The Glory of the Tribe-Chapter 74

A sudden wave of coolness at his brow saved him! It revived him for a moment—this was his willpower! Jiang Xuan’s breathing rhythm also shifted in that instant, and he became acutely aware of his own existence.

The Ruyi Breathing Technique was also "saving him."

Chen Yuanxuan stood at the edge of the open space, watching from a distance.

She saw Jiang Xuan unsheathe his sword and swing it, releasing a murderous intent that shocked her. But when the sword light passed through the thin old man’s figure, it caused no harm.

The Lord of Flying Snow City stood there, not even bothering to raise a hand.

"Not to mention the Innate realm, even if Lord Lei Hong were to use his full strength, he wouldn’t be able to force the City Lord to act or break the situation. Gods and demons are higher beings capable of freely manipulating the time and space around them. Any attack from a mortal, no matter the form, would be useless against a god or demon." Chen Yuanxuan thought to herself, "Moreover, distorting time and space is just one of the basic techniques of gods and demons. Only a god or demon can harm or kill another god or demon."

Though Chen Yuanxuan was only in the Innate realm, the Chen family had countless ancient texts, some of which detailed information about gods and demons, and Chen Yuanxuan had read them all.

After swinging the sword, Jiang Xuan seemed to freeze.

He stood there, motionless.

But blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Chen Yuanxuan immediately noticed something was wrong with Jiang Xuan. She quickly transmitted her voice to Lei Hong, "Lord! Why is my husband injured?"

"He injured himself. He used all his Innate energy without regard for the consequences and unleashed that strike, causing internal injuries. No need to worry," Lei Hong replied.

"Then... why isn’t he moving?" Chen Yuanxuan asked again.

"The City Lord wants to test not only his current strength but also his willpower, which is critical for his future cultivation," Lei Hong transmitted. "So, the City Lord has used a method to show Jiang Xuan illusions and force him to endure the pressure of the gods and demons... This kind of method is easy to get lost in for mortals, and if they do get lost, they will faint."

"The longer Jiang Xuan holds on, the stronger his willpower will be."

"How long must he endure to pass the test?" Chen Yuanxuan asked.

"Ten breaths," Lei Hong replied.

Chen Yuanxuan’s heart filled with joy. It had already been nearly ten breaths; even if Jiang Xuan collapsed now, he had already passed!

Ten breaths passed.

Twenty breaths passed.

Forty breaths passed.

Lei Hong’s expression began to change, growing increasingly uneasy! Jiang Xuan was enduring far more than expected?! This was terrifying willpower!

Even the Lord of Flying Snow City showed a trace of surprise.

Jiang Xuan felt as if he were on the verge of collapse. He saw the Jiang Clan’s Earth City, now a river of blood.

He saw a beast carrying his father’s severed body casually walking towards him. He saw his mother committing suicide in despair, and his sister, forced into marriage and cruelly abused...

Scenes kept flashing in front of him, spinning in the air, constantly shifting and repeating, growing more and more brutal!

The Lord of Flying Snow City didn’t care to understand Jiang Xuan.

Nor did he need to.

He had merely uncovered Jiang Xuan’s deepest fears! The more Jiang Xuan feared something, the more vividly he would see it. As time passed, the pressure of the gods and demons grew stronger, and Jiang Xuan’s ability to think and discern the truth weakened. Eventually, he could no longer tell reality from illusion.

It was like a nightmare.

Only after waking from a nightmare does one realize it was a nightmare.

The City Lord’s technique didn’t aim for awakening—it was meant to cause Jiang Xuan to faint!

Sixty breaths!

Eighty breaths!

One hundred breaths!

At his breaking point, Jiang Xuan felt an explosive "boom" in his mind, as if his very soul were being shattered! In that moment, neither his willpower nor the effects of the Ruyi Breathing Technique could keep his mind clear.

But just as Jiang Xuan was about to faint, he suddenly felt something "tear" within his consciousness!

It was as if his destroyed will had undergone a transformation!

An unprecedented feeling of clarity surged through him, and he suddenly snapped back to awareness in the real world!

Jiang Xuan and the Lord of Flying Snow City locked eyes, and his vision suddenly cleared.

"Ha..." Jiang Xuan sighed deeply, filled with emotion. "Gods and demons are indeed terrifying! Their methods go beyond my comprehension. No matter how strong a mortal is—even the strongest Heavenly Tribulation cultivators—no matter how many there are, they couldn’t harm a god or demon in the slightest."

The Lord of Flying Snow City looked at him in shock.

"You’re awake?" he asked.

"City Lord!" Jiang Xuan cupped his hands and bowed respectfully. "I’ve only just woken up. I’m unsure if I’ve passed your test?"

The Lord of Flying Snow City stared at Jiang Xuan for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Hahaha! Not only have you passed, you should have fainted! To be able to wake up like this! At such a young age, to have such terrifying willpower! Excellent! Excellent!"

"Ah Hong! You have great insight!" The Lord of Flying Snow City even turned to praise Lei Hong.

Compared to the City Lord’s joy, Lei Hong was stunned.

He woke up?!

Although it was just a small method of the gods and demons, even Lei Hong himself, in the same situation, wouldn’t dare say he could wake up from the Lord of Flying Snow City’s gaze. Fainting was the normal outcome.

"Not bad! Very good! This kind of willpower shows that you’re a determined and hardworking person. When you face the trial of the Heart Demon in the future, it will be a little easier for you."

The Lord of Flying Snow City continued, "I officially declare you the 'Strongest Innate of Flying Snow City.' When the Innate rankings are updated next month, your name will be at the top! Your name will spread for ten thousand miles! According to the rules, I should reward you with cultivation resources, and Ah Hong mentioned... you need a treasure that contains easily refined energy?"

"Yes, City Lord," Jiang Xuan replied.

"Mm..." The Lord of Flying Snow City pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, summoning a box about a foot in length and width from thin air. He tossed it to Jiang Xuan. "Here."

Jiang Xuan caught the black box.

Chen Yuanxuan immediately recognized that the box was made from the extremely valuable Falling Star Black Wood. Making a box of this size probably cost fifty thousand mid-grade yuan crystals.

Just the box itself was extremely precious!

Jiang Xuan opened the box, and inside was... a stone?

It was about the size of a human head, oval but not perfectly round, with irregular cracks. It looked like a particularly large yellow-brown pebble!

Its texture was incredibly ordinary.

And it had no aura.

"The Heavenly Spirit Essence Stone," the Lord of Flying Snow City said. "When you cultivate, hold this in both hands or embrace it, and you can use your energy to refine it."

Lei Hong looked at the Lord of Flying Snow City in shock.

He hadn’t expected the City Lord to give such an invaluable reward!

Chen Yuanxuan was even more stunned. She thought to herself, "Innate Saint-grade!"

"Saint-grade" referred to the best cultivation resources within a realm, including Innate Saint-grade, Heavenly Tribulation Saint-grade, and God Demon Saint-grade items!

The Heavenly Spirit Essence Stone was an Innate Saint-grade item!

It was one of the best treasures for cultivating in the Innate realm! It allowed Innate cultivators to increase their cultivation speed far faster than using high-quality yuan crystals. Its efficiency was more than ten times that of top-grade yuan crystals. Even the Chen family, with their thousands of years of history, had never had one!

This was something you couldn’t buy, even if you tried. Only gods or demon families with extraordinary geniuses could use such a treasure.

"This is an Innate Saint-grade item. You should thank the City Lord," Lei Hong reminded.

"Thank you, City Lord!" Jiang Xuan quickly bowed, his heart filled with excitement. He had heard of Innate Saint-grade items from Senior Qi Shi.

"No need for formalities! Hahaha!" The Lord of Flying Snow City was clearly in a great mood. Giving away an Innate Saint-grade item as a reward wasn’t a big deal for him.

Afterward, the Lord of Flying Snow City gave Jiang Xuan some encouraging words and urged him to continue cultivating.

Then, he and Lei Hong vanished.

In the exquisite courtyard.

"What’s going on with Jiang Xuan and Chen Yuanxuan?" the thin old man suddenly appeared, asking Lei Hong.

"They’re mutually in love," Lei Hong replied. "You’ve seen Jiang Xuan’s talent, and for Chen Yuanxuan to have chosen him... I thought it was strange at first, but now it seems they’re a good match. However, the Chen family doesn’t know about it yet. They secretly married. The Chen family wouldn’t allow Chen Yuanxuan to marry out, so she had to find a way to bring in a son-in-law. But Jiang Xuan protects his tribe and can’t enter her family. There’s an irreconcilable contradiction between them..."

"Mm." The thin old man nodded.

"By the way, my lord, about Jiang Xuan and the Wei family..." Lei Hong then began to report the details of Jiang Xuan’s relationship with the Wei family to the Lord of Flying Snow City.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Jiang Xuan entered secluded cultivation again.

This time, he was focused on cultivating his technique, using the Innate Saint-grade Heavenly Spirit Essence Stone instead of top-grade yuan crystals for his training!

"The refining speed of an Innate Saint-grade item is more than ten times that of top-grade yuan crystals. Ten times is just an approximation. The actual refining speed depends on the practitioner’s talent and realm! The refining speed of someone in the early Innate realm will differ greatly from that of someone in the late Innate realm! And after refining, how quickly the energy is absorbed and integrated also depends on talent and realm!"

"However, my technique, Black Abyss Gong, already allows me to rapidly refine and consume resources, speeding up my cultivation! The higher the energy quality, the easier it is to refine, and my realm will advance faster!"

"Perhaps... I can break through to the peak of the Innate realm this time!" Jiang Xuan wasn’t sure, but he decided to try!

He aimed to directly reach the peak of the Innate realm!

In the back mountains, Jiang Xuan, holding the human-sized Heavenly Spirit Essence Stone, entered a state of meditation.