Chapter 5: Realm Advancement, The Great Tomb Opens

As the text materialized before Shen Bai, he closed his eyes and a flood of information poured into his mind.

A phantom figure appeared in his mind’s eye.

The figure was blurry, its true face indistinct, but its entire body was enveloped in a layer of white light.

This white light was as pure as jade, without the slightest impurity, looking like an exceptionally precious treasure.

And as this white light appeared, one figure after another flickered into existence around it.

Each figure emanated a powerful and suffocating force.

After the figures appeared, chains materialized around the phantom figure.

The white light on the phantom figure flickered abruptly as the chains locked it down.

But the figure within the white light seemed to pay them no mind. It strolled about as if in a courtyard, and the chains on its body burned away like paper, turning to nothingness.

The phantom figure waved its hand, and a moment later, the chains and all the surrounding figures were incinerated.

Everything dissipated, returning to oblivion.

Shen Bai opened his eyes, having absorbed all the information into his mind.

The previous attributes had doubled. Hardness, Resilience, and Counter Damage had all reached the +8 level, a qualitative improvement.

Setting those aside for now, what surprised Shen Bai the most was the Anti-Sealing attribute.

The so-called Anti-Sealing was to prevent being sealed by enemies.

Enemies couldn’t break his defense, but in the current Jianghu, cultivators had countless methods. Some cultivators specialized in Sealing Techniques; if they couldn’t break a defense, they would seal their enemy in place and let time wash everything away.

But now that Shen Bai’s Bright Jade Evil Body had the Anti-Sealing attribute, as long as it was within the +8 attribute range, sealing abilities would be ineffective against him. He would be able to move as if through an empty realm.

A smile appeared on Shen Bai’s face. ’Good. My defenses have been strengthened,’ he thought.

This attribute shouldn’t be underestimated, as it made his abilities more well-rounded.

Shen Bai didn’t test his Bright Jade Evil Body right away, instead choosing to observe the other changes within himself.

With this upgrade, besides the attribute increase, the Qi within Shen Bai’s body had finally reached the level of Perfection.

The Qi in his kidneys was filled to the absolute brim, and a sliver of Qi flowed up from them toward his chest.

The next moment, a hint of warmth flashed through the center of his chest.

Shen Bai could feel that a new stream of Qi had appeared there.

The Three Treasures Realm was divided into three stages: Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Essence resided in the kidneys, Qi in the chest, and Spirit in the mind.

At this moment, Shen Bai had reached the second stage.

After reaching this stage, his use of Qi would become more flexible, and both the quality and quantity of his Qi would double.

After sensing the changes, a smile touched Shen Bai’s lips.

"Now, perhaps I can fight those in a higher realm."

That was his thought.

Of course, this was a thought he couldn’t put into practice, as he couldn’t find an expert of a realm higher than the Three Treasures Realm to fight.

"Time to take a short break."

Shen Bai stretched his body.

Lately, his life had been nothing but grinding and eating. He would eat, then continue grinding, and take a short nap whenever he felt tired.

Shen Bai’s nerves had been constantly on edge.

Now that he had entered the second stage of the Three Treasures Realm, and with three of his Skills having reached Level 4, Shen Bai felt much more relaxed.

Before Shen Bai’s eyes, a wisp of smoke appeared, eventually coalescing into text to form his latest Attributes.

These were all of Shen Bai’s current Divine Powers.

Shen Bai decided to grind Mystic Heart Spell and Shadow Walk next, to improve all his abilities evenly.

This was because they required relatively less Skill Level, and would still increase his overall strength.

That way, when he needed to use them, their Divine Power Level wouldn’t be too low.

This was a good thing for him.

Having figured out his plan, Shen Bai stretched, walked out the door, and found Qin Shuang.

"The usual?" Shen Bai asked.

Qin Shuang, standing stone-faced at the counter as she began the day’s business, heard Shen Bai and nodded, saying expressionlessly,

"The usual. A little bit of sugar in the congee."

"I mean, you’re just opening the shop, why are you putting on such a serious face?" Shen Bai asked.

Qin Shuang’s eyes shifted slightly. "A pawnshop clerk has to be unreadable. Otherwise, if you get excited when you see something good, the customer won’t pawn it."

The corner of Shen Bai’s mouth twitched. "You’re really getting into this pawnshop clerk role. I just asked you to fill in for a bit."

Qin Shuang said earnestly, "You’re the one who said, ’Whatever you do, love what you do.’"

Shen Bai put a hand to his forehead.

He had been instilling a lot of knowledge in Qin Shuang lately, but he felt like she was getting a little warped.

He didn’t dwell on it and went outside to get breakfast for Qin Shuang.

The breakfast stall was much more crowded than before. In addition to the locals of Shengyun County, there were also many Jianghu People lingering about.

Shen Bai didn’t waste any time. He bought breakfast and returned to the pawnshop to eat with Qin Shuang.

After finishing breakfast, Shen Bai took another sip of tea and watched the endless stream of people outside.

"It should be soon, shouldn’t it? The time for the great tomb to open."

Qin Shuang nodded. "I’d guess so."

Shen Bai put down his cup and watched as Qin Shuang skillfully poured herself another. "It’s been so many days, and you still haven’t told me your real identity."

Qin Shuang took a blissful sip of the hot tea, her eyes darting around. "I’m from the Thief Sect! I’ve already told you that very clearly."

"Heh," Shen Bai sneered. "If I believed you were from the Thief Sect, I’d have to be an idiot. You can’t even figure out when this great tomb will open."

"I’ll say it again: when we go into that great tomb, you’d better be useful."

Qin Shuang patted her chest and promised, "Don’t worry, I’m very useful."

Shen Bai raised his hand and tapped Qin Shuang on the head. "Alright, alright, I know you’re very useful. Now, clean this up."

On the table was the trash from their meal.

Qin Shuang, also very practiced, began to clear the table.

Judging by her proficient movements, it was clear Shen Bai had taught her quite a bit during this time.

After everything was cleaned up, Qin Shuang returned to the counter to continue her role as a proper clerk.

Shen Bai yawned, preparing to continue grinding his Bright Jade Evil Body.

But just then, the ground began to tremble slightly.

Qin Shuang, who had been playing the part of the clerk, looked up, took a few steps to Shen Bai’s side, and grabbed his hand.

"The great tomb is opening! Let’s go!"