Faint thunder echoed through the cave abode on Azure Sky Peak.
Xu Xuan sat quietly within, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. After a year of arduous cultivation, he would break through today.
His accumulated magical power was already immensely rich, and the bottleneck was about to shatter, carrying him into the qi refining ninth level.
The qi refining ninth level was a crucial realm. Breaking through required the manifestation of the [nature root].
This threshold was profoundly mysterious. The sixth level of qi refining was called [Crossing the Mysterious Threshold], while the ninth level had another name: [Cavern truth intent].
Nature belonged to the realm of the mysterious and insubstantial, involving comprehension of one's Dao lineage and the circulation of fortune.
Tiantuo had offered considerable guidance. He said that a nature root condensed through incense offerings was of the lowest grade, offering no hope of reaching the Purple Mansion. One condensed through fortune was somewhat better. Only those formed through cultivation attainment alone offered a genuine prospect of reaching the Purple Mansion.
The process was swift. After Xu Xuan's magical power broke through, the life foundation within his Qi Sea trembled. Its Human-Headed Dragon-Bodied Form gradually came alive and solidified, even showing signs of dividing.
He sensed thunder rumbling from boundless heights, sometimes distant, sometimes near. When close, it seemed to resound directly inside his mind; when distant, it seemed to lie beyond the nine heavens.
The thunder sounded ancient and vast. It stirred the thunder marsh within his Qi Sea into motion, manifesting wondrous phenomena. The Immortal Register formed by [Dark Flood Dragon Commands Thunder] trembled and appeared above his life foundation.
Purple lightning surged over the ancient characters spelling [Venerable Seat of Profound Unity's Successive Union], and Xu Xuan fell into a trance.
His consciousness seemed