At the border between the Thousand Needle Stone Forest and the Abyssal Sea.
Inside a cave in the Heavenly Chasm.
Concealing Mist shrouded the cave, shutting out all prying eyes.
Three figures sat motionless, faint halos of spirituality radiating from their bodies, brightening and dimming like breaths.
They were Yu Yuan, Dawnlight, and Zhizhi, immersed in integrating [aether].
Several obvious differences were apparent in the three of them as they integrated it.
Yu Yuan was undoubtedly the fastest and most stable.
The breathing rhythm of the spiritual halo around him was the steadiest, and a distinctive cadence had even begun to emerge.
Dawnlight came next. As a former Transdimensional Tier being, she was naturally highly compatible with aether. With her previous experience integrating it, the entire process seemed effortless.
Although Zhizhi's integration speed fell short of Yu Yuan's, it was nearly on par with Dawnlight's.
His talent was truly exceptional, putting him only a fraction behind Dawnlight.
Suddenly, Zhizhi's breathing grew slightly uneven.
He opened his eyes and looked at Yu Yuan.
Seemingly sensing the change in Zhizhi, Yu Yuan and Dawnlight both stopped integrating their aether.
Feeling the changes in his body, Yu Yuan felt a flicker of delight.
Entering the New World to integrate [aether] had indeed been the right choice.
Integration here was nearly thirty percent faster than on the Civilization Ladder. Previously, integrating one portion of [aether] had taken more than ten days.
Now, he could finish in fewer than ten.
That speed was staggering.
He gathered his thoughts and looked at Zhizhi.
"What happened?"
Zhizhi's expression turned exceptionally grave.
"Master, the Blood Grand Duke has reached the Seventh Abyss and begun entering it..."
Yu Yuan's expression sharpened. The Seventh Abyss was the path of fate he had rewritten for the Blood Grand Duke using [Creation