A heavenly phenomenon

His dantian had vanished, replaced by a round furnace cauldron with four legs.

Dragon tails were carved into its four legs, and four lifelike dragon bodies wound upward.

Four dragon heads extended from the body of the cauldron, breathing wisps of flame into it.

Inside the cauldron, fierce flames raged, and a five-clawed golden dragon flickered in and out of view.

Xia Yu recognized this cauldron.

Three days earlier, members of the Xia lineage had discovered an underground cavern in the mountains. The Xia lineage had sent Xia Yu, Xia Longfei, and several others down to investigate.

Deep within the cavern, they had discovered a hidden chamber buried beneath the mountain.

They had immediately been wild with joy. Places like this usually held treasures.

But as soon as they approached, they triggered some unknown formation and came under attack.

At that critical moment, Xia Yu had stepped in front of everyone.

That was precisely why Xia Yu had taken a direct hit, damaging his dantian and severing his meridians.

The last thing he saw was a streak of white light rushing toward him. Then he lost consciousness.

When he woke, he was back home.

He simply could not understand how this cauldron had ended up inside his body.

Could it have been that white light?

Roar!

Suddenly, a dragon's roar erupted from inside the cauldron, leaving Xia Yu dizzy and his head throbbing.

"Damned furnace, can you finally hold out no longer? Hahaha..."

A booming voice rang out from the cauldron.

The cauldron said nothing. The wisps of flame from the dragon heads simply turned into pillars of fire in an instant.

The cauldron itself also began spinning rapidly.

Just then, Xia Yu suddenly noticed countless streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy from all around him rushing into his body, like moths plunging into a flame.

Xia Yu froze. This speed of absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was almost too fast to imagine.

What he did not know was that the sky outside seemed to have darkened.

An enormous vortex of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy appeared in the sky above Huai City.

Countless streams of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy poured into the vortex, which continued to expand wildly.

Gradually, all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy within ten thousand li was drawn toward it.

Many people in secluded cultivation were startled awake.

Why had all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy suddenly disappeared?

Ten thousand li away, in the Imperial City, an elderly man in magnificent robes stood with his hands behind his back, gazing silently toward the horizon, his brows tightly furrowed.

After a long while, he slowly said, "Go at once and investigate this heavenly phenomenon."

"Yes," someone answered from empty space.

Deep within the Martial Saint Academy, a wooden door that had remained closed for over a decade creaked open, and an old man with crane-white hair and a youthful face stepped out.

He glanced at the sky, a trace of curiosity in his eyes, and rapidly worked through divinations on the fingers of his right hand.

"Gathering spiritual energy from ten thousand li around-what ambition, and quite the nerve... Hmm? A karmic calamity? Never mind. Back to cultivating."

The old man turned, returned to his room, and shut the door.

At the same time, people from numerous sects within ten thousand li rose into the air.

A thousand li from Huai City, a slender figure gazed up at the sky, puzzlement on her face, whose beauty could topple cities and kingdoms.

"A heavenly phenomenon. Little White, let's go take a look."

She pushed off the ground and landed on an enormous white tiger several meters away.

With a roar, the enormous white tiger leaped forward and charged away.

Meanwhile, many people in Huai City came outside and raised their heads to look at the sky.

"A heavenly phenomenon! A great talent is about to emerge in Huai City. Unfortunately, judging by this, they aren't from my city lord's residence."

City Lord Zhu Kang sighed.

"From the looks of it, it seems to be the Xia lineage," said Zhou Xing, the city lord's adviser.

"Yes. It seems the Xia lineage is about to prosper. Prepare a gift later. We'll pay them a visit." Zhu Kang nodded.

Huai City had four great lineages: Xu Gong Zhang and Xia.

At that moment, the heads of the Xu, Gong, and Zhang lineages were also watching the phenomenon in the sky, their expressions dark.

After a long while, they said, "Prepare a generous gift. We'll visit the Xia lineage shortly."

Xia Yu knew none of this. The cauldron in his abdomen spun faster and faster, absorbing vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.

The heat radiating from the cauldron also kept rising. Xia Yu felt as though he was about to be roasted to a crisp.

Suddenly, the vortex in the sky collapsed.

An immensely thick column of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy descended from the heavens and landed within the Xia estate.

At the same time, Xia Yu heard an enraged roar.

"Damned furnace, you want to refine me? I'd rather let this brat benefit than you!"

In an instant, a five-clawed golden dragon shot out of the cauldron and surged into Xia Yu's mind.

"Boy, I am the Ancestral Dragon, forefather of all dragons. I will impart my art to you. Remember, no matter when or where you are, never forsake the pride of my dragon race!"

Suddenly, a streak of white light flew out of the cauldron, plunged into Xia Yu's mind, and hurtled toward the five-clawed golden dragon.

Boom...

Countless rays of golden light burst within Xia Yu's mind and instantly spread throughout his body.

In that instant, an indescribable agony flooded his mind. He felt as though his entire body had been torn into countless pieces.

"Aah!"

Xia Yu screamed and lost consciousness on the spot.

Meanwhile, someone sat cross-legged, cultivating in a hidden chamber of the Xia estate.

Suddenly, that figure released a powerful aura.

"Haha, I've broken through!"

Xia Longfei stood and clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

"So this is Origin Absorption, and I've gone straight to the third level? This feeling of being filled with power is wonderful!"

Xia Longfei walked out.

Outside the door, Xia Hongji, who had been waiting all this time, saw his son emerge and asked nervously, "Did you break through?"

"I did, straight to the third level of Origin Absorption," Xia Longfei said proudly.

"Really?"

Xia Hongji was instantly overjoyed. "No wonder a heavenly phenomenon appeared while my son was cultivating! Heaven has blessed us. Our Xia lineage has finally produced a genius! Hahaha..."

"Congratulations, Patriarch! Congratulations, Young Patriarch! Our Xia lineage has a bright future ahead!" The Great Elder beside them hurried to offer his congratulations.

"Hahaha, this is good news for our entire Xia lineage! We'll hold a banquet tonight to celebrate my son."

"A heavenly phenomenon? What happened while I was cultivating?" Xia Longfei was somewhat puzzled.

"Haha, my son, you still don't know..."

After hearing his father's account, Xia Longfei could not help touching his face. To think he really was a genius.

His chest immediately puffed out farther, and his chin lifted higher.

Every servant he encountered along the way congratulated their young patriarch. Their admiring gazes left Xia Longfei feeling pleased from head to toe. His ten years of arduous cultivation had been worth it.

The path of cultivation was exceedingly arduous.

The cultivation realms were Body Tempering, Origin Absorption, the Origin Command Realm, the Spirit Origin Realm, and the Profound Origin Realm. Above those were the legendary King Realm, Emperor Realm, and Sage Realm. Each realm had ten levels, and each level was another barrier to cross.

According to legend, above the peak of the Sage Realm lay another invincible realm-the Imperial Realm.

However, as far as Xia Longfei knew, he had only ever heard of King Realm cultivators.

After all, even City Lord Zhu, the strongest expert in Huai City, was only in the Origin Command Realm.

"Patriarch, the city lord is here. He says he wishes to congratulate the young patriarch on his cultivation success."

Just then, a servant came running over, his face full of joy.

"Show him in at once!" Xia Hongji said hurriedly.

"Patriarch, the heads of the Xu, Gong, and Zhang lineages are all here as well. They've brought gifts and say they wish to congratulate the young patriarch."

"Hahaha... Show them in at once!"

Beaming, Xia Hongji looked at his son with gratification and said, "Son, the Xia lineage is proud of you. Come..."

Xia Longfei held his head high, his face filled with pride.

At that moment, Xia Yu opened his eyes.

Rubbing his forehead, Xia Yu took a deep breath and examined the memories that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Ancestral Dragon Boundless Art.

Xia Yu silently recited the name. This was the cultivation art left behind by the five-clawed golden dragon.

Upon examining it closely, Xia Yu sucked in a breath of cold air.

The Ancestral Dragon Boundless Art consisted of one cultivation discipline and two techniques. The cultivation discipline was the ancestral dragon boundless force.

A single grain of sand held a world, and the human body likewise contained 1.08 billion small worlds. By cultivating the ancestral dragon boundless force and awakening one small world, one could gain the strength of a single dragon.

The strength of one dragon amounted to a hundred thousand jin.

Xia Yu was aghast. If he awakened all 1.08 billion small worlds, how much strength would that be?

What could withstand a single punch?