Jian Chen could not help but become slightly dejected seeing how Xiao Ling could do nothing. He sighed inside,
Looks like I can only go ask senior Tian Jian and the people of the protector clans in the future. I hope I can obtain the method to remove the seal from Huang Luan from them.
Jian Chen and Huang Luan stayed behind to get Xiao Ling to invoke the mysteries of the world for them.
Although Jian Chen possessed the strength of a Seventh Heavenly Layer Saint King with his Emperor Armament, his comprehension of the mysteries of the world remained at the level of a Seventh Heavenly Layer Saint Ruler. He possessed the ability to kill Saint Kings, but he was never able to rip open Space Gates, always requiring Rui Jin and Hei Yu to assist him.
Jian Chen wanted to make up for this weakness as soon as possible right now. He did not wish for his comprehension to reach the same level of strength he possessed, only so that it could reach the level of Saint Kings. That way, he would be able to create his own Space Gates.
It was evident that Jian Chen’s talent could be described as unprecedented. Both his cultivation speed and rate of comprehension was supreme. He submerged all his attention into the mysteries of the world invoked by Xiao Ling, fusing it into his soul so he could comprehend it closely.
Ordinary people would devote all their efforts into the comprehension for the mysteries of the world. The mysteries they comprehended would be hazy, uncertain and illusionary, like an image that was concealed by mist. They needed to get past this mist first, to see the reality within, if they wanted to achieve any comprehension.
Now that Jian Chen and the others possessed Xiao Ling’s assistance, they seemed to be able to see the image itself, able to observe it clearly. It was not concealed by any mist, nor any illusionary and uncertain obstructions. They managed to avoid many winding paths, so it was much easier for them to comprehend compared to other Saint Rulers.
This was not spoon-feeding them. Although the mysteries of the world were invoked by Xiao Ling, they were still required to comprehend them and understand if they wanted to benefit from them. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of effort. They would gain nothing.
Jian Chen, Huang Luan, Bi Hai, and Huang Tianba were completely submerged within the invoked mysteries. They felt that the mysteries of the world were so close to them. They had never remembered that the mysteries could be so close. They felt the mysteries were so clear in that moment, no longer hazy like before.
In the room where Chang Wuji stayed, the three pieces of beast fur flew about by themselves. A profound presence radiated from them as they slowly revolved around Chang Wuji.
Chang Wuji seemed like a meditating old monk, sitting there without moving at all. All his attention was submerged into them. He could feel that he seemed to vaguely understand something, but he failed to grasp onto it during the process.
Yang Ling also sat there silently. He did not have the assistance of the beast furs, so he needed to work hard himself and comprehend the mysteries of the world in order to reach Saint Ruler.
They all lost sense of time as they cultivated. In the blink of an eye, they had all stayed in Mercenary City for a year. All of them benefited greatly, Jian Chen in particular. He reached the Eighth Heavenly Layer in cultivation, and was continuing toward the Ninth.
Bi Hai and Huang Tianba gained great benefits as well. They had reached the Sixth and Fifth Heavenly Layers respectively long ago, and were close to reaching the peak. Now with Xiao Ling’s help, they comprehended the mysteries of the world in the most direct way, thus improving extremely quickly. They all made a breakthrough to the next level of cultivation, reaching the Seventh and Sixth Heavenly Layers.
Huang Luan had only reached Saint Ruler recently, but her strength had reached the Third Heavenly Layer due to Jian Chen. Her foundation was nowhere as firm as Huang Tianba’s or Bi Hai’s, so her strength did not increase that year.
She did not go without benefits, however. Although she remained at the Third Heavenly Layer, her comprehensions of the mysteries increased quite a lot. She was advancing to the Fourth Heavenly Layer.
Meanwhile, Yang Ling and Chang Wuji remained the same before, without making any advances toward Saint Ruler.
At the same time, a huge divine hall levitated in the dark and cold outer space directly above the continent. It was a magnificent and extravagant structure, completely white and glowing with a pure light. It illuminated the surrounding darkness.
A huge throne floated three meters in the air in the center of the top floor. A layer of visible Moonlight Force slowly coiled around it, shining with soft light and dying the room white.
You Yue sat on the throne with the Moon God Scepter in hand. She was meditating as powerful ripples of energy pulsed from her from time to time. The Moonlight Force around the throne was constantly absorbed by her, allowing her presence to rapidly increase.
As Jian Chen and the others comprehended the mysteries of the world through Xiao Ling’s help, You Yue did not idle about either. She remained in the cold and cheerless divine hall, silently enduring the boredom and loneliness to work hard on increasing her strength.
After the modification of her constitution with the moon essence and gaining the cultivation method that surpassed the Saint Tier, You Yue’s rate of improvement was no slower than Huang Luan with her Water Spirit’s Body, maybe even far exceeding it. In a mere year, You Yue reached the Fourth Cycle as a Heaven Saint Master from the First Cycle. If she continued like that, she would only need another half a year to reach the Sixth Cycle.
Hei Yu, Hong Lian, Kara Lot, and Kazda Jianxiong also recovered to their peak conditions after having all their energy drained away by the Bright Moon Divine Hall a year ago. Kara Lot and Kazda Jianxiong left the artifact space half a year ago, returning to their clans after bidding farewell to Jian Chen.
Kara Liwei had also left the artifact space. She congratulated Jian Chen on the matter with You Yue obtaining the Bright Moon Divine Hall before returning with her ancestor. However, she felt very envious when she mentioned the divine hall.
Rui Jin, Hei Yu, and Hong Lian all remained within the artifact space. They were all at the Great Perfection of Saint King and only an inch away from Saint Emperor. They needed to overcome this gap by themselves, as any help from Xiao Ling was useless.
A mountain range, always surrounded by poisonous mist, existed within the Karl Empire of the three great empires. It was extremely well known in the empire, where almost everyone knew about it. Not only had it existed in the empire for over a hundred thousand years, it had taken the lives of countless adventurous mercenaries and experts. Even Saint Rulers could meet their end in the mountain range.
As time went on, the mountain range was labeled as a forbidden region within the Karl Empire by countless mercenaries and experts. It was named the Soul-claiming Mountains.
A deathly silence did not exist in the mountain range; instead, it was teeming with life. Countless green vegetation grew there, even great trees that were hundreds or even thousands of years old. Magical beasts would move about from time to time in the thickets. It was no different than an ordinary forest.
However, the only difference was that everything was poisonous. Poison was present everywhere; not only were the plants poisonous, even the soil was poisonous, enough to threaten the lives of Earth Saint Masters. The deeper one went into the mountain range, the poison would grow stronger and stronger, where even Heaven Saint Masters would struggle to stay afloat in the end. All the magical beasts that thrived there were powerful, venomous beasts without a doubt.
A bare mountain peak stood in the depths of the mountain range. It was surrounded by vast quantities of poisonous mist, so dense that it had almost condensed into a liquid. Even the high class magical beasts that thrived in the mountain range could not approach it.
In the center of the mountain range existed a huge space carved out by a person. Fist-sized luminous pearls were lodged into the ceiling. They radiated with bright light and illuminated the dark cavern.
A middle-aged man, who seemed to be in his forties, sat there like a sculpture. He wore black robes.
The man’s appearance was ordinary, but his face was resolute. The muscles on his face seemed to be stiff, as if he never smiled. It made him seem rather straightforward at the same time. There was an extremely eye-catching scar that stretched across his forehead. It was terrifying, enough to frighten people just by looking at it.
Beside him stood a 1.3-meter-long sword, stuck in the soil. The sword seemed ordinary, but a vast, chilling pressure emanated from within.
Suddenly, the man snapped opened his eyes, and they immediately began to glow with two odd and different lights. One of the eyes was sharp, filled with vigor and was firm, while the other eye possessed a demonic light. The light flashed about the eye, as if it was a will-o’-wisp jumping about.
Kakakakaka, Bi Dao, my soul has undergone a basic fusion with yours. You can now use a portion of my powers, and you can use all of the power in my Saint Weapon, the Heaven-quaking Sword. You now possess the strength to move without restraint on the Tian Yuan Continent. Go deal with your matters as soon as possible. Don’t forget about the promise after you finish with them.
An odd, husky laughter rang through the middle-aged man’s head. The voice was extremely unpleasant, like the sobs of a ghost.
