Chapter 247: Diligence Compensates for Ineptitude, a Lesson in Life and Death

Lan Yan looked at Qin Haoxuan with astonishment, a bright light in her eyes, as she sighed to herself, “What a tenacious Dao Heart, what strong perseverance!”

As the caster of the Illusory Sea of Consciousness, she certainly knew how intense the pain was. After trying it once herself, she had sworn never to play with it again unless it was a life-or-death crisis. The pain not only penetrated the bone marrow but also pierced the very soul. Anyone without great perseverance and a strong Dao Heart would never dare to try it a second time after experiencing it once. Yet, Qin Haoxuan seemed to be treating it as a form of cultivation.

Previously, when Lan Yan had agreed to set up the illusion for him, it was for no other reason than to see how strong this weak seed disciple’s Dao Heart and perseverance were. Now, she was even more curious. She wanted to know where his limits truly lay. From now on, as long as he asked her to set up the illusion, she would grant his wish. She said to herself in her heart, I want to see just how firm your Dao Heart is!

After recovering his spiritual energy, Qin Haoxuan continued to summarize his failures. “Jian Chen’s entire aura is integrated with nature. Under his oppressive presence, I am like an ant with nowhere to escape. His sword intent is everywhere!”

“His understanding of the sword has reached an extremely astonishing level. If he had a flying sword in his hand, how terrifyingly powerful would he be? How am I supposed to deal with a fellow who is so obsessed with the sword?”

Qin Haoxuan thought long and hard, his mind constantly replaying the scene of Jian Chen’s sword intent merging with nature, and himself being like a bird in a cage with no escape.

“Jian Chen’s aura is so strong,” he lamented in his heart. He thought for a long time but could not find an answer. Perhaps only after he had properly trained his body’s coordination could he find a way to deal with him. This Jian Chen’s realm was not high, but his strength was too great.

What Qin Haoxuan didn’t know was that among the rogue cultivators, Jian Chen had the reputation of a “sword fanatic.” Even rogue cultivators at the Thirtieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm who were extremely skilled with the sword had to admit that in the way of the sword, they were no match for him. If he had not been so single-mindedly obsessed with the sword, how could his cultivation realm still be at the Nineteenth-Leaf? His combat strength was even a bit stronger than Master Liuyun’s. This was the result of comprehending the natural way of the Heavenly Dao!

Below the Thirtieth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, this comprehension might not seem too important, but once one had even a sliver of it, their combat power would soar.

After being cruelly slaughtered by Master Liuyun and Jian Chen, Qin Haoxuan finally had a clear understanding of a cultivator’s strength, and the bit of arrogance in his heart dissipated. It wasn’t that the higher a cultivator’s realm, the stronger their combat power, nor that a lower-realm cultivator was necessarily weak. Since there were people like himself who could fight above their level by relying on various means, then there would certainly be freaks like Master Liuyun and Jian Chen who were obsessed with and had mastered a single path.

Opening his eyes, Qin Haoxuan let out a long breath. He stood up and said to Xing, “Help me collect the hair of some relatively strong cultivators. I want to strengthen my practical combat skills and enrich my experience.”

The determination on Qin Haoxuan’s face made Lan Yan slightly dazed. For a woman, a serious man was the most handsome. Lan Yan, who had been pursued by countless dandies and handsome men, seemed to see another kind of handsomeness in him, something that no handsome face could compare to.

Xing grumbled with a dissatisfied expression. “Go back to the laundry room to find those stinking clothes again? I’m not doing it! Last time I helped you, you only gave me two low third-grade spirit stones!”

Qin Haoxuan smiled and patted his shoulder. “Good buddy, I know you’re the most loyal. Here, these are five spirit stones. Hurry up and go!”

Lan Yan, who had just been staring at him in a daze, widened her eyes. Is this the same Qin Haoxuan who was so handsome because of his seriousness just now? How did that lewd smile appear so naturally, so abruptly?

Xing looked at Qin Haoxuan speechlessly, then at the spirit stones in his hand. Finally, he snatched them and grumbled, “It’s better than nothing. You heartless and disloyal fellow, all you know is how to threaten and intimidate me! I am a dignified genius demon of the Netherworld, you know!”

Grumbling, he transformed into a dog and scurried out of the tent.

Lan Yan was quite disapproving of his stinginess and said sarcastically, “My, you’re so cheap! One session in the Illusory Sea of Consciousness costs a hundred low third-grade spirit stones. A hundred here, a hundred there, don’t you feel the pinch?”

Qin Haoxuan said, “Mind your own business. Again!”

Blocked by his words, Lan Yan was so angry her nose went crooked, and she almost wanted to go on strike. But then she thought, Why should I go on strike? I’ll do just as you wish, watch you get killed in the sea of consciousness, and then watch you cry out in pain, drenched in a cold sweat. What a delight!

…

For the next ten days, Qin Haoxuan, who had slain six rogue cultivators in two days, announced that he was going into seclusion and would no longer participate in the sect’s war. His non-participation did not attract any opposition. There were only so many rogue cultivators; kill one, and there was one less. Each one was a glittering spirit stone. The other disciples were actually glad he wasn’t participating, especially his former teammates, Qin Yang, Liao Qiankun, and the other two. Because whenever they were teamed up with him, he ate the meat, and they didn’t even get the soup. He basically killed the rogue cultivators in a single move, his methods endless. They didn’t even have a chance to get involved, so of course, they couldn’t share the merits.

In the following ten days, Qin Haoxuan fought duels one after another in the sea of consciousness with the dozens of real-life experts whose hair Xing had collected. Without his spiritual sense attacks, without Xing’s protection, without the help of the three Talisman Beasts, and without the Thousand-Mile Talisman to escape, he was killed time and time again, and time and time again, he summarized his failures.

In these ten days, he fought a full one hundred and fifty battles, spending fifteen thousand low third-grade spirit stones, and finally defeated everyone. Even the incredibly fast Master Liuyun, he could now block with even greater speed. In the repeated battles, his body’s coordination had greatly improved. Although he felt he had not yet reached the upper limit of his body’s potential, it was already enough to defeat him. And Jian Chen, who was one with nature and could conceal his sword intent, was also defeated by his rapid and immense progress.

To deal with Jian Chen, he had come to realize that besides physical coordination, he also had to suppress him with his own aura, to disrupt his perfect fusion with nature and expose the flaws in his sword intent. He had to use his own footwork and speed to completely block his next move. That way, Jian Chen would become a turtle in a jar, to be slaughtered at his will.

It was easy to say, but the effort he had put in was even more astonishing. Fifteen thousand low third-grade spirit stones, one hundred and fifty deaths. After the dual physical and spiritual agony of each death, he would immediately summarize his experience, recover his spiritual energy, and then continue to fight, continue to die, continue to summarize, and continue to fight…

Before, he had thought he was a great fighter, that cultivators at the Eighteenth or Nineteenth-Leaf were no match for him. But now, stripped of his spiritual sense attacks and without Xing’s protection, he finally knew how fragile he was.

After experiencing one hundred and fifty deaths, he finally understood one principle: there is always someone stronger, a mountain beyond the mountain. He had been a frog in a well before. Stripped of his few external methods, he was still a fragile frog in a well. So, he fought day and night, and cultivated day and night. When the pain was unbearable, he told himself that the pain of now was for the sake of living in the future. How precious life was.

Hard work pays off. Even a fool, with a firm belief and the stimulation of both physical and spiritual pain, could make astonishing progress, let alone Qin Haoxuan. These people were finally defeated by him.

Of course, there was still one person he could not defeat in the sea of consciousness. Master Chi Lian’s eldest disciple, the Thirtieth-Leaf Xi Mufan, not only had extremely rich and terrifying combat experience, but his cultivation realm was also far beyond his own. In the face of such an absolute difference in strength, he could only sigh helplessly. After ten days of life-and-death battles, he could now put up a fight against him, but the final result was still his own death. So, he warned himself that if he ever ran into him in the future, his first reaction should be to run. Before his own strength caught up, he absolutely could not be a hero.

What he didn’t notice was that during these ten days, Lan Yan had tirelessly carved the spirit stones and set up the formation for him, and the way she looked at him had become more and more strange. At the very least, the trace of contempt from before was gone. Although his strength was still not worth mentioning in her eyes, his diligence, his terrifying perseverance, and his Dao Heart had deeply impressed her.

On the morning of the eleventh day of his seclusion, after experiencing one hundred and fifty deaths and having made great strides in his strength, Qin Haoxuan walked out of his tent, his face unshaven. He was heading for the assembly hall, where the disciples who were going out to intercept the enemy that day were gathering.

Along the way, the Taichu disciples who saw him all looked at him with surprise. At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot, and a unique aura emanated from his body. It was very strange; they couldn’t put their finger on it, but they could feel that after his seclusion, he was even more terrifying than before.

In these ten days of seclusion, besides his combat power soaring and his body’s coordination reaching a terrifying state, he had also grown another leaf. He was now at the Eighth-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. However, thinking of the loss of fifteen thousand low third-grade spirit stones, he couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart.

By not experiencing death, one does not know the preciousness of life.