The sun gradually rose, its light passing through the mountain forest and spilling over Dengxia Platform.
As the hour approached noon, when the yang energy between heaven and earth was at its most abundant and blazing.
Upon the high platform, Shen Qingshan, who had sat motionless like a withered tree, slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was as clear as a mountain stream, yet as profound as if it held an endless starry sky.
There was no piercing sharpness in it, only the calm that came after weathering countless vicissitudes.
His gentle gaze swept over the dense, dark mass of spectators below. He gave a slight nod without speaking; everything was conveyed in silence.
Then, he slowly raised his hands and formed an ancient, mysterious hand seal before his chest.
"Buzz!"
A low hum, as though it had risen from the depths of the earth, sounded out.
The next instant, an immense force of blood and qi beyond description erupted from his seemingly withered body like a volcano that had slept for ten thousand years!
This force did not explode with brute violence. Rather, like the furious waves of a Vast Sea accumulated over countless ages, it surged forth with majestic force and an ancient rhythm.
Scorching! Majestic! Boundless!
The terrifying force of blood and qi burst from his body, churning violently through the empty air behind him, gathering and condensing until it formed a clear, soul-shaking phenomenon.
It was a boundless crimson ocean, with monstrous waves reaching for the sky!
The Blood Sea roiled, furious waves striking the heavens!
Every drop of "seawater" seemed condensed from the purest, most immense blood and qi, radiating a terrifying pressure that made souls tremble.
Near the platform, martial artists below the Tendon Changing Realm instantly turned deathly pale. Their blood and qi churned without rest, beyond their control, as though the invisible pressure would crush them to pieces the next second!
Even many Tendon Changing Realm martial artists found their breathing hurried and their chests oppressed.
"A blood and qi phenomenon! A Blood Sea reaching the heavens! As expected, it is the mark of a Blood Changing Realm expert at completion."
An experienced veteran martial artist hissed in a low voice, filled with reverence. "To cultivate blood and qi to such a degree that illusion becomes substance and a phenomenon manifests... it is simply terrifying."
Shen Qingshan's expression instantly became incomparably grave, even carrying a trace of pain.
He circulated his inherited family art with all his strength, beginning to compress and refine the immense Blood Sea phenomenon that was nearly slipping beyond his control!
This was the most dangerous step in breaking through to the Qi Eating Realm: condensing blood and qi into True Essence, gathering the phenomenon to form the seed of a divine ability!
That Blood Sea phenomenon was the culmination of his life's cultivation, yet at this moment, it was heavy as a mountain and violent as thunder, incredibly difficult to restrain!
It seemed to possess a life of its own, resisting the fate of being refined and changed!
The meridians throughout Shen Qingshan's body swelled violently. Countless little snakes seemed to be writhing beneath his skin—the sign of rampant blood and qi spiraling out of control.
The veins on his forehead bulged. Sweat poured from him like slurry, and his body began to tremble violently beyond his control.
The Blood Sea phenomenon fluctuated fiercely in turn, sometimes swelling as though it would explode, sometimes contracting and twisting. It was wildly unstable, and the aura around him became utterly chaotic, surging strong one moment and weak the next.
The hearts of the spectators below rose to their throats, their palms slick with cold sweat.
Anyone could see that Old Master Shen had encountered a towering obstacle!
He was simply too old. Though his blood and qi were boundless and immense, they lacked some of the vigorous vitality and resilience of youth. It seemed his endurance was beginning to fail.
The Blood Sea phenomenon was too heavy and vast, turning back upon its creator as though it would drag down and assimilate even his Divine Soul and will, making it impossible for him to complete that ultimate transformation and ascension.
Time trickled by, each second as long as a year.
Shen Qingshan's aura visibly withered away. His face changed from flushed red to pale, and at last, even took on a trace of gray, defeated deathliness.
The Blood Sea phenomenon began to flicker violently as well. Its edges blurred, showing signs of collapse and extinction...
Many people sighed inwardly, some even unable to bear watching and closing their eyes.
It was over... in the end, all his efforts had come to naught... he was too old, and fate could not be defied... with this failure and the backlash of blood and qi, Old Master Shen would likely... face more danger than safety...
Li Wei, Wang Meng, Sun Yun, and the others also wore solemn, regretful expressions.
Wang Meng even viciously punched his own thigh.
Chen Yuan stared fixedly at the high platform, his fists unconsciously clenching.
He could clearly sense Old Master Shen's unresigned, unyielding will to wrest life from heaven, but the aura that was steadily fading like a candle flame in the wind was no falsehood.
Regret and reluctance welled up in his heart, yet he could only offer a quiet wish within. If there truly is a miracle...
At that moment, a sudden change erupted!
The aura around Shen Qingshan, which had originally been tending toward lifelessness like ashes after the flames had burned out, suddenly underwent a miraculous, indescribably wondrous change.
It was not a mere final flash before death, but a withered tree meeting spring—a brand-new vitality bursting forth from within the realm of death!
A faint yet incomparably pure force, containing the profound meaning of "Withered Tree Meets Spring," struggled out from the core of the Blood Sea that was about to vanish completely. Like the first tender shoot breaking through beneath ten thousand fathoms of ice, it carried a resolute determination.
"Buzz..."
The instant this thread of power appeared, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth throughout Qixia Mountain stilled!
That wisp of vitality rapidly grew stronger. Like a spark igniting a prairie fire, it instantly spread through his entire body, merging with the rampant blood and qi that was on the verge of scattering.
The once heavy and majestic Blood Sea phenomenon seemed to have been infused with a new soul and vitality, beginning to circulate along a more mysterious path that accorded with heaven and earth's natural order.
Compression! Refinement! Transformation!
The speed abruptly accelerated.
"Rumble!!!"
The skies churned as wind and clouds swept together!
Centered upon Dengxia Platform, an enormous vortex of spiritual energy formed!
A vast quantity of heaven and earth's spiritual energy poured madly into Shen Qingshan's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. Brilliant yet gentle radiance erupted from around him, within which strange Phantoms of withered branches sprouting new buds and frozen ice melting into spring water flickered in and out of existence.
The immense Blood Sea phenomenon rapidly contracted at a speed visible to the naked eye. At last, it transformed into an incomparably condensed crimson-gold pillar of light that suddenly poured back into him, vanishing entirely into his Dantian.
An aura transcending the mundane and standing above the mortal world slowly spread from within him, like an ancient god awakening from slumber—gentle, yet bearing unquestionable majesty.
This aura was vast as the sea and tranquil as the moon. Yet rather than making anyone feel oppressed or afraid, it left every spectator below feeling wholly refreshed, as though their Divine Souls had been cleansed and nourished. Even the cultivation bottlenecks that had long trapped many of them showed signs of loosening.
He had succeeded?!
At the final moment, beside the edge of a bottomless abyss, he had truly turned heaven and earth on their heads, made a withered tree meet spring, and crossed in one stroke the immortal-mortal gulf that had barred countless geniuses!
"How... how is that possible?!"
On the prayer mat at the very front, the young man from the Glimmering Light Sect abruptly opened his eyes. The arrogance and mockery on his face instantly froze, replaced by stunned disbelief and astonishment!
Far away amid the clouds, an indistinct figure invisible to the naked eye gave a slight shudder. The aura around him fluctuated violently, stirring the surrounding clouds into turbulence.
It was precisely the elder of the Glimmering Light Sect hiding in the shadows, whose aura had been mutually restraining those of the Prefecture Lord and the Martial Alliance Leader.
At this moment, his mind shook violently. "Withered Tree Meets Spring... it is actually a mutated qi containing vitality?! Such a miracle... could it be... heaven's will?"
He instinctively wanted to look up at the sky, but the next instant, he sharply lowered his head. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back as he forcibly severed that arrogant thought, not daring to contemplate it any further. How could heaven's will be lightly glimpsed?
Shen Qingshan slowly opened his eyes. The divine light within them was gentle and restrained, as though suns, moons, and stars were arising and perishing within.
He lightly exhaled a breath of turbid air. It shot out like a white ribbon for more than ten feet, condensing in the air without dispersing for a long while before finally fading.
The Qi Eating Realm! A genuine Qi Eating Realm!
True Essence formed itself, a divine ability was beginning to take shape, and his lifespan reached three hundred years!
After a brief, deathly silence, all of Qixia Mountain erupted into complete uproar!
Deafening cheers, cries of astonishment, and applause exploded like mountains calling and seas roaring!
Everyone was too excited to contain themselves. They had witnessed a miracle with their own eyes—a breakthrough born from desperate survival, a reversal of destiny!
Shen Qingshan rose to his feet. His face seemed to have grown several years younger. He smiled faintly at the crowd below, clasped his hands, and bowed in greeting to all around him.
His voice was gentle, yet it clearly reached every ear, carrying a faint sense of emotion and gratitude. "I, Shen Qingshan, borrowed the tempering of 'Minor Cold' today, along with the thoughts of all living beings, to let a withered tree meet spring. By good fortune, I succeeded in condensing this Withered Tree Spring Return Qi. My thanks to all Fellow Daoists for your protection and witness."
Having spoken, he flicked a finger. From the newborn True Essence within him, containing the intent of Withered Tree Meets Spring, he separated a hundred exceedingly fine wisps of qi.
As though they possessed spiritual intelligence, they accurately entered the bodies of one hundred of the eldest spectators below, or those whose foundations appeared damaged.
These people shuddered all over, feeling a gentle yet powerful vitality merge into their limbs and bones, nourishing old hidden injuries. Extending their years and increasing their longevity would be no difficulty at all.
One of those wisps also crossed the crowd and accurately entered Chen Yuan's body.
Chen Yuan only felt a cool current brimming with vitality instantly flow through his entire body, merging into his blood, qi, and marrow.
The minor hidden injuries left behind by earlier cultivation instantly healed. His blood and qi became livelier and purer, while even the foundation of his lifespan seemed to have increased slightly. His mind became clearer as well.
The spectators returned the salute in excitement, their hearts filled with boundless emotion. Their admiration for Old Master Shen's broad-mindedness, bearing, and unyielding will reached the point of utter prostration.
Standing amid the crowd, Chen Yuan's heart surged like stormy waves, unable to calm for a long while.
Not only had he personally witnessed the entire breakthrough into the Qi Eating Realm and felt that immense power and its perilous obstacles, but he had also truly experienced the unyielding will that refused to surrender in desperate straits and ultimately summoned a miracle, as well as the wondrous resonance and response between heaven, earth, and mankind.
For his martial heart, this was an unprecedented cleansing and ascension.
Realm: Skin Grinding Realm - Great Accomplishment (68/100). Lifespan slightly increased; foundational essence received a minor benefit. Tide Fortune: 95/100
On the road back to the city, Wang Meng was still so excited that he danced with his hands and spoke incoherently. Sun Yun remained silent, but a sharp light flickered in her eyes; clearly, she had gained greatly.
Li Wei sighed. "Old Master Shen's breakthrough this time could be called an escape from death. His heart held benevolence, and his blessings reached later generations, so he received the response of all living beings and kindled vitality amid desolation. This is the principle of 'virtue harmonizing with heaven and earth.' In martial cultivation, fierce strength is easily broken; only benevolence can bear all things, and that is the path to enduring success."
Chen Yuan deeply agreed and etched those words firmly into his heart. Martial cultivation was not merely about advancing bravely and fiercely. At times, holding kindness in one's heart and harmonizing one's virtue with heaven could instead bring great freedom and great opportunities.
This trip to the prefectural city had been worth everything for this one sight alone.
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