Chapter 274: Flaming Wings and the Journey into Hell (II)

With his equipment upgraded, it was time for Chen Chu to achieve his real objective.

"Consume 800 attribute points for maximum enhancement of the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd Art."

As Chen Chu spoke with anticipation, 800 attribute points disappeared from the page.

Boom!

Chen Chu's consciousness moved, transporting him to a hellish world of dim skies, scorching flames, and shattered earth. In the void, countless fierce ghosts and demons wailed. Suddenly, his Hellblood Battle Will, infused with intense murderous intent, was activated. An apparition of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood emerged, gradually merging with the fiery hellscape.

Huff! Huff!

With his eyes shut tight, Chen Chu felt his hair flutter despite the absence of wind, and a faint blood mark slowly appeared on his forehead. At the same time, his true power surged rapidly through his body, enhanced by his martial art. It fused with his swiftly growing willpower, steadily pushing him toward the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

Suddenly, Chen Chu's body radiated a burst of blood-red light. The ground shattered, flames roared, and the cave was enveloped by a vision of countless beast corpses and a sea of blood.

Amid this burning sea, Chen Chu stood atop a mountain of corpses, his aura terrifying, and the blood mark rune on his forehead became clearly visible.

After a long time, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes. They reflected the hellish landscape with mountains of corpses and a sea of blood, and a pair of golden pupils that seemed to block out the sky and sun could be seen deep within.

At that moment, Chen Chu's gaze was icy, overlooking all life with a god-like, indescribable majesty. Feeling the special rune flashing red on his forehead, he mentally summoned the attribute page.

Rune: Purgatory Blood Sea.

[Hell On Earth: This ability creates a projection of a domain that extends thirty meters around the user. Within this domain, the atmosphere is filled with a murderous aura that exerts psychological pressure on enemies, weakening their mental state and slightly distorting their perception of reality.]

[Infinite Purgatory: Under the fusion of battle will and domain, this ability gathers transcendent energy into the halberd. Each strike from the halberd is then empowered by the energy of the illusory world; the stronger the battle will, the greater the amplification of the attack.]

Reading the notes behind the Blood Sea Purgatory rune, Chen Chu was filled with astonishment. He didn't think that getting the halberd art to its maximum would trigger his battle will, nor that it would allow him to attain the domain power before reaching the Ninth Heavenly Realm, even if it was just an illusory projection.

Moreover, the fusion of battle will and domain could gather transcendent energy into his halberd, causing each strike to unleash explosive power. On top of that, not only did the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd art improve, but Chen Chu's battle will had also surged significantly while comprehending the Infinite Purgatory, nearing the intermediate stage.

These results exceeded his expectations. However...

"Unfortunately, I still didn't achieve all my goals this time."

The feeling of true power within his body had only reached the peak of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, just a step away from breaking through to the Sixth. Chen Chu was a bit disappointed by this; despite the enhancements, he hadn't managed to break through even a minor realm. In fact, he seemed to be stuck at the threshold of the Sixth Realm.

He had originally planned to rely on enhancing his halberd art to break through to the Sixth Heavenly Realm, and then use the Elixir of Divine Essence to further advance to the middle stage in one go. However, due to the activation of his battle will, much of the energy during the attribute enhancement had been used to form the domain.

This experience was both a gain and a loss. But having been able to comprehend the power of domain projection, Chen Chu felt that he had still made a significant gain.

With this thought, Chen Chu flipped his wrist and took out a small white bottle made of jade from his Sumeru Bracelet. He opened the bottle, and a light and ethereal aura spread out instantly. As he breathed it in, he felt his whole body lighten.

Even the bottleneck situation of the Sixth Heavenly Realm, which had been just a step away, seemed to loosen.

"No wonder this is a top-level resource." With admiration, Chen Chu drank the Elixir in one gulp. Instantly, a light and ethereal power spread throughout his body, making his true power incredibly active and his will surge.

Huff!

A layer of golden flames ignited on Chen Chu's body, emanating a fierce aura. Under the blazing, substantive flames of true power, the air within a several-meter radius was pushed away by an invisible force, creating a gust of wind that blew in all directions.

It didn't stop there. With the integration of that ethereal power, the true power within Chen Chu surged wildly—doubling, then doubling again... Finally, it slowed down just as he was nearing the middle stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

"Beginning stage of the Sixth Heavenly Realm... No, I can break through to the middle stage within half a month," Chen Chu said to himself, feeling the surge in his true power, which had become several times stronger and more formidable. His eyes shone with confidence.

Having broken into the Sixth Heavenly Realm, and armed with a high-level transcendent weapon, along with two powerful runes and domain projection, Chen Chu knew his explosive combat strength now rivaled the middle stage of the Seventh Heavenly Realm. This strength gave him greater assurance in facing the two king soul avatars.

With each step, Chen Chu's heavy boots crushed the rocks beneath him as he walked out of the cave. Flames danced on his body, making him glow red and gold, and then the Mimetic Flame Wings unfurled behind him.

The first two pairs of wings extended upward, each spanning three meters; the third pair extended downward, each reaching two meters. The flames flickered, emitting streams of scorching heat. Despite the powerful airflow from the wings, however, it wasn't enough to lift him while both wearing the armor and wielding the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd—it was simply too heavy.

Boom!

The ground shattered within a several-meter radius as Chen Chu leapt over a hundred meters into the air. The wings behind him blasted out waves of scorching heat, propelling him forward.

Boom!

A kilometer away, Chen Chu descended from the sky, causing the ground to explode upon landing. Blinding golden light flashed, and a halberd, over ten meters long, could be faintly seen streaking across the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire valley trembled and billowing smoke and dust rose into the air. It was as if the earth and sky were overturned. An hour later, Chen Chu emerged from the ruins of the valley. He had stored his weapon and armor in the Sumeru Bracelet, and the blood mark rune on his forehead had disappeared.

Over the next two days, Chen Chu meticulously studied the secret scripture of the Divine Might Dragon Elephant without leaving his room. On the third morning, a Bluebird fighter jet slowly landed in the square.

Chen Chu stood at the edge of the square, looking at Xia Youhui and the others who had come to see him off as he encouraged them. "I'll go ahead first and see you guys out there. Keep up with your cultivation. I hope that by the end of this semester, when we meet again at this year’s senior graduation ceremony, you all will have broken through to the Fifth Heavenly Realm."

Li Meng shook his head speechlessly. "Do you think we're like you? Your cultivation progress is like riding a rocket. Right now, we're still one step away from the Fourth Heavenly Realm, let alone the Fifth."

Liu Feng patted Chen Chu's shoulder firmly, mimicking Chen Chu's tone as he said, "Chen Chu, you have to work hard too. The late stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm is indeed formidable here, but it's not enough outside.

"We don't know what mission you have this time, but you're sure to encounter high-level experts of the Sixth or even Seventh Heavenly Realm. Be careful when the time comes."

Bai Mu nodded. "Exactly. You're only at the Fifth Heavenly Realm."

"Do you think we don't want our cultivation to soar rapidly? The problem is, we can't do it," Xia Youhui sighed along with everyone else.

Even though they were like brothers, they couldn't help but envy Chen Chu's rapid progress in cultivation.

At that moment, Chen Chu smiled. "Sorry, I've already reached the Sixth Heavenly Realm."

"Fuck! How is that possible?" Yuan Chenghuang widened his eyes while everyone else was also in disbelief.

"The military gave me some Elixir of Divine Essence this time, and drinking it allowed me to break through directly."

Sheesh! Several people felt a twinge of envy. After all, it was a top-level resource that allowed for an instant breakthrough in cultivation level!

Just then, Xia Youhui spoke solemnly, "Ah Chu, be careful this time. The mission’s important, but you can only have hope and a future if you stay alive."

Li Meng also spoke seriously. "That's right. Safety comes first."

Liu Feng and the other two nodded in agreement. "Yeah, resources can be earned again, and we still have time. But if you’re dead, you lose everything."

"Don't worry, everyone. You know how I am. I won't take on missions I'm not confident about." With that, Chen Chu waved his hand. "Alright, goodbye. Focus on cultivating diligently. Don't let me reach the Seventh Heavenly Realm next time we meet while you're still hanging around in the Fourth."

"Fuck you!"

The five of them flipped their middle fingers toward Chen Chu, who couldn’t help adding a bit of pressure on them before leaving.

Whoosh!

Accompanied by a burst of qi, the fighter jet slowly ascended into the air and then accelerated away into the sky with a roar.

Watching Chen Chu leave, Xia Youhui and the others felt somewhat lost and strangely realized that the gap between them might grow even wider the next time they meet.

Suddenly, determination appeared on Li Meng's face. "Let's go, let's go into seclusion. This time, we won't come out without breaking through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm."

"Let's go together!" Liu Feng and the others affirmed with resolute gazes.

"Let's do this!" Xia Youhui, who had broken through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm a few days ago, cheered them on.

"Fuck off."

On a summit in the Yunwu Mountains, a girl sat cross-legged at the edge of a cliff. She exuded the aura of someone in the beginning stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, surrounded by three sword wills that permeated the heavens and earth.

Meanwhile, in the middle section of the Yunwu Mountains, Li Hao, who had reached the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm, stood with his body expanded to three meters. He carried a steel pillar, emanating a dense aura of bloodthirstiness.

He was covered in injuries, but despite this, his aura grew crazier and more demonic as he fought fiercely against a level 5 beast. As he swung the steel pillar, which stirred the air and contained the power to shatter mountains and split the earth, the late stage Level 5 beast let out a savage roar, being forced to retreat step by step.

It wasn't just them. Under the invisible pressure brought about by Chen Chu, the entire southern battlefield was filled with a fervent atmosphere of cultivation, with everyone working even harder and more desperately in their training.