At this moment, Wang Xiaoyan was no longer herself.
She appeared as if someone else had taken over her body, analyzing the situation on the battlefield, sensing her goal, and finding the best route to achieve it.
Her eyes turned and instantly calculated the perfect path forward.
Ji Changchen's eyes narrowed as he became serious. He had long understood the abilities of Omniflow Perception. It was not easy to counter it.
She flew towards Ji Changchen and instantly engaged him in battle.
Meng Xian, Gu Xing, Li Yuxong, and other warriors engaged Li Gang.
Li Yuxong had mastered the Law of Space.
Even without using his Spiritual Imprint ability, he could perform ordinary teleportation.
The battle continued!
One Day Later.
Finally, Ye Fan also came out of the Inheritance.
The scene around him shocked him.
At this moment, Wang Xiaoyan was completely suppressed by Ji Changchen, and Li Gang was suppressed by Li Yuxong, Meng Xian, and Gu Xing.
Huang Ling also looked exhausted, and her Spiritual Imprint was still in its awakened form.
Ji Changchen threw Wang Xiaoyan aside. Her stamina was exhausted, and her Spiritual Imprint had worn off.
He calmly stood in front of Li Gang.
"You truly made it difficult."
Meng Xian, Li Yuxong, and Gu Xing were also completely exhausted.
So was Li Gang.
He was still standing with smirk on his bloody mouth. His teeth were all soaked with blood and even his smile felt like madness.
However, he knew he no longer had any strength to continue.
Ye Fan shouted, "Xiaoyan!"
He rushed near her.
Wang Xiaoyan said softly, "Save Li Gang. Please!"
Ye Fan was surprised.
He didn't understand why she was trying to save him, but he trusted her. She must have her reasons.
Ji Changchen frowned. "How troublesome."
He drew his sword, but Ye Fan appeared in front of him.
Ye Fan was already a Rank 7 early-stage warrior. He had received a huge boost in cultivation during the Inheritance.
Li Gang had a meaningful smirk on his face. 'Everything is under control!'
Ji Changchen noticed it as well, but he was helpless.
Despite knowing Li Gang's plans from the beginning, no matter what counter he prepared, it was all resolved on its own.
He had tried to sneak attack Li Gang with his Nine Heavenly Slash, but Wang Xiaoyan had interfered much earlier.
He forced Meng Xian to enter the battle, to exhaust him so that he couldn't protect Li Gang at the end—but Ye Fan appeared.
It felt as if fate itself was against him.
The point was, he had also accounted for Ye Fan's existence and expected this situation, but he was still thoroughly helpless.
He had exhausted all his means.
Li Gang was simply too strong, with no bottom line. He had even gone as far as targeting his own nephew to counter Li Yuxong.
He glanced at Li Gang and said lightly, "Just half an hour, and it will be your turn. You can't leave!"
Ji Changchen couldn't defeat Ye Fan instantly. If he were at his full potential, he could have ended it in one move. However, after his battle with Wang Xiaoyan, he had suffered many internal and external injuries. His battle strength was reduced. Even with infinite stamina, there is still a limit to the body if it sustains continuous injuries. Defeating Wang Xiaoyan hadn't been easy. Every one of her moves was a perfect counter to Ji Changchen. It felt as if she had infinite reflexes!
Li Gang still had a smile on his face.
Suddenly, another attack came from the front.
It was Huang Ling.
She said lightly, "You guys recover. I will handle him until then."
Li Gang had continuously consumed blood to increase his cultivation. He wouldn't last long, and once it wore off, he would face heavy consequences!
She had no intention of giving Li Gang any chance.
The fight continued.
But things had changed.
The battle between Heavenly Dragon Sect and Jin Long had come to an end.
Jin Long had conquered the Heavenly Dragon Sect!
A few miles away.
Su Zun and Jiang Fugui were watching the scene calmly.
Rank 8 warriors are smart enough not to engage in meaningless fights. They understood it was impossible to protect the Heavenly Dragon Sect, so they retreated.
Jiang Fugui suddenly asked, "Why did you come here? You had no reason to stop them!"
Su Zun thought of someone and smiled. "Someone invited me. He told me I didn't have to fight. As long as I showed my stance, it was enough."
Jiang Fugui was surprised.
Su Zun asked as well, "What is your reason?"
Jiang Fugui glanced at him and nodded.
Su Zun understood.
Jiang Fugui had also been invited by someone. They both thought of the one who invited them and believed it was the same person. But they were wrong.
Jiang Fugui was invited by Jin Huang. She had interacted with him after Sword Gate was defeated and conquered by Celestial Sect.
Meanwhile, Su Zun was invited by Li Gang. Li Gang thought he just needed to stop the elders of Heavenly Dragon Sect, while Jin Huang would handle Ji Changchen's protector, as she was his wife.
Even though Su Zun was Li Gang's master, he had his own agenda. He would never fight a Rank 8 warrior for his sake. Li Gang knew this, thus he only wished him to show his stance. He knew that would be enough to handle the elder. If it was Long Tianfeng or Long Tianchan, then it would have been a different matter.
However, Li Gang was also well informed. He knew the Rank 8 monster would need both of them to stop. Jin Huang would surely intercept them.
Everything went as Jin Huang and Li Gang had planned.
Li Gang felt a strange phenomenon in his heart and understood the time was right.
He smiled faintly. "Meng Xian, stop hiding. If you don't block her right now, you know I have no other choice but to use that."
Li Gang had long figured out Meng Xian's fear. It was the fear of the unknown power within him.
He murmured inwardly, 'For certain reasons, he believes I can invoke it whenever I wish. I guess that's for the best. I can use this weakness.'
Ji Changchen heard Li Gang's words and was surprised. He had some guesses why Meng Xian would suddenly help Li Gang, but due to the memory fragment of their meeting, he was distracted in the wrong direction.
Only now did he realize the truth.
He shouted, "Don't! He is incapable of using it now!"
However, Meng Xian's face was still ugly. He trusted his own instincts more than anyone else.
He appeared in front of Li Gang and said lightly, "It is only this once! I won't help you again."
Li Gang had a meaningful smile. "Of course."
At that moment, he prepared to ascend.
He no longer needed Spiritual Stones to cultivate. In the past two years, he had made all the preparations.
His soul had already reached Rank 7 mid stage, and by circulating the Celestial Serenity Technique and Arcane Soul Fusion Method at the same time, he could transfer his Soul Cultivation to his Warrior Cultivation.
From the very beginning of the battle, he had never stopped cultivating. He had diverted more focus on the fight, but one part of his mind was always circulating this technique. Now he put complete focus on advancing, and not just maintaining the circulation.
He felt tremendous Spiritual Essence pouring into him like a river as he directed his mind to his Heavenly Core.
He meticulously started rupturing the Heavenly Core slowly and steadily as he directed the solidified Spiritual Essence into every cell of his body. This had to be done cautiously and precisely. Normally, warriors need the help of another advanced-rank warrior to guide them, but Li Gang had no one. He had to do it on his own and succeed.
As the Spiritual Essence flowed through every cell, his physique suddenly emitted a bluish shine. It was evolving slowly and steadily.
At the same time, the entire sky filled with visions.
Even though it was morning, countless stars appeared in the Divine Spirit World, and nine formless illusionary shadows also appeared—the shadows of the Nine Heavens.
This phenomenon could be seen in every single isolated and non-isolated space in the Divine Spirit World.
Looking at the phenomenon, they all glanced at Li Gang and were shocked.
Ascending with Ritual!
It was rare, but the benefits were even greater!
At that moment, they all realized—it was over. There was no way to defeat him anymore.
Ji Changchen also tried to defeat Ye Fan faster, but Ye Fan was like a cockroach; he wouldn't be stopped at all!
Half an hour passed.
Ji Changchen finally defeated Ye Fan.
He glanced at Li Gang and said inwardly:
Nine Heavenly Slash, First Slash.
Lightning Blade!
It was a swift and sharp slash infused with the essence of lightning, cutting through defenses like the storm's first strike.
He used this move because, among the Nine Heavenly Slashes, it was the fastest to invoke. Even if it was the weakest, he was confident due to his higher cultivation.
It must be noted that during Ascension with Ritual, Li Gang's soul was imprinted with traces of Heavenly Dao. Heavenly Dao was being materialized. In such a situation, even Immortals, even Supremes, could not read his memories. Since this entire process was done by Heavenly Dao itself, his System—which actively read his memories—was turned off at that moment. Li Gang's soul was still under the awakening of Spiritual Imprint.
All of Ji Changchen's actions were meaningless now.
Li Gang had already finished his Ascension. He had reached Rank 7 early stage. He was still pretending to be in cultivation because his Spiritual Imprint hadn't completely formed yet.
However, he could already use it. It wouldn't have its original power, but it was usable.
The moment Li Gang sensed Ji Changchen's movements, he instantly awakened his newly formed Spiritual Imprint.
A few miles away from Misty Jade Forest.
Jin Huang's whole body was filled with injuries.
She had suffered not only internal but also external wounds.
Her breathing was chaotic, but her gaze was still as sharp as ever.
At that moment, the entire sky suddenly filled with stars and the illusionary Nine Heavens.
The Elemental Emperor glanced at the sky and intuitively felt as if he had lost. However, he was just a clone, with not enough memories.
He glanced at the enemy in front of him and said lightly, "You should give up now!"
Jin Huang didn't speak.
The Elemental Emperor asked calmly, "Why? Why must you go through all this to help him? You know Li Gang isn't the only one who can open the Grand Inheritance of Ascendence. There is one more person! You also married him, so why use Li Gang?"
He continued, "Why fight for a demon? You are a righteous warrior! So why follow the path of demons?"
Jin Huang's lips finally moved. "Righteousness? How do you define what is righteous and what is demonic?"
The Elemental Emperor glanced at her deeply. He didn't speak. He knew righteousness was a vague concept, differing from person to person depending on the situation. There was no way to define it objectively.
Jin Huang, as if sensing his thoughts, said lightly, "There is an objective definition of righteousness."
She smiled as she glanced at the sky. "I am righteousness. What I do is righteous! Those whom I support are righteous! Those who follow me are righteous! Any action and belief that aligns with me is righteous!"
She smiled faintly. "Do you want to see? I was never pushed to this level in my life. I deceived everyone in order to hide my true Spiritual Imprint, since it was too strong!"
The Elemental Emperor suddenly felt a vague premonition in his heart.
At that moment, in the Soul Emperor's Inheritance—and at this place—
Both Li Gang and Jin Huang, despite being countless distances apart, said the same sentence at the same time as if synced:
"Spiritual Imprint: Awaken!"