The Eternal Sin-Chapter 34: Breakthrough

Two days later, the outer sect of the Heavenly Tiger Sect slowly awakened beneath the morning sun.

Mountain paths were filled with activity as outer disciples came and went. Mortal servants carried heavy water barrels along stone steps. Some practitioners practiced fist stances beneath lush green trees. Most people were gathered in small groups and eating breakfast while exchanging words, the scent of porridge and roasted meat drifting through the air.

Wen Shan stood at the entrance of Jiang Chen’s residence.

"Brother Jiang, then I will see you next time," Wen Shan said with a smile.

Jiang Chen cupped his fists. "Brother Wen, this time I troubled you."

Wen Shan waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing. Elder Brother Sun instructed me personally. Now then, I had better hurry to the mission hall."

He turned and departed, his footsteps gradually fading down the stone path.

Jiang Chen closed the door.

The wooden latch fell into place with a dull sound, sealing the room from the outside world.

He walked to the table and stopped, fingers resting lightly on its surface as his thoughts slowly unraveled.

The Jade Heart Plantation incident had seized the sect by the throat. In recent years, there had never been such a loss of life within the sect territory, much less the slaughter of so many spirit farmers, whose value often exceeded that of ordinary cultivators.

To the common people in the sect, this was a cruel tragedy that they talked about with dread in their hearts. But for those in power, this was an embarrassment.

An outright slap to the sect’s face.

It was an undeniable fact that the spirit farmers worked under Hei Wei and that most of the plantation’s benefits flowed into his pockets. But in public name, they all belonged to the Heavenly Tiger Sect. Blood had been spilled on sect grounds. No matter how one twisted the truth, responsibility could not be denied.

For the public unrest to be quelled, a culprit had to be produced urgently.

With the Enforcement Hall working under immense pressure, they in turn grabbed Hei Wei by the collar. He was harshly criticised for his incompetence and poor management, his reputation now basically that of a pile of dung on the road.

Meanwhile, Sun Jian colluded with a few other inner disciples in the background, quietly pulling strings and steering the investigation toward the direction they desired.

In the end, the blame was neatly pinned on the former caretaker of the Jade Heart Plantation. Who was accused of colluding with the unfortunate Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed there for protection, the same person who had gone that day to visit his late parents and been ambushed.

Both of them were painted as greedy and disloyal. Together they formed a perfect pair of villains upon whom all blame could be heaped.

With this, the sect gained a narrative that preserved its dignity. Before anyone could question further, both were arrested and publicly executed, their family members expelled from the sect, serving as a warning to all.

The sect declared the matter resolved.

Order was finally restored.

As for the plantation, Hei Wei had no room to struggle. He was forced to relinquish control of the plantation and swallow the outcome in silence. Ownership was transferred into Sun Jian’s hands, though the price he paid behind the scenes was steep.

’Framing them as scapegoats was a clever move on Sun Jian’s part. That alone tells me it was planned far in advance. No matter how one looks at it, this mission to wreak havoc can be called a success.’

A joyful light flickered in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

’Taking this risk was totally worth it. This is my greatest gain so far. With this newfound foundation, many of my plans can be pushed forward sooner than expected. As for saving those people... heh. That was absolutely the right move.’

Jiang Chen’s return to the formation to save those people had not been a sentimental decision. It was a strategic decision to establish his reputation within the alliance under Sun Jian and to form connections that would later help him secure resources for future refinement processes.

What he did not expect was to be rewarded so quickly for this merit.

Jiang Chen smiled as he lowered his gaze.

On the table lay three round pills, their surfaces glowing with a yellow gold luster, as if molten sunlight had been sealed within them. Even by breathing in their faint scent, one could tell just how dense the spiritual essence was.

Beside them rested a blood red wooden slip. Its surface was smooth to the touch, yet its sharp edges made it slightly uncomfortable to hold. A single tiger phantom was carved upon it, its eyes seeming to stare straight into the viewer’s soul.

Jiang Chen picked up one of the pills.

’Yellow Rank high-grade Qi Nourishing Pills.’

He rolled it between his fingers, inspecting it carefully. Each pill alone was worth no less than six hundred spirit stones. In times of market scarcity, a price spike up to seven hundred and fifty spirit stones would not be surprising.

Pills and techniques were the twin pillars of the cultivation world. Both were clearly divided into ranks, starting from Yellow, then Black, Earth, and Heaven. Each rank was further divided into grades: low, mid, high, and peak.

For Qi Nourishing Pills, the difference between low and high grade was not cultivation speed.

It was impurities.

Low and mid grade pills carried copious amounts of impurities. Swallowing only two or three low grade Qi Nourishing Pills was enough to clog one’s meridians. Once that happened, further cultivation became nothing but a dream. Even the cultivation already achieved would be hollow, leaving one unable to circulate spiritual essence properly, sometimes unable to circulate it at all.

Cultivation like that was nothing more than a grand tower built on sand. It might look tall, but a little wind and the collapse was inevitable.

But with high grade pills in his hands, the story was different. Their impurities were exceptionally minimal. Even if Jiang Chen were to swallow dozens of them, the blockage would be trivial, something that could be easily resolved later with Meridian Cleansing Pills.

Jiang Chen set the pills down and picked up the blood red wooden slip. He thought, ’With this, I can enter the Martial Scroll Hall and choose any Yellow Rank technique I wish. This is not a bad reward at all.’

His gaze deepened.

"Sun Jian you are quite the generous individual," he murmured softly.

But what he truly thought was different.

’This is a kind of investment. With many of his Qi Condensation subordinates dead and the plantation now in his hands, he needs manpower. So this is not only a reward for my contributions, but also a signal to other Qi Condensation cultivators. Let one person eat meat in public, and soon others will follow, thinking he is a generous backer. But whether they end up eating or being eaten is another matter entirely.’

Jiang Chen placed the wooden slip aside and sat cross legged on the bed. After regulating his breathing, he picked up the first pill and swallowed it.

The pill melted the instant it entered his stomach.

A torrent of spiritual essence exploded within him, surging through his meridians like raging waves and crashing against their inner channel walls.

Jiang Chen’s brows drew together as he guided the flow with careful control.

The essence rushed through hundreds of minor meridians, converging toward the eight great meridian points before pouring into his dantian like a roaring river meeting the sea.

His dantian felt like a bottomless abyss, swallowing the energy without end.

An hour and a half passed.

The spiritual essence gradually thinned, fading like the tide retreating from the shore.

Jiang Chen did not stop his cultivation.

He picked up the second pill and swallowed it immediately, refusing to let the momentum fade.

Swish, Swoosh~

Once more, spiritual essence erupted just as fierce as before, like a waterfall plunging from a cliff, slamming into his meridians without mercy.

Sweat formed on his forehead.

Fifteen minutes passed. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Suddenly, deep within his dantian, a muffled explosion echoed.

The invisible barrier that had restrained him shattered.

Jiang Chen’s aura surged outward for a brief moment before settling again.

Seventh layer of Qi Condensation!

He had broken through. But Jiang Chen did not let joy disrupt his rhythm and continued cultivating relentlessly. He was surprised by how much spiritual essence still remained in the pill. It was far from exhausted. Another hour passed before the second pill was fully consumed.

Riding the momentum, Jiang Chen swallowed the final Qi Nourishing Pill.

Spiritual essence surged once more, filling his dantian to the brim, refining and compressing. When it finally faded, Jiang Chen opened his eyes, a faint glimmer of satisfaction flashing within them.

’If absorbing spirit stones is like guiding a trickling stream, then pills are opening the floodgates. Spirit stones cannot compare to this efficiency at all. No wonder cultivators kill and betray for pills.’ Jiang Chen could not help thinking this as a soft breath escaped his lips.

But the desire to cultivate in his heart did not fade.

’I’m very close to the eighth layer. I can break through again today.’ Jiang Chen continued cultivating.

One by one, spirit stones were taken out and absorbed.

From noon until nightfall, Jiang Chen remained seated. The sun sank beyond the peaks. The moon rose. Stars filled the sky.

His cultivation advanced unceasingly.

At midnight, another invisible barrier trembled.

Then it shattered.

"Haha, eighth layer of Qi Condensation!" Jiang Chen’s body finally relaxed as exhaustion washed over him.

Even though he had not done any physical work, hours of focused internal cultivation were far too tiring for the mind.

He fell backward onto the bed and sank into sleep. That night, he dreamed for the first time in a long while. In his dreams, he soared freely through heaven and earth, unbound by shackles of the world, the wind roaring past his ears as mountains and rivers shrank beneath his feet.

The next morning, Jiang Chen awoke.

He washed himself and changed his robes.

Then he picked up the blood red wooden slip once more.

’It has been years since I last entered the Martial Scroll Hall,’ Jiang Chen thought as he stepped out of his residence.

He headed straight toward the Martial Scroll Hall.