Chapter 1141: The Second Layer of the Void Realm

Beneath the Heart-Searing Divine Tree, deep purple leaves carpeted the ground.

A young man in white robes sat cross-legged in silent cultivation.

“It’s been a full 400 million years. Could it be that the Flying Snow Divine Emperor is stalling?” A female attendant waited in the distance, murmuring to herself. “Just a little longer. If he still hasn’t left by the end of the final year, we’ll have to politely ask him to go.”

Suddenly, the white-robed youth beneath the tree stood up.

“Hmm?” The female attendant was startled and immediately approached, simultaneously sending a message to the higher-ups of the Fan Clan. “Lord Kuichen, Lord Xueying, the esteemed guest, has risen and ceased his cultivation.”

She swiftly arrived beside Dongbo Xueying and bowed respectfully. “Esteemed Guest Xueying.”

“My cultivation is complete. It’s time to leave,” Dongbo Xueying said. He then looked up as a burly man approached from afar—Kuichen Monarch, a familiar face to Xueying. Kuichen Monarch greeted him warmly. “Brother Xueying, the Great Sovereign is currently in seclusion, but before he entered, he instructed me to receive you. If you have any requests, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“There’s nothing much. I’ve exchanged all my merits, so it’s time to depart,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a faint smile.

“Haha, merits are hardly a challenge for someone like you, Brother Xueying,” Kuichen Monarch chuckled. They all knew that Xueying’s *Nine Revolutions Immortal Art* could likely be traded for other techniques and treasures from ancient kingdoms. With those treasures, he could easily earn more merits within the Fan Clan and exchange them for more time beneath the Heart-Searing Divine Tree.

“I’ll return when the time is right,” Dongbo Xueying said simply.

“Of course, of course,” Kuichen Monarch nodded. “Allow me to see you off, Brother Xueying.”

Xueying sighed inwardly.

With his merits exhausted and no new precious techniques offered after the *Nine Revolutions Immortal Art*, the Fan Clan’s enthusiasm toward him had noticeably waned. Even if the Great Sovereign was in seclusion, they should have at least sent a second-tier Cosmic God to receive him. Kuichen Monarch was merely a first-tier Cosmic God.

Perhaps the Fan Clan believed that Xueying had suffered too great a loss in the Heart Palace of the Realm. Even if he could exchange the *Nine Revolutions Immortal Art* for benefits elsewhere, they likely assumed he was desperate for peak-tier treasures.

Without further gains…

Xueying’s current strength was negligible to the Fan Clan, so their waning enthusiasm was only natural.

*”In truth, I possess even greater techniques—but I’m in no hurry to trade them,”* Dongbo Xueying mused.

Indeed.

Four hundred million years beneath the Heart-Searing Divine Tree, combined with the drop of the *Ten-Thousand-Tentacled Dragon Mother’s* heartblood from the Heart Palace, had vastly strengthened his soul. This cultivation session had also proven just how terrifying his talent in the Illusory Path truly was.

In the *Illusory Dream Path*, he had attempted fusion but encountered minor obstacles.

Instead of forcing it, he followed the same approach he had taken with the Void Path—raising the remaining two branches of the *Five Illusory Paths* to the Cosmic God level, which took over 200 million years.

With this breakthrough, all five branches were complete. The five branches of the Illusory Dream Path encompassed five distinct directions, and their mutual reinforcement made fusion far easier.

Focusing on the two branches he was most proficient in—*World* and *Illusion*—he successfully fused them in just over 100 million years, elevating his *Illusory Dream Path* to the second-tier Cosmic God level.

If this were to spread…

It would shake the entire Heart Realm Continent.

Soul-based cultivation was notoriously difficult. In the *Illusory Dream Path*, only three individuals in the entire Heart Realm Continent had reached the second-tier Cosmic God level: Patriarch Fan, the Heavenly Monarch of Mo Tian, and the *Heart Demon King*, a revered expert from the Myriad Realms Ancient Kingdom.

All three of them were desperate to study other second-tier Illusory Dream techniques—especially those different from their own.

Patriarch Fan had fused *World*, *Desire*, and *Soul* but failed in merging *Annihilation* and *Illusion*.

The Heavenly Monarch of Mo Tian had fused *World* and *Soul*.

The *Heart Demon King* had fused *Illusion* and *Soul*.

Once—

Patriarch Fan had little interest in the Heavenly Monarch but greatly desired the *Heart Demon King’s* self-created scriptures, as they could aid his own progress.

Across the vast Heart Realm Continent, the Cosmic God Paragons had gradually reached a consensus: to break free from their shackles and ascend to the next level, one must reach the Paragon level in the Soul Path.

Yet, despite the many invincible beings and Paragons in the Heart Realm, none had achieved Paragon status in the Soul Path.

*”Now that I’ve fused *World* and *Illusion*, simply recording my insights and guidance would make this scripture priceless,”* Dongbo Xueying knew well.

Selling treasures depended on the buyer.

Selling to a Chaos Realm expert would fetch a limited price.

Selling to an invincible being? The price would be astronomical—especially when it concerned the final step toward transcendence.

Patriarch Fan and the Heavenly Monarch of Mo Tian would pay any price, for they both longed to reach the Paragon level in the Illusory Dream Path. A soul of that level would surpass all other Cosmic Gods. With two paths at the Paragon level, transcending the shackles might finally be possible.

*”But I’m in no rush to sell,”* Dongbo Xueying thought.

With his self-created Illusory Dream scriptures, the *Heart Demon King* had immediately gained the favor of *Destroyer Divine Emperor*, one of the Five Ancestors of the Myriad Realms Ancient Kingdom. He was gifted a peak-tier treasure and had a special *Heart Demon Palace* built for him. Under the Destroyer Divine Emperor’s protection—and the tacit support of other invincible beings like the *Infinite City Lord* and the *Realm Beast King*—no one could forcibly abduct him.

Wanting to learn his scriptures? The Myriad Realms Ancient Kingdom demanded an exorbitant price—one even Patriarch Fan hesitated to pay.

For a first-tier Cosmic God to learn soul-based scriptures, the cost was immense (like Xueying’s 80,000 grand merits). But for invincible beings (or any Paragon), the price was beyond imagination.

…

Soul-based scriptures below the Paragon level didn’t even exist in the Heart Palace.

The highest available were second-tier Cosmic God scriptures.

And Dongbo Xueying had now reached that level. As long as the price remained within Patriarch Fan and the Heavenly Monarch’s means, they would pay any cost to learn it. With just this scripture, Xueying could instantly become a revered guest of invincible beings.

*”But without sufficient strength, revealing such scriptures would likely result in my immediate imprisonment by the Xia Wind Ancient Kingdom,”* Xueying understood. After all, wasn’t the *Heart Demon King*, confined to his palace and never daring to leave, just another form of imprisonment?

…

**Southcloud Nation, Flying Snow City.**

Over 300 billion years had passed since the Heart Palace’s opening. For Cosmic Gods standing at the pinnacle of countless cultivation paths, a single seclusion lasting billions or even trillions of years was normal. To them, 300 billion years was but a fleeting moment—Xueying himself had spent trillions of years hunting the Destruction Fiends.

By the lake in the Divine Emperor’s estate, Dongbo Xueying, clad in white, sat fishing.

Among Cosmic Gods, the mention of the *Flying Snow Divine Emperor* of Southcloud often drew sighs of pity. But to the countless clansmen of the Ying Mountain Clan in Flying Snow City, he was their greatest pride.

Now, Flying Snow City was the second-largest city in Southcloud, and most of the Ying Mountain Clan had relocated here, making it their core territory. Even the *Ying Mountain Matriarch* resided here.

*”Hmm?”*

Xueying gently lifted his fishing rod, pulling up a large fish still greedily gnawing at the bait.

*”So greedy,”* he mused before flicking the fish back into the lake. He then stood, storing his rod. *”A pity. Even after consuming a World Flower, I still couldn’t take the final step to the Paragon level. It seems the last breakthrough won’t be easy. Well, it’s time to act.”*

With a step, he leisurely walked out of Flying Snow City.

Having lain dormant for so long, it was finally time to soar.

…

Meanwhile, in his home universe—the Chaos Void—another Dongbo Xueying, who had also spent eons in cultivation, now took action.

*”Whoosh.”*

In a single step, he traversed countless spatial barriers, arriving above the Ninecloud Continent.

*”The Ninecloud Divine Emperor’s treasure—the *Triple Realm Cauldron of the Fire Prison*—even the Sacred Master has long coveted it. Just what is it?”* Xueying was deeply curious. Though the Ninecloud Divine Emperor had hidden it well, to Xueying—whose mastery of the Void Path surpassed even the Divine Emperor’s and who stood just one step away from the Paragon level—and with the supreme secret *Seven Strikes of the Primordial* in hand, the concealment was trivial.