. Fluorescent light drifted above the misty earth. Looking out, the entire world seemed shrouded in a deathly silence, devoid of any sign of life.
After a full day, Xiao Yan finally refined the energy core in his hand, reaching the level of a two-star Dou Zong. This was despite the fact that much energy had accumulated within him and had yet to be fully digested. This
immediate improvement in strength intoxicated Xiao Yan, who looked forward to the trials ahead.
Opening his eyes, he was met with a strange, rustling sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, Xiao Yan's smile froze.
Not far away, he saw a massive pentagram formation swirling, shimmering with a chilling, dark glow. Within, a figure sat cross-legged in the center. Around it, over a dozen energy bodies twisted and thrashed frantically, like souls trapped in purgatory, their agony visible to the naked eye.
Xiao Yan felt a sense of relief after clearly catching sight of the figures within the formation. As time passed, the dozen or so energy forms grew increasingly ethereal, until they finally dissipated completely, leaving not even a single energy core behind.
Xiao Yan could sense that as these energy forms dissipated, the invisible pressure emanating from Chen Guan intensified.
Without a doubt, Chen Guan was cultivating in a way he had never seen before, and it seemed he was cultivating his soul.
This suspicion filled Xiao Yan with a tremor.
Envy, to be sure.
However, this method…
seemed even more terrifying than that displayed by the Soul Palace.
Fortunately, this was only the first level of the Heavenly Tomb, where the energy forms were quite low-level and lacked any consciousness. If it were any conscious energy forms, it would seem inhumane, almost like refining a living being.
Xiao Yan was not one to waver; he had even resorted to illicit activities to enhance his strength.
But if Chen Guan offered him the opportunity, treating the energy forms as nourishment, refining them completely to improve himself, Xiao Yan was hesitant.
After all, most of the energy entities within this Heavenly Tomb were former powerhouses from the Eight Ancient Clans, and perhaps one of his ancestors was among them…
"Brother Guan."
"Hmm, not bad, a two-star Dou Zong. Three years from now, Dou Zun is a strong possibility."
Chen Guan glanced over at Xiao Yan, unsurprised by his improvement.
If it weren't for his solid foundation, a single level one energy core would easily propel Xiao Yan to a four- or five-star Dou Zong.
Yet, Xiao Yan managed to keep it at the late two-star Dou Zong stage, demonstrating his excellent character and his refusal to lose sight of the small gains in front of him.
"Let's go deeper. If you encounter energy entities, you can hone your newly gained strength. I'll intervene if danger strikes."
Chen Guan casually dispersed the Five Wheels of Destiny Formation without explanation, and Xiao Yan didn't ask.
Along the way, Chen Guan remained silent for a while, seemingly preoccupied. Seeing this, Xiao Yan tactfully followed closely, remaining silent unless encountering energy entities.
In this atmosphere, ten days flew by in a flash.
For ten days, the two men didn't encounter any of the other fourteen, a testament to the vastness of the Heavenly Tomb.
Furthermore, after ten days of deepening, the quality of the energy bodies they encountered had increased. Chen Guan and Xiao Yan hadn't encountered a level one energy core in several days.
Under Chen Guan's protection, the two swept through the depths, Xiao Yan maintaining a steady pace of refining one energy core per day. Despite his efforts to suppress his progress, he still managed to break through to the five-star Dou Zong level.
Such a speed would be unbelievable.
Even Xiao Yan himself felt a little apprehensive; it was too unrealistic.
In the northwest, this would have taken years, even decades, but now, in just ten days!
Fearing that such a rapid breakthrough would affect his foundation, Xiao Yan was hesitant to continue refining the energy cores Chen Guan gave him, believing he needed to slow down.
In fact, Chen Guan believed Xiao Yan's concerns were unfounded.
These energy cores, at most level two or three, were only effective initially. As more and more energy cores were absorbed, the results diminished significantly.
Xiao Yan didn't experience this situation simply because his base strength was too low. As his power gradually increased, he would inevitably face the same situation as Chen Guan.
The reason was that these energy cores, when absorbed in large quantities, would also develop some resistance, though this resistance was much weaker than that of elixirs.
Xiao Yan stopped refining the energy cores, leaving all of them to Chen Guan.
Over the past ten days, Chen Guan had attempted to refine the energy body using the Five-Wheel Formation twice more. He could clearly feel the improvement in his spiritual power, but a breakthrough was still a long way off. This little energy was just a drop in the ocean.
This made Chen Guan even more acutely aware of the terrifying gap between each sub-realm after the soul broke through to the Heavenly Realm.
"Could it be that I still need to rely on the Soul Palace's soul essence?"
Chen Guan frowned slightly after dispersing the Five-Wheel Formation.
He had high hopes for this trip to the Heavenly Tomb.
But so far, it seemed that the soul aspect was far from meeting his expectations.
Chen Guan had always attached great importance to progress regarding the soul. While in the northwest, he had hoped to find the Soul Origin in the Soul Palace. However, the Soul Palace moved more quickly, and Venerable Skyfire and his companions, after searching several branch palaces, failed to find the Soul Origin.
Now, with many Soul Palace personnel absorbed into the Soul Clan, while many branch palaces undoubtedly continued the task, the search became increasingly difficult.
"Brother Guan, there's a saying in Wutan City: 'When you reach the mountain, there's always a way; when you reach the bridge, there's always a way.' I don't know your considerations, but there will definitely be a way. Don't worry about it."
As Chen Guan frowned in thought, Xiao Yan's voice suddenly rang out.
Spending their daily time together, even if he was apathetic, he could sense Chen Guan's emotions, and emotions are contagious. Xiao Yan, following behind him, was also under immense pressure. Seeing the right moment, he offered words of comfort.
Chen Guan smiled.
He'd always been Xiao Yan's spiritual mentor, but he'd never expected to lecture him this time.
But that was the truth.
He stopped dwelling on it, and thinking about the benefits he'd gained over the past ten days, Chen Guan's mood brightened considerably.
At the very least, with the vast amount of energy cores he'd refined, the quantitative change had led to a qualitative shift, and he was now vaguely feeling the impending breakthrough.
Seven-star Dou Zun, almost there!
"You're right. Keep going deeper. We should be approaching the middle of the first level of the Heavenly Tomb. The energy entities from here will become increasingly powerful. With luck, we might even encounter wandering energy entities with the strength of six-star Dou Zun or higher. And those guys are probably heading for the second level entrance right now."
"I hope so,"
Xiao Yan nodded, keeping pace with Chen Guan, his words amplified with sincerity.
He knew that the energy entities he'd encountered these days were useless to Chen Guan, the kind of useless things he'd eat and discard. He felt a bit embarrassed that he was the only one struggling to improve himself.
As for the other tribes, given their knowledge of the Heavenly Tomb, there was little chance of anything happening on this first level.
Unless they were incredibly unlucky and happened to encounter a rival tribe, they would be in for a fight.
...
The vast Heavenly Tomb was perpetually shrouded in a dense energy mist. Under this energy's pressure, anything that flew through it felt as heavy as a mountain. After a brief flight through the sky, they would be exhausted. It was precisely because of this that the Heavenly Tomb seemed so endless.
The world of the Heavenly Tomb was deadly and dreary, but those who could enter this strange place were not mediocre. They had emerged from a race rich in talent, possessing not only formidable strength but also a calm character. While this dreariness was somewhat annoying, it was still tolerable for them.
In this dreariness, it seemed as if the very concept of time had become blurred.
Therefore, when Chen Guan and the others, after nearly four months of trekking, crossed the vast Heavenly Tomb and gazed upon the wall of energy light that appeared at the end of their sight, they could not help but be stunned.
"Is this the entrance to the second level?"
Xiao Yan asked with a hint of surprise, gazing at the wall of energy that seemed to pour down from the very edge of the sky.
Xiao Yan now exuded a travel-worn air. His black hair had grown longer, and his face had become thinner. But his dark eyes gleamed with a gleaming brilliance.
A Seven-Star Dou Zong!
Even in Central China, such strength would undoubtedly be considered a formidable figure.
In the Northwest, he would be a leader!
Xiao Yan had gained immensely from this trip to the Heavenly Tomb.
After all, to him, this place was a treasure trove!
Since entering the depths of the first level, Chen Guan and Xiao Yan had faced attacks from powerful energy entities almost daily.
Although Chen Guan handled most of these attacks, they were still horrifying for Xiao Yan, who repeatedly teetered on the brink of death.
"Finally, we're here! I don't know if we should say our luck is too good or too bad; we haven't even encountered a single living person."
After a casual grumble, Chen Guan turned serious. "The second floor is much more dangerous than the first. I have to be on high alert. Wait for me a moment."
With that, Chen Guan glanced around, then swiftly swooped onto a boulder and sat cross-legged.
"Brother Guan, are you about to break through?"
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he looked delighted.
This was indeed the case. After all, the stronger Chen Guan became, the safer he would be in the Heavenly Tomb.
Chen Guan nodded slightly. After four months of training in the Heavenly Tomb, and having consumed hundreds of energy cores, his Dou Qi was now overflowing, and he could easily break through to Seven-Star Dou Zun at any moment.
The second floor of the Heavenly Tomb was more dangerous, and breaking through there could be a problem. To be on the safe side, it was best to break through first and enter the second floor at full strength.
Besides, where would the audience be if he tried to break through on the second floor?
Seeing Chen Guan close his eyes and enter a state of cultivation, Xiao Yan immediately shut his mouth and surveyed the surroundings with a wary expression.
Even if it might be futile, he couldn't doubt his intentions.
Chen Guan sensed this and smiled inwardly, then cleared his mind and focused his spirit.
As Chen Guan gradually entered a state of cultivation, a vast wave of Dou Qi gradually emanated from his body, enveloping an area of nearly a thousand meters.
The energy required to ascend to the rank of Dou Zun was truly immense. The energy Chen Guan had absorbed over the past four months was something he wouldn't be able to achieve in even a year outside of the realm.
While he had only advanced one star, Xiao Yan's progress was a stark difference.
As the two of them fell silent, the world once again fell silent.
However, after this deathly stillness lasted for about two hours, a chill breeze suddenly swept into the stillness.
Hundreds of feet from the boulder where Chen Guan sat cross-legged, two figures in black robes loomed, a sinister aura quietly filling the air.
"I've never seen such a thing before. A member of the ancient clan's divine bloodline actually has a penchant for spying on others. Could it be that you have feelings for these two?"
A black-robed figure uttered a cold, shimmering voice. The hazy space distorted again, and a graceful figure emerged from it.
Gu Xun'er!
This woman had been lurking in the shadows!
(End of Chapter)