Chapter 858 - Second-Level True Profound Realm

Liu Wuxie and Qiao Bian lost control of their bodies as they were dragged into the Spatial Beast’s gaping maw. A pitch-black tunnel stretched before them, leading into an endless abyss that swallowed all light.

As they plummeted, Liu Wuxie realized he had lost all sense of gravity under the powerful suction force, rendering him unable to summon any strength.

Qiao Bian fared no better, and he was at the high-level Spirit Profound Realm.

After three full breaths, the surroundings lit up as countless spatial crystals appeared. They looked like mirrors that were neatly arranged before them.

"So many spatial shards!" Qiao Bian was shocked.

They hovered before the spatial shards, unable to muster strength. The spatial laws there differed from those of the outside world and were independent dimensions.

"We're in the spatial beast's body. It has absorbed these spatial shards over the years. We must leave as soon as possible, or we will be completely lost." Liu Wuxie's voice echoed as they traveled through the spatial shards.

There was no way to discern a path back. The spatial beast had no internal organs, only spatial shards. Liu Wuxie and Qiao Bian extended their divine senses. They found themselves trapped in a vast world, and they would never be able to reach the edge even if they wandered for an eternity. Such was the nature of space.

Liu Wuxie spoke of a formidable Dao technique among the three thousand Daos called the Grand Divine Confinement Art. This technique embodied the profundity of space and had the power to imprison an entire stretch of space, trapping everything within.

Now, they found themselves caught in such confinement. Though they seemed to be moving, it was the spatial shards shifting around them, meaning they remained in place all along.

"Brother Liu, is there a way to shatter the spatial shards here and disturb the order?" Qiao Bian asked. If they could disrupt the spatial shards, they would be able to find the way out.

"It's worth a try!" Liu Wuxie replied. He wasn’t entirely certain, as this was his first direct encounter with such spatial formations.

However, their offensive strength was significantly reduced due to the lack of solid footing.

They scanned their surroundings carefully, searching for spatial crystals that appeared more fragile, hoping to find a breakthrough.

The largest shard was a thousand feet tall, while the smallest was only the height of an average person.

Each chose a relatively small spatial shard and channeled his true essence to attack. However, they were disappointed with what happened next, as their attacks were slowed down, and all the energy was restricted.

By the time their attacks landed on their targets, they had barely one-tenth of their original power left. When their attacks touched the spatial shard, it remained firm and unmoved.

They couldn't even shake it, let alone shatter it.

Liu Wuxie and Qiao Bian exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting concern. They knew destroying the spatial shards using brute force was impossible, but they were unsure what to do next.

They maneuvered through the sea of spatial shards by grabbing the surrounding shards to propel themselves forward. Each spatial shard was like a tree, rooted deeply inside the spatial beast. They were arranged in a precise order, scattered around like stars.

Liu Wuxie considered using the Heavenly Dao Book to help him with his analysis, but the effects were minimal.

The spatial beast was a singular entity, and the Heavenly Dao Book could only be used to restore a spatial shard.

As time passed, they were trapped inside the spatial beast all day and night. There was no spiritual energy, which meant they constantly depleted their true essence.

Though they could temporarily manage their exhaustion with spirit stones, their true essence would eventually deplete, leading to their inevitable death.

"There's only one way for us to survive and escape," Liu Wuxie murmured after a brief pondering.

"Comprehend the power of space!" Qiao Bian looked at Liu Wuxie and guessed what the latter was thinking.

"That's right!" Their thoughts had aligned perfectly. They could only escape by comprehending the power of space.

Since his debut, this was Liu Wuxie's first encounter with a prodigy whose intelligence rivaled his own. Qiao Bian was the first, as their perspectives often aligned.

They immediately put their plan into action, as time was of the essence. The spatial beast was an existence that roamed the galaxy. If it left the True Martial Continent, they wouldn't be able to find their way back, even if they escaped.

When repairing the profound talisman, Liu Wuxie had absorbed several spatial shards, allowing him to grasp the fundamentals of spatial laws.

The surrounding space suddenly began to tremble, and Liu Wuxie opened his eyes in disbelief. He saw Qiao Bian summoning an enormous sword ten meters long and far more expansive than an ordinary sword. This was the first time Liu Wuxie had seen such a large weapon.

The sword brimmed with spirituality, manifesting an artifact spirit before it began devouring the surrounding spatial laws.

Sensing Liu Wuxie's gaze, Qiao Bian merely grinned and wasn't bothered that his secret was exposed.

The longsword was an artifact similar to Liu Wuxie's Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron. Devouring-type artifacts were rare, and Liu Wuxie had never encountered another until now.

However, he was briefly surprised before he closed his eyes to summon the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron hovered in the air, releasing a terrifying suction force that devoured a spatial shard over a dozen meters tall.

Qiao Bian opened his eyes with a hint of shock. Though he had suspected that Liu Wuxie possessed an extraordinary treasure, he was still shocked after witnessing it. Moreover, Liu Wuxie's cauldron was more terrifying than his sword.

However, Qiao Bian shock quickly subsided as he resumed his seclusion. The large sword devoured a spatial shard and vanished, absorbed by him.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As for the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, it wasn't satisfied after devouring a single spatial shard and continued to devour more from the surroundings.

The surrounding spatial shards quickly dwindled as the cauldron consumed more than a dozen in an instant.

The demonic flame ignited after the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron returned to his body, swiftly refining the indestructible spatial fragments into spatial elements.

The Heavenly Dao Book unfurled, its pages revealing intricate spatial sequences. Liu Wuxie focused his powerful consciousness, using the book as a guide to comprehend spatial laws.

As spatial laws began to flow in his body, they coursed through his meridians before entering the desolate world. When the spatial laws entered the desolate world, the wind raged, and lightning flashed.

The laws of the desolate world were being perfected as it expanded. With the addition of spatial laws, this expansion showed no signs of stopping.

Liu Wuxie was shocked. He began to wonder if the space in the desolate world wasn't real and was only a layer of crystalline wall.

Due to the incompleteness of the laws of the desolate world, it had yet to develop its own independent space. It was only a round dantian, just slightly larger than others.

However, everything was different now. The infusion of spatial laws had triggered its true evolution. Space was the foundation of all worlds, and only with its birth could the desolate world become a complete realm, capable of containing and sustaining all things.

As the transformation continued, the most evident change was the newfound stability of its internal structure.

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron stood guard at the center of the desolate world.

Then again, the expansion of the desolate world came at a cost, as Liu Wuxie had exhausted his true essence. He didn't hesitate to pour out the liquid spiritual energy from the cauldron to replenish the desolate world's depleted reserves.

When the Desolate Devouring Art had evolved, Liu Wuxie had already begun absorbing laws from his surroundings, though the effect had been subtle at first. At the time, he suspected that the desolate world had reached a bottleneck—that to ascend further, he would need to devour the very laws of the universe.

His suspicions were proven right as the aura he gave off began to rise. The threshold to the second-level True Profound Realm trembled, on the verge of breaking at any moment. Then again, his breakthrough came naturally as he was absorbing spatial laws.

However, Liu Wuxie quickly realized something.

This level of spatial laws isn’t enough for me to advance!

He had yet to grasp the deeper mysteries of space, but despite that, his breakthrough remained within reach.

Liu Wuxie summoned the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron once more, commanding it to devour the surrounding spatial shards. As the cauldron consumed them, the number of crystals in the vicinity steadily diminished.

Noticing the shift in Liu Wuxie’s aura, Qiao Bian accelerated his own refinement of spatial shards. The two prodigies, each possessing extraordinary talent, needed no external assistance—through sheer focus, they could naturally grasp the intricacies of spatial laws.

After devouring over a dozen spatial shards, the cauldron returned to Liu Wuxie's body to continue refining. The spatial shards were further shattered into smaller pieces before fusing into the desolate world.

The desolate world began to expand and contract like it was breathing, a sign that it had started to evolve.

Liu Wuxie’s eyes flickered with insight. He felt as if he had grasped something profound, only for it to slip away just as quickly. There was no time to dwell on it now—his priority was breaking through. Comprehending these insights would have to wait until he could properly settle down.

His momentum rose, and the gateway to the second-level True Profound Realm creaked open. A powerful surge of true essence swept out from him, causing the surrounding spatial shards to sway.

Though Qiao Bian couldn't make a breakthrough, his cultivation had become more refined, edging close to the eighth-level Spirit Profound Realm.

For each realm, the progress would slow down after reaching the late phase, and the improvement of half a level was impressive enough.

Liu Wuxie crushed all the remaining spirit stones, converting them into liquid spiritual energy and pouring it into the desolate world. Thus, he consumed all the spirit stones he had plundered from Du Canghai, including the reserves on hand.

Aside from a few Azure Cloud Pills and Azure Yang Pills, he was left with only a dozen Pure Yang Pills. These were foundational pills that offered limited aid. He often treated them like simple tonics, using them to replenish physical strength and true essence.

There was no avoiding it—Liu Wuxie’s breakthroughs demanded an astronomical amount of spiritual energy, tens or even hundreds of times more than others.

After reaching the mid-phase, second-level True Profound Realm, the rise in his cultivation began to slow down. For now, he couldn't obtain any significant advancements in his cultivation.

He needed to reach the pinnacle of the second-level True Profound Realm before attempting a breakthrough to the third, so he spent an entire day stabilizing his cultivation.

In the remaining time, Liu Wuxie and Qiao Bian focused on comprehending spatial laws, sensing the Spatial Beast's movements. If it left the Heavenly Peak, it would be a troubling development.