Inside Zhang Lin's room, the formation array lit up with faint blue lines, spreading across the floor like a spiderweb woven from spiritual energy. The atmosphere was utterly silent, broken only by the young man's breathing and the careful movements of his fingertips.
"Move your left hand up another half inch… good, just like that."
Zhang Wen's voice sounded from the other side of the spatial ring.
Zhang Lin nodded. Even though he could not see his elder brother, he trusted every instruction completely. His fingertips traced through the air as strands of spiritual power slowly emerged, forming complex patterns. Rings of runes overlapped layer by layer, each stroke precise as if he had practiced it thousands of times before.
The moment the final line was completed, the concealment formation flashed with a violet gold glow before sinking silently into the floor.
In an instant, the surrounding air became perfectly still. All traces of aura vanished. Even spiritual energy itself felt as though it had never existed. The concealment formation had been successfully activated.
"Success," Zhang Lin murmured, his eyes shining.
"Very good. Next, draw the teleportation formation," Zhang Wen's voice followed immediately. "I will do it together with you on my side."
The two of them began almost simultaneously.
One stood within the Chaotic Sacred Land, while the other was far away in the deepest region of the southern Black Wind Continent. Yet the rhythm of their power synchronized in a strange harmony, as if the two formations were responding to one another across space itself.
When both arrays were completed, Zhang Wen took out a single supreme grade spirit stone. Pure white light shimmered within his palm.
He let a drop of clear water fall onto the surface of the stone. The droplet trembled slightly before seeping inside.
"This drop will record the coordinates. If the spirit stone fails to reach you, I will immediately know where it appears so we can plan accordingly."
Zhang Wen took a deep breath. Water energy surged around his body as the teleportation formation blazed with dazzling light.
In the next instant, the spirit stone vanished from his hand.
On the other side, Zhang Lin sat waiting at the center of the formation, his eyes fixed forward without blinking.
After a few breaths, he let out a quiet sigh.
"Elder brother… it seems it did not arrive."
Zhang Wen's voice responded almost immediately.
"I thought so as well. It appears the Chaotic Sacred Land has a barrier that intercepts teleportation. The spirit stone I sent was likely drawn into some unknown location."
At the same time
Inside the Spatial Hall of the Chaotic Sacred Land, a place where teleportation gates connected to nearly every important location in the world, a disturbance suddenly erupted.
The vast hall stood supported by dozens of towering black stone pillars. Space in the center twisted violently before a supreme grade spirit stone dropped out from the void.
"Hm?"
The elderly man guarding the teleportation hall opened his eyes at once. A sharp, icy glint flashed within his gaze.
"Someone secretly sent an object in from outside?"
He rushed forward in an instant, his palm nearly touching the spirit stone.
But at that very moment
The spirit stone shattered into fine dust. The water sealed within evaporated completely, and every trace of inscription was wiped clean, leaving not even the slightest remnant behind.
The old man halted abruptly, staring at the scene with a grave expression.
"In just a few breaths… the teleportation formation was completely erased."
His brows knitted tightly.
"Who in the world did this?"
At the same time, inside Zhang Lin's room, Zhang Wen's voice sounded again.
"It seems we cannot do this on our own anymore."
Zhang Lin fell silent for a moment before asking cautiously.
"Elder brother… what do you mean?"
"We need to seek help from someone else," Zhang Wen replied, his tone firm. "Is there anyone within the Chaotic Sacred Land whom you truly trust?"
Zhang Lin remained quiet for a short while. His eyes were calm, yet deep within them lay intense caution. At last, he spoke seriously.
"At the moment… there is no one I can trust completely."
The other end fell silent. Zhang Wen's breathing echoed faintly through the spatial ring as countless thoughts raced through his mind.
"If that is the case…" Zhang Wen said slowly, "then it seems we must adjust our plan."
He paused briefly before continuing in a heavier voice.
"I cannot send resources to you through teleportation right now. The Chaotic Sacred Land is protected by powerful formations, and the items I intend to give you are far too valuable."
"More importantly, I do not want you to seek help from anyone you cannot trust. And I definitely do not want you to leave the Sacred Land to set up an external teleportation formation either. Even while staying inside the Sacred Land, you already seem unsafe."
Zhang Lin nodded in understanding.
"So for now, do not move recklessly. Be vigilant. Wait for me. I will find a way."
The young man smiled faintly, the pressure in his chest easing slightly.
"Understood, elder brother. I will be careful."
After those words, the connection was cut. Silence once again filled the room.
….
….
Five days later
Deep within a forest that had once been lush and green, the land had now turned into desolation. Vast areas were struck by heavenly lightning again and again. Black scorch marks spread across the ground, trees lay shattered and fallen, and the lingering aura of the heavens made the entire region resemble a forbidden zone.
At the center of the devastated land, where the earth had collapsed into an enormous crater, Zhang Wen sat alone in meditation.
The aura around his body was strangely calm. It did not erupt nor surge violently, yet it carried an unfathomable stability and mystery, like the deep currents beneath the ocean surface that appeared tranquil but possessed weight beyond measure.
He slowly opened his eyes.
A terrifying pressure enveloped heaven and earth for a brief moment before being completely restrained. Within his body, spiritual energy flowed like a boundless sea.
Now… his cultivation had fully stepped into the peak of the Saint Emperor realm.
During his previous stage as a Saint King, he had consumed eighty Phoenix Emperor Flame Pills to compress power within each subrealm. Consuming such an enormous quantity of pills caused him no backlash whatsoever. For him, the more he consumed, the stronger his body became.
His meridians expanded, his foundation was tempered until it reached absolute solidity. Bones, blood, and flesh were reforged again and again, layered repeatedly until even he himself could no longer find anything suitable for comparison.
The Phoenix Emperor Flame Pills produced by the system contained no poison, no hidden backlash, and no distortion of heavenly laws. All their power was transformed perfectly into pure foundation.
After that, to break through into the Saint Emperor realm, he gradually consumed another one hundred pills.
Not to increase his cultivation power, but to condense the fragmentary inner world within his body into a true small world.
For four full days
He meticulously designed its structure. Heaven, earth, laws, water, fire, energy cycles, and world circulation were refined in precise detail. Every step was executed with flawless accuracy, all for the sake of creating the most perfect small world possible.
Once the small world was formed, he consumed another eight hundred pills to force his cultivation base toward the peak of the Saint Emperor realm.
The vast spiritual energy he absorbed no longer directly advanced his subrealms.
Because from this point onward, progress was no longer determined by cultivation power alone.
It depended on comprehension of the laws of the world, using them to strengthen and expand his inner world, raising his subrealm step by step.
When a total of one thousand Phoenix Emperor Flame Pills had been consumed, Zhang Wen's foundation became something that surpassed all conventional limits.
Yet now…
He was stuck at the final bottleneck.
The breakthrough from Saint Emperor to Half Emperor.
It was not because his power was insufficient.
Not because his foundation lacked stability.
Not because he lacked time.
But if he wished to grow even stronger, he now required an Emperor level cultivation technique.