Chapter 357: Soul Imprint

The transparent giant spirit-seal slowly descended, appearing somewhat ethereal and transparent, yet the immense pressure it brought filled even Zhou Yuan's face with solemnity.

The early and middle stages of the Reality Realm seemed like a minor distinction, but the gap between them was extraordinary. This was evident from Zhou Yuan's months of arduous cultivation, during which his spirit had yet to advance to the middle stage of the Reality Realm.

Although he had dedicated most of his time to cultivating genesis qi, it didn't mean he had neglected his spirit cultivation. Even so, he only felt his spirit was at the peak of the early stage, still a step away from the middle stage.

This short step had taken Zhou Yuan a long time.

Zhou Yuan knew he lacked an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Immense spirit pressure, pervasive and all-encompassing, poured down from above. The spirit hovering above Zhou Yuan's head fully bore the brunt of this pressure. However, despite the crushing pressure, Zhou Yuan's heart remained calm. Instead, with a thought, he immediately activated the "Chaos Grinding Mill Visualization" technique.

He had been searching for an opportunity for his spirit to break through. Now, under this immense pressure, he resisted with all his might, because he wanted to reach his own limit.

Only when pushed to the limit could he take that small step again and break through the obstruction that had blocked his path for so long.

If there was no opportunity, he would create it himself.

Zhou Yuan focused his senses inward, his mind steadfast and still, like a deep, tranquil pool, without a ripple.

As the "Chaos Grinding Mill Visualization" technique operated, he could feel his spirit radiating light. Under the immense pressure, his spirit not only didn't dissipate but instead grew more solid, bit by bit.

Above his head, the giant spirit-seal continued its extremely slow descent, now only a few feet above Zhou Yuan's spirit.

If his spirit were to be touched by the giant seal, it would undoubtedly be damaged.

Yet even so, Zhou Yuan below remained as steady as a rock.

In front of the Spirit Rune Hall, countless eyes were fixed intently on the slowly descending giant spirit-seal. The breathtaking scene made many disciples' hearts race.

"What is Zhou Yuan doing? He's not moving at all? Does he intend to directly resist that giant spirit-seal with his spirit?"

"This is too arrogant! Senior Sister Xia Yu's spirit has already entered the middle stage of the Reality Realm; he's far from comparable!"

"How ignorant! If he doesn't concede soon, once that giant spirit-seal descends, he'll be in for a rough time."

Numerous whispers arose. The many disciples watched the giant spirit-seal, which, though descending slowly, was steadily nearing Zhou Yuan. Clearly, as time passed, the giant spirit-seal would eventually suppress him.

And at that time, it would be Zhou Yuan's crushing defeat.

Ye Ge was also gazing at Zhou Yuan's figure. However, his brows furrowed slightly, as he keenly noticed that the giant spirit-seal's descent was becoming slower and slower.

Evidently, this was due to the increasingly fierce resistance from Zhou Yuan's spirit.

"What does Zhou Yuan intend to do?"

He fell silent for a moment. His pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and he murmured, "Could it be... he's deliberately putting himself in danger and using this to break through his own limits, to make his spirit achieve a breakthrough and enter the middle stage of the Reality Realm?!"

Ye Ge was slightly moved. If that were truly the case, then Zhou Yuan's resolve was indeed decisive, and his courage abundant.

Because this was undoubtedly a gamble. If he lost, his spirit would be damaged, and it would likely take a considerable amount of time to recover.

Ye Ge stared at the giant spirit-seal slowly descending above Zhou Yuan's head.

If Zhou Yuan couldn't break through before the giant spirit-seal suppressed him, then his bold gamble today would fail.

"Zhou Yuan, I don't believe you can break through in such a short time by this method..."

In another part of the barrier.

Yao Yao stood upon a pillar of water. Her side had calmed down. Jin Zhang stood on the sea surface, no longer making a move, because he knew that without control of the central point, he was even less a match for Yao Yao.

However, he was not anxious because as time passed, the central point's position would shift again, and then he would be able to reoccupy it.

As long as the other central point wasn't shattered, he had nothing to fear on his side. He could sufficiently drag Yao Yao into a stalemate.

Jin Zhang subtly raised his head and looked in the other direction.

"Junior Sister Xia Yu," he thought, "as long as you hold back Zhou Yuan next, then today's match will be ours to win..."

Time slowly flowed by.

Unknowingly, the giant spirit-seal was now only a mere foot away from Zhou Yuan!

The continuous surge of genesis qi pressure pouring down caused cold sweat to constantly break out all over Zhou Yuan's body, almost soaking his clothes.

By this point, the pressure had doubled, and the giant spirit-seal's descent began to accelerate. Finally, under the fervent gaze of countless eyes, it slowly descended, bit by bit...

The distance from the spirit hovering above Zhou Yuan's head slowly decreased from a foot to about two inches...

In front of the Spirit Rune Hall, numerous sighs of regret arose.

At this rate, defeat was almost certain.

Gu Hongyi bit her red lips tightly, her beautiful eyes dimming slightly. Su Wan, standing nearby, patted her soft shoulder and comforted her, "It's already very impressive that he's lasted this long. Xia Yu is, after all, one of the Gold-Belt disciples of Spirit Rune Peak, and a strong contender for the top spot in this Purple-Belt selection. It's no shame for Zhou Yuan to lose to her."

"That guy finally lost!" In another direction, Lu Xuanyin's pretty face showed a gloating smile.

Xu Yan smiled and said, "What a pity. I had prepared a great gift for him at the Purple-Belt selection, but it seems he won't be able to enjoy it."

If Zhou Yuan lost, his spirit would surely be damaged. To recover from that would take at least several months. Naturally, he wouldn't be able to participate in the Purple-Belt selection.

Under the numerous gazes of pity and schadenfreude, the giant spirit-seal descended again. Two inches... one inch... and then it finally landed.

Ye Ge's expression also subtly relaxed at this moment. He said softly, "To be able to persist for so long, Zhou Yuan's spirit is truly unexpectedly resilient."

An ordinary early-stage Reality Realm spirit would have likely been defeated long ago, but Zhou Yuan only now reached his limit.

Amidst the widespread exclamations across the mountain, the giant spirit-seal descended, finally touching the spirit hovering above Zhou Yuan's head.

And the next moment, it would clearly be Zhou Yuan's spirit forcibly suppressed.

On the mountaintop, Xia Yu watched this scene, a look of relief appearing on her fair, delicate face. She breathed a sigh of relief. "It's finally over," she thought. "This Zhou Yuan, despite only being in the early stage of the Reality Realm, was as stubborn as a rock, making him difficult to deal with."

"But it's good," she thought, "at least I didn't let down the high hopes of so many fellow disciples from Spirit Rune Peak." A faint smile appeared on Xia Yu's delicate face.

However, just as her smile emerged, the giant spirit-seal suddenly emitted a faint tremor.

The smile on Xia Yu's face froze slightly. Her pretty eyes sharply darted in that direction. And then, she saw Zhou Yuan, seated cross-legged, his tightly closed eyes finally slowly opening at this moment.

In his eyes, an exceptionally sharp light seemed to flash, causing Xia Yu's heart to subtly skip a beat.

Zhou Yuan lowered his gaze, looking at the ring on his finger. At this moment, the ring began to grow hot.

His eyes slightly lowered. The spirit hovering above his head also suddenly opened its eyes. Instantly, spiritual light emanated, forming a halo around the spirit.

And then, Xia Yu, who was watching, suddenly saw her pupils constrict sharply.

Because she saw the spirit hovering above Zhou Yuan's head suddenly extend its arms at this moment, pushing against the descending giant spirit-seal. Finally, amidst an invisible rumbling sound, the giant spirit-seal was actually, bit by bit, being forcibly pushed back up by Zhou Yuan's spirit!

That scene was like a giant lifting a mountain, slowly rising.

"How is this possible..." Xia Yu's pretty face was full of shock, and she murmured.

At this very same moment, in front of the Spirit Rune Hall, the countless disciples who had been lamenting Zhou Yuan's apparent defeat also noticed this scene. Instantly, earth-shattering cries of astonishment erupted.

"My heavens... Zhou Yuan's spirit actually pushed back the giant spirit-seal?!"

"How is that possible?! He's only in the early stage of the Reality Realm with his spirit; how could he possibly push up that giant spirit-seal formed by Senior Sister Xia Yu's spirit?!"

In front of the Spirit Rune Hall, a clamor erupted.

The relaxed smile on Ye Ge's face slowly froze at this moment.