352: Chapter 352 How Could I Have Been Deceived?

Upon the high platform, Shen Guhong's expression tightened slightly, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

At this moment, Shen Guhong clearly approved of the earth grade high-rank longsword.

In the next instant, Shen Hu suddenly raised his hand and swung the longsword in his hand fiercely!

A streak of Sword Qi, condensed to the extreme, erupted from the edge of the longsword, carrying a world-destroying Pressure like a great white dragon as it hurtled toward the group of wooden stakes on one side of the martial arts arena.

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, the air was torn apart, letting out a piercing shriek, and even the surrounding Spiritual Qi was stirred into a chaotic mess.

"Boom—!" With a loud crash, the Sword Qi slammed into the wooden stakes and instantly exploded.

Countless zhang-high wooden stakes collapsed at the impact, wood chips flying and scattering like a rainstorm; the originally neatly arranged stakes were leveled to the ground in an instant.

But the power of the Sword Qi did not stop, continuing its impact toward the ground. With another loud bang, the hard black iron ground was forcibly torn open, and a bottomless pit several hundred zhang long appeared. The walls of the pit were smooth, radiating a sharp residual Sword Qi that made one's heart tremble with fear.

The martial arts arena fell into silence, leaving only the howling sound of the residual Sword Qi's devastation.

Shen Guhong stood with his hands behind his back, a satisfied smile on his face and his eyes full of praise.

The power of these two earth grade high-rank Magical Artifacts far exceeded his expectations. With these two artifacts, the combat power of the Yao Race would surely increase significantly.

"The power of this earth grade high-rank is truly too strong!"

"Our Yao Race finally has a decent Magical Artifact!"

"Shen Hu did a good job this time!"

"Two useless secret methods exchanged for two High Grade Magical Artifacts!"

Many experts of the Yao Race nodded one after another.

At this moment, they highly approved of Shen Hu using two useless secret methods to Exchange for two powerful Magical Artifacts.

Shen Hu gripped the longsword in his hand, his face full of smugness.

Just then, a clear and piercing "crack—" sound suddenly broke the liveliness and admiration of the martial arts arena.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it was exceptionally abrupt and clear in the silent arena, instantly drawing the gaze of everyone present.

Everyone subconsciously looked toward Shen Hu's hand.

They saw that the earth grade high-rank longsword, which had just been radiating a cold spiritual light and erupting with terrifying power, was now covered in fine cracks. The cracks spread quickly like a spiderweb, and the originally brilliant spiritual light instantly dimmed, the sharp Pressure dissipating along with it.

Before anyone could react, there were a few more soft "crack" sounds. The cracks completely split open, and the entire longsword instantly shattered into countless tiny fragments, slipping from Shen Hu's hand and clattering onto the black iron ground. It no longer looked like an earth grade high-rank Magical Artifact; it was just a pile of scrap metal without a trace of Spiritual Qi.

"Impossible!" Shen Hu's whole body shook, and he shook his head violently, his voice full of disbelief and trembling slightly.

He hurriedly let go, staring at the fragments on the ground, leaning forward slightly with eyes full of panic and confusion.

"This is impossible! I appraised it myself; this was clearly a genuine earth grade high-rank Magical Artifact. How could it shatter after just one use?!"

He crouched down, his hand trembling as he picked up a fragment.

No matter what, he couldn't believe that the earth grade high-rank Magical Artifact he had exchanged two secret methods for was so fragile that it shattered completely after being activated only once.

One must know that he had appraised it not only during the Exchange,

but had also looked at it for a long time on the way back.

He simply couldn't see a single flaw.

On the high platform, the satisfied smile on Shen Guhong's face instantly froze.

He hadn't expected such a result either.

Just now, he had witnessed the power of the Sword Qi with his own eyes and personally sensed the thick aura of the artifact, confirming it was a true earth grade high-rank Magical Artifact. Yet he never imagined it would be so fragile, shattering completely after a single activation.

This didn't just mean they had lost two Golden Core Upgrade Secret Methods; it felt as if they had been toyed with, causing him to lose all face. The anger and suspicion in his heart were instantly ignited.

One should know that Shen Guhong had planned to sell these two earth grade high-rank Magical Artifacts for some Spirit Stones to use as military pay for the Yao Race warriors on the front lines.

"Uncle Hu, look at that earth grade high-rank spiritual jade!" Shen Bing hurriedly spoke up.

"Right, right, there's also the jade!" Shen Hu hurriedly picked up the jade from not far away.

However, as soon as Shen Hu infused Spiritual Qi into the spiritual jade, it shattered as well.

"No..."

"Impossible!"

"This can't be real!" Shen Hu suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at the fragments on the ground.

Just as his voice fell, he suddenly clutched his chest and arched his body. With a "poof," a mouthful of crimson blood sprayed from the corner of his mouth, splashing onto the black iron ground.

He simply couldn't accept this fact.

All along the way, he had been filled with joy, thinking he had performed a great service, only to discover in the end that he had not only been scammed but had also lost the Yao Race's ancestral secret methods for nothing.

Furthermore, he had completely lost face in front of Shen Guhong and the many Yao Race experts.

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Shen Hu's aura instantly withered, his face as pale as paper.

He staggered, trying to stand up, but his legs gave way and he slumped back onto the ground. His eyes were unfocused, and he kept muttering repeatedly: "It's not fake... it can't be fake... I appraised it myself..."

On the high platform, Shen Guhong's face was terrifyingly dark as he watched Shen Hu spitting blood and breaking down in such a state.

"Someone, take Shen Hu away!" Shen Guhong shouted.

"As you command!" Soon, two Yao Race Cultivators hurried over and took Shen Hu away.

...

The days of Cultivation passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a year had quietly slipped away.

Inside the Cave-Heaven Blessed Land, the Spiritual Qi remained as thick as mist, the spiritual springs gurgled, and the spiritual trees were lush, quiet and peaceful.

Over this past year, Qin Changsheng had never stepped out of the Cave-Heaven Blessed Land. He cast aside all distractions and devoted his entire mind and soul to Cultivation.

On one hand, he followed the Golden Core Upgrade Secret Method to polish his Purple Core Foundation and absorb the pure Spiritual Qi within the cave-heaven to steadily improve his Cultivation;

On the other hand, he concentrated on comprehending the secret technique that burned Lifespan to boost his Cultivation Techniques, day after day, never stopping.

At first, he had to carefully control the operation of the secret technique, familiarizing himself with the connection between Lifespan burning and technique amplification, fearing any mistakes. But

as his Cultivation deepened, his understanding of the secret technique became more and more thorough. Combined with his Immortality trait, his Lifespan was infinite, so he had no need to fear depletion, making his Cultivation very smooth.

Bitter Cultivation day after day finally yielded rewards.

On this day, within the Cave-Heaven Blessed Land, the purple spiritual light around Qin Changsheng suddenly surged. An aura far more profound than before erupted from his body as the spiritual mist churned and Spiritual Qi gathered. The Purple Core within his Dantian became more and more solid, with runes flowing on its surface, emitting a brilliant luster.

His Cultivation finally broke through the Bottleneck, successfully stepping into the third level of the golden core Realm!

Qin Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp spiritual light flashing within them. With a wave of his hand, a thick surge of spiritual power gushed out, swirling around him. Feeling the power within his body that far exceeded the past, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

With a Cultivation at the third level of the golden core and the powerful Foundation of the Purple Core, his combat strength had achieved a qualitative leap.

What made him even more joyful was that after this year of concentrated study, he had also practiced the secret technique of burning Lifespan to boost Cultivation Techniques to the level of Perfection. It was now effortless to operate, and he no longer needed to consciously control it to precisely burn Lifespan and amplify his techniques.

Qin Changsheng did not hesitate for a moment; with a thought, he activated the power of the secret technique.

An invisible power of Lifespan slowly seeped out from his body, turning into a faint spiritual light that merged into every wisp of spiritual power around him.

He was not stingy and directly burned one thousand five hundred years of Lifespan. According to the rules of the secret technique, he amplified the power of all his ten-plus Cultivation Techniques and Spells by thirty percent.

Instantly, the aura around him surged again. The sharpness of his offensive Spells, the heaviness of his defensive techniques, and the subtlety of his auxiliary techniques all improved significantly. Even a casual movement seemed to carry a world-destroying Pressure.

Qin Changsheng felt the surging power within his body, his eyes full of satisfaction. This year of bitter Cultivation had not been in vain after all.

But even breaking through to the third level of the golden core and having all his techniques amplified by thirty percent was not what made Qin Changsheng the happiest.

He raised his hand to brush away the spiritual light around him and looked up at the sky of the Cave-Heaven Blessed Land, his eyes flashing with anticipation and urgency.

Today was a new year, and he could draw a new Golden Trait again!

He had long since experienced the power of Golden Traits.

[Lifespan: 50+∞]

[Cultivation: Golden Core Level 3 (100/1,000,000)]

[Golden Core Grade: Purple Core]

[Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Returning Origin Art (Perfection)]

[Vajra Body Refining Art: Perfection]

[Spells: Fire Snake Technique (Perfection), Fire Shield Technique (Perfection)]

[Sword Flight Technique: Perfection]

[Mountain Splitting Blade: Perfection]

[Movement Technique: Wind Chasing Lightning Technique, Perfection]

[Lifebound Treasure: Dragon Abyss Sword * 10]

[Spiritual Root: Top-grade Five Spirit Roots]

[trait Draw Count: 1]

[traits: Immortality, Substitute Death, Breath Concealment, Exchange, Sharing, Rebirth, Instant Spellcasting, Body Refining, Speed, Teleportation, Disease, Teleportation, Poison Resistance, Alchemy, Heart Demon, Insight, Armor Break, Disguise, Disguise]

[Heavenly Dao traits: Cultivation, External Incarnation, Intelligence, Divine Sense, Source of Mana, Mana Absorption, Fire God, Thunder God, Innate Divine Strength, Qi and Blood, Storage Space, Sword God, Enhancement, Blade God, Repair, Bleeding]

Qin Changsheng glanced at his attribute panel and then said, "Draw a new Golden Trait!"

As his voice fell, the golden light within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly surged. A vast aura swept out, and many traits slowly faded away as a more brilliant pillar of golden light shot up from the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

Within the light pillar, countless runes could be faintly seen flowing, radiating a sharp and heavy sword dao Pressure.

A moment later, the light pillar slowly withdrew, and a trait entirely made of shining gold and engraved with complex sword patterns slowly emerged, floating in the center of his Sea of Consciousness. As the sword patterns flowed, a thick aura of a Sword Domain rushed toward him, sharp and overbearing, yet orderly.