Shui Lingbo’s attention shifted slightly, her brow furrowing. "This matter is indeed difficult. Since the era of Yunhuang, only five individuals have successfully pierced the barrier between Man and Heaven, and all relied on external assistance. Moreover, coupled with the dual-meridian body and a shattered Divine Soul, the situation becomes even more complex and thorny. Fortunately, Zong Shou has already mastered Sword Intent, meaning there is still a path forward. My Sect possesses a rare treasure, the 'Substitute Body Pearl,' which can certainly offer him aid. I wonder how your Five Absolutes Villa plans to manage this?"

"The Substitute Body Pearl, you say?"

Yan Fan chuckled, detecting the clear provocation in Shui Lingbo’s tone, and replied flatly, "While our Five Absolutes Villa does not boast treasuries as vast as your Taiyuan Sect, we can certainly assist him in this regard, and the effect might even surpass that of the Substitute Body Pearl. Tell me, Fairy, have you ever heard of the Spiritual Conduit Meridian?"

Seeing the young woman before him visibly startle, her body trembling slightly and shock flashing involuntarily in her eyes, even Yan Fan, with his cultivated composure, couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride. He stroked his beard lightly. "In truth, I am more curious now about what exactly Zong Shou is doing within the Water Immortal Lake. He enters the very center of the lake every day—is he not afraid of being devoured by that Cold Mosquito?"

"That Cold Mosquito dares?" Shui Lingbo curled her lips in disdain. "If you want to know, why not go and see for yourself? Why hold me here if you dare not go? A few days ago, I did observe using the Heavenly Sight technique; I only saw Zong Shou in a Black Water Pool, but before I could observe for long, that Cold Mosquito drove me back. Really, if you and I joined forces, why should we fear it?"

"We cannot go!" Yan Fan shook his head, his expression grave. "That being is currently accumulating energy to undergo the Tribulation. It is at its most vigilant now. If you and I approach, a major battle is unavoidable. It’s not that Yan Fan underestimates himself, but that Cold Mosquito is formidable. It possesses half-step Dragon Form; even if you and I fought together, we wouldn't be its match. Should a fight break out, it would likely devastate this entire region spanning thousands of miles. However, Fairy, if you are set on going against advice, I shall not stop you. Go ahead, but know that I, Yan Fan, will not wade into this murky water."

Shui Lingbo’s gaze wavered with hesitation, before she finally snorted, "Fine, if we aren't going, we aren't going! Why did Zong Shou have to go to the Water Immortal Lake of all places?"

After complaining briefly about Zong Shou, Shui Lingbo fell silent, her eyes darting around as she evidently formulated some new plan.

Yan Fan also sighed. To delay any further now would be to impede Zong Shou's progress.

For both martial cultivators and Spirit Masters, cultivation is a race against time; even a moment's delay can cost a lifetime. The younger one is, the greater the chance to scale the peaks of Martial Dao and Spirit Arts.

Composing himself, Yan Fan looked toward Lei Dong, who was nearby, holding his saber and gesticulating animatedly, seemingly deep in thought. He couldn't help but smile. "Why the sudden interest? No longer bored?"

Lei Dong’s thick brows shot up as he reluctantly withdrew his thoughts. "If you two could fight like that every day, I would never be bored! But in these ten days, you’ve only fought once!"

Yan Fan burst into loud laughter, his eyes holding a strange glint. "Then I shall find something interesting for you to do. How about you run an errand for me? Consider it a favor to your sworn brother."

Lei Dong grunted, instinctively ready to refuse. Then, Yan Fan produced a book from his sleeve and waved it before his eyes. Lei Dong's expression froze, immediately shifting to one of fawning submission. He beat his chest with great bravado. "Uncle, what are you saying? Lei Dong is your nephew; it is only right and proper for me to do things for you!"

Seeing this, Yan Fan merely chuckled noncommittally. Opposite him, Shui Lingbo watched with a cold gaze. Suddenly, a blue talisman flickered in her eyes, her sight piercing hundreds of miles across space, locking onto the area near the Water Immortal Lake. On a stretch of beach, two black figures stood facing the lake. One was handsome but entirely cloaked in black robes; the other was indescribably ugly.

Within the Black Water Pool, the previously calm surface began to churn and rotate, spinning first one way, then reversing. Its intensity fluctuated constantly—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes strong, sometimes weak—kicking up countless waves that splashed and sprayed everywhere.

Zong Shou stood more than two hundred zhang beneath the water, encircled by a massive whirlpool churning furiously around him.

But now, no matter how rapidly or fiercely he delivered his Wild Wind Fist strikes, he could not make the whirlpool turn even a fraction faster.

In the center of this underwater storm, his body no longer felt significant pressure, and the centrifugal pull could no longer affect him.

His internal organs were not yet forged to be like steel; the marrow, blood, bone, flesh, skin, and fascia of his body were only slightly stronger than a peak third-tier savage beast.

Yet, immersed in this vortex, he felt nothing at all.

Zong Shou practiced for a brief moment before realizing he could make no further progress. Nevertheless, he unleashed a final, full-force punch toward the opposite side.

The scorching power of the blow traveled through nearly three zhang of the pool's water, striking the stone wall in that direction. A massive section of bluestone was instantly pulverized! The entire pool shook violently, as if it were about to collapse.

Zong Shou, however, remained utterly unconcerned, standing firmly on the massive rock. Closing his eyes, he silently sensed the meridian wheels within his body and the changes occurring throughout his limbs and bones.

After that day, he had deliberately postponed the breakthrough for another ten days. Ten days of rigorous training had made the power within him even more overwhelmingly potent!

"Twenty-three thousand jin of strength! The limit has been reached; I can now strike for the Innate Realm!"

Though his strength had only reached this number—still a gap from true Innate potential, amounting to only about double that of a peak Secret Martial Master—his physical constitution was already five times stronger than an ordinary Martial Master, perhaps even more so.

This was only because the amount of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy that could be mobilized during the Postnatal stage was severely limited, preventing his strength from increasing explosively.

He faintly perceived that the vital energy within his meridian wheels could no longer be suppressed; it was restless and eager. Zong Shou made a decisive move, willing the vast flows of vital energy downward.

All four hundred and eighty great acupoints of his body, along with the five hundred jingwai acupoints he had newly opened in the last three months, allowed a trace of True Qi to seep out, flowing directly into the Qi Sea.

When hundreds of Qi Meridians converged, they surged like a tide, uncontrollable. They split into two streams, stabbing straight down into his lower body.

The path was clear until they reached the two Earth Gate Acupoints, where they were firmly blocked by an incredibly thick barrier.

For an ordinary person, this surge of vital energy—many times stronger than an ordinary Martial Master’s—could have easily crushed through it. But now, it struck something like solid steel, and after being repelled, it violently surged back.

"The barrier between Man and Heaven?"

Zong Shou’s eyes opened slightly, revealing a cold sneer. In this life, the barrier within his Earth Gate Acupoints was only equivalent to what it was in his previous one.

"Accumulated for three months—how could this mere obstacle stop me? Transform Qi into Sword, break!"

All the True Qi surging near Zong Shou's feet instantly transformed into a blade, incomparably sharp yet indistinct and unfathomable, attacking and cleaving toward the lowest point once more.

This was not the spiritual seeds of the eighteen Shocking Cloud Divine Destruction Sword Intents condensed within his Dantian, but a sword that was agile as a dragon, fluid as water, solid as a mountain, mutable as clouds, fiercely absolute, and seemingly encompassing everything.

In that instant, countless tiny lacerations sprang up on Zong Shou’s legs. The dispersed Sword Intent and Sword Qi left his lower limbs covered in bleeding wounds.

However, the two blocked Earth Gate Acupoints were also pierced by two sword-shaped streams of Qi! They were unstoppable, but just as the sword force was about to shatter the final obstruction, wisps of spiritual light suddenly overflowed near those two acupoints, coalescing into a talisman that rigidly resisted the cutting force of the sword energy.

"What is this again? It existed in my past life; how is it that in this life, even with this new body, this Sealing Acupoint Talisman remains? And it’s even more malicious..."

Electric light flashed in Zong Shou’s eyes. In his past life, he was cursed by someone else. In this life, who did this 'Zong Shou' manage to offend—some wandering Spirit Master?

It was fortunate that his cultivation path had remained steady and patient, preventing any rash actions.

With a cold huff, the eighteen Shocking Cloud Divine Destruction Sword Intents within Zong Shou’s Dantian also shot downward, merging into those two streams of sword energy.

His sword encompassed a hundred schools of thought, containing all things; the mere Shocking Cloud Divine Destruction Sword could certainly be absorbed within it.

"If I was not stopped by this petty talisman in my last life, how could I be hindered by it in this one! Innate Realm, open for me!"

The two sword forces within the Earth Gate Acupoints immediately surged, shining with peerless, sharp radiance, causing the spiritual talisman to instantly develop countless cracks. With sharp "ripping" sounds, even more blood began to seep from Zong Shou’s lower legs.

Zong Shou paid it no mind, his gaze remaining calm and detached.

And in the very next instant, with a thunderous 'boom,' the barrier was finally breached. The two sword-shaped streams of Qi instantly pierced through his body and struck downward.

The first casualty was the stone platform, which was instantly shattered by the sword Qi. It pierced more than ten zhang into the lakebed, kicking up a cloud of silt and debris that continuously churned.

And the pool water boiled and surged once more. Even before a whirlpool formed, water waves twenty zhang high rushed up from the surface.

The surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy also vibrated incessantly, affecting an area spanning several miles.

Time flowed by, and after an unknown period, the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy finally thinned out again. The Black Water Pool gradually calmed down.

Zong Shou opened his eyes underwater, suddenly shot upward, and leaped out of the pool. At this moment, his feeling was utterly different.

That great increase in spiritual perception, the sensation of summoning Heaven and Earth spiritual energy with every movement, was far beyond anything achieved by temporarily reaching the Innate Realm using external elixirs. His internal blood and Qi surged as if he possessed inexhaustible strength.

"I have finally reached the Innate Realm!"

Zong Shou took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulence in his mind.

For a martial artist pursuing the peak of the Martial Dao, the Innate Realm was merely the beginning. It was still an extremely distant path from the peak Celestial rank he had reached in reality in his previous life.

Moreover, it was a journey of increasing difficulty, requiring maximum effort on all nine ascending steps!