Chapter Eight: The Dragon Yang Constitution

[Ding! Shen Xuzi has spent 100,000 low-grade spirit stones of his own to spread the word about your apprentice recruitment. A 1x critical hit has been triggered. Reward: 100,000 low-grade spirit stones.]

[Ding! Miao Shezi has spent 50,000 low-grade spirit stones of his own to spread the word about your apprentice recruitment. A 1x critical hit has been triggered. Reward: 50,000 low-grade spirit stones.]

Xuandan Sect.

Two system notifications suddenly refreshed before Chen Xuan. He had only asked Shen Xuzi and Miao Shezi to help him spread the news, yet he had not expected them to spend 150,000 spirit stones of their own to do so. Had he misunderstood them? However, their filial piety scores were still zero, hence the minimal 1x critical hit.

"Sect Master..." Liyangzi stood before Chen Xuan, looking hesitant, as if he still wished to dissuade him.

Chen Xuan smiled slightly. "I know what you want to say. A Saint-grade cultivation technique is indeed shocking. But do you think I am the type of person to make wild claims without the backing to support them?"

"What!" Liyangzi was startled. Upon reflection, he had known Chen Xuan for a hundred years, and apart from the matter concerning Ye Xueyan, Chen Xuan had handled every other situation with great competence. Could it be that he truly possessed a Saint-grade technique?

"Liyangzi," Chen Xuan asked, looking him over, "how long have you been stuck at the peak of the Golden Core stage?"

Liyangzi was taken aback. He didn't know why Chen Xuan asked this suddenly, but he replied, "It has been 150 years." He had reached the peak of the Golden Core 150 years ago, but due to his aptitude, he had been unable to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

"Do you want to break through?" Chen Xuan asked with a smile.

"Of course I do." Liyangzi nodded. A Golden Core cultivator only has 500 years of lifespan, and he was already over 500 years old. If he didn't break through soon, he would die of old age.

"Very well, then I shall help you break through." Chen Xuan waved his hand. Liyangzi had known him for a century and had been the most loyal person in the Xuandan Sect. Even when the sect was on the verge of collapse, his filial piety score had remained at 70. Chen Xuan would naturally not mistreat those who were loyal to him. Although he could not yet change someone's spiritual root, purchasing a pill from the system shop to force Liyangzi’s breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm was not difficult.

[Spirit-Merging Pill]
Effect: Assists a Golden Core peak cultivator in forcing a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm.
Grade: Heaven-grade high-quality
Price: 50 Filial Piety Points
(Unlocks at Nascent Soul realm)

"Purchase." After the transaction, Chen Xuan handed the pill to Liyangzi. "Take this and break through."

"This is..." Liyangzi stared at the golden pill, his eyes wide with shock. "This is a Spirit-Merging Pill, refined from nine types of Heaven-grade high-quality spiritual herbs!"

Heaven-grade spiritual herbs were extremely rare, and this pill required nine different types. Furthermore, the success rate of refining it was less than ten percent. Because its effect was singular—only useful for forcing a breakthrough—almost no one would waste nine Heaven-grade herbs to refine it. Yet, Chen Xuan had produced one! He had wasted at least nine Heaven-grade herbs just for his sake!

"Sect Master, you..." Liyangzi held the pill, his heart filled with immense excitement. He didn't know how to express his gratitude. Chen Xuan had not only saved his life but also granted him 500 more years of life.

[Liyangzi's filial piety +30]
[Liyangzi's filial piety: 100]

His filial piety reached 100! Chen Xuan was astonished. He had expected Chu Lingyun to be the first to reach 100, not Liyangzi. But it made sense; Liyangzi had never abandoned the sect during its darkest hours, and now that Chen Xuan had effectively saved his life, his gratitude was boundless. Now, he just had to wait for Liyangzi to show his filial respect, and he would obtain the Dragon Sun Body.

"Go on, break through," Chen Xuan said with a smile. "I will protect you."

"Yes, thank you, Sect Master!" Liyangzi, overcome with emotion, swallowed the pill and began his breakthrough.

A few moments later.

"I’ve broken through! I’ve finally broken through!" Liyangzi looked radiant. He knelt before Chen Xuan again, saying, "I will never forget the Sect Master's grace!"

"Do you believe now that I can provide a Saint-grade technique?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Though it is hard to believe, I trust everything the Sect Master does!"

"In that case, go and promote the apprentice recruitment tournament."

"Yes!"

Liyangzi left. Chen Xuan returned to his cave dwelling, and before long, a system prompt appeared.

[Ding! Liyangzi has promoted the apprentice recruitment tournament for you. Reward: 100 years of cultivation, 100 Filial Piety Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for receiving filial respect from a Child of Destiny with 100 Filial Piety Points. Reward: Dragon Sun Body.]

In an instant, Chen Xuan felt a surge of warmth within him, and a golden dragon formed of spiritual energy appeared in his Dantian.

"So this is the Dragon Sun Body!" Chen Xuan could clearly feel his spiritual energy becoming more vast and aggressive. The Dragon Sun Body was different from a Celestial Spiritual Root. The latter affected the upper limit of his cultivation and future achievements, while the Dragon Sun Body provided a tangible boost to his current combat power and allowed him to practice special techniques.

With this, he knew what kind of techniques he needed to pursue. Chen Xuan opened the system shop and clicked on the techniques tab, focusing on the more expensive ones.

[Dragon-Phoenix Divine Art]
Grade: Immortal-grade low-quality
Price: 500 Filial Piety Points
(Unlocks at Enlightenment realm)

[Heavenly Immortal Underworld Record]
Grade: Immortal-grade mid-quality
Price: 1,000 Filial Piety Points
(Unlocks at Enlightenment realm)

[Forbidden Art of the Dragon Gallbladder]
Grade: Immortal-grade high-quality
Price: 5,000 Filial Piety Points
(Unlocks at Enlightenment realm)

Chen Xuan looked through the list, clicking his tongue. A standard Heaven-grade high-quality technique cost only 50 points, but an Immortal-grade low-quality one was ten times that—500 points. The mid-quality was double again, and the high-quality was a staggering 5,000. It was clear how rare Immortal-grade techniques were; if even one were to leak out, it would be enough to throw the entire cultivation world into chaos.

Chen Xuan browsed through, but eventually had to give up; he didn't have enough money or cultivation. He searched for a suitable technique but found nothing. The ones he could afford were too low-grade and would need to be replaced later, which wasn't worth it, while the ultimate ones were out of reach.

Just as he was about to close the page, he noticed a greyed-out technique above the Immortal-grade ones. Curious, he checked it. Was there something even higher than Immortal-grade?

[Dragon Origin Universal Scripture]
Grade: None
Price: 1 Filial Piety Point
(No unlock conditions)
Note: Growth-type technique, can be upgraded using Filial Piety Points.