Chapter 1606 - Ninth-Level Earth Immortal Realm

Liu Wuxie lost himself in the thrill of cultivation. While the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron devoured energy from the Seven-Treasure Glazed Stone, he drew on the pool's power and tempered his physique.

Even though he had achieved unity with heaven and earth, he still stood in its early stage, and formidable experts could still kill him if he faced them head-on.

After achieving unity with heaven and earth, Liu Wuxie could live as long as the heavens, as long as he never suffered fatal injuries and died.

Niu Yichang guarded the entrance while several elders came into view, and the elder guarding this place hurried back with them.

"Elder Niu, what are you trying to do? Are you going to disregard the sect's rule?" one of the arriving elders barked, accusing Niu Yichang of privately bringing someone into the Heavenly Aquatic Pool and violating the sect's rules.

"You'd better not meddle in this matter. I will explain to the Palace Lord myself," Niu Yichang said guiltily. Worry for his disciple had pushed him to make this extreme choice, and he believed only the Heavenly Aquatic Pool's energy could treat Liu Wuxie's injuries.

Sima An snapped, "The palace lord already knows about this matter, and he sent us to stop you from continuing this nonsense."

If the palace lord hadn't suffered such a catastrophic blow, he would have erupted long ago. But the Immortal Slaughter Palace desperately needed talent, and Niu Yichang held a high status. With over a dozen Heaven Gaze Realm elders already dead, the Immortal Slaughter Palace could no longer afford more losses, so the palace lord tolerated anything that didn't cross the line.

By labeling it “nonsense” instead of interrogating Niu Yichang openly, Sima An had already shown him enough consideration.

"That's about enough," Niu Yichang muttered. He was blunt, but he still knew when to stop, so he strode toward the Heavenly Aquatic Pool to retrieve Liu Wuxie.

By the time Sima An and the others arrived, Liu Wuxie had already put away the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, unwilling to risk them discovering it.

"Go explain yourself to the Palace Lord. The Palace Lord is furious now," Sima An said, then left with the other elders while Niu Yichang carried Liu Wuxie away behind them.

The elder guarding this place rushed to inspect the Heavenly Aquatic Pool, then left in relief after finding no obvious change.

Liu Wuxie only displayed the fourth-level Origin Conversion Realm, and he couldn't possibly drain the entire Heavenly Aquatic Pool while the elder carried out his duty.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After Niu Yichang brought Liu Wuxie back to the mountain, he turned and headed straight for the main hall.

In the main hall, the Hunchbacked Elder had already left, and Sima An sat inside with the other elders.

"Palace Lord, Niu Yichang is becoming more and more outrageous. He even dared to barge into the Heavenly Aquatic Pool now! You have to punish him," Gong Yangbo said, clearly eager to watch Niu Yichang suffer.

As for Meng An, he remained nothing more than a disciple, and he had done nothing wrong from the beginning.

"Gong Yangbo, shut your filthy mouth. Even if they punish me, it has nothing to do with you," Niu Yichang said as he strode in. He had heard every word, and the moment they met, the two started clawing at each other again.

Gong Yangbo opened his mouth to refute, but the palace lord coughed twice, and Gong Yangbo shut his mouth immediately.

"Elder Niu, explain the reasoning for your action," the palace lord said.

"When you left earlier, didn't you say that the injured could take whatever treasures they needed from the vault? The Heavenly Aquatic Pool is also a form of treasure," Niu Yichang said, deciding to play dumb. Gong Yangbo had been present when the palace lord had given his order.

"Niu Yichang, that's blatant sophistry! Since when are the treasures in the vault the same thing as the Heavenly Aquatic Pool?" Gong Yangbo demanded.

Several elders shook their heads and smiled with helpless pity. They had long heard that Niu Yichang could be shameless, and he had proven it again.

Niu Yichang shot back, "What do you want me to do then? Meng An has already absorbed some of the energy from the Heavenly Aquatic Pool to treat his injuries. What are you going to do? Are you suggesting that we injure him again?" He had already done it, and he didn't care if punishment followed.

Every sect had someone like him, a person even the palace lord found hard to handle. He couldn't beat him, and scolding him barely worked either. Corner him too hard, and he might blow everything up into something worse.

After all, Niu Yichang's cultivation was high, and the pinnacle of the Heaven Gaze Realm remained a powerhouse anywhere.

"Meng An has caused this entire chain of trouble, and I suggest sending him out for the time being," Sima An suggested.

Ever since Niu Yichang had taken Meng An as a disciple, incident after incident had followed. Meng An had killed Zhong Lu, leading to the clash with Zhong Yang, and triggering the ensuing chaos.

"He's only at the Origin Conversion Realm, and where do you want to send him?" Elder Niu glared at Sima An. The Origin Conversion Realm was at the bottom of the food chain in the Laman Astral Domain.

"Elder Sima, carry on," the palace lord said. He glared at Elder Niu and signaled him to keep quiet. He still had to settle the Heavenly Aquatic Pool issue, and if Niu Yichang pushed too far, the palace lord wouldn't hesitate to suppress him with his authority.

"Serene Peace Star is short on manpower, and they've urged us several times to dispatch disciples there. I have transferred some over, but we're still short of manpower. Why don't we send Meng An there?" Sima An suggested.

Liu Wuxie had destroyed many Immortal Slaughter Palace assets, indirectly killing many disciples, and the manpower shortage had become a real issue.

Serene Peace Star ranked as one of the Immortal Slaughter Palace's important mines, and they couldn't allow any mishap there. Recently, unrest in the mines had left disciples dead for no clear reason, so the elder stationed there demanded reinforcements.

"Do as Elder Sima suggested," the palace lord said, deciding to send Meng An to the Serene Peace Star with the other disciples.

Niu Yichang wanted to refute him, but the palace lord's grim face forced him to swallow his words.

"We understand that you care for your disciple, but you can't protect him forever. Sending him out to train would only benefit him," Sima An said, walking over to pat Niu Yichang's shoulder.

Niu Yichang understood the logic, but he had taken a disciple for the first time, and experience didn't come as easily as it did for the others.

Spoiling a disciple would ruin him in the long term. In the end, the sect assigned Liu Wuxie to the Serene Peace Star, and he was scheduled to depart in two days.

At nightfall, Niu Yichang guided Liu Wuxie, then returned to his room. Once silence wrapped the mountain, Liu Wuxie activated the surrounding restrictions and slipped into the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

He planned to refine all the energy he had drawn from the Seven-Treasure Glazed Stone and use it to push into the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm. Above the cauldron, terrifying seven-colored energy hovered and churned.

"Pour it all into the desolate world," Liu Wuxie said as the Desolate Devouring Art began to circulate.

Inside the cauldron, Liu Wuxie no longer feared any leak of aura.

An immortal stone hovered above the desolate world, constantly releasing immortal energy to nourish it.

When the seven-colored energy flowed into the desolate world, gentle rain began to fall from the sky, strengthening the immortal energy.

The laws at the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm had already begun to take shape, and each law widened until it reached the thickness of a man's thigh.

Liu Wuxie felt his soul sea stir as well. He had absorbed the Soul Stone's energy and stored it inside his soul sea, yet he still hadn't refined it.

Under the impact of the seven-colored energy, the gateway to the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm rose, and the desolate world became even more exquisite than it had been before the evolution.

The evolution of the Desolate Devouring Art demanded comprehension of life and death, and Liu Wuxie had only grasped it by chance when he had fought with Nalan Qiwen. Without that, he might never have comprehended the Life and Death Transformation, much less chased the Immortal Realm.

Immortal energy surged through the desolate world like a flood and slammed into the gateway to the ninth level like a tidal wave.

The impact only carved cracks across the massive gate, but it still refused to open because countless immortal runes covered its surface.

The desolate world had already birthed over a thousand immortal runes. Once he broke through to the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm, that number would double again.

Liu Wuxie kept driving immortal energy forward, hammering the gateway to the ninth level again and again.

With a thunderous impact, the gateway to the ninth level finally shattered, and countless laws and immortal runes gushed into the desolate world. The instant they merged, the desolate world roared as a terrifying wave of immortal energy spread outward.

Liu Wuxie raced against time because he had to finish his breakthrough before daylight.

Every morning, Niu Yichang gave him a lesson, and failing to appear would expose him.

Immortal energy and laws crashed through Liu Wuxie's body, yet he forced himself to follow the proper cultivation path.

The seven-colored energy proved far too powerful, battering his body repeatedly. He pushed his cultivation to the ninth-level Earth Immortal Realm, reaching the late phase. He stood only one step away from the pinnacle of the ninth level.

Time slipped past without him noticing, and disciples came and went like flowing water outside.

Before dawn arrived, Liu Wuxie completed the breakthrough. His physique, the desolate world, and his soul sea all underwent drastic transformation, and seven-colored radiance now gleamed within them.

The desolate world changed the most. It had been white and black before, yet after absorbing the Seven-Treasure Glazed Stone's energy, a seven-colored rainbow arched across its sky dazzlingly and vividly. Those added colors made the desolate world even more complete.

The Great Five Elemental Mythical Art, the Heavenbound Immortal Finger, and the Divine Eternal Fist now carried a clearer shadow of an immortal art. The Great Samsara Mythical Art had also reached a high level, but the complete version still couldn't compare to those three techniques.

Liu Wuxie still couldn't grasp the domain's true power. It still held the appearance of an axe imprint, but it had condensed further, and the axe's outline now appeared sharply defined.

The Great Conversion Mythical Art had become the Pool of Faith, while the Great Yin-Yang Mythical Art had fused into the Great Five Elemental Mythical Art. The Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms and the Dragon-Grasping Hand had transformed into a dragon aura that nourished the Dragon Realm. The Soul Forge Art had formed his primordial spirit, and the Nether Deity Harvest had converted into his soul sea.

That meant Liu Wuxie could only wield the Heavenbound Immortal Finger, the Great Five Elemental Mythical Art, and the Divine Eternal Fist now. The Great Curse Mythical Art and the Great Death Mythical Art had long fused, but he would need a vast amount of cursed energy to wield them.

Two days later, Liu Wuxie arrived at the assigned gathering point. He had considered refusing, but refusal would only raise suspicion, and he didn't need to remain inside the Immortal Slaughter Palace forever to sow discord.

The Immortal Slaughter Palace had many experts stationed outside as well, and he could weaken them there, too. If he destroyed enough assets, the Immortal Slaughter Palace would slide toward destruction on its own.

A group of over thirty disciples stepped into the teleportation array and left the Immortal Slaughter Palace for Serene Peace Star.

Meanwhile, the elder guarding the Heavenly Aquatic Pool stood at the pool's edge with his brows locked.

That morning, while conducting a routine inspection of the pool, he noticed that the energy had noticeably weakened. At first, he dismissed it, but as he sensed the energy continuing to thin, he finally realized something had gone wrong.

Even so, he didn't dare to report it to the sect, for fear they would charge him with negligence. He could only wait, praying the pool would recover on its own after a few days.