Behold the expression on Han Xi’s face; she seemed to hate him to the core, her purple-gold eyes flashing menacingly from time to time, as if she wished nothing more than to cleave him in two with a single strike.

To continue demanding that she fight on like this would likely invite a disastrous rebellion against her master.

Zong Shou sighed inwardly. She was, after all, no match for his naturally protective spirits, nor was she as loyal as Xiao Jin, his bonded spiritual pet. While the Sacred Fire Silver Ants were potent, they could not be worked relentlessly without complaint.

His thoughts connected with the Thunder Winged Flood Dragon and Xiao Jin. The moment this thought arose, both sent back waves of pleading intent, seemingly already exhausted.

Zong Shou smiled faintly and patiently focused his gaze upon the final page of the Vairocana Mandala.

“To attain the Great Sun Dharma Body, one must first realize the Womb Realm, also known as the Innate Being, the Innate Awakening, which is complete at all times. The wisdom that grasps this principle is differentiation, it is consequence, it is the Beginning Awakening, it is self-realization. One must also have the Vajra Realm—”

“Because of this realized principle, it pervades limitlessly all dharmas. Thus, clearly illustrating that the wisdom of wisdom is boundless, liberating one from the bonds of affliction, perfect and unobstructed, this is the Vajra Realm Mandala.”

“The meaning of the unceasing light is that even though the Buddha Heart Sun is covered and obscured by ignorance, it suffers no diminution; ultimately, when the Dharma-like True Aspect Samadhi is perfected and bright, there is no increase—”

“That which means all dharmas are equivalent to emptiness, free from all material forms, free from all obstacles. Then, within the true principle, to visualize oneself as the form of the Great Sun, all wishes shall be accomplished without fail.”

Zong Shou frowned. These Buddhist scriptures were indeed profound. Many of the terms could only be understood by those with orthodox Buddhist lineage. If he hadn't committed the better half of a library to memory in his previous life, he would likely be utterly lost.

Even now, he only grasped things vaguely.

However, his original intention was never to comprehend it all fully. Even the portion he did understand was enough to yield immense gains and spark countless inspirations.

“Womb Realm, Vajra Realm, Dharma-like True Aspect, Samadhi Perfection, the meaning of no arising and no cessation. So that is how it is. What I previously conceived might actually have some merit—”

The spiritual cultivation path of the Daoist Masters had the eighth stage as Body Sculpting and the ninth as True Form. But the Buddhist path for Spiritual Masters differed: the eighth stage was Form Contemplation, and the ninth was Dharma Body.

Zong Shou had no intention of changing to a Buddhist cultivation method; he merely planned to borrow concepts. His foundation would remain rooted in the Path of All Beings.

“But for now, it’s still insufficient. I can only hope that the Vajra Realm Great Sun Tathagata Heart Mantra is truly worth five thousand merit points—”

Feeling waves of intense resentment constantly washing over him, Zong Shou smiled and swept up all the accumulated materials from the ritual altar.

Then, with a beckoning gesture, he summoned all his spiritual pets. The Thunder Winged Flood Dragon and Xiao Jin returned directly into his physical body.

The Phantom Shadow Lion dared not remain near the six flying ants, so they were sent into separate spirit pet bags.

Only Han Xi refused absolutely to enter any spirit pet bag. No matter how Zong Shou attempted to force her with his soul pressure, she would not yield.

Helpless, Zong Shou let her be, allowing her to remain beside him. He reactivated the Seven Star Altar and began moving back.

Perhaps it was because the previous sweep had been so thorough, or perhaps due to Han Xi’s imposing presence nearby, but this slow journey back encountered no demonic attacks.

However, at a fork in a river channel, Han Xi’s purple-gold eyes suddenly fixed on one side.

Then, her six pairs of wings flapped suddenly, and she shot off rapidly in that other direction.

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, instinctively preparing to restrain her with his soul sense. This only managed to suspend Han Xi’s body mid-air. Then, another intention traveled from within her soul essence.

“There is something I need over there?”

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, inwardly skeptical. Sometimes he himself wasn't clear what he needed, so how could Han Xi know?

Moreover, given the way she had been moments ago, on the verge of turning against him, she hardly seemed loyal.

Observing the situation, it was highly likely that something she desperately needed lay in that direction.

Just as he subconsciously prepared to refuse, Han Xi’s eyes showed a flicker of anxiety, and several more thoughts transmitted over.

“Can you sense how many types of spiritual materials are over there? My altar has many such things? It isn’t far—”

Zong Shou paused slightly. The material used most frequently on his Seven Star Altar was a type of rock called Cloud Gold Stone, a mandatory component for forging altars below the Immortal Dao strength level.

After a moment’s thought, a smile touched his lips.

“Very well. Since it isn't far, there’s no harm in taking a look.”

What he sought wasn't the Cloud Gold Stone material itself. To acquire such celestial treasures, given his current wealth, he could buy anything available within the Cloud Realm.

What truly piqued his curiosity was Han Xi’s ability to sense distant spiritual objects. He wanted to see precisely how this worked, whether Han Xi truly possessed such an extraordinary capability.

It was true that the Demon Fire Crystal Ants possessed a similar ability, locating various ores and living beings beneath the earth to feed upon.

He abruptly slapped his spirit pet bag at his waist and released the six Eight-Winged Flying Ants. Since the Sacred Fire Ant Queen wanted to go, it was only proper that her offspring clear the way.

He guided the Seven Star Altar down the alternate fork, heading downstream. With seven Seventh-Rank Sacred Fire Silver Ants protecting him, no ignorant spirit beasts or demons dared to cause trouble in this tributary of the spirit river.

But after half an hour, Zong Shou realized Han Xi had played him false.

This was hardly the 'not far' she had indicated telepathically! A full half an hour—in the outside world, at his Seven Star Altar's speed, that distance would cover a full hundred li!

To proceed further would lead into the Boundary Abyss, the place connecting dozens of worlds.

After a slight hesitation, Zong Shou still urged the altar forward. Though that area was perilous, he believed that as long as he didn't venture too deep, he possessed the ability to retreat unharmed, even without relying on these seven Sacred Fire Silver Ants.

Sure enough, moments later, the space before him opened wide. It was an incomparably vast expanse of void, also surging with spiritual energy, though the concentration was somewhat thinner than in the spirit river.

It was a rift situated between the spacetime of over a dozen worlds, only this area was exceptionally broad, stretching beyond sight. Faintly visible were countless brilliant points of light surrounding them, like stars. There were also countless clouds and dense mists, colored in shades ranging from pale to vivid.

Zong Yuan’s pupils contracted instantly. This bizarre and magnificent sight was the first of its kind he had ever witnessed. Zong Shou was momentarily entranced as well, but the greater focus remained fixed, from beginning to end, on his Fifth Guardian.

Upon entering this space, Han Xi first scanned her surroundings, then dove straight downward.

This time, it truly wasn't far. A massive object, the size of a mountain, floated suspended in the void. It was over twelve thousand zhang in length and width, resembling a gigantic floating island, slowly drifting with the spiritual tide.

“This is the skeletal remains of a Gold Swallower Beast from the Cloud Barren Era—”

In Zong Shou’s memory, this was a terrifying fierce beast comparable to another horror of the Cloud Barren Era, the Sand Worm.

It was said to devour everything, not just metal, and possessed an immense, incredibly resilient body, as hard as refined iron. Though not classified among the Divine Beasts, even Divine Beasts of the same rank often retreated several paces upon encountering one.

He had previously wondered why Cloud Gold Stone would be found in the Boundary Abyss, located within a spacetime rift. Seeing the colossal corpse of the Gold Swallower, he finally understood: it wouldn't be strange if this beast had consumed some Cloud Gold Stone during its life.

As Han Xi rushed near, over a hundred spirit beasts of various shapes poured out from within the carcass.

They were mostly fire-attributed avians, ranging from Sixth to Seventh Rank. They seemed to protest Han Xi’s intrusion upon their territory, continuously screeching at her and Zong Shou.

Han Xi paid them no mind and simply rammed straight into the mass. The Seventh-Rank Fire Crane, seemingly the leader of these birds, could tolerate it no longer and rushed forward as well. Three searing crimson lines of fire converged and struck toward the flying ants. Millions of fiery feathers instantly permeated that small section of space.

Zong Shou watched and shook his head slightly. If it were only this, they would likely be no match for his spirit pets for even a single exchange.

Indeed, the white flames atop the seven flying ants flared even brighter. Seven silver-white silhouettes flashed within the crimson flames, decapitating all three Seventh-Rank Fire Cranes in just a few moves. Their speed was almost beyond the limit of Zong Shou's sight; he could only perceive a series of faint white afterimages blinking in and out of existence.

With the death of the three Fire Cranes, a massacre followed swiftly. Over a dozen fire-attributed fowl were slain one after another by Han Xi and her descendants. Almost all the Seventh-Rank giant birds were instantly beheaded.

The remaining birds finally realized they were hopelessly outmatched by these few ants and scattered in a panic.

Han Xi paid them no attention and rushed directly into an opening on the Gold Swallower’s carcass.

Zong Shou piloted the Seven Star Altar and followed suit. Whether this was the Gold Swallower’s digestive tract or not, it was impossibly wide. The walls were lined with various valuable materials: Eighth-Rank spirit stones, Gold Thunder Stone used for forging lightning-attributed weapons, and naturally, a good amount of Cloud Gold Stone.

And this was merely the outer layer of the cavern. Who knew how many similar rare treasures lay within the entire carcass of the Gold Swallower.

Zong Shou’s mind wandered momentarily, wishing intensely that he had a high-grade storage magical artifact capable of containing the entire corpse of the Gold Swallower.

This place was no different from a treasure vault.

Naturally, this thought was just a passing fancy. Even if he possessed a spatial storage artifact, he lacked the spiritual power to move the over ten-thousand-zhang-long corpse into a storage space.

By the time he had sufficient power to collect it, he would likely no longer care about such riches.

He could only sigh once, collecting all the valuable spiritual items he saw along the way and placing them into his Qiankun Bag.