Bag!Nôv(el)B\\jnn

With the material of the Storage Bag itself, there was no doubt it fell into the category of a second-tier Spiritual Artifact.

Upon receiving it, Wang Chen immediately began refining it and found that not only was its capacity incredibly large, but both the storing and retrieval of items were much faster than with his previous Storage Bag.

In a critical moment, this could potentially save his life, or even turn the tide of battle!

Wang Chen immediately transferred all the items from the three Storage Bags he carried onto his person into the new Storage Bag.

Previously, due to necessity and limited space, he couldn't carry much, so he had to play the role of an Elder from a beggar's association.

A moment of inattention could lead to him reaching into the wrong pocket.

Now, this problem was completely solved.

Not only that, but inside this Storage Bag, Wang Chen also found three thousand Spirit Stones.

Middle Spirit!

According to the current market exchange rate, three thousand Middle Spirit were equivalent to three hundred and sixty thousand Low Spirit.

That was quite a fortune.

For Cultivators, there can never be too many Spirit Stones.

Wang Chen was no exception.

However, such a neat sum, without even a fraction over, led him to guess there must have been much more in the Storage Bag.

He speculated that the Sect had simply offset the value directly, leaving a portion for him.

Even so, Wang Chen was very satisfied.

Not to mention anything else, the value of just this Storage Bag exceeded that of three thousand Middle Spirit.

The Sect could have chosen not to give it, and he would have had nothing to say.

The West Sea Sect truly lives up to its reputation as the foremost Immortal Gates in the Mountain and Sea Realm; such generosity is not something smaller sects can compare to.

Wang Chen made a silent fortune this time and was privately overjoyed!

He first spent five hundred Merit Points to exchange for a hundred Purple Essence Pills for his cultivation.

Then, he continued to pay half a year's rent.

In this way, half of the Merit Points he had just received were spent.

As for the other half, Wang Chen planned to save them first, as he couldn't be too extravagant and spend them all.

At the moment, the most important thing for him was to advance to the second tier of the Purple Mansion.

Participating in the Exorcism task made Wang Chen deeply realize that the West Sea Spirit Domain was not an idyllic paradise, and even the hinterland of the West Sea Sect was not one hundred percent safe.

There's a saying that one cannot rely on mountains or people, for mountains may collapse and people may leave; relying on the Sect or others is impractical.

Only one's own strength is truly reliable.

In the following days, Wang Chen's cultivation became even more diligent and strenuous.

Unlike most of the new disciples, apart from occasionally meeting with Zuo Xiaomo, he never participated in other people's social interactions and networking events.

He absorbed purple qi every morning, attended lectures in the morning, practiced in the afternoon, and improved his skills in the evening.

His schedule was packed full.

One month after returning to the Sect, Wang Chen advanced to the second tier of the Purple Mansion.

He achieved this advancement within his own dwelling, and the whole process was smooth and uneventful, as if it was all meant to be!

After completing the promotion, Wang Chen finally allowed himself to relax a little.

It is said that alternation between hard work and rest is the true way to cultivate; he had been too tense recently, so this time he gave himself a three-day break.

Guided by the wind, he rode his sword and took in the grand spectacle of the West Sea.

Having enjoyed the outing to the fullest, he returned home. Thereafter, Wang Chen took out an ancient, rusty ding from his Storage Bag.

[Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 495241/1000000]

This little ding was something he had won in a bet with Jade Gambling, and through the immortal cultivation panel, he found out he had picked up a huge bargain.

Regrettably, the sealing points were too high on this item, so Wang Chen had put it at the bottom of his bag.

Today, for some reason, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind and he suddenly remembered this treasure, so he took it out to admire.

He noticed that the Creation Cauldron had only increased a tiny bit in its unsealing points compared to when he first obtained it.

Just a tiny bit.

After calculating the time, he realized it would take several thousand years for it to unseal on its own!

Wang Chen didn't even know if he would still be around by then.

After some thought, he tentatively smashed 1 point of Human Virtue onto this item.

[Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 495242/1000000]

The sealing points unsurprisingly increased by 1 point.

Then keep smashing!

Wang Chen gritted his teeth and directly increased the Creation Cauldron's unsealing points to 500000!

Previously, during the Exorcism task, not only did Wang Chen earn a large number of Merit Points but also a rich bounty.

His Human Virtue points had skyrocketed due to slaying a large number of Evil Wraiths.

Now, he had a total of over 50,000 points!

Therefore, smashing a little over four thousand points was hardly an issue.

But just as the immortal cultivation panel displayed [Creation Cauldron (Sealed): 500000/1000000], the ancient ding in Wang Chen's hand suddenly shot out a brilliant array of multicolored lights.

The next moment, the thick rust on the body of the ding automatically flaked off and vanished.

An ancient yet brand-new bronze ding appeared before his eyes!

This was really...

Wang Chen was stunned for a moment, feeling like he had hit the jackpot.

His heart rate even quickened!

Sometimes unintentional actions may yield unexpected results; without any particular effort, had he stumbled upon a significant discovery?

It seems he might have unearthed the secrets of this treasure!

---------

The second update is here.

PS: Recommending a friend's new book, "Every Day I Go Out and Check the Almanac." It's written by an established author, so quality is definitely guaranteed!