The two swords collided, exploding within Li Jiusheng's sea of consciousness.
Li Jiusheng was blasted into vomiting blood on the spot. The consciousness he had painstakingly refined through day-and-night visualization of the Earth Store's Original Vows Sutra was instantly reduced by more than half. His entire body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.
This strike had still dealt him tremendous damage.
But fortunately, Emperor Wu of Zhou's remnant soul had been slain.
The Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique Emperor Wu of Zhou had unleashed was shattered in an instant, and his primordial spirit was torn apart. Li Jiusheng had heard his furious roar in his final moments. Weakly, Li Jiusheng smiled. "How could someone like you understand? Back then, the Thousand-Year Sword God of the Old Land passed that sword technique on to you without holding anything back, but you never trusted him and never cultivated it. What I used was merely the version he had improved over these past centuries."
"Emperor Wu of Zhou, you did not die unjustly, because you essentially died at the hands of the Thousand-Year Sword God of the Old Land once again." Li Jiusheng laughed heartily, then noticed something strange within his body.
"No, Emperor Wu of Zhou's remnant soul was slain, and the consciousness within it was erased, but its energy remains. This is pure, patriarch-level energy. It is an immense tonic for me." Li Jiusheng realized that this was also a stroke of fortune.
He exhausted all his strength and barely managed to prop himself into a sitting position. Then he circulated the Earth Store's Original Vows Sutra and began absorbing the patriarch-level primordial spirit energy lingering in his body, repairing the shattered space of his consciousness.
At this moment, Li Jiusheng used the power of the patriarch's primordial spirit to condense his own Pure Yang consciousness.
Each of his thoughts became crystalline. Washed by the power of the patriarch's primordial spirit, they grew exceptionally tough and emitted a Pure Yang aura.
Thus, one thought after another transformed into Pure Yang consciousness.
These Pure Yang consciousnesses radiated intense light. Dense as countless golden needles, they linked together the ruined space of his consciousness, repairing and strengthening it.
Li Jiusheng's spirits improved, and the injuries on his body vanished.
How powerful was patriarch-level primordial spirit power? Even a mere wisp of a remnant soul was an immense tonic to Li Jiusheng, who was in the master realm.
After repairing the space of his consciousness, quite a bit of that energy remained.
Li Jiusheng realized this was an opportunity.
He wanted to break through the master realm and enter the Great Grandmaster level.
The first step was to fuse each strand of Pure Yang consciousness together and condense them into his own primordial spirit.
This step posed no difficulty for Li Jiusheng.
He frantically circulated the Earth Store's Original Vows Sutra, visualizing the Earth Store Bodhisattva of Senluo Hell. Then, beneath the Bodhisattva's reflection, the strands of Pure Yang consciousness gathered, broke apart, and fused.
Within the space of his consciousness, Li Jiusheng's Pure Yang consciousness was like brilliant stars filling the sky, dazzling and radiant.
At this moment, those stars dissolved into vast amounts of light and slowly gathered within the space of his consciousness. The brilliant stars filling the sky became a resplendent great sun.
Within that great sun, Li Jiusheng's primordial spirit was taking shape.
He was stepping toward the Great Grandmaster realm.
"The hardest part of breaking through from the master realm to Great Grandmaster has already been resolved. Since that is the case, why don't I begin my second rebirth?" Li Jiusheng was highly ambitious. He had undergone rebirth once in the master realm, and his strength had increased enormously. Within that realm, no matter who it was, he dared claim invincibility. But after entering the Great Grandmaster realm, that would no longer be the case.
Then why not begin a second rebirth?
His foundation was deep enough, and he even had Stone Ancestor-level primordial spirit power to supply him. He could absolutely accomplish it.
"I was invincible in the master realm. I will remain invincible within the Great Grandmaster realm." Li Jiusheng decisively began his second rebirth.
Within the space of his consciousness, the Earth Store's Original Vows Sutra circulated madly.
Within his flesh, the Mountain and Wild New Life Method, Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength, Invincible Golden Body, Great Sun Nirvana Scripture, and Savage Force all began circulating together.
Boom!
At that moment, enormous amounts of energy surged from Li Jiusheng's body. The energy transformed into wisps of golden light, interweaving densely until they completely covered him.
These Golden Lights originated from different cultivation methods, but they all shared the same goal: assisting Li Jiusheng in completing this rebirth.
Old skin continually scabbed and fell from his body, while new flesh grew forth. His bones and meridians crackled and popped, and a clear fragrance of the Great Dao spread from his flesh. It smelled better than any medicinal aroma, like orchids and musk, carrying vigorous vitality.
The second rebirth had begun!
At the edge of the cliff beside the waterfall, the roaring waters concealed the commotion caused by Li Jiusheng's breakthrough. No one knew he was undergoing a transformation. Only Little Fox guarded his side, watching nervously while scanning the surroundings with great vigilance, refusing to let anyone approach Li Jiusheng.
Within the space of his consciousness, his primordial spirit was slowly being sculpted into form.
Within his physical body, his reborn body was being unearthed.
His cultivation realm was also steadily advancing from the late stage of the master realm toward the Great Grandmaster realm.
His strength continued to rise.
Two hundred Dragon Elephant Power.
Three hundred Dragon Elephant Power.
Four hundred Dragon Elephant Power.
Five hundred Dragon Elephant Power.
One rebirth and one breakthrough had directly raised Li Jiusheng's strength from just over a hundred Dragon Elephant Power to five hundred Dragon Elephant Power.
And this was merely the smallest gain from this occasion.
His primordial spirit had been sculpted into form and stood within the space of his consciousness. It was a miniature Li Jiusheng. Having absorbed patriarch-level energy, the newborn primordial spirit was robust and healthy, completely lacking the weakness that accompanied the birth of other primordial spirits.
His physical body shone with golden light, and its clear fragrance and dense vitality made Little Fox unable to resist moving closer. She licked her lips, thinking that Li Jiusheng smelled so good.
The breakthrough lasted an entire day and night. During that time, Li Qingshan came by, wanting to discuss something with Li Jiusheng, but Little Fox bared her teeth and claws, scaring him away.
Of course, Li Qingshan had also seen that Li Jiusheng was breaking through. With Little Fox guarding him, he did not rashly disturb him. Instead, he ordered that for the next few days, all disciples and elders were forbidden from going to the Scripture Repository Pavilion.
Only after a full day and night did Li Jiusheng awaken from his breakthrough.
When he opened his eyes, the golden threads of light on his body had all disappeared, scattering with the wind like thin mist.
He sat up and discovered that after this rebirth, his flesh had become crystalline, with no wounds anywhere on his body. When he closed his eyes, the space of his consciousness was smooth and translucent, surpassing what it had once been and shining brilliantly.
The chibi Li Jiusheng inside even greeted him.
"This rebirth is truly marvelous." Li Jiusheng sensed the changes in himself: surging power, a powerful body, a crystalline primordial spirit. Even his appearance had become ten or so years younger.
"My realm has already entered the Great Grandmaster level, and even my various Dao and techniques have made tremendous progress." Li Jiusheng was overjoyed.
This rebirth had not merely caused enormous changes to his physical body. For him, every cultivation method that had participated in the rebirth had improved enormously. Each had broken through Accumulation and entered the Dao level, becoming far more powerful than before.
"If I can undergo a rebirth every time I break through a major realm, then not only will my combat strength improve, but even my lifespan may surpass those at the same realm by far. If I cultivate to the end, might I become immortal through all ages?" Li Jiusheng could not help but fantasize.
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