In the blink of an eye, several months had passed.
The scenery of the outer courtyard changed with the seasons, from the lush greenery of midsummer to the warm comfort of spring.
For these months, he had not slacked off for a single day, devoting himself day and night to honing his cultivation and refining his spells.
Qin Changsheng sat cross-legged on a futon, his eyes slightly closed. Within his dantian, spiritual energy surged and flowed like a rushing crimson stream. Compared to several months ago, not only had the quantity of spiritual energy increased several times, but its purity had also refined by more than one level.
As he slowly breathed in and out, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth continuously flowed into his body, merging into his dantian and nourishing his increasingly abundant spiritual energy.
After these months of arduous training, his cultivation had successfully broken through its shackles, steadily stepping into the third level of the Foundation Establishment stage, taking a crucial step on the path of cultivation.
Reaching the third level of Foundation Establishment brought not only a surge in spiritual power, but also a significant enhancement to his divine sense.
Now, Qin Changsheng's range of divine sense far surpasses that of other cultivators at the same level. With a mere thought, every blade of grass and every wisp of spiritual energy within the entire courtyard, and even within dozens of feet outside, can be clearly imprinted in his mind. Even the slightest detail—the morning dew rolling down a leaf, the ants crawling on the bluestone—is unmistakable.
This improvement in divine sense has made his control over spells increasingly precise, giving him more composure and confidence in both cultivation and combat.
His spell cultivation has also made breakthrough progress, riding the wave of his improved cultivation.
Thanks to the continuous support of the golden [Fire Spells] attribute within him, coupled with his tireless day and night practice, the Fire Serpent Technique and Fire Shield Technique, which he had only recently begun learning, have now both reached the Great Perfection stage.
If he were to activate the Fire Serpent Technique now, what would condense would no longer be a small fire serpent a foot long, but several giant, crimson serpents, each over ten feet long. Their scales were clearly defined, and their tongues of fire could scorch the air and incinerate metal and stone. Their power had increased several times over since his initial mastery, making them an extremely lethal attack method in his hands.
As for the Fire Shield Technique, after reaching its peak, it became even more formidable.
The condensed fire shield was not only larger and thicker, but the fire patterns on its surface were also increasingly intricate. Amidst the raging flames, it could withstand the impact of even mid-grade and high-grade Xuan-level magic weapons, and its burning power was increasingly terrifying.
Any attack that touched the fire shield would be engulfed and incinerated by the flames. Its defensive capabilities had reached a completely new level, far surpassing ordinary defensive spells.
Besides fire-based spells, Qin Changsheng's cultivation of the Sword Flight Technique had exceeded his expectations, reaching a state of perfection.
With a thought, the Black Wind Sword flew from his storage bag, hovering before him, its blade enveloped in a faint aura of spiritual energy.
Qin Changsheng lightly touched the ground with his toes, landing gracefully on the sword. Without conscious effort, the Black Wind Sword carried him slowly upwards, hovering steadily above the courtyard.
Qin Changsheng's gaze fell upon his attribute panel.
[Name: Qin Changsheng]
[Lifespan: 28/+∞]
[Cultivation Level: Foundation Establishment Stage 3 (4200/40000)]
[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Gathering Spirit Technique (Perfected)]
[Spells: Fire Serpent Technique (Great Success 5/10000), Fire Shield Technique (Great Success 300/10000)]
[Swift Wind Sword Technique: Perfected]
[Smoke Shadow Step: Perfected]
[Sword Flight Technique: Perfected]
[Spiritual Root: Top-Grade Five Spiritual Roots]
[Number of Attribute Draws: 1]
[Attributes: Cultivation, Storage Space, External Avatar, Immortality, Substitute Death, Concealment, Exchange, Sword Heart Clarity, Sharing, Intelligence, Source of Mana, Fire Spells, Rebirth]
However, the perfection of the Sword Flight Technique and the increase in cultivation were not what made Qin Changsheng happiest.
What made Qin Changsheng happiest was that today was the new year, and he could draw new attributes.
If he could draw a good attribute, Qin Changsheng's strength would be greatly enhanced.
"Draw!" Qin Changsheng took a deep breath and began the draw.
As Qin Changsheng's voice fell, golden lights appeared on the attribute panel.
After an unknown amount of time, the golden lights all dissipated, and several words appeared on the attribute panel.
[Rebirth: Golden Affix]
Looking at the word "Rebirth" on the attribute panel, Qin Changsheng's eyes were filled with joy.
The mere mention of "Rebirth" was enough to demonstrate its extraordinary nature.
Suppressing his elation, Qin Changsheng closed his eyes again, his mind sinking into his sea of consciousness, focusing intently on examining the specific characteristics of this "Rebirth" affix.
As his thoughts flowed in, the "Rebirth" affix slowly rotated, and three clear streams of information surged into his sea of consciousness like a tide, presenting the affix's characteristics and limitations to him without reservation.
[Rebirth, Golden Affix, 1. Rebirth: When facing fatal damage and near death, one can be reborn at the burial site of the Rebirth Stone, instantly healing all injuries.]
[2. Status Recovery: After rebirth, life force is reversed, restoring peak condition. Even if the dantian is shattered and spiritual meridians are severed, it can be perfectly repaired without any aftereffects, and all negative effects disappear.]
[Cooldown Time]: After the Rebirth affix is triggered, it will enter a cooldown period of one week. During the cooldown, the affix cannot be triggered again.
Qin Changsheng carefully studied this information, his elation growing stronger.
This Rebirth affix was practically a tailor-made life-saving trump card for him!
The path of cultivation is fraught with danger. In the future, he will have to face calamities and high-level demonic beasts, inevitably encountering fatal crises. The golden affix "Rebirth" is his life-saving measure; even on the verge of death, he can rely on this affix to reverse the tide and make a comeback.
Furthermore, no matter what negative effects he suffered in the future, he could commit suicide to dispel them.
As for the one-week cooldown period, Qin Changsheng felt no dissatisfaction.
Such an overpowered affix would seem illogical without a cooldown restriction. A one-week cooldown was already extremely lenient, allowing him ample time to prepare thoroughly, avoid unnecessary risks, and rationally plan his actions.
Qin Changsheng slowly opened his eyes and looked at a special stone in his hand.
He knew this stone was the Rebirth Stone, the golden affix.
After suffering a fatal death, Qin Changsheng would appear at the burial site of the Rebirth Stone.
"The burial site is crucial," Qin Changsheng murmured to himself, lost in thought.
He knew very well that the Rebirth Stone was the foundation of the Rebirth Scripture. Once the burial site was discovered or destroyed, the Rebirth Scripture would become completely ineffective, and his heaven-defying trump card would be lost.
Therefore, choosing a suitable burial location required that it be both hidden and safe, not easily detected by those in the cultivation world, and far from conflict, avoiding the impact of war, demonic beasts, and sectarian battles, in order to ensure long-term stability and keep the Rebirth Scripture always in a triggerable state.
As his thoughts raced, countless locations flashed through his mind.
The back mountain of the Heavenly Sword Sect? Although protected by the sect, it was also the center of the vortex of cultivation conflicts, far from a good choice; a hidden cave deep in the mountains?
Although temporarily concealed, high-level demonic beasts were now roaming everywhere, and the great calamity of heaven and earth was approaching. The mountains and forests were fraught with danger, and it was hard to guarantee that a powerful demonic beast or rogue cultivator wouldn't intrude and accidentally damage the Rebirth Stone;
A sect's courtyard? Too many people, too many eyes and ears, it's easy to attract covetous eyes, making it impossible to guarantee the safety of the Rebirth Stone.
He ruled out these locations one by one.
The burial site of the Rebirth Stone must meet one core condition: far from the conflicts of the cultivation world, secluded and safe, and able to remain for a long time, undisturbed by external factors.
The more remote, the further away from cultivation sects and powerful gathering places, the safer it is—this is Qin Changsheng's only principle.
Just then, a distant memory suddenly flooded his mind.
The western suburbs of Beihai County, Qin Changsheng's hometown.
That was his hometown, nestled in a secluded spot on the outskirts of Beihai County, far from the sphere of influence of cultivation sects and the deep mountains teeming with demonic beasts.
While it lacked the rich spiritual energy of the cultivation sects, it was peaceful and tranquil, rarely visited by cultivators.
Thinking this, Qin Changsheng made his decision.
That was undoubtedly the best choice for burying the Rebirth Stone!
It was far removed from all the conflicts of the cultivation world, unaffected by sectarian strife, undisturbed by high-level demonic beasts, and uncoveted by unscrupulous rogue cultivators. Secluded and safe, it perfectly matched all his requirements for a burial place.
Even if someone happened to pass through Beihai County, they would never imagine that a treasure would be buried in such an ordinary mortal's home.
After a moment's thought, Qin Changsheng decided to return to Beihai County and bury the Rebirth Stone there.
"Knock, knock, knock!" Just then, Qin Changsheng suddenly noticed someone knocking on the door of Hu Nan's courtyard.
Hearing the knocking, Qin Changsheng's divine sense immediately focused on Hu Nan.
The instant his senses landed on Hu Nan, Qin Changsheng discovered that standing outside the courtyard was Jiang Lijuan.
Although somewhat puzzled, Qin Changsheng still controlled Hu Nan to open the courtyard gate.