XuanYuan Valley. Inside a rudimentary stone chamber, Ji Changkong sat cross-legged, his expression solemn. The powers of the five elements—Metal, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wood—slowly circulated within his body. Relying on the vast Yuan Force within him, he employed a unique method to manifest the elemental powers of heaven and earth entirely within his meridians.
Gazing inward with his divine sense, he could clearly perceive the presence of the Five Elements, observing their orderly flow throughout his body.
He was cultivating the "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art."
The "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art" was a profound esoteric knowledge mastered by the Ten Directions Celestial Masters who possessed the Vast Tide Star Sea Map. The requirements for cultivating this art were quite stringent, demanding that the practitioner meticulously refine the elemental powers of heaven and earth during the Five Elements Heaven Realm—this was the foundation!
Most individuals in the Five Elements Heaven Realm typically chose to focus on mastering a single element to break through their bottlenecks more quickly. Even seasoned elders like Cao Xuanqi and Gu Tang, who were veteran Nine Palaces Celestial Masters, had only chosen one primary power when they were in the Five Elements Heaven Realm.
But Ji Changkong was different.
Back then, in the Five Elements Heaven Realm, he had a vague but persistent feeling that he must cultivate all five elemental powers and integrate them fully into his body.
He ended up spending several times the effort of an ordinary person to truly achieve this stage.
It was only now, as he began practicing the "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art," that he realized how correct his decision back then had been.
The cultivation of the "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art" represented a novel understanding of the elemental powers of heaven and earth—an exploration into the very evolution of these fundamental forces.
The Five Elements were the cornerstone upon which the world was built. Every star, whether a living world, an active world, or a dead one, was invariably formed by the presence of one or more elemental powers.
To grasp the true nature of the Five Elements was to understand the principles governing the formation of stars. Only by thoroughly grasping the layer of insight described in the "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art"—by comprehending the profound mysteries it revealed—could one break through to the Ten Directions Heaven Realm!
Under the influence of this profound realization, Ji Changkong became utterly absorbed, exploring every facet of the "Heavenly Evolution Ancient Art." He repeatedly sifted through the arcane and difficult incantations, using his very soul to perceive the celestial truths hidden within them.
It was a lengthy process.
Understanding a single line of the incantation often took several days, sometimes even more than ten. Yet, once he truly mastered a line and applied it within his body, he would invariably discover some miraculous transformation occurring within himself.
Deeply sequestered within the stone chamber, he used his spirit and his intellect to slowly fathom every single subtlety of the "Evolution Ancient Art" verse by verse…
On this day, while deep in secluded cultivation, he suddenly sensed a colossal presence hurtling toward him with incredible speed.
With his eyes still shut, a tremor surged from the depths of his spirit, giving him the distinct feeling that a colossal star was aggressively approaching, instilling in him an intense sense of unease.
The sheer might of that aura surpassed even that of the formidable Four-Headed Hidden Demon experts on the Tuoman Continent.
The feeling of disquiet clung to him like bone-gnawing insects, refusing to dissipate, preventing him from continuing his cultivation in peace.
He gently exhaled, emerging from his intense practice, and opened the stone door of his chamber, casually descending into the valley below.
Perhaps sensing something similar, Gu Tan and Li Hentian were already standing solemnly within the valley grounds.
The Star Sea Ancient Formation, which enveloped the valley above, had already been activated by the attentive Mu Luo. The members of the Ji and Xiao families who should have been active outside the valley were, under the strict instruction of the experts from several factions, quietly returned inside.
Momentarily, the valley was filled with the tense atmosphere of a gathering storm—the calm before the onslaught.
Many people sensed that something was amiss and subtly began to stand guard.
“Did you feel it?” Gu Tan glanced at Ji Changkong and murmured softly.
Nodding, Ji Changkong replied with grave sobriety, “A terrifying individual!”
“A powerhouse of the Ten Directions Heaven Realm!” Gu Tan took a deep breath and stated firmly.
At these words, Ji Changkong and Li Hentian’s expressions shifted slightly. Li Hentian, after a moment of shock, inquired, “Who could it be?”
Gu Tan shook his head and murmured, “It seems the Sun Star Domain hasn't produced a Ten Directions Heaven Realm expert in quite some time. Back then, the master of Tian Lu, the alliance leader of the Death Pact, and the master of the Demon’s Lair all had hopes of reaching this level, but… they are no longer with us. We haven’t heard of anyone recently having such an opportunity…”
In recent years, many Nine Palaces Celestial Masters from the Sun Star Domain had maintained contact with XuanYuan Valley, residing there without travel. However, Gu Tan was well-informed about major affairs across the realms and had a clear grasp of the Sun Star Domain’s situation. Yet, Gu Tan couldn't recall anyone close to reaching the Ten Directions Heaven Realm recently. Sensing the slow approach of that immensely powerful expert, Gu Tan pondered deeply but could not for the life of him identify the person.
“The arrival is deliberately concealing their aura, only releasing their immense pressure. I wonder what their intention is,” Ji Changkong frowned, pondering for a moment before concluding, “Regardless of who they are, employing such intimidation beforehand is certainly not benevolent. We must prepare ourselves.”
“Prepare?” Li Hentian sounded surprised. “Prepare for what?”
“If it truly is a Ten Directions Celestial Master, any preparation XuanYuan Valley makes will be useless,” Gu Tan offered a wry smile.
“Not necessarily.” Ji Changkong grinned, his gaze turning cold. “If I deploy the Ancient Nine Transformations Absolute Formation, even a Ten Directions Celestial Master will have to shed a layer of skin.”
Beyond that, he still possessed three peculiar silver spheres obtained from the Zakk Clan. Those spheres could explode instantly, ejecting spatial blades. A Ten Directions Celestial Master, if caught unprepared by these spatial sharp edges slicing across their body, would likely be severely wounded, if not killed outright!
Now, even when facing a Ten Directions Celestial Master, he was not entirely without recourse!
“Grandpa Dun, I’m not going!”
On top of a small mound, Yi Rou looked extremely reluctant, her little face flushed a lovely pink, looking undeniably adorable. This location was only a hundred li from XuanYuan Valley, and given Hong Mandun’s speed, he could reach the valley instantly if he wished.
“Why won’t you go, little girl?” Hong Mandun sounded helpless. “Don't worry, I’ll handle this for you. If that boy dares to utter a single ‘no,’ I’ll tear down his XuanYuan Valley!”
“Don’t!” Yi Rou cried out sharply. “Grandpa Dun, he’s incredibly formidable! If you provoke him too much, I won't even be able to speak to him! Grandpa Dun, please don’t cause trouble!”
“Let’s just go back!”
“Little girl, do you not trust Grandpa Dun?” Hong Mandun glared and snorted, “I have mastered my secret techniques. There is no one on the Five Elements Continent who is my match. I wouldn’t even spare Gu Tan and Li Hentian a second glance if they teamed up!”
“I—I don’t dare meet him,” Yi Rou said, blushing deeply and lowering her head timidly.
“You little thing.” Hong Mandun shook his head with affectionate exasperation. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly suggested, “How about this? I’ll go capture him for you?”
Saying this, Hong Mandun seemed to hit upon a brilliant idea, clapping his leg. “Yes, I’ll capture that boy. We can talk properly in a secluded spot. You are too shy and timid, so this is the only way!”
Before the words fully left his mouth, Hong Mandun vanished.
“Grandpa Dun! Grandpa Dun, where are you going?” Yi Rou exclaimed in shock, calling out urgently.
“Little girl, just wait there obediently! I’ll be right back!” Hong Mandun’s voice seemed to echo from an extreme distance, ethereal and untraceable.
Within XuanYuan Valley.
A mountain-like pressure permeated the valley. Strangely, only Celestial Masters who had reached the level of the Eight Trigrams Heaven Realm could sense this pressure. Celestial Masters of the Seven Stars Heaven Realm and below wandered through the valley yet perceived nothing out of the ordinary.
It was clear that the visitor’s target was locked onto the true pinnacle masters of XuanYuan Valley. Suddenly, Ji Changkong’s brow twitched, and he whispered, “A change!”
“He’s here!” Gu Tan hissed, preparing for defense. Li Hentian also drew forth his Blazing Sun Dharma Wheel, ready to strike at any moment.
A streak of sword light descended from the heavens like a sharp whip, directly cleaving the immense elemental energy gathered by the Star Sea Ancient Formation.
All the restrictions set upon the Star Sea Ancient Formation instantly lost their effect. In that instant, all its power completely dissipated.
The sword light, like a lively eel, pierced through the Star Sea Ancient Formation, scattering the clouds lingering above XuanYuan Valley, allowing the dazzling sunlight to stream down unimpeded.
A single ray of sword light suddenly split midway, transforming into hundreds of beams in the blink of an eye. Each emanating beam of light struck and nullified one of the formation’s restrictions, causing the Star Sea Ancient Formation to instantly lose all function.
Ji Changkong’s heart sank. He immediately realized that the arrival did indeed possess the cultivation of the Ten Directions Heaven Realm. A typical Nine Palaces Celestial Master might also be able to shatter the Star Sea Ancient Formation, but they couldn't do it so silently, so subtly, and so cleverly.
Even he, the formation’s original caster, would find it no easy task to dismantle every restriction on the Star Sea Ancient Formation in such a short time, let alone achieve it with such finesse.
All the restrictions on the Star Sea Ancient Formation vanished in a puff of smoke. A faint, shimmering sword light coalesced before the assembled group, manifesting into a short figure. This figure was purely condensed from sword energy, its appearance blurry, making it impossible to discern the true identity.
However, the mere appearance of this figure projected an aura of extreme danger, inducing a deep, innate reluctance in all onlookers to engage in combat.
“Who are you?” Ji Changkong roared, remaining calm. “This is XuanYuan Valley. State your name! Why are you lurking around my valley with such sinister intent?”
“Heh heh, you have some nerve,” the figure materialized from sword energy let out a cold laugh. Then, streaks of sword light shot out like the bars of a cage, violently wrapping themselves around Ji Changkong’s body.
Gu Tan, Li Hentian, and the others moved to aid him, only to find that even more sword beams had formed a shimmering screen, locking down the space between them and Ji Changkong, rendering them utterly unable to move.