Chapter 90

"Reaching the mid-sixth tier in a thousand years."

"Such progress is incredibly slow!"

Lu Qingyang gazed at the sky, letting out a long sigh.

Fortunately, he had already attained immortality; otherwise,

It would be hard to predict how far he could progress on his cultivation path.

The higher one climbs on the cultivation path, the more immense the energy required to break through.

It takes a thousand years to advance from the early to the mid-sixth tier.

To reach the seventh tier might take ten thousand or even a hundred thousand years.

Even with Lu Qingyang's originally long lifespan, such prolonged torment would be unbearable.

The reason lies in the severe lack of spiritual energy in the Qingyang Realm.

Compared to the ancient wilderness, the spiritual energy in the Qingyang Realm is pitifully thin.

According to Xue Wei's memories and the spiritual energy Lu Qingyang sensed from the otherworldly portals, the difference between the two is as vast as the clouds and mud.

Under normal circumstances, with the profound foundation and exceptional talent of the Heavenly Dao Root,

Advancing from the early to the mid-sixth tier should not take so much time.

Yet, it has taken a thousand years, highlighting the crucial importance of abundant spiritual energy for cultivation.

Reflecting on this, Lu Qingyang sighed again.

"Unfortunately, I have exhausted most of my Heavenly Dao Source, and lack the strength to condense more spiritual veins."

"Though gathering a micro-spiritual vein only requires one point of Heavenly Dao Source, it is ultimately not worth it."

A small spiritual vein requires ten points of Heavenly Dao Source, while a micro-spiritual vein needs just one point, yet the difference in the spiritual energy they produce is twelvefold.

Thus, Lu Qingyang is unwilling to easily deplete his Heavenly Dao Source.

With seven points of Heavenly Dao Source remaining, accumulating a bit more might allow him to gather ten points.

"For an immortal like me, a thousand years is not a long wait; even ten thousand years can be endured."

"As long as the Qingyang Realm exists, I will surely reach higher realms one day!"

Lu Qingyang also realized a major advantage of having a data panel: while others face the challenge of bottlenecks in their breakthroughs, he can advance smoothly once his cultivation power is sufficient.

However——

Over the years, Lu Qingyang has felt a growing sense of unease, which intensifies with time, as if something ominous is approaching.

Lu Qingyang once used divination to investigate, and the signs pointed to the Wuxian Realm.

It was clear that the Wuxian Realm was undergoing changes that might threaten the Qingyang Realm.

To this day,

This anxiety has grown increasingly severe.

At this moment, Lu Qingyang felt restless.

He then directed his gaze across the entire Qingyang Realm, or more precisely, the entire Qingyang Immortal Kingdom.

...

In thirty years, the Qingyang Immortal Kingdom has undergone dramatic changes.

Twenty-nine years ago, the kingdom built five major cities in the northern region, based on five ancient trees.

They stationed cultivators there to guard against otherworldly invasions.

Twenty-five years ago, a powerful individual created a unique cultivation method and established a sect.

The Qingyang Immortal Kingdom saw the dawn of a sect era.

Twenty-three years ago, fortunate individuals entered ancient tombs and found a vast number of ancient texts, founding sects that dominated regions.

Twenty years ago, the Qingyang Immortal Kingdom fully entered the sect period.

All clans, martial arts schools, alliances, and faith societies transformed, widely recruiting disciples.

Fifteen years ago, Gu Fang, known as the strongest in the mortal world, reached the late fourth tier, intimidating all.

At the same time, the kingdom's population exceeded fifty million.

Twelve years ago, the elders of the kingdom compiled the "Qingyang Immortal Canon," a systematic collection of cultivation methods covering everything below the third tier, astonishing the world.

Ten years ago, the "Qingyang Immortal Canon" was widely distributed, impacting all sects, and greatly enhancing the human race's power.

Eight years ago, the Heavenly Court's chat group was updated, and the Immortal Ranking appeared, listing all beings.

Five years ago: Over three hundred fourth-tier cultivators existed in the Qingyang Immortal Kingdom.

Three years ago: The kingdom's population exceeded one hundred million.

One year ago: A fourth-tier perfected sea beast rampaged, and Gu Fang, the kingdom's strongest, flew in to kill it in three strikes, once again shocking the world.

...

In thirty years, the changes in the Qingyang Realm and the Qingyang Immortal Kingdom have been earth-shaking.

With the population exceeding one hundred million, Lu Qingyang's annual incense income skyrocketed from one or two hundred million to ten billion annually.

Additionally, with over fifty thousand devout believers, contributing one million incense daily, adding up to three hundred sixty million annually.

Hence, combining devout believers and general followers, Lu Qingyang's annual incense income reaches tens of billions.

To upgrade the Heavenly Court to the sixth tier requires a trillion incense.

At the current growth rate, Lu Qingyang roughly estimates that in less than a hundred years, the Heavenly Court can be upgraded to the sixth tier.

Most importantly,

As long as the kingdom's population continues to grow, Lu Qingyang's incense power will keep rising.

By then, the time required to truly reach the sixth tier will be much shorter than expected.

"The Heavenly Court Marketplace's upgrade to the fifth tier allows for the refining of fifth-tier breakthrough pills, which, when consumed, might add several fifth-tier masters to the Qingyang Immortal Kingdom."

"In this way, future actions against the Wuxian Realm will be smoother!"

Lu Qingyang fell into deep thought.

He wanted to boost the overall strength of the kingdom.

However, he could not simply bestow benefits, lest it foster dependency.

Therefore, Lu Qingyang always motivated everyone through task rewards and contribution exchange systems.

"Over ninety billion incense seems abundant, but the incense required to deduce fifth-tier items is a hundred times more than for the fourth tier."

"So even a low-grade fifth-tier breakthrough pill requires ten billion incense to deduce!"

Lu Qingyang shook his head helplessly.

He had thought the increase from the fourth to the fifth tier would be tenfold, from millions to tens of millions, but it turned out to be from millions straight to billions.

This change made Lu Qingyang realize that there is a significant chasm between the fourth and fifth tiers, a true dividing line.

In Xue Wei's memories, there was a similar chasm between the fourth-tier Dragon Transformation and the fifth-tier True Man in the ancient wilderness.

This dividing line is incomparable to the breakthroughs from the second to the third tier and from the third to the fourth tier. Breaking through from the fourth to the fifth tier is truly a transformative process.

In this regard,

Lu Qingyang could only come to terms with it.

4o