Amidst the violent whistling sound, the flames within the acupoints, the Nether Stars, the Mind Manifestations, the Dharma Forms, and even the meridians suddenly pierced through the barriers of the internal body, rapidly drawing closer to one another.

In the past, such a scene would have been hard to imagine, but after the body was tempered by Heavenly Fire, everything occurred as naturally as water flowing downhill. The muscles, bones, viscera, and blood seemed nonexistent, offering no resistance whatsoever, allowing the scorching flames to spread and weave throughout the body.

In mere seconds, all the "Chaotic Heavenly Fire" coalesced into a single mass within the body, resembling a smooth, round fireball.

With a mere thought from Nie Kong, a fissure opened in the fireball. The Chaotic Origin Power, the Golden Divine Power, the Mind Manifestation Power, and the Dharma Form Power rushed inward through that crack like iron filings drawn by a magnet, or like a vast flood breaking through a dam.

When all the forces had poured in, the fissure in the fireball instantly sealed shut. Nie Kong quietly activated the "Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art." Nie Kong had perceived the limitations of this technique when the Chaotic Origin Power first formed, but at this moment, the self-created "Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art" was the most suitable.

"Boom!"

The fireball vibrated, spinning rapidly.

The Chaotic Heavenly Fire burned fiercely, erupting into towering, blazing flames.

In that instant, it was as if a violent tornado swept around Nie Kong. Dense elemental spiritual energy was drawn in, pouring frantically into Nie Kong's body, serving as fuel to nourish the Chaotic Heavenly Fire. In the blink of an eye, the spiritual elements within several li in radius were entirely sucked dry.

However, Nie Kong’s absorption of spiritual energy did not cease. The previously calm void in the distance was stirred, and all spiritual elements converged toward him.

The flames burned even more intensely.

The heat no longer permeated Nie Kong’s body but gathered entirely inside the fireball, acting directly upon those four streams of power. The Chaotic Origin Power, the Golden Divine Power, the Mind Manifestation Power, and the Dharma Form Power, which had been coexisting peacefully, now thrashed about wildly, like four rats with their tails on fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

Occasionally, two forces would collide, causing bursts of intense explosions. The "Chaotic Heavenly Fire," condensed into a fireball, acted as an unbreakable barrier, and coupled with Nie Kong's own control, the four forces, no matter how they rampaged, could not cause the Heavenly Fire to waver in the slightest.

Nie Kong’s body acted like a black hole, drawing in the rolling spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Earth, fire, wind, lightning, and various other elemental spiritual energies flocked together. Nie Kong made no selections; he rejected no incoming spiritual energy. The moment it entered his body, it was drawn to the rapidly spinning fireball and rushed toward it like moths to a flame, continuously fanning the blaze of the "Chaotic Heavenly Fire."

Nie Kong absorbed more and more spiritual energy, the radius gradually expanding from several li to over ten li, and then to several dozen li. The colossal tornado expanded wantonly, shaking heaven and earth...

"Splash!"

Dozens of li from the shore, the surface of the Immortal Qin Sea erupted in towering waves. A dark shadow shot out, stopping a hundred meters in the air—it was a mature woman exuding captivating grace.

Her eyes, glowing with a faint reddish luminescence, gazed toward the forest on the shore. Astonishment filled her face as she murmured, "What a massive disturbance. Who on earth is cultivating over there?"

"Swish! Swish!"

Two white shadows, like streams of light, shot over from the horizon, instantly arriving beside the middle-aged woman.

They were two young men wearing white robes. Their heights, builds, and facial features were completely identical; they looked as if they had been stamped from the same mold—truly a pair of identical twins.

"Hai Jiang! Hai Yang!" The middle-aged woman seemed to know them, greeting them without turning her head, her gaze still fixed on the distance.

"Shui Rou, what happened?"

A buzzing sound echoed as the two young men opened their mouths simultaneously, speaking the exact same words, with identical tone and volume. The two moved as one entity.

Shui Rou shook her head, her expression puzzled. "I'm not entirely sure either. It seems there is a Ninth-Tier Illusion Master cultivating over there. I wonder what spiritual art he is using, capable of drawing in all the spiritual energy from dozens of li around." As she spoke, surprise flickered across her face.

"A human? Excellent, let us go and kill him!"

Hai Jiang and Hai Yang, their faces expressionless, flickered their figures and prepared to rush forward.

Seeing this, Shui Rou was startled and quickly stopped the pair, laughing despite herself. "You two brothers, don't be reckless. The situation over there is unclear; don't act rashly. If someone deliberately created such a stir to lure us in, wouldn't rushing over play right into their hands?"

"That is true. Then we shall wait for Elder Gui Xian."

"..."

Swish! Swish! Swish...

Figures arrived one after another from the surrounding sea. In just ten short minutes, more than a dozen figures had gathered beside Shui Rou. Everyone watched the activity over there closely, their looks of shock deepening. The area from which the spiritual energy was being absorbed was expanding continuously.

When Shui Rou first appeared, the affected area was only about twenty li in radius, but now it had doubled to forty li. Looking from afar, one could see an immensely vast white tornado spinning between heaven and earth, its roar echoing for hundreds of li, causing a stinging pain in the eardrums.

Who on earth was cultivating, requiring such a tremendous amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy, and absorbing all elemental types? Doubts arose in everyone's minds.

"Tear!"

A sound like ripping silk suddenly rang out. The void three or four zhang away from Shui Rou suddenly split open, and a green silhouette stepped out from the spatial rift—it was an old man in green robes.

This man’s appearance was rather bizarre: his body was stout, but his head was very small, like an infant's head placed on... a strong man’s neck, utterly disproportionate. On his somewhat pointed, narrow chin, he sported a green beard that reached nearly to his thigh.

"Elder Gui Xian!"

"Elder, you've finally arrived!"

"..."

Upon seeing the strange old man appear, everyone, including Shui Rou, Hai Jiang, and Hai Yang who arrived first, as well as the dozen or so who followed, greeted him with deep reverence.

"Don't rush; let this old one observe."

Gui Xian waved his thick arms, narrowing his small, slender eyes. "There is a powerful spirit beast over there, likely at the peak of the Ninth Tier; there is a flora-type spirit item, estimated to have passed through its first Spirit Tribulation~~ Also, the aura of a Pill Spirit. Hmm, that Pill Spirit has also attained sentience, equivalent to a Ninth-Tier Illusion Master!"

"There are two spirit beings over there!"

"Flora spirits are rare, but not unheard of, but can even Pill Spirits attain sentience?"

"..."

Hearing Gui Xian's words, Shui Rou and the others were greatly astonished.

"Let this old one look again..."

Gui Xian rubbed his eyes, and a moment later, unconcealed astonishment suddenly appeared on his face. He blurted out involuntarily, "There is... there is actually a Water Spirit too! Our Sea Clan has never seen a Water Spirit appear. But there is a Water Spirit over there, and its spiritual awareness is already complete, having condensed a human form."