In the quiet chamber, the turbulent vortex of heaven and earth energy finally dissipated.
Dongbo Xueying, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face.
“Great Venerable Sitian?” Dongbo Xueying immediately sensed the visitor outside and promptly stood up. Although he needed to consolidate his strength, doing so under the ‘Heart-Searing Divine Tree’ was the most efficient method.
Rumble—
Dongbo Xueying stepped out and looked up to see Great Venerable Sitian hovering in the distance.
“Greetings, Great Venerable,” Dongbo Xueying saluted.
“Hmm?” A flicker of surprise flashed in Great Venerable Sitian’s eyes. Dongbo Xueying, having just broken through, did not deliberately conceal his aura. To hide everything, he would need to activate the Nine Revolutions Immortal Art, but there was no need for that in the Fan Clan’s Demon Mountain.
“Brother Feixue…” Great Venerable Sitian could sense that the aura of Ying Shan Xueying before him was ethereal, as if illusory yet real. “Your breakthrough to Cosmic God wasn’t in the Void Path, but in the Illusory Dream Path?”
“Thanks to the Heart-Searing Divine Tree. Although I had accumulated much in my past and present lives, I was still a step away from breaking through. Under the Heart-Searing Divine Tree, I finally crossed that threshold,” Dongbo Xueying mused. “The Heart-Searing Divine Tree is truly miraculous.”
Great Venerable Sitian smiled and said, “Congratulations, congratulations.”
But inwardly, he thought, “This Ying Shan Xueying can perform the ultimate Void Transformation, so his past life must have excelled in the Void Path. Now, he’s even become a Cosmic God in the Illusory Dream Path. His strength is even more unfathomable.”
“Great Venerable, I shall return to the Heart-Searing Divine Tree now. After all, I only have a year’s time,” Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.
“Hahaha… Go ahead, go ahead,” Great Venerable Sitian replied, deliberately avoiding any mention of extending Dongbo Xueying’s cultivation period.
One year.
Only one year.
Once the time was up, Great Venerable Sitian would undoubtedly send Dongbo Xueying away. If he wanted to cultivate here again, he would have to make a fair exchange.
…
On the day the year-long period ended.
Under the Heart-Searing Divine Tree, leaves drifted down.
With Great Venerable Sitian personally seeing him off, Dongbo Xueying naturally put on a reluctant expression before finally departing.
“I refuse to believe you don’t want to continue cultivating under the Heart-Searing Divine Tree,” Great Venerable Sitian murmured as he watched Dongbo Xueying’s retreating figure. “You’re just brimming with confidence after your breakthrough. But when you hit a bottleneck and can’t progress, you’ll surely want to return.”
Among the Great Venerables, some focused solely on cultivation, seeking only personal strength—this was the most common path.
However, a few placed great importance on external forces. For instance, the Lord of Nanyun devoted himself to spreading the Nanyun Sacred Sect, even creating the simplified “Twelve Forms of Nanyun Sacred Art” to earn vast amounts of Cosmic Crystals through the sect and acquire resources.
Great Venerable Sitian also highly valued subordinates, allies, and various external forces. Among the six Great Venerables of the Fan Clan, he commanded the most formidable faction, with numerous powerful experts under his banner. Even the “Ancestor Fan” entrusted him with overseeing the entire Fan Clan’s operations.
…
Feixue Villa.
Whoosh.
A white-robed youth quietly entered the quiet chamber and sat cross-legged beside the golden-robed Dongbo Xueying.
“Focus on cultivation.”
“Strive to break through in the Void Path as soon as possible and elevate the ‘Doppelganger Art’ to a higher level.” Both avatars sat in meditation, fully immersed in comprehending the Void Path.
Boom—
His foundation in the Void Path was incredibly profound.
The two secret forms of the Twelve Forms of Nanyun Sacred Art, the Red Cloud Combat Method, the Five Phases Sealing Art, the Nine Revolutions Immortal Art…
With just a moment of contemplation, countless insights surged forth.
Previously, he had dared not cultivate, sensing that doing so would likely trigger his breakthrough.
“It seems this breakthrough in the Void Path won’t be limited to just one Dao,” Dongbo Xueying realized the moment he began his meditation.
…
In the Heart Realm Continent, near the Ancient Nations of Many Realms, lay a vast sea known as the “Ice Mist Sea.” This expansive sea was home to a massive island, the territory of a second-rate nation called the “Cloudveil Nation.” Its size was nearly comparable to the Summerwind Ancient Nation, yet 99% of its land was unsuitable for life to thrive, which was why it was occupied by only a second-rate nation.
Whoosh.
A slender man clad in purple suddenly appeared mid-air, exuding the aura of an emperor as he gazed down upon the boundless wilderness below.
“Brother Tiantong,” the slender man called out, his voice booming across the desolate land.
The wilderness around him began to stir.
Rumble—
An immense stretch of land abruptly “stood up.” From a sufficient distance, one could see that this rising landmass was, in fact, a colossal giant sitting up, his massive upper body piercing through the clouds.
The giant opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the purple-clad man.
“Nanyun?” the giant’s voice thundered. “What brings you to my Cloudveil Nation?”
The purple-clad man was none other than one of the Lord of Nanyun’s avatars.
“Brother Tiantong, sell me the treasure ‘Demon Emperor’s Robe,'” the Lord of Nanyun said. This being before him was shrouded in mystery, known to few in the Heart Realm Continent.
Tiantong, the Divine Lord.
During the First Ancient Nation War, he had been a figure of great renown. However, he had been grievously wounded by the “Ancestor Fan” of the Summerwind Ancient Nation and had since vanished, his whereabouts rarely known.
Tiantong, the Divine Lord, was a third-tier Cosmic God. Yet, he lacked a suitable treasure. At his level, transcending tiers in combat required a treasure even more powerful than peak-grade treasures—something exceedingly rare. Though shadows of Tiantong’s influence could be glimpsed in the Second Ancient Nation War and other major events, he had yet to obtain such a treasure.
For a being like Tiantong, few things held appeal: treasures that could significantly enhance his strength, and the final step to reach the legendary level of “Meta.”
“The Demon Emperor’s Robe?” Tiantong’s voice rumbled. “That fool who provoked me was devoured by me in one bite, but his treasures remain. However, ordinary items won’t suffice to trade for the Demon Emperor’s Robe.”
“Name your price,” the Lord of Nanyun said.
“Two hundred billion Cosmic Crystals, or something that catches my interest,” Tiantong replied, his massive form looming over the Lord of Nanyun.
The Lord of Nanyun frowned.
Two hundred billion?
When Dongbo Xueying’s golden-robed avatar broke through to Cosmic God, the commotion of absorbing heaven and earth energy was immense. The Lord of Nanyun naturally noticed and met with Dongbo Xueying, learning that his breakthrough was in the “Illusory Dream World” path. Although there was one publicly available Cosmic God-level treasure in the Illusory Dream Path—the “Scepter of Heart Demons”—it belonged to the “Desire” branch, unsuitable for Dongbo Xueying’s “Illusory Dream World” path. Even if he obtained it, he couldn’t unleash its full power.
At the time, the Lord of Nanyun had told Dongbo Xueying, “I’ll find a suitable treasure for you.”
Though Dongbo Xueying felt the price was too high, the Lord of Nanyun had said, “You can repay me later by helping me in return.”
“Too expensive,” the Lord of Nanyun muttered now.
Though he was exceedingly wealthy, two hundred billion Cosmic Crystals would still deal a heavy blow to his resources.
Tiantong was clearly overcharging. A fair price would range between eighty to one hundred billion.
“Do I lack Cosmic Crystals?” Tiantong said indifferently. “Either offer something that interests me, or pay two hundred billion.”
…
The Lord of Nanyun promoted the Nanyun Sacred Sect not only to earn Cosmic Crystals but also to establish a vast intelligence network across the Heart Realm Continent. He knew that Cosmic God-level treasures in the “Illusory Dream World” path were rare due to the difficulty of cultivation. Only three had been recorded in history, and the Demon Emperor’s Robe was the most attainable.
The other two were even harder to obtain.
“Fine,” the Lord of Nanyun finally relented, unwilling to part with the Cosmic Crystals. Instead, he traded a precious fragment of a map to Tiantong in exchange for the Demon Emperor’s Robe.
“With the Demon Emperor’s Robe and the Five Phases Orb, I finally have a true ally,” the Lord of Nanyun thought with satisfaction.
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