The light aperture, black as soot, began to contract inch by inch into his flesh, and a flicker of panic seized the young boy as he realized he was utterly unable to resist the chilling glare of the opponent's silver eyes, which instantly filled him with a sense of profound powerlessness. (Read the full novel at .1k.(1⑥κ.Literature Network)

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

The sounds of three Flying Blood Serpents came from behind. Ji Changkong, who had been suppressing the boy with the cold, icy light of his silver pupils, extended his spiritual sense and immediately detected the three Flying Blood Serpents closing in from behind.

In the distance, two energy fluctuations, neither strong nor weak, rapidly retreated.

The girls in red and green were unharmed; it seemed the three Flying Blood Serpents had noticed their master’s predicament and temporarily abandoned pursuing the two girls to return to his aid.

The Flying Blood Serpent was a more treacherous foe than the Double-Headed Python. Although smaller, they were far more agile and, crucially, they could fly.

Not only were they highly venomous, but they also understood how to manipulate the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, much like a Heavenly Master. Their attacks were cunning; they could shoot out streams of blood essence containing their toxic blood the moment they opened their mouths. These blood streams were not only poisonous but possessed formidable penetrating power. Ji Changkong had witnessed them effortlessly pierce a row of ancient trees with these blood streams back in the Poison Dragon Mire.

Though the three Flying Blood Serpents raised by the boy were not as fearsome as those in the Poison Dragon Mire, they were far from easy to handle. Hearing the familiar sound of the serpents near his ears, the boy’s heart sank. His mind raced, and he abruptly pulled back several steps. (Hand-typed by Brother Chen Nan, let the applause begin!)

Whoosh!

The boy, who had been severely cornered, suddenly felt the pressure ease. He immediately sensed the arrival of the Flying Blood Serpents. He covertly checked his physical condition, and with a dark expression, he made a swift decision to retreat continuously.

Having created sufficient distance, the power of Ji Changkong’s silver eyes waned significantly. The boy, drenched in sweat, didn't dare linger to harass Ji Changkong further. He let out a piercing, high-pitched screech directed at Ji Changkong as he rapidly retreated backward.

At the boy’s bizarre cry, the three returning Flying Blood Serpents did not attack Ji Changkong in a frenzy. Instead, they dexterously bypassed him, flying back on either side before quickly vanishing behind the boy.

Slumped on the ground, gulping great breaths, Ji Changkong leaned heavily on his exhaustion. His dagger strike, the combined might of the Heavenly Thunder Force and the Surging Wave Art—he had used every bit of strength, holding nothing back. Both waves of attacks had severely drained his Yuan Qi. Although unleashing his silver eyes afterward didn't consume internal Yuan Qi, it placed an immense strain on his spirit.

(To recover, it's best to offer support at the starting point.)

If he had shown even a sliver of fear just now, the boy would likely have disregarded everything and swarmed him for the kill. Coupled with a Flying Blood Serpent, even relying on his silver eyes, he would have likely met a grim fate.

The boy retreated hastily because he could not gauge the true depth of Ji Changkong’s power. Had the boy known that Ji Changkong was merely a genuine Third-Stage Heavenly Master whose endurance stemmed entirely from a pair of strange silver eyes, the boy would have simply kept him occupied while waiting for the Flying Blood Serpents to attack, leaving Ji Changkong with no path but death. (Love reading? Love flowing years.)

Gasping deeply, he was utterly exhausted, yet his spiritual sense was unnervingly sharp. The tense battle had almost completely hollowed him out. (Should pay attention to health, ask Han Xue what nourishing food to eat.)

He was only a Third-Stage Heavenly Master. To fight a ** Heavenly Master and manage to frighten the opponent away after one battle was nothing short of a miracle.

The sky began to lighten; the ferocious hailstorm had long since ceased.

After resting briefly on the ground, he abruptly sprang back up with a rustle, oriented himself, and hurried once more toward the direction of the Tianwu Kingdom.

As he moved, a faint ripple of Yuan Qi suddenly emanated from the Tianyuan Bead within him. A thread of weak Yuan Qi slowly flowed from the bead into his body, rapidly replenishing his depleted energy reserves.

His mind was as clear as a mirror. As he walked through the forest, every step seemed imbued with the profound mysteries of Heaven and Earth. Along his path, he could not only clearly sense the life fluctuations of nearby wild beasts but could even perceive their emotions—their joy, their terror.

In his eyes, all things in Heaven and Earth seemed suddenly imbued with life, and he appeared able to detect the emotional shifts of truly living creatures.

This was an incredibly marvelous sensation!

Whether due to the Grand Void Secret Record or the efficacy of the Tianyuan Bead, Ji Changkong felt his Yuan Qi recovery speed on the road was nearly double its usual rate.

When he was at the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion, Bai Qingya had been astonished by his Yuan Qi recovery speed. If she knew that Ji Changkong’s current recovery speed was twice as fast again, she would surely be too shocked to speak.

This change came so rapidly that he almost couldn't process it.

His spirit was hazy, empty. He walked for a time as if sinking into a "State of Selflessness," forgetting himself, forgetting everything, moving sluggishly. Then, he would suddenly snap awake, realizing he was still walking through desolate mountains, and hastily releasing his spiritual sense to scout for any anomalies in his surroundings.

The thousands of miles between Gaoyang City and the border of the Tianwu Kingdom were covered in rolling mountain ranges, renowned peaks, great rivers, and lakes (Piracy is unprofessional!)—after escaping that young boy, Ji Changkong kept moving toward **.

The scorching sun blazed down, casting golden light upon the land, turning it into fields of golden grain.

A clear, jade-like, mirror-smooth lake suddenly appeared before his eyes. Ji Changkong, covered in sweat and grime, felt a surge of joy at the sight of the lake and quickened his pace, eager to cleanse the filth and sweat from his body.

He submerged his entire body into the cool lake water under the blazing sun; the sensation was incomparably refreshing and exhilarating.

After taking a proper bath in the lake, Ji Changkong donned clean clothes and felt completely revitalized. His spirit seemed to merge with Heaven and Earth. (Heavenly Master Forum welcomes your joining!)

Suddenly, he sensed four faint life fluctuations coming from the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest.

His expression shifted slightly; he feared the boy hadn't given up and was pursuing him. He frowned and expanded his spiritual sense, attempting to pinpoint the location of those four faint life fluctuations.

"Ah."

He gasped aloud, looking around the lake shore with an expression of utter disbelief and astonishment.

The four faint life fluctuations were indeed present, but they seemed to emanate from the horizon in the four cardinal directions—an unknown distance of tens of thousands of miles away!

Calming himself, he focused his spirit. He distinctly perceived the four faint life fluctuations in the four directions. These four fluctuations were completely different from human life signs; they seemed like the purest form of elemental energy, lacking any significant self-awareness...

His eyes snapped wide open, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi suddenly underwent a transformation. The previously mixed Yuan Qi gradually separated into clusters. Small clusters of Yuan Qi of the same origin and lineage began to merge, displaying distinct shades of azure, crimson, white, and black. These four colored energies hovered around him before fading into faint wisps of smoke that vanished into his lower abdomen.

The azure, crimson, white, and black faint Yuan Qi entered his lower abdomen, gathering within the Great Yuan Bead. (Heavenly Master Forum, your favorite!)

As the four faint streams of elemental energy entered the Tianyuan Bead, his face filled with shock. He dared not use his spiritual sense to investigate the bead’s fluctuations, only cautiously feeling the sensation of the four faint energies entering his body and accumulating in the Tianyuan Bead.

Heavenly Masters who wield the power of Heaven and Earth can use various Heavenly Master Secrets to cause their bodies to gather the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. The higher the cultivation level and the greater the strength of a Heavenly Master, the more Yuan Qi they can accumulate. Lower-level Heavenly Masters, whose physical bodies lack sufficient strength, can accumulate relatively less Yuan Qi.

Every Heavenly Master’s body is like a container; the process of tempering the body and raising one's realm is the continuous process of widening this container. As the body strengthens and the realm deepens, the container expands, allowing for the accumulation of more Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. The greater the Yuan Li a Heavenly Master can wield, the stronger they become.

Last night, the Yuan Qi he consumed had already been restored through the combined effects of the Grand Void Secret Record and the Tianyuan Bead.

The restoration of physical Yuan Qi meant the container was nearly full. At this point, when a Heavenly Master cultivates, they cannot gather too much Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi into their body because the capacity for Yuan Qi has been reached; gathering more Yuan Qi rapidly becomes far less feasible.

The cultivation of Heavenly Master Secrets is essentially a process of utilizing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to open up one’s inner treasure, tempering the body—this vessel for Yuan Qi—to make it stronger so it can hold more Yuan Qi. The more Great Yuan Li circulating internally, the stronger the Heavenly Master.

The four faint streams of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi—azure, crimson, white, and black—entered his internal Tianyuan Bead. The Tianyuan Bead emitted a soft, pale light of four colors within his body. Threads of marvelous Yuan Qi flowed out from the bead, dispersing throughout his limbs and bones, first moving toward his mind.

The body’s ability to rapidly absorb Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, outside of injury recovery, has only one other possibility—a breakthrough!

The Yuan Qi flowing from the Tianyuan Bead permeated his mind. Every nerve, every region of his brain began to undergo wondrous changes under the inundation of this energy.

As his spiritual perception extended, the four faint life fluctuations from the four directions began to intensify under his senses.

There was a sudden shock in his core, and Ji Changkong’s eyes filled with ecstasy; he suddenly realized what the anomaly in his body signified.

He had broken through to the Four Symbols Heaven Realm! Only then would the body undergo another metamorphosis, and this transformation would first manifest in the brain region.

The four faint life fluctuations from the four cardinal directions—those were the auras of the Four Sacred Beasts of Heaven and Earth! Only in the Four Symbols Heaven Realm could one perceive the auras of the Four Sacred Beasts. By communicating with them, one could borrow and possess a portion of their power! The azure, white, crimson, and black faint Yuan Qi entering his body—those were the unique colors and forms of special Yuan Qi belonging exclusively to the Four Sacred Beasts!

For reasons unknown, he, who was at the peak of the Third-Stage Heavenly Master realm, had broken through to the Four Symbols Heaven Realm.