Early the next morning.
Just as the sky was starting to brighten, Chen Ye left Cangli Courtyard alone. Transforming into an inconspicuous escape light, he headed to a secluded valley behind the Lingyin Sect.
This place, known as Suixing Valley, was specially set up by the sect as a ground for cultivators to test their divine abilities and practice magical treasures.
The valley was filled with jagged rocks, and surrounded by a high-tier defense array, which not only isolated divine sense detection from the outside but also had a reinforced geology, enough to withstand the full force attack of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was still early; the valley was silent and empty.
Chen Ye stood solemnly before a three-zhang-tall black-gold testing stone.
He reached out and patted the storage bag at his waist.
"Come out."
A flash of black light passed by.
Qingzhi silently landed in front of Chen Ye.
It stood there quietly, with a profound iron mask covering its face, eyes burning with intense spiritual flame, exuding an extraordinary aura.
It was a head taller than Chen Ye.
Its body was forged entirely with upper-grade second-tier materials, combined with Chen Ye’s Limit Break Hundred Refining Technique and Jin’er’s divine fire tempering, the material strength of this puppet had reached an astonishing level.
Chen Ye was confident that, unless a fake pill-level cultivator took action, it would be extremely difficult for ordinary people to damage Qingzhi.
No...
Even a fake pill cultivator would have to exhaust numerous means to destroy Qingzhi.
Chen Ye had full confidence in its defense but was unsure about its offensive capabilities.
"Go, attack that testing stone with full strength."
With a thought, Chen Ye issued the command.
As soon as the command was given, there was a loud "boom."
All that was left was a shattered afterimage, and even a piercing sonic boom echoed in the air!
It was too fast!
So fast that even Chen Ye’s sixth-layer divine sense could barely capture a blurry human figure.
This was a puppet crafted with a Nascent Soul remnant as its core!
In the next instant.
Qingzhi had already appeared before the massive black-gold testing stone, and its arm, covered with fine dragon scale patterns, smashed down with force!
Thud!!!
An incredibly deep sound exploded within the valley, like a giant hammer striking a drum, causing pebbles to fall from the surrounding mountain walls.
Chen Ye looked closely.
He saw that the black-gold testing stone, which was said to withstand the full attack of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, was now trembling violently, and where Qingzhi’s fist landed, there was actually a half-foot-deep fist mark!
It must be noted that this was purely physical strength, without utilizing any techniques!
"What terrifying explosive power... With just its physical capabilities, it’s enough to contend with an ordinary eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator!"
A trace of amazement flashed in Chen Ye’s eyes,
"Infused with true dragon blood and scales, combined with upper-grade second-tier spiritual materials, this body’s hardness and power have exceeded the usual puppet category. Even a body cultivator specializing in physical enhancement, using their full divine abilities, is at this level."
But this wasn’t all.
With a change of hand seal:
"Technique test, Dragon Flame!"
Upon hearing this, the flames in Qingzhi’s golden pupils surged dramatically.
Roar——
A low, lengthy sound seemed to echo in the air.
Soon after, golden spiritual flames spurted out from Qingzhi’s mouth, covering a range of ten zhang ahead.
This flame wasn’t an ordinary spiritual fire, but a pseudo-dragon breath fused with Jin’er’s divine fire characteristics and a true dragon’s aura!
Crackle——
The ground engulfed by the flames instantly blackened and vitrified.
The once hard testing stone, under the incineration of Dragon Flame, began to redden and soften at a visibly observable rate.
"It matches the destructive power of a late Foundation Establishment period, roughly equivalent to a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment technique."
Chen Ye made a precise judgment, feeling assured.
He continued testing.
About a two-hour period later, he suddenly noticed that after a series of high-intensity bursts, the golden spiritual flame in Qingzhi’s eyes had visibly dimmed.
"Stop."
Chen Ye stepped forward, and with his divine sense, probed Qingzhi’s core.
The core, once radiant and colorful, was now faintly glowing, slowly absorbing the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual qi for self-recovery.
"As expected..."
Chen Ye slightly raised his eyebrows, having anticipated this,
"Everything in the world has its balance. Having explosive power comparable to the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment requires paying a corresponding price."
After extrapolation, Chen Ye had arrived at an accurate figure:
"With Qingzhi’s current energy reserve, if engaged in high-intensity combat, it can last at most one two-hour period."
"After that, its strength will sharply decline until its core goes dormant."
"If relying on its self-absorption of heaven and earth spiritual qi for recovery, it would take at least three months to fully restore."
Three months.
For a powerful weapon, this cooldown period is undoubtedly too long.
In the ever-changing cultivation realm, a three-month gap would be enough for many things to happen.
"However..."
Chen Ye reversed his hand to take out a handful of spirit stones, directly inserting them into the groove of Qingzhi’s chest.
The spirit stones turned to powder, and pure spiritual power poured into the core.
The golden flame in Qingzhi’s eyes flickered again, noticeably accelerating its recovery speed.
"Tsk, it would probably take hundreds of spirit stones to expedite Qingzhi’s recovery. Moreover, this can only restore its spiritual power; if the body is damaged, it would still take a considerably long time to slowly self-repair."
Chen Ye felt a bit distressed.
Fortunately, Qingzhi’s strength exceeded his expectations.
As for these minor issues, in front of Qingzhi’s strength, they were all insignificant.
"As long as I don’t provoke any Golden Core stage old monsters, I can walk with ease..."
Chen Ye thought to himself.
...
When he returned to the courtyard, the sun was already high.
He originally thought he would hear Qing Jun’s clamorous voice asking for food, but unexpectedly, the courtyard was quietly silent.