Pangu's Legacy, the Feeling of Coming Home

"No. If this continues, then even if I manage to enter the grand formation, I might not gain any benefits."

With that thought, Chen Xuan prepared to leave the grand formation, lest he be corroded further by this strange seawater.

At that moment, Chen Xuan discovered that a tiny crack had appeared where his lotus throne had taken root earlier.

Chen Xuan gritted his teeth and immediately transformed into a stream of Creation energy, passing directly through that crack and entering the grand formation.

Chen Xuan's heart was filled with unease. After all, he had no idea what lay within the grand formation.

If not for the vague sense of attachment guiding him, Chen Xuan would never have taken such a risk. He would have long since slipped away with oil on his soles.

Once Chen Xuan entered the formation's barrier, the seawater that had been able to erode his true body vanished.

What appeared before Chen Xuan were skeletons, white and ghastly. Judging from their shapes, they should all have belonged to the Dragon Clan.

"So the Dragon Clan's leap over the Dragon Gate really is a brush with death. No wonder every Dragon Clan member back then was an arrogant, peerless powerhouse."

"So all the weak ones died here. They never even had the chance to fight for the Dragon Clan."

As Chen Xuan slowly approached the dragon bones, he felt a powerful pressure bearing down upon him. At the same time, he saw clearly that there were only nine steps ahead of him.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xuan stepped onto the first step. At that very moment, bloody gashes appeared across his skin.

Yet his Daoist robe was completely unharmed. It was as though that unknown attack was effective only against Chen Xuan's physical body.

Chen Xuan did not use any laws to resist it. Instead, he allowed his skin to be torn apart, until even his flesh was ripped open with hideous wounds.

By then, Chen Xuan had reached the end of the first step. With a single raised foot, he could step onto the second.

Chen Xuan mobilized the power of Creation and healed every injury on his body. Only then did he take a step forward onto the second stair.

Instantly, Chen Xuan felt as though his body had suffered a devastating blow. Even his internal organs had been displaced.

But Chen Xuan persisted, walking forward one step at a time, no matter what attacks his body endured.

No one knew how much time passed before Chen Xuan finally arrived upon the ninth step. By then, not a single part of his physical body remained intact.

Even the energy of Creation could no longer repair his shattered body. Chen Xuan endured pain beyond endurance.

Originally, Chen Xuan had thought that stepping onto the ninth stair would mean enduring pain several times greater than before.

Though he had long prepared himself mentally, Chen Xuan could not help feeling uneasy.

It was not until Chen Xuan fully stepped onto the ninth stair that the heart hanging in his throat finally settled back into his stomach.

For at that moment, Chen Xuan did not feel his body suffering any attack. Even the wounds he had sustained earlier were healing rapidly.

This filled Chen Xuan with joy, but the very next moment, he could no longer smile. The pain inflicted upon his soul was even more unbearable than that of the flesh.

Chen Xuan could feel his soul being torn apart again and again, then healed with the aid of Creation energy.

With every healing, Chen Xuan could even sense the changes taking place within his soul.

Only after being torn apart one hundred and eight times did Chen Xuan reach the end of the ninth stair.

There, upon the final step, Chen Xuan saw a one-hundred-and-eight-petaled lotus throne. It bore some resemblance to the Creation Green Lotus that had once nurtured him.

As Chen Xuan's hand touched the lotus throne, all pain in both his soul and body completely dissipated.

At the same time, an immense trove of memories appeared in Chen Xuan's mind.

As those memories continuously poured into his mind, Chen Xuan unconsciously sat cross-legged upon the lotus throne.

No one knew how much time passed before Chen Xuan finally digested all the memories. Only then did he slowly open his eyes.

The one-hundred-and-eight-petaled lotus throne beneath him had already turned into a pile of powder.

Looking at the lotus throne that had become dust before him, Chen Xuan said with gratitude, "Brother Pangu's legacy truly is everywhere."

Turning back to look at the dragon bones on the stairs, Chen Xuan saw that they existed only below the fifth step. From the sixth through the ninth, he did not see even a single dragon bone.

However, that did not mean no Dragon Clan members had died there. Rather, no Dragon Clan member had ever been able to step onto the sixth stair.

Even so, the physical bodies of the Dragon Clan members who could reach the fifth step had already attained the level of innate spiritual treasures.

But only by stepping onto the ninth stair could one truly comprehend the complete technique. Otherwise, one would merely strengthen one's physical body.

And this technique was none other than the Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique cultivated by Great God Pangu.

The Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique was not the Eight-Nine Mysterious Technique of later generations. It could even be said that the Eight-Nine Mysterious Technique was merely a version of the Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique that had been repeatedly cut down.

After all, the Eight-Nine Mysterious Technique had only been created by the Three Pure Ones using scattered fragments of memory from their inheritance, then combining them with the Witch Race's cultivation techniques.

The Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique, on the other hand, was Great God Pangu's primary cultivation technique. With every turn, one's physical body and soul would both be reforged once.

As for the current Chen Xuan, he had merely gained the qualifications to inherit the Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique. He had not even reached the First Turn.

But Chen Xuan had not gained nothing, for the Nine-Turn Mysterious Origin Technique was divided into two parts: the Dao and the arts.

The Dao was the cultivation of one's physical body and soul. The arts were the various so-called divine abilities and techniques.

Now, Chen Xuan had completely mastered the arts. He had mastered the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Transformations, and even the Heavenly Gang Thirty-Six Transformations in their entirety.

That was also why Chen Xuan's soul had been torn apart one hundred and eight times.

Just as Chen Xuan finished understanding everything, he suddenly felt the steps beneath his feet tremble.

The next moment, the steps began to crack apart. In the blink of an eye, everything turned into nothingness. The dragon bones upon the stairs also crumbled into dust.

At the same time, Chen Xuan was once again enveloped in white mist. Formation patterns also appeared in his mind.

Following the guidance of those formation patterns, Chen Xuan smoothly broke through the second layer of the grand formation's barrier and successfully entered its interior.

As Chen Xuan entered the depths of the grand formation, the scene before him underwent a world-shaking transformation.

The white mist had disappeared, replaced by an island spanning ten thousand li.

At the same time, Chen Xuan could clearly feel that he shared a bond of blood with this island.

It even gave Chen Xuan the feeling of returning home, as though this was the place that had given birth to him and raised him.