"This item is nurtured in the sacred grounds, and only one is produced once every fifty years. We call this item the Mercenary's Heart, and it's only given to the Mercenary King. It's just not announced to the public," explained the eighth elder. The eighth elder explained, "The Mercenary's Heart is completely condensed from the energy of the sacred grounds through an extremely special method. If you absorb it, not only will your strength greatly increase, but it will also strengthen your Mental Force. However, this is only effective for Saint Rulers and below. The weaker you are, the greater the benefits."
With that, the eighth elder placed the Mercenary's Heart in Jianchen's hand. He said, "Directly swallow it and then refine it in the first region. Your strength should increase by quite a bit."
"Yes, eighth elder," Jianchen did not hesitate and directly swallowed the thumb-sized Mercenary's Heart.
"Remember, the Mercenary's Heart must be completely refined in the sacred grounds. If you leave the sacred grounds with the Mercenary's Heart, the energy within it will rapidly disperse," the eighth elder reminded Jianchen seriously.
"I understand. Thank you for your reminder, eighth elder." Jianchen clasped his hands in thanks, but he was surprised inside. The Mercenary's Heart was just too strange. It could not be taken outside, and it was ineffective against Saint Rulers. It seemed like it was the strange restrictions of the Mercenary's Heart that made it an additional reward for the Mercenary King, because only the Mercenary King had the right to enter the sacred grounds below Saint Rulers.
"The sacred grounds are divided into a total of four regions. The flow of time in the first region is ten times faster than outside. If you cultivate there for ten months, only a month will have passed outside. If you just want to cultivate Saint Force or comprehend some Heaven Tier Battle Skill, the first region is your best choice. The second region is where you comprehend the six origin energies of the world. It'll be much easier to comprehend origin energy there, so it won't be of much help to you right now."
"The third and fourth zones are where the essence of the sacred grounds lies. The most precious items of the sacred grounds are all there. The third zone contains Saint Tier Battle Skills and some powerful cultivation methods created by seniors that are comparable to Saint Tier Battle Skills. It's very difficult for anyone below Saint Ruler to comprehend them, so they're completely useless to you."
"As for the fourth zone, it contains all sorts of cultivation experiences left behind by the deceased seniors of Mercenary City, as well as their comprehension of cultivation in their later years. It's useless to you because you can't come into contact with things at that level. The mysteries within are not something you can understand at all. As a result, the zone most suitable for you is the first zone. Cultivating there for half a year is equivalent to cultivating outside for five years." The Eighth Elder explained to Jianchen. He was the host of this year's Mercenary Grand Tournament, so he was in charge of all these matters. He had the obligation to explain some of the matters of the Holy Land to the newcomers, and this was not a special treatment for Jianchen.
After saying everything that needed to be said, the Eighth Elder left as well. He vanished from Jianchen's sight very quickly, leaving only Jianchen standing there in a daze.
Jianchen looked around and discovered that the Saint Rulers who had come with him had all vanished. He was the only one standing there in the vast space.
Jianchen did not want to waste any precious time. He followed the Eighth Elder's directions to the first zone. His priority right now was to refine the Mercenary's Heart within him.
When Jianchen entered the first zone, he immediately felt that the space there was different from outside. He felt rather uncomfortable as soon as he entered, as if there was something Jianchen could not understand in here.
"This should be the first zone now. Time is ten times faster than outside," Jian Chen mumbled to himself. He did not stop walking. He constantly made his way into the depths because the energy there was denser.
Very soon, Jianchen arrived in the very depths. He casually glanced around and suddenly froze. He saw an azure figure sitting fifty meters away. It was the Heavenly Enchantress.
Jianchen stared at the Heavenly Enchantress from afar. Even though he could only see her back, it was unable to hide her stunning and noble presence.
After a slight hesitation, Jianchen slowly made his way toward the Heavenly Enchantress. When he was twenty meters away from her, Jianchen suddenly felt that the energy there was even denser. As he approached the Heavenly Enchantress, the energy rapidly increased in density. Jianchen knew where the Heavenly Enchantress was without even thinking. She was in the center of the first zone, where the energy was the densest.
Jianchen stopped ten meters away from the Heavenly Enchantress before sitting down on the ground. Although he knew that the closer he got to the Heavenly Enchantress, the denser the energy would basically multiply, he did not dare to get any closer.
"Senior, there are Saint Tier Battle Skills and some cultivation notes left behind in the sacred land. Why don't you go there to comprehend them instead of cultivating here?" Jianchen asked the Heavenly Enchantress in confusion. To Saint Rulers, Saint Tier Battle Skills and the cultivation notes left behind by their predecessors should be extremely valuable, yet the Heavenly Enchantress had chosen to cultivate her Saint Force here. She clearly stood out from the crowd.
The Heavenly Enchantress remained seated with her eyes closed, as if she had not heard Jianchen at all.
Jianchen still did not receive an answer after quite a while. He knew that Saint Rulers were probably extremely prideful, so they would not waste their breath on a puny Earth Saint Master like him. As a result, he did not ask any more questions and directly closed his eyes to refine the Mercenary's Heart within him.
"I've walked the path of the zither, using sound against my enemies. It's completely different from them, so the battle skills and cultivation notes are not suitable for me. They won't be of much help to me." Just as Jianchen closed his eyes, the Heavenly Enchantress' voice rang out in his head. Her voice was pleasant, but there was a sliver of coldness in her voice.
Jian Chen suddenly opened his eyes and discovered that the Heavenly Enchantress was still sitting there without moving at all. Her face was covered by a layer of sand that concealed her beauty.
Before Jianchen could say anything, the Heavenly Enchantress said, "Since you're the Mercenary King this time, you must have obtained a Mercenary's Heart. It's a rare treasure for someone of your strength. It contains fragments of the mysteries of the world, so it'll be extremely helpful to you when you reach Saint Ruler in the future." The Heavenly Enchantress' eyes remained closed. She did not even glance at Jianchen.
"Thank you for telling me, senior," Jianchen clasped his hands.
"There's no need to call me senior. Everyone outside calls me the Heavenly Enchantress," the Heavenly Enchantress nonchalantly replied. Her voice was just as cold as before.
Afterward, the Heavenly Enchantress stopped talking. Jianchen lost interest after failing to obtain an answer from a few more questions. He just closed his eyes and began to refine the Mercenary's Heart.
The Mercenary's Heart was extremely wondrous. Not only would absorbing the energy within increase the strength of his Saint Force, but it would also greatly increase his mental strength. The Mercenary's Heart seemed to contain an extremely wondrous energy. When Jianchen absorbed the energy, it would fuse with his soul and strengthen his mind. At the same time, it also contained some inexplicable things. It seemed to be the fragments of the mysteries of the world that the Heavenly Enchantress had mentioned.
One month in the Sacred Ground was ten months outside. Jianchen spent two months in the Sacred Ground before finally completely refining the Mercenary's Heart. His strength also rapidly increased, reaching the Third Cycle of Earth Saint Master. He was at the peak of the Third Cycle, infinitely close to the Fourth Cycle.
Aside from the increase in strength, Jianchen's mind had also become much stronger. Compared to before, his mind had become a third stronger. This was an extremely terrifying number, causing Jianchen to go wild with joy.
Moreover, with the complete absorption of the Mercenary's Heart, many more things appeared in Jianchen's mind. Sometimes, they would form a mysterious light that flashed through his mind. It was very difficult to grasp. It seemed to be related to some of the mysteries of the world, but it also seemed to be something else. Jianchen could only vaguely feel it. Although he knew that these things were the fragments of the mysteries of the world that the Heavenly Enchantress had mentioned, Jianchen could not understand them at all.
It could be said that he was completely guarding a huge treasure trove. He was unable to find the key to open it, so he could not obtain what was inside.
Two months later, when Jianchen opened his eyes, he discovered that the Heavenly Enchantress was still cultivating where she had been before. Jianchen stood up. Now that he had successfully refined the Mercenary's Heart, he planned on going to the other three regions to take a look.
Jianchen silently left and arrived in the second region. There were six caves in the second region, all of which were different. They all radiated with the dense origin energy of the six elements: light, darkness, fire, earth, water, and wind.
Jianchen squeezed into the cave with the origin energy of light first. It was extremely bright in there, giving off a faint feeling of heat. The light seemed like the sun in the sky, possessing a sliver of warmth. However, unlike sunlight, the light actually caused Jianchen to feel a piercing pain when it shone on Jianchen. It was as if the light could kill.
Jian Chen could also sense the dense Radiant Saint Force in the cave that was filled with light origin energy. Radiant Saint Masters possessed great statuses on the Tian Yuan Continent because they could control Radiant Saint Masters to heal people. A few powerful Radiant Saint Masters could revive people or even bring the dead back to life. These Radiant Saint Masters basically did not know any martial arts, so they were extremely weak.
The other type of Radiant Warrior was also known as the undying. Radiant Warriors were born with Radiant Saint Force and were extremely rare on the Tian Yuan Continent. Although they could also control Radiant Saint Force, the Radiant Saint Force they controlled was forceful and domineering, lacking the gentleness of Radiant Saint Masters. As a result, they could only heal themselves and not others.
At the same time, the Radiant Saint Force they possessed possessed a very powerful offensive ability. It was an extreme form of energy that would bring them great benefits when used on themselves, but if used on others, it would become very aggressive. As a result, their healing abilities were far inferior to Radiant Saint Masters of the same level.
As Jianchen sensed the gentle Radiant Saint Force in the cave, he also sensed another type of forceful Radiant Saint Force. As a result, Jianchen felt a piercing pain when the forceful light shone on him.
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