After having the Laba Festival congee, another seven days flew by.
The fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month marked exactly sixty-four days since the eleventh of the tenth month.
During this period, Xiao Chen had been taking Beneficial Spirit Pills on schedule every day, continuously strengthening his Divine Sense. Today, he had finally achieved great success.
Normally, the Range of Divine Sense for a third-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator should be three hundred zhang.
However, when he extended his Divine Sense now, it directly enveloped a full four-hundred-zhang radius.
The area he could monitor simultaneously had clearly increased by a large margin.
At the same time, as his Flame Light Spiritual Sand ran out, his most practiced Magic, the Profound Fire Crow, had also smoothly broken through to the Great Success Realm.
It had to be said, after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, cultivating Tier One Magic felt noticeably more natural and effortless.
Moreover, with Divine Sense, simultaneously controlling the Profound Fire Crows was no longer a problem.
Compared to before, when even commanding a hundred of them was a clumsy, stumbling effort.
Now, as long as they were within his Range of Divine Sense, he could command a full thousand Profound Fire Crows as if they were an extension of his own limbs, arranging them in any formation he pleased.
What made him even happier was that, perhaps because they shared the same origin, the Big Fire Crow Formations could actually be stacked.
All he had to do was have every ten Profound Fire Crows form a Little Fire Crow Formation.
Then, by treating each Little Fire Crow Formation as a single Fire Crow and arranging them according to the Big Fire Crow Formation, he could create an enhanced Super Fire Crow Array.
"Profound Yang Fire!"
Xiao Chen activated the Super Fire Crow Array, and a torrent of flame, ten times more intense and ferocious than before, rushed out like a flood.
Moreover, with a mere thought, he could guide the torrent of fire with his Divine Sense to change its direction of attack.
From this moment on, this Cultivation Technique had gained a whole new Realm.
’In that case, it should have a new name. I’ll call it Profound Yang True Fire.’
Having successfully obtained another powerful offensive tool, Xiao Chen was in high spirits.
He made a special trip to the Li Huo Market and ordered a table full of fine dishes for himself at Baiyu Studio to reward himself for his hard work.
Well-fed and content, he returned to Cuiwei Valley to find Lin Ping’an waiting at his door.
The man wore a Star Crown, a Crane Cloak, a jade belt around his waist, and Cloud-Stepping Shoes on his feet.
He looked as if he had been traveling for a long time and had only just returned.
This was a rare visitor. Xiao Chen hadn’t seen him since they returned from the Flame Pool Secret Realm at the beginning of the year.
Nor had he heard any news about him.
Seeing him again today, he could tell that Lin Ping’an had also successfully reached Foundation Establishment.
"Xiao, it’s been a long time. I hope you’ve been well."
"You too, Junior Brother Lin. How have you been lately?"
"Not bad. I took a long trip and made some gains. For now, I can still keep up with your pace, Xiao."
Lin Ping’an looked at Xiao Chen and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. "You look even more spirited now, Xiao. Your cultivation must have improved again. It really puts pressure on the rest of us."
The two greeted each other and went inside.
During their casual chat, Xiao Chen learned that after returning from the Flame Pool Secret Realm, Lin Ping’an had gone straight out to seek opportunities.
He had gone all the way to Hezhou and stayed there for several months.
He only returned to Li State at the beginning of the month.
"Xiao, I was actually supposed to be back on the first of the month."
"But what a coincidence—on my way back, I passed through Yellow Wind Valley and stumbled upon a Black Market gathering."
Xiao Chen said, "Oh, that is quite a coincidence."
"Isn’t it!"
Lin Ping’an slapped his thigh, leaned forward, and lowered his voice. "Xiao, you won’t believe it. At that Black Market, someone was actually selling Sheepskin Scrolls."
"I took a look, and one of them recorded a Secret Realm left over from Ancient Times."
HISS!
Xiao Chen drew in a sharp breath. "Junior Brother Lin, don’t tell me you bought a Treasure Map?"
"Yep."
Lin Ping’an nodded. "I didn’t just buy one. I bought out his entire stock of Treasure Maps."
"I’ve been studying them carefully these past few days and have already found a key clue. After the new year, I plan to follow the Treasure Map and go treasure hunting."
"But the problem is, my cultivation is on the lower side, and I’m likely to run into danger if I go alone. That’s why I came looking for you, Xiao."
"We worked together so well last time. If you have time, Xiao, would you want to go together this time too?"
’Logically, I shouldn’t believe this.’
’This kind of thing is a complete waste of time.’