"Roar!"
A furious beast's roar rang out from inside the building that looked like a grand theater.
Two blood-red eyes, each as large as a fist, appeared in the dim building.
"You don't even brush your teeth after eating. You stink!"
Li Qingxu furrowed his brow, looking displeased.
The rank stench wafting over had ruined his good mood after enjoying a delicious dinner.
The next moment,
divine power surged out of his Bitter Sea, transforming him into a radiant golden War God.
He stepped forward, and a hazy Dao Diagram appeared beneath his feet.
"You should be glad I don't eat things without spiritual energy inside them!"
His voice still echoed where he had stood, but Li Qingxu was already above the Lord-level Monster.
His golden fist came down without any flashy moves, slamming into the head of the nearly twenty-meter-long, crocodile-like beast.
The void trembled. His golden fist was like a mountain.
"Boom!"
The entire enormous building shook with a deafening crash.
The next moment, another violent tremor rang out.
Li Qingxu stood on the Lord-level crocodile monster's neck, pinning it to the ground.
His golden fists rained down faster and faster, unleashing a frenzied force that shook the void.
One punch after another drove the monster's head into the earth.
With a wet, explosive splatter,
the Lord-level Monster's head was smashed to pieces.
The large building couldn't withstand the violent shaking either and collapsed with a crash.
"Send someone to the location where I teleported in. Have them collect the materials from a monster and sell them."
Looking at the monster's corpse beneath his feet, Li Qingxu took out his phone and called Extreme Headquarters.
"Understood, Councilor Li. I'll arrange for a War God to come over by aircraft right away."
As his figure vanished in an instant, the nearly twenty-meter-long One-Horned Crocodile lay motionless in the crater.
Before long, several War God-level martial artists hurried over after hearing the commotion. When they saw the corpse of a Lord-level One-Horned Crocodile, their eyes filled with astonishment—and even longing.
But they only dared to watch from a distance, not daring to approach any further.
Anyone who could kill a Lord-level Monster had to be a councilor who had surpassed the War God level.
Though they didn't know why the councilor hadn't harvested the monster's materials, anyone bold enough to steal a councilor's spoils would be like a man hanging himself in his old age: they'd be dead before they could enjoy them.
The morning sun rose.
On the rooftop of a high-rise beside the sea in City 003,
Li Qingxu sat cross-legged, facing the dawn.
After a night of exertion, the cells in his body were unusually active.
As he settled down, the omnipresent energy of the universe flowed into his Sacred Body.
Vast amounts of vital essence welled up from his cells. Guided by the Dao Scripture, it formed streams of essence that flowed into his Bitter Sea.
The golden Bitter Sea glimmered, and life flourished on its surface, where a hint of green seemed to emerge.
"Form!"
At Li Qingxu's cry, a strange plant appeared and disappeared amid the golden expanse. It looked like a Green Lotus, wreathed in chaotic mist!
Above the Wheel Sea, the sky was no longer hazy or empty. It was a clear blue, like the azure heavens.
"Without the Azure Emperor's Green Lotus to empower it, I can only use the Wheel Sea Secret Realm to manifest the Chaos Planting Green Lotus phenomenon in its initial form."
Li Qingxu looked at the Green Lotus and sighed.
This phenomenon wouldn't be nearly as powerful as it had been in his previous life. He would have to wait until the Saint realm to cultivate the Wheel Sea Secret Realm again and perfect it.
The sky above was a deep, distant blue.
A Green Lotus stood alone in the Bitter Sea, teeming with life, as if it had given rise to a vivid world.
Chaotic mist curled around it, mysterious and indistinct.
Li Qingxu settled into stillness, his mind empty and clear as he observed it closely.
The Green Lotus broke through the golden surface of the sea and grew three jade-green leaves. It carried a natural Dao essence, as if explaining the beginning of Heaven and Earth: the Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things.
It seemed to embody something formed from chaos, existing before Heaven and Earth—the source of all things, preceding even the image of the Emperor.
The Green Lotus merged with the Wheel Sea, radiating a wondrous charm, like an unfathomably deep abyss of the Dao. It was serene and tranquil, as if it could endure forever.
"Now I need to perfect the Other Shore Realm before breaking through to the Dao Palace Secret Realm."
Li Qingxu quieted his mind and absorbed the energy of the universe with all his strength.
As for the scriptures for the Dao Palace Secret Realm, he had a fragment of the Western Emperor Scripture. Its Dao Palace Scroll was hailed as the strongest chapter among all Emperor Scriptures.
To perfect the Other Shore Realm, one had to undergo nine transformations. The body would be remade nine times, gradually leaving the realm of ordinary mortals.
He was about to undergo the first transformation: withering and renewal, the initial stage of his metamorphosis.
Meanwhile, at the Southeast Military Region's Supply Base outside City 003,
the Southeast Military Region was even larger than the Northern Military Region in Jiangnan Base City.
"This Supply Base is a lot bigger than the one at the Northern Military Region, too."
After collecting their keys, Luo Feng and the others walked through the Supply Base, marveling at the sight.
The base had far more residences than the Northern Military Region, and martial artists could be seen everywhere.
The martial artists here were also far stronger than those in the Northern Military Region.
"Of course it's stronger!"
Gao Feng said with a sigh, "City 003 is right by the ocean. Countless sea monsters have broken through the mainland, and they've long been threatening the inland areas along the Huangpu River."
The military region here was meant to deal with those sea monsters, while the martial artists here mainly fought the monsters in City 003.
Compared to land monsters, sea monsters were an even more terrifying threat to humanity.
The ocean covered far more area than the land, and it belonged entirely to the monsters. One could only imagine how many monsters lived in its waters.
"Look, isn't that the Poison Demon Spear?"
"Damn, isn't that a War God? You hardly ever see a War God-level powerhouse in the Northern Military Region. I've already seen one as soon as I got here."
The members of Fire Hammer Squad watched from the balcony of their quarters, their voices full of amazement.
The martial artists here really did come from all over the country.
A short while later, the five fully equipped members of Fire Hammer Squad left the Supply Base.
"That's Fire Hammer Squad. Did they come here too?"
"I heard their new member, Madman, is pretty impressive. He's a Beginner Warlord, so he'll probably advance quickly."
Some martial artists in the Supply Base chatted and laughed.
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.
Li Qingxu perfected the Wheel Sea. His flesh regenerated, and he completed the nine transformations of the Other Shore. Vital energy overflowed from him, restoring life even to the dead moss on the rooftop.
Every gesture brimmed with surging divine power. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.
Two beams of divine light shot out, blasting a flock of flying monsters in the distance into a rain of blood.
"It's time to break through."
Li Qingxu murmured, then closed his eyes and settled his mind once more.
The Wheel Sea lay below his navel and was about the size of a palm. The Dao Palace lay above it.
Having cultivated in his previous life, he had already comprehended the Dao Palace chapter of the Western Emperor Scripture. The Dao Palace corresponded to the five organs and was enclosed by the ribs.
The five deities within the Dao Palace were closely connected to them. They could generate the power of the Dao and bring forth life; it was truly a place where one's life could be nurtured.
The heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were collectively known as the five organs, or the five spirits.
They stored vital essence without releasing it, contained life without decay, and constituted an exceedingly powerful secret realm within the human body.
If one could nurture the spirit, one would not die. With the five spirits ever-present, one could remain forever youthful, connect the five energies to Heaven and Earth, and endure without end, living on in the world forever.
The Dao Palace was a secret realm that could not be overlooked. Anyone seeking immortality had to work hard to cultivate it.
And anyone who wished to climb higher and comprehend the Immortal Dao also needed to evolve the Five Elements once more.
Before you continue