Chapter 507: Transformation of the Mortal Realm Peak

Zhang Xuan returned to the Appraiser Hall and went straight to his living quarters. Upon entering the quiet room, he immediately activated the Spirit Gathering Array.

He had been reading, studying formations, and practicing sword, saber, and spear intents, which had left him utterly exhausted. Had it not been for sheer willpower, he would have collapsed long ago.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, and with a flick of his wrist, a pile of spirit stones appeared around him.

Zzzzz! As soon as the spirit stones entered the array, the spiritual energy within them was instantly drawn out, making a sizzling sound like vegetables in a hot oil wok. Immediately, Zhang Xuan felt the spiritual energy concentration in the quiet room rapidly climb.

Three times! Four times! Five times! In the blink of an eye, the concentration reached six times that of the outside world.

Crackle! As more and more spiritual energy was extracted, some spirit stones began to crumble. Zhang Xuan paid them no mind, continuing to add more spirit stones to be absorbed by the array.

Finally, the concentration stabilized at around ten times the normal level. This spiritual energy density was almost comparable to directly absorbing spirit stones.

"Begin!" With preparations complete, Zhang Xuan opened all his acupoints, frantically absorbing the dense spiritual energy around him. He converted it into Heavenly Dao True Qi to replenish his previous exhaustion.

An hour later, all his fatigue vanished, and he felt completely revitalized, his state adjusted to its peak.

"Breakthrough!" With a low cry, the abundant Heavenly Dao True Qi surged, impacting the barrier, and his internal power rapidly increased.

Crack! After an unknown period, a sound rang out, like a chick pecking through an eggshell. Immediately after, the True Qi within his body seemed to break through a certain constraint, undergoing an astonishing transformation.

Every cell in his body, even his soul, was nourished and improved at an astonishing speed.

His lifespan, which had been stagnant at around 100, visibly increased.

His muscles and skin also seemed to be renewed, becoming more delicate and full of vitality.

In a person's life, skin is best during infancy and childhood, when vital energy is abundant, allowing for quick recovery even from minor injuries.

As one ages, consuming grains leads to an accumulation of impurities and an increase in decay energy, making it impossible to resist aging, resulting in weakening and diminished bodily functions.

The Transcendent Mortal realm is precisely about breaking through these constraints. A successful breakthrough is like being reborn; even at an old age, one would once again exude vitality.

Although the Heavenly Dao True Qi Zhang Xuan cultivated was exceptionally pure and highly beneficial to both body and soul, in terms of lifespan, as long as he hadn't reached the Transcendent Mortal realm, he remained at the level of an ordinary person.

This was a difference in life essence, like an ant and an elephant; even the strongest ant could not defeat the weakest elephant.

Now, having taken this step, his lifespan seemed to be nourished by the purest energy in the world, leaving him feeling refreshed and vigorous.

"Continue!" Having reached the Life Extension realm, he threw out another pile of spirit stones. With a low cry, the Transcendent Mortal Heavenly Dao cultivation technique rapidly circulated, and the constraints on his cultivation were broken one after another.

Early Life Extension realm! Mid Life Extension realm! Late Life Extension realm! An hour later, he successfully reached the peak of the Life Extension realm as he wished.

At this point, his lifespan had doubled from around 100 to 200! At the peak of Life Extension, one's lifespan doubles.

When he exhaled, there was no foul odor, but instead, a fragrance like licorice.

Reaching the Transcendent Mortal realm brought about a life transformation; his physical body was like that of a newborn, free of impurities or pollution.

Children rarely have bad breath or similar issues due to their abundant vital energy, and Zhang Xuan was now the same.

"My hearing, sight, smell... all five senses have undergone astonishing changes!"

He opened his eyes and looked into the distance; he could clearly see ants dozens of meters away, and even hear birds chirping hundreds of meters away with perfect clarity.

The increase in his realm significantly enhanced his five senses, and his reaction speed also increased by at least a factor of one.

Enhanced perception made it easier for him to align with nature, absorb spiritual energy, and thus cultivate faster.

No wonder people say, "Those who don't reach Transcendent Mortal are but ants!" Only by personally reaching this realm could one understand its formidable nature.

"It seems Ding Hong was merely the weakest in the Life Extension realm. It wouldn't be easy to defeat someone slightly stronger!"

Only after reaching this level of strength did he realize how lucky he had been when fighting Ding Hong.

That fellow had cultivated in isolation; although he broke through to the new realm, he was the weakest within it. If he had encountered an early-stage Transcendent Mortal from the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, it certainly wouldn't have been so easy to win.

"Now at the peak of the Life Extension realm, my total strength has reached a full 200,000 ding!"

Clenching his fist, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly.

When others broke through to Transcendent Mortal, they only gained increased lifespan, and 100,000 ding of strength was a major threshold they couldn't surpass. Yet, he already possessed this strength when he was only half a step into the Transcendent Mortal realm.

Now, with his realm advanced, his strength had surged by a full fold, reaching the 200,000 mark!

In terms of pure strength, he was in no way inferior to a mid-stage Essence Qi realm expert of Transcendent Mortal Stage 2.

Early Essence Qi realm: 150,000 ding of strength; mid-stage: 200,000 ding; late-stage: 250,000 ding... and so on.

This was only his True Qi cultivation; if combined with his comprehension of nature, his strength would be even greater.

"The Heavenly Dao cultivation technique allows for fast breakthroughs, but... the consumption is truly immense!"

Having collected over a thousand cultivation techniques, he naturally knew the normal breakthrough speed for Transcendent Mortal Stage 1. Even the most gifted individuals would find it impossible to go from early Stage 1 to the peak without several years of arduous cultivation, yet he only took an hour...

Such speed was enough to leave anyone dumbfounded, even scared to death.

However, while the speed was incredible, the consumption was truly terrifying.

With his cultivation advancing, his Heavenly Dao True Qi also transformed, becoming even purer and more refined.

If his previous True Qi was like sand, able to enter cracks in rocks and tiny crevices without hindrance, now it was like flowing water, effortlessly penetrating even imperceptible fissures without any obstruction.

As his True Qi became purer, its demand for spiritual energy naturally increased. Although he had acquired tens of thousands of spirit stones through various means, he could only refine and absorb a small portion of them; almost nine-tenths, or even more, were wasted.

He had initially thought that tens of thousands of spirit stones would be enough to cultivate him to Transcendent Mortal Stage 3 or 4, alleviating any worries about spirit stones. Now, it seemed he had been far too optimistic.

This cultivation session, combined with the spirit stones he gained from gambling, guiding others, and selling the soulless golden figures at the Appraiser Hall... almost all of them were depleted!

In other words... over 50,000 spirit stones only allowed him to advance from the early Life Extension realm to its peak.

For others, this many spirit stones would be completely sufficient to reach Transcendent Mortal Stage 4.

"I'm broke again..."

He forced a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.

Three days ago, he had amassed over 50,000 spirit stones through various deceptive means, feeling as rich as a nation's treasury and a true magnate. He never expected that after just one cultivation session, he'd be back in this state...

No wonder it's said that cultivation is a money-burning endeavor; it certainly seemed to be true now.

Without spirit stones, future breakthroughs would likely demand even greater consumption.

"These low-grade spirit stones can no longer satisfy my cultivation needs..."

After his bitter smile, Zhang Xuan pondered his next steps.

Tens of thousands of spirit stones only advanced his cultivation by one stage. If he wanted to break through to the Essence Qi realm, or even higher, wouldn't he need far more spirit stones?

Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, would likely be nowhere near enough.

Furthermore, once his cultivation reached a certain level, the spiritual energy in these low-grade spirit stones wouldn't be pure enough for his body to absorb. No matter how many there were, they would become as useless as ordinary rocks.

It seemed that if he wanted to advance quickly in the future, he would have to find higher-grade, mid-grade spirit stones.

These spirit stones had higher purity, making absorption much more convenient.

"Three days have passed; Luo Zhu should be arriving soon. It's time to go to the Witch Soul Master's tomb and find a way to cure Lu Chong!"

He stood up and walked out.

More than two days had passed since he went to the Formation Master Guild. He had spent most of a day there, and now he had cultivated for over two hours. The time he had agreed upon with Luo Zhu was almost up; it was time to go.

This trip to the Witch Soul tomb was crucial to Lu Chong's recovery; there could be no mistakes.

Upon arriving in the living room, he indeed saw Luo Zhu already waiting.

Zhao Ya and the others had also finished their cultivation and stood uniformly in the room.

These students had not disappointed him; in three days, all of them had reached the Grandmaster realm. Zhao Ya, in particular, was at the mid-Grandmaster stage, her aura subtle yet her strength immense.

Sun Qiang had also been busy these three days, thoroughly consolidating his power at the mid-stage of Transcendent Mortal Stage 1. Although still far behind Zhang Xuan, reaching such a level from the True Qi realm in such a short time was quite astonishing.

"Teacher Zhang!" Seeing him arrive, everyone stepped forward.

"Alright, if you're all ready, let's depart!" Zhang Xuan looked at them.

"We are fully prepared!" Luo Zhu nodded.

He had spent the past three days preparing items for the Witch Soul tomb, and now everything was ready.

"Are you accompanying us, or returning to Myriad Kingdoms City?" Zhang Xuan asked Zhao Feiwu and the others.

"The Witch Soul tomb is dangerous, we won't go..." Jin Conghai was about to refuse when Zhao Feiwu interrupted him, "Of course we're going! Witch Soul Masters are an ancient profession I've only read about in ancient texts. If I can glimpse their legacy, no danger is too great!"

"Young... Young Master, your health..." Jin Conghai was startled and quickly spoke.

His strength wasn't weak, and he could protect the Young Master from ordinary troubles. But Witch Soul Masters were too strange; even he found them terrifying. For the Young Master, with no cultivation whatsoever, to go there would likely be fraught with danger.

As a subordinate, he really didn't dare make the decision.

"Don't worry, even though I'm not strong, I'm quite good at self-preservation!" Zhao Feiwu chuckled softly. "Besides, isn't Teacher Zhang with us? I'm looking forward to seeing him cause a stir in the Witch Soul tomb!"

"This..." Seeing Zhao Feiwu's firm and undeniable tone, Jin Conghai, though visibly conflicted, eventually nodded in agreement.

"Very well, let's go!" Since everyone had decided to go, they didn't hesitate. They mounted the back of the flying spirit beast and departed directly from the Appraiser Hall.

This time, they were once again riding Zhao Feiwu's spirit beast. Its back was broad, and even with more than ten people on it simultaneously, it didn't feel crowded.

Its wings beat the air, soaring across the sky.

Witch Soul Tomb, here we come!