The Heaven-Severing Church's Expansion

As the Heaven-Severing Church's activities gradually came to light across the continent, Zhou Yong received reports from his disciples, and more small and medium-sized factions around the sect came seeking its protection. After all, the Righteous Qi Sect's reputation was far better than the Heaven-Severing Church's. The church upheld the supremacy of the strong: those who submitted would prosper, and those who resisted would perish.

Zhou Yong considered the Heaven-Severing Church's strength against his own sect's. As the church expanded, its power swelled as well. The church had gained quite a few Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators, to say nothing of the elders and branch hall masters below that stage. The strongest person in the Righteous Qi Sect was now his senior brother, Li Dalong. Next came Zhou Yong himself and a few elders, who had only just reached the Early Spirit Transformation Realm. The gap in strength was enormous.

While Zhou Yong weighed the strength of the Heaven-Severing Church against that of the Righteous Qi Sect and considered how his sect should respond to the current situation, a meeting was underway in the Heavenly Dragon Hall at the church's headquarters on Nine Provinces Island, the largest island in the eastern seas. Church Leader Zhan Tian had gathered the church's senior members ranked protector and above to discuss a full-scale invasion of the continent. This time, two deputy church leaders would each lead several protectors in a two-pronged offensive, one striking west and the other south. Any factions along the way willing to submit would be absorbed into the church, while those who resisted to the bitter end would be wiped out without mercy. Along with expanding its influence, this would strike fear into ordinary people and those still wavering.

Church Leader Zhan Tian would remain at their home base to direct operations. Only if the two deputy leaders encountered something they could not handle would he act personally. Once the plan was finalized, the Heaven-Severing Church's enormous war machine began to turn. It was easy to imagine the bloody storm that would sweep across the continent when its armies arrived. Who knew how many people would die?

While the Heaven-Severing Church busily prepared to wage war, Li Dalong settled down from his excitement over receiving the Heaven-Slaying Art from the system and successfully cultivating it. Ignoring the storms brewing outside, he devoted himself to cultivation. As his cultivation rose, occasional stirrings of intuition gave him glimpses of dangers to come. Those unknown dangers filled him with a strong sense of urgency. He was still fairly satisfied with his progress, but he did not know whether his current cultivation would be enough to face them.

If I want to live well, I need strength of my own. In my last life, I was just a little stalk of chives at the bottom, waiting to be harvested. Now that I've transmigrated into a cultivation world where strength reigns supreme, and even have the Check-In System as my cheat, letting someone harvest me again would be downright pathetic. I need to cultivate harder and break through to the Mahayana Realm as soon as possible.

"Ding-dong. Would you like to check in?"

The familiar system notification sounded.

"Check in."

"Check-in successful. Congratulations, host. You have received Azure Dragon Essence Blood."

"Azure Dragon Essence Blood!"

Li Dalong was astonished. Over the years, he had drawn all sorts of materials, pills, magical artifacts, and cultivation methods, but this was the first time he had received essence blood-and it was Azure Dragon Essence Blood at that. As someone who had once been a true-blue descendant of the dragon, he was quite familiar with, and deeply interested in, the Azure Dragon of ancient legend. Surely this had to be something good.

"System, please explain what Azure Dragon Essence Blood does and how to use it."

"Azure Dragon Essence Blood: the concentrated essence of all the blood essence in the Azure Dragon's body after his fall. It should not exist in this world. It is an exceedingly precious and rare resource that can strengthen the body and heal injuries and illnesses. Absorbing it offers a chance to obtain the Azure Dragon's divine abilities and transformations, as well as improve cultivation.

"Physical enhancement: absorbing Azure Dragon Essence Blood grants some of the characteristics of the Azure Dragon's true body, improving strength, speed, endurance, and agility. It makes the body stronger, increases defensive power, accelerates reactions, and more."

"Healing power: Azure Dragon Essence Blood possesses powerful healing abilities and can treat various injuries and illnesses. If someone suffers serious injuries in battle, using Azure Dragon Essence Blood can quickly restore their vitality."

"Divine abilities and transformations: absorbing Azure Dragon Essence Blood offers a high chance of obtaining some of the Azure Dragon's divine abilities and powers of transformation, such as controlling the weather, creating illusions, and so on."

"Cultivation improvement: Azure Dragon Essence Blood can improve a cultivator's cultivation. Consuming it allows cultivators to break through bottlenecks faster and reach higher realms."

"In short, Azure Dragon Essence Blood is an exceedingly valuable resource, a treasure even immortals would covet. Avoid releasing its aura if at all possible. Once it leaks out, it will bring catastrophic consequences upon the host. The host is advised to consume it immediately!"

"Holy shit! It's that precious, and the consequences are that serious!"

"Now that I have this treasure, there's no way I'm letting it go. Since even the system gave me such a stern warning, I'll eat it before anything unexpected happens!"

Li Dalong did not hesitate. First, he cast a spell to seal the surrounding space and prevent the aura of the Azure Dragon Essence Blood from leaking out. Then he took it from the system space and immediately tossed it into his mouth.

The instant the Azure Dragon Essence Blood entered his mouth, Li Dalong felt a scorching torrent burn its way from his throat to his stomach. It was rather like gulping down boiling water when parched. That searing sensation and agonizing pain nearly made him leap to his feet, despite his usually high tolerance for pain. As the scalding current reached his belly, it immediately began racing through his meridians.

As the hot current raced through his meridians, it also transformed into a tremendous force that seemed intent on bursting free of his body. Yet he held it down firmly with his formidable spiritual power.

He could clearly feel every meridian trembling violently, as though they would tear him apart. The unbearable, ripping pain in them left him hovering between ecstasy and death. It was the power of the Azure Dragon Essence Blood surging through him, remaking his body.

The intense pain instantly covered his forehead in cold sweat. Every pore on his body opened, releasing large beads of sweat mingled with black and red streaks of blood. But Li Dalong gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.

He knew this was precisely how the Azure Dragon Essence Blood remade his body and expelled its impurities. His meridians were already many times stronger than before!

As the Azure Dragon Essence Blood was absorbed and refined little by little, the pain finally began to ease. More than two hours passed.

By then, the Azure Dragon Essence Blood had been completely refined into spiritual energy, which poured steadily from his dantian and flowed through his meridians, nourishing his body. The spiritual energy then returned through his meridians to his dantian, cycling continuously.

Once the violent energy of the Azure Dragon Essence Blood had been absorbed and refined into spiritual power, the bottleneck in Li Dalong's cultivation loosened as well. He had already reached the Late Spirit Transformation Realm, but that bottleneck had kept him from breaking through to the Mahayana Realm. As he circulated the Vast Righteous Qi Formula, his abundant spiritual power began battering the barrier. His own reserves had already been nearly sufficient; all he had lacked was that final push. Before the tremendous spiritual power of the Azure Dragon Essence Blood, the bottleneck to the Mahayana Realm was like a sheet of paper, pierced with a single thrust. Spiritual power surged through his meridians, and he reached the Mahayana Realm as naturally as water flowing into a channel.