Without that Outer Elixir of the Heaven Tier Second Meridian, he would, at best, only be a Spirit Master whose True Qi had just entered the Martial Sect realm, with Soul Power barely reaching the Returning Yang stage. Even if he had newly grasped the Sword Soul, it was useless if he couldn't wield it.

He had no choice but to honestly swallow a Healing Elixir, coercing its power to dissolve, then coordinating his breathing to harmonize the qi fluctuations within, systematically compressing and suppressing the chaotic True Qi.

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as his injuries finally began to abate, Zong Shou suddenly felt something in his heart. His gaze swept toward the distant horizon once more. There, across the expanse, stood two figures whose gazes were fixed upon him.

Perched atop a mountain peak several thousand zhang away, two shadowy silhouettes stood indistinctly. One was clad in white robes and a white skirt, though most of the attire was already stained a brownish-red with blood. It was unmistakably Xiong Yu, her expression serene, surprisingly devoid of significant hatred.

The other figure was about twenty years old, leaning on a folding fan, possessing the air of a truly refined, young gentleman. He watched with keen interest, his expression akin to how people in a distant future, millennia hence, might regard rare, exotic beasts in a zoo.

The moment their eyes met, Xiong Yu simply turned and departed. The other man snapped his folding fan shut, then made a throat-slitting gesture toward Zong Shou before smiling lightly and following Xiong Yu away.

Because the distance was so vast, the laugh was naturally inaudible, but from his expression alone, the intent of provocation and disdain was clear.

"Who in the world is that?"

Zong Shou was momentarily stunned, finding the situation utterly bizarre. He had never encountered such a strange person; they were utterly foolish. He asked, "How long have they been watching from there?"

Zong Yuan slightly shook his head upon hearing this. "These two appeared there abruptly two hours ago. As for the identity of that man, I do not know."

"Two hours ago?"

Zong Shou's heart sank. He glanced at the sky; wasn't that precisely when the divine sense of his Master, Elder Long Ying, had departed? These two had likely been spying all along—not only had Long Ying, hundreds of thousands of worlds away, failed to detect them, but even Su Chen, who spoke with him afterward, hadn't noticed them either.

He quickly dismissed the thought, his curiosity piqued instead: "How did you and Gong Yue enter the Upper Level?"

This matter had long puzzled him. Given the innate talent of Yan Feibai and Ge Hanyun, and the numerous rare treasures they carried, they only managed to enter the Inner Sect just as the Dragon Gate Grotto was on the verge of collapse. For Zong Yuan and Gong Yue to precede them by several steps was truly astonishing.

Zong Yuan did not answer immediately. He suddenly thrust his spear forward. A dragon's roar echoed around him as a shadow of a massive lightning dragon coiled around his body. Where the vast spear point landed, thousands of electrical sparks erupted. It contained both the ferocity of the Raging Thunder Spear Intent and the dominance of the Lightning Dragon Sword, the two nearly fused together.

When all the electric light had completely faded, Zong Yuan finally spoke to explain, "Entering the Upper Level does not require fully comprehending all nine types of True Dragon Sword Intent. Focusing on one path of martial intent and evolving it to the extreme will also suffice. After separating from the Lord, Zong Yuan and Gong Yue searched everywhere for traces of the Lord. We inadvertently discovered that entrance and were fortunate enough to pass through."

Zong Yuan did not elaborate on the details, and Zong Shou didn't press. He understood that Zong Yuan must have gained some kind of fortuitous encounter upon entering the Upper Level.

That spear strike just now already bore the shadow of the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword; its lethality surpassed that of the Lightning True Dragon Sword Intent. It was likely a segmented version of the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword left by Elder Long Ying. Judging by its might, it was surely a profound martial art of at least the Eighth Grade, the Earth-Penetrating level, nearly rivaling his Six Divine Blade Manipulation Art. He felt genuine happiness for Zong Yuan; with this spear technique, combined with the Inner View Mystic Thunder Body Tempering Art for physical conditioning, the path to the Heaven Rank realm ahead would be smooth sailing.

But just as Zong Shou exerted himself again and managed to stand upright, he still felt a tormenting pain all over, as if being gnawed by ants.

Right! Ants—

Zong Shou frowned and looked down. He saw small ant swarms scattered everywhere nearby. They were no different from ordinary ants, some foraging, some nesting underground. In normal circumstances, this would be unremarkable. But this place had recently endured the colossal battle between him, Long Ruo, and the other, which had nearly leveled the peak of Dragon Gathering Mountain...

After a brief reflection, Zong Shou said in a calm tone, "Zong Yuan, I gained much insight before that tablet wall. It seems I need some time here to quietly meditate and consolidate my understanding."

Zong Yuan's eyes sharpened slightly, and he too glanced at the ant swarms. Then, his expression returned to normal, and he showed no objection. He also needed time to fully integrate the Lightning Dragon Sword into his spear techniques.

Time flew, and several days passed in a flash.

On the peak of Dragon Gathering Mountain, Zong Shou stood on a relatively clean, massive boulder, moving his body and relentlessly throwing punches with meticulous precision. His body was bare, and on the surface of his skin, streaks of dragon-like images could be seen winding and swimming. They were colored ice-blue and white, totaling eight massive forms! They caused his skin to continuously split open only to rapidly heal. As Zong Shou's fists shifted, the eight dragon shadows would suddenly converge and then disperse.

The sound of his punches alternated between fierce dominance and gentle fluidity, causing countless surrounding gravel fragments to levitate and orbit him. The spiritual energy of the surrounding heaven and earth seemed to be drawn by an inexplicable force, pouring into Zong Shou's body. This was not the effect of the Heaven Swallowing Primordial Transformation Art, but rather an inherent function of the fist technique itself.

It had been six days since Zong Shou’s injuries had completely healed. On that very day, Zong Shou unhesitatingly merged two spiritual meridians into his body, stepping into the realm of the Four-Meridian Martial Sect. His body tempering technique had also changed again, shifting from the Rhino Demon Spiritual Armor Fist—which refined the skin, sinews, and membrane—to the Lesser Five Wheels Bright King Fist. Following the cycle of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, he began the process of refining the Five Viscera and Six Bowels once more. Previously, he used the essence of his internally generated True Qi to temper the two inner wheels of the viscera to strengthen his internal organs. Now, however, he utilized the inexhaustible, purest spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine and enhance them. Although the human body is said to be a self-contained universe, it is ultimately finite. The effect is incomparable to tempering using the spiritual energy of the cosmos.

In recent days, Zong Shou’s physical refinement had advanced by leaps and bounds. Yet, the faster the progress, the more unstable his foundation felt. His advancement had been too rapid, taking less than five months to go from Innate to Martial Sect. Now, he was already planning to incorporate the Fifth Meridian, estimating he could merge it within a few dozen days. If it weren't for the vast number of elixirs given to him by Xuanyuan Yiren, and if Elder Long Ying hadn't integrated the Dragon Essence into his body, he would never have dared to proceed like this. Unlike Zong Yuan, his sword arts and his World-Shaking Spiritual Arts were inherently too domineering and intense, requiring a supremely powerful physical body to sustain them once he achieved true harmony between hardness and softness. And the dual-meridian body indeed allowed him to mobilize several times the True Qi and spiritual energy of ordinary people, but the physical demands placed upon him were commensurately several times greater!

After practicing for a while longer until his physical stamina was nearly depleted, Zong Shou stopped, panting heavily. He noticed that since integrating the Dragon Essence, his physical strength had not increased, but rather diminished. A single full-force punch could unleash a million catties of colossal strength! Fully igniting his dual meridians could even reach two million catties, almost comparable to those of the Black Tortoise Sect. But this state could only last for an hour and a half. Most of his energy was consumed by the internal conflict of circulating the meridians, and every session of punching brought countless hidden aches throughout his body.

At this moment, sweat poured down him, and the muscles in his limbs twitched. Yet, Zong Shou forcibly suppressed the drowsy exhaustion and absorbed a drop of Spirit Salamander Essence Blood into his body. When he activated the Inner View Mystic Thunder Body Tempering Art, his entire body was immediately filled with electric light. He could feel that every time his body's cells resisted a strike or stimulation from the electric current, they would strengthen slightly shortly thereafter.

The entire process was subtle, almost imperceptible, yet after just one or two days, he would invariably feel a significant enhancement in his physical form. This was especially true after using the Spirit Salamander Essence Blood, which gradually activated the Dragon Essence integrated by Elder Long Ying, making the effect of the Inner View Mystic Thunder Body Tempering Art increasingly pronounced.

"No wonder later generations always say that peak powerhouses are actually a bunch of self-torturers. This statement truly resonates with me," he sighed, finding bitter joy in the suffering.

A few hours later, when Zong Shou awoke from his meditative state, he felt entirely refreshed and invigorated. Although practicing the fist and tempering his body was painful, Zong Shou loved the feeling of pushing his limits and the subsequent profuse sweating—it was far more comforting to him than cultivating spiritual arts through dull meditation.

However, spiritual cultivation remained crucial, the highest priority. He had temporarily set aside several True Talismans and was now focused on condensing a single character, '' (Stack/Layer), within his soul. Perhaps by deciphering that stone wall, he had gained profound comprehension. Furthermore, Elder Long Ying had spent half a day specifically explaining the essentials of the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword to him, particularly the profound meaning of the character '.' Consequently, condensing True Talisman Spiritual Restrictions was exceedingly fast. In just over ten days, dozens of spiritual restrictions had accumulated, and he had gained considerable insight into the other True Talismans, much to his own surprise.

This '' True Talisman itself held little inherent power; few complementary spiritual arts likely existed in this world. However, once this talisman was condensed, he could devise a way to superimpose and utilize several spiritual arts simultaneously. It also allowed him to simultaneously comprehend the intent of the Nine-Nine Dragon Shadow Sword by gathering this talisman, much like how condensing the 'Swallow' and 'Cleanse' talismans greatly advanced his Heaven Swallowing Primordial Transformation Great Law.

But at this moment, Zong Shou temporarily had no mind for meditation. Instead, his expression focused intently on a spot not far away. In that direction, on a level stone platform, an ancient cauldron rested. A peculiar, fragrant aroma was rising from within it.