To transcend the great realm, apart from a sufficient container, a source of spiritual power is also needed. The unabsorbed spirit beasts of the Ice Emperor and Flame Emperor are just the right substitutes.
Stepping into the Nine Hearts level is a transitional phase; the Star Core will transform from solid restrictive Chi into the gase of scattered star power, Du Lao seems to be somewhat reckless mainly due to his rashness.
Without the devouring effect of the esoteric mantra, dealing with a Half-Saint seems like a fantasy. No wonder Du Lao acted arrogantly back then, it turns out he had such confidence to do so.
At this thought, Yuanhui tried to sit cross-legged as much as possible, then attempted to extract the two dragon spirit elements stored in his body.
Stored within the incarnation of the Non-Immortal is the water element. However, to completely absorb these elements is beyond the reach of a Nine Hearts warrior; only by seeking the Infinite Realm can one deepen absorption!
After the esoteric mantra was integrated into the refining process, he gradually accelerated the purity of refining the elements.
With the help of the Non-Immortal, the esoteric mantra's domain became strong enough to refine the purebred spirit beasts of the Nine Hearts level. Purebred spirit beasts and inferior ones are not on the same level – purebred monsters can easily annihilate inferior monsters, and even advance to higher levels of monsters.
After a purebred monster breaks through to become an immortal, it can transform into human form. Of course, the fox demons in the Wanqun Mountains rely on illusions and cannot compare.
A monster that can transform into human form is incredibly terrifying, akin to an immortal beast. Even if the entire Imperial City mobilizes, they cannot match an immortal beast.
Yuanhui did not know that those capable of transforming into human form are not necessarily immortal beasts; they could also be demon beasts! Demon beasts are extremely rare, akin to dark arts among humans, and are very tricky to find.
"I heard that the Northern Regions haven't been very peaceful these past two years. It's also been quite restless there recently."
Now, within his body, circulated two spirit beasts that had been refined into elements. The ability to extract elements is the reason why purebred spirit beasts are precious.
The true forms of the elements continuously manifested around Yuanhui. Occasionally, red and blue patterns appeared on his back muscles, and his Chi increased with the spread of the tattoos.
"Late Nine Hearts!"
In just two hours, he was about to break through to the peak of Nine Hearts. The Non-Immortal also anxiously sweated, worrying.
"Control the speed of releasing spirit beasts, and stay steady at Nine Hearts!"
At this moment, the strange tattoos on his back spread again, emitting a chilling aura mixed with flames, even appearing on his neck.
Transitioning from mid to peak Nine Hearts, there isn't much room for further improvement.
"Stop quickly!"
The Non-Immortal burst out with an astonishing surge of water elemental Chi, injecting it into Yuanhui's body for purification.
The demons instead became more difficult to contain, more rampant. Essentially, it was a fight to the death, both sides’ sides fighting desperately to eliminate threats.
As a vessel, he had no soul or physical boundaries, so trying to absorb bounded Chi would only backlash. If he hadn't reached the boundary, not even the Dragon God, the Non-Immortal, could save him.
"What should I do now?"
Seeing the Chi inside Yuanhui overinflating to the boundary's critical point, the Non-Immortal, still helpless, hurriedly sought a solution to this situation.
Just as the Non-Immortal was at his wits' end, apart from the rising Yuanhui's combined aura of flames and chill, the sudden integration of the vegetation Chi from the cave entrance occurred.
"Who has returned at this critical moment?"
The surroundings of this cave are all cliffs, with snowstorms like violent storms. Only experts who have reached the level of transcending the boundaries will climb to the top to search for millennium Lingzhi to repair their own Chi energy.
A swift figure agilely moved towards the top of the cave and concealed his aura, wanting to observe this unexpected guest.
"I'm truly exhausted, this old bone of mine!"
The natural scent of countless trees made the hidden figure on the cave top feel somewhat comfortable. The visitor was just an elderly man in comparison to the agile figure. He wore a plain green coarse hemp cloth robe, modest next to the swift figure.
The old man had a kind face, without any indication of being associated with the ruthless killing organizations prevalent on the mainland.
The old man suddenly furrowed his brows, shook his head, and snorted.
"Hey, the energy here seems a bit unusual, doesn't it?"
The former remained calm, but the latter hidden on the cave top felt his heart racing.
The snow outside slowly dissipated, and the moonlight shone from the sky onto the mountaintop, casting a silver veil into the cave. The old man vaguely saw Yuanhui meditating deep in the cave. At this moment, his body was covered in ripples of blood-red Chi, reaching the peak of the Nine Hearts realm, with his star core shattered into star-like state.
"This violent energy seems somewhat off!"
The old man seemed unwilling to watch the young man meet his end like this and sat down to examine the life-threatening Yuanhui.
The swift figure felt a bit indignant and clenched his fists tightly.
Ancient Xizhou was once a deathly space feared by many. Under the protection of the Peak Saint Emperor and the Divine Spirit, anyone entering the region would be suppressed by the spiritual sea domain. Even the main gods entering would be no different from ordinary people.
The spiritual sea domain was created by the ancestor Haiwang Xian Emperor of the Four Towers Lord Demon Emperor, maintained by the soul power of the Mechanism Emperor during his fall.
Three years ago, Wuduantian, under the guise of eradicating outsiders, disregarded Wuyan's opposition and sent 300,000 royal cavalry into Xizhou. They were no different from ordinary people, suffering defeats at the hands of Eight Sect soldiers, and only a few hundred cavalry managed to escape Xizhou and return to the Godrealm.
After that, the emperor Tianchenzi of the Eastern Star Empire personally led the troops to attack the Godrealm and quickly captured the Central Plains region. The imperial teacher Hainanshan of the Holy Spirit Emperor also died in the Western Wild Battle.
Afterward, Wuduantian personally investigated the rumors in Xizhou. Those who entered the region had lost all their powers, no different from common warriors. However, cutting off the connection between Chi and the physical body did not mean there was no way to utilize spiritual power!
In Xizhou, Chi could be released through formations. During duels, both sides used formations to weaken the opponent, putting them at a disadvantage to make it easier to kill.
The old man's eyes suddenly sharp, his Chi gradually materialized. His fingers bent and formed a six-tower divine seal about a foot in size, lightning-like, aiming at the body of the nearly exhausted Yuandragon.
"Crackling!"
As the Eight Sect Divine Seal entered his body, Yuanhui's meridians worked overtime, and a wave of pure Chi shattered the remnants of the star nucleus.
The old man sensed the timing, swiftly withdrew his hands, and quickly transformed into eight golden glowing runes. A palm struck down on Yuanhui's celestial dome, and the eight golden runes successively disappeared into his body.
The old man retracted his hands, stopped his Chi, and Yuanhui, now infused with the true energy, suddenly started sweating heavily from his forehead, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes gradually faded.
"Ah, so refreshing!"
His body, originally bursting open due to expansion, had completely healed and the phenomenon of star transformation had initially appeared in his spiritual realm, without breaking through the boundary level; instead, Chi was compressed, downgrading to the initial level of the Nine Hearts stage.
Excited at reaching the Nine Hearts level, he discovered that his inherited white hair had finally turned jet black as he stepped into the Nine Hearts stage.
Experiencing powerful strength for the first time, he was not yet vigilant, and the exposed Chi behind him instantly surged forth.
"Getting stronger, can you withstand this strike from me?"
A pure Chi without any impurities pointed towards Yuanhui's neck, swiftly followed by a series of Dragon Back Fist strikes.
"Bang!"
As finger and fist met, fierce Chi swept through the entire cave like a violent storm. Even the Wuxian at the cave's ceiling was startled, nearly losing his footing to the force of the Chi.
"Haha, indeed a genius who just entered the Nine Hearts stage. I didn't expect that low-level martial arts could produce techniques comparable to my Illusory Realm!"
The old man in plain clothes seemed a bit confused before hesitating briefly and changing his tone.
"No, hehe, it should be considered as the peak martial arts at the quasi-Illusory Realm!"
Though the old man hunched his body, once he moved, he was incredibly nimble. With a single step, he was in front of Yuanhui, speaking in a friendly tone.
"Although you are exceptionally gifted, the path of cultivation ahead is not without obstacles. You can come to the Western Zone's Balance Space to train yourself!"
"Balance Space? Uh... no."
Facing the old man's invitation, Yuanhui perfunctorily responded before ignoring it, afraid of revealing the whereabouts of the Han Pavilion Master, and began searching the surrounding for his teacher's figure.
Seeing his foolish disciple rummaging through the stalactites for him, Wuxian felt irritated and scolded,
"Would I, as your master, hide in a crack like a mouse?"
"Kid, don't underestimate my Western Zone. Remember..."
The old man stroked his beard, boasting proudly,
"But if I were to return to the Western Zone, hmph, not to mention the Holy Emperor, even if the Holy Emperor and the Emperor of the Star Empire joined forces, I could make them die within the Balance Space of my Western Zone."
Yuanhui, who searched for Wuxian, heard someone claim to be able to contend with two empires, suddenly came to his senses and questioned the old man.
"Are you saying that in the Western Zone, there's no one who can be your match?"
"Even if the Holy Emperor and the Emperor of the Star... united, it wouldn't work?" he asked again.
"Yes, under the constraints of the Balance Space, they wouldn't be able to exert their full strength."
The old man's response was firm, exuding confidence in his gaze.
Yuanhui looked at the old man's attire – coarse linen clothing with a plain green feel throughout his body.
"Trash!" (Yuanhui's thoughts)
"Grandpa, are you alright? How could you possibly fight against the two emperors alone?" (Yuanhui at this moment: I'll have to flatter this old man, if he's in a bad mood, I might be in deep trouble!)
Upon hearing the former's words, the old man indeed smiled and shook his head.
"As I said, I'm not their opponent here. Compared to them, I'm just a moth to a flame. But on the land of the Western Zone, with nearly a million square miles and billions of ordinary people at the stone level of warriors, how much can over a thousand chief god-level experts do to me?"
"Moreover, the soldiers of the Western Zone are brave and skilled in battle. I once led a group of people to defeat the Holy Emperor on the Western Zone battlefield."
The old man paused for a moment and then continued, tilting his head.
"Well, in the end, after that battle in the Western Province, their Holy Spirit Army was greatly weakened, and in the end, they were driven all the way to the Western Wilderness by the Star Empire."
