Chapter 37: A Small Test of Skill

In the blink of an eye.

Cheng Buzheng appeared within the canyon. The terrain of the canyon was shaped like a giant washbasin; the surrounding mountains formed the basin's walls, while the canyon floor served as its bottom.

There were no entrances or exits among the surrounding mountains, which ensured the secrecy of the location.

Seeing such a secluded place, his heart stirred with anticipation; he could not wait to test the power of the Amethyst Drill.

With a flip of his right hand, the Amethyst Drill hovered above his palm, spinning rapidly. As it rotated, it emitted piercing cold light, and the air was sliced into ripples as if it were a physical substance.

He raised his right hand, and the Amethyst Drill spun with increasing speed. The air exploded with cracks, and thin streams of air were sliced away, rushing toward the distant mountain walls. They left behind ripples in the air that dissipated after a short moment.

"Boom... Boom!"

The distant mountain walls were seen to be sliced into a chaotic mess.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng was greatly satisfied. With a thought, the Amethyst Drill shot toward the wall, accompanied by the sound of air explosions.

In the blink of an eye.

The Amethyst Drill hovered before him. He then proceeded to test its auxiliary ability.

The surface of the Amethyst Drill glowed faintly, and a purple radiance shot out. Within a radius of ten feet, the flowers and grass instantly pressed against the ground, stripped of all strength to resist.

Even the branches of the trees seemed unable to withstand it; under the invisible force, they snapped one after another.

Finally, even the trunks were crushed to the ground by the invisible pressure.

It was as if, within this ten-foot radius, nothing could hold its head up in the presence of the Amethyst Drill.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng decided to experience it personally by walking into the ten-foot space beneath the Amethyst Drill.

Immediately.

He felt that walking on the ground had become extremely difficult; even circulating his mana became much more arduous. Although difficult, he was still able to mobilize his mana to escape.

This was the auxiliary ability of the Amethyst Drill: the Gravity Domain. He was highly satisfied.

At this point, only one last ability remained untested: its defensive capability.

With a thought.

The surface of the Amethyst Drill bloomed with purple light, and an inner ring emitted a purple glow that shrouded the area below.

From the outside, it looked like an egg-shaped purple membrane enveloping the Amethyst Drill, emitting a soft purple halo as it stood there quietly.

Cheng Buzheng stepped forward to personally experiment with just how potent this defensive shield truly was!

Mana surged within his dantian, and a crimson stream of mana surfaced on his right arm.

Suddenly.

The air exploded. Cheng Buzheng's right fist broke through the airwaves, which spread outward like ripples.

"Boom!"

A sound like a thunderclap echoed through the canyon.

Cheng Buzheng's right fist collided with the layer of purple light. The egg-shaped purple defensive shield rippled slightly under the impact.

After this single strike, he did not attack again, knowing clearly the current defensive power of the Amethyst Drill.

Moreover, there were many spiritual materials in his storage bag waiting to be devoured by the Amethyst Drill.

When the time came, its power in all aspects would increase significantly. He only wondered if these materials could push the Amethyst Drill to its absolute limit, though he suspected they would get close.

After all, his storage bag contained a complete low-grade magical tool, whose essence had barely been depleted, as well as many spiritual ores and magical tool fragments. Combined with what he had devoured previously, it should be enough.

Thinking of this, he could not wait to know the Amethyst Drill's maximum power, and then he withdrew it.

With a flash of yellow spiritual light, Cheng Buzheng sank into the earth, a yellow light遁ing rapidly downward.

In the blink of an eye, he reached six feet underground. With a flip of his right hand, the Amethyst Drill appeared in his palm.

With a mental command, the Amethyst Drill expanded to ten feet in size, moving up and down like a jackhammer, continuously compacting the earth.

Before long.

A secret chamber about ten feet square was formed. Ignoring the soil on the ground, Cheng Buzheng sat down cross-legged.

With a swipe of his storage bag, he placed the green iron ore, the Li Fire steel ore, and a scrapped red small sword—a broken magical tool—that he had purchased today onto the ground.

With a flip of his right hand, the Amethyst Drill hovered above the chamber.

Cheng Buzheng cast a hand seal. The dense spiritual runes inside the hovering Amethyst Drill bloomed with purple light, radiating outward. A wave of purple spiritual light enveloped the various spiritual ores.

Countless points of light floated up into the Amethyst Drill. Before long, the various spiritual ores on the ground became like dross, utterly worthless.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng directed the purple spiritual light to once again envelop the various magical tool fragments and the scrapped magical tool.

Countless points of light drifted out from the fragments and the scrapped tool, flying toward the hovering Amethyst Drill.

The metallic luster on the surface of the Amethyst Drill grew stronger and stronger, making it look as if it were forged from purple metal.

As the Amethyst Drill continuously absorbed the essence of the spiritual objects, crimson textures appeared on its surface, gradually spreading outward, making it look much more ferocious than before.

When the crimson textures completely covered the Amethyst Drill, it could no longer absorb any more spiritual essence. He understood that this technique had reached its limit and could not be improved by even a fraction more.

At this moment, only the scrapped magical tool remained intact on the ground, but it appeared much weaker than before. The spiritual ores had turned into ordinary stones, and the magical tool fragments had become a pile of scrap iron.

He grabbed a piece of spiritual ore, and with a slight squeeze, it slipped through his fingers like quicksand.

Cheng Buzheng reached out to collect the intact scrapped magical tool; after all, the spiritual essence within it had not been fully absorbed, and it could not be wasted.

Then, his gaze fell upon the hovering Amethyst Drill. With a wave of his hand, the Amethyst Drill fell into his palm.

He examined it closely and found that not only was the metallic texture much stronger than before—as if it were truly made of metal—but the eighty-one blades on the outer ring also emitted a terrifying cold light.

Furthermore, the crimson textures on the surface of the Amethyst Drill made it clear to anyone that this was a lethal weapon for killing enemies.

He studied it for a long time before flipping his right hand, causing the Amethyst Drill to transform into a pattern that merged into the back of his hand.

Cheng Buzheng took out three jade slips and began to review them. Then, he calmed his mind and entered his soul with his consciousness.

Master of the Heavenly Jade Disk: Cheng Buzheng Realm: Qi Refinement Level 3 Tier 1 Cultivation Methods: Mid-grade (Exquisite) Red Fire Manual+, Low-grade (Ordinary) Thick Earth Manual (Not yet mastered)+, Low-grade (Ordinary) Golden Light Manual (Not yet mastered)+ Tier 1 Spells: Low-grade (Ultimate) Amethyst Drill+, Low-grade (Ultimate) Earth Escape Technique+, Low-grade (Ordinary) Concealment Technique (Not yet mastered)+ Spiritual Power Value: 10

He had always harbored a wild idea of deducing a cultivation method suited for himself. Now, everything was ready; all that was left was the final step!

As the memories of the "Red Fire Manual," "Thick Earth Manual," and "Golden Light Manual" surged, he immediately condensed the complete memories of the three methods into the form of seeds.

He placed them directly into the central depression of the small disk. The tiny figure formed from the three-colored soul appeared above the disk and tapped the panel three times with its finger.

Immediately.

The Spiritual Power Value on the panel decreased by nine points. Below the panel, the patterns on the surface of the small disk glowed faintly, and waves of white light entwined around the seeds within the depression.

The seeds were enveloped by the white light. As the disk performed its deduction, the white light gradually dimmed, eventually forming a single gray bead.

PS: Setting the stage, three polite requests (Please collect, please recommend, please vote)

(End of Chapter)