Chapter 10: The Power of the Origin Saint

"Ding! Congratulations, host, your cultivation has reached Martial Master!"

"Ding! Cultivation requirement met, Nine Saints Returning Origin Technique begins automatic comprehension."

The system's prompt sounded in his ear.

While Xiao Yang was still stunned, the comprehension was already complete.

"Ding! Acquired the Power of the Source Saint!"

"Ding! Mountain Saint's power advanced to the second level!"

A long time passed before Xiao Yang finally came to his senses.

After half a day, he managed to utter a single sentence.

"Ten thousand times talent, simply incredible!"

He felt nothing, yet the technique had been fully comprehended for him.

Such talent was truly overwhelming!

With a thought, he opened the attribute panel for the Power of the Source Saint.

Name: Power of the Source Saint [First Layer]
Trait: Refines internal energy thirty-fold
Description: The Power of the Source Saint has nine layers; every three layers grant a special ability.

After reading the information, Xiao Yang had some insights into the Nine Saints Returning Origin Technique.

These nine saints must correspond to nine types of enhancement effects.

Mountain Saint is for strength, Source Saint is for internal energy, but the others remain a mystery.

"But what does refining internal energy thirty-fold actually mean?"

A hint of confusion flashed in Xiao Yang's eyes.

At that moment, he felt a sudden change within his dantian.

This was the foundation of cultivation; Xiao Yang dared not be careless and quickly focused to sense the changes.

"Damn!"

When he realized what was happening, he couldn't help but curse aloud.

He now understood what the Power of the Source Saint truly was.

His internal energy sphere, originally the size of a basketball, was now smaller than a fist.

In essence, it was compressed, and compressed again.

Until it reached thirty times compression.

Now, his internal energy sphere was only the size of an egg.

"Good grief! Is this for real? I used nearly thirty Gathering Qi Pills!"

Though it was a good thing, Xiao Yang couldn't bring himself to smile.

He had just spent nearly thirty pills to barely reach the bottleneck of Martial Master, first layer.

Now, thanks to this, he would have to cultivate internal energy all over again.

And judging by the current standard, to reach the second layer of Martial Master, he would need about three hundred Gathering Qi Pills.

He took a deep breath.

Three hundred thousand taels of silver for a single level.

Even a family with a mine wouldn't squander resources like this.

This was only the first layer of Martial Master; there were nine layers ahead.

To become a Grand Martial Master, he would need at least three million points of investment.

Three million shining taels of silver!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yang felt a pang of bitterness.

His cultivation consumed far too many resources.

Even an inner sect disciple only received a monthly stipend of one thousand taels.

Raising a single realm would take two or three years.

Xiao Yang simply didn't have that much time—he must find another shortcut.

"Sigh! I'll just take it one step at a time."

He didn't bother thinking further.

Name: Power of the Mountain Saint [Second Layer]
Trait: Increases host's strength six-fold [Passive]
Description: The Power of the Mountain Saint has nine layers; every three layers grant a special ability

After glancing at the upgraded Mountain Saint power, nothing else had changed, except the strength boost had doubled.

Now, his physical strength was terrifying, enough to crush cultivators of the same realm.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

Suddenly, Chicken Tyrant ran over.

Flapping its wings, it bit Xiao Yang's clothes and tugged him outside.

"What's happened?"

He looked on in confusion but got up and walked outside nonetheless.

Meanwhile, he didn't forget to learn the Flame Palm.

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

Xiao Yang was dragged by Chicken Tyrant, deeper into the Ten Thousand Insect Cavern.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

Chicken Tyrant was calling anxiously.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yang couldn't understand chicken language.

"Fine, I'll go with you, stop pulling."

In the end, he could only helplessly agree.

Upon hearing this, Chicken Tyrant immediately released him and dashed deeper into the cavern, calling all the while.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck~!"

"Cluck, cluck, cluck~!"

Seeing Chicken Tyrant's figure about to disappear, Xiao Yang had no choice but to follow.

He was curious what the creature had discovered to be so excited.

He kept close behind.

With Chicken Tyrant leading the way, any poisonous insects that dared to show themselves were devoured as snacks.

"What exactly did you find?"

They walked for over half an hour, yet the cavern showed no sign of ending.

This surprised Xiao Yang.

Meanwhile, Chicken Tyrant's cultivation advanced another level, reaching the ninth layer of Minor Demon.

This made Xiao Yang quite envious of a chicken.

Why could it level up simply by devouring, while he had to spend vast sums to buy pills for each advance?

It wasn't fair!

Of course, such thoughts could only be kept in his heart.

Xiao Yang wasn't about to resent his own battle beast.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

Suddenly, Chicken Tyrant stopped.

Its feathers quivered slightly, entering battle mode.

Xiao Yang snapped out of his wandering thoughts and grew alert, scanning his surroundings.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

A faint scraping sound reached his ears.

He quickly turned his head.

Immediately, Xiao Yang felt his scalp tingle.

Dozens of centipedes, each as thick as a finger, were crawling toward him.

Before he could act, Chicken Tyrant had already charged in, flapping its wings.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

He could tell the chicken was excited.

Each centipede was devoured in a few bites.

Xiao Yang realized Chicken Tyrant was ruthless in suppressing poisonous insects.

These centipedes all had the strength of Minor Demon, sixth or seventh layer.

Yet before Chicken Tyrant, they couldn't last a single round.

In a few pecks, each was killed.

The fierce swarm, so intimidating at first, was defeated in an instant.

Within ten breaths, some centipedes tried to escape.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

Chicken Tyrant was frantic.

These centipedes were nourishing treasures for it.

Each one consumed boosted its cultivation.

"I'll help you!"

Feeling awkward to just watch, Xiao Yang stepped in.

One stride.

Internal energy surged outward, forming several fists.

He smashed at the centipedes.

Knowing these were Chicken Tyrant's rations, he didn't strike too hard.

He simply stunned them, leaving their bodies intact.

Already a one-sided massacre, with Xiao Yang's addition, it became a slaughter.

Dozens of centipedes lasted only twenty or so breaths before being wiped out.

Chicken Tyrant feasted heartily.

Centipedes twenty or thirty centimeters long were devoured like spicy snacks.

Slurp, slurp, they disappeared into its belly.

When all the centipedes were gone, Chicken Tyrant burped contentedly.

"Burp!"

Xiao Yang felt a twinge of jealousy.

The chicken had broken through again.

Its cultivation reached the tenth layer of Minor Demon.

One more advancement, and it would be a Demon Master, matching Xiao Yang's realm.

He truly envied the beast's ability to level up by eating.

It wouldn't be long before Chicken Tyrant became a Demon Master.

Thinking of himself, cultivating to Martial Master, second layer, seemed a distant dream.

Three hundred Gathering Qi Pills!

Unless he resorted to robbery, it was nearly impossible to gather them in a short time.

Suddenly, Chicken Tyrant's body began to tremble rhythmically.

A fierce battle intent radiated from it, and its eyes fixed intently on the deeper reaches of the Ten Thousand Insect Cavern.