Chapter 44
Gu Fang gazed at the emerald-green, fist-sized divine fruit before him.
A surge of uncontrollable longing filled his heart, as if just consuming this fruit would grant him immense, heaven-defying power.
In an instant, Gu Fang could no longer suppress his inner urge and directly bit into the divine fruit.
As soon as the fist-sized fruit touched his saliva, it immediately transformed into a clear stream and flowed into his stomach.
"Boom!"
A surge of extremely powerful spiritual energy erupted, and the Vajra Body Tempering Technique began to circulate on its own, like a roaring river.
His five internal organs, which had not been fully tempered, were immediately refined to perfection in an instant.
Within just a few breaths, Gu Fang's cultivation surged from the late stage of organ refining to the consummate stage of organ refining.
Along with this, his cultivation level also soared from the late third grade to the consummate third grade!
"I actually broke through!"
A look of surprise flashed in Gu Fang's eyes; he hadn't expected the breakthrough to be so swift, smoother than taking a breakthrough elixir, with no dangers or setbacks.
The surging power within him clearly indicated that he had broken through the shackles of the late third grade.
Successfully advancing to the consummate third grade.
Such cultivation made him a top figure within the entire alliance.
Soon after, Lu Qingyang saw that the incense smoke around Gu Fang had grown significantly.
...
[Name: Gu Fang]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation Level: Consummate Third Grade]
[Devotion Level: Devout Follower]
...
"It's done!"
Seeing the words "Devout Follower," Lu Qingyang couldn't help but smile and nod.
He had specifically summoned Gu Fang to make him use the power of the Celestial Spirit Fruit to advance from a fervent follower to a devout follower.
Everything had progressed just as Lu Qingyang had anticipated.
After consuming the Celestial Spirit Fruit and breaking through, Gu Fang had indeed advanced to a devout follower.
In reality,
The number of devout followers under Lu Qingyang was very small, even though he had more than twenty million followers.
Becoming a devout follower was extremely rare, with only one in a million meeting the criteria, demonstrating the strict standards for devout followers.
Moreover,
A devout follower with consummate third-grade cultivation was very likely to break through to the fourth grade in the future.
"Third-grade followers contribute one hundred incense points daily, while fourth-grade followers can provide a thousand incense points. A fourth-grade devout follower can contribute over three hundred thousand incense points in a year. In other words, one devout follower is worth as much as hundreds of thousands of ordinary followers!"
Understanding the value of devout followers, Lu Qingyang had not hesitated to expend his cultivation resources to condense a Celestial Spirit Fruit, aiding Gu Fang in his breakthrough.
On the other side,
Having successfully broken through after consuming the Celestial Spirit Fruit, Gu Fang's faith in Lu Qingyang became even firmer, without a trace of doubt.
"Thank you, Celestial Tree, for bestowing the divine fruit that allowed me to break through. If the Celestial Tree has any commands, Gu Fang will not hesitate to carry them out, even unto death!"
"Enhancing your cultivation is also for the righteousness of the world. With your consummate third-grade cultivation and the Vajra Technique, you are now capable of contending with fourth-grade beasts. Go forth, lead humanity to eradicate the beasts and explore the gate to the other world!"
Lu Qingyang said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Gu Fang respectfully bowed and then solemnly departed.
Lu Qingyang watched Gu Fang's departing figure, knowing that under Gu Fang's leadership, the day of humanity's resurgence was near.
Although fourth-grade beasts were equivalent in strength to fourth-grade cultivators,
They were slightly inferior when facing accomplished cultivators.
The reason was that beasts did not know how to fully harness their power.
Much like the indigenous barbarian cultivators of this world, who, despite having power, lacked systematic cultivation methods,
How could they compare to cultivators who mastered systematic cultivation techniques?
Even though there was a grade difference between consummate third-grade cultivators and fourth-grade beasts, with the right techniques, their mastery over their own power was highly refined. In a confrontation, the former might not necessarily be inferior to the latter.
Then,
Lu Qingyang once again examined his own data interface.
...
[Name: Lu Qingyang]
[True Form: Celestial Tree]
[Lifespan: 16/]
[Cultivation Level: Early Fourth Grade (/)]
[Heavenly Court: Third Grade (/)]
[Abilities: Celestial Tree Spirit Root (Fourth Grade), Celestial Spirit Fruit (Fourth Grade), Celestial Whisper (Fourth Grade), Penetrating True Sight (Fourth Grade), Heavenly Court Domain (Fourth Grade), Command Wind and Rain (Fourth Grade)]
...
"Just forty thousand cultivation points away from breaking through to the mid-fourth grade. As for the ten billion incense points needed for the fourth-grade Heavenly Court, it's still a long way off, and I can only make plans for the next settlement."
Forty thousand cultivation points, though not easy, were not unattainable.
Especially now that humanity was fully counterattacking the beasts, Lu Qingyang could harvest a large number of cultivation points every day.
If not for the diminishing returns from lower-grade beasts as his cultivation increased, he might have already broken through to the mid-fourth grade.
Even advancing to the mid-fifth grade would not be impossible.
However,
No matter what,
Lu Qingyang was confident he could achieve a breakthrough to the mid-fourth grade within a few months.
Once he advanced to the mid-fourth grade, his cultivation strength would increase significantly, giving him greater confidence to face the potential invasion from another world.
At this moment,
A powerful aura suddenly emerged from the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Lu Qingyang cast his gaze towards the source of the aura, seeing that the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth was converging madly upon an ancient tree, causing its trunk to grow visibly.
"The Wanqing Ancient Tree is about to break through!"
Lu Qingyang's heart relaxed slightly, then he felt a surge of joy.
First, Gu Fang had advanced to a devout follower, and now the Wanqing Ancient Tree was crossing into the third grade. It was indeed a double blessing.
Immediately,
Lu Qingyang mobilized the surrounding spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth to assist the Wanqing Ancient Tree in breaking through more smoothly.
Sure enough,
With the infusion of spiritual energy, the Wanqing Ancient Tree's breakthrough speed greatly accelerated. In less than half a day, it was already exuding the aura of a third-grade being.
"Thank you, Celestial Tree, for your help in allowing me to break through to the third grade!"
The voice of the Wanqing Ancient Tree was filled with utmost respect.
Lu Qingyang responded, "No need for words. You have just broken through to the third grade, and your foundation is not yet stable. The urgent task is to solidify your foundation to prevent the danger of a realm drop."
"I will heed your guidance!"
The Wanqing Ancient Tree replied and immediately began to stabilize its newly acquired foundation as described in the secret technique.
While the Wanqing Ancient Tree focused on its cultivation, Lu Qingyang turned his attention to the other ancient trees.
Since the opening of the third-grade Heavenly Court, he had been able to cultivate third-grade top-tier techniques.
He had imparted these techniques to each ancient tree, along with a matching top-tier cultivation method.
Now that the Wanqing Ancient Tree had broken through with the help of the technique, Lu Qingyang believed the other ancient trees would not be far behind in their breakthroughs.
Once all the ancient trees had advanced, he would not only have more third-grade devout followers but also significantly enhance the foundation of the Ten Thousand Heavenly Court, making it even more robust.
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