Five years later, at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
It was supposed to be an ordinary day, with sect disciples of all kinds bustling about. But just then, almost without warning, a strange phenomenon arose, and in the blink of an eye, the sky plunged into darkness.
Specks of starlight dotted the mid-air.
However, this was not actual light, but spatial fluctuations. In addition, everything within the sect seemed to be playing in slow motion. The leaves of the Golden Ancient Tree, severed by the "starlight," fell downward frame by frame. The sect disciples walking on the paths also moved forward frame by frame; two seconds passed, yet they hadn't even moved half an inch, leaving only the residual terror on their faces.
Fortunately, this phenomenon didn't last long; it was like a flash in the pan, vanishing into nothingness in a mere moment. If it weren't for the panicked sect disciples who stirred up an uproar after recovering, it would have been as if it had never happened.
Yet, in less than three minutes, the Sect Master's decree was issued, claiming that this was an elder testing a soul skill, neither an attack by a powerful enemy nor a sudden bizarre incident, thus calming everyone's hearts.
As for who the culprit behind all this was...
"This path is no longer suitable for me..."
In the secluded cultivation room beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, a faint sigh echoed through the space. Dust-covered but still spirited, Chen Junting sat cross-legged on a sword platform, yet his calm, unruffled eyes didn't reveal the slightest regret matching his words.
He closed his eyes slightly, and the moment he opened them again—
Clang—
A fierce sword cry suddenly rang out through this sealed space! Sword qi rose abruptly, but then dissipated into nothingness halfway.
And what caused all this was not the sword intent or sword qi emanating from Chen Junting, but a sword he had summoned out of thin air—a sword with a physical body, indestructible, a treasured sword!
Three feet and seven inches long, inscribed with the name: Seven Kill!
Entirely silver-white, radiating a chilling killing intent, yet without a trace of illusion; it was not a construct of soul power. Instead, it was the real, tangible Seven Kill Sword that appeared in this world not in the form of a Martial Soul.
This meant that Chen Junting had separated his Martial Soul!
However, his soul power fluctuations remained stuck at the peak of Level 98, having yet to step into the Ultimate Douluo realm. This meant that he had prematurely achieved a 100% fusion with his Martial Soul and could materialize it, but it also meant that Chen Junting, who had chosen two cultivation methods, was stuck at the third soul core step.
Over the past five years, in order to smoothly condense the third soul core and make the three soul cores coexist, forging a path forward, Chen Junting had not only focused on the Dao of Space but also immersed himself in the power of time contained within the Evil Eye Tyrant Lord's soul ring.
Up until today, with the help of the power of destiny, he had not only gained something and entered the door, but could also merge space and time into one.
But when Chen Junting reached this step, a problem arose with his soul cores a year ago due to his Martial Soul comprehension, making his planned Three Soul Core method unfeasible!
In the fourth year of his secluded cultivation, he had comprehended the Martial Soul cultivation method and achieved complete resonance with his Martial Soul. When his body and Martial Soul thoroughly merged into one, the Seven Kill Soul Core in the upper dantian and the Ultimate Metal Soul Core in the middle dantian unexpectedly mutated. The Seven Kill Soul Core, originally located in the upper dantian, was actively attracted by the Ultimate Metal Soul Core; the one forward, one reverse soul power flow changed from Yin-Yang complementation to a mixture of one, causing the two soul cores with different flows to show a tendency to fuse.
That scene left Chen Junting utterly dumbfounded!
He had never imagined that a 100% fusion of his Martial Soul and himself would lead to such a result. At that time, Chen Junting wanted to stop it, but he found that once he intervened, the 100% fusion process of the Martial Soul would be interrupted, freezing at the final 99%.
Therefore, Chen Junting ultimately decided to let it be. He figured he could just find a way later to use the power of time and space to condense two more soul cores and complete the Three Soul Core cultivation method.
Who would have thought that all the soul power in his entire body would be swept up by the fused soul core? His middle dantian also expanded under the fusion and transformation of the two soul cores, evolving into a true "Soul Sea," becoming the source and center of all soul power in his body.
This instantly caused the upper and lower dantians to lose their ability to "stand on equal footing" with the middle dantian, reduced to mere subordinates.
Under such circumstances, how could he continue the Three Soul Core method?
Next, Chen Junting either had to use spatial power to expand his sole soul core, making it reach a level where just this one soul core could rival three; or he had to think of another way to make his body's energy reach the threshold.
So what should he do?
In that helpless situation at the time, Chen Junting could only ponder a solution while continuing to comprehend the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time, which was at least beneficial and harmless. Thus, another year passed before he finally emerged from seclusion.
At this very moment, Chen Junting rested the Seven Kill Sword horizontally across his lap, motionless, like a stone statue.
In his Spiritual Sea, the four great soul spirits and Electrolux were all very quiet; they were all waiting for Chen Junting's decision.
What they waited for, naturally, was his sudden rise!
For a moment, the spirits of the four great soul spirits were lifted, and a trace of anticipation even appeared in Electrolux's lowered eyes.
Did he find a way?!
Chen Junting didn't say a word, but his firm and confident eyes already showed that he had made up his mind. As for where he was going?
With a single step, array patterns emerged out of thin air beneath his feet, actually forming a hexagram array. However, when a flash of light quickly passed, Chen Junting, who had stepped into the hexagram array, vanished without a trace, leaving this secluded cultivation room.
...
Sunset Forest, Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
A hexagram array suddenly appeared here. The Aromatic Silk Beauty, who sensed the spatial fluctuations but had never seen such a thing, was instantly terrified. But before it could do anything, Chen Junting had already appeared here. And once it calmed down, he ignored it entirely, striding past it and walking straight toward the spring eye.
Arriving at the edge of the spring water, he stared into the invisible depths of the spring.
"You want to use the power deep within the spring to break the threshold?"
As if speaking while Chen Junting was lost in thought, Electrolux's voice rang in his mind. His tone revealed no emotion, like a teacher simply asking a student a question.
"Yes, and no."
Giving an ambiguous answer, before Electrolux and the others could figure out what he meant, Chen Junting asked two seemingly obvious questions, "Teacher, do you know what the upper, middle, and lower dantians are? And what exactly is a dantian?"
*What is a dantian? What is a dantian? Aren't these two questions just one question? And isn't this question a bit too 'ordinary'?*
The moment the question was asked, this was the first thought that popped into the minds of the three soul spirits: Tyrant, Evil Emperor, and Mad King. Straightforward and without an ounce of deep thought, this clearly showed that age and power hadn't granted them the wisdom they should have possessed.
On the other hand, Elder E and the Snow Empress fell into deep thought.
They knew that Chen Junting would absolutely never ask a boring question. So, what is a dantian? And what is a dantian?
But after pondering for a long time, both the Snow Empress and Elder E could only say that it was the gathering place for soul power and a small portion of spiritual power. Regardless of upper, middle, or lower, once all three dantians were fully developed, a person's soul power should stand equally in all three. Of course, that was under normal circumstances.
But for Chen Junting, to put it exaggeratedly, because of soul power storage and flow, the upper and lower dantians had seemingly become "vassals" of the middle dantian. This was absolutely wrong!
He had to change this.
But exactly how to change it, he had already formed an idea over the past year. Coming here was to put it into practice.
And his hypothesis was related to the question he just asked.
What is a dantian?
At least in the Douluo universe, a dantian is a place that holds soul power. But in his past life, the upper, middle, and lower dantians were precisely the terms used in Daoist internal alchemy for cultivating Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
And his breakthrough idea originated from this.
The upper dantian, also known as the "Niwan Palace," is the root of one's nature and the dwelling to store the Spirit; the middle dantian is where ancestral qi gathers, acting as the Qi Sea; the lower dantian is located three inches below the navel, the place where Essence is stored, and the root of life. There is a saying: Cultivating both nature and life can open the greater and lesser heavenly circulations. And as the place that stores the Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, the dantian is naturally highly valued, regarded as the "root of life."
Therefore, if Chen Junting wanted to break the threshold, he had to follow this sequence.
Since the upper and lower dantians had, to some extent, become "vassals" for the middle dantian to store soul power, he might as well just not store soul power in them! He would directly store Spirit and Essence, cultivating his nature and life!
However, completing this step was extremely difficult; precisely because of this, he came to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to borrow the power at the bottom of the spring.
After informing the four soul spirits and Elder E of his train of thought and idea, the four soul spirits were all dumbfounded; even the Snow Empress couldn't maintain her cold expression for a moment.
What a crazy idea!
For Elder E, this also earned half a day of silence.
"...Have you made your decision?"
"I have."
Chen Junting's tone was resolute, and Electrolux looked extremely serious.
"The risk is too great, too great, too great! You could very well die!"
Three consecutive "too great"s, as if trying to make Chen Junting back down, but what met him was—"I won't die!"
Confident, even bordering on arrogance.
And after feeling his student's determination, Elder E's seriousness melted away like ice and snow. "If that's the case, then go. You won't die... You, won't die."
When Electrolux said that last sentence, Chen Junting had already nodded, withdrawing his mind from the Spiritual Sea, and didn't hear Elder E's low, seemingly murmuring words.
Looking at the spring water ahead, Chen Junting moved his mind and summoned the four great soul spirits. Before they could speak, Chen Junting spoke first to block their mouths.
"You all know that what I'm about to do will be very difficult. So since Elder E must accompany me, and there's no one else to stand guard for me, I'll have to trouble you next."
"But..."
Hearing this, Mad King wanted to retort with the truth, but was pressed down by the Snow Empress, who wore an expression that allowed no refusal. Coincidentally, the Tyrant, who had also grabbed the Evil Emperor's hand, nodded toward Chen Junting. "Just rest assured and do it, kid. But don't forget our agreement; you're taking us to the Divine Realm!"
Hearing this, the corners of Chen Junting's mouth curved up slightly.
"A gentleman's word is his bond."
Then he turned and stepped into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. In a short while, his entire person submerged into the spring, and his clothes were instantly torn to shreds by the twin violent energies of ice and fire.
On the shore, only the Snow Empress and the others were left to stand guard. All the herbs that possessed even a sliver of spiritual intelligence were either transplanted or driven to the edges of the treasure land by them. As for the Aromatic Silk Beauty, which was immune to poison, it was driven completely out of the treasure land, forced to keep company with the Nine-Absolute Green Phosphorus Flowers.
Aromatic Silk Beauty: (I can't beat them, I can't beat them, calm down, calm down...) Speak up for me!
At this moment, within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Chen Junting was continuously sinking toward the bottom. Although the deeper he went, the greater the power of the fire spring and ice spring became, it wasn't a problem for someone whose physical body and spiritual power had both reached the peak of the mortal realm, and who had even taken half a step into the god-level.
Until Chen Junting stopped in front of a hexagram array.
This magic array was precisely the seal that Electrolux had set up when they first entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, to prevent the Aromatic Silk Beauty from mobilizing the power of the remnant souls of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.
Now, it was time to undo it.
[Teacher, I'll leave it to you.]
With a thought, a grey light flew out from Chen Junting's body, transforming into Electrolux's human form. As Electrolux tapped lightly on the magic array, the hexagram instantly dissipated.
In an instant, a primordial dragon might assailed them!
Immediately following, "Roar—" ×2.
Seemingly sensing the auras of these two powerful intruders, Chen Junting and Electrolux, coupled with the previous seal of the magic array, the remnant souls of the two Dragon Kings were instantly provoked into a violent reaction!
One crimson red, one blue-white, at the bottom of the spring where what looked like a raised mountain range was, the two great dragon souls surged forward, striking with Ultimate Ice and Fire.
At this moment, even the Snow Empress and the others on the shore felt the dragon might emanating from the bottom of the spring. Among them, the Tyrant's reaction was the most intense, because he felt an oppression based on bloodline status!
Even outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, the Aromatic Silk Beauty, which was swaying weakly in the poisonous mist and miasma, instantly perked up!
It looked toward the treasure land in surprise, "Lord Dragon Kings!"
But immediately after, this surprise withered away.
Let alone more than ten years ago, when these guys first arrived, they had means to prevent Lord Dragon Kings' power from appearing. Even now, its very roots were frozen in place; its lower body couldn't move even if it wanted to, let alone borrow the power of the two Lord Dragon Kings to avenge its past humiliation and drive out the foreign enemies.
"Will the boss be okay? If he gets disturbed by this power..." The Mad King felt these two terrifying auras and thought of what his boss was about to do, unable to help but worry.
"Jinx!"
The Tyrant smacked this idiot in annoyance.
"Elder E is right there with him, how could he be disturbed!"
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