Departure!
In a quiet room.
Zhou Hao sat cross-legged on the cloud bed, focusing all his attention on the sea of consciousness in his Mud Pill Palace.
A lifelike little figure named Zhou Hao sat cross-legged in the void of his sea of consciousness; it was Zhou Hao's soul.
"Whoosh~~~~"
A hazy halo condensed on Zhou Hao's chest, and a strange character gradually appeared out of thin air.
It was a script that was neither human, nor of any race, nor of any god or demon; it was unlike any script Zhou Hao knew.
Seeing those golden characters, which resemble talismans, is like seeing surging waves constantly crashing against the shore.
"Condense!" With a thought, Zhou Hao opened the Heavenly Eye on his forehead.
The divine sense, which was enough to surpass that of an ordinary perfect Primordial Spirit Daoist, even emitted wisps of golden light at this moment.
The faintly visible golden character, under the powerful force of divine consciousness, finally solidified into a physical form, resembling a pure gold talisman, and merged into Zhou Hao's divine soul eye.
The overlapping divine senses surged and flowed in all directions like waves, instantly creating visible ripples in the air of the quiet room, which was over thirty feet long and wide.
It is entirely conceivable that if there were other living beings in the quiet room at this moment, his soul would be subjected to such a terrifying spiritual impact, like a dam being pounded.
"Finally, the ' Soul-Shaking Sigil ' has been formed." Zhou Hao opened his eyes and revealed a smile.
In the past six months, in addition to studying the boxing technique "Tai Chi Three Chapters" passed down by his master, Daoist Kong Fang, he has also mastered the first volume of the supernatural power "Three Heads and Six Arms" and the divine soul secret technique "Soul-Shaking Art" that he obtained from the Dao Treasury Hall.
As for the Myriad Phenomena Realm technique recorded in the first volume of the Divine Power <Law of Heaven and Earth>, since he had not yet broken through to the Myriad Phenomena Realm with the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, even though he had comprehended the method of enhancing his body with divine power, he could not use it.
"Further seclusion and meditation won't be of much use. Just as Master said, only battle is the best way to hone one's skills. It's time to go to the Abyss World."
Zhou Hao left the quiet room feeling relaxed.
When they arrived outside the courtyard, a Golden Crow had just risen; it was early morning.
A sweep of divine sense revealed that all the puppet residences in the entire West Courtyard were sealed off by arrays, leaving it unclear whether they were in seclusion or out on missions to hone their skills.
Zhou Hao walked out of the courtyard and sealed off the protective formation. Instead of taking the Golden-Scaled Boat, he strolled towards the summit of Fool's Peak as if taking a leisurely walk.
Besides the Golden Platform Palace, where Golden Platform Elder resides, the inner disciples' courtyard, which is responsible for guiding the outer disciples of each academy, is also located on the mountaintop.
Zhou Hao was going to the Abyss World beneath Sunken Sky Mountain to hone his skills and complete the outer disciple trial assessment along the way, so he first needed to find Yan Xun to accept the mission.
On the Qingshi path, Zhou Hao took a step and his figure flashed and appeared dozens of feet away. Although he was walking at a leisurely pace, his speed was faster than that of an ordinary cultivator using his full movement technique.
"The ' Cosmos Chapter ' in the Tai Chi Three Chapters is very similar to the profound mystery of the Qiankun Dao in the second level of the ' Heaven Escape Needle Art '. If I can go a step further and comprehend the true meaning of 'Void Shifting', I will also be able to enter the Qiankun Dao."
Void teleportation is the foundation of the foundation of the ' Heaven and Earth Great Dao '.
Once one comprehends it, just as Zhou Hao comprehended the Dao of Square and Circle, one is not far from grasping a trace of the true meaning of the Great Dao.
Although Zhou Hao can now travel dozens of feet in a flash, he still hasn't truly grasped the True Meaning of the Dao.
If he truly comprehends this, with the strength of his divine soul, he can directly teleport to any place covered by his divine sense, even more conveniently than using Minor Teleportation Dao Talisman.
In a short while, the Fool's Peak appeared before Zhou Hao.
Not far below the majestic Golden Platform Palace, a spacious villa several times larger than their puppet courtyard was Yan Xun's residence on Fool's Peak.
Swish!
Zhou Hao took a step from dozens of feet away and appeared in front of the gate of the villa.
Yan Xun was just coming out of the courtyard when he saw Zhou Hao appear out of nowhere.
"Changsheng Brother Changsheng!" Yan Xun exclaimed in amazement, "It's been more than half a year since I last saw you, and your strength has improved so much that even I am far behind you."
Although he didn't know that Zhou Hao had comprehended the true meaning of the "Droplet Great Dao," Zhou Hao's fleeting movement clearly showed that he had grasped some of the mysteries of spatial teleportation.
Because the Minor Teleportation Dao Talisman is an essential life-saving treasure for disciples of the Purple Mansion Myriad Phenomena Manifestations Realm in most major immortal sects and clans, cultivators are no strangers to teleportation.
Moreover, Yan Xun, being beside Zhou Hao, could sense his own soul tightening as if he were encountering immense terror, and thus could roughly guess Zhou Hao's current strength.
"I have improved since I first started," Zhou Hao said with a smile.
In close combat, the ninth God-Devil Body Refining Chiming Nine Heavens Map, at the peak of the Purple Mansion, is enough to surpass a major realm and rival the early stage of the Myriad Phenomena realm.
With the addition of several great supernatural powers, especially the Xuanwu Great Divine Ability which amplifies the body, he can rival the peak of the Myriad Phenomena Realm even without the Blue Flower Mist, and can even kill a Qi Refining Divine Camel Daoist head-on.
In terms of refining Qi for long-range attacks, although he is only at the early stage of the Myriad Phenomena, his Origin Power is far more refined than that of Primordial Spirit Daoist.
With the Heaven Escape Needle Art, the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light, and several Earth-Grade Dharma Treasure, he was in no way inferior to an ordinary Qi Refining Path Primordial Spirit Daoist.
It can be said that although he is only an outer disciple now, even the strongest among the inner disciples may not be his match.
In an ordinary immortal sect, his strength would be enough to serve as an elder at the Nascent Soul level.
Of course, he only thought about these things himself and didn't need to tell his senior brother Yan Xun.
"Senior Brother Yan Xun," Zhou Xuan said, looking at Yan Xun, "I intend to go to the Abyss World to hone my skills and complete the outer sect trial tasks to qualify for the inner sect assessment."
"Alright. It's time to finish. Even Liu Yu, who studies formations, has already received his orders and gone to the Abyss World with several inner disciples from Ten Thousand Rosy Clouds Peak."
Yan Xun nodded and took out a cyan jade stone. "This is a 'recording stone.' When Changsheng Brother Changsheng kills the Yaksha at the Myriad Phenomena Realm, don't forget to activate the recording stone to record it."
"Okay." Zhou Hao took the cyan jade stone, infused it with his Origin Power to test it, and then knew how to use it. He then put it away.
The outer disciples' trial mission is quite simple: all they need to do is go to the underground Abyss World and kill a Yaksha at the Myriad Phenomena Realm.
Although the sect does not prohibit disciples from going together, they must kill the monster alone and record the entire process with a recording stone to prove that they have strength surpassing the Myriad Phenomena Yaksha before they are qualified to undergo the inner sect's test of soul and Dao heart.
Disciples who can enter the outer sect of the Mysterious Heaven Sect are considered prodigies in other immortal sects. Even if they are slow, it would take them three to five years to kill the Myriad Phenomena Yaksha and qualify for the inner sect test.
However, the final test is aimed at the soul and Dao heart. For ordinary disciples without Visualization Technique, the strength of their soul and Dao heart are the most difficult tests to enter the inner sect.
Most outer disciples work hard to complete tasks and earn merit points, which they then exchange for Visualization Technique from the Dao Treasury Hall to enhance their spiritual souls in order to complete the final test. Even with ten years, they still struggle to make ends meet.
Among the disciples of the West Courtyard, only Yun Yuchan, a reincarnated immortal, and Curly-Sideburned Guest, with extraordinary encounters, were able to quickly leave the outer sect and enter the inner sect.
Even those who have qualified for the inner sect trials are now striving to improve their spiritual souls.
"With Changsheng Brother Changsheng's strength, killing a Myriad Phenomena Yaksha is naturally not difficult," Yan Xun said with a smile. "However, this is Junior Brother's first time going to the Abyss World, so Senior Brother still has some things to remind you of."
"Please speak, senior brother," Zhou Hao said.
"The Abyss World is an excellent place for cultivation. Endless dangers lurk in the darkness, with demonic beasts or earth demons pouncing at any moment. It's an excellent place to temper one's spirit and will," Yan Xun said.
"Those outer disciples who didn't previously Visualization Technique, after spending a long time cultivating underground and experiencing countless battles and dangers, will find it extremely helpful in passing the inner sect's tests of spirit and Dao heart later on."
Zhou Hao nodded.
Those soldiers who experienced battles in their past lives are generally determined and can endure hardships that ordinary people cannot bear. Some even have a strong killing intent that is said to be so strong that even gods and ghosts are afraid of them. This shows how great the trials of life and death battles are.
Yan Xun continued, "Although the underground Abyss World is an excellent training ground, and even most of the inner disciples who remain in the Profound Heaven Realm go there to hone their skills, there are also cases where disciples die underground and their bodies are never found. Once you enter the underground world, you must be extremely careful and absolutely must not stay in one place for too long."
"Those demons and monsters far outnumber humans, and they are much more familiar with the Abyss World than we are. If we stay in one place for too long, it's easy for the powerful demons and monsters among them to join forces."
"They cultivate demonic techniques from the underworld, some of which are so bizarre that even a powerful cultivator like Primordial Spirit Daoist can occasionally fall victim to them and die. Remember, you must not be careless."
"Especially since there are still some demons from the Hell Path and Hungry Ghost Path lurking among them who haven't yet possessed them, our Mysterious Heaven Sect disciples are absolutely top-tier delicacies to them, no less than elixirs and panaceas."
Yan Xun sighed, "When I was still in the outer sect, I had a junior brother who was possessed by a powerful Yin Demon from the Hell Path in the underground world. The demon devoured his soul, leaving him forever unable to be reborn... Compared to those Yaksha demons, this kind of Yin Demon is the most dangerous. Remember to be careful and guard against it."
Zhou Hao nodded solemnly.
According to the <Profound Heaven Manual>, those Yin Demons all escaped from the Underworld to this realm. Although those with too much strength cannot pass through the Netherworld Passage, occasionally there will be Yin Demons that are no weaker than the Nascent Soul Realm.
Although the Yin Demon has no physical form after leaving the Netherworld, and is merely a ghostly, illusory entity of thought, it is most adept at wreaking havoc on the souls of cultivators.
In the history of the Profound Heaven Realm, there was even a 'Heavenly Demon' among the Yin Demons, comparable to Void Return Immortal. It slaughtered and killed many disciples and several Primordial Spirit Daoist before finally dissipating under the siege of several immortals.
When they left the summit of Fool's Peak, Zhou Hao also put away his previous relaxed and carefree attitude and became more cautious.
"This is Wilderness World Soul stage, but what about those at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level? I must always act with caution and maintain a sense of awe in order to go further on this path to immortality."
Zhou Hao reminded himself and went straight to the mountain peak where the teleportation tower array was located when they first entered the Profound Heaven Realm.
The underground Abyss World is located in the Western Lianghe Continent of the Profound Heaven Realm. It would take at least several dozen days to fly there by oneself, which is certainly not as fast as using the teleportation tower array.
The disciples of the Mysterious Heaven Sect can use the sect's teleportation tower array at will, just like the Yinglong Guard of the Xia Clan Great World, which amazed Zhou Hao with their strength and foundation.
Buzz~~~~
The hazy gray light on the surface of the tower array began to illuminate, and the white light at the top of the tower instantly increased in brightness by a thousand or even ten thousand times.
Zhou Hao felt a fluctuation in the surrounding space. Having just begun to grasp the mysteries of spatial teleportation, he could vaguely sense that the profound and vast universe contained within the runes of this tower array was immense.
Before I could fully appreciate it, my vision blurred, and when I could see my surroundings again, I was surrounded by a continuous mountain range.
Thank you all for the donations! To save time, I won't thank everyone individually.
I need to pick up my wife and kids tonight. I'll try my best to finish the manuscript, but I might not be able to continue with three more chapters. I'll do my best.