Chapter 1222 - Fourth-Level Transcendent Realm

Mu Heng stood amid the crowd of disciples ringing him and glared at Liu Wuxie with open hostility. Liu Wuxie had stolen all the limelight during the wilderness training, and yesterday's auction had sown bitter discord between the two institutions.

What had looked like a firm alliance shattered beneath Liu Wuxie's words, and any cooperation between the two institutions would be difficult going forward.

The War Dragon Institute had fallen into chaos, and the Dharma Institute fared no better.

Shortly after Liu Wuxie's arrival, the Contribution Hall's gate creaked open, and everyone poured in. The hall was vast, more than ten thousand square meters, and artisans forged its mirror-smooth walls from a special stone that occasionally reflected bizarre images.

"Immortal runes," Liu Wuxie murmured, squinting. The stone walls held runic depth—true immortal runes. Beyond those fortified walls, a giant pillar of light rose like a column of dawn. An overwhelming aura spilled from it; within lay countless pills, each worth a fortune. These were not fifth, sixth, or seventh-grade spiritual pills, but Pure Yang Pills.

Liu Wuxie was familiar with the Pure Yang Pills. In the Central Plains, he had used the Desolate Devouring Art to absorb pure yang energy and refine it into such pills. On the True Martial Continent, pure yang energy was scarce; a whole day's effort yielded little.

However, the Astral Domain was different, as the void brimmed with pure yang energy.

He had heard that the Heavenly Dragon Sect maintained a Pure Yang Lake with energy that had long been condensed into liquid. Sadly, his cultivation was too low; even if he could absorb large amounts of pure yang energy, he could not condense it into pills himself.

Pure Yang Pills had no grade. In battle, they replenished true essence; in regular cultivation, they drew out the body's potential and strengthened the dantian. Unlike sixth or seventh-grade spiritual pills, alchemists refined them easily and needed no rare materials. Many believed astral stones were the main currency of the cultivation world, but in truth, Pure Yang Pills held that role.

After reaching the Void Realm, only Pure Yang Pills remained useful because astral stones contained too many impurities. Pure Yang Pills were indispensable across both the Primal Origin Realm and the Void Realm.

Several elders stepped forward, and the clamor died.

"Present your tokens. We will begin the reward distribution now!" Three elders presided, each radiating the power of a low-level Primal Origin Realm expert.

Every disciple had received a token upon joining the Heavenly Dragon Sect and infused it with their soul energy. Once a disciple's soul energy entered the token, it would be linked to the Grand Void Pillar. Each token was unique; no one could claim another's reward, and if someone stole a token, it would become useless.

Disciples presented their tokens and sent a wisp of true essence into them. Each token glowed and fired a beam into the walls.

"Mu Heng, third place!"

"Li Mingshan, fiftieth place!"

"...!" In a blink, names flooded the stone walls as the array laid the rankings bare and arranged them in order. When Liu Wuxie infused his true essence, his name leapt to first place, knocking Mu Heng from the top. He Yingwu's name followed next, pushing Mu Heng down again.

Within a few breaths, the array neatly ranked the top hundred.

"Those ranked fifty to one hundred will receive one fifth-grade spiritual pill and ten Pure Yang Pills," the elders announced. Though modest, the reward sent those disciples away in high spirits.

Next came ranks forty to forty-nine: one fifth-grade spiritual pill and twenty Pure Yang Pills each. Ranks thirty to thirty-nine received one fifth-grade spiritual pill and thirty Pure Yang Pills.

Ranks twenty to twenty-nine received two fifth-grade spiritual pills and thirty Pure Yang Pills. Ranks ten to nineteen received two fifth-grade spiritual pills, thirty Pure Yang Pills, and one day of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's first floor.

Finally, the rewards for the top rankers were announced. Those in ninth to fifth place would receive three fifth-grade spiritual pills, thirty Pure Yang Pills, one day of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's first floor, and personal guidance from an Origin Conversion Realm elder.

Fourth place received all of that, but with one day of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's second floor. Then came third place. By now, many disciples had already left the hall after collecting their rewards.

"Third place—four fifth-grade spiritual pills, forty Pure Yang Pills, and two days of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's third floor," the presiding elder declared as Mu Heng stepped forward to accept an interspatial pouch.

Second place followed, and He Yingwu grew tense—it was his turn. Second place could come with a sixth-grade spiritual pill or something suited to the Origin Conversion Realm. He probably wouldn't need it himself, but he could pass it to Liu Wuxie.

At the Transcendent Realm, fifth-grade pills still more than sufficed for him.

The second placer would receive one sixth-grade spiritual pill, fifty Pure Yang Pills, three days of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's fourth floor, personal guidance from a Primal Origin Realm elder, and a decent martial technique.

He Yingwu rejoiced at the announcement and hurried to accept his prize.

At last, it was Liu Wuxie's turn. The three elders studied him closely; they had heard the rumors from the previous day and naturally wondered what made the first-ranked disciple so unusual. Liu Wuxie revealed a calm smile, humble yet unfathomable.

"You're Liu Wuxie?" asked the elder on the right. In recent days, Liu Wuxie's name had rung through the Contribution Hall; waves of disciples mentioned him daily.

"I am," Liu Wuxie said with a composed bow, neither fawning nor flattering.

"Here is your reward," the elder announced. "Two sixth-grade spiritual pills, one hundred Pure Yang Pills, the Great Asura Sword, five days of cultivation on the Primordial Pagoda's fifth floor, three days of reading time in the Book Collection Hall, and personal guidance from a Primal Origin Realm elder."

A collective intake of breath rippled through the hall. The reward outstripped imagination—two sixth-grade pills and one hundred Pure Yang Pills, a cultivation opportunity on the fifth floor of the Primordial Pagoda, and the Great Asura Sword, one of the Heavenly Dragon Sect's ten supreme arts.

Most astonishing of all, three full days in the Book Collection Hall, which stored a million years of the sect's knowledge. Ordinary disciples could borrow books there, but the sect limited their access; for three days, Liu Wuxie was allowed to read whatever he wished.

"Liu Wuxie has struck gold! At this rate, he'll reach the high Transcendent Realm soon. By then, perhaps even Origin Conversion experts at a higher level might not be his match," many disciples muttered with wry smiles. The comparison left them in despair. Though he slew Deng Huaiguang at significant cost, things would change once he advanced further.

"Thank you, elders," Liu Wuxie said, bowing, and then he left the hall. His next steps were clear—increase his cultivation, train in the Primordial Pagoda, and then enter the Book Collection Hall. The plan had shifted; he had not expected to receive several sixth-grade pills. The path ahead of him grew brighter.

He Yingwu hurried up and pressed his own sixth-grade spiritual pill into Liu Wuxie's hand. Liu Wuxie did not stand on ceremony. His physique differed from others—fifth-grade pills, suitable for the Transcendent Realm, would only help him condense a few hundred strands of law at most.

They swiftly left the Contribution Hall and returned to their courtyard. They had intended to rent a cultivation chamber, but without contribution points, it was futile.

Liu Wuxie activated a spiritual array that enveloped the entire courtyard. Then, he took out a sixth-grade spiritual pill and swallowed it. A terrifying energy detonated within him. With a thunderous

rumble,

the gateway to the fourth-level Transcendent Realm burst open.

Powerful Transcendent laws surged through him. Ordinary cultivators at that level could probably hold a few thousand laws, but Liu Wuxie's strands numbered in the hundreds of thousands. This foundation allowed him to challenge higher realms and display unimaginable combat strength.

He tossed several Pure Yang Pills into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. They melted into pure yang energy that flowed into and filled his desolate world.

"The Pure Yang Pill's energy is far purer than astral stones," he murmured. As his cultivation climbed steadily, he judged that he could reach the fifth-level Transcendent Realm. After all, he still held two more sixth-grade spiritual pills.

However, he also knew the truth: the more he consumed, the less effective they would become. In the future, even a dozen could probably not push him a single level unless he consumed pills of a higher grade.

He urged the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron to full power. Spiritual energy within tens of thousands of meters funneled toward him and vanished.

Outside, Heavenly Martial Institute disciples could only stare in disbelief. When they tried to cultivate, they found that the ambient spiritual energy had disappeared without a trace.

They had no choice but to leave the area or apply for transfer; if they stayed, they would probably never reach the Origin Conversion Realm in their lifetime.

After half a day, Liu Wuxie consolidated his breakthrough at the fourth-level Transcendent Realm. Without hesitation, he retrieved a second sixth-grade pill and swallowed it.

The surge hit hard, but it was weaker than before; it failed to push him to the fifth level. Resistance had already set in, just as he had expected. He had no choice but to take the third pill.

The combined energies crashed together and roared through his meridians. The gateway to the fifth-level Transcendent Realm appeared before him, its threshold trembling. He stood on the verge of another breakthrough.

This time, he drew out twenty Pure Yang Pills and tossed them into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Alongside them, five hundred thousand astral stones dissolved into a torrential current, all of it pounding like a hammer on the gateway to the fifth level.