Several days later, deep beneath the hidden cave, the ancient Dharma Altar emitted a faint silver radiance.
The countless formation lines carved into its surface glowed one after another as Mid-grade Spirit Stones embedded around the altar continuously released pure Spiritual Qi. Unlike previous activations, however, the formation wasn't establishing contact with its counterpart.
Today...
Lin Sheng intended to borrow the Dharma Altar itself.
After months of study, he had discovered that Dharma Altars from the Ancient Era weren't merely teleportation platforms. Their greatest value lay in their ability to stabilize Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi while isolating outside interference, making them ideal locations for cultivation breakthroughs.
His Astral Gang breakthrough couldn't afford the slightest mistake.
Especially after everything that had happened.
Before beginning, Lin Sheng reviewed the information Crystal had gathered over the past few months.
Most of it originated from the libraries of Qinshan County and the City Lord's Manor.
One report, however, had caught his attention.
It wasn't because of what it clearly stated.
It was because of what it vaguely implied.
A confidential letter sent by the City Lord to someone of higher status contained only a few unusual phrases.
"The fire that shall burn forever..."
"The chaos brought by the Great Change..."
Nothing else.
No explanation.
No context.
Just those two sentences buried among an otherwise ordinary administrative report.
Lin Sheng had originally dismissed it as the ramblings of cultists.
Yet the words "Great Change" lingered in his thoughts.
Curiosity led him to investigate further.
The results surprised him.
The Great Change wasn't some secret known only to high-ranking officials.
It had happened only a few months ago.
Every citizen within the Great Qian Dynasty had witnessed it.
According to countless records gathered from merchants, martial halls, government archives and ordinary people's accounts, the entire sky had transformed that day.
Strange phenomena covered the heavens.
Afterward...
The Great Qian Dynasty immediately mobilized its forces.
The Demon Suppressing Division.
The Yamen.
Even numerous sects and aristocratic families.
Countless experts were dispatched throughout the dynasty to suppress disturbances appearing in different regions.
Unfortunately, the records rarely explained exactly what those disturbances were.
Most simply recorded the mobilization before ending abruptly.
Crystal had already reconstructed the descriptions into a visual simulation.
Lin Sheng quietly watched the projection.
The moment it appeared...
His expression changed.
"It really is..."
The phenomenon resembled what he had witnessed before leaving the Immortal Cultivation Continent.
But...
It wasn't identical.
Within the Immortal Cultivation Continent, five-colored clouds representing the Five Elements had dominated the heavens, while Four Symbols and seasonal phenomena appeared only occasionally.
Here...
Everything was reversed.
Spring green.
Summer crimson.
Autumn gold.
Winter white.
The Four Seasons phenomena occupied almost the entire sky.
Only faint traces of the Five Elements appeared between them.
Crystal calmly completed its comparison.
[Similarity with phenomenon observed on the Immortal Cultivation Continent: 91.4%.
Primary difference: Four Seasons manifestation overwhelmingly dominant.
Five Element manifestation significantly weaker.
Conclusion: High probability both events originated from the same global phenomenon.]
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
"So..."
"I'm still within the same world."
That possibility had always existed.
Yet now...
He finally possessed evidence supporting it.
This wasn't another secret realm.
Nor some isolated miniature world.
The Martial Continent and the Immortal Cultivation Continent truly existed beneath the same heavens.
The so-called Great Change hadn't affected only one continent.
It had spread across the entire world.
The difference lay only in how each continent responded.
The Immortal Cultivation Continent resonated with the Five Elements.
The Martial Continent resonated with the Four Seasons.
The world's origin had changed everywhere.
Lin Sheng slowly looked toward the Dharma Altar beneath him.
His original purpose for repairing the teleportation formation had been simple.
Return.
Now...
That goal had become far more significant.
If one continent had changed...
Then the others almost certainly had as well.
Whatever the Great Change truly represented...
Its consequences were only beginning.
And somehow...
He had already been caught in the middle of it. There was no going back after surviving several attempts.
-----
As the Dharma Altar drew upon the Earth Vein beneath it, the ancient formation gradually awakened. Countless runes shimmered across its surface as streams of pure Spiritual Qi gathered into the chamber, making the entire cave feel as though it had come alive.
Lin Sheng sat cross-legged at the center of the altar and slowly closed his eyes.
The Improved True Scripture immediately began circulating.
This breakthrough couldn't tolerate even the slightest mistake.
He had to enter the Astral Gang Realm as quickly as possible. Only then could he begin cultivating the Five Elements Body Forging Art, allowing his physique to advance toward the Rank Four level.
Failure simply wasn't an option.
With every steady breath entering through his nostrils, the twelve Innate acupoints hidden throughout his body gradually awakened.
A warm sensation spread through his limbs.
His pores naturally opened.
One after another, invisible connections formed between the twelve Innate acupoints and the Heaven and Earth outside his body.
The first step had been completed.
Now came the second.
Finding the Astral Qi hidden within the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
Ordinary Xuan Gang martial artists often spent months or even years searching for the Astral Qi that matched their cultivation.
Now this process required them to sense the same Qi freely existing around them; this process takes months to years though there are those who will find a suitable spiritual land with similar attributes to their Astral Qi to easily complete this step.
Lin Sheng, however, possessed Mental Perception approaching ninety li.
The moment his perception spread outward, it immediately locked onto a familiar fluctuation hidden within the surrounding Spiritual Qi.
The Five Elements Astral Qi.
His eyes remained closed, yet a faint smile appeared on his face.
"The most time-consuming step... is already finished."
Without hesitation, he guided the Gang Qi filling his seventy-two acquired acupoints into motion.
The twelve Innate acupoints continued drawing in Astral Qi from the outside world.
Soon...
The two circulation routes approached one another.
One represented the violent Gang Qi refined through countless years of internal cultivation.
The other represented the pure Astral Qi gathered directly from Heaven and Earth.
Now they had to become one.
This was where countless Xuan Gang experts failed.
Forcing two independent circulation systems to merge placed an unimaginable burden upon one's mind. A single mistake could shatter concentration, causing the entire circulation to collapse and leaving the practitioner heavily injured.
Lin Sheng calmly maintained complete control.
His half-formed Martial Will silently stabilized his consciousness, suppressing every distracting thought before it could arise.
Within moments...
The two circulation systems finally connected.
The seventy-two acquired acupoints and the twelve Innate acupoints formed a single, complete Heavenly Circulation Cycle.
The surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly became far more active.
The Five Elements Spiritual Qi within the chamber churned violently before surging toward Lin Sheng from every direction.
Every open pore greedily absorbed the incoming energy.
Inside his body, the newly absorbed Five Elements Astral Qi collided directly with the circulating Gang Qi.
The two forces immediately resisted one another.
The Gang Qi attempted to devour the Astral Qi.
The Astral Qi attempted to suppress the Gang Qi.
For an instant, both energies pulled against each other so violently that Lin Sheng's meridians trembled.
Then...
The endless stream of Five Elements Spiritual Qi flowing in from the outside continuously entered the circulation cycle.
Like water calming raging flames, the violent conflict gradually subsided.
The two opposing energies slowly began accepting one another's existence.
The unstable balance stabilized.
A faint fluctuation spread from one of the seventy-two acquired acupoints.
Lin Sheng understood exactly what it meant.
He had successfully reached the final stage.
Now...
He only needed to maintain this perfect equilibrium until true fusion occurred.
The moment the first strand of Astral Gang was born...
His breakthrough into the Astral Gang Realm would be complete.