Half a month later, within a Star Altar suspended in mid-air. Zong Shou sat cross-legged at the center, gazing inward with his spiritual sense, observing his entire being.

A considerable amount of time had passed since that battle with Jue Yu. Now, the Sea of Souls within him had stabilized.

His vital energy was gradually recovering, and the Sea of Souls was once again full. However, at this moment, Zong Shou was somewhat troubled.

"Annoying! This is a real mess—" The issue wasn't with his Sea of Souls, but with his physical body.

Due to achieving the Black and White Two Caves, the Lu family's Sky-Burning Blood had intensified by several degrees, creating a corresponding deficit in his water element aspect. Although the bloodline of the Eight-Tailed Celestial Fox was resisting this, strictly speaking, the Celestial Fox belonged to the Illusion element, not a true water-attributed bloodline.

For now, he could rely on his soul power, comparable to an eighth-rank expert, to suppress the imbalance. But if this continued for too long, problems would inevitably arise.

"It seems I must find a Spirit Realm-level water-attributed divine beast within two months and completely devour its origin source—" He knew of several Spirit Realm-level divine beasts, such as the Ice Chi in the Narcissus Lake, but the problem was he couldn't defeat them right now. As a last resort, he would have to rely on the sect's strength.

That was the benefit of having a powerful backing: when you couldn't win, you could call for help. With a sigh, Zong Shou opened his eyes.

Before him, countless rays of spiritual light shimmered. This was the entrance to the Boundary River.

His Seven Star Altar floated at the edge of this river, near the exit of a spiritual flow, heading toward the expanse ahead. A few days ago, Zong Shou couldn't fathom what madness had possessed the old man Han Fang to propose sweeping through this 'Boundary River' to clear out the fierce beasts near the Vast Sky Dome.

The spiritual river flowed, meandering through myriad worlds. However, some spiritual beasts and malevolent spirits chose to inhabit fixed areas.

What Han Fang intended to clear were the ferocious beasts and evil spirits near the Vast Sky Dome that posed a threat to their Vast Sky Dao. This was designated as this year's mandatory mission, which had to be completed.

This in itself wasn't unreasonable, but the issue lay with the Vast Sky Academy. Currently, they had only 160 seventh-rank experts in total.

Those below the sixth rank were largely useless for major confrontations, relegated to clearing out small fry in the periphery, serving as cheering squads. Thus, the critical task of eliminating high-level fierce beasts fell upon him, the 'Chief Disciple.' Zong Shou naturally opposed this vehemently, but surprisingly, when he, the sixteenth-ranked elder of the Profound Fate Golden Scroll, along with Fang Wen, strongly objected, their proposal was forcibly rejected.

He suspected some senior within the sect had intervened. He had already zeroed in on the culprit: Wei Tian, without a doubt.

His ranking might not be higher, but the combined authority of two Grand Elders could surpass that of the 'Sixteenth Seat.' Fortunately, Zong Shou wasn't suffering alone. Fang Wen, Xue Xi, and several eighth and ninth-rank disciples who hadn't been in the sect for a century were also recalled.

They were his fellow sufferers. In the past few days, the Academy had been in an uproar, just shy of outright rebellion.

Near the exit of the spiritual flow, several sixth and seventh-rank disciples were entering and exiting. Upon seeing the Seven Star Altar, their expressions immediately sobered, and they quickly moved aside.

Regardless of status or seniority, they all executed a polite, thirty-five-degree bow, hands clasped. "Greetings to the Chief Disciple!" "May Chief Tan be well—" "Chief Disciple, I offer my respects!" A faint, warm smile immediately graced Zong Shou's face.

He nodded kindly towards the disciples on both sides and waved a hand, acknowledging that this was one of the side effects of his battle with Jue Yu: nearly nine-tenths of the disciples in the Vast Sky Dome had suddenly elevated him to a level of adoration. Consequently, every encounter required deep reverence, lest they commit any slight.

Once or twice was manageable, but along the spiritual river, he had encountered no fewer than three hundred people. His neck was sore from nodding, and his face felt stiff from smiling—it was the most artificial expression possible.

"So that's how it is! No wonder those truly top-tier experts in this world, those renowned for their fame, are mostly expressionless.

As cold as ice, as cool as stone. The secret lies here—" Zong Shou sighed again.

Given his previous image, he couldn't change it now, no matter how he tried. He then recalled Jue Yu, who was supposedly a chatterbox, yet in rumors, was painted as an aloof youth who disliked idle chatter.

If someone greeted him and he wasn't interested, he would simply pretend not to see them. The Altar entered the Boundary River and continued toward the very center.

At this point, quite a few fierce beasts and evil spirits were surging toward them frantically. Zong Shou raised an eyebrow, casually flicked his sleeve, and six points of white light flew out.

These were the Six Holy Fire Silver Ants. A year and a half ago, after integrating with the Purple-Gold Lotus Seed of the (Qianli), a small golden speck had appeared between the brows of the six crystalline ants.

Their combat strength had increased significantly, each now possessing power comparable to a seventh-rank entity. Han Xi also flew out, hovering beside Zong Shou’s shoulder.

Since his Dharma Aspect condensed and he entered the seventh rank, both Han Xi and the Thunder Winged Flood Dragon showed signs of further breakthrough. Especially the latter, which was intrinsically linked to Zong Shou’s spirit.

Relying solely on the insights into the Heavenly Dao shared during Zong Shou’s breakthrough, it had rocketed from the mid-stage of the seventh rank to complete mastery. It was only one thin membrane away from ascending.

Han Xi had also benefited immensely; the potential of this Ant Queen was astonishing. She could have broken through six months ago, but Zong Shou had forcibly suppressed her, causing her to hover at the peak of the seventh rank.

Because of this, she had been quite displeased with him recently. However, over the last half-month, for some unknown reason, Han Xi dared not meet his gaze anymore.

Zong Shou had not seen those habitually provocative glances again. He wondered if this Holy Fire Ant Queen truly feared him, or if she had simply become smarter.

For spiritual beasts and evil entities below the sixth rank, the six Silver Ants were sufficient. For those at the seventh-rank level, two working together could secure a kill.

Occasionally, when things became overwhelming, Zong Yuan and Ruo Shui would also step in. With their combat power approaching the eighth rank, even some eighth-rank spiritual beasts were forced to suffer defeat.

However, the deeper they went into the center of the Boundary River, the more intense the situation became. Eventually, his Thunder Winged Flood Dragon and Han Xi also had to join the fray.

Zong Shou disdained searching aimlessly within the Boundary River. So, from the beginning, he placed a fiery-red egg before him.

It was an egg of the Scarlet Fire Golden Phoenix. He made no effort to conceal its aura, allowing the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Fire Phoenix to radiate outward.

Consequently, the savage creatures and evil beasts within the Boundary River rushed towards it like moths to a flame. For several days, Zong Shou remained the laziest, never seeking out targets actively.

Yet, the battle achievements he amassed were consistently the highest on the leaderboard, far surpassing those behind him. Even some ninth-rank experts couldn't compare.

Only Fang Wen and Xue Xi could keep pace. The forces currently capable of fighting were all engaged in fierce battles.

Only Chu Xue was sleeping soundly a short distance away. Ever since the clearing operation began seven days ago, this Xue’er had suddenly become extremely lethargic.

Even in such an environment, she could fall asleep deeply and soundly. Zong Shou initially suspected she was slacking off, but after checking several times, he found nothing unusual.

The girl was genuinely in deep slumber, though the reason remained unknown. After much contemplation, Zong Shou could only attribute it to Chu Xue growing and developing her body.

It was true that over two years, Xue’er hadn't grown much in height, but her chest had become noticeably more prominent, having expanded by nearly half a size compared to before. Glancing sideways at Chu Xue, who was curled up like a small cat, Zong Shou couldn't help but gulp audibly.

Unconsciously, the peach was ripe. It was time to pick it— While lost in these meandering thoughts, his mind wandering, two figures suddenly appeared in the distance.

They seemed to be pursued by some fierce beast, appearing rather flustered. However, their speed was immense, covering a thousand zhang in an instant.

The female leading the way, upon spotting the Altar in this direction, immediately accelerated, rushing towards them. Zong Shou frowned, retrieving the Fire Phoenix egg and tucking it into his Qiankun Pouch.

Moments later, two slender figures landed upon the Altar. The one in front was Zhao Yanran, followed by Xuan Yunlan.

The latter offered an apologetic smile, but Zhao Yanran’s face was alight with relief. "What a coincidence!

Chief, you're really here. Yanran almost thought we were done for this time—" Zong Shou muttered inwardly.

There was already a psychic connection between the Immortal Embryo Cauldron vessels; this was definitely no coincidence, but a deliberate maneuver by that woman. "Tell me, what trouble have you stirred up this time?" Zhao Yanran managed an awkward smile, then, without batting an eye, retrieved several young beasts from her Small Qiankun Pouch.

They resembled tigers but were covered in dense fur, clearly newborns, their eyes still closed. "Fifth-rank, Lion-Tiger Cubs?

Zhao Yanran, you’re certainly growing bolder!" Zong Shou's teeth ground audibly. Fifth-rank Lion-Tiger Cubs possessed the bloodline of the White Tiger, a highly esteemed lineage, and were considered King Beasts—only Spirit Realm-level spiritual beasts could sire them.

Even if the elders of the Academy handled the realm above the ninth rank, the mere subordinates of these Beast Kings were enough to make one's scalp tingle. With a flicker of thought, Zong Shou resolved to ignore them and slip away.

At least no one would die, but this woman wouldn't keep those stolen cubs either; they would most likely be handed over to the sect. Zhao Yanran knew Zong Shou’s nature well.

Seeing his look now, she realized that this Demon King of the Profound Heaven was likely planning to abandon them and flee. —This fellow is truly heartless and shameless!

But she didn't panic. Her eyes darted, and she gave a light chuckle.

"There are seven cubs in total this time, and I also obtained some other items. I'll give you half the spoils afterward!" Zong Shou’s eyes did indeed gleam slightly; he was somewhat moved.

After a moment of contemplation, he still shook his head. "Half is too little.

At least eighty percent!" This time it was Zhao Yanran's turn to grit her teeth in frustration. "Sixty percent at most!

And I still have to split that with Yunlan!" "Done!" Without hesitation, Zong Shou piloted the Seven Star Altar upward, soaring rapidly until they reached a spot where the spiritual energy was densest.