Chapter 562: Chapter 562

Zhouyang had four Divine Techniques available for cultivation: the "Pure Yang Heaven Sword," the "Qianyang Golden Light Shield," the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light," and the "Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl."

These four Divine Techniques could be cultivated without any external aids, and each had different functions.

Of course, their cultivation difficulty also varied.

The easiest to cultivate were the "Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl" and the "Qianyang Golden Light Shield," followed by the "Pure Yang Heaven Sword," and the most difficult was the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light."

For an average person, they would likely choose to start with the easiest Divine Technique and progress to the more difficult ones.

However, Zhouyang only hesitated for less than half a day before choosing the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light" as his primary cultivation focus.

He had his reasons for making this decision.

Compared to the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light," the other Divine Techniques were indeed easier to master, but their potency was not as impressive.

Even if he mastered the other three Divine Techniques, he would only have an additional powerful means of confronting enemies.

However, the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light" was different; this Divine Technique was domineering and fierce. Once mastered, it would give him an overwhelming advantage in magical combat with peers of the same tier.

To cultivate the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light," the "Separation Fire Golden Eye" Divine Technique was a prerequisite. The deeper the cultivation of this Divine Technique, the faster he could learn the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light."

Since achieving Core Formation, Zhouyang had not devoted much effort to these previously learned Divine Techniques. This time, with ample opportunity, he could finally improve his weaknesses in this area.

The days of focused cultivation passed quickly, and before he knew it, fifteen years had flown by.

In these fifteen years, although Zhouyang had not yet even begun the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light," as he cultivated the "Separation Fire Golden Eye" Divine Technique to the realm of Great Success, he was certain to master this Divine Technique in a few more years.

Simultaneously, he also cultivated the "Qianyang Divine Thunder" Divine Technique to the Great Success realm of "Thought-Driven Thunder," allowing him to summon Divine Thunder to strike enemies with a mere thought, without needing hand gestures or spells.

During this time, Lu Xuanji, who had been in seclusion for forty-five years, finally showed some signs of activity.

On this day, the underground space where Lu Xuanji was in seclusion suddenly experienced a burst of turbulence, with a massive flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surging towards that location, and a series of ethereal sounds of the Great Dao echoed in the heavens.

Zhouyang, who was cultivating the "Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light," sensed this change and immediately stopped his cultivation, walking out of his secluded chamber with a serious expression.

A while later, he arrived a few dozen miles away from Lu Xuanji’s retreat and saw Yin Hanguang and Zhu Zizhen, who had arrived before him.

"Two seniors, the changes in the celestial phenomenon, does it indicate that Elder Lu has successfully broken through?"

Zhouyang raised his eyes to glance at the pair, then quickly lowered his gaze, humbly inquiring in a low voice.

Starting from the Golden Core Stage, each breakthrough to a major realm would trigger changes in the celestial phenomenon.

But what celestial changes would occur when a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator breaks through to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, Zhouyang truly did not know. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel•fire.net

It was unknown how many years the Cultivation Realm would need to produce a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, and each Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, before their ascension, would be deep in seclusion like Lu Xuanji. Even if celestial changes were triggered, not many cultivators might witness them.

Therefore, the celestial changes that accompany a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator’s breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Stage had always been a secret within the Cultivation Realm, known only to a select few cultivators.

"It’s too early to say if he succeeded."

Yin Hanguang shook his head slightly, answering Zhouyang with just one sentence and said no more.

As for Zhu Zizhen, she didn’t even look at Zhouyang. It was unclear if she scorned answering him or if she was also ignorant of the facts.

Zhouyang felt somewhat stifled, his mouth slightly moved, wanting to seize the opportunity to ask more questions on this subject.

But ultimately, he suppressed the urge.

He feared that even if he asked, Yin Hanguang wouldn’t answer, which would be an embarrassment.

"I hope Elder Lu succeeds!"

He said sincerely and quietly, then clamped his mouth shut and widened his eyes to watch the changes in the celestial phenomenon above.

As time passed, the celestial phenomenon grew more complex.

A vast amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered in mid-air, quickly forming a large mass of Seven-Colored Spiritual Cloud.

Zhouyang initially thought it would be the famed Tribulation Clouds, but he didn’t sense any danger from it.

Instead, shortly after, pieces of snow-flake-like Spiritual Flower began drifting down from the Seven-Colored Spiritual Cloud.

When a Spiritual Flower landed on Zhouyang, it instantly transformed into a stream of incredibly pure Spiritual Qi, flooding into his body.

Almost reflexively, Zhouyang operated his Cultivation Technique to refine this Spiritual Qi, leading to an exciting and surprising discovery.

Upon refining the Spiritual Qi contained within that Spiritual Flower, the bottleneck hindering his cultivation showed signs of loosening, which brought him overwhelming joy.

He looked up excitedly toward Yin Hanguang and Zhu Zizhen, wanting to ask what was happening, but was surprised to find that the two had separated and were diligently gathering and refining those Spiritual Flowers.

This changed his expression, and he seemed to realize something, turning his gaze toward where Lu Xuanji was in seclusion.

There was still no movement there, yet for Zhouyang, the lack of activity was the worst news possible.

Biting his teeth, he joined the ranks of those gathering and refining the Spiritual Flowers.

With each Spiritual Flower refined, the bottleneck in Zhouyang’s cultivation loosened a bit more. By the time he had refined an unknown number of Spiritual Flowers and completely shattered that bottleneck, his cultivation had unconsciously climbed to the fourth layer of the Golden Core Stage, making him a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

Soon after, Zhouyang heard a sigh of deep reluctance coming from Lu Xuanji’s seclusion spot. Then, the floating Spiritual Flowers and the Seven-Colored Spiritual Cloud dispersed into ordinary Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, dissipating back into the world.

Zhouyang knew that Lu Xuanji’s attempt to break through to the Tribulation Crossing Stage had ultimately failed!

Originally overjoyed due to his cultivation breakthrough, he was no longer happy at all.

What did it matter if he broke through to the mid-stage Golden Core?

Without escaping the imprisonment of this "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm," even reaching the Nascent Soul Stage would only extend his sentence!

He stared blankly into the sky, only to find that Yin Hanguang and Zhu Zizhen had vanished without a trace.

This left him slightly stunned, then, almost as if struck by a thought, he murmured to himself, "Something’s not right. Their reaction was too calm; this isn’t how a prisoner should react."

"Yes, they must have a way to leave this place; that’s why they were so indifferent!"

Zhouyang awakened with excitement, becoming increasingly convinced that his deduction was correct, and his eyes gradually filled with hopeful light.

Indeed, more than half a month later, when he met Lu Xuanji after his retreat, the elder mentioned the matter on his own initiative.

"First, I must apologize to you all because I lied to you at the time. In truth, I do have a way to leave the ’Dome Heaven Immortal Realm’ together with you."

"But once this method is used, it won’t be possible to re-enter the ’Dome Heaven Immortal Realm’ for some time. Thus, for my selfish reasons, I deliberately withheld this from you and let you languish with me here for decades!"

As soon as they met, Lu Xuanji, now looking much older, took the initiative to apologize to Zhouyang and the others.

Of course, his main apologies were directed toward Yin Hanguang and Zhu Zizhen, with Zhouyang merely being incidental to the matter.

Zhouyang had enough self-awareness to understand this.

"Elder Lu, you overstate the case!"

"Observing a senior’s attempt to break into the Tribulation Crossing Stage is my honor and fortune, so what’s a few decades in comparison?"

Yin Hanguang hastily returned the courtesy, his face not showing any displeasure but instead, a hint of gratitude.

Even the proud Zhu Zizhen respectfully stated, "Exchanging mere decades for the opportunity of the Flower of the Great Dao granted by Fellow Daoist Lu was indeed a gain for me."

Seeing the stance of both, Zhouyang guessed that they must have already deduced the truth and merely feigned ignorance.

After all, even if they had exposed Lu Xuanji back then, it wouldn’t have dissuaded him from attempting the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and it would only have caused mutual embarrassment.

Moreover, neither the human nor the demon would have been too eager to leave the relatively safe "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm" at that moment.

"It’s truly humbling to see you two so magnanimous, yet I, in the end, have failed at the precipice of success, unable to touch upon the True Immortal Dao. I’ve disappointed the elaborate plans of the sect’s ancestors and predecessors, let down my fellow juniors within the sect, and failed to live up to the sacrifices of Junior Brother Baiyang and Junior Brother Jinyang!"

Lu Xuanji’s face darkened as he sighed heavily, a look of desolation and sorrow etched deeply into his features.

Evidently, the failure in crossing the Tribulation dealt a great blow to him.

Having arduously cultivated for three thousand years, outliving countless peers, vanquishing innumerable formidable foes, now only just a step away from erasing the words "Half-Step" before "True Immortal"—yet finding no entry, thwarted at the threshold.

This setback was indeed anything but ordinary.

Even someone like Lu Xuanji, who had seen the vicissitudes of life, having faced countless successes and failures, could not easily recover from such a massive blow in a short span of time.

But he was, after all, Lu Xuanji, a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul Stage "Half-Step True Immortal" powerhouse. Even in the depths of his dejection, he was unaffected in discussing serious matters.

With a wave of his hand, he tiredly said, "Enough, the excessive words I shall spare. With decades having passed, I am keen to know the current state of the sect, thus, I request you a small favor. Please help me harvest the matured spirit elixirs here, so that I can lead you away from this place."

Harvesting spirit elixirs was Lu Xuanji making preparations for the future.

He was well aware that once the news of his failure to break through the Tribulation Crossing Stage spread, the pernicious effects of unleashing the Heaven-Sundering True Demon would soon manifest, making the days ahead for the Profound Sun Immortal Sect far more challenging than ever before.

Particularly since his remaining lifespan was dwindling, once he sat in meditation and passed away without him, a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul Stage "Half-Step True Immortal" anchoring the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, their future would only grow more dire.

Thus, by taking out these precious high-tier spirit elixir resources from within the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm", it could at least ease the sect’s difficulties for the next several centuries.

Anyway, the situation within the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm" was only known to the few of them present, and as long as he claimed that most spirit elixirs were destroyed in battle against the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, he need not fear being questioned by others.

Even if someone did investigate, it would be a muddled account, as he simply did not intend to acknowledge blame.

Thus Zhouyang and others spent three days aiding Lu Xuanji, harvesting several thousand high-tier spirit elixirs which were then stored in a storage ring and handed to him.

During this period, Lu Xuanji also dismantled the thirty-six silver-white pillars and the silver chains used in setting up the "Celestial Spirit Demon Suppression Array".

"This is a ’Boundary-Breaking Talisman’, an item I obtained accidentally while traveling through the Celestial South Continent Cultivation Realm long ago. I came across three in total; aside from one left to the sect as heritage, this is my last one kept for myself."

"In a moment, I shall use the ’Boundary-Breaking Talisman’ to breach the barrier of this pocket secret realm. You can enter my ’Qiankun Pot’ in advance, and I will carry you out!"

Within the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm", Lu Xuanji held an azure-gray copper pot in one hand and a silver-gray spirit talisman in the other, explaining the usage of the two treasures to the others.

Both treasures were of inestimable value, each enough to spur Nascent Soul Stage cultivators into desperate contest had they been the owners.

However, since their master was Lu Xuanji, a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul Stage "Half-Step True Immortal", the others could only look on in envy.

Following Lu Xuanji’s arrangement, Zhouyang, Yin Hanguang, and Zhu Zizhen, these two people and one demon, soon relaxed and were collected into the pocket world spiritual artifact "Qiankun Pot" by him. Then, holding the copper pot in one hand, he struck the "Boundary-Breaking Talisman" into the void in front of him with the other.

In an instant, the void rippled like water, quickly torn open into a dim gray-black hole by the power unleashed by the "Boundary-Breaking Talisman".

Seeing this, Lu Xuanji promptly summoned a treasure pearl spiritual artifact to shield himself before diving straight into the dim gray-black hole.

On a flat, stone-gray boulder in the mountains, Zhouyang lay back with his legs stretched out, silently enjoying a long-missed sunbath.

He was currently in a place named Cyan Profound Country within the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, some seven to eight hundred thousand miles from Daoxuan Country, where the Profound Sun Immortal Sect was located, but less than half a million miles from Liuyun Immortal City.

And Liuyun Immortal City was precisely where Zhouyang planned to head next.

It was now the third day since he had left the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm." Upon safely returning to the "Spirit Realm", Lu Xuanji immediately used a special artifact to contact the sect and learned from Master Cyan Yang about the events that transpired over the years.

Afterward, "Vermilion Bird Demon King" Zhu Zizhen left first upon receiving the Tier Five Pill Formula and twenty-five top-grade spirit stones that were promised from Zhouyang, returning to the Wilderness Jungle.

Zhouyang had memorized the Tier Five Pill Formula long ago, but within the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm" environment, he had to play cautiously.

Luckily Zhu Zizhen did not have the time to conspire against him, otherwise, he might have truly suffered.

And having learned from Master Cyan Yang that his Dao Companion Xiao Ying was now in Liuyun Immortal City, Zhouyang immediately decided to head to Liuyun Immortal City.

Seeing this, Lu Xuanji did not force him to accompany him back to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect but instead returned after conferring some matters to him in a private meeting.

It’s worth mentioning that no one knows what benefits Lu Xuanji promised, but Yin Hanguang actually followed him back to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect.

"The Heaven-Sundering True Demon is severely injured but not dead, which is like a timed bomb tied to the hearts of many high-tier cultivators in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, ready to rebound and explode at any moment!"

"And after this event, the Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s influence is bound to be greatly weakened. The territories and benefits it previously consumed, who knows how much they will have to relinquish? Moreover, the entire Profound Purity Dao Alliance will be affected, and a misstep could potentially incite a large-scale cultivator war!"

"If a war really breaks out, it’s likely that the Heaven-Sundering True Demon lurking in the shadows will take the opportunity to stir up trouble. Hmm, perhaps to lure it out, several forces might actually plan a war!"

On the bluestone, Zhouyang enjoyed the warm sun bath while silently closing his eyes, pondering the current situation, considering what he could do within it.

His cultivation was at the middle stage of Golden Core; not particularly high, yet not too low either.

Especially since his true combat power far exceeded his cultivation realm, among Golden Core Stage cultivators, those who could steadily defeat him were indeed rare.

This kind of strength gave him the capital to establish himself formally in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

Indeed, Zhouyang had already conceived the idea of occupying a piece of territory in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

The Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm was still too barren, and for a Golden Core Stage cultivator like him, staying there was a complete waste of life.

Moreover, given the current prowess of the Zhou Family, even if he isn’t stationed within the clan, it wouldn’t impact the family’s dominance in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm.

As long as no incident occurs with the Soul Token he left in the clan, and as long as he reveals himself every hundred years or so, he believes no one would dare conceive any plans against the Zhou Family.

As for why Zhouyang would conceive such an idea, it all started from that confidential talk with Lu Xuanji.

The confidential talk was quite brief, lasting less than half an hour, yet for Zhouyang, it bore enormous significance.

Among other things, during the talk, Lu Xuanji clearly stated to him that if he was willing to develop long-term in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm and secretly assist the Profound Sun Immortal Sect in some affairs, the sect could, through some means, secretly help him acquire a Tier Five Top Grade Spirit Mountain as a refuge, and sell Foundation Establishment Pills in bulk for him to develop his power, and even assist in his future Refining Pill and Forming Infant.

These favorable conditions made Zhouyang highly tempted.

As the saying goes, ’The moth of a hundred feet still twitches even in death.’

It’s also commonly said: ’A skinny camel is bigger than a horse.’

Though the decline of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect is set in motion, it doesn’t change its standing as a top-tier major sect in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

If he can establish a deep cooperative relationship with the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, regardless of whether it’s for Zhouyang himself or the Zhou Family, it would be greatly beneficial.

Of course, gains come with losses; accepting the sect’s advantages and helping its cause would mean being branded entirely with its mark, and once the association is exposed, the sect’s enemies certainly wouldn’t let him off easily.

These gains and losses require careful consideration from Zhouyang for him to make a decision.

"Better observe how Lu Xuanji negotiates with other forces after returning. If the negotiation results favorably, then fully pledging allegiance to the Profound Sun Immortal Sect wouldn’t be a problem."

"If the negotiations falter and other sects insist on jointly eradicating the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, then I can’t board this inevitably sinking ship to perish with them!"

With a soft sigh, Zhouyang rubbed his eyes, kicked his feet off the stone, stood up, and with a wave, retrieved a mask thin as a cicada’s wing and placed it on his face. With a thought, he transformed into a slightly dark-complexioned, aloof young man.

The mask was given to him by Lu Xuanji, rumored to be a tangible wonder from the Overseas Cultivation Realm. Wearing it makes it almost impossible for anyone except Nascent Soul Stage cultivators to discern his true appearance.

Though a cultivator doesn’t necessarily rely solely on one’s appearance for recognition, in the absence of facial identification, unless someone had recent dealings with Zhouyang, no one could identify him through his body shape or magical power aura.

Lu Xuanji gifted him the item on Master Cyan Yang’s suggestion.

Due to the influence of the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon" incident, Master Cyan Yang couldn’t help him erase the bounty information concerning him from the Demon Slaying List, meaning if he didn’t disguise himself properly, it would be risky to openly walk in various Immortal Cities.

But now, he must venture to Liuyun Immortal City, the largest in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

Thus, to prevent his identity from being exposed, Master Cyan Yang requested Lu Xuanji to provide him with such a mask.

Now, after donning the mask and disguising as an ordinary cultivator, he changed into an unobtrusive cyan robe, then rode a golden cloud towards Liuyun Immortal City.

To mention, he had traveled to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm several times, but had never visited its most bustling place, the Liuyun Immortal City. This time, he could go and properly take a look and have a glance.