Jing Qian tucked away the crab pearl, tearing off a hefty chunk of crab meat to chew as he calculated their route.
"There's less than three thousand li left," he said. "At our current pace, we'll reach it in just over three days."
Su Min'er nodded firmly.
"Then, Brother, please stop a hundred li outside the island. I must draw upon my clan's Life Furnace, ignite my Fate Fire, and awaken my Life Pattern before setting foot ashore."
"That's a small matter," Jing Qian replied with an easy nod.
Yet inwardly, his thoughts matched hers exactly.
The true reason he had crossed so far into the open sea was this very goal.
After more than two months of tempering and preparation, he was finally ready for his third fate-burning ascension.
But the Fate Fire was hard to come by. At present, Jiangzhu Island was the only source he could reach.
To Jing Qian, burning his Fate Fire was still the most efficient, most cost-effective way to grow stronger, his greatest chance at Dao advancement.
Each successful ascension brought a complete transformation. For that, he was willing to risk everything.
As for bringing Su Min'er along well, that was only incidental. His own power was what truly mattered.
After finishing most of the crab legs, the two retired to their cabins.
Jing Qian slipped into the Void Realm and resumed his daily regimen.
Half a day of sailing, a few slain sea beasts, a night of cultivation, and a careful review that had become his rhythm over the past month.
And during this period of explosive growth, every single day brought a sharp increase in strength.
Compared to a month ago, the changes recorded on his Fate Stele were staggering:
Host: Jing Qian
Lifespan: 192 years
Life Essence: 36.36 (White Fang)
Life Patterns:
Sumeru (Golden Root)
Worldly Insight (Golden Root)
Tidal Wave (Blue Blood 7.3/10)
Soulweaver (Azure Wing)
Sword Fang (Azure Wing)
Lifespan (Azure Wing, 2 hours 3 quarters daily growth)
Fate Arts: Dragonswimming, Rune Imprinting, Lotus Planting
Life-Casting Opportunity: 42
Over the past month, he had slain forty-three ninth-rank White Fang sea monsters. Except for today's crab, every single one had been reforged into the Tidal Wave Pattern.
Counting his earlier gains, Jing Qian had reforged it seventy-two times in total, making the Tidal Wave his fastest-advancing pattern.
The cost of half a year of lifespan was trivial.
At this pace, within a single month, his Tidal Wave Pattern would advance again, gaining new powers at the full Blue Blood rank.
Wouldn't that make the Dingyuan warship fly like a rocket?
The thought thrilled him.
Meanwhile, all his sword embryo stock had been consumed, fully advancing the Sword Fang Pattern to the Azure Wing rank. Without more materials, its progress was stalled.
But his Lifespan Pattern had advanced even further.
From its humble beginnings at White Fang rank, granting one quarter-hour of life a day, it had now, through thirty reforges, risen to Azure Wing, generating two hours and three quarters of lifespan daily.
The marginal gains were shrinking, yes, but that was only because his life essence was insufficient to fuel it further.
Still, with thirty-six life essence points, his foundation already exceeded that of ninety-nine percent of Fatebinding cultivators across the entire Archipelago of Chaos.
Now, with each daily reforging of the Lifespan Pattern, every drop of his essence was drained to the last, yet still fell short of supporting a single extra quarter-hour.
His roots were too shallow, his cultivation not deep enough. He needed to train harder.
So, in the Void Realm, Jing Qian calmly initiated his thirty-first reforging since leaving port.
With practiced ease, he placed the Lifespan Pattern upon the Fate Stele and invoked a Forging Chance, letting all thirty-six strands of essence be devoured and poured into it.
This time, thanks to the earlier groundwork, the reforging was a complete success:
Lifespan Pattern (Azure Wing – 3 hours daily growth)!
Another breakthrough in his daily life extension had reached three full hours.
His divine sense shifted. He stepped into the Fate Stele's inner space, beginning the second stage of his daily training.
Before he could even settle in place, a strand of silk lashed out, dragging the soul of the freshly slain ninth-grade sea crab to his side.
The Sword Fang gleamed pure jade-green. With a single thrust, he cut the crab's soul apart.
A surge of pristine life essence and a scattering of memory poured into Jing Qian's spirit.
This routine had become so practiced that it would strike terror into any sea demon.
Jing Qian once more leapt into the dimensional void, lunging straight at the Crocodile Dragon's soul.
As always, his Sword Fang pierced the hidden flaw in its right foreclaw.
But now, with the Sword Fang's power significantly enhanced, the damage it dealt was far greater!
By this point, the beast's right foreleg was riddled with holes, mangled nearly beyond use, scars Jing Qian had carved out bit by bit over the past month.
He landed another strike, then immediately darted toward the refuge of his Sumeru dimension.
But the Crocodile Dragon's tide of force surged again. Half his body managed to vanish into the void while the other half was shredded into pieces by raw power. He died all the same.
This deadly exchange trading life for injury had played out more than a hundred times over the past thirty days.
When his avatar reformed, his lifespan was reduced by another day, and yet another Life-Casting Opportunity was added to his tally.
Jing Qian took a moment to savor the sensation. His speed at slipping into the Sumeru space had improved just slightly, but measurably.
Faster and faster. One day, he might finally dodge the tidal sweep without injury, seizing life from the jaws of a Blue-Blooded great demon.
That hard-won insight was the true reward of over a hundred deaths' precious experience paid for with blood and soul.
By now, Jing Qian had come to see pushing his limits against the Crocodile Dragon as an indispensable part of cultivation.
Sacrificing a day of lifespan was a fair trade for the terror of death, the crushing pressure of the Sumeru Pattern, and the grinding attrition of the demon's soul.
And when a Life-Casting Opportunity came along with it, that was pure profit!
Satisfied, he returned to the ship's cabin, patiently weaving runes to restore his spent essence.
This was his final training session before setting foot on the island.
For the next three days, he would focus entirely on adjusting himself to peak condition for the third burning of the Fate Fire.
As the moon sank and the sun rose, the Dingyuan once again set sail.
This time, Jing Qian made no games of it, steering with steady hands.
Both he and Su Min'er kept their minds taut, every nerve braced.
Three days later, Jiangzhu Island lay just a hundred li away.
The Life Furnace awaited, its presence already burning clear in the hearts of the last heirs of Jing and Su blood.
-support me in Patreon for more chapter, 55+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LordoftheReader