Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

The entire world was veiled in a thin, translucent layer, like a dream shrouded in fog, obscuring clarity.

Chen Li found himself in a closed-off cabin.

The room was silent and dimly lit.

A little girl was sitting at a small table, absorbed in playing with a string.

The girl appeared to be only seven or eight years old.

Still bearing the look of a young child.

But from the chubby little face, one could vaguely make out the shadow of Zhang Shuniang.

"Is this a dream?" Chen murmured to himself.

He slowly moved his body, discovering that his strength was greatly weakened in this place, his spiritual power completely gone, only slightly better than an ordinary person.

The girl seemed utterly unaware of Chen’s arrival, engrossed in her string play. What Chen found to be a dull and monotonous game was thoroughly captivating for the girl. Her small hands flipping and flying, she crafted intricate patterns with a red string.

Chen curiously surveyed the surroundings, the familiar layout of the house revealing without a doubt that this was the Zhang family’s former residence in the Green River District.

At that moment, a familiar voice seemed to come from outside the door. The little girl’s face lit up with delight. Quickly setting down the red string, she scurried to the door and, peering through the crack, her large deer-like eyes looked out expectantly. But her expression soon fell.

After looking around for a while longer, she hesitantly made her way back to her spot.

"I wonder what would happen if I opened the front door?" Chen thought. "Would the Green River District appear?"

As he pondered,

The girl had already noticed him.

"Husband!"

No sooner had she spoken than the scene changed abruptly.

It turned into the old residence of the Zhang family in Luoluo City, and even Zhang Yan, who had been dead for a long time, appeared.

"Father, my husband and I have already pledged ourselves to each other for life, and we even have a child. Please bless us," Zhang Shuniang knelt on the ground, pleading with tears.

This dream was an utter mess.

Since when did they have a child?

Perhaps it was as they say, daydreams turn into night dreams.

Chen thought to himself.

"You, you, you... you’re going to drive me to my grave. How could you do such a thing... It’s too late for words now. You both had better live well from here on out!" Zhang Yan spat angrily. "Chen, if you ever dare to wrong Shu, I will not let you go, even in death."

"Uh, Old Zhang..."

Chen had not even had the chance to speak,

When the scene changed once more.

This time, the space was filled with a rosy hue.

...

"Which do you prefer, me or your sister?"

The Zhang Shuniang in the dream, a completely different person from her usual self, was coquettish and clingy, and even more bold and passionate.

"Both are good, both are good!"

What else could Chen, lying beneath her, say?

...

Spring dreams leave no trace.

In the quiet room, Chen Li suddenly opened his eyes: "It felt as if I too had dreamed, only mine was a lucid dream, with memories clear as day, almost real."

Through Chen’s profound understanding and accumulated knowledge in the art of spells, he had grasped the basics of Dream Entering Skill within just a few nights. Such progress would astonish any Foundation Establishment practitioner, but for Chen, it was nothing out of ordinary.

"Unfortunately, Dream Entering Skill requires one to send forth a piece of consciousness to invade the target’s dream, so I can’t use Phantom Skill to speed up the progress. It seems I’ll just have to put in the effort and practice on my own!"

Chen set aside his notes on Dream Entering Skill casting, picked up pen and paper, and started studying the Giant Voice Skill.

...

Driven by an underlying unease, Chen became even more eager to strengthen his power.

He basically only slept four or five hours a day, spending the rest of his time either cultivating or researching and practicing spells.

Following the mastery of the Dream Entering Skill, he quickly conquered the Giant Voice Skill, and then the Soul Capture Skill came next.

Regarding the idea of using the Phantom Skill to grind progress in spell practice.

The results of the experiment were mixed.

The good news was that the idea was feasible.

The bad news was that the Phantom had its limitations.

Spells related to the mind, like the Dream Entering Skill and the Soul Capture Skill, couldn’t be practiced by the Phantom at all; it couldn’t even cast them, and attempting to do so would cause the Phantom to collapse.

The reason the Phantom could cast the Scolding Skill was probably that it is only a First Order Third Grade spell, too low-level, and could be cast with just the foundation-establishing level of concentration.

Of the new spells learned, the only one that could be practiced with was the Giant Voice Skill.

Fortunately, the remaining two Second Order Fourth Grade spells, Water Element Barrier and True Fire Skill, weren’t related to the mind.

By the time December came around.

The Phantom Skill had finally been trained to max level by Chen Li.

A max level Phantom Skill was comparable to a Second Order Seventh Grade spell, with internal simulated spiritual power akin to the sixth level of foundation establishment, truly terrifying.

As for the Giant Voice Skill, it had already reached max level ahead of it.

Every day while practicing the Phantom Skill, he would concurrently grind the Giant Voice Skill; with the level of spiritual power within Chen Li at the moment, he could cast the Phantom Skill eight times in one go, and each Phantom could practice about forty or so Giant Voice Skills. With eight Phantoms, that was over three hundred — an incredibly efficient level-grinding machine!

It is worth mentioning that the original effect of the Giant Voice Skill was merely to amplify sound, typically used for long-distance communication, like yelling commands across a battlefield.

But after optimization,

It had completely changed in nature.

Have you ever seen a megaphone that, with a single shout, could shatter boulders and trees in front of it, making even the air ripple with sound waves?

If used at close range, I fear even the Water Element Barrier could be shattered.

After all, a max level Giant Voice Skill is comparable to a Second Order Fifth Grade spell, while the Water Element Barrier is only Second Order Fourth Grade. If it is a talisman version or embroidered on a robe, it would be even lesser, only Second Order Third Grade.

Second Order Fifth Grade against Second Order Third Grade, there’s almost no contest.

Meanwhile, as time passed day by day, Chen Li was drawing ever closer to the middle phase of Foundation Establishment.

...

Time flies, and then three months later.

"Done! Wahahaha..."

In the quiet room, Chen Li laughed heartily.

The middle phase of Foundation Establishment, a stage that stalls countless Foundation Establishment cultivators, within the entire Returning True Sect of over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, only a mere five had reached this phase, and now he was one of them.

It was one of life’s great pleasures.

He got so emotionally excited that the spiritual power that had just advanced within him destabilized for a moment, nearly falling back to the third level of Foundation Establishment, risking the loss of all his progress.

Chen Li hurriedly fumbled around, swallowing two Harmonizing Qi Elixirs, calming his mind and circulating his energy to consolidate his realm. It was a long while before he reopened his eyes, no longer daring to lose himself in triumph as he had before, indulging in reckless pleasure.

"Compared to the third level of Foundation Establishment, the spiritual power inside my body has become more refined and solid, possessing a certain quality!"

Chen Li felt the spiritual power within his body and then circulated the Gang Qi of his celestial circuit. A layer of Qi, almost tangible, immediately surrounded him, and the interaction between the Qi and the air made a "shoo shoo" sound. The seat cushion below him, along with the rock, was instantaneously reduced to a fine powder:

"With the current level of my celestial Gang Qi, I could probably resist mid-grade magic artifacts."

"Of course, it also depends on who holds that mid-grade magic artifact. If it’s in the hands of someone in the late phase of Foundation Establishment, probably not... But once I train the Water Element Barrier to max level, ordinary late Foundation Establishment cultivators will pose no threat to me."

He checked his attributes panel:

[Lifespan: 54/298 years]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Fourth Level: 0/100]

[Cultivation Technique: Grandmaster of Longevity Skill: 3200/3200]

"Only a three-year increase in lifespan, but it’s better than nothing."

Chen Li scanned over it and then closed his attributes panel, standing up long.