Translator: CinderTL
Perhaps due to the Taixu Sword Sect's pride as an Overlord-level power, or perhaps because they were reluctant to send their Peerless Prodigies to compete on the Profound Yellow List, not a single disciple from the sect had joined the Profound Yellow Supreme's ranks, even as a Nominal Disciple.
Thus, they had expended considerable effort to reach the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven.
By the time they arrived, Li Chunjun had already entered seclusion to break through to the Dharma Manifestation stage.
Fortunately, the "Three-Year Agreement" remained in effect. Jiang Zuohe and Jiang Lingyun, who had rushed to the scene, didn't immediately leave but patiently waited.
Jiang Zuohe, the Blazing Phoenix lineage's most accomplished member, was naturally received by the Human Sage Venerable, who served as his Dao Protector.
The remaining Jiang Lingyun spent time catching up with Jiang Yuqiu, Jiang Wanyu, and others.
At that moment, Jiang Lingyun was surrounded by Jiang Yuqiu, Jiang Wanyu, Jiang Yuxue, Qin Zhou, and others.
Jiang Lingyun greeted his elder, Jiang Yuqiu, and his junior brother and junior sisters—Jiang Wanyu, Jiang Yuxue, and Qin Zhou—with a warm smile.
The atmosphere was quite lively.
But...
Jiang Lingyun and Jiang Yuqiu could both clearly see that Jiang Wanyu, Jiang Yuxue, Qin Zhou, and the others—who had once regarded Jiang Lingyun as a heroic idol—now looked at him with noticeably less reverence and admiration.
This was inevitable.
Though Jiang Lingyun and his peers had all been in the Core Formation Realm, as the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy, he had been absolutely invincible within that realm.
Wherever his sword pointed, none dared disobey.
With the power of a Flaming Phoenix Sword Cultivator, he had forced the branch sects of the other eight Great Sects in the Azure Star Minor Realm to bow in submission. His radiant glory had been so dazzling that it blinded all who beheld it.
But now?
After entering the Taixu Sword Sect as a "sword prodigy," he had maintained a certain momentum, but compared to the many Heaven's Chosen around him—including those at the same sword prodigy level, Chief Sword Sons, and even Heavenly Prodigies on the Star Brilliance List—his talent, while still excellent, no longer stood out as exceptional.
Ultimately, after squandering several decades, he chose to advance to the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Unsurprisingly, having failed to achieve a "prodigy" rating in the Nascent Soul Realm, the Primordial Spirit Realm likely marked the limit of his growth.
The difference now lay in whether he would become an ordinary Nine Tribulation True Monarch like Huang Tian and Su Fang, or surpass the norm to rival Heavenly Prodigies like Yu Jin and Hong Yan.
Yet, no matter how far he might advance in the future, his so-called legends and achievements paled in comparison to Li Chunjun's.
One was still only a Three Tribulation True Monarch!
The other was already beginning to condense his Dharma Manifestation!
And not just any Dharma Manifestation—one destined to shake the entire Profound Yellow Great World!
The gulf between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
Watching Jiang Lingyun chatting with Jiang Yuqiu, Qin Zhou sighed, "Without leaving the Lesser Thousand World, one can never grasp the immensity of the world. Senior Brother Jiang's talent far surpassed the limits of what the Lesser Thousand World could contain. Even within the Realm Region, he would be considered exceptional. Logically, his name should have been etched deeply into the future of the Azure Star Minor Realm. Alas... then Swordmaster Li emerged."
Jiang Yuxue, standing beside her, chimed in, "I remember when Swordmaster Li hadn't yet become the Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy. Everyone feared he would become another Senior Brother Jiang, a second Flaming Phoenix Sword Prodigy. To prevent this, forces like the Wu Ji Sect and Chiyang Sword Sect spared no effort in their attempts to eliminate him. But now..."
She shook her head. "Swordmaster Li doesn't need to become anyone else! He is the strongest sword prodigy in the history of the Azure Star Minor Realm! And the greatest Heavenly Prodigy the Azure Star Minor Realm has ever produced!"
"Not just the Azure Star Minor Realm!" Jiang Wanyu declared. "He is also the greatest Heavenly Prodigy the entire Profound Yellow Great World has seen in ten thousand years!"
Qin Zhou and Jiang Yuxue were stunned.
The Profound Yellow Great World was vast and boundless, home to countless Primordial Spirit True Monarchs who had lived for billions of years. Ten thousand years was an immeasurably long span of time—longer than the entire recorded history of the Azure Star Minor Realm.
To imagine the greatest Heavenly Prodigy of such a Great World over ten millennia was beyond their comprehension.
Yet, as they carefully recalled Li Chunjun's meteoric rise and his unparalleled achievements...
Li Chunjun's recent feat in the Star Abyss—where he single-handedly overwhelmed the Wu Ji Sect and Heavenly Palace, two Council-level sects, forcing them to resort to bullying tactics—had already proven his extraordinary strength.
This strength was so overwhelming that even Sect Master Yuan Taiji of the Wu Ji Sect believed that only his own rule-breaking intervention could restrain Swordmaster Li.
Such treatment for a Void Refining cultivator was unprecedented.
If this Void Refining cultivator wasn't the strongest Heavenly Prodigy, then who was?
Jiang Yuxue and Qin Zhou were momentarily stunned.
They had long known through external reports that Li Chunjun had become incredibly powerful and displayed unparalleled, terrifying talent. However, their limited perspective had made it difficult to grasp the true extent of his strength and talent.
Only now, after Jiang Wanyu's declaration of him being "the strongest Heavenly Prodigy in the Profound Yellow Great World for ten thousand years," did they finally realize...
Li Chunjun had truly reached such extraordinary heights.
He had ascended to the pinnacle!
Not the kind of pinnacle represented by the Star Glory, Solar Radiance, or Cosmic Light Lists!
But the true number one in the Profound Yellow Great World!
The undisputed first person in ten thousand years!
Buzzing!
At that moment, the void above the mountain peak where Li Chunjun stood trembled violently.
A destructive energy began to coalesce and radiate from the quivering void.
"Finally, the final step!"
The instant this energy erupted, an uncontrollable joy surged in the eyes of the Human Sage Venerable, who had been idly chatting with Jiang Zuohe.
The Earth Sage Venerable immediately roared, "Everyone, retreat!"
The Heavenly Sage Venerable, without hesitation, erected another layer of barrier around the mountain peak, which was already protected by an Array Formation.
This served both as an extra layer of security and to prevent too many from witnessing the true nature of Li Chunjun's Dharma Manifestation.
After all...
He glanced around.
The news of Li Chunjun's duel with the Wu Ji Sect's dark horned prison had spread like wildfire throughout the Profound Yellow Great World.
Combined with his glorious feat of annihilating hundreds of Void Refining cultivators during the Star Abyss War, this had ignited widespread curiosity about him.
Such curiosity inevitably bred countless prying eyes, which even the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven struggled to deter.
As they spoke, tens of thousands of cultivators were already probing the area from afar.
If not for their knowledge that Liu Yu, a Quasi-Tenth-Tier lifeform, was watching nearby, they would likely have swarmed the mountain peak without hesitation.
Although the Heavenly Sage Venerable's power shielded distant cultivators from sensing the terrifying force brewing atop the mountain, those nearby, like Jiang Zuohe and his group, could clearly discern the power shaking the Void, threatening to shatter the entire Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven.
Before this force, even Jiang Zuohe, a Supreme Sage who had cultivated his Law-Life for merely twenty thousand years, felt immense pressure.
"This Void Power..."
His eyes widened in disbelief.
As the highest achiever of the Blazing Phoenix lineage, Jiang Zuohe had failed to cultivate the Undying Flaming Phoenix Dharma Manifestation. Yet his Dharma Manifestation still ranked among the top-tier, and after twenty thousand years of arduous cultivation, his Qi had accumulated to nearly fifty thousand years' worth, granting him a combat power exceeding one hundred and twenty thousand.
Yet now...
Li Chunjun's Dharma Manifestation was still incomplete, yet it already exerted such pressure on him!
What did this mean?!
It meant that once Li Chunjun completed his Dharma Manifestation, his combat power would inevitably surge to one hundred and thirty thousand, perhaps even one hundred and forty thousand!
"The Void Storm Dharma Aspect is indeed a top-tier Dharma Manifestation, but Li Chunjun's is newly formed. He hasn't had time to accumulate Qi. Even at its peak, it should only reach a combat power of one hundred and ten or one hundred and twenty thousand at most. How could such a level possibly make me feel this way...?"
As Jiang Zuohe's thoughts raced, realization struck him, and his pupils abruptly contracted.
Could it be...?
The Void Storm Dharma Aspect had always been a mere facade for Li Chunjun?!
His true ambition had always been to forge the Supreme Dharma Aspect?!
Of course! With Li Chunjun's extraordinary talent and potential, and the Profound Yellow Sect's unwavering support, how could he possibly settle for the clearly inferior Void Storm Dharma Aspect instead of aiming for the Supreme Dharma Aspect?
That would be a waste of his gifts!
Only the Supreme Dharma Aspect, once perfected, could grant him 140,000 to 150,000 combat power—enough to threaten even a Law-Manifesting Lifeform who had cultivated in the Supreme Sage Realm for over 20,000 years.
Rumble!
At that moment, the entire mountain peak where Li Chunjun was located began to tremble violently.
The tremors manifested as visible spatial ripples that swept across the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven, as if shaking its very foundations.
Instantly, the grotto-heaven was engulfed in a localized earthquake, affecting countless living beings.
Many Array Formations flickered erratically, their energy surging wildly.
However, just as the "earthquake" threatened to cause real damage to the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven, Liu Yu's figure materialized.
An invisible wave emanated from her, instantly quelling the tremors. The grotto-heaven calmed with astonishing speed, as if the earlier disturbance had never occurred.
Immediately afterward, Liu Yu took a step into the void and appeared above Li Chunjun's mountain peak. With a flick of her ethereal hand, she reinforced the mountain with an invisible wave, effectively severing it from the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven. This ensured that any internal changes within the mountain would have no impact on the grotto-heaven itself.
Despite this, Jiang Zuohe's conviction in his earlier speculation only deepened.
"Supreme Dharma Aspect! Supreme Dharma Aspect! This is undoubtedly a Supreme Dharma Aspect!"
His certainty reached its peak.
He couldn't imagine any other power capable of shaking the Profound Yellow Grotto-Heaven during its formation!
However...
Although Li Chunjun seemed to have cultivated a Supreme Dharma Aspect, their purpose in coming here was to forge good relations, so they naturally wouldn't spread rumors.
Especially when they sensed the Human Sage Venerable, Earth Sage Venerable, and Heavenly Sage Venerable silently approaching, the Supreme Sage cautioned, "We actually brought a Blazing Phoenix Feather as a congratulatory gift to compensate for the Void Refining gift we missed earlier for Swordmaster Li..."
"A Blazing Phoenix Feather?"
The three Sage Venerables immediately recognized the treasure's immense value and exchanged glances.
The Taixu Sword Sect is truly willing to go to such lengths?
"Regardless of past grievances, Swordmaster Li and our Taixu Sword Sect share a karmic connection," Jiang Zuohe said. "Though there have been some unpleasant incidents, we are not enemies."
The three Supreme Sages glanced at Jiang Zuohe, then at the group of Jiang Lingyun and the others who were conversing among themselves. Finally, they nodded with faint smiles. "We naturally trust Holy Venerable Jiang."
"Indeed. If not for that, why would we be here personally to welcome him?" the Sage Venerables added one by one.
Sensing the dissipating hostility in their words, Jiang Zuohe finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The mountain peak had been sealed by Liu Yu's barrier for nearly half a year!
Then, suddenly, the Liu Yu barrier maintaining the mountain's isolation vanished.
The mountain peak reappeared in everyone's perception.
No explanation was needed. Everyone understood...
Li Chunjun's process of forging his Dharma Manifestation had concluded.
(End of the Chapter)
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