Chapter 553: Heist Era Years of Cultivation

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

Since his son, Meng An, had ventured beyond the River of Spacetime, Meng Chuan's true body in the distant Wugu River Zone had long been cultivating deep within a primordial chaotic hole, specifically in an area with a seventy-fold time flow. Although his significantly enhanced physical body and Essential Spirit would allow him to stay in an almost eighty-fold time flow area, the seventy-fold time flow zone placed less burden on him, making it suitable for long-term cultivation.

Cultivating deep within a primordial chaotic hole could indeed affect one's Essential Spirit and state of mind; weaker Tribulation Realm mighty figures dared not cultivate there for too long.

However, Patriarch Cang Yuan had not mentioned this in his records.

This was because Patriarch Cang Yuan clearly understood that the influence of the primordial chaotic hole was an external one, and its harsh environment could, in fact, temper one's mind. If one's mind could withstand the hole's influence, it would only advance further. If it could not even resist the influence of the primordial chaotic hole, one's achievements would be limited.

Meng Chuan himself had been influenced for over three hundred years before breaking free from the suppression. Coupled with his creation of the "Spine Painting," his Essential Spirit had then made rapid progress.

"For me now, the influence of the primordial chaotic hole is a form of tempering. My mind will only grow stronger through this," Meng Chuan reflected, finding that he now preferred cultivating within the hole.

A sharp sword is forged through tempering. Appropriate tempering would only aid cultivation.

While three years had passed in the outside world, Meng Chuan had actually cultivated for over two hundred years. And now, the Fourth Tribulation of the Essential Spirit had finally descended.

For the Essential Spirit Tribulations, the first three tribulations were separated by a minimum of one year. Meng Chuan had experienced one each year, ascending to the Third Essential Spirit Tribulation Realm at the fastest possible rate. After the Third Tribulation, each subsequent tribulation was separated by at least one hundred years. However, it was only after more than two hundred years following his Third Tribulation that Meng Chuan finally welcomed his Fourth Essential Spirit Tribulation.

"My Fourth Essential Spirit Tribulation did not descend at the earliest possible time," Meng Chuan mused. "This indicates that my Essential Spirit's accumulated strength is likely at the Fourth Tribulation Realm level, and not yet at the Fifth Tribulation Realm." He understood this; if his mind and Essential Spirit World had reached the Fifth Essential Spirit Tribulation Realm level, the Fourth Tribulation should have descended at the earliest time. Of course, he also had a rough understanding of his Essential Spirit's level from testing his strength in the Hall of Heaven and Earth.

It was only when the Fourth Essential Spirit Tribulation truly descended that Meng Chuan genuinely understood why Tribulation Realm mighty figures feared the heavenly tribulations. The first three had been quite easy, but the fourth one caused him considerable suffering.

"Boom!"

Within his Sea of Consciousness, which had long since transformed into his Essential Spirit World, there were grasslands and deserts, flowers, birds, and beasts, the struggles of wild animal packs, and the survival of all living beings. Meng Chuan's Essential Spirit, in the form of a person, sat cross-legged in the center of this world.

On this day, a great fire descended from the heavens. The flames engulfed his Essential Spirit World within the Sea of Consciousness, completely incinerating a hundred-mile radius around his Essential Spirit.

"Boom!"

Meng Chuan had nowhere to escape; the flames burned every part of his Essential Spirit, and not a single Essential Spirit thought could evade them. He could only sit cross-legged, silently resisting. Endless pain permeated his consciousness. This was the highest level of pure suffering Meng Chuan had ever experienced. The flames seared every Essential Spirit thought, causing them to collapse in terrible agony, one after another, yet new thoughts were simultaneously being born.

"The fire of the heart burns my Essential Spirit, but it also refines my mind," Meng Chuan thought. He remained cross-legged in his Essential Spirit World within the Sea of Consciousness, allowing the pain to spread, yet his mind remained as still as an iceberg. From his youth until now, he had experienced a great deal. In terms of will and mind, he was already immensely powerful.

The flame's scorching lasted a full three days, but to Meng Chuan, it felt infinitely long.

"Whoosh."

All the flames receded. Having endured three days of tribulation fire, which was both torment and a "forging" process for his Essential Spirit thoughts, every one of Meng Chuan's Essential Spirit thoughts had grown significantly stronger. As he absorbed exotic primal crystals to replenish his strength, his Essential Spirit would reach a new peak.

"This is only the Fourth Essential Spirit Tribulation. How terrifying must the Fifth Essential Spirit Tribulation be, which is more than ten times harder?" Meng Chuan murmured, "Cultivation in the Tribulation Realm is indeed difficult." Even with his creation of an Emperor-level ultimate art, which allowed him to advance rapidly towards the Fifth Tribulation Realm, he still felt that the further he went, the more challenging it became. To create an Emperor-level ultimate art meant being one of the most monstrous geniuses in the River of Spacetime, and even such a talent began to feel the difficulty as they approached the Fifth Tribulation Realm. For those Tribulation Realm cultivators groping in the dark, the difficulty of reaching the Fifth Tribulation Realm was unimaginable. Even someone as proud as Peng Huang had become a follower of a Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty figure early on, hoping for guidance from a powerful being to make his cultivation path smoother.

In the same era, on average, only one Fifth Tribulation Realm mighty figure emerged from every two or three river systems, a ratio that further proved the difficulty of cultivation.

After the war was won, he had cultivated in the depths of the primordial chaotic hole for over two hundred years. He first spent over thirty years elevating his "Endless Blade" to the mid-stage of the Heaven and Earth Realm. This rapid progress was also due to the numerous blade techniques he had created while previously stuck at a bottleneck, resulting in a sufficiently deep accumulation. Afterwards, he spent another hundred and eighty years, finally advancing his "Endless Blade" to the late-stage of the Heaven and Earth Realm.

Strictly speaking, it was shortly after he had passed his Fourth Essential Spirit Tribulation that his "Endless Blade" reached the late-stage of the Heaven and Earth Realm.

"Do you wish to confirm your strength again?" the white-robed elder asked Meng Chuan in the Hall of Heaven and Earth.

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded.

"Make your move," the white-robed elder said, pointing to the blue pillar. "You know the rules."

Meng Chuan held his breath, poised to act. Since his "Endless Blade" had reached the late-stage of the Heaven and Earth Realm, his confidence had grown further. Even his physical body, cultivated fundamentally through the "Endless Blade," had become significantly stronger, and he was not far from reaching the 'Primal Emperor' completion stage.

"My father has less than half a year of life remaining."

"It's time to make a decision," Meng Chuan said, his right hand resting on the hilt of his blade.

Everything around him seemed unchanged.

*Whoosh*—

Yet, a blade mark appeared on the blue pillar. Meng Chuan's blade was invisible; no trajectory could be seen, but the blade mark had cut through layer after layer of the pillar's surface runes. Meng Chuan's blade strike, executed purely by speed, now reached sixty percent of the speed of light, a terrifying velocity even for Tribulation Realm mighty figures. Coupled with the astonishing time flow ratio, the blade's speed was inconceivable; he could cleave a star tens of thousands of miles in diameter into complete annihilation, yet he could condense all that power into a seemingly ordinary 'blade mark.'

"You instantly pierced through seven layers of runes?" the white-robed elder asked, looking at Meng Chuan in surprise.

"How was it?" Meng Chuan asked, looking at the elder. Although it seemed like an effortless strike, Meng Chuan had actually exerted his full close-combat strength.

The white-robed elder looked at Meng Chuan, a hint of surprise on his face, then smiled faintly. "This blade strike of yours has indeed reached the strength of a Fifth Tribulation Realm physical body."

"Fifth Tribulation Realm physical body strength?" Meng Chuan's eyes lit up.

There was a distinction between assessing Essential Spirit Tribulation Realm strength and physical body Tribulation Realm strength. Physical body Tribulation Realm cultivators were more proficient in close combat, favored frontal assaults, and possessed greater explosive power.

"You've only just reached the threshold of the Fifth Tribulation Realm," the white-robed elder reminded him. "Instantly piercing through seven to nine layers of runes is considered the Fifth Tribulation Realm physical body level, so you've only reached the very beginning."