Chapter 173: Chapter 173

Sha Chen sat upright on the Fengshui Futon. Above his head, three flowers condensed; at his chest, five qis converged. His body shone with a radiance of ten thousand zhang, and behind him, the essence of the Dao was abundant. He was sacred beyond compare, his hands moving swiftly to form seals as he activated the Primeval Chaos Dao Method. Sha Chen rapidly circulated the Primeval Chaos Dao Method within his body, while the text from the Da Luo Chapter of the *Tao Te Ching* flashed rapidly through his mind. Characters flew out from his body, all from the Da Luo Chapter of the *Tao Te Ching*.

Simultaneously, his aura rose swiftly, and the mountain of resources piled before him was rapidly consumed.

However, Sha Chen’s consumption was simply too great, and his accumulation was far too shallow. The gap between the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal and Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm seemed but a step away, yet in reality, it was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth—an enormous chasm. One could say the gulf between them was insurmountable. Sha Chen’s years of accumulation were utterly insufficient here and were quickly exhausted. He had no new resources left; there was nothing remaining in the storage room except for some alcoholic beverages that contained a measure of Divine Power. These, however, were mainly for enhancing the strength of the Primordial Spirit and did not contribute much to increasing Divine Power.

While cultivating, Sha Chen pondered, Should I also take some of the unripe Elixirs from the Immortal Fields and refine them? But abandoning the essential for the non-essential was never a long-term solution.

The resources Tianpeng had given him were purely for healing and detoxification, thus unusable for this purpose. Beyond those, Sha Chen had swallowed everything else that contained even a trace of Divine Power, without having the time to refine them into Immortal Pills. What remained was still not enough.

Sha Chen grew anxious. If I can’t seize this opportunity to break through, I don’t know when the next chance will come, he worried. After all, cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don’t advance, you fall back. Many who had previously attempted to reach the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm had failed, never again able to touch that threshold for the rest of their lives. The consequences of failure were far too severe, and Sha Chen was both terrified and desperate.

However, the resources required to break through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm surpassed all he had consumed in his cultivation from a True Immortal to his current state, and by a significant margin. He had already filled most of the deficit but simply could not procure the remainder.

Just then, Tianpeng seemed to notice Sha Chen’s predicament. He frowned, bit his lip, and stamped his foot in frustration. "Oh my, there’s no other way!" he exclaimed. "Old Sha, if you don’t break through, I’ll never let you hear the end of it!"

Then, he took out his treasured Qiankun Bag and poured out his remaining scarce resources, all of which could be directly consumed for cultivation—true cultivation resources. This was because when they had exchanged items earlier, Tianpeng had specifically kept these aside. Sha Chen knew how to refine other Elixirs into Immortal Pills, converting them into usable cultivation aids, so Tianpeng had let Sha Chen take the items less useful for direct cultivation. The Elixirs and Immortal Herbs that could directly increase one’s cultivation level had been kept by Tianpeng. It all made sense.

Tianpeng, now holding back tears, poured out the Immortal Elixirs and placed them before Sha Chen for consumption. "Old Sha, use them sparingly... Ah, never mind, just cultivate! Consume them all, don’t hold back! As long as you break through, you’ll be able to get more!"

Sha Chen’s heart leaped with joy, but he had no way to express his thanks. He consumed them directly, without the time to refine them into Immortal Pills. Though it might be wasteful, there was no other option.

Shortly, these resources too were depleted. Still, Sha Chen had not broken through; the amount he required was colossal. After all, he had first achieved a breakthrough in his physical body, and its needs alone were astronomically vast. Furthermore, he cultivated the Primeval Chaos Dao Method, which made his foundation inherently stronger and more solid than others. A larger foundation meant he was building a taller and grander structure, naturally requiring far more construction materials.

Now, the materials were insufficient. Sha Chen could only sigh helplessly. He opened his eyes and looked at Tianpeng, blinking.

Tianpeng stepped back repeatedly. "Old Sha, this is too much!" he said. "Are you really unable to break through, or do you plan to drain me completely dry before you do?"

Then, seeing that Sha Chen’s aura had stagnated and he was only half a step away from the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, Tianpeng’s heart softened. He hurriedly fished out another Qiankun Bag from his belt and poured out even more cultivation resources than before—a Qiankun Bag Sha Chen hadn’t known about.

With tears welling in his eyes, Tianpeng lamented, "My secret stash! All my best and most valuable resources are in here, and you just had to go and eye them!"

Sha Chen frantically devoured the resources, his aura growing continually stronger. Soon, the ground was clean again. This time, Tianpeng couldn’t hold back and burst into tears, yet he still poured out more cultivation resources, including many Immortal Pills. These were his very last resort. At first, he had tied the bag’s drawstrings tightly several times, but he eventually loosened them until the bag was completely empty.

Then, throwing the Qiankun Bag onto the ground, he wailed, "Old Sha, that’s it! There’s really nothing left! If you still don’t break through, just go ahead and eat me instead!" He then sobbed uncontrollably. Decades of accumulation, countless robberies, and a life lived on a knife’s edge had amassed this fortune. All gone. If Sha Chen still doesn’t break through, I really might just eat him! Tianpeng thought desperately.

The resources on the ground were rapidly consumed. Yet, some remained, and Sha Chen did not continue to devour them. The aura emanating from his body soared, reaching a critical point before finally—he broke through! The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NovelHub(.)net

Then, it climbed swiftly, incessantly rising, strengthening, and fortifying. Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, five Qis gathering in the chest. Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, and the five Qis coursed towards the Yuan. The Primeval Chaos Dao Method, the primordial unity of the Great Beginning! Sha Chen’s aura kept soaring higher until he firmly established himself in the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm.

His breakthrough was startling to heaven and earth, enough to move ghosts and deities to tears. His aura burst forth from the Flowing Sand River, soaring into the Yunxiao, rising even above the celestial poles—the breath of Yunxiao, the essence of Da Luo! It stunned the immortals of the Lingxiao Palace and shook the deities of the Qingtian Palace. The Jade Emperor and all the immortals were greatly astounded, inquiring as to which mighty individual had broken through to become a Daluo Golden Immortal. The Queen Mother dispatched emissaries to discover whose faction had gained another Daluo Immortal. The Buddhas of Lingjiu Mountain all turned their gaze eastward; even their recitation of scriptures came to a halt. This breakthrough was world-shaking.

Within a million-mile radius of the Flowing Sand River, countless living beings trembled in fear, prostrating themselves on the ground. The powerful aura even reached distant overseas lands, where many immortals and demons sought the source of this compelling presence. This Daluo Golden Immortal was extraordinary. Immediately after his breakthrough, his imposing aura was akin to that of someone advancing from the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm to the Quasi-Saint Realm—incredibly overbearing, its might piercing the celestial spheres. Countless beings bowed in submission. This imposing aura was not in the slightest inferior to that of the Stone Monkey’s birth, Yang Jian’s defiance of heaven, or Tathagata’s enlightenment; it perhaps even surpassed them. Yet, no one knew the identity of the individual who had just achieved this breakthrough.

The Jade Emperor exclaimed in wonder, "Which faction is it that sees someone breaking through to Daluo Golden Immortal with such formidable prowess?"

The Queen Mother expressed her astonishment, "Inconceivable! To display such a spectacle upon merely breaking through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm. One day, he will surely have the chance to step into the Quasi-Saint Realm."

Ran Deng Buddha murmured, "The world has just witnessed the emergence of another Great Magical Power Holder capable of startling heaven and earth and moving ghosts and deities to tears. The great task of retrieving the scriptures has yet to begin, and yet the Three Realms have been presented with such an anomaly."

The phenomenon even caused a stir in the Netherworld. There, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a figure of substantial seniority, opened his eyes in shock. "Does anyone know who this person breaking through is?" he asked, directing his gaze at Di Ting.

The divine beast Di Ting nodded. "Flowing Sand River," it stated, then fell silent.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was silent for a moment before murmuring, "Unexpectedly, it’s him. He has not yet joined Buddhism, yet he already wields such Great Divine Power... I am unsure if this is a blessing or a curse." Thereafter, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said no more and returned to his Buddhist meditation.

The Ten Halls of Yama gathered together in shock. "To think that a mere breakthrough to Daluo Golden Immortal could cause so many ghosts and demons such splitting headaches and cries of agony! Is this person truly breaking through to the same Daluo Golden Immortal Realm as us?"

King Qinguang asked, "Do we know who is making this breakthrough?"

The King of Hell replied, "This individual does not enter the cycle of reincarnation, does not pass through the Nether World, and does not fall into Avici Hell. There is no change to his name in the Book of Life and Death, making it difficult to ascertain his identity."

King Zhuanlun said, "This king has seen his identity on the Mirror of Clarity. Do you wish to know who he is?"

The others, all in the dark, urged him to stop beating around the bush.

King Zhuanlun announced, "This individual hails from the Flowing Sand River."

Everyone paused. Flowing Sand River? They didn’t quite understand until King Zhuanlun hinted at the scripture seeker, at which point realization dawned upon them.

They all sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, utterly shocked.

The King of Hell asked, "How could this individual, who has not yet embarked on the journey to retrieve the scriptures, possess such fate and karma to successfully become a Daluo Golden Immortal?"

King Qinguang said, "He is already a Daluo Golden Immortal even before the journey to retrieve the scriptures. Such a breakthrough signals boundless potential. I fear he will be difficult to subdue."

Everyone looked at King Qinguang with complex and peculiar expressions. This was because King Qinguang was close to Buddhism, maintaining close ties with Ksitigarbha and Lingjiu Mountain. Sha Chen’s transformation was, perhaps, his greatest concern.

「Flowing Sand River.」

Sha Chen concluded his cultivation and retracted his Dharmakaya. Everything returned to normal, and his appearance reverted to how it was before. No abnormalities were apparent. However, if one were to observe closely, the only difference lay within his eyes: they had become even more spirited. Upon deeper inspection, one could perceive that Sha Chen’s forehead now seemed more luminous and full. His brow was ample, and his jawline firm and square. Tianpeng even saw a radiance on Sha Chen’s spiritual platform—the essence of the Dao. The Three Flowers above his head were precisely the essence of Sha Chen’s Dao, condensed into three different colored clouds manifesting on his forehead, reminiscent of Yang Jian’s third eye or a Daoist’s lotus seal. Essentially, it was the manifestation of the energy of the Three Flowers.

However, Sha Chen’s energy of the Three Flowers was different from others; his exhibited the blue of water, the red of fire, and the yellow of earth. These represented the three types of fundamental forces he commanded: his intrinsic power of the Water Source, and the Earth Source and Fire Source powers previously rewarded by the system. The energy of the Three Flowers, three fundamental sources.

Sha Chen clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body and the endless stream of mana, as profound as the ocean. He smiled faintly, sensing that his current mana had increased by tens, perhaps even hundreds, of times compared to before his breakthrough.

He couldn’t help but laugh. "No wonder they say that Daluo Golden Immortals and Greater Primordial Golden Immortals belong to entirely different realms! Even the smallest step apart signifies the difference between heaven and earth."

At that moment, Tianpeng approached him, smiling obsequiously. "Old Sha," he said, "you’ve broken through, and I played a big part in that! How are you going to repay me?"

His claim was not without merit. Just as Sha Chen was about to speak, the system’s voice rang out.