Chapter 313

When he opened his eyes again, chaotic light swirled in his pupils, as if the birth and death of the universe and the turning of all things had flashed by.

He slowly rose to his feet, feeling the changes within his body.

His cultivation had already broken through to the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, only a hair's breadth away from the middle stage.

The《Five Elements Divine Light》Nascent Soul chapter was thoroughly perfected, the method's rudimentary form had taken shape, and it could directly point to the Divine Transformation stage.

The five-colored divine light had completed its initial evolution and should now be called "Chaotic Five Elements Divine Light," its power increased by at least threefold compared to before.

The Overturning Seal successfully advanced, rising from a mid-grade spiritual treasure to a high-grade spiritual treasure level, and because it had absorbed the essence of the Chaotic Immortal Jade, it was even more compatible with Wang Ping's Chaotic Nascent Soul.

The five great Dao arts had all reached the consummation of the initial Point Spirit stage! Now, whenever he executed any Dao art, it was as easy as moving his fingers with his arm, and the legal spiritual essence contained within the Dao arts could increase his power by over fifty percent.

The Yin Wood Divine Thunder and the Solar True Fire had also made breakthroughs, thunder and fire complementing each other, power greatly increased.

More importantly, his understanding of the Chaotic Dao had reached a whole new level. Although he was still far from the true Chaotic Immortal King realm, he had at least found the direction.

Wang Ping looked at the surrounding murals and bowed deeply.

"Junior Wang Ping, thank you for the Immortal King's grace."

The mural remained silent, only the Chaotic Dao rhythm continued to flow slowly.

Wang Ping knew that the fortune of this place had already been largely reaped. He walked to the central platform and carefully examined the indentation.

The shape of the indentation was indeed similar to the silver stone gate, but slightly different. At the bottom of the indentation, a few ancient immortal characters were carved.

Wang Ping pondered for a long time before barely recognizing the meaning of two of the characters—"key" and "inheritance."

"Key... inheritance..." Wang Ping murmured, looking at the silver stone gate still沉寂 in his sea of consciousness, "Could it be that this stone gate is the key to unlocking some inheritance? And this ruin is merely a guide?"

After thinking for a moment, he placed his hand on the indentation and infused a thread of chaotic spiritual power.

Om——

The indentation glowed faintly, but soon dimmed again. Apparently, either the infused spiritual power was insufficient, or the crucial "key" was missing.

"It seems I still cannot open it now." Wang Ping withdrew his hand, "Perhaps I need to wait for the Great Exalted One to awaken, or for my cultivation to reach a higher level."

He no longer dwelled on it and began to carefully explore the entire hall.

Besides the murals and the platform, the hall also had several side chambers. Wang Ping examined them one by one and found most were already empty, likely having been taken away during the evacuation years ago. Only in the deepest small chamber did he find some remaining items.

Three damaged jade slips, one recording part of immortal realm formation knowledge; a small sealed bottle of medicinal pills, although its medicinal power had largely dissipated, it still emitted a refreshing medicinal fragrance; and several broken magic treasure fragments, of extraordinary material, alas their spirituality was completely lost.

Wang Ping carefully put these things away. Even a mosquito, small as it is, is meat, let alone immortal realm relics.

Finally, he turned his gaze toward the walls and pillars built of Chaotic Immortal Jade.

Although these immortal jades had lost much of their Dao rhythm, the material itself remained a top-grade treasure. If he could take some away, whether for cultivation or forging artifacts, they would be of great use.

Wang Ping tried to cut them with his flying sword, but the immortal jade was extremely hard, and with his current strength, he could only leave shallow marks on it. Wanting to cut off a whole piece was nearly impossible.

"Forget it, this object and I have no affinity yet." Wang Ping was not a greedy person, knowing when to stop.

He stayed in the hall for another seven days, completely comprehending and absorbing the Chaotic Dao rhythm in the murals, consolidating his cultivation at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, and all his divine powers became fully integrated.

On the eighth day, Wang Ping decided to leave.

Walking out of the hall, passing through the corridor, he returned to the platform.

He looked back once at the Chaotic Immortal Jade stone gate, firmly etching this place in his heart.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay; I should continue exploring." Wang Ping gazed into the depths of the Azure Void Heavenly Realm, "According to the murals, there should still be other ruins in this fragment. Moreover, one of the twelve streams of light left by the Immortal King fell here, perhaps more clues can be found."

"But before that, I need to first find a safe place to enter seclusion for a period of time to fully digest this harvest."

Wang Ping chose a direction, his body transformed into five-colored flowing light, and vanished among the broken mountains.

The exploration of the Azure Void Heavenly Realm had only just begun.

After leaving the Broken Mountain Ruins, Wang Ping did not go far.

He carefully searched within a hundred-li radius and finally chose an extremely hidden underground cavern as a temporary seclusion spot. This cavern was located at the bottom of an inconspicuous valley, its entrance concealed by lush crystallized vines, the interior space was quite spacious, and the naturally formed crystals on the cavern walls could block divine sense probes, making it an excellent hiding place.

Wang Ping set up a minor Five Elements Concealment Formation disk at the cavern entrance, and arranged a Nine Palaces Early Warning Formation disk inside the cavern. After ensuring safety, he began to digest the gains from this ruin expedition.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the cavern, first taking out the three damaged jade slips.

His divine sense entered, the first jade slip recorded the setup method of some immortal realm basic formation—the "Small Heavenly Circuit Spirit Gathering Formation."

Although incomplete, only retaining one-third of the formation diagram, but the formation concepts contained within it opened Wang Ping's eyes.

"Taking the stars as the foundation, drawing the power of the heavenly circuit... the exquisite degree of this formation far surpasses any spirit gathering formation in the mortal realm."

Wang Ping studied it carefully, discovering that if this formation could be fully set up, its spirit-gathering efficiency would be at least ten times that of the top spirit gathering formations in the mortal realm. Unfortunately, it was too damaged, so he could only borrow some of its setup ideas.

The second jade slip recorded some identification methods for common immortal realm materials, including a detailed description of "Chaotic Immortal Jade," which completely matched what Wang Ping had seen in the ruin.

The jade slip mentioned that Chaotic Immortal Jade is not only a top-grade forging material, but because it contains Chaotic Dao rhythm, it is of great benefit to cultivators practicing Chaotic-type techniques, aiding in comprehension and nurturing the Nascent Soul.

"No wonder my Nascent Soul feels drawn to that stone gate." Wang Ping pondered, "Unfortunately, those immortal jades are too large for me to carry away."

The third jade slip was the most severely damaged, only allowing recognition of a few scattered immortal characters, seemingly related to "Dan Dao" and "refining," but the information was too scarce to decipher.

Wang Ping carefully put away the jade slips. Although the gains were limited, at least he had gained more understanding of the immortal realm.

Next, he took out that bottle of medicinal pills.

The jade bottle was milky white all over, warm and smooth to the touch, the bottle body engraved with cloud patterns, and the bottle mouth sealed with some kind of golden paste. Wang Ping carefully scraped open the seal, pulled out the stopper.

Immediately, an indescribable medicinal fragrance diffused out!

The fragrance initially smelled pure and elegant, but upon careful tasting, it was rich in layers, as if it gathered the essence of a hundred flowers and the quintessence of a thousand herbs. Merely inhaling a thread of the medicinal fragrance made Wang Ping feel refreshed, and much of the fatigue from his days of travel dissipated.

Inside the bottle lay three dragon-eye-sized medicinal pills, their whole body showing a pale gold color, with nine naturally formed cloud patterns on the surface, and a faint halo of light circulating within the pills, as if they were alive.

"Nine-Pattern Immortal Pill..." Wang Ping sucked in a breath of cold air. He had seen related records in the classics of the Ninth Path Institute—pill patterns are symbols of pill grade.

In the mortal realm, the highest one can refine is seven-pattern spirit pills, while nine-pattern is a characteristic exclusive to immortal pills!

Although countless ages had passed, the medicinal power of these three immortal pills had largely dissipated, and the cloud patterns had become blurred, but their essence was still that of immortal pills! Even if they could only exert one percent of their efficacy, for a Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be a tremendous fortune!

Wang Ping suppressed the urge to take them immediately, resealed the stopper. Such a treasure must be used only when one's condition is optimal and preparation is thorough, otherwise it would be a waste.

Lastly, he examined those several magic treasure fragments.

There were five pieces in total, the largest being palm-sized, the smallest only fingernail-sized. The materials varied—some resembled jade but were not jade, some resembled gold but were not gold—but they shared the common traits of being extremely hard and retaining a trace of weak immortal Dao aura.

"These should be fragments from the shattered ancient immortal artifacts." Wang Ping picked up the largest piece, which was a sword tip, entirely bluish-green. Although its spirituality was completely lost, the sharp aura remained. "If I could ask a master artificer to remelt it, perhaps I could forge a decent magic treasure."

He sorted and stored all his gains, then began true seclusion.

The primary task was to thoroughly digest the chaotic Dao resonance he had comprehended from the murals and consolidate his cultivation realm.

Wang Ping closed his eyes, focused his mind, and sank his spirit into his dantian.

The chaotic five-elements Nascent Soul sat cross-legged silently, the chaotic star vortex on his chest rotating slowly, each rotation inhaling and exhaling pure five-elements spiritual power. Compared to a month ago, the Nascent Soul had clearly condensed significantly, the five-colored radiance on its surface becoming more restrained, gradually transitioning toward chaotic gray.

Wang Ping guided the Nascent Soul, beginning to organize and fuse the chaotic Dao resonance imprinted in his soul.

Time flowed quietly during cultivation.

Three days passed.

Wang Ping's aura grew increasingly profound, the five-colored radiance flowing more smoothly across his body. His understanding of the five elements reached a new height; as they cycled, a hint of chaotic true intent faintly emerged.

Just as he prepared to strike with full force to break through the Nascent Soul mid-stage bottleneck, suddenly—

Hum!

The "Zixiao Divine Protection Token" worn close to his chest trembled slightly without warning!

It was not a warning vibration of danger, but rather a kind of... gentle resonance, as if stirred by some same-source aura!

Wang Ping snapped his eyes open, a flash of surprise crossing his gaze.

"This Divine Protection Token was bestowed by my master—how could it resonate here?" He took out the token, seeing only the purple mist on its surface slowly flowing, pointing toward a certain direction in the cave.

Wang Ping pondered for a moment, set aside his cultivation technique, rose, and walked toward that direction.

Deep in the cave, the passage twisted and turned. Wang Ping walked about half a li when a naturally formed stone chamber appeared ahead. The chamber was not large, only about ten zhang square, but strangely, on the floor at its center lay a small pool of spring water.

The spring was no larger than a washbasin, less than a chi deep, its water crystal clear to the bottom. Yet it emitted an extremely rich immortal spiritual aura! That aura was incredibly pure, far exceeding the immortal spiritual aura in the air by more than a hundredfold! Even more miraculously, specks of golden light floated within the water, like liquid immortal essence.

The stone walls around the spring's edge showed a warm, jade-like luster—indeed, it was chaotic immortal jade! Although its quality was not as pure as the immortal jade in the ruins, it was indeed of the same origin.

"No wonder the Zixiao Divine Protection Token resonated." Wang Ping suddenly understood, "My master once said that when forging this token, he added some immortal realm material; it must be sensing this chaotic immortal jade or the immortal spiritual spring."

He approached the spring, crouched down to observe carefully.

The spring eye seeped from beneath a piece of chaotic immortal jade, the water flow slow, accumulating into this small pool. Wang Ping cupped a handful of spring water; it felt cool to the touch, but the immortal spiritual aura contained within was overwhelmingly domineering—just touching his skin caused a needle-like burning sensation.

"Is this... spring water formed by condensed liquid immortal spiritual aura?" Wang Ping's eyes flashed with shock, "Ancient texts record that only in places where immortal spiritual aura is extremely concentrated and with special geological conditions can an 'Immortal Spiritual Spring' form. Even in the immortal realm, this is a rare cultivation resource!"

He carefully took out a jade bottle, filled it with a little spring water, and probed it with his divine sense.

The immortal spiritual aura in the spring water was pure to the extreme, and its nature was much gentler, unlike the wild and violent free immortal spiritual aura in the air. More importantly, Wang Ping sensed a faint vitality in the spring water—a "spirituality" naturally nurtured by long immersion in immortal spiritual surroundings!

"Lower-grade Immortal Spiritual Spring..." Wang Ping judged the spring's grade based on ancient records, "Although it is lower-grade, for a Nascent Soul cultivator, it is already a heaven-defying opportunity!"

He felt excited, but soon calmed down.

The Immortal Spiritual Spring was good, but not something to be used casually. Such pure and domineering energy, if rashly drunk or bathed in, would likely result in bodily explosion.

"Must be cautious." Wang Ping returned to his original seat, sat down, and began to regulate his breath, adjusting his state to optimal.

At the same time, he rapidly simulated in his mind the method of absorbing the Immortal Spiritual Spring.

The "Five Elements Divine Light" cultivation technique slowly turned within his body, five-colored spiritual power flowing through his meridians, having made all preparations.

After three hours, Wang Ping's state reached its peak.

He walked again to the Immortal Spiritual Spring, sat cross-legged beside it. Without drinking directly, he first dipped his fingertip to take a drop of spring water and sent it into his mouth.

Just one drop.

Boom—!

The moment that drop of Immortal Spiritual Spring water entered his throat, Wang Ping's body shuddered violently!

It was as if a ball of scorching magma rolled down his throat into his abdomen, then exploded! The extremely pure immortal spiritual aura madly diffused, instantly filling his limbs and bones!

"Ah!" Wang Ping groaned, his face instantly flushing red.

Pain!

Indescribable intense pain!

The immortal spiritual aura contained in that drop of spring water was tens of times purer than the scattered immortal spiritual aura he had absorbed before! Moreover, it carried a domineering "purifying" trait—wherever it passed, meridians, flesh, and bones were being forcibly scoured and remade!

Wang Ping could even hear faint "crack" sounds from within his body—the sound of bones cracking under high pressure, then rapidly repaired by the immortal spiritual aura!

But he did not panic, immediately activating the "Five Elements Divine Light" technique.

"Five elements cycling, refining!"

In his dantian, the chaotic five-elements Nascent Soul suddenly opened its eyes, the chaotic star vortex on his chest rotating at an unprecedented speed! Five-colored spiritual power surged from the Nascent Soul, forming a great cycling circulation in his meridians.

The red fire-element spiritual power first met the violent immortal spiritual aura, using fire's intensity to "calcine" and disperse it; immediately followed by the green wood-element spiritual power, using wood's vitality to nourish the impacted meridians.

The white metal-element spiritual power turned into countless tiny blades, cutting the bulk of immortal spiritual aura into finer threads easier to absorb; the yellow earth-element spiritual power stabilized the four directions, suppressing turbulence.

The blue water-element spiritual power came last, using water's flexibility to wrap the refined energy and send it into the chaotic star vortex.

The five elements cycled, promoting and restraining each other, forming a perfect refining system.

And that chaotic star vortex was the endpoint of the entire system. All immortal spiritual aura that had undergone preliminary refining would ultimately flow into the vortex, be ground, purified, transformed, and become part of Wang Ping's own spiritual power, or used to temper his flesh and nourish the Nascent Soul.

The process was painful, but the effect was significant.

Just one drop of Immortal Spiritual Spring water took Wang Ping an entire day and night to fully refine.

When he opened his eyes again, the light in his eyes was brighter, his aura obviously stronger by a notch.

"One drop of spring water equals a month of bitter cultivation in the Spirit Realm!" Wang Ping felt the changes in his body, both surprised and delighted, "Moreover, the immortal spiritual aura in this spring water contains a special 'activity,' making its flesh-tempering effect excellent."

He looked at the small pool of spring water, estimating about a hundred drops.

"If all were refined..." Wang Ping's eyes flashed with determination.

He did not rush for success, but instead spent another day consolidating his cultivation, letting his body fully adapt to the energy properties of the Immortal Spiritual Spring.

On the third day, Wang Ping began formal cultivation.

This time, he no longer tried drop by drop, but took ten drops of spring water with the jade bottle and swallowed them all at once.

Boom—rumble—!

Ten drops of immortal spirit spring water entered his belly, and the bursting energy was more than ten times stronger than before! Wang Ping felt as if his entire body would burst, with fine beads of blood seeping from his skin!

But he gritted his teeth and persisted, pushing the Five Elements Divine Light technique to its utmost.

Five-colored light swirled wildly across his body, gradually forming a colossal illusory Five Elements Wheel that enveloped Wang Ping entirely. Within the illusion, red, yellow, green, white, and blue lights alternately flashed, and with each flash, a thread of immortal spirit energy was refined and absorbed.

Days passed one by one.

Wang Ping was completely immersed in cultivation, forgetting the passage of time.

For every ten drops of spring water refined, he would consolidate for three days, allowing his body to adapt to the new intensity, then continue.

The immortal spirit spring water decreased at a visible rate.

And Wang Ping's changes became increasingly evident.

First, his physical body.

Originally, his flesh had been tempered by heavenly tribulation and had already reached the peak level of a Nascent Soul cultivator. But under the cleansing of the immortal spirit spring water, his flesh began a deeper transformation.

On the surface of his skin, faint golden patterns subtly emerged—these were the "Immortal Marks" naturally formed as immortal spirit energy permeated the cells. Though still faint and intermittent, this marked the beginning of his flesh's preliminary transformation toward the legendary "Immortal Spirit Body."

The Immortal Spirit Body is a special physique formed by cultivators ascending to the Immortal Realm after long nourishment by immortal spirit energy. Those who possess it have flesh strength far surpassing peers of the same level, extremely high affinity for immortal spirit energy, doubled cultivation speed, and greatly extended lifespan.

Although Wang Ping's transformation was only preliminary, he had already benefited greatly.

He tried throwing a punch; wherever the fist wind passed, the air emitted a sharp explosive sound, the force condensed and did not disperse, actually leaving a deep fist imprint on a stone wall ten zhang away!

"My physical strength has at least doubled!" Wang Ping exclaimed delightedly, "And my recovery power has also greatly increased."

He deliberately cut a wound on his arm, only to see it heal at a visible speed, fully restored in less than three breaths, without even leaving a scar.

Next, his Nascent Soul.

Nourished by immortal spirit energy, the Chaotic Five Elements Nascent Soul became increasingly solid. Originally somewhat illusory, it now resembled a true infant—skin crystalline, facial features clear, even eyelashes visible.

The Chaotic Star Xuán on the Nascent Soul's chest rotated at more than three times its previous speed, and the gray at its center deepened further, hinting at a shift toward black. This indicated the Chaotic Star Xuán's quality was rising, refining efficiency greatly increased.

The most obvious change was the color of the Nascent Soul's surface.

Originally, five-colored light flowed; now, the five colors gradually merged, presenting an overall chaotic gray. Only when the Nascent Soul circulated spiritual power of a specific attribute would the corresponding color appear.

This signified that Wang Ping's Chaotic Five Elements Nascent Soul was evolving toward a higher level—the "Chaotic Nascent Soul"!

Lastly, his cultivation.

After refining thirty drops of immortal spirit spring water, Wang Ping's cultivation had already reached the limit of early Nascent Soul, separated from mid-stage only by a thin layer of window paper.

But he did not rush to break through.

Wang Ping knew that breaking through a realm was not merely about spiritual power accumulation, but also about comprehending the Dao and solidifying one's foundation. Especially since he cultivated the Chaotic Dao, each step must be steady and solid; otherwise, an unstable foundation would hinder future great achievements.

He continued refining the spring water while devoting more thought to comprehending the Chaotic Dao's rhythm and solidifying his Dao foundation.

The Five Elements Divine Light technique, nourished by immortal spirit energy, was continuously perfected, its circulation route becoming ever more exquisite.

Wang Ping even began attempting to integrate the Chaotic truth he had sensed from the murals into the technique; though only a preliminary attempt, the effect had already manifested—during technique circulation, a thread of chaotic gray light began to mix within the five-colored spiritual power, greatly increasing its power.

The five great Dao arts also steadily improved.

The White Tiger Slaughter God Sword Gang could now manifest a clear White Tiger illusion when executed; this illusion not only enhanced the sword gang's power but also endowed it with a certain autonomous spirituality, allowing it to subtly adjust its attack trajectory according to battlefield conditions.

The Golden Yang Blazing Heaven condensed golden sun became more solid, the purity of the true solar fire increased by over thirty percent, and the flames gained a hint of chaotic nature, greatly enhancing their restraining power against evil spirits and demonic qi.

The range of the Great Yin Extinction Cold Tide expanded to fifty zhang; the "Extinction" true intent contained within the cold air became more pronounced, capable of directly freezing an opponent's spiritual power circulation.

Control of the gravity field became more refined; Wang Ping could now freely adjust gravity multiples within a ten-zhang radius, reaching up to twenty times at maximum and completely eliminating gravity's influence at minimum.

The advancement of the Thunder Summoning Art was the greatest. The Yin Wood Divine Thunder, nourished by immortal spirit energy, underwent a qualitative transformation.

Now, the Yin Wood Divine Thunder presented a cyan-gold hue throughout, its lightning containing a contradictory aura of abundant vitality and destruction coexisting.

Wang Ping attempted to unleash it; a bolt of lightning struck down, actually causing the impacted rock to instantly sprout tender shoots, then in the next moment turn to flying ash!

"Life and death in a single thought—this Yin Wood Divine Thunder has already begun to touch the deeper mysteries of the Wood Dao's great path." Wang Ping suddenly understood.

When only twenty drops of immortal spirit spring water remained, Wang Ping stopped refining.

Not because he could not continue, but because he felt he had reached a critical point.

Continuing refinement would either break through to mid-Nascent Soul, or…… spiritual power would run wild, damaging his Dao foundation.

Wang Ping chose to pause.

He carefully stored the remaining twenty drops of immortal spirit spring water; this would be vital aid for future breakthroughs.

Then, he began the final preparations—impacting mid-Nascent Soul!

Wang Ping laid layer upon layer of restrictions in the cave, simultaneously activating the Minor Five Elements Concealment Formation Disk and the Eight Gates Lock Gold Trap Formation Disk, and placed warning talismans around his person. Disturbance during breakthrough is most taboo; he must make thorough preparations.

After completing all this, he sat cross-legged, his mind sinking into his dantian.

The Chaotic Five Elements Nascent Soul sat still in meditation, the Chaotic Star Xuán on its chest slowly rotating.

Wang Ping did not rush to impact the bottleneck; instead, he began reviewing his cultivation path.

From the naive youth in Black Stone City, to an outer disciple of the Ninth Dao Institute; from the life-and-death trials of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, to condensing the Chaotic Five Elements Nascent Soul; from contending with heavenly pride across the clans, to crossing realms into this Qingming Heavenly Domain……

One scene after another flashed through his mind.

His Dao heart was continually tempered in this process, growing ever more resolute.

"My Dao is the Five Elements Wheel, is Chaotic Unity."

"The Five Elements are the foundation, Chaos is the direction."

"What I walk is a path no predecessor has ever fully traversed."

Wang Ping's gaze grew ever clearer, his Dao heart ever more steadfast.

He no longer hesitated, began circulating the technique.

The Nascent Soul chapter of the Five Elements Divine Light was fully activated, five-colored spiritual power surging within him like rivers. At the same time, he took out that bottle of immortal pill.

He pulled the stopper, poured out a Nine-Pattern Immortal Pill.

The pill in hand was warm and smooth like jade. Though its medicinal power had largely dissipated, it still emitted a heart-pounding energy fluctuation.

Wang Ping drew a deep breath, sent the immortal pill into his mouth.

The elixir melted upon entry, transforming into a gentle yet supremely potent medicinal force that instantly swept through his entire body!

The medicinal power of this immortal pill differed greatly from that of the immortal spirit spring water. The spring water was domineering, like fierce fire tempering iron; the pill's power was gentle, like spring rain nourishing all things. The two complemented each other, perfectly balancing one another.

Wang Ping guided the immortal pill's medicinal power, beginning to assault the bottleneck of the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

In his dantian, the chaotic five-element Nascent Soul trembled violently!

The chaotic gray radiance on the Nascent Soul's surface blazed brightly, the chaotic star vortex at his chest spun wildly, beginning to devour and refine the immortal pill's medicinal power.

At the same time, Wang Ping released all the excess energy stored in his meridians from refining the immortal spirit spring water, merging it with the pill's power to form a torrent that assaulted that invisible barrier.

Once, twice, three times...

The bottleneck began to loosen.

Wang Ping could feel that his Nascent Soul was undergoing some qualitative change. Not merely growing larger or stronger, but a fundamental elevation.

It was as if ordinary iron were beginning to transform into refined steel.

This process lasted a full three days.

On the third night, the cave suddenly blazed with light!

Five-colored radiance shot up into the heavens, intertwining on the cave ceiling into a splendid scroll. Within the scroll, the five elements turned and interacted, generating and overcoming each other, ultimately returning to a expanse of chaotic gray.

And at the center of that chaotic gray, a small Nascent Soul phantom slowly emerged.

That Nascent Soul sat cross-legged, hands forming seals, the chaotic star vortex at his chest turning slowly, each rotation inhaling and exhaling vast amounts of immortal spirit qi.

The aura of mid-Nascent Soul finally erupted completely!

Boom—!

The invisible shockwave expanded outward with Wang Ping as its center, striking the cave wall's restrictions and stirring up layer upon layer of ripples.

Wang Ping slowly opened his eyes.

In his pupils, five-colored light flowed three times, ultimately transforming into profound chaotic gray. That gray seemed capable of devouring all light, making it impossible to discern the emotions beneath.

He raised his hand; five-colored light flashed in his palm, instantly turning into chaotic gray.

A slight thought, and the chaotic gray differentiated into red, yellow, green, white, and blue five colors, obeying his will like fingers to an arm.

"Mid-Nascent Soul... finally broken through."

Wang Ping felt the surging power within his body—power at least three times greater than when he was at early Nascent Soul! Moreover, the quality of his spirit energy had undergone a qualitative leap, each thread containing a hint of immortal rhyme and chaotic nature.

More importantly, his understanding of the five elements and chaos had reached an entirely new height.

The《Five Elements Divine Light》technique was perfected, the Nascent Soul chapter completed, and he even faintly touched the threshold of the Spirit Transformation chapter.

All five great dao arts were solidified at the perfected early Spirit Awakening stage, needing only one opportunity to enter the mid-stage.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal also received nourishment during the breakthrough, its spirituality greatly increased, now infinitely close to a top-tier spirit treasure.

The Yin Wood Divine Thunder and Solar True Fire completed their initial fusion; Wang Ping can now unleash an upgraded version of "Thunderfire Purgatory"—"Chaotic Thunderfire"—with power more than five times greater than before.

Everything was developing in the best direction.

Wang Ping stood up and stretched his limbs.

Bones throughout his body sounded like frying beans, every inch of flesh and blood containing terrifying power. He tried not using spirit energy, relying solely on his flesh to punch a blast at the cave wall.

Bang!

Stone chips flew, and a fist-sized depression about a chi deep appeared on the hard rock wall.

"Relying solely on the flesh, I am already comparable to a body cultivator at early Nascent Soul." Wang Ping nodded satisfactorily.

He withdrew the cave's restrictions and walked out of the grotto.

Outside, it was still the same ancient azure-dark sky. But Wang Ping could feel that his connection with this heaven and earth had grown much tighter. The wandering immortal spirit qi in the air no longer strongly rejected him; instead, it felt intimate.

This was a benefit brought by the transformation of his flesh toward an immortal spirit body.

"Time to continue exploring." Wang Ping gazed toward the depths of the Azure Dark Realm, "According to the murals, there should still be other relics in this fragment. And, the twelve streams of light left by the Immortal King..."

He suddenly thought of something, taking out the Purple Cloud Defense God Token from his bosom.

The token still emitted a warm purple light, but now Wang Ping could clearly feel that it no longer pointed toward the immortal spirit spring's direction, but toward some place deeper within.

"Could it be..." Wang Ping's eyes flashed with thought, "This token not only senses immortal spirit objects, but also things related to the Chaos Immortal King?"

He decided to follow the token's guidance to take a look.

However, before departing, Wang Ping first returned to the stone chamber where the immortal spirit spring was located. The spring eye had already dried up, that pool of water having been used up by him. But the chaotic immortal jade at the spring eye remained; Wang Ping tried cutting it, discovering that after breaking through to mid-Nascent Soul, he could already leave clear traces on the immortal jade.

He spent half a day, finally cutting off a piece of chaotic immortal jade the size of a fist.

The immortal jade felt warm and moist in hand, with chaotic qi flowing within. Wang Ping could feel that his Nascent Soul had a strong longing for this immortal jade.

"In future cultivation, holding this jade will aid in comprehending chaos." Wang Ping carefully stored the immortal jade.

Everything ready, Wang Ping set out following the guidance of the Purple Cloud Defense God Token toward the depths of the Azure Dark Realm.

This time, his speed was thirty percent faster than before, and he was much more composed.

The mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, the initial transformation into an immortal spirit body, the perfected Chaotic Five Elements Divine Light... all these gave Wang Ping the confidence to face greater dangers.

But he did not let his guard down.

He had long experienced the mystery and danger of the Azure Dark Realm. Who knows what else lies hidden in the depths?

Wang Ping's figure disappeared into the canyon.

Not long after he left, the crystalline vines at the grotto entrance suddenly moved without wind.

Deep within the vines, a pair of icy eyes slowly opened, gazing in the direction Wang Ping had gone.

In those eyes, there was not a trace of emotion, only pure, unadulterated longing for the breath of living beings.

It slowly writhed, detaching from the vines, turning into a black shadow that silently followed behind.

The hunt in the Azure Dark Realm has never ceased.

And Wang Ping currently does not know that he has already become the target of certain existences.

His journey through the immortal realm fragments is destined not to be peaceful.