Not Grand Unity, Still a Pawn

Hummm!

With a soft hum, the Spiritual Energy in the entire quiet room suddenly became viscous.

A high-level Spirit Gathering Formation had been set up!

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy from all directions was forcibly drawn in, transforming into visible white mist that churned and converged within the formation, causing the Spiritual Energy concentration in this area to surge by more than tenfold!

After completing all this, Zhao Gongming took out several thousand-year-old spiritual herbs he had found during his sea voyage.

Although these spiritual herbs were far inferior to the Purple Rhyme Immortal Ganoderma, they still contained pure essence of plants and trees, making them excellent aids for breakthroughs.

He placed the spiritual herbs before him, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

"Nine Revolutions Chaos Divine Art, activate!"

Rumble--!

Almost the instant the cultivation technique began to circulate, the dormant Magical Power within his body roared like an awakened ancient ferocious beast, shaking the heavens and earth! It was no longer the pure and ethereal nature of the Supreme Purity Immortal Method, but a domineering and profound power originating from Chaos!

The Magical Power, which had originally flowed like a great river, now transformed into a surging and roaring sea of Chaos, carrying a momentum that crushed everything, launching its first charge towards the invisible yet incredibly tough Mid Golden Immortal bottleneck!

Thump!

A dull, drum-like sound echoed from within him.

Zhao Gongming's body trembled violently. The bottleneck was as solid as divine iron, unmoving.

His expression remained unchanged, as he had anticipated this.

If it were an ordinary cultivation technique, it might require slow and steady effort, taking hundreds or thousands of years. But the Nine Revolutions Chaos Divine Art was different!

This cultivation technique pursued the supreme domineering path of breaking through skill with force, pushing aside everything!

"Again!"

His mind and spirit became one. The dense, water-like Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Gathering Formation was greedily inhaled into his body. The spiritual herbs before him instantly turned into a torrent of pure medicinal power, all absorbed by him.

Fueled by this massive external force, the Chaos Magical Power within him became even more ferocious, churning up waves tens of thousands of feet high. With unprecedented might, it once again slammed violently against the barrier!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Once, twice, thrice...

Each impact caused his Cave Abode to tremble. If not for the protective restrictions, the entire Jin'ao Island would have likely been alerted.

Each collision subjected his physical body to immense pressure, causing his meridians to sting and his bones to creak.

However, it was precisely within this violent impact and tempering that another profound mystery of the Nine Revolutions Chaos Divine Art began to reveal itself!

Strands of Chaos Dao Patterns emanated from the surging Magical Power. Instead of attacking the bottleneck, they silently integrated into his limbs and bones, into every inch of his flesh and blood, every single bone.

His physical body was undergoing a silent transformation!

On his muscles and bones, the ancient Dao Patterns grew brighter, as if about to emerge from the bones and imprint themselves onto his flesh and blood.

His blood was no longer bright red but had taken on a faint golden hue, carrying the aura of Chaos. Each heartbeat was like the beating of a divine drum, filled with explosive power.

Under this tempering, the stinging pain and pressure that had arisen from impacting the bottleneck were rapidly diminishing.

His physical body's strength was increasing at an incredible rate, quickly surpassing the scope of an ordinary Early Golden Immortal, and even... faintly reaching a level comparable to that of a late-stage Golden Immortal body-refiner!

"Break!"

Zhao Gongming suddenly let out a low roar. His divine sense, Magical Power, and physical strength reached perfect unity at this moment!

Crack--!

A crisp cracking sound, as if from the depths of his soul, echoed. Under the force of this terrifying trinity, the indestructible Mid Golden Immortal bottleneck finally showed a crack!

Now!

Zhao Gongming seized this fleeting opportunity and unleashed all the power within him!

Boom!!!

The barrier, like a stubborn rock struck by a divine axe, shattered with a roar!

A torrent of Magical Power, several times more potent than before, like an evil dragon breaking free from its cage, roared and surged into a brand new world!

The Dantian Sea of Qi within him expanded several times instantly, and his meridians became wider and more resilient.

The Chaos-colored Magical Power surged ceaselessly within, and each circulation brought a powerful sense of control over heaven and earth.

Mid Golden Immortal, achieved!

A vast aura erupted from Zhao Gongming's body, instantly breaking through the restrictions of Luofu Cave and soaring into the heavens!

Above Jin'ao Island, the wind and clouds changed color. Endless Spiritual Energy converged, forming a massive Spiritual Energy vortex that poured into Luofu Cave, consolidating the realm he had just broken through.

[Ding! Detected host's realm advancement, breaking through to Mid Golden Immortal. Reward: 2000 Primordial Points!]

[Primordial Points: 2800 points.]

The System's notification sounded in his mind. Zhao Gongming slowly opened his eyes, and a beam of Chaos Divine Light shot out from his pupils, tearing a tiny black rift in the void before him that took a long time to heal.

He slowly raised his hand and gently clenched it.

"This... is the power of a Mid Golden Immortal..."

He felt the unprecedented, surging Magical Power within his body and his incredibly resilient physique, a powerful confidence welling up in his heart.

At this moment, Zhao Gongming was more than ten times stronger than before his breakthrough! Activating the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls would also unleash incomparable might.

He knew that he finally possessed the strength to initially protect himself in this perilous Primordial World.

But this was far from enough.

In the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods, all below the Saint realm were ants. Without reaching Grand Unity, one would ultimately be unable to escape the fate of being a mere pawn.

The road ahead remained long and arduous.

Zhao Gongming stood up, his gaze piercing through the Cave Abode and looking out at the boundless East Sea, his eyes deep and resolute.

While Jin'ao Island was good, it was ultimately a place of peace, like a greenhouse that could not nurture a towering tree capable of withstanding wind and frost.

The shadow of the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods pressed down on his heart like an invisible mountain, allowing him no moment of relaxation. Only by tempering himself in the storms of the Primordial World and growing through battles on the brink of death could he truly earn the right to contend with heaven and earth.

"It's time to go out and take a walk," he murmured to himself, a hint of determination in his voice.

After consolidating his cultivation for several days and completely mastering the surge of power, Zhao Gongming bid farewell to the few registered disciples who were in seclusion in the Cave Abode and quietly left Jin'ao Island.

Without alerting anyone, including his Junior Sister San Xiao, he transformed into a streak of light and headed towards the vast and boundless Primordial Continent.

Above the East Sea, the waves rolled on, vast and misty, with immortal islands dotted everywhere, and Spiritual Energy swirling.

However, Zhao Gongming's heart had already flown towards that vast land where peril and opportunity coexisted. His goal was clear: to seek opportunities to obtain Primordial Points while tempering himself and fully unleashing the might of the Nine Revolutions Chaos Divine Art through actual combat.

As he traveled, he witnessed the magnificence and brutality of the Primordial World. There were divine mountains soaring ten thousand ren into the sky, with immortal birds singing and spirit apes offering fruit! There were also vast marshes stretching for thousands of miles, filled with poisonous miasma, where ferocious beasts that had lived for countless years lurked. A single misstep would lead to death and the dissipation of his Dao.