Chapter 74

Su Yang emerged from his seclusion, and now even he was unsure how many times stronger he had become compared to before his breakthrough. What he knew was that the power in his every movement and gesture had reached a realm that was once unimaginable.

At the same time, with each breath, he could absorb the essence of heaven and earth into his body, as if he were constantly cultivating. The many secret techniques and profound martial arts he had mastered in the past now seemed full of flaws when he looked back, with few redeeming qualities.

It was no wonder that after emerging from his seclusion, he defined his past self as a "frog at the bottom of a well."

This was not out of modesty, but because, having entered the new realm of the Foundation Establishment stage, he had gained insights into many mysteries that had eluded him before.

At this moment, Su Yang couldn't help but recall Nie Lingbo's words from the tidal head of the Qiantang River years ago.

He smiled wryly and murmured to himself, "Lingbo, your path is now my path. Back then, I was wrong. It's been a thousand years since we parted. Wait for me; I will marry you."

Putting aside his chaotic thoughts, Su Yang's eyes sparkled with determination as he said confidently, "Black Diamond, let's enter the Spirit Realm."

"Boss, are we going to touch that black rock again?" Black Diamond changed his form, burrowed into Su Yang's arms, and poked out his little head, curious. "The aura you emit is so soothing. Staying by your side is more effective than me absorbing the essence of heaven and earth for cultivation."

Once again standing before the black rock, Su Yang's divine sense spread out like an octopus, quickly enveloping the entire rock.

Feeling the strange energy waves emanating from within the rock, Su Yang had a sense of familiarity.

"The energy it contains is clearly of the same lineage as the true essence I cultivated after my breakthrough."

Gently placing his hand on the rock, Su Yang slowly released his true essence, which flowed from his palm into the rock. At that moment, he felt as if he had become one with the rock.

Without thinking, he took a step forward, and half of his body was "embedded" in the black rock.

Taking another step, Su Yang's entire body was completely absorbed into the rock. When the light returned to his eyes, the surroundings had changed, and he found himself in a vast, new world.

The essence of heaven and earth around him was so rich that being there felt like being in a fairyland. Taking a deep breath, Su Yang felt thoroughly refreshed. He had to admit that if he had broken through in a hundred days while cultivating here, it might have taken only one-tenth of the time to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Just as Su Yang was feeling this, a beast's roar suddenly came from not far away, and a giant black-striped white tiger darted out from the side.

The white tiger was five meters long, with a mouth large enough to fit two or three human heads. It pounced from a hundred meters away with astonishing speed, and in just a few breaths, the stench of its breath was already in Su Yang's face.

Before Su Yang could react, Black Diamond had already shot out from his arms, revealing his true form. With a massive iron tail, he struck the tiger, turning it into a pile of flesh.

"This kind of trash dares to harass my boss." Black Diamond disdainfully swallowed the tiger's corpse and burrowed back into Su Yang's arms.

"To grow to this size, it must have taken at least two or three hundred years. Such a creature is unseen in the outside world."

Su Yang asked with his divine sense, "Black Diamond, are you familiar with this place? Is this the 'Spirit Realm' you entered back then?"

"That's right, this is the place. If it weren't for those guys who wanted to kill me, I wouldn't have left here even if you beat me to death!"

Since reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Su Yang's divine sense had become several times stronger. Releasing it now, he instantly covered an area of several dozen miles. In just a moment, he discovered at least three types of rare and precious materials that had long vanished from the world, including the "Azure Dragon Grass," a valuable herb that was hard to find even a thousand years ago.

Su Yang was overjoyed. Before coming here, he wasn't sure if he could find all the materials needed to refine the elixir to save Miaoling, but now he was confident.

Over the next ten days, Su Yang collected various materials for refining elixirs in the Spirit Realm. In no time, he had gathered ninety percent of what he needed, except for one crucial ingredient, which he couldn't find.

The ingredient, known as the "Heaven-Climbing Fruit," was said to grow only at the peak of the most dangerous and towering mountain. Therefore, Su Yang finally set his sights on the most perilous and towering peak in the Spirit Realm.

During this period, Black Diamond had a feast, not to mention the amount of spiritual materials he consumed, but just the inner cores of the seven or eight powerful beasts that Su Yang killed while gathering herbs were equivalent to a hundred years of cultivation for him.

"Boss, are you really going to that mountain?"

Black Diamond, still trembling, beat his tail. "That mountain is dangerous. The guys who came down from there almost cost me my life back then."

"You're already a half-dragon, what are you afraid of?" Su Yang couldn't help but laugh at Black Diamond's fear.

"Boss, you don't know. The guys who come down from that mountain are all extremely powerful. Even now, if I encounter them, I would only have a chance to run for my life."

Hearing this, Su Yang recalled his initial guess about the "Spirit Realm" and felt a sense of anticipation at the possibility of meeting the Holy Maiden of the Sword Pavilion again. He thought, if the Spirit Realm is the place where martial geniuses go after breaking through the void, could Lingbo or even my master be among them?

"You rest here, and I'll go explore that mountain. Once I get the 'Heaven-Climbing Fruit,' I'll come back for you."

Black Diamond readily accepted Su Yang's suggestion, still deeply afraid of the highest peak. No one knew what had happened back then, but his fear of the mountain was so intense.

After making the arrangement with Black Diamond, Su Yang set off immediately. Although the mountain was visible, even with Su Yang's incredible speed, it took him a full day and night to reach the base of the mountain.

From a distance, it didn't seem like much, but when he finally reached the base, Su Yang realized the enormity and majesty of the mountain.

In Su Yang's mind, among all the famous mountains and peaks in the world, none could compare to this one in terms of size. As for its height, it was impossible to determine, as the peak was shrouded in clouds, and even with Su Yang's keen eyesight, he couldn't see the top.

Not long after starting his ascent, Su Yang keenly noticed that the higher he climbed, the richer the essence of heaven and earth became. At his current speed, he had already climbed a thousand feet, and the essence of heaven and earth around him was several times stronger than at the base.

To find the "Heaven-Climbing Fruit," Su Yang didn't move too quickly. Whenever he saw valuable herbs that could be used for refining elixirs, he collected them.

What puzzled Su Yang slightly was that before climbing the mountain, in the Spirit Realm, the more precious and rare the material, the more powerful the beasts guarding it. However, after climbing the mountain, even when he dug up extremely rare herbs like the "Thousand-Year Ginseng," "Flame Spirit Mushroom," and "Eight-Flavored Purple Soul Grass," no beasts appeared.

Three days later, Su Yang had covered all the areas below two thousand feet of the mountain, and his harvest was abundant. He had enough materials to refine another batch of "Ultimate Golden Pills," but the crucial "Heaven-Climbing Fruit" was still missing.

As he continued to explore higher, Su Yang first discovered traces of human presence.

Stopping to look at the massive stone gate about ten meters ahead, Su Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the three large characters carved in iron-like strokes above it.

"The strength and spirit of these characters are comparable to those of the great calligrapher who drank with me for three days and nights hundreds of years ago."

"But what is this 'Four Extremes Holy Sect'?"

Su Yang carefully recalled everything he had seen and heard during his thousand-year life, but he had never heard of such a sect.

The stone gate was already in a state of disrepair, with faint marks of weapons, suggesting a hidden history.

Walking past the stone gate, he found a winding stone path leading upward, its destination unknown. Curiosity piqued, Su Yang followed the path.

After about two hours of rapid travel, Su Yang finally saw a different scene. An old temple gate came into view.

Pushing the gate open, he found a cluster of ancient buildings behind it, but they were in ruins, a picture of desolation.

The moment Su Yang stepped through the gate, a figure darted toward him like a bolt of lightning, striking with a powerful palm. The force was the most intense Su Yang had ever encountered.

With his rich combat experience, Su Yang quickly dodged to the side and, while spinning, struck back, blocking the attacker's position and engaging in a fierce clash.

"Bang!"

The two powerful forces collided in mid-air, producing a deafening explosion and a visible shockwave.

Despite his current strength, which was greater than in any of his previous lives, Su Yang was forced to retreat five steps, his arm tingling.

The figure that had rushed over stood a short distance away, an old man with a white beard and a single eye, wearing a blue robe. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Boy, where do you come from?" the old man suddenly asked.

Su Yang, who had lived for over a thousand years, disliked being called "boy" the most. Irritated, he snorted, "Who's older and who's younger is yet to be determined. Why do you care where I come from? I haven't asked where you came from."

"I've lived for over two thousand years. Calling you 'boy' is not inappropriate."

The old man's words startled Su Yang, but he waved his hand. "Why should I believe you?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you are the only living person I've seen in the past five hundred years, your arrogance would have cost you your life."

"Just because you have deeper cultivation, why should you be so proud? Let's continue the fight and see if you have the ability."

Since his seventh reincarnation, Su Yang had not encountered a worthy opponent for a long time, especially now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage and his true essence was fully formed, his strength had greatly increased.

Meeting this person, who could surpass him in palm strength, awakened the fighting spirit in Su Yang's blood. His eyes blazed with battle lust as he said, "Let's fight first."

Su Yang immediately used the three most powerful moves from the Seventy-Two Heavenly Demon Techniques, infused with true essence, unleashing a devastating force.

"Trivial skills."

The old man laughed lightly, and without moving, he suddenly advanced several meters as if by teleportation. Using only his right hand, he quickly neutralized Su Yang's powerful attacks.

"I was afraid you wouldn't have the ability. This is perfect."

After the initial clash, Su Yang was shocked by his opponent's strength, but his desire to fight grew even stronger. It had been so long since he had a satisfying and intense battle.

"Divine Demon Blade," "Immortal Seal Technique," "World-Destroying Lotus," "Annihilation Palm," "Tai Chi," "Flower Plucking Finger," "Demon Cultivation Technique," "Life and Death Mark," "Heavenly Sword Technique"...

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