Sovereign Spirituality, the Wonders of the Flame Mantra

The moment Lu Chen broke through,

a colossal pillar of light shot into the sky. It was clearly visible within a hundred-mile radius of the Nine Nether Palace, and everyone present could sense a heart-palpitating pressure emanating from within it.

That pressure was not unfamiliar to them, for they had sensed it from experts who had entered the Supreme Realm.

Thus, the owner of this pillar of light had clearly succeeded in advancing into the Supreme Realm.

At this moment, in the central region of Da Luo Heaven.

On the summit of a towering, majestic mountain, two elderly men playing chess seemed to sense something. They both looked up, their gazes fixed in surprise on the direction of the pillar of light.

"Little Nine Nether has grown up. She's only been back for two years, yet she's already cultivated a Supreme expert. It seems she obtained quite an opportunity outside!"

A gaunt old man set down his chess piece and spoke with considerable satisfaction.

"What does a single Supreme expert amount to for our Da Luo Territory? If one's own strength is lacking, one still has to live by watching others' expressions."

The other elder, with black pupils and white hair, snorted coldly, his tone laced with dissatisfaction.

The gaunt old man merely smiled in the face of the black-eyed elder's displeasure and said nothing more. He knew that the favoritism shown toward the Nine Nether Palace over the years had made the Spirit Eye Emperor dissatisfied.

But dissatisfaction was one thing. As one of the Three Emperors of the Da Luo Territory, why should Heavenly Vulture care about anyone else's opinion?

Outside the Nine Nether Palace,

at the training grounds.

Three beautiful figures stared blankly at the pillar of light that pierced the heavens and earth, each wearing a different expression.

Tang Rou covered her mouth and looked at the pillar of light with delight. "Sister Nine Nether, he really succeeded in breaking through!"

"Mhm, I saw it too."

Nine Nether smiled faintly, a trace of joy flashing through her eyes.

She had never expected that the young man would truly do as he promised. In just two short years, he had broken through into the Supreme Realm. He had truly given her such a huge surprise...

"That guy really is a freak."

Tang Bing looked at the distant pillar of light, her expression rather complicated. There was admiration on her face, but also a hint of unwillingness.

When she had first met Lu Chen, he had merely been at the initial stage of the Heaven Merging Realm. Yet in less than two years, that youth had already far surpassed her and taken the first step into the Supreme Realm.

Such an achievement was exceedingly rare even across the entire Great Thousand World.

"Sister Nine Nether, do you think a genius like him will stay in our Nine Nether Palace?"

As the pillar of light dissipated and the invisible pressure faded away, Tang Rou seemed to think of something. Her face scrunched up as she spoke with some difficulty.

Nine Nether smiled calmly. Thinking of the promise the young man had made to her, she said with a smile, "He will. He isn't someone who forgets kindness and betrays gratitude. Little Rou, you mustn't underestimate him..."

Not long afterward,

inside the Nine Nether Palace,

Lu Chen let out a comfortable breath and gently clenched his hand. He could feel the terrifying spiritual energy within him surging like a volcano at every moment. The sheer strength of that spiritual energy was something no so-called Half-Step Sovereign could compare to.

"Truly intoxicating power."

Lu Chen immersed himself in the sensation. After a moment, he came back to himself and walked straight out of the side hall, only to find Nine Nether already waiting for him in the main hall.

"Lu Chen, congratulations. You've now entered the ranks of the Great Thousand World's experts as well."

Seeing Lu Chen emerge, Nine Nether spoke with a smile.

Lu Chen smiled too and sat down opposite her. Looking at the cool, beautiful face of the woman before him, he said, "Sister Nine Nether, you flatter me. Without you, there would be no me today. I was merely lucky."

"This was no luck. If others heard you say that, who knows how jealous they would be."

Nine Nether smiled, her tone full of teasing.

It was clear that she was in a very good mood.

"However, there is still one matter you need to pay attention to."

Then, as though recalling something, Nine Nether looked at Lu Chen. Her pretty face became much more serious as she said, "Although you have successfully opened up a Supreme Sea, you still cannot be considered a true First Grade Sovereign."

"Because I haven't cultivated a Supreme Sovereign Celestial Body yet?" Lu Chen said with a frown.

He also knew the two great marks of a Supreme expert: the Supreme Sea and the Supreme Sovereign Celestial Body. If there was anything separating him from a true Supreme expert, it could only be the Supreme Sovereign Celestial Body.

"That is only one part of it."

Nine Nether nodded slightly before continuing, "The reason the Supreme Realm is a dividing line on the path of cultivation is not only because of the Supreme Sea and the Supreme Sovereign Celestial Body. There is another, more important reason: the spiritual energy of Supreme experts possesses spirituality. It is a form of power that far surpasses ordinary spiritual energy in quality."

"Spirituality?"

Lu Chen recalled the Sovereign Spiritual Liquid that moved like swimming fish and instantly understood.

"Many Supreme experts possess unique attributes in their spiritual energy. Some have spiritual energy that is heavy and dense, while others have spiritual energy that is cold and sinister. This is all because their spiritual energy possesses spirituality."

"And precisely because of this spirituality, the spiritual energy of Supreme Realm experts is very difficult to erase. Sometimes, a single strand of spiritual energy can endure for hundreds or even thousands of years, leaving behind an inheritance for its owner."

Nine Nether explained patiently.

"I see. Then, Sister Nine Nether, you mean my spiritual energy still lacks this kind of spirituality?"

Lu Chen frowned slightly. This was indeed something he had not known, and it was also one of the drawbacks of advancing so quickly: a lack of broader knowledge and experience.

"You needn't worry too much. This so-called spirituality is actually quite simple. As long as you fuse certain other powerful spiritual objects into your own spiritual energy, it can cause your spiritual energy to transform and give birth to true spirituality."

Nine Nether smiled faintly and comforted him softly.

"Fuse other spiritual objects? Like this?"

Lu Chen pondered for a while, then extended his palm. A stream of crystal-like purple spiritual energy swept out, eventually gathering above his palm. Faintly, it seemed to transform into a wisp of rich purple flame that radiated terrifying heat.

Nine Nether's face filled with astonishment at the sight. "You've already fused the Undying Fire into your spiritual energy?"

"I don't know. After cultivating the Flame Mantra, this thing fused itself in automatically."

Lu Chen shrugged, speaking as though it were nothing.

"I've heard that the spiritual energy cultivated by every Ancient Divine Technique has its own unique qualities. Could this be the unique aspect of your cultivation technique?"

"Not only can it evolve, but after devouring a spiritual flame, its spiritual energy automatically fuses with that spiritual flame's spirituality? That certainly is convenient..."

"If a cultivation technique can evolve without limit, then its spiritual energy possesses limitless potential. The more spiritual flames you absorb in the future, the more terrifying the spirituality contained within your spiritual energy will become. If anyone fights you and carelessly gets tainted by even a trace of it, I'm afraid it will be difficult to erase."

Nine Nether said thoughtfully.

Lu Chen nodded. "That should be it. Then that means the only thing separating me from becoming a true Supreme expert is the Supreme Sovereign Celestial Body, right?"