Chapter 1320: The Path

“What you said, Divine Emperor Yan Fei, is exactly what I intend to do,” Dongbo Xueying quickly responded.

The Void Path had reached its ultimate state.

In terms of pure Void Mysteries, he had already achieved perfection! Beyond that, it was about integrating other mysteries into the ‘Void Path,’ using it as the core to absorb other truths… ultimately forming a higher-level ‘Path.’ For instance, while ‘Emperor Xia’ was also skilled in the Void Path, his pursuit was focused on the Hunyuan Space’s primal womb nurturing a Hunyuan-level physical body. Dongbo Xueying, on the other hand, used the Void Path as his foundation, leveraging Hunyuan power to gradually refine and perfect his body. The process of transformation was also the continuous improvement of his own ‘Path.’ Once his body reached the Hunyuan level, his ‘Path’ would naturally ascend to that realm as well.

Dongbo Xueying chose this approach for two reasons: first, the influence of *Hunyuan Seven Strikes* on him, and second, his exceptionally powerful soul, which could nourish his body in reverse, allowing it to naturally refine itself. The soul nurturing the body… this process helped Dongbo Xueying identify his own shortcomings and provided clearer direction.

“I rose step by step from a weak world. In my homeland, those with supernatural powers were rare. I ascended as the strongest figure in my world’s history. Each time I ascended to a higher world, the level of power it could withstand increased,” Divine Emperor Yan Fei said. “Along the way, I studied under over a hundred masters, consulted countless cultivation texts, and even created many of my own.”

With a flip of his hand, Divine Emperor Yan Fei produced a translucent book shimmering with golden light: “*Yan’s Eighty Forms*. This is the pinnacle of my countless years of cultivation in the Void lineage. I have been striving to create the Eighty-First Form—if I succeed, I may very well become a semi-Hunyary lifeform.”

As he spoke, he handed the book over.

Dongbo Xueying also flipped his hand, revealing a misty-gray tome: “*Hunyuan Body Refinement*. My path of cultivation has also drawn upon the wisdom of many predecessors. I’ve studied under several masters, contemplated the heavens and earth, and researched Hunyuan lifeforms to reach this stage. Yet, like you, I remain at the late-stage Divine Emperor level.”

This *Hunyuan Body Refinement* was originally just a body-refinement method from Emperor Xia’s *Hunyuan Inquiry*. When Dongbo Xueying first obtained it, it only had the first two layers. Mastering it would barely allow one to match the physical body of an ultimate-level body-refinement cultivator.

Later, as Dongbo Xueying’s strength grew, he even surpassed his teacher! He developed higher levels, prompting Emperor Xia to collaborate with him in further refining the method. Yet, even their combined efforts only elevated *Hunyuan Body Refinement* to ‘Monarch Perfection’ (Divine Lord Perfection), still one step short of the ‘Emperor Level’ (Divine Emperor Level). At that point, their paths diverged.

There was no helping it—they had chosen different directions.

Dongbo Xueying progressed step by step along his path: early-stage Divine Emperor, mid-stage, late-stage. Each step was arduous. Fortunately, his soul was arguably the strongest below the Hunyuan level! His comprehension and other aspects reached unimaginable heights, and his soul could nourish his body in reverse, guiding its evolution. This allowed Dongbo Xueying to achieve twice the results with half the effort. He even spent three hundred billion years studying the corpse of a natural-born Hunyuan lifeform from the Void lineage before finally reaching late-stage Divine Emperor.

How incredibly difficult it had been!

“Hah.” Divine Emperor Yan Fei exhaled softly as he accepted the tome.

Dongbo Xueying likewise solemnly received the book.

These were the crystallizations of their wisdom! Having endured their own cultivation hardships, they held each other in even greater respect.

“*Yan’s Eighty Forms*…” Dongbo Xueying immersed himself in the text as soon as he began reading.

From the very first form, the power was weak—Dongbo Xueying estimated it to be at the ‘True God Ruler’ level, and it was purely a combat technique, not a body-refinement method.

First Form, Second Form, Third Form…

It grew steadily.

One could trace Divine Emperor Yan Fei’s progress through the text. This originally heaven-defying combat technique gradually began to reverse-nourish and transform the body, making it more suited for battle! In the process, the body grew stronger, adapting to new combat styles with each refinement.

“Modifying the body to suit combat.”

“Cultivating through battle.”

This approach couldn’t be called superior to *Heaven and Earth*, *Boundless*, or *Void Worm Canon*. Paths had no inherent hierarchy—only differences in length. Clearly, Divine Emperor Yan Fei had walked far along his own path, reaching late-stage Divine Emperor. Among the Void lineage ascenders in this divine world, none had gone further than him—excluding Dongbo Xueying, an outsider from another world.

“You actually cultivate using Hunyuan power,” Divine Emperor Yan Fei said, looking at Dongbo Xueying with deep admiration. “I’m in awe. Divine Emperor Feixue, you actually thought to harness the power of ‘Hunyuan Jade’ for cultivation. At lower levels of strength, a single piece of Hunyuan Jade would be unimaginably precious to beings like us.”

Dongbo Xueying smiled but didn’t explain.

In the Source World, breaking the membrane wall would allow Hunyuan power to seep in.

But in this world… obtaining Hunyuan power was far more difficult. There were two main methods: one was Hunyuan Jade, the condensed essence of extremely pure Hunyuan power. The other was certain special locations in the divine world where Hunyuan power gathered. Of course, there were also treasures containing trace amounts of Hunyuan power that could be utilized.

When Dongbo Xueying first arrived in this world, his body was unstable due to the rules’ rejection, but the Hunyuan power within him remained vast. After mastering the Great Void Transference Technique, he initially planned to absorb Hunyuan power from special locations. However, he later discovered that a single piece of Hunyuan Jade contained an immense amount of Hunyuan power, and it was far gentler on the body. Thus, he relied on Hunyuan Jade for cultivation ever since.

“Shall we spar?” Dongbo Xueying suggested with a smile.

“Gladly.” Divine Emperor Yan Fei’s eyes lit up as he nodded.

Combat was another way to refine one’s understanding of the Void Path.

—

In Junshan City.

Inside a tavern, two women sat facing each other.

“Sister, we’ve been waiting here for three days,” Divine Emperor Huofeng complained impatiently.

“Patience. We’ll go after the other Divine Emperors have left,” City Lord Yunfeng replied calmly. Naturally, she had come to meet Dongbo Xueying, but given her temperament, she had no interest in mingling with other Divine Emperor experts. With so many Perfected Divine Emperors paying visits to Dongbo Xueying, City Lord Yunfeng preferred to wait until the end.

“We’ve waited for countless years—a few more days won’t matter,” City Lord Yunfeng said with a faint smile. “Who would’ve thought that the one who dealt with my grandson would turn out to be Divine Emperor Feixue—and to be so formidable. Having such an expert is truly a blessing.”

City Lord Yunfeng was genuinely pleased.

In this divine world, she had long been invincible! Her strength far surpassed even the second-ranked on the Divine Emperor Ranking.

Among the current Perfected Divine Emperor-level combatants in the divine world, there were two categories: City Lord Yunfeng, and everyone else. Unlike Dongbo Xueying, who relied on soul techniques to cripple his opponents, City Lord Yunfeng overpowered them in direct combat. Even when Perfected Divine Emperors fought at full strength, she could utterly suppress them—some with weaker survival skills might even perish!

“There have been Perfected Divine Emperor ascenders in the past,” City Lord Yunfeng mused. “But they all disappeared eventually. I suspect they left this world—likely with the help of the three Hunyuan Ancestral Gods.”

“And yet… I’ve never been able to leave.”

City Lord Yunfeng let out a soft, mocking laugh. “Is it because I’m too weak?”

Beside her, Divine Emperor Huofeng remained silent.

She knew her sister had grown weary of her invincibility in the divine world—the loneliness of being unmatched. She sought the ultimate awakening, to achieve Hunyuan, but had never succeeded.

“Divine Emperor Yan Fei has left,” City Lord Yunfeng said, rising to her feet. “Let’s go meet this Divine Emperor Feixue.”

“Finally! That Divine Emperor Yan Fei took his sweet time—I was getting restless,” Divine Emperor Huofeng grumbled as she stood.

“Mind cultivation!” City Lord Yunfeng sighed, shaking her head.

“I’m a natural-born Hunyuan lifeform—why bother with mind cultivation?” Divine Emperor Huofeng scoffed. Even the weakest natural-born Hunyuan lifeforms were born at the Emperor Level (Divine Emperor). Under City Lord Yunfeng’s guidance, she had gradually learned to harness her innate power, reaching the Perfected Divine Emperor level.

—

Dongbo Xueying had just bid farewell to Divine Emperor Yan Fei and was about to reflect on their earlier spar when he sensed two approaching auras.

“Guests have arrived,” he murmured, standing up.

“More guests?” Yufeng Qingyin, who had been pouring wine for her master, blinked in confusion. She turned with the wine jug in hand and saw two figures descending from the sky—one in white robes, the other in fiery red. Neither had concealed their identities, revealing their true appearances.

Yufeng Qingyin recognized them instantly and gasped. “City Lord Yunfeng? Divine Emperor Huofeng?”

City Lord Yunfeng—ranked first on the Divine Emperor Ranking!

“Divine Emperor Feixue, care to take a walk?” City Lord Yunfeng asked with a faint smile.

“With pleasure,” Dongbo Xueying replied, already understanding her purpose. He glanced at his disciple. “Qingyin, I’ll return shortly.”

With that, he departed alongside City Lord Yunfeng and Divine Emperor Huofeng.

Yufeng Qingyin watched them leave, her heart heavy.

“Master…” she whispered to herself.

Over the past three days, at her master’s behest, she had met many Perfected Divine Emperors.

Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the gap between her and her master was insurmountably vast. At times, it all felt surreal—as if it were all a dream.

“But it’s real. He is my master,” Yufeng Qingyin affirmed quietly.