Gold, red, cyan—white, yellow, the Five Elements power of Heaven and Earth burst forth from his body, coalescing into a massive, multicolored halo that instantly enveloped him securely.
The Five Elements power continuously flowed outward in all directions, the five-hued halo expanding rapidly until it soon covered the entire small, snow-covered peak. From the outside, this location seemed shrouded in countless illusions, as the Five Elements power of Heaven and Earth evolved into all manner of wondrous transformations.
Blue sky, white clouds, lush green grass... a small bridge over flowing water, towering mountains and deep ridges.
Many scenes capable of relaxing the mind surfaced from the immense halo, rendered with breathtaking realism.
Inside that great halo, Ji Changkong stood with his eyes tightly shut, his soul sending out thousands of fine threads that mingled with the multicolored light, weaving those vivid scroll paintings. In his perception, there was no hint of illusion; it felt utterly real.
He reached out his hand and could actually feel the glide of the water, touch the fine textures on the blades of grass. Taking a deep breath, the fresh, natural air, carrying an extremely faint, subtle fragrance, urged him to inhale deeply again and again; his state of mind was one of unprecedented peace and tranquility.
A blast of cold, biting wind swept past. Having remained in this marvelous realm for an unknown duration, Ji Changkong suddenly awoke.
The swirling multicolored halo surrounding him vanished instantly, leaving no trace of its existence.
The accumulated snow of the White Blizzards and the howling, continuous onslaught of the frigid wind lashed at him. All that met his sight was desolate coldness. He stood on the icy mountain peak, staring blankly in all directions.
With a stir of his mind, the Taixu Secret Record, hidden deep within his consciousness, gradually expanded and slowly materialized.
The Taixu Secret Record flipped pages rapidly, quickly turning to the section detailing the Taixu Illusionary Realm.
Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth are the foundation of all things. Once the power of the Five Elements is integrated, one can summon a marvelous realm from thin air. Within this realm, the creator is omnipotent. Passages of simple, easily understandable text flashed through his mind, the description of the Taixu Illusionary Realm quickly sinking into his core.
The power of the Five Elements is the foundation constituting all things. If one can master the integration of the Five Elements, one can merge this power with the strength of the divine soul to create a Taixu Illusionary Realm, within which he can do whatever he wills!
Following this were the profundities and secret methods for utilizing the Five Elements power to form the Taixu Illusionary Realm.
Not rushing back to Xuanyuan Valley, Ji Changkong sat down cross-legged on this snow-white peak, a strange light gleaming in his eyes.
Only after obtaining the complete Taixu Secret Record did he realize his initial speculation was indeed correct: most Heavenly Masters, when reaching the Four Symbols Heaven or Five Elements Heaven stages, would choose to cultivate one specific type of power, believing it to be the most appropriate path.
However, the cultivation method described in the Taixu Secret Record went against conventional wisdom.
It emphasized the character "Integration"—any power that could be cultivated needed to be fused. The cultivation through the Four Symbols Heaven and Five Elements Heaven realms... demanded steady progress, where not a single element could be skipped!
Fortunately, fortunately, he hadn't taken any shortcuts back then, or not only would the Taixu Illusionary Realm have been unattainable, but his cultivation realm might never advance further.
After a while, he slowly closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began to marshal the Five Elements power within his body, employing it in the unique manner dictated by the Taixu Illusionary Realm.
Ten days later.
Whenever his soul stirred and merged with the Five Elements power, he could instantly form a halo covering an extremely vast area. Following the changes in his mind and soul, the halo could manifest all manner of colors and present the forms of everything in the world, as if establishing a miniature world of his own making.
Within the Taixu Illusionary Realm, every landscape could change according to his will. While inside, if he desired, he could create objects, bestow upon this world marvelous flowers and exotic grasses, add lakes, and summon wind, thunder, clouds, and lightning.
The only slight deficiency was that he could not yet grant life to this world, nor add the sun, moon, and stars.
However, according to the profound insights of the Taixu Illusionary Realm, once his Jing, Qi, and Shen (Essence, Energy, Spirit) were three-fold integrated, he could utilize the essence and blood from his body to merge with his soul to introduce life into the Taixu Illusionary Realm. This was equivalent to reaching the Seven Stars Heaven realm, allowing him to add stars to the realm. Once he broke through to the Eight Trigrams Heaven realm and could communicate with the sun and moon, his soul ascending to them, he could then grant the Taixu Illusionary Realm the spectacle of celestial bodies. That is to say, as his cultivation realm increased, he could gradually perfect the Taixu Illusionary Realm.
Until, the Taixu Illusionary Realm becomes a true world!
Once the Taixu Illusionary Realm establishes itself as a genuine world, within this domain, he would be omnipotent and invincible. Anyone who entered the Taixu Illusionary Realm would instantly become mere prey, subject to his disposal; he could grant them existence with a thought and extinguish them with another.
The perfection of the Taixu Illusionary Realm still required a lengthy period. Not lingering on this tiny peak to cultivate further, his heart heavy with concern for the state of Xuanyuan Valley, he rose and departed.
Tianshan Mountain was not far from Blood Rain Mountain. Even without Li Hentian’s flight guidance, at his current level of attainment, his journey would be exceptionally swift.
Five days later, he returned to Xuanyuan Valley.
As expected, the Heavenly Masters from Blood Rain Peak and all corners of the world had already departed. He Haoran, Baili Ke, and others had been rescued, and the Holy Mother Youlan had also left Tianshan Mountain.
Zheng Jieshi, the King of Darkness, and others, deprived of Youlan’s protection, had naturally fled as far as they could.
Without Zheng Jieshi, the leader of the Lamm Sect, and other Eight Trigrams Heaven masters, Blood Rain Mountain naturally returned to calm, though beneath that surface tranquility, immense tides were still surging.
Within Xuanyuan Valley, the Ghost Sect members brought out the heavenly materials and earthly treasures they had recovered from the Grey Mist Mountain Range and shared them with the Ji family. Every member of the Ji family was ecstatic; each received one or several long-coveted cultivation materials.
Ji Yusheng was responsible for distributing these treasures from the Ghost Sect. Meanwhile, Han Hai was authorized to trade these materials with the Spiritual Treasure Pavilion for scarce elements like Gold and Fire that were missing in the Grey Mist Mountain Range.
The great battle that transpired in Xuanyuan Valley had not inflicted significant damage upon the Ghost Sect or the Ji family. With threats like the King of Darkness and Zheng Jieshi gone, the Ghost Sect and the Ji family focused entirely on cultivating within the valley.
Upon his return, through Ji Yuxing, Ji Yusheng, and Mo Yunyi, he learned that Huangfu Tong had indeed cured the poison affecting those from Blood Rain Peak.
He Haoran and Baili Ke, upon waking, realized that Blood Rain Peak had suffered a sudden catastrophic shift, and even the Eight Trigrams Heaven masters backing them were likely lost, their whereabouts now unknown.
Huangfu Tong, Murong Tuo, and the others conferred with He Haoran and Baili Ke and immediately decided to retaliate against the invaders. The first step was a massacre of the Heavenly Master community in the Lanrou Kingdom.
Huangfu Tong and Murong Tuo had not only remained on Blood Rain Mountain but had also mobilized more experts from their own sects and invited renowned figures from various Heavenly Master sects in the Shuiyun Kingdom to initiate retribution against the Lanrou Kingdom's Heavenly Master circles.
Compared to the Shuiyun Kingdom, the Lanrou Kingdom was a minor state, situated to the southeast, bordering the East Sea.
Its Heavenly Master community was a scattered mess, with Eight Trigrams Heaven masters as rare as phoenix feathers and rare horns. Under pressure from Huangfu Tong, Murong Tuo, Liao Zhenshu, and others, the King of Lanrou declared that the actions of Lan Chun and his cohorts had no bearing on him and begged Huangfu Tong and the others not to extend their wrath to the other Heavenly Master sects within Lanrou.
Whether Huangfu Tong and the others heeded the King of Lanrou's plea was unknown to Ji Yuxing and the others. However, during this time, they frequently observed Heavenly Masters from the Shuiyun Kingdom marching one after another toward the Lanrou Kingdom, speculating if these were simply raids targeting the Lanrou Kingdom's sects.
The divine weapons and secret skills that the experts from He Haoran's and Baili Ke's sects on Blood Rain Peak had hidden deep within their lineages and small families had been thoroughly plundered by the enemy. As the most heavily afflicted party, their pent-up rage had no outlet, turning them into the main force targeting the Lanrou Kingdom.
Gui Rong and Gui Hai did not participate in this retaliation against the Lanrou Kingdom. As an elder of the Aoluo Divine Religion, without Ji Changkong present, no one in Xuanyuan Valley could command Mu Luo.
With the absence of Gui Rong, Gui Hai, and Mu Luo—three Eight Trigrams Heaven masters—the Ji family feared being plotted against by the Murong family within the Lanrou Kingdom, so they abandoned the idea of looting the Lanrou Heavenly Master circles. The Ghost Sect, having brought ample heavenly materials and earthly treasures from the Grey Mist Mountain Range, did not particularly covet the resources of the Shuiyun Kingdom's Heavenly Master community.
The large-scale movements on Blood Rain Mountain were within Ji Changkong's expectations. When he learned of the situation from Ji Yuxing and the others, he showed no surprise.
Ji Yuxing’s group did not inquire what had transpired on Tianshan Mountain, nor did they ask why Li Hentian had not returned. Unconsciously, many members of the Ji family had grown accustomed to the mysteries surrounding him, learning to ask fewer questions. Even his grandfather, Ji Yusheng, and his aunt, Ji Wanyun, started refraining from prying too deeply.
In their view, the current Ji Changkong had truly matured. The wisdom he displayed at the Earth Rift Valley, combined with his current steadfast composure, proved he possessed sufficient strength and insight to handle any situation that arose.
Not only were they unable to assist him with strength now, but they also seemed to have nothing left to teach him in terms of wisdom or experience.
Although this realization caused Ji Yusheng and Ji Wanyun a degree of frustration and helplessness, they could do nothing about it.
With experts of Li Hentian, Gui Rong, and Mu Luo’s caliber quietly guiding and watching over him, why would they need to offer instruction?
“I need to go out for a while and might not return soon. Grandfather, Aunt, Mu Luo, and Gui Rong will all remain in Xuanyuan Valley. If anything happens, you can seek them out. After this major battle at Xuanyuan Valley, I believe even Murong Tuo will need to carefully weigh his chances before daring to target our Ji family,” Ji Changkong said, bidding farewell to Ji Yuxing and Ji Wanyun after staying in the valley for a few days.
Beside him, Xiao Shu of the Xiao family stood with a grim expression, silent.
“Be careful. The world is filled with formidable experts. Although your strength is extraordinary now, you must remain exceedingly cautious,” Ji Yusheng could only offer this admonition; beyond that, he found himself at a loss for words.