In a flash of divine light, Jiang Wang's figure appeared a hundred miles away. Before him thundered a colossal waterfall, mist swirling like dragons dancing through the air.
Without hesitation, he struck out with his fist.
Boom!
The waterfall split apart, revealing a hidden stone gate carved with countless ancient runes. Mysterious ripples spread from its center, as if it were breathing.
Jiang Wang's gaze sharpened. Without a trace of doubt, he stepped into the gate.
Far behind, Ye Fan was still struggling through the mountains, panting as he pushed forward.
A blinding light flashed across Jiang Wang's vision. When it faded, he found himself standing in a sacred realm—a treasure land where heaven and earth seemed reborn.
Spirit mist rolled like waves. Ancient trees towered into the sky, their branches dripping with dew that shimmered in seven colors. The fragrance of spiritual flowers filled the air.
Jiang Wang's expression remained calm. Compared to the inner world within his Immortal Palace—where immortal herbs and divine springs flourished—this place was but a lesser paradise.
Still, the spiritual energy here was extraordinarily dense, so thick it nearly condensed into form.
He took a single step, and a spiritual lotus bloomed beneath his foot. At once, the heavens responded—a light rain began to fall, glistening with spiritual essence.
"So dense that even the air condenses into rain…" Jiang Wang murmured, his eyes gleaming.
The deeper he walked, the heavier the air became, pressing down with invisible weight.
"This place… other than the Xuanyan Dao Fruit, there aren't many rare herbs, yet the spiritual energy here rivals ancient sacred lands. Perhaps no one has entered in thousands of years—the aura has been left to accumulate."
He smiled faintly. "If left alone for another ten thousand years, even common herbs here could transform into divine medicines. But if I don't absorb it now, Ye Fan will benefit instead. This much aura is enough for me to break through the Xuanling Realm!"
With that thought, Jiang Wang's figure flickered and appeared before a towering ancient tree. Its trunk shimmered faintly with Dao patterns, and the air around it vibrated with divine resonance.
Among the branches, a blazing fruit glowed like a miniature sun—
The Xuanyan Dao Fruit.
It had absorbed the Dao rhythm of this tree for thousands of years, its essence capable of healing even the wounds of the Great Dao itself.
"No wonder it's said to repair the Dao foundation." Jiang Wang nodded approvingly.
Stepping lightly into the air, a lotus blooming beneath each step, he reached out, plucked the fruit, and swallowed it whole.
At that very moment, far away, Ye Fan froze mid-step. A sudden unease gripped his heart, as though something precious had just been stolen from him. He searched himself but found nothing missing, then frowned and hurried toward the waterfall mentioned by Xuanming Supreme.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wang's face flushed crimson. A torrent of burning power surged through his body, threatening to tear him apart.
The energy of the Dao Fruit was too immense! Even his flawless foundation trembled under the strain.
"If not for my perfected physique, I would've exploded already…"
Sweat streamed down his face as he forced the violent energy to circulate, his veins bulging like dragons beneath his skin.
"I was careless. My Dao foundation is too pure—I can neither release nor absorb this much Dao rhyme. If this continues, my body will rupture!"
Just as the pressure reached its peak, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind:
> [Warning: Host's body approaching critical limit. Begin fusion with the Chaos Demonic Body?]
His eyes blazed. "Fusion—now!"
> [Fusion commencing.]
The void behind him split open, and thousands of colossal demonic phantoms roared into existence. Each shadow carried world-destroying might, shaking heaven and earth.
The very sky dimmed as those ancient demons merged, one by one, into Jiang Wang's body.
Instantly, the rampaging Dao energy within him found balance, devoured and refined by the demonic essence.
The entire spirit realm trembled.
Streams of pure spiritual energy rushed from every corner, converging on him like rivers flowing into the sea. His aura surged higher and higher, hammering at the barrier of the Xuanling Realm!
Day turned to night and back again. The heavens blazed with spiritual light.
Finally—
Boom!
A deafening pulse of power erupted from his body. Mountains quaked, and the ancient trees swayed violently.
When the light faded, Jiang Wang opened his eyes. His aura was calm yet unfathomable.
He had stepped into the Sixth Realm of Spiritual Cultivation.
> [Congratulations. During the fusion process, the Chaos Demonic Body has evolved—now designated the Chaos God and Demon Body.]
"Chaos God and Demon Body…" Jiang Wang whispered, flexing his hand.
He could feel it—billions of chaotic particles coursing through his blood, each one capable of generating immense power. His fist alone carried the strength of a hundred million jin—over fifty thousand tons!
Even the most ancient beasts could not compare.
If he faced Li Kun again, three moves would be more than enough to end him.
---
Far above, in the Divine Realm, countless forbidden lights flared. Dragons roared, phoenixes sang, and sacred laws rippled through the void.
Amid that brilliance stood a woman wreathed in divine power, her presence alone capable of shattering worlds. Her eyes contained the rotation of sun and moon—
A Saint.
Suddenly, the air shimmered, and a girl in a moon-white dress stepped through the void. Her face was cold and ethereal, her hair flowing like black silk.
"Aunt Chu," she said softly, "I sensed a resonance with my Supreme Mysterious Yin Body… a new genius has appeared."
The woman—Chu Yunwan—turned, surprise flickering in her eyes.
"Qingqiu, you mean your Tai Shang Xuan Yin Body is resonating?"
Luo Qingqiu nodded slightly.
"Where?" Chu Yunwan asked, her voice calm but laced with curiosity. "The Nine Heavens Palace? The Penglai Immortal Isle?"
"It's not the Divine Realm," Luo Qingqiu said quietly. "It's… the Mortal Immortal Land."
"The Immortal Land?" Chu Yunwan's expression froze. Countless memories surged within her—eighteen long years compressed into a single heartbeat.
For someone of her power, eighteen years was nothing. Yet those years had been the most difficult of her life.
She hesitated for a long time, then sighed softly.
"Aunt Chu," Luo Qingqiu said gently, "I'll go see who this evildoer is. And… I'll look into the person you've been worrying about."
Chu Yunwan's eyes softened, light flickering in their depths.
"His name," she said quietly, "is Jiang Wang. My son. If you find him… give him this."
She took out a simple ring from her chest, its aura faint yet profound, and placed it in Qingqiu's hand.
The girl nodded solemnly, turned, and vanished into the laws of the Dao—departing for the mortal world.