The Supreme God of Martial Arts
Chapter 144 The Ninth Level of the Energy Gathering Realm

Here it is, Master,

Violet said as she handed Austin the celestial energy ginseng.

Austin reached out his hand and took it from her. An overwhelmingfeeling of triumph took hold of him. In his hands was the most covetingmagical substance hundreds of cultivators could only dream of having."You... ... I see it now. You were in this together! This whole time, youplanned to keep the celestial energy ginseng to yourselves!"

Fanny exclaimed as she realized the truth.

"Oh, sister. You are too beautiful to be a monster,” Fanny said, lookingat Violet.

Fanny was a skinny little girl. Being around Violet who had the shape ofa woman always made her feel a little insecure.

Violet modestly smiled as she covered her mouth with her hand."You're beautiful too, little sister. You're blossoming. I am sure that youwill soon turn many heads,” she replied sincerely.

The women seemed to have connected very well. They talked as if theyhad known each other for years.

Austin continued to admire the celestial energy ginseng as he thoughtof the legend that surrounded the magical substance. It was a talewidely spread among the disciples of Violet Orchid Empire.

It was said that this once allowed a disciple of the Bloody Hero Gang togo from the eighth level of the Energy Gathering Realm to the first layerof the Earth Realm. To this day, it was still believed that the substanceremained as potent as ever, even after four hundred years.

He looked at the treasure on his hands and wondered if what thelegend said were true.

He had many strengths but they were hidden in the shadow of his onegreat weakness: his lack of an ability to cultivate vital energy.

It was for this reason that Austin longed to reach a higher level of vitalenergy all his life. This was his greatest wish that led him to his quest toattain the celestial energy ginseng.

"Violet, stand guard for me. I want to cultivate inside this cave,” heordered.

"Master, are you sure you want to eat the celestial energy ginsenginside this cave?"

Violet asked. She was fully aware of his intentions, but she could nothelp but worry.

"Yes, I am. The longer it is in our possession, the more dangerous it is.There are many people who will stop at nothing to own something soprecious. Besides, my current vital energy is no longer sufficient. Itneeds to be replenished as soon as possible. Now that I have thecelestial energy ginseng, I can use it to reach a higher level," he replied."Master, you are only at the seventh level of the Energy GatheringRealm. Isn't it risky? The celestial energy ginseng has been in existencefor so many years. Its power is unimaginable. I know the legend of theBloody Hero Gang, but how are we even sure that it's true that hereached the Earth Realm after taking the ginseng? How did he manageto handle all that energy without meeting his peril if this substance wasas potent as they say?" she expressed.

"Good observation, Violet, but it is not enough to deem the legendfalse. Rare treasures such as this one possess properties above the lawsof nature that we are familiar with. Perhaps, the force produced by thecelestial energy ginseng, despite its potency, is not one that is harmfulto men. In all honesty, its power does not scare me. Don't worry,”Austin told Violet. He was quite confident of his ability to absorb theginseng's energy because of another treasure that was in his elixir field:the vital energy stone.

If the little monkey he got it from were telling the truth, the vital energystone inside his body should allow him to store an infinite amount ofvital energy.

With this treasure, Austin should be able to take in rare materials andtreasures without the dangers of being overwhelmed by their power.

If his body failed to withstand such an enormous amount of energy, hecould channel them instead into the vital energy stone. There, it wouldbe stored. With its infinite capacity, he would be able to take in all thevital energy produced by the celestial energy ginseng.

Austin had been extracting vital energy from the stone just to sustainhimself. At that rate, he guessed that there must not be much left.

This gave him very little to fear about the celestial energy ginseng'spotency. He was even more concerned that it would not be powerfulenough to produce the amount of vital energy he needed.

Seeing Austin quite sure of himself, Violet ceased asking any morequestions. After all, she knew Austin. He was not the type to doanything rashly. He always made sure before he made decisions.

But once he decided to do something, it was almost impossible toconvince him otherwise. With a sigh, Violet conceded and went to leavethe cave.

"Let's go, little sister. Master is about to cultivate," Violet said as shewalked over to Fanny, taking her arm.

Fanny hesitated. Hearing Austin's plan made her very curious. Shewanted to know what it would feel like too. She also wondered whatwould happen after Austin ate it.

Still, she knew that it would be very difficult for a cultivator to refinevital energy and reach a higher level if someone were watching. Onelittle distraction could void all his efforts. At worse, it could even drivehim mad.

Hence, Fanny reluctantly followed after Violet out of the cave.

"Fine. I won't watch your stinking cultivation. No big deal, I don't careabout it anyway," Fanny said bitterly as she left, staring at Austin... .Inside the cave, Austin sat with his legs crossed and positioned thecelestial energy ginseng in front of him.

As soon as he read the Golden Sun Scripture, its vital energy started toflow along a certain path through his body.

Slowly, it revitalized his flesh, muscles, bones, and veins. The lightgolden vital energy made Austin feel as if his flesh were emitting thegolden light of sunsets and sunrises. Its brilliance reflected the life andpower it contained.

The light ball inside the elixir field resembled a small sun. A thousandstreaks of golden light radiated from the miniature fireball thatilluminated the universe, coating the entire elixir field.

Austin could not help sighing at the strange sensation he felt inside hisbody. This had never occurred in his previous attempts to cultivate withthe Golden Sun Scripture. It was usually very reliable.

Suddenly, the ball of light in his elixir field started to emit excitingenergy. It was as if it found something it wanted for so long: food.

It spotted the celestial energy ginseng in front of Austin.

This was expected.

It was not the first time this happened.

Last time, the same light ball inside his elixir field flew out of his bodyand consumed three earth spirit fruits and two Energy-boosting Elixirs.This gave Austin an idea. As expected, the light ball once again burstout of his body and jumped at the celestial energy ginseng. Tens ofthousands of streaks of hot golden light shone upon the magicalenergy source.

This made the celestial energy ginseng even more potent. Its energyincreased so dramatically with the tremendous force that the bright,golden light ball above it emitted.

This continued for about an hour. At last, half of the celestial energyginseng was already consumed.

The brilliant light ball, seemingly satiated, slowed down a bit in itsabsorption.

Realizing this, Austin returned the light ball into his elixir field.

The moment it returned, Austin felt heat take hold of him. Suddenly,smoldering steam started to grow furiously at his belly, turning intoblazing streams of extreme heat.

Light, golden gas started to come out of Austin’s orifices.

The temperature rose along with his cultivation speed, as his bodybecame hotter and hotter.

The corners of his mouth twitched as Austin concentrated on chantingthe scripture for a cycle.

Amidst the pain, Austin found himself smiling, in awe of theextraordinary efficacy of the celestial energy ginseng.

The hot steam felt like torture, but it was a pain he welcomed as thereward immensely outweighed the pain.

Austin felt a blazing gas fill his body, as a surge of pure, powerfulenergy filled it.

The celestial energy ginseng was working. After being extracted by thelight ball, it was now being converted into surges of pure energy whichrevitalized Austin's organs. Collateral damage was inevitable.

His bones, cells and other body systems seemed to want more forthemselves as well. They were lavishly gorging on the energy.

Feeling the enormous amount of energy, Austin knew that he wasabout to reach a higher level of vital energy. He took a breath to calmhimself down and did his best to control the energy inside him to guideits flow towards the path specified by the Golden Sun Scripture.

Jingle.

A clink echoed, disrupting the silence of the cave.

Suddenly, a soft voice was generated inside Austin's body.

Along with this, Austin felt an abrupt and dramatic increase in hispower.

"The eighth level of the Energy Gathering Realm!" Austin yelled withexcitement.

A tinge of joy flashed across his face.

However, there was still so much pure energy inside his body. Itunceasingly replenished and renewed his body systems, changingmuscles, bones, cells, and tissues.

Then, another soft voice filled his body and echoed mildly throughoutthe cave's walls.

"The ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm!" Austin exclaimed.Reaching another level, he could not help but go wild with joy.

Three years ago, he arrived at this same level but was not able to returnto it again. Now, he was back at last.

He felt so physically strong.

Then, Austin made a decision. He decided not to continue pushingforward for higher energy levels. Despite the abundance of pure vitalenergy and his confidence that progressing was possible, he knew thatcontinuing would make him unstable. It would get in the way of hisdaily duties and progression in martial arts.

There were limits to the energy that one's flesh and organs could hold.Failing to be aware of these limits and taking in more than what hecould handle could cause a cultivator's organs to be drained ofstrength. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. Negligence wouldcause several problems that might impact a cultivator's futureperformance forever.

Although Austin was determined to take as many advantages as hecould with the celestial energy ginseng, he later realized the gravity ofits consequences, thus, forcing himself to slow down. Instead ofpushing towards higher levels, he decided to consolidate his power atthe ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm.

In essence, Austin was neither greedy nor complacent. He was contentwith his present situation. Although most cultivators understood thisconcept, how many of them, like Austin, would really be able to resistthe temptation for reaching higher levels?