The dust settled, leaving an absolute stillness between heaven and earth. That mountain hollow was now ravaged, crisscrossed with ravines, bearing the shocking scars of fierce battle everywhere.

On a slightly raised earth mound, Nie Kong sat motionless. Below the mound, Tai Yan, You Hun, Qing You, Hulu, and the newly emerged little fellow Xiang Xiang gathered together.

Several dozen meters away stood Gui Xian, Shui Rou, and the others from the Sea Clan. After the preceding battle, their side suffered three severe injuries and five minor ones, while only four powerhouses from the Dan Xian Sect managed to flee; the rest had left their lives by the banks of the Immortal Qin Sea.

As for Tai Shu Yan and Zhuang Yu, whose Dharma Images had been extracted, they had perished long ago in the melee. Currently, five Sea Clan experts remained waiting here; the rest had already returned to the Immortal Qin Sea.

Gazing at that sculpture-like figure, Gui Xian and Shui Rou remained silent, yet their eyes betrayed an undeniable reverence. To extract another's Dharma Image for refinement during a battle, and then to successfully pass two Spirit Tribulations consecutively—witnessing such an inconceivable feat firsthand left them awestruck.

At this moment, Nie Kong was refining the Dharma Images of two more Spirit Gods. It was said that success would allow him to pass the Third Spirit Tribulation and advance to the Spirit God realm.

Nie Kong was already this formidable without being a Spirit God; if he truly ascended, his power would surely become even more astonishing. For a moment, Gui Xian and the others watched with profound anticipation.

"Boom!" Suddenly, boundless divine power energy surged forth from within Nie Kong's body, condensing into a colossal column of white smoke that shot toward the high heavens, dazzling and mesmerizing all onlookers. Gui Xian and the others could distinctly feel that aura rapidly strengthening...

A terrifying pressure radiated outward from that smoke column, causing the hearts of the five Sea Clan experts, Gui Xian and Shui Rou, to tremble. Faintly, the colossal figure Nie Kong had suddenly manifested during the previous battle seemed to reappear before their eyes, instilling an involuntary sense of their own insignificance.

Compared to them, Tai Yan and the others, who were closer to Nie Kong, were almost unaffected. "Brother will be a Spirit God soon." Tai Yan beamed, her delicate face alight with joyous smiles as she looked at Nie Kong on the mound.

"Once I absorb this, maybe I can become a Spirit God too." Qing You bubbled excitedly, sometimes swallowing the water sphere in its mouth, sometimes spitting it out, acting incredibly smug. As soon as Nie Kong returned here with Tai Yan, he had tossed that mass of "Grand Void Divine Water" to Qing You for refinement and absorption, delighting the little creature to no end.

Hulu's round eyes were filled with envy. It nudged back and forth against Tai Yan's shoulder, its voice tenderly pleading, "Sister Tai Yan, when Nie Kong becomes a Spirit God, ask him to refine a dozen tenth-grade Elixirs for me to boost my cultivation, okay?

After eating them, I'm sure I can become a Spirit God too." Tai Yan smiled knowingly, "Yes, yes, my brother will definitely refine them for you." "Always relying on external forces to boost strength, truly..." The You Hun Eagle King chirped sharply, shaking its head with an appearance of heartbroken distress, though its tone was laced with sour jealousy. Its eyes constantly flickered toward Qing You's "Grand Void Divine Water," wishing it could snatch it and swallow it whole.

Unfortunately, even swallowing the Divine Water would have little effect on it. The Grand Void Divine Water delivered its greatest efficacy only when held by Qing You.

Lifting its head, the You Hun Eagle King snorted dismissively, ignoring the gazes of Qing You and Hulu. "I shall rely on my own power to become a Spirit God!" "You Hun, I know something that can help you become a Spirit God faster," Tai Yan said with a sly smile.

"Really? Really?

Sister Tai Yan, tell me quickly!" The proud head of the You Hun Eagle King immediately drooped, and it leaned close to Tai Yan, its eyes filled with fawning eagerness. "..." Gui Xian and the others in the distance had only just managed to shake off the oppressive feeling from the energy column, but hearing the conversation between Tai Yan and the others sent another wave of shock through their minds.

In the Divine Void Realm, among Ninth Tier experts, very few ever managed to become Spirit Gods. The three Spirit Tribulations separating the Ninth Tier from the Spirit God realm were like three immense chasms; crossing them was extremely difficult, but once achieved, it was akin to ascending instantly to heaven.

For the vast majority of Ninth Tier experts, crossing even one Spirit Tribulation in a lifetime was an unattainable dream. Yet, for these few—the Flower Spirit, the Water Spirit, and another Flower Spirit—achieving Spirit God status seemed almost effortless, truly shocking.

However, considering Nie Kong could even snatch the "Grand Void Divine Water," the supreme treasure of the "Grandmist Heavenly Mansion," from a Spirit God to aid their advancement, it indeed might not be so difficult for him. They never expected the Sea Clan to produce such a terrifying expert!

Recalling the recent battle, Gui Xian and Shui Rou still felt as if they were caught in a dream. They wondered which region of the Immortal Qin Sea Nie Kong Senior hailed from, not only possessing incomparable strength but also being able to subdue so many Spirit Races, even the most powerful Flower Spirit was already a Spirit God.

As members of the Sea Clan, they occasionally encountered a few mildly sentient spirits within the Immortal Qin Sea. Even taming such minor spirits was incredibly hard; how much more so for Spirit Races that had achieved complete sentience, becoming almost indistinguishable from humans!

Even more remarkable was the harmonious way he interacted with these Spirit Races beside him. "Whoosh!" A surging wave of energy washed out, drawing the attention of the Sea Clan group.

At this moment, Nie Kong seemed to have finished refining Yuan Ru's Water Dragon Dharma Image and Wu Hou's Elixir Cauldron Dharma Image. The energy emanating from him had risen to an extremely terrifying level...

as if fully releasing the power condensed in the smoke column would be enough to shake mountains and rivers, overturning heaven and earth. "Brother is beginning the Third Spirit Tribulation!" Tai Yan's crisp voice rang out.

Gui Xian and Shui Rou involuntarily stood up, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the figure atop the earth mound. Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh?

Sounds whistled through the heavens and earth as the perfectly vertical white smoke column began to show instability, occasionally swaying and twisting to the sides, yet the energy, which had seemingly stopped strengthening, began to climb again. As time passed, the smoke column’s fluctuations became more violent, sometimes wildly expanding to envelope the void within a thousand-meter radius, and other times condensing into a single beam, like a pillar supporting the sky.

This smoke column was a true reflection of the conditions inside Nie Kong's body. Seeing this, Gui Xian and the others couldn't help but feel a pang of worry; it seemed even after refining two powerful Dharma Images, breaking through to Spirit God was not easy.

However, their concern was clearly unnecessary. A dozen seconds later, the violently fluctuating smoke column calmed down.

At this point, in the eyes of Gui Xian and the others, the motionless figure of Nie Kong began to change subtly. He sat there, clearly visible to everyone.

Yet, he possessed not the slightest sense of presence, appearing extraordinarily ethereal, as if separated from this place by an infinite expanse of space. If one closed their eyes, they would not sense Nie Kong, but rather a void devoid of any anomaly, as if Nie Kong had merged with heaven and earth, becoming one with this space.

Just as Gui Xian and the others were bewildered, the white smoke column suddenly dissipated. Nie Kong immediately opened his eyes, rising to his full height.

His pupils appeared transformed into hazy, chaotic emptiness. A power, strong yet extraordinarily gentle, enveloped heaven and earth, seeming omnipresent and omnipotent.