Chapter 733: Spiritual Energy

In the Great Thousand World, the name of the center of this cosmic world, eons ago, all matter and energy within the universe gathered together and condensed into an extremely small volume, with extreme temperature and immense density, instantly generating tremendous pressure, then exploding and giving birth to Universe Space, continuously expanding outward, with the original epicenter of the explosion becoming the Great Thousand World.

The Great Thousand World lies at the center of the universe, with countless dimensions and continents forging channels to link to it.

Countless clans stand tall, heroes gather; superiors from the Lower Planes strive in this vast world, pursuing the path to higher realms.

The Great Thousand World is crisscrossed by countless dimensions and linked to numerous Lower Planes not only because it is the universe's center, but also because it possesses a higher-grade energy.

Spiritual Energy!

Spiritual Energy is a form of energy substance existing between heaven and earth, which cultivators can sense and absorb to enhance their strength and cultivation realm.

Countless Lower Planes each have their own cultivation systems—such as Dou Qi, Yuan Li, elements, and so on—while the distinction between the Great Thousand World's continents and the Lower Planes lies solely in whether Spiritual Energy exists there.

If Spiritual Energy is present, it belongs to the Great Thousand World; if absent, it is called a Lower Plane.

Yet not all Lower Planes are inferior; some powerful beings from the Lower Planes achieved supreme status in an extremely short time, founding factions that made the entire Great Thousand World tremble. For example, the Endless Fire Domain, ruled by the Yan Emperor, where ten thousand fires burn the heavens; within the Martial Realm, the might of the Martial Ancestor shakes heaven and earth.

Naturally, there is also the hidden Soul Sect, unknown to most. The master of the Soul Sect in the Great Thousand World is neither wholly good nor wholly evil; its Ten Great Heavenly Venerables, with one word, decide life and death; with two, judge the Divine Clan.

But all that is talk for a hundred years hence; now, it is the first year of the Soul Sect establishing its branch in the Great Thousand World.

"Hm? I think I see a continent!" At this moment, inside the Heavenly Tomb spaceship, Gu Yuan, who was controlling the sealing array, his eyes flashed with a hint of joy.

Hearing Gu Yuan's words, Zhu Kun, who was recovering Dou Qi in the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, also let out a long breath; he and Gu Yuan had suffered terribly, like laborers, taking turns inputting Dou Qi to maintain the ship's flight.

Even though their cultivation realms were supreme on the Dou Qi Continent, flying at Dou Emperor speed consumed their Dou Qi immensely—they could only have one person operate while the other cultivated, absorbing Source Qi to see if they could break through to Dou Emperor.

Yet what left Gu Yuan and Zhu Kun speechless was that, for some reason, the farther they flew toward the Great Thousand World, the thinner Source Qi became—until now, they could no longer sense its presence at all!

Had Hun Tian Di not still been forging the Space Channel ahead, and had Xiao Yan's energy pillar not pointed forward, they would have suspected they'd gone the wrong way.

But now, both men felt their heavy burdens lift, for they saw that the energy pillar led directly to the boundless continent ahead—more precisely, the energy pillar vanished upon reaching the continent, as if assimilated.

Just as Gu Yuan and Zhu Kun spoke, excited and fired up about the unknown world, a sudden anomaly occurred!

Gu Yuan, while controlling the array, suddenly felt abnormality in his Dou Qi—his immense Dou Qi, already at Half Step Dou Emperor, seemed invaded, rapidly draining away!

"What is this?!" Gu Yuan's eyes widened in shock, his face instantly changing color. Dou Qi was every cultivator's foundation; losing it would cause even Gu Yuan's power to plummet, possibly below even a low-level Dou Sheng.

Gu Yuan gritted his teeth, formed a hand seal, and unleashed his Dou Qi like a storm, desperately resisting the unknown energy's erosion—but this strange energy was like a bone-corroding poison; the more Dou Qi he used to resist, the faster it vanished, even feeling as if his own Dou Qi was being assimilated.

This peculiar change darkened Gu Yuan's face. With a hum, a seven-colored light appeared on his forehead, activating his Dou Di Bloodline—a unique seven-colored bloodline emerged within him.

The moment this seven-colored bloodline appeared, Emperor Might surged, instantly suppressing the erosion.

Yet before Gu Yuan could even breathe a sigh of relief, this suppression lasted only moments—he discovered his Dou Di Bloodline was also undergoing transformation; the special bloodline pathway was being invaded, and more severely than his Dou Qi, as if attempting to reshape his Dou Di Bloodline.

Puh! Puh! Puh!! Gu Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood, fell to one knee with a thud, his face turning deathly pale—this inexplicable change left him utterly helpless, his heart in turmoil!

"Brother Gu Yuan!" Zhu Kun, recovering Dou Qi in the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, noticed Gu Yuan's condition and cried out urgently: "Get inside the Heavenly Tomb!"

Gu Yuan nodded heavily, attempting to tear open Space—but found Space incredibly solid; his casual tear produced only a half-meter gap. A Nine-Star Dou Sheng Peak cultivator like him could not even tear Space open!

Just as Gu Yuan prepared to exert full force and rip a larger opening, a purple light pierced through the air—a dragon claw scaled with Dragon Scale reached out and seized Gu Yuan, dragging him into the Heavenly Tomb.

Once inside the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb, the peculiar erosion ceased. Gu Yuan nodded to Zhu Kun in thanks, then without delay sat cross-legged, his Dou Qi counterattacking, eliminating and expelling the mysterious invasive energy—only then did his Dou Di Bloodline return to normal.

"Dad, are you alright?" Xun Er, sensing something wrong, emerged from the third layer and saw the blood on her father's lips—her face changed instantly, filled with worry.

On the Dou Qi Continent, Gu Yuan had not suffered such severe injuries in a thousand years; yet upon arriving in the Great Thousand World, this happened.

Wiping the blood from his lips and swallowing an Elixir, Gu Yuan waved his hand, stood up, and said: "I'm fine. Internal conflict in my Dou Qi caused some internal injuries—resting for a while will fix it."

At this moment, Cai Lin and Xiao Yixian also arrived. Seeing the situation, Cai Lin asked: "Xiao Yixian, is Clan Leader Gu poisoned?"

Xiao Yixian studied the peculiar gas expelled by Gu Yuan, her delicate brows furrowing, then shook her head: "Not Poison. The gas Clan Leader Gu expelled isn't Poison—it's a highly refined energy gas."

"Highly refined energy?"

Hearing Xiao Yixian's words, everyone present froze in surprise.

Before anyone could discuss further, the entire Heavenly Tomb spaceship violently shook, as if hit by a massive earthquake.

"Damn it! The array has been destroyed!" Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan's faces turned grim—the array maintaining the ship's propulsion had also been invaded; all Dou Qi within the array vanished, naturally destroying the entire array.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The ship, now powerless, was instantly "captured" by the massive continent—this continent was so vast, its mass and density unimaginable, its gravity pull strong enough to drag entire Shan Mai into itself.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!! From afar, a massive, entirely black object plummeted from outer space at high speed; the friction of its descent made the entire Heavenly Tomb spaceship appear to be burning.

Fortunately, the protective layer forged from Space Ore was tough enough to avoid melting.

Of course, those inside the Heavenly Tomb—Xiao Yixian and others—could not see this scene; but the native inhabitants of this continent saw it clearly.

"What is that?!"

"Hah, just a Heavenly Meteorite, why are you making such a fuss?"

"Exactly, probably debris from a shattered continent during the great war fifty thousand years ago—drifted over to our Ning Tian Continent."

"But I don't think it looks like a continent fragment—it's black, isn't it?"

Boom! In that instant, a thunderous impact rang out, followed by the earth and sky trembling—the impacted region shook violently, profoundly awe-inspiring.

Of course, though the Heavenly Tomb was large, to the entire Ning Tian Continent it was but a drop in the ocean; only nearby people felt the tremors.

At this moment, in a great city not far from the Heavenly Tomb's impact site, the fall triggered an earthquake.

"What was that?!"

"Report, Domain Lord: a Heavenly Meteorite has fallen into our Xin Region—it's likely debris from a shattered continent long ago."

Hearing his subordinate's report, the middle-aged man seated at the head of the Hall instantly revealed a gleam of delight, waving his hand and laughing: "Hahaha! Excellent! Heaven aids me! If we can find even a bit of Supreme Spirit Liquid or a Divine Weapon within, dominating the entire Western Realm is within reach!"

"Immediately dispatch our disciples to the meteor site! Elder, you accompany them—move faster than the Lu Region. Lu Region borders our Xin Region; Lu Ming won't miss this—he'll interfere."

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, the elder seated beside him rose and nodded firmly: "Understood."

"All Elders of Xin Region with Body Trial above them, follow me to the meteor site."

A wave of sound instantly spread across the entire city; cultivators in seclusion flew out from their retreats, following the Xin Region's Grand Elder, transforming into streaks of light and speeding toward the impact site.

Returning to the Heavenly Tomb, one looked around—dust filled the air, stretching endlessly, seemingly without horizon; the terrifying impact had carved a colossal crater into the continent.

This crater resembled Jia Nan Academy, but was far larger than its crater.

Within the meteor crater, the impact had scorched vast stretches of land; surrounding the scorched earth lay many black crystals—these were fragments of the Heavenly Tomb's protective layer, shattered and scattered by the force.

"My god, this is terrifying."

(End of chapter)