The bones of his arm were originally stark white, and in Ji Changkong's estimation, the limb was likely ruined. A sense of despondency even began to surface in his heart.

Unexpectedly, just as his spirit flagged, his left arm underwent a sudden transformation!

From the bones of his left arm, a vibrant surge of life suddenly erupted, energy stemming from the Xuanyuan Blood within him. It seeped out from the bone, and the power of the blood, mingling with the immense Heavenly and Earthly Yuan Qi in his body, caused the sinews and veins at the site of his severed limb to rapidly regenerate, weaving themselves back over the stark white bone. Suddenly, the bone was covered once more by muscle and flesh.

The life force spurred by the power of the Xuanyuan Blood caused the flesh and blood at Ji Changkong's stump to regrow at a speed visible to the naked eye, rapidly covering his left arm. He stared blankly at his left arm, watching as flesh and blood materialized on what had been merely a bare bone, regenerating at an almost unimaginable pace.

An hour later.

His left arm was fully restored, as knotted and strong as before. The fine hairs and blue veins on the skin were clearly visible. Ji Changkong tentatively flexed it, finding his left arm completely unharmed, showing no difference whatsoever from his right.

With a movement of his will, he tried channeling the Heavenly and Earthly Yuan Power into his left arm. He discovered the Yuan Power flowed unimpeded, and any secret technique could be deployed just as before, with almost no hesitation.

It was exactly the same as before—no discernible change!

Ji Changkong was overjoyed, utterly shocked. He truly had not anticipated that the Xuanyuan Blood could be this potent, capable of regenerating a severed limb.

He probed internally and found that, aside from a partial depletion of his internal Yuan Power and blood essence, his body had suffered almost no lasting changes. The loss of vital essence could be compensated for by the conversion of Yuan Power, and the missing Yuan Power could be replenished by gathering the ambient Yuan Qi from the heavens and earth.

He was whole again.

Ji Changkong's face was a mask of astonishment, and a new thought suddenly sparked in his mind.

If severed limbs could regrow, could his entire physical body be reconstituted in the same manner if it were utterly destroyed?

He suddenly felt this was highly probable. Since his current body could regenerate his severed limb, even if his physical form and organs were annihilated, as long as the bones, blood, and Yuan Power remained within him, couldn't he reconstruct his physical body using the same method?

If that were true, as long as his soul remained intact, wouldn't he be capable of resurrection?

Merely contemplating this possibility instantly restored a surge of confidence within Ji Changkong. He was certain that neither the Asura King nor Cao Xuanqi possessed such a miraculous physical ability. If their bodies were destroyed, they could only rely on their soul power to inhabit an infant or seize the body of another expert.

Inhabiting an infant was akin to starting cultivation anew. While they could eventually return to their peak, it would require countless years.

Seizing an already established expert's body, while allowing for a swift recovery of power, meant the usurper would struggle to reach the highest realms because the host body’s foundations and structure were already fixed.

There was another crucial point: soul transference required the spirit to fly out of the original body, a process fraught with extreme peril. If they encountered someone like Ji Changkong, who possessed the Tianyuan Bead or could unleash the power of Heavenly Lightning, the danger would be far greater—they might be utterly annihilated before securing a new body.

Both these methods carried inherent flaws; neither was foolproof, and one misstep could lead to the annihilation of the soul. Even if the transference succeeded, there would be a period of acclimatization, and discovery by old enemies would likely lead to disaster.

Neither method compared to his own physical reconstruction in terms of convenience and effectiveness! Using this method to regrow his body, he would still be the original him; the only cost would be a massive expenditure of Heavenly and Earthly Yuan Power for the recovery, saving tens of thousands of times the effort compared to possessing an infant.

Realizing this advantage filled Ji Changkong with wild ecstasy. He suddenly understood that he possessed something close to an immortal body—even if his body were shattered into dust, he could be reborn. How could he not be thrilled?

After the initial excitement, Ji Changkong’s confidence swelled beyond measure. He realized that as long as he continued cultivating along this path, one day he would legitimately step into Kunlun, enter the Asura Imperial Palace, and fight Cao Xuanqi and the Asura King—experts at the Nine Palaces Celestial Peak realm—to the death. He believed in his potential and knew he could eventually break through to the Nine Palaces Celestial Realm!

“What about him?” Suddenly, Ji Changkong thought of Ji Haotian. He was still not accustomed to calling Ji Haotian ‘Father.’

The Asura King had mentioned after their exchange that Ji Haotian had taken the opportunity to flee. Under the Asura King's overwhelming power, Ji Haotian must have been severely wounded. Now that he was gone and mentally unstable, would he continue to commit slaughter? Or would he be taken advantage of by the Barbarian Sky Warriors?

Ji Changkong started, his heart tightening. After confirming he was truly safe, he surveyed his surroundings. Once certain of his condition, he immediately altered his appearance and set off toward the nearest Northern Barbarian city, hoping to gather news of Ji Haotian.

For several days, Ji Changkong traveled, concealing his presence, changing his appearance between the cities of various Northern Barbarian tribes. He sought out the strongholds established by the Xiao and Chen families in those cities, hoping to glean any information about Ji Haotian.

However, Ji Haotian seemed to have vanished into thin air. The intelligence networks of the Xiao, Chen, and even the Duan families, which spanned every corner of the Northern Barbarians, turned up nothing despite extensive inquiries about Ji Haotian’s whereabouts.

Ji Haotian, having escaped the Asura King, was gone without a trace; no one knew where he went, nor had anyone spotted him.

If even the three great families could not find news of Ji Haotian in the Northern Barbarians, Ji Changkong understood he stood no chance either. He instructed the three families to continue searching for any trace of Ji Haotian in the North, while he himself departed from the Xiao family’s domain and headed toward Beian City.

Although he found no direct information about Ji Haotian through the three families' intelligence streams, he did gather other crucial intelligence.

The earth-shattering battle that occurred outside the Asura Imperial City in the Northern Barbarians had now spread throughout the Celestial Warrior community of the Five Elements Continent. Every major figure, whether in the North, the Central Lands, the East Sea, the Western Regions, or the Southern Tribes, had learned through various channels about the cataclysmic war that took place in the North.

In that battle, the Central Land Saint, Gu Ya, was defeated; the Northern Barbarian Yaksha King was slain; the Ghost Demon King reappeared; the demon-man Ji Haotian went berserk; hundreds of Northern Barbarian Celestial Warriors were massacred; and Ji Changkong withstood the Asura King one-on-one.

The entire world was discussing this battle. Every Celestial Warrior was captivated by its brutality and the sheer might of those involved. In the aftermath, major Celestial Warrior families increased their interactions, and numerous reclusive old masters and great demons emerged from seclusion. The world was abuzz because of this fight.

Following this battle, the Xuanyuan Valley emerged as the most dazzling force. Ji Changkong, who survived the encounter with the Asura King, the demon-man Ji Haotian, and the fearsome Li Hentian, instantly became the subject of the liveliest discussions.

The Asura King temporarily abandoned his invasion of the Great Chu Kingdom. Northern Barbarian soldiers who had entered Chu territory promptly withdrew after receiving orders from their homeland.

The anxious days for the people of the Great Chu Kingdom were finally over, and Beian City had returned to peace. Xiao Xing and others who had been stationed in Chu, upon learning the news from the North, realized the Great Chu Kingdom no longer required their oversight and quietly withdrew from Beian City.

When Ji Changkong appeared high above Beian City, having traveled thousands of miles, he swept his soul consciousness over the area. The entire city fell within his divine sense, and he immediately registered the departure of Xiao Xing and the others.

Within Beian City, in the large residence where people usually gathered, there was only a single graceful figure. The moment she sensed the immense aura of Ji Changkong permeating the city, she instantly flew out of the residence and hovered above Beian City, exclaiming with lively excitement, “Ji Changkong, is that you? You’re back?”

Chu Shanxin was overjoyed, her delicate face flushed, and she called out in all directions.

Ji Changkong, suspended amidst layers of dark clouds, gazed down at Beian City, frowned briefly at Chu Shanxin, slowly retracted the soul consciousness he had released, and then, without looking back, flew toward Mount Tianshan.

Upon arriving at Mount Tianshan, Ji Changkong entered the mountain’s core without hesitation. Inside, Gu Ya sat calmly. Before him knelt the elders of Mount Tianshan and several core disciples. Li Hentian was the only one standing, his expression somber, slightly bowed.

Ji Changkong suddenly appeared, glanced from afar at Gu Ya, and gasped out, "Grandfather!"

Gu Ya suddenly smiled. "Changkong has arrived. Heh heh, it's good that you are safe, good that you are safe."

There was no fluctuation of Yuan Power emanating from Gu Ya. He looked terribly aged, his face a mass of wrinkles, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.

"Grandfather," Ji Changkong choked out, walking forward to kneel before Gu Ya, murmuring, "Grandfather, are you... are you alright?"

"I am very well," Gu Ya laughed happily. "I heard everything that happened in the Northern Barbarians. Truly excellent! Heh heh, your grandfather lost to the Asura King, yet you returned safe and sound. It seems we truly have someone to carry on the legacy. Don't you agree, Hentian?"

Li Hentian nodded slowly, his face grim, but he remained silent.

"Though my cultivation is gone, this old body can still continue to live. Don't worry, Changkong. I can live another hundred years, and that's enough to watch you dominate the world," Gu Ya declared.

Ji Changkong felt a sharp pang, choking back his sobs silently.

"Changkong, there is something within the Heart of the Sun that can restore the Sect Master!" Li Hentian suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing as he looked at Ji Changkong.

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