On the shore, the inner city disciples were utterly astonished. Just moments before, the scene within the frigid current had shifted again: the dense green mist that had gathered began to spin slowly, but as its rotation accelerated, the green mist condensed into a gigantic vortex, its swirling sound echoing through the ancient cavern, sending shivers down every heart.

In an instant...

The vortex expanded to several tens of meters wide. Vast quantities of green essence flowed continuously from both upstream and downstream of the current, only to be sucked down into the riverbed by the vortex. The flow of the Guozhou River churned violently, splashing up towering waves that lashed against the shore, chilling the inner city disciples to the bone.

"This kid, to be able to absorb such immense vitality! No wonder he could stir the Cold Vein of the Lower Ruins. Look at..." Not far away, Gu Changgong smiled faintly, muttering to himself, his voice gradually fading until the last few words vanished along with his silhouette from the Senluo Ancient Cave.

At the bottom of the cold current, Nie Kong was equally astonished. The pale-green vortex continued to expand, quickly engulfing the location where the "Four Spiritual Divine Apertures" had been. Then, it evenly expanded outward in a circle before the vortex ceased its expansion.

As the Chunqiu Sheng Ling Jue circulated, spiritual power and vitality flowed continuously and evenly into the vortex. Gradually, the liquid vortex began to condense. After an indeterminate amount of time, the spiritual power within Nie Kong's meridians was completely absorbed by the vortex.

As for the vitality, although it was still continuously drawn into his body, it no longer merged with the vortex. Sensing this change, Nie Kong subconsciously ceased circulating the cultivation art. The vortex's rotation slowly decelerated, and before long, it settled into stillness.

"This is... a Spiritual Divine Aperture?"

Nie Kong found it hard to believe. After the Four Spiritual Divine Apertures had shattered due to the squeezing pressure of the condensed vitality, a brand-new aperture had miraculously reformed. Moreover, judging by its size, it appeared even larger than the vortex within Long Po and Long Ting.

Feeling the solitary aperture in his Dantian region, Nie Kong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

From the initial "Three Spiritual Divine Apertures," to the recent "Four Spiritual Divine Apertures," and now to this singular "One Spiritual Divine Aperture"—throughout the entire Tianling Continent, perhaps only he possessed such a bizarre and unusual experience. After a brief period of wild musing, Nie Kong's mind finally calmed.

"One Spiritual Divine Aperture is one Spiritual Divine Aperture. As long as there's an aperture in the body, that’s what matters. I just don't know what the effect will be when cultivating with just this one aperture?"

The moment this question flashed in his mind, Nie Kong emerged from the water almost impatiently. With the aperture formed, Nie Kong ceased his cultivation. The massive vortex above dissipated, and the turbulent water returned to calm. Nie Kong cast a quick glance around before swimming swiftly toward the opposite riverbank.

Once he left the center of the river, a biting coldness instantly enveloped him from all sides. When he climbed onto the riverbank, Nie Kong's body was stiff with cold. Shivering, he sat down cross-legged. After meditating for a short while, under the stunned gaze of the surrounding inner city disciples, Nie Kong rushed out of the Senluo Ancient Cave.

Not long after, Nie Kong appeared in the "Second Level of the Spiritual Cultivation Illusory Realm." The greatest difference between the second level and the first was that in this second layer, it was an independent space for everyone; absolutely no one else could be seen.

Of course, a powerhouse like Gu Changgong was an exception. Drifting dozens of meters along the wind currents, Nie Kong landed on a massive boulder...

In the western part of the inner city, the Six Great Hall Masters of the Guarded City—Gu Changgong, Rou Yun, Yang Tian, Yang Cheng, Bao Long, and Mo Tu—had already gathered. However, at this moment, they stood quietly beside a thin, elderly man in green robes, their faces displaying profound reverence.

Outside the courtyard, the little loli Gu Qi was crouched behind a tree, blinking her bright eyes with sheer amazement: "Heavens, a Grand Ancestor? I never knew Great Uncle and the others had a Grand Ancestor, and right here in the inner city! I've never heard Great Uncle or City Lord Grandpa mention him before." After a long while, the little loli mumbled, counting on her fingers to estimate his age. Her dark, round eyes grew wider and wider...

In the Second Level of the Spiritual Cultivation Illusory Realm, fierce winds howled, and shrill, piercing sounds of air being torn apart erupted continuously. Nie Kong sat quietly on the boulder, his robes fluttering wildly.

Amidst a deep, resonant hum, the aperture vibrated with increasing intensity. Primal energy, raw Qi, and vitality swirled wildly around Nie Kong. In the blink of an eye, his body was enveloped in thick green mist, and a vortex gradually formed within the green fog covering his chest.

At this moment, Nie Kong was filled with elation. He hadn't expected that after the four apertures merged into one large aperture, the cultivation speed would increase so dramatically.

In an extremely short time, Nie Kong's empty apertures and meridians were instantly saturated, and magnificent spiritual power surged forth like rolling waves.

The large aperture was clearly advantageous for cultivation. What about using it to shatter and transform the barrier?

A thought moved in Nie Kong's mind, and his formidable spiritual power simultaneously surged out of his meridians, pressing down with world-shattering might toward the Spiritual Divine Aperture. Instantly, a hurricane seemed to erupt inside the aperture; the spiritual power rolled in like a tide, wave after wave crashing against that frail, invisible barrier. Intense explosive sounds constantly reverberated in his mind.

Nie Kong’s entire concentration was focused within the large aperture.

Unconsciously, Nie Kong’s spirit seemed to merge with the "One Spiritual Divine Aperture." He no longer thought about how to break through or how to achieve Spiritual Thought; he simply savored the fluctuations caused by the spiritual power impacting the aperture. That fluctuation was continuous, incredibly rhythmic, resembling a beautiful piece of music.

This profound sensation had never occurred before. Vaguely, Nie Kong felt as if he had grasped something, and his spirit subconsciously sank into that wave pattern.

Like a sudden clap of thunder, under an even stronger impact launched by all his spiritual power, the invisible barrier at the location of the "One Spiritual Divine Aperture" finally shattered with a resounding crash.

The moment the barrier broke...

A crystalline, jade-like green dot ascended from the core of the aperture. It was only the size of a mung bean, perfectly round, like a green emerald. After emerging from the aperture, the green dot continued to float upward, taking nearly fifteen minutes before finally arriving at the Yintang acupoint between his eyebrows.

The green dot stilled, and Nie Kong snapped back to lucidity!

"Spirit Transformation First Grade!"

Sensing that the spiritual power within his body had abruptly increased nearly tenfold, Nie Kong was overjoyed. The final small step that had eluded him for so long was unexpectedly crossed without any deliberate effort. Matters of cultivation, sometimes, were truly illogical.

Spirit Transformation Masters were not considered exceptional on the entire Tianling Continent, but among the inner city disciples of Lingyu City, one was certainly considered a master. Although his grade was lower than those like Fan Shang, who were at Eighth or Ninth Grade of Spirit Transformation, Nie Kong was still less than twenty, several years younger than them.

A fierce wind swept in, accompanied by violent shrieks as the air was ripped apart. Nie Kong, whose concentration had wavered, was suddenly lifted into the air. Seizing the opportunity, the moment his feet touched the ground, Nie Kong unhesitatingly plunged into a nearby opening. Moments later, Nie Kong awoke in the stone chamber outside.

He let out a soft breath, his attention shifting to the center of his brow.

Nie Kong smiled faintly, uttering these two syllables aloud. The Spirit Seed, as the name implied, was the seed of Spiritual Thought. With this Spirit Seed, he now possessed Spiritual Thought, the entry point to the path of condensing true essence and achieving the Spirit Transformation Realm—becoming a bona fide Spirit Transformation Master. In future cultivation, as his Spiritual Thought strengthened, this Spirit Seed would also continue to grow, eventually becoming a formidable weapon even in the Spirit Controlling Realm.

The Spirit Seed was formed by the fusion of the spirit and spiritual power. Although its formation seemed somewhat accidental, the moment Nie Kong sensed its existence, he realized there was an extremely close connection between himself and the Seed, as if the Seed had become an extension of his own spirit.

Nie Kong sat cross-legged in the stone chamber, quietly reflecting.

When he walked out of the Dragon Stone Great Gate, it was nearly evening. The sky was a brilliant crimson, and the magnificent sunset cast a hazy glow over the entire inner city. Standing before the Dragon Stone Great Gate, facing the blood-red setting sun and the brilliant afterglow, he gazed into the distance, seeing endless layers of mountains beyond the cliff face.

When I ascend the highest peak, all mountains below me shall seem small!

These two lines involuntarily flashed through Nie Kong's mind, and his chest suddenly felt expansive. At this moment, Nie Kong gained a deeper comprehension of the Dao of Cultivation: the transition from Spirit Fusion to Spirit Transformation was not just an increase and enhancement of power; it was fundamentally a transformation and sublimation of one’s state of mind.

"Nie Kong, watch my move!"

Suddenly, a fierce shout pierced his ears, and a powerful force rushed at him from behind. Nie Kong let out a loud laugh, clenched his right fist, and swept his arm back in a powerful arc.

Floating Blossom Overlapping Shadows!

Vast spiritual power surged out from his right fist. Amidst deafening roars, the space within one meter of Nie Kong’s right fist seemed to churn with a tornado, spiritual power spilling out everywhere, its force raging wildly. Tai Hong, who had just rushed toward Nie Kong, shrieked and was sent tumbling backward.

With a boom, Tai Hong managed to plant his feet firmly, but his clothes now bore several rents. He looked at Nie Kong with considerable astonishment: "That shouldn't be! Nie Kong, I just broke through to Spirit Transformation First Grade, why was I sent flying like that by one punch?"

Nie Kong chuckled, "Brother Tai, I'm truly sorry, but I also just broke through to Spirit Transformation First Grade! Ha... ha... ha..." As he spoke, Nie Kong’s right hand quickly brushed past his brow, revealing a small cluster of yellowish-green light that shimmered faintly—this was the sign of the Spirit Seed residing in his brow.

"You're also Spirit Transformation First Grade? What a coincidence!"

Tai Hong was momentarily stunned, then broke into a wide grin, overjoyed. He immediately scurried over to Nie Kong, glanced around mysteriously for a moment, and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Nie Kong, since you've reached Spirit Transformation First Grade, we can finally act on that matter we discussed."

"What matter?" Nie Kong asked in confusion.

"Moon Crescent Green Hook..." Tai Hong leaned close to Nie Kong's ear, whispering the four words.

Nie Kong suddenly understood, instantly recalling the medicinal herb that had caught the little fellow's attention when he separated from the power of the 'Mist Concealing Elixir.' A stirring of eagerness rose in his heart, and he asked softly with some curiosity, "Brother Tai, what kind of place is that dangerous area you mentioned?"

"Heh heh, it’s a shattered Illusory Realm!"

"A shattered Illusory Realm?"