Tai Yan broke into a broad smile. "If they won't come to us, we can always go back to the Shenkong Realm to find them." It wasn't just Nie Kong and Yu Longyue who savored this surge in power; Tai Yan was equally captivated, eager to capture and refine a few more Sixth-Grade Dark Spirit Gods.

Nie Kong let out a wry chuckle. "We've been in the Continental Fragment Belt for quite some time now. If they haven't found us, most of them have likely returned to the Great Sovereign Spirit Realm. Even if some Spirit Gods remained, their numbers wouldn't be substantial. Rushing back to search won't yield much."

Yu Longyue took the lead. "Nie Kong is right."

Tai Yan puffed out her cheeks, a flicker of frustration crossing her face.

Just then, Nie Kong seemed to recall something. "Auntie Yue, can you still locate the passage between the Shenkong Realm and the Heavenly Spirit Continent?"

"You want to go back through there?" Yu Longyue was stunned by the sudden question, taking a moment to collect herself before replying with alarm. "Nie Kong, don't joke about something like that. You are already a Sixth-Grade Spirit God. If you enter that passage, you will surely perish."

"Brother..." Tai Yan also hesitated, unable to finish her thought.

"Auntie Yue, Tai Yan, don't worry. I only want to go over there for a look. If I can't personally witness the state of that passage, I'll never be at ease."

"Truly?"

"Of course."

Nie Kong nodded decisively. "I don't know exactly how many days have passed. Perhaps before we even reach the passage, the boundary gate of the Shenkong Realm will already be open."

"That would be good."

Yu Longyue studied Nie Kong for a long moment, and seeing his earnest expression, finally relaxed. She smiled. "I've been paying attention, and this location should be near the end of the Fragment Belt. Let's just travel straight to the very end, and then circle back; we should be able to find that passage."

"If that's the case, then let's set off now..."

Hearing Nie Kong say this, Xiangxiang and Hulu, who had been frolicking nearby, immediately jumped onto him.

Lan Ling also opened her eyes, ceasing her cultivation. During this period, she had absorbed a massive amount of Primordial Divine Power provided by Nie Kong, and the Second Spiritual Tribulation could descend at any moment.

Nie Kong's gaze shifted to Qingyou. A trace of surprise crossed his eyes; the mass of "Great Void Divine Water" within his body was reduced to a tiny speck, soon to be completely consumed.

"It seems we can't leave just yet."

Nie Kong sat down cross-legged, his expression grave.

Chi! Chi! Chi...

He flicked his fingers, and streams of Primordial Divine Power shot out continuously, sinking into Qingyou's body.

With Nie Kong's assistance, the speed at which Qingyou refined the "Great Void Divine Water" doubled. The speck of azure energy, the size of a fingernail clipping, shrank visibly before their eyes.

"Qingyou is about to become a Spirit God?"

Tai Yan was momentarily stunned, then broke into a beaming smile.

From the day he obtained the "Great Void Divine Water," Qingyou had begun refining it. However, after refining it, he hadn't immediately absorbed it but had accumulated it all. Once every bit of the Divine Water was refined, Qingyou could immediately strive to impact the Spirit God realm in one go.

"This fellow's mind is pure, like a blank sheet of paper, untainted by even a speck of dust. Only someone like him can avoid the intrusion of Heart Demons and be unbothered by the Threefold Spiritual Tribulation, achieving Spirit God status in one stroke."

Lan Ling felt a touch of envy. The so-called Threefold Spiritual Tribulation was, at its core, various forms of Heart Demons. The purer the heart, the weaker the Heart Demons, and the greater the chance of surviving the tribulation. However, someone as pure as Qingyou was extremely rare. Even Tai Yan had Heart Demons when she achieved Spirit God status, though for her, those slight demons were completely negligible and couldn't affect her state of mind.

Nie Kong could pass the tribulation easily due to the Primordial Divine Power. Before his tribulation arrived, all the power within his body had already converted into Divine Power—the most fundamental Divine Power in existence. Heart Demons were inherently a form of energy, and this kind of energy naturally found it difficult to interfere with the origin of heaven and earth.

As for Yu Longyue, she also faced Heart Demons during her tribulation, but by absorbing the insights of numerous Spirit Gods, she could completely offset their corrosion, allowing her to successfully pass three consecutive Spiritual Tribulations and advance to Spirit God.

"In the future, I can also become a Spirit God directly, just like Qingyou." Hulu looked longingly at Qingyou, his two eyes shining brightly.

"Hulu, you can't. Your thoughts are far more complicated than Qingyou's. Don't forget what you did back in the Forbidden Spirit Marsh. If it were Xiangxiang, she definitely wouldn't be hindered by the Spiritual Tribulation; she is even more innocent than Qingyou," Tai Yan said with a sly smile, pouring cold water on Hulu.

"I don't believe you..."

"..."

While Tai Yan and Hulu were chattering, the last speck of Divine Water vanished within Qingyou's body.

Huala!

A clear, crisp sound emerged, and Qingyou's body swelled rapidly.

By the time Yu Longyue and the others stepped back, Qingyou had filled the entire concave valley on that land fragment. His body fluctuated violently, resembling a surging, rolling lake. At this moment, Nie Kong remained seated at the bottom of the valley, his majestic Primordial Divine Power continuously flowing into the surroundings.

Huala!

Huala!

.........

As time passed, the sound of water grew more intense. Azure energy sprouted within Qingyou's body and then burst out wildly, merging with his form. Translucent columns of water also shot toward the heavens like fountains, revealing an ever-increasing, immense aura from within these dense water streams.

Tai Yan and the others flashed their figures repeatedly, stopping on a small fragment several hundred meters away. Looking back, the countless water columns shooting from Qingyou's surface had already interwoven into a curtain of water, exquisitely magnificent.

"Indeed, there are no Spiritual Tribulations."

Sensing the fluctuations emanating from that area, Yu Longyue felt a surge of emotion. Qingyou's aura had already surpassed that of a First-Grade Spiritual Tribulation expert, yet throughout the process, Qingyou showed no sign of being afflicted by Heart Demons. As long as there was enough power to sustain him, Qingyou could absolutely achieve the status of Spirit God.

Tai Yan and the others stopped talking, closely monitoring the developments over there.

Qingyou's aura continued to rise rapidly...

Huala! Huala...

It sounded like a massive waterfall plunging from ten thousand feet in the sky, the resulting intense noise making the ears of Tai Yan and the others ring. These tangible sound waves rippled outwards in pulses, causing the smaller continental fragments nearby to continuously crack, shatter, and turn to dust.

The ejected water columns also grew thicker and thicker, reaching heights of several hundred meters within minutes. The void itself began to tear open with dark spatial rifts.

Such majesty inwardly startled Yu Longyue and the others.

"Qingyou will probably be a Second-Grade Spirit God as soon as he advances," Tai Yan said happily, her eyes narrowing into crescents.

"Mhm, a little regretful. If he had advanced sooner, perhaps after absorbing more Water Divine Power, he might already be a Third-Grade or even Fourth-Grade Spirit God now," Yu Longyue nodded subconsciously.

"..."

Huala!

The sound of water was like a clap of thunder, shattering the fragment beneath Tai Yan and the others into powder. But after this massive noise, the world suddenly became quiet. Those water columns instantly retracted, and Qingyou's body began to shrink. Tai Yan and Yu Longyue exchanged a look, and in a flash, they arrived at the edge of the valley.

At this moment, Nie Kong stood smiling at the bottom of the valley.

Qingyou floated before Nie Kong. His height had grown to about two feet, his entire body crystalline and translucent, like precious jade. His smooth surface shimmered with alternating blue and red light, mesmerizing to behold. Yet, beneath this beautiful exterior pulsed a powerful and strange aura—somewhat cold, somewhat hot, seemingly gentle, yet seemingly ferocious.

Qingyou was now a Spirit God!