Chapter 175: Great Leap in Strength

The moment Zhou Yuan opened his eyes, a terrifying surge erupted from between his eyebrows. The rampant surge directly churned the bottom of the Golden Pool, forming a massive whirlpool with Zhou Yuan at its center. An endless stream of golden light then surged forth, completely entering Zhou Yuan's body.

With such a massive influx of golden light, crisp crackling sounds immediately echoed from within Zhou Yuan's body, as if his flesh and blood were boiling. Simultaneously, more and more golden light poured into his Qi Residence, causing the Genesis Qi within it to steadily rise.

Within just a few minutes, a layer of foul-smelling sanguineous scabs appeared on Zhou Yuan's body, representing impurities expelled from his system.

Zhou Yuan’s body trembled slightly, and the scabs shattered, revealing skin that shimmered with a faint golden light, appearing incredibly wondrous.

Divine light bloomed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. As he felt the formidable power within his body, a look of ecstatic joy appeared on his face.

Zhou Yuan closed his eyes slightly to observe his spirit. In his glabella, his spirit sat quietly, radiating light, and it was undoubtedly much more condensed than before he entered the Golden Pool.

The ethereal quality of his spirit also faded, beginning a transformation towards a more tangible form.

This was a sign that his spirit was on the verge of transitioning from an ethereal to a substantial state.

Once his spirit entered the substantial realm, its mysteries and power would gradually be revealed. At that point, his spirit could even leave his body, and attacks utilizing spirit power would become even more enigmatic and unpredictable.

“What incredible fortune. Spirit cultivation is arduous. I originally thought it would take at least half a year of painstaking cultivation to reach the peak of the late stage, yet I achieved it so quickly,” Zhou Yuan thought, his heart filled with pleasant surprise.

He had previously spent nearly a year of arduous cultivation to elevate his spirit from the mid-ethereal realm to the late stage. He had anticipated needing extensive further tempering to reach the peak of the late stage, but this golden pool’s blessing had directly spared him much painstaking effort.

His spirit sat cross-legged, and above it, a milky-white Sacred Soul Crystal hovered, continuously emitting holy light. The holy light descended, refining his spirit bit by bit.

This was the Sacred Soul Crystal obtained from the Gu family. While the Golden Pool’s fortune was the primary reason for his spirit’s substantial improvement this time, the Sacred Soul Crystal’s continuous tempering, day and night, should not be overlooked either.

Furthermore, a faint light appeared at the glabella of Zhou Yuan’s spirit, as if an extremely ancient and indistinct light pattern was manifesting.

That light pattern was ancient and sacred, appearing as if it had taken form at the very dawn of creation.

“This is… that sacred pattern?!”

When Zhou Yuan saw the ancient light pattern, his heart instantly trembled, for it was precisely the extremely ancient and mysterious sacred pattern he had seen previously!

“That mysterious sacred pattern is actually engraved on my spirit?” Zhou Yuan exclaimed in shock.

He did not know exactly what this mysterious sacred pattern was, but judging from the scene where it could contend with the Chaos Divine Mill, it undoubtedly possessed an extraordinary origin.

“What is the true purpose of this mysterious sacred pattern?” Zhou Yuan wondered, and he attempted to activate it. However, even with his full effort, the mysterious sacred pattern only brightened slightly, showing no other unusual reaction.

“Is it a lack of power?”

Zhou Yuan gave a bitter laugh. Clearly, activating this mysterious sacred pattern required immense power, and it seemed he was currently unable to accomplish it.

He shook his head inwardly, temporarily abandoning the idea. Then, he shifted his focus to his Qi Residence.

“My Genesis Qi within my body has also improved, reaching the mid Heavenly Pass realm.”

Zhou Yuan inwardly observed his Qi Residence. Within the blood-red chamber, dark golden Genesis Qi surged, appearing more robust and condensed, having indeed reached the mid Heavenly Pass realm.

“As expected of the Saint Vestige Land, a single blessing can lead to instant ascension!”

Zhou Yuan was filled with joy. His improvement this time was undeniably immense: his spirit was more condensed, and his own Genesis Qi had achieved another breakthrough, reaching the mid Heavenly Pass realm.

Of course, most importantly, he had obtained that mysterious sacred pattern. Although he did not know its specific function, he could surmise it was no ordinary item.

“Now, if I meet Wu Huang again, I can finally truly fight him!”

Burning fighting intent gleamed in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. The first time he met Wu Huang, the latter's mere aura had been enough to suppress him, and in subsequent encounters, Zhou Yuan had always been at a disadvantage.

However, he hadn't grown disheartened. Instead, he had continuously made progress through each instance of suppression, and the gap between him and Wu Huang had been steadily closing.

Until now, that is...

“Wu Huang, the grievances between us should finally be settled.”

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

Crack!

Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed from the bottom of the Golden Pool. Zhou Yuan looked down to see the mottled stone slab beginning to shatter and turn into ash, and the mysterious sacred pattern on it had already vanished.

Zhou Yuan touched his glabella. He knew that the mysterious sacred pattern had already been imprinted on his spirit.

Furthermore, as the stone slab shattered, Zhou Yuan felt that the golden light within the Golden Pool began to dim, and the golden pool water gradually regained its clarity.

The miraculous power that filled it began to disappear.

“Did the power of the Golden Pool come from that mysterious sacred pattern?” Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

Since the sacred pattern had been imprinted on his spirit, it naturally no longer emitted power, causing the Golden Pool to revert to its ordinary state.

As Zhou Yuan pondered, the pool water rippled.

Tuntun swiftly flew over, circling Zhou Yuan twice. Its beast eyes gazed at Zhou Yuan's glabella with surprise, as if sensing something.

“You almost got me killed,” Zhou Yuan said irritably. That mysterious sacred pattern clearly possessed terrifying power; if he hadn’t possessed the divine mill imprint left by his master, Cang Yuan, he likely wouldn’t have obtained the sacred pattern and would instead have been crushed by its terrifying pressure.

Fortunately, however, Zhou Yuan endured and gained immense benefits.

Risks and opportunities always go hand-in-hand.

So Zhou Yuan said no more. He waved at Tuntun, then swiftly ascended towards the surface of the Golden Pool. A few minutes later, with a splash, he broke through the water and landed on the edge of the Golden Pool.

“Zhou Yuan, you’re finally out!”

As soon as Zhou Yuan appeared, Luluo's voice rang out.

Zhou Yuan turned his head. By the Golden Pool not far away, Luluo stood with her small hands on her hips, her large eyes wide with surprise as she stared at him: “You’ve been cultivating for half a month!”

“Half a month?”

Zhou Yuan was startled. He had thought only half a day had passed, but it turned out to have been so long. Indeed, during cultivation, one easily loses track of time.

“My apologies.”

Zhou Yuan looked apologetically at Luluo and Zhen Xu. Clearly, they had been waiting for him here all this time.

Zhen Xu’s face was still pale, but judging by the Genesis Qi fluctuations emanating from his body, it was clear that he too had gained significant benefits from this Golden Pool blessing.

He shook his head and said, “However, these past two weeks, the Saint Vestige Land has been in turmoil. You’ve missed quite a few major events.”

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan's heart stirred. He looked up at the Saint Tablet high in the sky, and then a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

“The changes on the Saint Tablet are truly immense…”