Chapter 2055: Immortal Lord Realm

However, despite collecting all the cultivation techniques and secret manuals for breaking through to Immortal Monarch from the three major sects, they still didn't reach the Heaven's Path level; there was still some disparity.

“I can’t wait any longer…”

Zhang Xuan shook his head. As his cultivation became higher, the number of available techniques would certainly diminish. He couldn't just stop cultivating because he lacked Heaven's Path techniques, could he? On the Master Teacher Continent, there were no Ancient Sage-level Heaven's Path cultivation techniques, yet breakthroughs were still achieved! He now faced a similar situation; if he didn't cultivate quickly, his strength would be insufficient to handle the dangers he was about to face.

“Let's begin!”

Without further thought, he pulled out the stopper and swallowed the Barrier-Breaking Pill from the jade bottle.

Boom!

A mighty force from within the pill instantly spread throughout his body, feeling like fire.

Focusing his mind, he controlled his entire body's power, charging straight towards the tightly shut door leading to the Immortal Monarch realm. Heaven's Path cultivation techniques were like keys to break open this door; once obtained, no matter how thick the door, it could be easily breached. Since he lacked them now, he could only brute force his way through! As long as his power was sufficient, he could still successfully achieve Immortal Monarch.

With a loud bang, his True Qi scattered, and blood immediately spurted from Zhang Xuan's mouth and nose.

“So sturdy…”

His expression darkened.

He had thought that with his cultivation and power, breaking through to Immortal Monarch would be easy. Unexpectedly, the door before him was as solid as welded steel, and even with his full strength, he couldn't budge it an inch.

“You… you’re brute-forcing it?”

Seeing his actions, Sect Leader Kuixiao and the others were all dumbfounded.

The Immortal Monarch realm was the first major cultivation barrier on the Forsaken Continent, incredibly difficult to cross. Countless experts had spent immeasurable effort without success. To brute force it without any technique… it was like a lone warrior trying to ram into a hundred-meter-tall city wall. How could it possibly be done!

“Do any of you have Supreme Immortal Origin Pills?”

After several attempts with little effect, Zhang Xuan looked at the people before him. High-grade Immortal Origin Pills no longer had much effect on his breakthrough to Immortal Monarch; to succeed, he needed higher-grade, purer medicinal substances.

“I have two!” Sect Leader Kuixiao took out a jade bottle. There weren't many pills of this caliber on the entire continent; even he didn't have many.

“I'll borrow them for now and return them to you when we reach the Sea of Exiled Stars…”

Knowing that he needed sufficient power to succeed and couldn't give up halfway, Zhang Xuan didn't hesitate. He took the jade bottle and swallowed both pills at once.

Sect Leader Kuixiao's eyebrows twitched involuntarily. At his level, it took more than three days to refine just one Supreme Immortal Origin Pill. Yet this True Immortal pinnacle cultivator swallowed two at once. Wasn't he afraid of the danger?

“Everyone, focus…”

Gritting his teeth, Sect Leader Kuixiao stepped forward and instructed. Brute-forcing the Immortal Monarch breakthrough like this was extremely dangerous. Someone had to guard him; otherwise, a single mistake could lead to Qi deviation.

The Grand Elder, Elder Hongwu, and others immediately gathered around. This individual was the hope of Seven Star Mansion; if he succeeded in breaking through, neither Sect Leader Zhang Xuan nor Sect Leader Zheng Yang would be his match. Therefore, no one would refuse to give their utmost.

The power of the two Supreme Immortal Origin Pills exploded within him, raging through his meridians like a flood. If the Barrier-Breaking Pill earlier was a mere river, this had now transformed into ocean waves, surging once more towards the Immortal Monarch door.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each powerful impact, Zhang Xuan seemed to take a hit, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. After several consecutive charges, the Immortal Monarch barrier remained unbroken, and he was already severely wounded, on the verge of collapsing.

He took out a jade bottle, drank the gourd's bath water, and recovered slightly. Clenching his teeth, a ruthless look appeared in his eyes.

Several more jade bottles appeared. As soon as they appeared, they immediately exuded immense power. These contained blood essence from peak Immortal Monarch-level Temple Warriors! He had collected quite a lot before killing them and refining them into soulless golden figures. This substance contained the power of peak Immortal Monarch experts, and its effect on him was not much inferior to that of Supreme Immortal Origin Pills.

The jade bottles shattered, and the blood essence transformed into mist, surging directly into his body through his acupoints. Zhang Xuan's skin immediately turned crimson, and his body shriveled. It was as if the power was too strong; instead of him absorbing it, it was trying to devour his blood.

“Hmph!”

Raising an eyebrow, he activated the Heaven's Path cultivation technique for the True Immortal realm within him. With intense mental focus, Zhang Xuan endured the agonizing tearing pain throughout his body. He controlled the surging power within him, charging once more towards the Immortal Monarch door.

Creak!

As he integrated the various powers, the door began to shake, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure.

“As long as it's shaking…”

Relieved, Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed, and he continued to direct the power to assault it. The Immortal Monarch barrier was far more formidable than he had imagined. In any other realm, such violent power would easily lead to a breakthrough. Yet, after multiple consecutive charges, he still hadn't succeeded, which showed its incredible solidity.

“If the first attempt fails, it will be harder to break through later. Everyone, lend your power…”

Sect Leader Kuixiao, standing to the side, roared. He extended his palm, and a surge of pure immortal power immediately flowed along his arm into Zhang Xuan's body.

Breaking through to Immortal Monarch was like breaking through to Ancient Sage: if the first attempt failed, the second would be harder, and with each subsequent attempt, the difficulty would increase. The person before them had charged several times without success. If his power stabilized now, breaking through later would be nearly impossible. Therefore, even if it meant combining everyone's power, they had to ensure his successful breakthrough!

The Grand Elder and others also quickly surrounded him.

Buzz!

As their True Qi entered his body, it was immediately swallowed by the surging power, merging to form an even greater torrent.

“Thank you all…”

He hadn't expected everyone to sacrifice their own cultivation to help him break through to Immortal Monarch. Zhang Xuan clenched his fists, controlling the torrent, and charged towards the door before him.

Creak! Creak!

The sound echoed again. With the help of several powerful experts, the Immortal Monarch barrier gradually began to waver. However, the power within his body was too mixed, and his body, like porcelain, was gradually struggling to withstand it, on the verge of shattering at any moment.

He continuously consumed several more bottles of the bath water and continued his assault.

After an unknown period, his head felt as if it would explode. A powerful force continuously poured into his body from his glabella. Zhang Xuan's aura instantly surged dramatically. The Immortal Monarch door had opened!

With the aid of the Barrier-Breaking Pill, Immortal Monarch blood essence, Supreme Immortal Origin Pills… and the help of Sect Leader Kuixiao and others, he finally broke open the barrier completely!

Gurgle gurgle!

The immortal power within his body instantly boiled, undergoing a qualitative leap like water turning into steam. It became even purer and more potent. His severe physical injuries were nourished by the refined immortal power and rapidly healed, while his soul and physical body also quickly strengthened.

“Such pure immortal power…”

As this power circulated within him, Zhang Xuan felt invigorated throughout his entire body. As expected of the most challenging realm to break through in the Firmament, it was indeed extraordinary, many times more powerful than the True Immortal realm.

Without Supreme Immortal Origin Pills, he had to continue absorbing the blood essence of Immortal Monarchs. Only after consuming more than a dozen bottles did the power within him finally stabilize.

Although he had broken through to Immortal Monarch and reached the early stage, without corresponding Heaven's Path cultivation techniques, he couldn't cultivate further. However, even so, his combat power was already formidable. If the peak Immortal Monarch expert who ambushed him in Biyuan City reappeared, he could kill him with just the gourd, even without the Little Yellow Chick's power.

After the Little Yellow Chick hatched, the gourd was no longer of any use. Although its exact grade was unclear, its ability to smash a peak Immortal Monarch expert to death meant it was certainly no weaker than the Parasol Robe Sword.

“Thankfully, he succeeded…”

As his cultivation stabilized, he heard Sect Leader Kuixiao's tense voice.

He looked up and saw that the elders who had helped him all had pale faces, their internal power nearly exhausted.

“Thank you, Sect Leader Kuixiao, and all the elders…”

Zhang Xuan quickly bowed. Had it not been for their generous assistance, using their own True Qi to help him break through the bottleneck, he might still be at the peak of the True Immortal realm, with no idea how far he was from Immortal Monarch.

He handed each of them a jade bottle of bath water, saying, “Drink this quickly; it should help you somewhat…” Although their power was greatly depleted, the Little Yellow Chick's bath water was incredibly miraculous; it could even help Seven-Star Immortal Herbs, so it should be effective for them too.

The elders didn't decline, drinking it immediately. Their pale complexions quickly recovered. Though still weak, the hidden injuries caused by rapidly depleting their immortal power were completely healed.

“This medicine…”

The effects of this medicine far surpassed any healing remedy they knew.

“This is a healing medicine I specially formulated… you can take it if you encounter danger or get injured!” Zhang Xuan took out a few more bottles and gave one to each of them. Since they had not hesitated to deplete their True Qi to help him, he naturally wouldn't be stingy.

After successfully breaking through, Zhang Xuan continued to sit and consolidate his cultivation, while the others also consumed various medicines to recover from their previous expenditures.

Three days later, everyone's power was fully restored, and Zhang Xuan had completely consolidated his early Immortal Monarch cultivation, significantly boosting his combat power.

“Breaking through to Immortal Monarch… there’s no Heavenly Tribulation?”

Seeing that everyone had recovered, Zhang Xuan looked over, puzzled. On the Master Teacher Continent, reaching Saint 8-dan would trigger lightning, so why was there nothing when breaking through to Immortal Monarch here?

“The Forsaken Continent is a place abandoned by the gods. Although there are no true gods left, it remains extremely powerful. A cultivation level like Immortal Monarch isn't enough to touch the rules of heaven and earth, which would draw the envy of the heavens and bring down punishment. Unless… one intends to break through to a true god!” Sect Leader Kuixiao explained.

“True gods?”

“Since we were banished, we naturally aren't qualified to become true gods… If one tries to break through, it will certainly trigger a backlash from the Temple and the apprehension of heaven and earth, bringing down countless calamities. Lightning is merely the simplest; there's also heavenly fire, heavenly might… Many astonishingly talented individuals who attempted to break through ultimately met their demise!” Sect Leader Kuixiao shook his head with a bitter smile. “Therefore, the strongest beings on the entire Forsaken Continent are only False Gods! False Gods are merely fake gods, incredibly far from true gods! Moreover, even becoming a False God requires assistance from the Temple; it's simply impossible to achieve it with individual talent alone!”