Chapter 1544: Advancing in Refining the Void

"If this person can truly advance to the Spirit Commander level, wouldn't he also be able to help us remove our slave marks?" the three-headed python exclaimed with great joy.

"Logically, yes, but why would he help us?" the bull-headed beast said with a bitter smile, a flicker of hope in its eyes quickly disappearing.

"We don't know if the one in the Black Nether Mist met with an accident or simply abandoned us and left. We haven't been able to contact him for over a hundred years. If we don't try something now, our lives will truly be in peril later," the golden ape, who had been silent until then, added with a grimace.

"Oh, so what you two fellow Daoists mean is..." A green light flashed across the bull-headed beast's face.

"If this person truly succeeds in advancing, why don't we offer him our shared treasure and have him help us remove the restriction? Then we can leave this place forever?" the giant ape rumbled.

"But that item is crucial for our future advancement. Are we just going to give it to an outsider? What if he takes the item but refuses to remove the restriction for us? Wouldn't that be absolutely terrible?" The bull-headed beast hesitated.

"If we don't even have our lives, what good is the item, no matter how valuable it is? As for your second point, this person isn't of our kind, but he was fair during previous transactions. He most likely won't break his promise. Even if there's some risk, given our current situation, if we don't seize this opportunity, we'll likely regret it later. This person is an outsider; who knows how long he'll stay here?" The three-headed python grew anxious, agitatedly slamming its giant tail against the ground, carving out a pit several feet deep.

The golden ape, listening nearby, nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Since both of you fellow Daoists feel this way, I can't really object. But for now, let's first see the result of this person's advancement. If he fails, then anything we say will be useless." The bull-headed beast sighed, tacitly agreeing.

The other two beasts naturally agreed, immediately ceasing their discussion, and all looked with extreme concern towards the distant celestial phenomenon.

At this moment, the milky-white cloud ring above the five-colored giant mountain gradually expanded outwards. It seemed slow, but with every passing moment, its diameter expanded by an astonishing distance.

In just a short while, the cloud ring had grown large enough to encompass the entire giant mountain.

As the cloud ring dramatically changed, the hurricane within it became increasingly violent and unstoppable.

Below, the five-colored luminous mist began to be rapidly drawn upwards by the hurricane at an astonishing speed. The light barrier enveloping the giant mountain gradually thinned.

After such a long time, the quantity of five-colored radiant mist converging towards the giant mountain from all directions also began to decrease. These spiritual lights, formed from the primordial energy of heaven and earth, finally gathered in one place and were swept up by the hurricane, flowing into the cloud ring.

The bottom of the entire giant ring looked like a colossal bowl with a five-colored base.

After the giant mountain's last layer of light barrier disappeared, the hurricane suddenly ceased. The entire cloud ring became utterly silent, with only five-colored lights flashing throughout the ring, like the calm before a storm.

Suddenly, a dragon-like roar echoed from deep within the giant mountain. A golden light flashed at the summit of the giant mountain, and a colossal, three-headed, six-armed dharma idol appeared.

This dharma idol stood a thousand zhang tall, shimmering with golden light all over, as if solid. As its three heads slowly lifted, two dazzling golden glows appeared on each of the previously indistinct faces, and astonishingly, a pair of emotionless crimson-gold eyes opened on each, all staring at the cloud ring in the sky.

Suddenly, all three heads swayed, and three long, metallic roars resounded once more.

The continuous roars echoed through the entire sky like rolling thunder.

Ordinary beasts in the distance were fine; upon hearing the sound, they only felt more terrified but otherwise showed no abnormalities. However, low- and mid-tier demonic beasts that already possessed demonic energy felt a buzzing in their ears, as if caught in raging waves, their spiritual consciousness temporarily empty and unable to form any other thoughts.

The colossal dharma idol's roar lasted for the duration of a cup of tea before abruptly stopping. Then, each of its six arms performed a hand seal.

After a few muffled thumps, various spiritual lights flashed around, and four illusory figures, each only half the size of the dharma idol, appeared.

A green roc, a five-colored peacock, a five-clawed golden flood dragon, and a gigantic colorful phoenix—as these four distinct true spirit illusions appeared, each emitted various sounds like dragon roars and phoenix cries. Then, some spread their wings, others swayed their heads and tails, circling and dancing erratically around the three-headed, six-armed dharma idol.

Two of the three indistinct faces of the three-headed, six-armed dharma idol suddenly became extraordinarily clear as a luminous mist flashed, astonishingly revealing Han Li's unusually ordinary face simultaneously.

Golden light flashed in the eyes of these two faces, and their expressions were unusually solemn. Only the face of the last head remained indistinct for some unknown reason, impossible to discern in the slightest.

One face let out a loud roar, and the four true spirit illusions circling nearby paused, then changed direction and charged towards the dharma idol's massive body.

As a result, with a flash of spiritual light, the four illusions vanished in a fleeting moment.

The three-headed, six-armed dharma idol's body trembled, then with a wave of its six arms, its body, enveloped in flowing golden light, rapidly grew again.

Its original thousand-zhang-tall body, in just a moment, grew taller than the giant mountain below, its head protruding above it.

At this moment, the golden figure stood with its feet on the ground and its head touching the sky. With a raise of its hands, it seemed as if it could directly reach into the luminous mist of the cloud ring.

Just then, strange sounds, like Sanskrit chants, emanated from one of the heads that had revealed its face. Then, its six arms simultaneously pointed at the empty space within the aerial ring.

Instantly, the previously motionless cloud ring suddenly "came alive."

With a flash of radiant light, the colossal cloud ring silently descended, encompassing the entire massive dharma idol. It paused and stopped when it reached the dharma idol's waist.

However, this object then began to continuously spin around the dharma idol's body.

A bizarre scene unfolded!

The five-colored luminous mist within the ring surged into the dharma idol's body, causing it to instantly transform from golden to a vibrant, iridescent hue, like glazed tile.

During this process, the dharma idol's body continuously trembled, and two of its faces simultaneously displayed expressions of pain, as if each bit of the five-colored luminous mist that flowed into its body increased its agony.

The rate of luminous mist infusion was astonishing!

In just a moment, all the luminous mist in the cloud ring vanished without a trace.

Even the milky-white spiritual clouds at the edge, under a fierce roar from the dharma idol, instantly transformed into hundreds of milky-white orbs of light, floating erratically nearby.

At this moment, all three heads opened their mouths wide, spewing out streams of golden radiant light. Astonishingly, all these white orbs of light were absorbed into their stomachs, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

After all this was done, the painful expression on the dharma idol's face significantly diminished. However, as the iridescent glow circulated on its surface, its form suddenly began to shrink.

In the blink of an eye, the mountain-like dharma idol transformed into a human-like figure, enveloped in layers of five-colored light.

This figure then sat cross-legged in the air above the mountain peak, its hands forming seals, suspended motionless and silent.

The astonishing spiritual pressure and celestial phenomena that filled the sky all vanished, as if everything had returned to normal.

Only then did the distant beasts and low-to-mid-tier demonic creatures recover from their shock and return to their normal state.

Ordinary beasts slowly rose from the ground; after a few whimpers, they bolted in extreme panic towards their lairs, not daring to cast another glance towards the giant mountain.

The low-tier demonic beasts that had just reached their full potential felt as if they had received a great amnesty, and instantly turned their escape lights, fleeing far from the vicinity as if flying.

"How is it? Did this person successfully advance?" the golden ape asked anxiously. The bull-headed beast and a few other mid-tier demonic beasts were in slightly better condition, though even they could barely remain standing moments ago.

"I don't know. That person's attempt to break through to the Spirit Commander realm shouldn't be over yet. The astonishing celestial phenomena earlier were merely him absorbing the surrounding primordial energy of heaven and earth for his own use. Don't be fooled by the current silence; this is actually the most crucial moment for his breakthrough."

The bull-headed beast seemed to know something, gazing strangely at the five-colored light figure on the distant giant mountain, and slowly said.

Both the three-headed python and the demonic ape were somewhat surprised to hear this and couldn't help but look towards the distant giant mountain once more.

"Let's go! This person's breakthrough won't be short; it will likely take at least several days, or even a month. If we stay here for too long, we might arouse his suspicion. We might end up doing more harm than good!" The bull-headed beast seemed to recall something as it spoke.

The other two beasts, hearing this, felt a jolt in their hearts and strongly agreed.

The three demonic beasts immediately summoned a demonic wind, soared into the sky, and shot away in the opposite direction.

After a short while, the demonic wind vanished at the edge of the sky, leaving no trace.

Meanwhile, the figure within the five-colored light barrier on the distant giant mountain simply had its eyes tightly closed, seemingly oblivious to everything, as if completely unaware.

One day, two days, five days, ten days...

A full two months passed, and the figure remained suspended above the mountain peak, without moving.

Only the five-colored light barrier enveloping the figure became increasingly crystal clear and dazzling.

This situation caused several mid-tier demonic creatures, who had secretly returned multiple times to observe, to marvel repeatedly. At the same time, they were greatly puzzled.

However, during this period, occasionally, some beasts that had forgotten the previous celestial phenomena would trespass within a hundred li of the giant mountain, but after streams of white mist appeared, they would all vanish.

Around the entire giant mountain, a colossal restriction had been set up at some unknown time, and the closer one got to the center, the more profound and wondrous the restriction's power became.

After another half a month passed, the figure within the light barrier suddenly trembled. After a circulation of five-colored radiant light on its surface, it finally opened its eyes.

Then, a long roar burst from the figure's mouth!

This time, the long roar contained no supernatural abilities, but the sound was clearly filled with extraordinary joy.

When the roar ceased after a short moment, the figure instantly stood up, and with a wave of its arms, the surrounding five-colored light barrier disintegrated into countless specks of spiritual light.

Then the figure formed a hand seal with both hands, a pair of feathered wings appearing on its back. After a sudden clap of thunder, the figure strangely vanished into thin air.