Opening the Violet Mansion (Brothers, please follow and read)

"My Gods and Devils body refinement has long reached the ninth stage of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map. Now, it is only due to the limitations of my cultivation technique that my Qi-refining progress has remained stagnant."

Lei Zhan whispered softly, "This time, I shall open my Qi-refining Purple Mansion in one fell swoop."

He lifted his gaze to the palm-sized, translucent flying sword in his hand, then hesitated no longer.

"Rise!" Lei Zhan pointed a finger lightly at the flying sword.

Instantly, a faint ripple stirred within the silent chamber.

In a flash, with a "whoosh," the Nirvana Demon-Slaughtering Sword, which had been lying quietly in his hand, seemed to be pulled by an invisible, immense force and hovered in mid-air.

Lei Zhan's thoughts stirred, and the Nine Directions Fragment, a Qi-refining technique he was already intimately familiar with, flowed through his mind. The boundless elemental energy within his Dantian surged like a breached dam, whistling as it poured out of his body.

These purple-gold elemental energies swirled and intertwined, gradually condensing into ancient, complex, and profound runic patterns.

The patterns were intricate and mysterious, and in the blink of an eye, they covered most of the space above the chamber.

The entire chamber was shrouded in this purple-gold radiance, and at the center of these runes lay the palm-sized Nirvana Demon-Slaughtering Sword.

"Merge!"

Lei Zhan watched the countless runes in mid-air as his voice fell.

The ancient, purple-gold divine runes shone brilliantly, each one moving with agility as they swarmed toward the Nirvana Demon-Slaughtering Sword.

Every time a purple-gold rune merged into the sword, the precious treasure—forged from the rare material 'Nirvana Crystal Gold'—began to melt like a candle scorched by fire.

As time passed, the purple-gold runes in the chamber gradually thinned, and the Nirvana Demon-Slaughtering Sword, crafted from the precious Nirvana Crystal Gold, was assimilated by the runes into a liquid, resembling a pool of purple-gold nectar.

"Splash~~"

The purple-gold liquid shimmered with a faint light, as if it were the purest energy in the world, gathering into a mass and flowing slowly.

Lei Zhan activated the Nine Directions Fragment, and with a thought, he began to consume this pool of purple-gold liquid.

"Inhale!"

Lei Zhan opened his mouth.

In an instant, the purple-gold liquid in the air seemed to respond to a summons; it flew up and, guided by his divine sense, entered Lei Zhan's mouth to be swallowed into his body.

His Dantian was like fire, and the purple-gold liquid was like oil.

"Rumble~~"

As soon as the liquid entered his body, it was like adding fuel to a fire. Within his Dantian, the purple-gold true energy, already comparable to that of a Purple Mansion cultivator, surged endlessly, churning like vast waves and beginning to gather and accumulate frantically!

His Dantian was a scene of turbulent waves. The true energy, which had already reached its limit, seemed to be transforming from a liquid state to a solid state under the fusion of the purple-gold liquid, becoming increasingly viscous.

Soon, supplied by the massive amount of purple-gold liquid, it reached its peak, and the endless true energy spun and compressed frantically.

The elemental energy seemed to find the space within the Dantian too small to contain any more.

"Boom~~"

In an instant, it was as if Pangu had split the heavens and earth! A loud explosion echoed within his previously chaotic Dantian!

"The Purple Mansion, opened!" A hint of a smile suddenly appeared in Lei Zhan's eyes.

Where his Dantian had once been, there was now a vast, boundless void. The void was filled with endless purple mist; this strange place, existing between the void and reality, was the Purple Mansion!

The moment the Purple Mansion space opened, the vast void filled with purple mist began to condense its first drop of thick, mercury-like elemental energy. Soon, a large amount of energy gathered, and a small puddle appeared in the endless void, which quickly grew into a small lake...

At the same time, he continued to consume large amounts of elemental liquid.

The elemental energy continued to gather and accumulate, and the lake expanded continuously...

Inside the chamber, Lei Zhan practiced for a long time before finally stopping.

He slowly opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face.

"The 'Purple Gold Marrow' refined from the Nirvana Demon-Slaughtering Sword, a top-grade human-tier treasure, is truly worlds apart from the marrow refined from ordinary treasures. Once refined and the breakthrough is achieved, there is no need to spend time or elemental liquid to consolidate." Lei Zhan's divine sense stirred, looking inward at the void space in his Dantian.

Although the lake of the Purple Mansion did not look large, the elemental energy it contained was thick as mercury and immensely powerful.

"Now, even though I have just entered the Purple Mansion stage in my Qi-refining, the pure energy within this Purple Mansion is almost comparable to the late Purple Mansion stage." Lei Zhan sensed this, then waved his hand, and a large number of treasures appeared in the chamber.

There was a palm-sized black flying boat, a cyan wing-shaped treasure, a handful of dark golden sand sparkling with starlight, and a cluster of long black needles.

"Now that my Qi-refining has reached the Purple Mansion stage, I can finally refine these human-tier treasures. If I use this Heavenly Star Sand and the one hundred and twenty-eight Rahula Divine Needles to perform the Water-Fire Grinding Disc again, the power of this secret technique should increase significantly."

On the second floor of the War God Hall, when Lei Zhan first performed the Water-Fire Grinding Disc, he relied entirely on his own comprehension of the Dao, drawing solely upon the power of the Dao.

However, a good treasure could increase a cultivator's combat power several times over. If he could manipulate this set of Rahula Divine Needles, the speed at which he consumed the divine power of the Void-Refining Gods and Devils would also increase greatly.

Whoosh.

With a thought, Lei Zhan used his divine sense to bring the treasures floating in the air closer, surrounding him. His massive Purple Mansion elemental energy surged, invading the surrounding treasures and beginning the refinement process.

A moment later, everything calmed down.

Lei Zhan waved his hand, and the fully refined treasures were stored away into his Purple Mansion space.

"Hmm. There is less than a year left before I go to challenge the Divine Ability Hall... I have walked very far on the Way of Blazing Fire; if I can comprehend the Blazing Fire Spear Domain before then..." Lei Zhan whispered, then closed his eyes once more.

He had a premonition. Water and fire were inherently complementary; his Dao of the Azure Sea had lingered at the Domain level for five years, and compared to five years ago, it had already made tremendous progress. The Way of Blazing Fire was the same.

It would not be long before it, too, stepped into the Domain level of the Dao.

By then, his chances of clearing the Divine Ability Hall would be much greater. Since Lei Zhan lacked the divine sense comparable to a Primordial Spirit cultivator, he could only continuously strengthen his comprehension of the Dao and his combat techniques as a God and Devil body refiner.

Inside the Star Hall, the great mountain remained, its slopes lush with vibrant life.

At the foot of the mountain, there was still a desolate stretch of rocky beach. Before this rocky beach stood a seemingly crude thatched cottage.

The sky was filled with shining stars, each massive celestial body moving slowly along a fixed trajectory. The entire hall was permeated with a profound and mysterious "Dao."

The massive gate, crafted from Immortal Green Fire Wood, was slowly pushed open by a handsome youth in black robes. Beside the youth followed a giant bear with yellow fur.

"Here again." Lei Zhan looked at everything before him—the trickling water on the rocky beach, the weeds growing stubbornly among the piles of stones, and the stars in the sky—filled with deep emotion.

"Every time I come to this Star Hall, I have different feelings."

"The Star Hall is a sacred place for enlightenment left behind by my master; it is filled with the mysteries of the Dao everywhere," the Yellow-Haired Great Bear nodded from the side. "Only by coming here when you have gained some insight can you see something new and different each time."

"You are gifted with extraordinary talent and possess the immortal estate left by my master. Your future achievements will surely be different from ordinary Gods and Devils."

"Mm." Lei Zhan nodded. How many mighty figures at the level of True Gods and Dao Ancestors were there in the Three Realms? Yet there were billions of cultivators, and not every one of them had the good fortune that he and Immortal Juhua possessed. Moreover, Daoist Sanshou was a leader among them, making this opportunity all the more rare.

"Comprehend well. Your aptitude is far higher than Juhua's. Only if you thoroughly comprehend a complete Great Dao will you have the hope of becoming a mighty figure who can traverse the Three Realms, and only then will you have the hope of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my master." The Yellow-Haired Great Bear looked at Lei Zhan. "Go."

Lei Zhan nodded.

Traverse the Three Realms?

If such a day ever came, the Three Realms would be nothing more than a starting point for him.

What he desired was the opportunity to leave the Three Realms, head into the endless chaos, and spread the name of Lei Zhan across those infinite territories!

"However, ambition is ambition, but one cannot be unrealistic," Lei Zhan thought to himself. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A nine-story platform rises from a pile of earth. The path must be walked steadily, one step at a time."

I had things to do this morning and spent several hours driving. I've only just finished writing the first chapter now. Sorry to keep you brothers waiting.

Please keep reading! I received a notification yesterday that I've made it to the first round of recommendations! I owe you one chapter!