The Paladin in the Abyss

When everyone stopped to camp that night, they had traveled almost thirty miles, but had only descended about one mile vertically.

They found a naturally formed cave, lit a warm bonfire, and while chatting, enjoyed a delicious dinner made by Koula. Frankly, the presence of the Halfling significantly enhanced the comfort level of the adventure. According to the records in the small bamboo slip, even without being in seclusion, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could go for months without eating or drinking, but Lancelot had never had the chance to verify if that was true—because the food Koula cooked was just too tempting.

Tonight's dinner consisted of Abyss chicken egg and ham sandwiches, along with two strips of Blood Lake dried fish and some spiced fish soup. Although simple, it was very tasty and there was plenty to go around, for example, Bruto alone ate three and a half portions, the half being what little Esha couldn't finish and gave to him.

The fatigue from climbing was the main challenge they faced on this route; the frequency of battles was notably less. They had encountered only two groups of Flomos the entire day, one of which merely circled from afar before leaving, seemingly judging the team with two Succubus members as a more challenging target than expected.

The reason they could travel undisturbed was partly due to Lancelot's careful planning of the route, intentionally avoiding areas heavily frequented by Demons; the other reason was that in the depths of the Great Abyss, far from the ground, wild Demons were much less common—such remote places were simply too dull even for Demons.

Late into the quiet night, while most of the companions were asleep, the watch was kept by Lancelot, Alamir, and Elothysia. Being an Elf, Alamir needed only four hours of meditation to get enough rest, so he usually meditated first, then woke up in the latter half of the night to join the watch.

For the Succubus Paladin, she did not need sleep, but she did require quiet rest to recover her spell-casting abilities. This rest period should not involve any intense activity (such as fighting), making it the perfect time to take on the night watch duty. However, previously she was accompanied by little Esha, but the Vampire girl's biological clock had already adjusted to match that of the others, and at this moment, she was sound asleep in her brother's pocket.
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Lancelot did not rush to start his routine meditation and Qi Cultivation, but instead studied the knowledge left by Han Tianshen in the spiritual world. After the successful Foundation Establishment, the small bamboo slip unlocked many new topics, and he had a wealth of knowledge to learn.

The most important was about the Cultivation methods at the Foundation Establishment Stage. The ultimate goal of Foundation Establishment Cultivation was naturally to break through the realm and form a Golden Core, but, according to the small bamboo slip, there was more than one path to this goal. The conventional approach was still Qi Cultivation and Meditation, diligent study of Cultivation Techniques—the drawback being low efficiency, and average Cultivators often used up their lifespans before they had a chance to form the Core, either resolving to become a ghost cultivator or reentering the cycle of reincarnation to try again in the next life.

In light of this, a vast number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators researched countless unimaginable methods. Some focused on Alchemy Dao, using the refinement of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to enhance their Cultivation Power; some focused on Divine Sense, first forming a false core to deceive heaven and earth and extend their lifespan, then compensating for deficiencies and forming a True Elixir; there were even those who gathered suitable cauldrons, using the method of Dual Cultivation to harmonize Yin and Yang, capturing Kan and filling Li, thereby achieving rapid advancements in their Cultivation Power…

Although Lancelot found it fascinating, he regretfully discovered most methods were unsuitable for him. The reason was simple, the multiverse he lived in lacked the heavenly and earthly treasures needed for cultivation, such as the Solidifying Yuan Elixir used to enhance cultivation power during the Foundation Establishment Stage, which required Blood Ginseng, Silverleaf, and the inner alchemy of a low-rank magical beast as the three main ingredients. Where would he find these items? Even if suitable substitutes existed, the time and effort required to gather them would hardly be worthwhile.

After much consideration, Lancelot found that the most suitable method for him was still the most traditional form of cultivation. His core cultivation technique, the Cauldron Immortal Technique, was of a very high grade level and had a cultivation efficiency that was even faster than some unorthodox methods. Moreover, it was capable of refining any type of nature's spiritual energy, which was of great significance to him since he couldn't leave the Abyss any time soon.

Furthermore, as his cultivation progressed, this technique revealed some other marvels, such as a droplet of green liquid floating in mid-air, flickering with a mysterious light, which he now saw before him.

This drop of green liquid had naturally formed in front of him while he was practicing the Cauldron Immortal Technique, a phenomenon that hadn't occurred during his Qi Refinement Realm. As Lancelot finished his cultivation, it slowly fell downward and was caught by a small jade bottle made of cold water crystal, then sealed inside it.

The bamboo slip had mentioned the possibility of such a phenomenon but was vague about the uses of the green liquid, simply emphasizing its application on plants could be miraculous. Considering Master Han supposedly created this technique based on a divine treasure of heaven and earth, this liquid likely had some prototypical form. However, since Master Han had only created the technique without practicing it, Lancelot suspected he was also unsure of what effects the green liquid truly had, leaving him to experiment bit by bit.

In the path of spiritual cultivation, besides elevating one's cultivation through the core technique, the other two focal points are body refinement and divine sense. In the Qi Refinement Realm, these aspects hardly mattered, yet each subsequent realm focused differently. During the Foundation Establishment Stage, the strength of the body greatly influenced the success rate of core formation; and in the subsequent Golden Core Stage, the strength of divine sense directly determined whether one could break through to the legendary Nascent Soul Stage.

For Lancelot, this was certainly good news, as body refinement relied less on heavenly and earthly treasures and instead required various harsh environments and opportunities to combat powerful enemies. It seemed there was no better place than the Abyss for body refinement—it had lava-flowing volcanoes, harsh sweltering deserts, bone-chilling icy plains, and toxic swamps, all teeming with eager, powerful demons.

While enhancing divine sense might not significantly aid in hitting the core formation stage for now, Lancelot, through his adventures, had come to appreciate its various benefits. Thus, he decided to increase the strength of his divine sense while also engaging in body refinement. Fortunately, the Qingyun Sword Art in his possession contained techniques to enhance divine sense.

This highly practical sword technique could well be considered Lancelot's secondary core cultivation method. Countless enemies had died under its cyan sword aura. He had begun the fourth layer of the Qingyun Sword Art, which not only increased the power and length of the sword aura but also allowed him to summon a protective sword shield which would automatically defend him and attack his foes when he was under attack.

But even more wondrously, starting from the fourth layer, he could cultivate a divine skill named "Divide Light," which allowed him to summon an identical sword shadow when attacking. Practicing the control of the sword shadow was precisely a way to train his divine sense and increase its strength.