The matters at hand are settled; a true sense of peace finally settles upon me,” Nie Kong murmured, seated before the sculpture atop Caimai Peak, his spirit utterly tranquil.

Two days had passed since he emerged from the Nether Sea.

After refining the Pan Hu, Chi Lian had returned to War God Mountain, while Nie Kong pressed onward, wasting no time in heading for the Celestial Spirit Continent. Along the sea passage, he briefly visited the Sea God Palace and Dragon Island. This time, however, Nie Kong made no protracted stays; he lingered only a day at each location before utilizing the "Spirit Returning Jade Tablet" to return to the Spirit Manor.

Before his return, Tai Yan and Grand Evolution Spirit Venerable had already entered seclusion, needing a period of adjustment to evolve into true Grand Venerables.

Nie Kong, too, had to seize every moment.

The instant that "Chaos Immortal Spirit" regained consciousness, Chong Xu and Pangu would strike without hesitation. If Nie Kong lacked sufficient power for self-preservation by then, the situation would be dire. The fact that Chong Xu and Pangu had not yet moved against him was likely because they assumed he had perished within the Primordial Cave Heaven.

Of course, even if they realized Nie Kong had stealthily returned to the Celestial Spirit Continent, they would still hesitate to act immediately. For them, a Nie Kong who had not yet achieved the Grand Venerable rank offered little use in their ascent to the "Tai Yi" realm. But once he became a Grand Venerable, things would surely change.

Nie Kong currently found himself in a predicament: once the sealed world gate was reopened, regardless of whether he was a Grand Venerable or not, he would be in an exceedingly precarious position.

The only path forward was to enhance his strength as much as possible.

With a thought, the spiritual imprint within the sculpture trembled faintly. Nie Kong’s body then began to float upward weightlessly, merging directly into the depths of the stone figure.

The sculpture was saturated with an intense force of faith.

The moment the two essences merged, Nie Kong felt as if he were enveloped in a vast, golden ocean—an ocean formed entirely from condensed faith power. However, Nie Kong did not immediately begin absorption; what he lacked was not raw power, but rather the profound comprehension required for the Grand Venerable realm.

Regarding the Dao of the Grand Venerable, Nie Kong had heard explanations from his master, the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable, and also from Bamboo Sound Grand Venerable. Yet, after listening, Nie Kong understood that neither of their insights was suitable for him.

If he wished to advance to the Grand Venerable realm, he had to carve out a unique path entirely his own.

This was solely because he cultivated the Chaos Divine Power.

Since antiquity, those possessing this type of power, other than Nie Kong, were only the "Chaos Immortal Spirit," which had once reached the "Tai Yi" realm. Nevertheless, Nie Kong differed fundamentally from him.

The Chaos Immortal Spirit was nurtured from "Chaos Immortal Qi."

His power was innate, requiring no external comprehension whatsoever. So long as sufficient power was accumulated, one could naturally step into the higher realms.

Such a cultivation path was impossible for anyone else to imitate.

Now, Nie Kong’s physical form had transformed into the Chaos Body. If he could birth a new soul from the chaos, he could achieve the Grand Venerable rank, ascending heavenward in a single stride.

“Buzz!”

Inside the sculpture, the trembling of the spiritual imprint grew fiercer, and the golden ocean surged in response. Sensing the rhythmic pulse of the faith power, Nie Kong’s spirit plunged completely into the depths.

The faith power here stemmed entirely from the souls of the humans across the Celestial Spirit Continent.

The promulgation of that Compendium of Materia Medica, coupled with Nie Kong’s title as the First Medicine King, had inspired profound reverence in countless people. When this reverence reached a certain threshold, the force of faith would sprout from their souls, subsequently converging under the guidance of Nie Kong’s spiritual imprint.

Every wisp of faith power carried within it a trace of intent.

Moments later, Nie Kong’s soul merged into a single thread of faith power, savoring the undulation of that underlying intention. Gradually, Nie Kong seemed to transform into the very owner of that intent. That person's entire life unfolded within Nie Kong’s soul, his joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures becoming palpable to Nie Kong.

It was impossible to tell how long passed before Nie Kong awoke, as if from a dream. His soul separated from that thread of faith, only to instantly merge with another.

Nie Kong’s mind was perfectly focused; his soul cycled and revolved, again and again!

Time flowed silently onward...

At the pinnacle of Caimai Peak, faint tendrils of faith power began to seep out, swirling around the sculpture. As the faith power increased, the peak gradually became shrouded in a golden radiance.

Eventually, even the entirety of the Spirit Manor was bathed in this golden light...

Just as the sculpture underwent its strange transformation, the humans of the Celestial Spirit Continent and the Netherworld, having passed the initial stages of panic and shock, slowly began to overcome the impact of the great upheaval. Celestial Spirit Masters from the Celestial Spirit Continent and Ninth-Tier Black Spirit Masters from the Netherworld crossed the sea barrier, tentatively venturing onto the opposing landmasses.

These movements were no longer furtive glances, but open and public endeavors.

Three months after the Netherworld seal was broken, a grand alliance assembly was convened on a large island in the eastern sea region of the Celestial Spirit Continent.

From the Celestial Spirit Continent came Yin Xu, the Four Great Spirit Clans, Moluo Sacred Mountain, Heaven and Earth Sect, and Ink Snow Sect... From the Netherworld came Spirit Venerable Palace, the War Clan, Heaven Escaping Sect, Killing Life Island, and Feather Sword Sect... Nearly every major power from both continents participated in this alliance, the millennia-old estrangement dissolving rapidly.

Four months later, with the assistance of the War Clan, the Netherworld’s first "Medicine King Academy" opened in Ring Moon City, with several high-ranking Nether Alchemists from the War Clan serving as professors.

Subsequently, centered around this Medicine King Academy, junior, intermediate, and advanced level medicine academies were successively established in the surrounding towns. The rise of these various academy tiers, all affiliated with the Medicine King Palace, allowed Nie Kong’s compiled Compendium of Materia Medica to gradually circulate throughout the Netherworld.

It was only at this point that countless Netherworld Black Spirit Masters finally realized with a start that Nie Kong, who had caused such a stir in the Netherworld under the Spirit Venerable Palace’s "Blood Slaughter Edict," was actually a visitor from the Celestial Spirit Continent—and now the Palace Master of the Celestial Spirit Continent’s largest faction, the Medicine King Palace.

The news that Grand Evolution Spirit Venerable had aggressively assaulted the Medicine King Palace shortly after the Netherworld seal broke also spread throughout the Netherworld in legendary whispers. Some claimed Grand Evolution Spirit Venerable had been subdued by Nie Kong and was now cultivating in his Spirit Manor; others insisted she had been slain by Nie Kong...

Of course, merely observing the Spirit Venerable Palace’s attendance at the alliance meeting proved the latter rumor false. But for many Netherworld powerhouses, the whereabouts of Grand Evolution Spirit Venerable remained an enigma, and Nie Kong’s current strength became one of the most frequently discussed topics among the strong figures of both continents.

Six months later, the Celestial Spirit Continent and the Netherworld held another exchange of friendly sparring, though this time the participants were not just Celestial Spirit Masters and Ninth-Tier Black Spirit Masters, but the young elites from the major factions.

Through rounds of intense contests, two women shone brightly, drawing the gaze of countless observers: one was Zhan Qingzhu of the War Clan, and the other was a disciple from Jiyang City in the Grand Achievement Empire, named Bai Yuqing, whose cultivation had reached the Cave Spirit realm, ultimately seizing the championship.

Following this exchange, interactions between the Celestial Spirit Continent and the Netherworld grew even closer!

…… ……RO