Heaven Above Heaven

Third Realm.

High above, a cyan divine bird spread its wings, soaring through the sky with the grace of a celestial spirit.

Within the bird's crown feathers, Pang Lin was swathed in divine radiance, yet she still trembled with fear at the Azure Vulture's terrifying speed.

Sun Bin, along with Yin Shan and Yin Hai, sat atop the bird's neck, gazing down at the world below.

As the Azure Vulture climbed higher, the North Qi land where Pang Jian resided shrank rapidly beneath the churning clouds, gradually transforming into nothing more than a large floating rock.

Fragmented lands like North Qi were numerous and widely scattered throughout the Fourth Realm below.

Compared to the territories ruled by the seven great families, North Qi was entirely unremarkable.

Furthermore, because it bordered the northern boundary barrier and faced the risk of being permeated by "Ghost Mist," few high-level practitioners ever set foot there.

Sun Bin's original intention for this trip had been to see if the Cenji Mountains of North Qi would be infected by the "Ghost Mist" in the near future.

However, just after he descended upon North Qi and before he could survey the Cenji Mountains, he noticed the sky above Pang Lin was thick with lightning, as if drawn by some powerful magnetic field.

After a brief inspection, Sun Bin realized that Pang Lin possessed a natural lightning vortex in her dantian, which could spontaneously draw in thunder during severe storms.

Because Pang Lin had not yet begun her cultivation and did not know how to guide the lightning, the electrical charges had continued to accumulate.

Had Sun Bin not used the divine light of the Azure Vulture to isolate her, the girl would likely have been in mortal danger had the weather remained severe and the lightning persisted.

Meeting Pang Lin had been pure coincidence.

"Elder Sun, why did you give that boy a cultivation manual?"

The guard Yin Hai, failing to understand the reasoning, could not help but ask, "That brat has no talent and will find it nearly impossible to ascend to the higher realms. Why waste a manual? By the time the little girl reaches the Dongxuan Realm, even if the wild boy hasn't met an untimely end, he will likely have died of old age."

"After all, the lifespan of a creature from the lower realms is limited. He won't last a hundred years, and he won't be around to wait for Pang Lin's return to guide him."

Commoners in the lower realms rarely lived past seventy; only those who understood cultivation could hope to exceed a century.

In Yin Hai's view, since Pang Jian's talent was limited, even with the manual Sun Bin had bestowed, he would struggle to reach the Xisui Realm and would surely die of old age long before Pang Lin returned.

"What if Pang Lin gains the favor of her sect and is cultivated at any cost, reaching the Dongxuan Realm within a hundred years? And what if, just what if, that boy manages to endure the passage of time and waits for her return?" Sun Bin said coldly.

Having said this, he turned his head to glance at the petite figure nestled in the bird's crown and added, "These two 'what ifs' are worth the price of a manual; consider it a karmic connection. Besides, that manual I obtained by chance only contains cultivation techniques for the first six realms."

Yin Shan and Yin Hai nodded gently, their expressions one of humble instruction.

The divine bird continued its flight, gradually crossing out of the Third Realm.

Below them, the mountains, lakes, hidden sects, noble families, and ancient yet magnificent cities of the two lands unfolded like a scroll beneath the moonlight.

There were no storms in this realm.

As the Azure Vulture soared through the high heavens, continuing its ascent, powerful figures on the two complete lands below sensed their presence, looking up from the peaks of grand cities or watching silently from ancient temples.

Sun Bin smiled and said, "The sect forces of the Third Realm have developed quite well over the years. Several fellows were actually able to notice us; it seems I underestimated them."

"The selection of leaders for the Third Realm's factions is still decided by the great figures of the higher heavens, is it not?" Yin Hai said with a haughty air.

"Many of the titans in our own heavens also climbed their way up from the lower worlds, step by step, through blood and battle," Sun Bin said sternly.

Several towering figures immediately flashed through Yin Hai's mind, and the arrogance in his eyes vanished in an instant.

Just then, in a forbidden zone near the "Ghost Mist" of the Third Realm, thunder suddenly roared and a gale began to howl.

Startled, Sun Bin hurriedly focused the divine lightning in his eyes to peer into the distance.

He noticed that in that dilapidated, fragmented patch of heaven and earth, countless massive rocks were bursting apart, shedding like dragon scales or turtle shells, and rapidly revealing the giant skeleton of a phoenix!

Under the moonlight, the phoenix skeleton—which was many times larger than the Azure Vulture they were riding—emitted a crystalline, white-jade radiance.

Suddenly, a multitude of mysterious runes whistled out from within the skeleton, like a vast expanse of diamond stars, circling the massive phoenix bones with a consciousness of their own.

"Whoosh!"

In the chaotic forbidden zone, a piece of white bone shot out like lightning, crossing the void in the blink of an eye and heading straight for the Azure Vulture beneath Sun Bin.

The Azure Vulture seemed to recognize the terror of the bone; it first threw its head back and let out a fearful, mournful cry, then its broad wings trembled violently. Suddenly, thousands of feathers erupted with brilliant, multicolored divine light, and it pushed itself to the limit to soar upward.

"A fallen Heavenly Phoenix!"

Sun Bin's face drained of color, and he decisively flew to Pang Lin's side.

He reached out with his large hand, which had been tucked into his sleeve, his fingers crackling with blinding lightning. He scooped Pang Lin up like a giant net and shouted, "Go!"

He knew full well that the target of the Heavenly Phoenix's divine bone was the Azure Vulture. If he and the bird stayed together, they would surely be caught in the aftermath. Ignoring the bird's mournful wails, he pulled away and fled.

"The Heavenly Phoenix has reappeared!"

"The skeleton of a fallen divine phoenix has emerged!"

In the Third Realm, from the peaks of the strongest sects to the depths of ancient holy temples, earth-shattering roars erupted one after another.

Several practitioners who had reached the Ningshen Realm either dropped everything they were doing or stepped out of seclusion, rushing recklessly toward the forbidden zone where the skeleton had appeared.

Fourth Realm, North Qi.

The youth Pang Jian, who had been watching the divine bird depart with a look of longing, had secretly made up his mind.

But just as the bird was about to vanish from his sight, he suddenly noticed Sun Bin's expression change drastically. With lightning speed, Sun Bin grabbed Pang Lin and instantly fled from the crown of the divine bird.

In the next instant, a massive white bone burning with divine fire runes struck like a world-ending spear, piercing the divine bird through in a single blow.

The divine bird flapped its wings in a shrill, wretched cry, its copper-sinewed and gold-boned wings and body burning fiercely within the apocalyptic flames.

In a fleeting moment, the divine bird, whose overwhelming power had once made him feel suffocated, was reduced to ashes by the inferno; the two guards who had failed to escape were likewise obliterated.

The residual lightning power lingering deep within Pang Jian's pupils, which had allowed him to gaze upon the divine bird's flight, was now completely exhausted.

Pang Jian stood dumbstruck, his entire body turning cold.

Such a miraculous and extraordinary spirit bird had barely flown out of the Third Realm before it encountered some unknown, terrifying entity, meeting a tragic end as it burned to nothingness.

The heavens above were truly this terrifying and perilous.

It was unknown how much time had passed before the torrential rain gradually ceased.

The sky of the Fourth Realm was a theme of eternal, somber gray.

Yet, the other higher world situated above the thick leaden clouds had always been the eternal longing of the common folk in the lower realms.

Ascending was the dream of countless people in the Fourth Realm, including Pang Jian at this very moment.

Tilting his head back, the youth gazed at the dark clouds in the sky, lost in a daze.

Before the storm subsided, the lightning power remaining in his eyes had already been spent; now, he could only see numerous tiny fragments of heaven and earth suspended high above, as still as bricks and stones.

The two complete continents located furthest from him, deep within the cloud layer, were no longer visible to him.

However, he had long known of the existence of those two continents, just as he knew their names.

—Gantian, Xuanyou.

These two continents of the Third Realm above were like thunder in the ears of those in the lower realms; there was no one who did not know of them.

"Xiao Lin, Mingyue, Fanxing, the heavens of a higher plane."

A long while later, Pang Jian, his neck stiff, muttered to himself and finally lowered his head.

He did not know if Sun Bin and his younger sister, Pang Lin, had managed to escape with their lives after fleeing the divine bird, nor did he know if that terrifying white bone that had slain the bird would continue to hunt Sun Bin.

The youth worried for his sister's safety and stared blankly at the dim sky for a while longer, but ultimately gained nothing.

Throughout this time, the scene of the divine bird taking flight only to be suddenly shot down played repeatedly in his mind, shaking him to his core.

"Qi Refiner, practitioner."

The youth knew well that this was how the common folk of this realm referred to powerful figures like Sun Bin.

The numerous fragmented worlds scattered across the Fourth Realm were divided into seven major zones, all firmly controlled by families of Qi Refiners.

The lower realm where he resided was like this, and the upper realms were the same.

Qi Refiners were high and mighty, difficult for ordinary people like him to even catch a glimpse of, and the threshold for cultivation was high; Pang Jian had never had the opportunity to come into contact with it before.

Therefore, the cultivation manual left behind by Sun Bin was treated as a treasure, viewed as the key to reuniting with his sister in the future.

"Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art."

Pang Jian pushed aside the oil paper, took out the tattered ancient book left by Sun Bin, and stared at the tiny, fly-head-sized characters.

Before his father disappeared in the Cenji Mountains, he would teach him and Pang Lin how to read and write in his spare time, so Pang Jian could recognize the contents of the book.

In the time that followed, aside from his daily needs, Pang Jian devoted all his energy to studying and pondering the "Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art," and he gradually began to gain some insights.

This cultivation technique aimed to visualize a heaven and earth within a pot in the dantian, guiding the spiritual energy of the outside world into the body to gather and refine it within the pot.

The youth, who had been judged by Sun Bin as having poor aptitude, did not believe that his fate was ordained by heaven; he studied the "Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art" day and night, seeking to visualize the "Spirit Pot" so that he could step into the ranks of the so-called Qi Refiners.

"All things in heaven and earth require Qi to live. When Qi gathers, there is life; when Qi vanishes, there is death. At the beginning of the Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art, one must first calm the mind and focus the spirit to perceive the existence of Qi."

He recited the scripture many times, but the initial step of calming the mind and focusing the spirit to perceive the existence of Qi alone left Pang Jian feeling irritable and restless.

Several days later, Pang Jian learned that this so-called calming of the mind and focusing of the spirit was divided into three steps: concentration, relaxation, and awakening.

Concentration meant keeping one's consciousness in the present moment, avoiding stray thoughts, and waiting for one's body to fully relax.

Once truly relaxed, one could achieve a clear heart and mind, thereby perceiving the subtleties within the body.

Only then could one welcome the awakening and truly perceive the existence of Qi.

It sounded simple, but when he actually tried to implement it, Pang Jian realized the difficulties were not small.

When he sat cross-legged, breathing slowly from his abdomen, and tried to gather his consciousness, his mind would always wander.

In his mind, thoughts and ideas jumped about like will-o'-the-wisps.

One moment he was thinking about where his sister was, the next he wondered whether his father was dead or alive, or what Sun Bin's true background was, and where he should go from here.

A multitude of distracting thoughts came one after another, beyond his control.

"If the intent is not calm, the spirit will surely be scattered."

As long as he could not maintain focus, the crucial first step of the "Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art" could not be achieved, and he could not officially begin.

Pang Jian, encountering difficulties for the first time, did not lose heart; instead, he practiced repeatedly. Every time a stray thought sprouted in his mind, he immediately gathered his attention again, silently repeating the words "Pot-Heaven" in his heart to pull his thoughts back.

Before long, the distractions would reappear, his consciousness would scatter again, and Pang Jian would then silently repeat "Pot-Heaven" to collect himself.

After many days of this, Pang Jian gradually became able to gather his scattered consciousness and calm his mind to keep his awareness in the present.

When his wild, wandering thoughts no longer swayed his state of mind and he could control his own distractions, Pang Jian, sitting in meditation, finally felt a true sense of relaxation.

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