Chapter 1757: Rapidly Increasing Strength of the Essence Luxuriant World Pt.3

The wave of cultivation breakthroughs brought by the world ascension was less evident the higher one’s cultivation.

Among the dozen or so True Immortals in the Essence Luxuriant World, most of the first tier True Immortals managed to reach the second tier. Only Hai Yuanyuan, who had just broken through not long ago, was stuck at the peak of the first tier.

As for the original second tier True Immortals, their breakthroughs took much longer. It wasn’t until about half a year after the birth of the Essence Luxuriant World that they began to reach the third tier. Among them, Liu Jingsheng, the Elysium True Immortal who had the strongest foundations among them completed his breakthrough the fastest.

Subsequently, Ge Qingzhu, Yifan, Fei Xuzi, and Sun Haiwei also reached the third tier, though their progress appeared somewhat forced. All of them had to supplement their advancement with high-level treasures to break through the bottleneck.

As for Huang Jinghan who was already a third tier True Immortal, he received considerable blessing from the World’s Will. However, since he reached his current cultivation level not too long ago, and the gap between a high-level True Immortal and an ordinary True Immortal was massive, his cultivation stopped at the peak of the third tier.

That said, he seemed to have forced his cultivation to stop there intentionally and he didn’t refine high-level spiritual treasures to forcefully push himself to the next level. After all, as a True Immortal of the Yuanchen Sect, every step of his cultivation had always been taken with great care. His chances of eventually becoming a high-level True Immortal were pretty good.

Apart from him, Li Jidao of the Divine Capital Sect used the opportunity to enter the level of Dao Harmony. With that, another high-level Elysium True Immortal of the Essence Luxuriant World was born.

There was also Song Zhen, who hoped to become a high-level True Immortal. He served Shang Xia with full dedication in recent years and even though he wasn’t a member of the Essence Luxuriant World, he received huge benefits. He stood at the peak of the third tier, ready to break through.

Then there were Zhang Xuansheng and Yang Taihe, the other 2 high-level Elysium True Immortals. Strangely enough, they gained little during the world ascension. Their cultivation didn’t improve significantly and they kept an unusually low profile during the entire period.

With that, the only other fourth tier True Immortal was Gu Mingzheng from the Spirit Lyric World.

The fact that he managed to preserve his cultivation was already incredibly fortunate. He likely wouldn’t make any further progress for decades.

There was also a fifth tier True Immortal Gao Qin, in the Essence Luxuriant World. Ever since she submitted to Shang Xia, she had been trying to restore her injuries. Although she contributed, willingly or otherwise, to the world ascension and had fully recovered, she was still rejected by the World’s Will.

Lastly came the 2 main drivers of the world ascension process, Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia.

Kou Chongxue suddenly went looking for Shang Xia and the moment they met, Kou Chongxue asked, "What have you been doing lately? Why haven’t you returned to the institution?”

His aura was that of a grand completion stage True Immortal. Even though the way he controlled his aura was flawless and he didn’t radiate overwhelming pressure, Shang Xia could clearly sense that he was like a sheathed sword, ready to strike. The moment it was drawn, he would be able to sunder the heavens.

Shang Xia smiled in response. "The world ascension has ushered in a critical period where all sorts of rank seven spiritual treasures are nurtured. Well... Pretty much no one can fight with me for them, so I took the opportunity to harvest everything I can.”

As he spoke, Shang Xia casually revealed 6 different types and 9 total treasures that had reached the seventh rank. All of them were born during the world ascension.

Though Shang Xia’s attention was on the changes to the Essence Luxuriant World, hoping to gain deeper insights, he also ran across the land to harvest all the spiritual treasures he could.

Among the treasures he gathered, 3 were main ingredients that were used to produce the rank seven advancement medicine he obtained from the Spirit Lyric World.

Kou Chongxue nodded slowly and continued, “I also managed to find 2 rank seven spiritual treasures. It’s been half a year since the birth of our Essence Luxuriant World, but your cultivation hasn't seemed to progress much. Are you concealing your true level again?”

Shang Xia waved it off with a smile. "I’m not hiding anything. I really haven’t progressed much."

Before Kou Chongxue could ask why, Shang Xia explained, "Because I forced the world ascension, the World’s Will’s blessing had already been given to me. Not only have I broken through to the Seven Star Realm, I even reached the peak of the second star. I’m just a step away from reaching the third star...”

Kou Chongxue nodded thoughtfully before mumbling, "Your cultivation speed is indeed hard to match. It’s probably good to slow down a bit."

Shang Xia raised an eyebrow curiously, "What brings you here anyway?"

Kou Chongxue’s expression turned solemn and he eventually spoke in a low voice, "The Star Curtain is deteriorating rapidly. Gaps are widening everywhere, and some previously undetected tears are now visible. The number of Sages spying from outside our Heaven Observation Field also seems to be increasing."

Shang Xia fell silent for a moment before replying, "That is expected. What’s surprising is that none of them have forced their way in while the Star Curtain weakens."

Kou Chongxue agreed. "Many factions in the Heaven Observation Field have speculated on this. Based on the information we've gathered, it seems some believe that our world’s sudden rise, and especially your unexpected emergence, has made the outsiders hesitant to act rashly."

Shang Xia chuckled dryly. "Me? What have I done to deserve that? I’m just a second star Sage. There are plenty of people stronger than me... Huh? Are they trying to pin everything on me?”

His smile faded, and his gaze turned sharp.

Kou Chongxue wasn’t surprised. The next moment, he continued, "In that case, I should take advantage of the momentum to attempt to break through to the Martial Emptiness Realm...”

Shang Xia’s eyes widened in shock. "You’ve made your decision? But the advancement medicine...”

"We have the legacy from Sage Jiuyin and your Seven Star Realm’s advancement formula for reference. More importantly, we will instinctively know which direction to forget ahead when we are about to enter a new realm. On top of that... I still have the support and blessing from our Essence Luxuriant World.”

"It’s just that I have a feeling my breakthrough won’t be so quick. You will need to defend this place along during the process...” Kou Chongxue concluded.

Without hesitation, Shang Xia nodded. Looking at Kou Chongxue’s departing figure, he couldn’t help but wonder to himself if the so-called martial instinct that would guide them in the correct direction when breaking through really existed. And if it did, was the feeling really that obvious.

Not long after Kou Chongxue left, an aura that came from the birth of a True Immortal shifted Shang Xia’s attention.

The second True Immortal of the Tongyou Institution since the world ascension was born!