Chapter 253 – Immortal Thief, Soul Technique, Seizing Heaven and Earth’s Great Dao, Nurturing…

Immortal Thief – this was an Immortal technique Lu Chen had previously encountered at the Great Ying Dynasty: Huaiyang Prefecture Demon Suppression Division.

However, what he obtained back then were only fragments of the Immortal Thief technique, not the complete Immortal method.

Now, Gu Yue True Immortal had directly gifted him this Immortal technique, which genuinely surprised Lu Chen.

Even without the Immortality Art ‘Immortal Thief’, Lu Chen would have been extremely satisfied with his True Immortal Trial journey.

Not only had he completed the main quest – Slay the Immortal Abomination,

Which would grant him substantial game rewards.

His journey through Book Mountain and Sea of Learning had also been immensely fruitful, allowing him to comprehend a Cultivation Manual uniquely his own.

Not to mention the previous Academy battle.

It not only advanced his mastery of the Creation Pill Art,

Reaching the level where he could directly refine human spirituality.

But also enabled him to obtain his first Fourth Realm Dao Artifact.

One could say that these gains alone had elevated Lu Chen’s strength by several levels.

And now, with the addition of this Immortality Art – Immortal Thief,

The harvest from this True Immortal Trial had truly exceeded Lu Chen’s expectations.

Looking at the Immortality Art placed on the table, Lu Chen immediately began studying it.

After an unknown period of observation, Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes.

Gazing at the ‘Immortal Thief’ in his hand, his expression became complex.

“Immortal Thief, Immortal Dao – stealing from heaven to nourish oneself. No wonder this technique requires prior mastery of the Creation Pill Art to cultivate.”

“Without the Creation Pill Art as an auxiliary Immortal technique, one cannot possibly steal the power of heaven.”

[You have carefully studied the Immortality Art – Immortal Thief and gained some comprehension of this technique…]

[Note: This technique is a Soul Method that doesn’t conflict with your current Dao Unity Art. You have met the cultivation conditions. Begin cultivation?]

Looking at the prompt on his game interface, Lu Chen made his decision without hesitation.

[You have learned a new technique… Immortal Thief]

[Name: Immortal Thief]

[Maximum Level: Mahayana Stage]

[Current Realm: Foundation Establishment Stage]

[Effect: Can significantly enhance one’s Soul Power quality and Foundation by stealing power from heaven and earth. Golden Core Stage unlocks ‘Like a Dream, Like an Illusion’, Nascent Soul Stage unlocks ‘Passing Off the False as Genuine’… Mahayana Stage obtains ‘Swapping Heaven for Day’ method.]

[Currently available matching Divine Ability: Golden Millet Dream]

[Divine Ability: Golden Millet Dream]

[Effect: Can use a special ritual as activation condition. After activation, has a certain probability of dragging the target into a dream based on their cultivation level, Heart-Nature, Soul Power realm, Magic Treasures, Magical Artifacts and other effects, applying certain suggestions.]

Soul Method – this was the first time Lu Chen had encountered a technique that could cultivate the Divine Soul.

For ordinary cultivators, the Foundation Establishment Stage is when they first make contact with Soul Power.

The Divine Sense at Foundation Establishment Stage is actually a basic application of Soul Power.

Even so, cultivators’ Soul Power cultivation progresses very slowly during the Foundation Establishment Stage.

In fact, one could say most cultivators don’t focus much on Soul Power cultivation during Foundation Establishment.Only after reaching the Golden Core Stage would cultivators begin refining their Divine Soul in preparation for the subsequent Nascent Soul Stage.

This was partly because soul cultivation was fraught with peril.

And partly because soul cultivation was exceptionally difficult.

After all, if cultivators attempted soul refinement before the Golden Core Stage, they lacked a Golden Core to anchor their Divine Soul.

A single misstep could cause the Divine Soul to leave the body, becoming irretrievable.

This would be equivalent to losing one’s Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits.

It was a cultivation method with high risks and mediocre rewards.

But these considerations only applied to ordinary cultivators.

Although Lu Chen was currently only at Foundation Establishment Perfection, his Divine Soul strength…

Was actually significantly greater than that of ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators.

This was related to his Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, as well as his numerous life-and-death experiences in various Instances.

Given these circumstances, he essentially already met the conditions to begin soul cultivation.

This was also why Gu Yue True Immortal was willing to bestow upon him the ‘Immortal Thief’ Immortality Art.

Although Gu Yue True Immortal wasn’t a Sword Cultivator, an Immortal’s perspective ensured he could discern exactly what Lu Chen needed most at his current stage with just a glance.

Enhancing Divine Soul Realm and improving cultivation potential.

These were precisely what Lu Chen needed most at present.

And ‘Immortal Thief’ could fulfill both of Lu Chen’s requirements in this regard.

Moreover, since Immortal Thief didn’t conflict with the Dao Unity Art, Lu Chen could cultivate it without any reservations.

The right time, the right place, and the emergence of a suitable Immortality Art.

Even someone as strong-willed as Lu Chen couldn’t help feeling that he was somehow favored by heaven.

Otherwise, how could there be so many perfectly timed occurrences in this world?

After reflecting for a moment, Lu Chen immediately began to calm his mind, preparing to use Immortal Thief to enhance his Foundation.

“The key to Immortal Thief lies in the character ‘steal’ – the extent to which one can steal the power of heaven and earth for oneself.”

“At Major Achievement, Immortal Thief can not only steal an enemy’s cultivation during battle but can even directly plunder their Dao heritage.”

“However, mastering this technique is by no means easy.”

“After all, stealing the power of heaven and earth is no simple matter.”

“Never mind whether I currently possess the capability to steal cosmic forces – merely finding treasures worth stealing at my current level is challenging enough.”

“But as it happens, I do possess something worth stealing right now, something that can significantly enhance my cultivation Foundation…”

What Lu Chen referred to was none other than the ‘True Immortal Blood Essence’ previously gifted to him by Gu Yue True Immortal.

True Immortal Blood Essence, Creation Pill Art, Immortal Thief…

Reflecting now, these three items seemed like a matched set, things Gu Yue True Immortal had prepared for him from the beginning.

The reason they weren’t given all at once was likely to test him.

Had he failed to master the Creation Pill Art within the designated time…

Perhaps the Immortal Thief technique would never have appeared before him.

Having reached this point, Lu Chen naturally wouldn’t reject Gu Yue True Immortal’s goodwill.

He activated Immortal Thief and began ‘stealing’ the True Immortal Blood Essence located within his Divine Sense space.

Although this drop of True Immortal Blood Essence had been gifted to Lu Chen, and Gu Yue True Immortal had erased the Immortal imprint within it…

A single drop of a True Immortal’s blood falling upon a mortal would weigh as heavy as a mountain.Lu Chen, who was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, was no different from a mortal in the presence of an existence like Gu Yue True Immortal.

Therefore, Lu Chen’s cultivation of the Immortal Thief technique was not going smoothly.

It would take a long time to steal even a few useful things from this drop of True Immortal Blood Essence that could improve his cultivation aptitude.

Although the process was arduous, the rewards were immense.

Lu Chen could feel that under the influence of the True Immortal power, his spiritual platform was slowly undergoing changes.

This change manifested concretely as his cultivation limit… continuously rising.

Outside the True Immortal Trial, at the foot of Gathering Immortal Bell Mountain.

Five months had already passed since the True Immortal Trial began.

Five months was but a fleeting moment for cultivators.

But for the trial-takers inside the True Immortal Trial, it was a full twenty-five months—over two years.

Because five days inside the True Immortal Trial equaled only one day in the outside world.

Typically, the True Immortal Trial lasted at most half a year.

In other words, there was now less than a month remaining until the True Immortal Trial concluded.

If one failed to emerge before the trial ended,

they would have to wait until the next True Immortal Trial opened.

By now, the vast majority of disciples had already left the True Immortal Trial.

“Hanqing, hasn’t Junior Brother Lu come out yet?”

On the deck, Meow King looked seriously at Yi Hanqing, who was drinking on the Celestial Ark deck, and asked.

Yi Hanqing gazed at the increasingly illusory Gathering Immortal Bell in the distance and shook his head.

It was worth noting that ever since leaving the True Immortal Trial, he had been sitting here.

But so far, he hadn’t seen Lu Chen appear.

Initially, when the Academy battle ended, they all thought Lu Chen had left the True Immortal Trial ahead of them.

After all, at that time, after refining Zhao Zhongming, Lu Chen was enveloped in a white mist and then disappeared.

They had assumed this marked Lu Chen’s departure.

But now it seemed that Lu Chen had been transported to some mysterious place.

As for why this happened, they had no idea.

Meow King looked at the distant Gathering Immortal Bell with slight concern and said, “There’s less than a month left until the True Immortal Trial ends.”

“If Junior Brother Lu doesn’t come out now, he truly won’t be able to.”

“One year outside is five years in the Gathering Immortal Bell. The True Immortal Trial opens once every hundred years. If Junior Brother Lu gets trapped this time, by the time we might meet him again, it would only be a hundred years for us, but for him, it would be a full five hundred years.”

“Who knows what could happen in five hundred years inside the Gathering Immortal Bell.”

Facing Meow King’s concern, Yi Hanqing calmly said, “Don’t worry, Junior Brother Lu will be fine.”

“How do you know?”

“Intuition.”

“Intuition???”

Meow King looked speechlessly at Yi Hanqing, not understanding the basis for this intuition.

Perhaps feeling that nothing more could be gained from talking to Yi Hanqing, Meow King immediately headed toward the depths of the Celestial Ark, saying as he walked, “I’m done talking with you. I’m going to ask Junior Brother Zhao. After all, he’s the first Great Prosperity Gu Cultivator to emerge from the Gathering Immortal Bell in centuries.”

“As a local, he should understand better than us what’s happening inside the Gathering Immortal Bell and is more likely to know what happened to Junior Brother Lu.”Yi Hanqing gazed at Meow King’s retreating figure, and couldn’t help but recall that Gu cultivator from Daying who had emerged from the True Immortal Trial alongside them… Zhao Liuhuo.

Regarding Zhao Liuhuo, Yi Hanqing still found him somewhat unfathomable.

After leaving the True Immortal Trial, everyone had come to understand that their second trial was essentially entering an Immortal’s dream through “dream immersion.”

As long as one didn’t perish during the second trial,

No matter how severe the injuries sustained, they would be completely healed upon exiting the True Immortal Trial.

After all, injuries in the dream didn’t equate to real-world harm.

This made Zhao Liuhuo’s emergence from the True Immortal Trial particularly peculiar.

As a native of Daying,

Zhao Liuhuo’s very existence was part of the Immortal’s dream.

How could a being born within a dream manifest in reality?

Yi Hanqing couldn’t comprehend it.

After leaving the trial, Zhao Liuhuo immediately drew the attention of several major schools.

He ultimately joined the Azure Cloud Sect as a probationary disciple, with the understanding that he would become a formal disciple upon passing the assessment.

The Azure Cloud Sect’s decision had little to do with Zhao Liuhuo’s innate aptitude,

But rather with the jade pendant he carried.

That pendant belonged to a former Direct Lineage Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.

It was this very pendant that piqued the sect’s curiosity about his origins.

Thus, they accepted him as a formal disciple first, intending to investigate which former Azure Cloud direct disciple Zhao Liuhuo might be connected to.

However, Yi Hanqing only had superficial knowledge of these matters and didn’t possess much curiosity about them.

His sole curiosity at present was why Lu Chen remained in the True Immortal Trial,

And what experiences he had undergone since then.

Yi Hanqing had a premonition that Lu Chen’s extended stay was anything but ordinary.

【You have stolen a trace of True Immortal Blood Essence, and your cultivation aptitude has been tremendously enhanced…】

【Name: Lu Chen (Azure Cloud Sect · Danyang Peak Direct Lineage Disciple)】

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Perfection (50,000,000/50,000,000)】

【Foundation Quality: First-Grade Great Dao Immortal Foundation】

“Has it reached the limit already…”

Sensing the fullness of his spiritual platform, Lu Chen realized the True Immortal Blood Essence could no longer further enhance his cultivation aptitude.

This improvement had consumed only a minuscule amount of the blood essence.

To the naked eye, there was no observable change in the True Immortal Blood Essence.

Lu Chen speculated he might be able to use this blood essence all the way until the Deity Transformation Stage.

But matters of the Deity Transformation Stage need not be considered for now.

His most pressing concern was his Golden Core tribulation.

The sole reason he had delayed his Golden Core breakthrough was his belief that his cultivation potential at the time

Was insufficient to inscribe four Harmony Realm Dao Patterns onto his Golden Core.

Now, with fifty million units of spiritual power cultivation,

Lu Chen felt his plan for a Transcendent Golden Core could finally be set in motion.

At this thought, Lu Chen immediately rose to his feet.

“After all this planning and so much effort… the time for harvest has finally arrived…”

Lu Chen glanced at the deserted hut where he had stayed for some time, eventually offering it a solemn bow.

Although he and Gu Yue True Immortal had met only a handful of times,

The assistance he had received was by no means insignificant—worthy of this profound gesture of respect.After completing all this, Lu Chen pushed open the door and stepped out of the thatched hut.

The moment he emerged, the familiar white mist enveloped him once again.

Lu Chen understood that this white mist was actually the dream-stealing power of Gu Yue True Immortal.

When the mist dissipated, Lu Chen found himself sitting cross-legged in a familiar place.

This place was the plaza at the top of the Ascension Stairway where they had previously stopped.

Now, however, the plaza contained only him alone.

Moreover, the surrounding environment had somehow become incredibly illusory.

Gazing at his surroundings, Lu Chen felt an inexplicable sense of having lived through lifetimes.

After reflecting for a moment, he finally set off downward.

His purpose for this journey was singular… to reach the pinnacle of Golden Core.

(End of Chapter)