Chapter 50

After ascending to the fourth-level Celestial Court, Lu Qingyang finally understood the secret of refining incense as told by the immortal wood spiritual root.

For every hundred points of incense refined, one point of cultivation can be gained.

Although the ratio is not generous, it is still acceptable.

Calculating based on his current rate of gathering over a billion incense points annually, he could accumulate over a million cultivation points in a year.

To advance from late-stage to peak fourth level, he needs seven million cultivation points, which would take roughly five years through converting incense.

"Beyond incense, there are more mysteries!"

"My fourth-level Celestial Court can also nurture fourth-level elixirs. If I could take a supreme fourth-level breakthrough elixir, could I directly advance to peak fourth level?"

Lu Qingyang pondered silently.

However—

A supreme fourth-level breakthrough elixir requires over fifty million incense points to nurture.

At present, Lu Qingyang had only accumulated a little over thirty million incense points, far from his goal.

Moreover, with the Celestial Court now at the fourth level, Lu Qingyang needed to nurture various fourth-level magical treasures to enrich the fourth-level marketplace.

Due to the current shortage of incense points, he first used fifteen million incense points to nurture top-tier fourth-level cultivation methods for the three major cultivation systems.

Next, he used the remaining twenty-one million incense points to nurture a batch of lower, middle, and upper-tier fourth-level cultivation methods.

Additionally,

He also used spells to nurture some fourth-level elixirs, magical treasures, and other various magical items.

With this, the fourth-level marketplace was finally complete.

"With the fourth-level marketplace established, it can now open to the public. Once it opens, it will greatly enhance the strength of the entire Human Alliance."

Lu Qingyang looked at the sparse goods in the marketplace and couldn't help but shake his head.

He also wished to enrich the variety of items in the marketplace, but the scarcity of incense points was a constraint.

Creating the Celestial Court had consumed a vast amount of incense points.

Maintaining the Celestial Court and the Celestial Court chat group was also a significant expense.

Lu Qingyang knew the principle of not rushing success, so he wasn't in a hurry. He would slowly add more items as incense points became abundant in the future.

Several years passed,

Among the over twenty million believers in the Flame Realm, some outstanding ones had become devout followers.

Among them, there were twenty-seven third-level devout followers.

Each could provide a hundred incense points daily, totaling twenty-seven hundred points—a considerable number.

Including devout followers of other levels,

Lu Qingyang had eight hundred devout followers under his command, mostly first and second-level.

Zero and third-level devout followers were rare.

After all, the Celestial Court chat group had existed for many years. Even those with average talent should have reached the first level by now.

Thus, true zero-level devout followers were extremely rare.

These eight hundred devout followers could gather eight thousand incense points daily, accumulating two to three million annually.

However, the number of eight hundred was not fixed.

With the establishment of the fourth-level marketplace, Lu Qingyang believed the number of devout followers would exceed a thousand, including the first batch of fourth-level devout followers.

After handling various affairs,

Lu Qingyang turned his attention back to himself.

After the Celestial Court ascended to the fourth level, his soul power had significantly enhanced.

It was now more powerful and terrifying than before.

With just a thought, his soul power could cause havoc, unleashing a frightening force.

"The third-level Celestial Court made my soul robust but didn't achieve a qualitative leap. It wasn't until the Celestial Court ascended to the fourth level that my soul underwent a fundamental transformation."

"Now, my soul has the ability to become tangible and can directly inflict fatal blows on any living being."

With a thought, Lu Qingyang's soul power transformed into an invisible blade, easily slicing through the clouds, which took a long time to mend.

After a long while,

The clouds finally returned to their original state.

"This attack's power is comparable to that of an ordinary peak fourth-level cultivator, and soul attacks are hard to defend against. Unless one has special means to resist soul attacks or is also a soul cultivation expert, they would surely perish if caught off guard."

Lu Qingyang looked on with a knowing expression,

The soul power of a peak fourth-level cultivator could at least contend with others of the same level.

Whether he could contend with fifth-level experts was still unknown, as he knew very little about fifth-level experts.

Regardless,

The soul had become one of Lu Qingyang's major trump cards, though its power was not yet at the pinnacle compared to his current cultivation.

But he eagerly anticipated,

When the Celestial Court eventually ascends to the fifth and sixth levels, his soul would undergo what kind of powerful transformation.

Having understood his soul, Lu Qingyang once again immersed himself in the world.

...

In the indescribable void, filled with violent and bloodthirsty auras, various indescribable terrifying beings fought, shaking the order of the entire space.

Before,

Lu Qingyang's soul could only perceive a fraction of this place from the periphery.

Until now,

With the Celestial Court's ascension to the fourth level and his soul's transformation, he managed to tear a corner of this space and sneak in.

Upon entering,

He was immediately engulfed by vast and violent killing intent, completely drowning his soul consciousness.

Just as his soul was about to be completely destroyed, Lu Qingyang activated his "All-seeing Vision" once more.

...

[Entity: Heavenly Dao]

[Realm: ???]

...

[Entity: Heavenly Dao]

[Realm: ???]

...

"Buzz!"

The Ten Thousand Mountains trembled slightly, and above the sky, the celestial tree shook violently, as if struck by a strong impact.

Pain!

Indescribable pain erupted from the depths of his sea of consciousness, almost unbearable for Lu Qingyang.

After a long time,

The pain from his sea of consciousness slightly subsided, but it did not completely dissipate.

This was the result of his soul being wounded.

The soul is part of a cultivator's spirit. Now that his soul was wounded, Lu Qingyang naturally suffered backlash.

This encounter of probing the Heavenly Dao and the unknown entities made Lu Qingyang deeply realize the terror of beings at that level.

Just a trace of their power was enough to shatter his soul.

The joy from the soul's transformation due to the Celestial Court's ascension to the fourth level had now been completely washed away.

Facing the results of his "All-seeing Vision," Lu Qingyang's mood grew heavier.

"Heavenly Dao!"

4o