Chapter 52

As the laws of heaven and earth reappeared and the spiritual veins of the earth converged once more, the great changes that shook the world not only allowed demonic beasts to run rampant but also had a profound impact on the human realm. Just like the Alps, once known as the roof of Europe, which now stands more majestic and vast than ever before, far surpassing its former glory.

The main ridge stretches for over two hundred thousand miles, with the main peak towering over ten thousand feet. The present-day Alps resemble a sleeping multi-legged centipede dragon, sprawling across the land with countless branch ranges spreading out in all directions, the farthest of which extends for a million miles.

Over ninety percent of the vast mountain range is covered in snow, and countless demonic beasts and birds inhabit it. The deepest parts of the Alps are now so perilous that even the most ancient princes of the Blood Demon Clan dare not easily enter, having evolved into a place of extreme danger where death is almost certain.

In a mountain range with a hidden wind and gathered qi, with clear water in front and high mountains behind, and protected by green mountains on both sides, dozens of tents made of animal hides are neatly arranged in the valley. Among the green mountains and clear waters, groups of the Jiang Clan members sit in meditation on mountaintops and under trees, silently absorbing the spiritual energy.

Over three thousand elite warriors from the Great Berlin City-State, with various colored lights flickering around their bodies and faint runes glowing on their foreheads, float in the air, similarly absorbing the energy of heaven and earth.

As the Jiang Clan members absorb the spiritual energy, the clear qi flows around them, and auspicious clouds and mist spread out in layers, each person forming their own small world, where they are the rulers.

When the elites of the Great Berlin City-State absorb the energy of heaven and earth, they seem to merge with the world around them. Flames may rise around them, or water vapor may envelop them, or thunderclouds may loom, or frost may gather. They are immersed in the various elemental energies that surge towards them, and the surrounding void trembles with their breathing and absorption.

At the end of a valley shaped like a treasure bottle, there is a pristine white jade wall three thousand meters high. The sunlight reflecting off the jade wall casts a lustrous glow, illuminating the snowy mountains for a hundred miles around. Jiang Rensheng, dressed in a purple Daoist robe with a先天八卦图 (先天八卦图) on his chest and a complex 周天星斗镇邪符 (周天星斗镇邪符) embroidered on his back, holds a large compass and paces back and forth in front of the jade wall, his face filled with worry.

Jiang Tuochen and other high-ranking members of the Jiang Clan, along with the twelve Grand Magistrates of the Great Berlin City-State, stand to the side, their expressions extremely strange as they watch Jiang Rensheng. Although they have seen him many times over the past month or so, carrying the compass around, they still find it hilarious and absurd!

This compass, a supreme treasure left by a distant ancestor of the Jiang Clan, is made of a material that looks like bronze, measuring about ten feet in diameter and three feet six inches in height, weighing twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty pounds. It is enveloped in a layer of green light, with countless divine beasts and birds, as well as strange mountains, rare flowers, and various divine and demonic patterns carved on it.

The compass reflects the stars, penetrates the nine netherworlds, clarifies the mysteries, and enlightens the profound principles, making it a top-tier tool for divining the fate of heaven and earth and predicting good and bad fortune. However, it has a peculiar characteristic that makes it both amusing and frustrating: it can only be controlled by one person, who must inject their own magical power and divine consciousness to activate its various miraculous functions.

If another person approaches within thirty feet while it is being used, the compass immediately stops working!

Moreover, the compass is enormous and extremely heavy. Even Jiang Rensheng, a powerful cultivator and elder of the Jiang Clan, finds it extremely strenuous to carry it around and perform divinations.

"The most frustrating thing is that this 'Heavenly Destiny Compass' cannot change its size, which is truly the most troublesome aspect!"

Jiang Rensheng, with a grim face, awkwardly holds the large compass and walks back and forth in front of the jade wall, using the subtle spatial fluctuations emanating from within the jade wall to calculate the time of its opening. The spatial fluctuations change rapidly, and he must find at least three spatial nodes with each breath to perform an effective divination!

Thus, he moves around like a madman, carrying the large compass and running about, panting heavily, which looks quite ungraceful.

Even though Jiang Rensheng is an elder of the Jiang Clan, he cannot help but inwardly criticize the ancestor who created the Heavenly Destiny Compass. Was the ancestor playing a joke on future generations? Carrying a weight of over ten thousand pounds and running while continuously calculating millions of possibilities is a feat that only Jiang Rensheng could accomplish; anyone else would find it impossible.

Sweat drips down his face as the complex patterns on the Heavenly Destiny Compass, including the先天八卦 (先天八卦), 后天八卦 (后天八卦), 伏羲图 (伏羲图), 河图洛书 (河图洛书), and other divine texts and celestial marks, flash and change rapidly. Circular engravings slowly rotate, and each time Jiang Rensheng finds a spatial node, the light on the compass grows stronger.

Today, the spatial fluctuations from within the jade wall are clearer, and the speed of the Heavenly Destiny Compass's calculations is faster, but Jiang Rensheng's magical power is also being consumed more quickly. In his dantian, a chicken-egg-sized, purple-golden golden core, with countless smoke-like patterns forming dragon and tiger motifs, rotates rapidly, continuously absorbing external spiritual energy and converting it into powerful magical power to inject into the Heavenly Destiny Compass.

As Jiang Rensheng's magical power is continuously consumed, a layer of purple mist envelops his body, and a faint, lotus-like fragrance wafts out. A three-foot-tall auspicious cloud hovers above his head, with three white lotus buds about to bloom. From the gaps in the petals of these lotus buds, three fine threads of golden light shoot up into the sky, like a string of pearls, beautiful and majestic, exuding a divine aura.

The Jiang Clan is one of the five immortal clans with a ten-thousand-year-old lineage in the Eastern cultivation world. The founder of the Jiang Clan, a great figure who once controlled the celestial tribulation, practiced the most orthodox and profound cultivation techniques of the Eastern Daoist sects.

Although in the era of declining magical power, all great cultivators have fallen, and the most advanced cultivators in the Eastern cultivation world can barely form a golden core, when Jiang Rensheng fully activates his golden core and unleashes the secret cultivation techniques, the divine aura that emanates from him still leaves the twelve Grand Magistrates of the Great Berlin City-State speechless and amazed.

Gradually, as a hundred-mile-high green light column rises from the Heavenly Destiny Compass, radiating a beautiful divine light in all directions, Jiang Rensheng has already drawn in all the spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius. In the sky, a hundred-mile-wide rainbow cloud slowly rotates clockwise, with divine light shining down from the center of the cloud vortex, resonating with the green light from the Heavenly Destiny Compass.

The spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius converges, making the surrounding spiritual energy ten times more abundant than usual.

Whether it is the Jiang Clan members meditating or the elite warriors of the Great Berlin City-State, they all benefit greatly. The dense spiritual energy and celestial energy are almost forcibly infused into their bodies, and the strength they gain from a single breath of absorption is equivalent to three days of hard cultivation.

This magnificent scene lasts for a full quarter of an hour. Jiang Rensheng is drenched in sweat, his purple Daoist robe soaked through, and he looks pale as he drops the heavy compass and collapses to the ground, unable to move.

This divination has yielded extremely detailed results, but the amount of essence and energy he has expended is immeasurable. What is even more frustrating is that at the last moment, his magical power was insufficient, and to complete the divination, he had to sacrifice three years of his lifespan.

Jiang Tuochen, noticing Jiang Rensheng's dire state, rushes over and places his hand on Jiang Rensheng's crown.

A pure, refined energy flows from Jiang Rensheng's crown, nourishing his depleted body. He exhales deeply, and a long, light red breath, like a python, shoots out from his mouth, extending dozens of meters. The mountain wind disperses the breath, and a faint, bloody smell fills the air.

Jiang Tuochen's other hand moves, and a small, flesh-colored jade bottle appears, which he crushes with a light touch. A dark red pill, shaped like a chicken heart and faintly pulsating, flies out, releasing a rich and pure medicinal fragrance.

"This!" Jiang Rensheng looks at the pill in Jiang Tuochen's hand with a pained expression. "It's too extravagant!"

Jiang Rensheng is truly heartbroken over the pill! In the era of declining magical power, even the most powerful immortal clans struggle to make ends meet. Over the centuries, the Jiang Clan's stored cultivation resources have been depleted, leaving only a few precious items. The 'Qingluo Heart Life Pill' is now in short supply, with fewer than ten remaining. For just three years of lifespan, Jiang Rensheng is truly reluctant to take this life-saving pill.

"Brother, it's important to quickly restore your energy!" Jiang Tuochen knows his brother's temperament. Jiang Rensheng is a top-notch person in terms of handling affairs and planning, but in small matters, he is so frugal that it makes people want to cry.

Without a good excuse, Jiang Rensheng would never waste this high-grade immortal pill.

"Here is not our territory, and important matters require your presence!" Jiang Tuochen whispers in Jiang Rensheng's ear.

Jiang Rensheng's narrow eyes flicker, and he glances at the twelve Grand Magistrates. Without a word, he grabs the pill and swallows it in one gulp. A fresh, herbal fragrance spreads from his body, and the three years of lifespan he lost are quickly restored, and he even gains an additional thirty years.

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