Using entries to cultivate immortality in chaotic times

It took a full three sticks of incense for Chen Qiu's condition to somewhat recover. Originally, they did not plan to stay in Fufeng City, but they had no choice but to stop and rest there for a moment when Chen Qiu's condition suddenly deteriorated rapidly on the way.

Seeing Chen Qiu open his eyes,

Fat Long approached him anxiously, "How are you feeling, Brother Qiu? Are you okay?"

"It's not serious."

Chen Qiu, his body covered in a layer of sticky cold sweat, sat cross-legged on the bed with a beast fur blanket wrapped around him. His condition had almost improved a bit by then. Although he had not returned to normal, he was no longer in danger of passing out.

On the way, that intense resentful energy had almost penetrated his body. Fortunately, he had enough spiritual energy within him to barely resist it.

Swallowing that golden pill had not only greatly enhanced his cultivation but also refilled his drained Tao Foundation to the brim.

"It would be great if I could kill another golden core."

Chen Qiu, sitting cross-legged on the bed, licked his lips with a hint of greed flickering in his eyes. He was contemplating the thrill of the gamble. In fact, there were many ways to solve his current predicament.

He could release the resentful spirit and let it flee as far as possible, disappearing into the world after an hour.

Or he could destroy the resentful spirit entry.

Either would perfectly resolve the issue.

But...

This was a Golden Core Fourth Layer resentful spirit!

It was almost the strongest tool he had at his disposal. If he could use this resentful spirit to kill another golden core, he would not only gain a new golden core, allowing for a significant breakthrough in his cultivation, but he would also acquire a new Golden Core resentful spirit.

It was just a pity that his body couldn't hold on much longer.

The backlash from this Golden Core Fourth Layer resentful spirit was more severe than the combined backlash of hundreds of thousands of resentful energies from demon beasts. It was a qualitative change that sheer quantity couldn't address.

Foundation Establishment and Golden Core were as different as heaven and earth.

If he wasn't a Foundation Establishment first level cultivator with the assistance of the Heavenly Dao Foundation and an exceptionally expanded body able to contain vast amounts of spiritual energy, he would have already passed out.

Once resentful energy invaded the body and corroded the Dantian,

there were hardly any solutions—it was basically a wait for death unless a top-notch Alchemy Cultivator happened to pass by, willing to help, and had the right heavenly and earthly treasures in their storage ring to refine the corresponding pill.

"I can still hold on for another hour!"

After assessing his physical condition, Chen Qiu looked up at the scholar whose complexion was deathly pale and said in a weakened voice, "Do you have any weak early-stage Golden Core enemies with no backing sect, the kind that my Golden Core Fourth Layer resentful spirit can certainly defeat?"

"This..."

The scholar's brain whirred, murmuring subconsciously, "Brother Qiu, the kind of person you're talking about... wouldn't really qualify to be my enemy. I would have cut them down with a single sword long ago; how could they have lasted until now?"

"And besides, aside from a few with stubborn personalities, there are very few Loose Cultivators among Golden Cores. Even if they've been Loose Cultivators all along, with their patchwork and disparate techniques, joining a sect as a patron is not an issue."

"Wait—"

"I've actually thought of one!"

"Over a thousand miles from here, there is a Forbidden Land called 'Poisonous Thunder Swamp'. The swamp spans over forty miles and covers a large area, perpetually enshrouded in a poison cloud that obstructs both visibility and Divine Sense."

"And from time to time, Heavenly Thunder flashes within the poison cloud. Rumors say that in ancient times, a poison cultivator and a Magic Practitioner fought fiercely there, and both fell. The remnants of the battle from thousands of years ago still linger. Ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators stepping into it would struggle to escape with their lives."

"Even Golden Core cultivators, without top-grade Detoxification Pills, would suffer greatly from entering rashly."

"There has always been a 'Poison Thunder Old Man' who is a Golden Core Great Power with Dual Cultivation of poison magic, secluded in cultivation here,"

"Back then, he and I had a bit of grudge. Every time he emerged from seclusion, he would inevitably kidnap a group of mortal women, bringing them back to enjoy in the Poisonous Thunder Swamp. The ones he abducted were always women without much background, and he did so within the rules, with the nearby City Lord's Mansion turning a blind eye."

"After all, no one reported to the government, so there was no need for the authorities to pursue the matter forcibly."

"But just as I was about to catch up with him to deliver a deadly blow, the Zhang Family sent people after me, and I was unable to attend to him,"

"What does it mean to 'abduct within the rules'?" Fat Long asked with a frown of confusion.

"It means not to make a move on the official roads and not to act openly and honorably within the city."

"This is considered 'abduction within the rules'?"

"Hmm."

"Then did none of the victims' families dare to report to the authorities?"

"It's not that none dared, it's just that this man is extremely ruthless, always leaving no traces behind in his actions, causing no trouble for the nearby government. The families of the abducted women were all killed, and naturally, no one was left to report him. Though he is not a Demon Cultivation, his actions are not much different from those of the Demon Cultivation,"

"Let's go."

Chen Qiu's teeth chattered from the extreme cold, and he spoke weakly, "Meet with him."

...

It was only a matter of twenty or so breaths.

Chen Qiu and his companions had already left Fufeng City by several hundred li.

And the scholar also stopped, quickly pulling out a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills from his pocket and guzzling them down, "Wait a moment, Brother Qiu. I'm running low on Spiritual Energy, I need to take some pills."

"..."

...

Thus, with stops and starts along the way, had it not been for the Demon Clan cultivators' Storage Bags filled with plenty of Qi Replenishing Pills, they truly would have run short on them.

It's worth mentioning that—

The most abundant item in the Storage Bags of those Demon Clan cultivators was Qi Replenishing Pills. It makes sense, considering what they lacked in the Heavenly Dao Prison was everything but Spiritual Energy, so naturally there was no need for the pills.

In terms of speed of replenishing Spiritual Energy,

Taking Qi Replenishing Pills was indeed much faster than absorbing Spirit Stones.

The difference is that the Spiritual Energy obtained from absorbing Spirit Stones is absolutely pure, whereas although the pills work quickly, they inevitably contain some impurities, which would continuously coat the Tao Foundation, causing it to rotate slower and slowing down the absorption of external Spiritual Energy.

But it wasn't much of a problem.

After all, as long as one practiced the mental method and spent some time, these impurities could easily be expelled from the body. However, it meant spending time, which implied that taking too many Qi Replenishing Pills at once would gradually weaken their effect.

Once the impurities were completely cleared, their effect would be restored.

And the top-grade Qi Replenishing Pills contained extremely few impurities, requiring consumption of many more to feel the weakening effect, so for a Magic Practitioner, top-grade Qi Replenishing Pills were also a rare treasure.

After quite a few hundred breaths of walking and stopping along the way, Chen Qiu and his companions finally arrived at the 'Poisonous Thunder Swamp' mentioned by the scholar.

Just as the scholar said,

This was a swamp spanning several tens of li, with thick sludge churning and emitting a foul stench, shrouded in large volumes of black smog above, completely obscuring the interior of the swamp.

Merely getting a distant whiff was enough to feel the intense foul smell and a slightly dizzying sense of confusion.

It was evident just how domineering the toxicity within the swamp was.