She could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within that energy vortex. It was no less impressive than the commotion caused by her evolution.
Yet there was little turbulence in her heart at this moment. Instead, a faintly proud smile appeared on her lips.
All of this stemmed from the vast power within her body.
Two-Star Dou Zong!
And so, half a month later.
The enormous energy vortex slowly ceased turning. With a sharp crack, the massive vortex collapsed, and the surging energy poured down like torrential rain, condensing in midair into a huge stream of energy that shot straight into Qin Chen's cultivation chamber.
The moment the stream of energy entered his body, the solid bottleneck within Qin Chen shattered layer by layer like broken glass.
In an instant, a terrifying aura far stronger than before burst forth from his body along with flickering lightning, crashing fiercely against the walls of the chamber.
Qin Chen slowly opened his eyes. A gleam flashed through them before vanishing. He clenched his fist, feeling the powerful force continuously surging through his body, and a satisfied smile curved his lips.
Immediately afterward, he closed his eyes again, and a majestic surge of soul power spread outward in every direction like a tide.
For a moment, every scene within the Holy City appeared in his mind.
Qin Chen was not satisfied. He controlled his soul power and continued extending it beyond the Holy City. Only when it could not reach any farther did he stop.
"My soul power really has become much stronger than before. I'm probably not far from the so-called Spirit Realm."
As his soul power returned to his body, Qin Chen murmured.
After familiarizing himself with his control over Dou Qi and soul power, Qin Chen turned his gaze toward his palm. There, a pitted crimson bead was still releasing a tremendous amount of energy.
The energy needed to break through to the Dou Emperor realm naturally would not have depleted the Earth Core Pearl to this extent. The reason it had ended up like this was mainly because most of its energy had been lost.
But that was normal. After all, many natural treasures were unsuitable for direct human use.
That was also why alchemists were so sought after. Through profound alchemy techniques, they could refine and compress the vast energy contained within natural treasures.
In this way, energy loss during the use of natural treasures could be greatly reduced, allowing cultivators to absorb their essence more efficiently.
Unfortunately, Qin Chen was currently unable to refine pills of that level. Moreover, even if he had such a pill, he would not be able to withstand its immense medicinal power.
"There's still plenty of energy left in the Earth Core Pearl. I can use this chance to break through to the Two-Star Dou Emperor realm." Qin Chen made his decision after only one glance.
The Earth Core Thunder Pearls in his Storage Ring were already enough. There was no need to continue refining them.
With the tempering of the Green Lotus Core Flame, Qin Chen did not need to worry about his Dou Qi becoming unstable. At most, he would need more time to adapt.
"Let's begin!"
Qin Chen sat down cross-legged, formed hand seals with both hands, and guided the Dou Qi within his body along the path of his cultivation technique, entering cultivation once more.
The crimson Earth Core Pearl floated before him. Streams of pure energy continuously radiated from it, winding like tiny crimson snakes as they flowed into his body.
Outside the cultivation chamber, Medusa sensed the energy of heaven and earth churning once again. Her willow brows furrowed slightly, and her stunning face was filled with surprise.
She had clearly sensed that Qin Chen had already broken through to the Dou Emperor realm. Why was he still cultivating? Could it be that he intended to advance directly to the Two-Star Dou Emperor realm?
Skipping levels in succession was a major taboo in cultivation. If it caused his foundation to become unstable, his future path of cultivation would surely be fraught with difficulties.
Xiao Yan's Current Situation, Experiment
"Phew!"
After carefully sensing him once more and confirming that Qin Chen's aura was stable, Medusa finally relaxed slightly.
Since he insisted on continuing his cultivation, he must have absolute confidence. She would let him do as he pleased.
"Peak Two-Star Dou Emperor..."
Feeling the vast Dou Qi surging within his body, Qin Chen's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
In merely a few months, he had risen from Peak Dou Wang to a Two-Star Dou Emperor. Even in the Central Plains, where geniuses abounded, such speed would rank among the very best.
As expected of an Earth Core Pearl that even Dou Zong experts coveted. The energy it contained was truly terrifying.
"Although the Dou Qi in my body remains condensed, my fine control over it is still somewhat unpracticed." With a thought from Qin Chen, a wisp of pale green Dou Qi gathered at his fingertip as he murmured.
Over the past few months, his strength had increased too quickly. What he needed to do now was consolidate his foundation and adapt to the rapidly growing power within his body.
What was the best way to accomplish that?
Naturally, battle!
At the same time, elsewhere in the Tagore Desert.
This was an endless Magma World. Dark crimson magma flowed slowly like coagulated blood, while the air was filled with a pungent sulfurous stench. The scorching waves of heat nearly baked one's skin until it cracked.
Logically speaking, such an extreme and harsh environment should not have contained life. Yet today, beneath the rolling magma, two uninvited guests had arrived.
A streak of light flickering with pale flames was rapidly weaving through the magma.
"Why has he been down there so long?"
Staring at the deathly silent surface of the magma, a tall and powerfully built young man frowned deeply. His face was filled with worry as he paced back and forth anxiously.
He was Xiao Yan's eldest brother, Xiao Ding!
The reason their group had found this place so quickly was naturally thanks to the barely alive Rob.
Although that fellow did not know what Qin Chen's group and Xiao Yan's group were searching for, that did not stop him from using this information to preserve his life.
Bang!
Just as Xiao Ding's thoughts ran wild, a violent explosion erupted from the crimson magma. The streak of pale flaming light suddenly burst out of the magma and landed on a nearby rock surface.
The flames slowly dispersed, revealing the panting Xiao Yan within.
"Third Brother!"
Xiao Ding hurried forward and supported the pale-faced Xiao Yan, asking worriedly, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Xiao Yan waved his hand and smiled.
"You got the thing, right?" Xiao Ding breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a smile.
At those words, Xiao Yan shook his head, a trace of helplessness on his face.
"The thing isn't there?" Xiao Ding froze, then said gravely after a moment, "Could Rob have lied to us?"
"What he said was true."
Recalling the figure they had encountered in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan's face was full of helplessness. "It's just that someone got there first..."
Jia Ma Empire, deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
At this moment, a green streak of light and a purple streak of light were clashing continuously in the sky.
Whenever they collided, violent energy surged like towering waves, grinding all the surrounding clouds into dust. Deafening explosions rang out without end, terrifying the magical beasts watching from the ground until they trembled.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great. After only a few exchanges, the purple light quickly began to falter.
As the purple light dimmed, it revealed the enormous beastly body of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King.
Seeing this, Qin Chen circulated his Dou Qi within the green light, and the energy sword in his hand shone brilliantly.
Whoosh!
A condensed green radiance, nearly solid in form, shot from the sword. Accompanied by a shrill whistle that tore through the air, it flew straight toward the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's brow.
The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's beastly pupils contracted sharply, and it hurriedly used every means at its disposal to block the attack.
Boom!
The green radiance pierced through its defenses and struck the layer of purple crystal on its body directly. Fresh blood immediately began to gush forth.
The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King let out a mournful cry, its enormous body convulsing violently in midair. "Brat! I am the king of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion clan! You dare kill me..."
"Too noisy!"
Seeing that the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King had exhausted its strength, Qin Chen swiftly closed in. Before it could react, he slammed a palm filled with vast Dou Qi onto its enormous lion head.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's hard skull instantly shattered. Its massive body fell straight into the mountain forest below like a puppet with cut strings.
Qin Chen dispersed the longsword in his hand, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.
It seemed his body had been tempered quite well by all these natural treasures. He could already contend with a sixth-rank magical beast.
Of course, he could not compare to Zi Yan. The Imperial Bloodline of the Ancient Void Dragon was simply too powerful.
Arriving before the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's corpse, Qin Chen pressed his palm against its forehead. Vast soul power continuously poured in from his palm, and before long, he tore out a weak, illusory soul.
Then, Dou Qi surged from Qin Chen's palm and eventually formed a transparent membrane of energy that completely wrapped around the unconscious soul.
After finishing this, Qin Chen flicked his finger, and a dark crimson pill flew from his Storage Ring, hovering before him.
Inspired by the Purple Fire Pill from the original work, Qin Chen had created this pill using Fallen Heart Flame's heart flame as its main ingredient. It could temporarily produce flames of Fallen Heart Flame.
He placed the pill inside the energy membrane. As Qin Chen activated his Dou Qi, a wisp of invisible flame slowly rose and began scorching the illusory soul.
"Aah!!!"
Fallen Heart Flame truly was the bane of souls. The instant the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's soul came into contact with it, it rapidly awoke and let out anguished screams.
"Bear with it. It'll be over soon." Qin Chen watched the scene calmly and spoke indifferently.
"Damn brat, you... Aah!!!"
As time passed, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's cries grew fainter and fainter. Only when its soul had completely dissipated did they abruptly cease.
"So it still doesn't work..."
Qin Chen frowned and let out a helpless sigh.
The soul was the foundation of all living beings, and the source of its birth was the Soul Origin nurtured deep within it. This was one of the purest strange energies in the world.
No matter what kind of living being it was, its soul would contain at least a trace of Soul Origin deep within.
Magical beast souls were indeed weaker than human souls, but the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was at the Dou Emperor realm. The origin contained in its soul had already surpassed that of many humans.
Yet during the burning process just now, Qin Chen had tried many methods, but in the end, he had not sensed even a trace of Soul Origin.
It seemed that trying to obtain Soul Origin through such a crude method was indeed wishful thinking. Soul Hall's method of extracting Soul Origin was probably a secret technique unique to the Hun Clan.
"Protector Wu, I hope you won't disappoint me..." Qin Chen thought to himself as he looked in the direction of the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Capital.
Before you continue