Kunlun, north of Thundercliff, is no longer what it used to be.
Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, yet they have left a deep mark on this ancient and mysterious land.
The once towering mountains have now collapsed into a large lake.
The lake water was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the clouds in the sky, but the lingering power of the lightning tribulation remained beneath the surface.
The lakebed is covered with charred lightning marks, and even after three years, touching them with your fingertips still causes a tingling sensation, as if you can still hear the echoes of the thunderstorms from that year.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged on a blue stone by the lake. The surface of the stone was covered with natural Dao patterns, which echoed the divine radiance around him.
A crimson-gold glow, like dancing flames, emanated from his pores, weaving a translucent cocoon of light around his body.
Deep within the spine, five dragon-shaped halos lit up in sequence, extending from the coccyx to the thoracic vertebrae.
Each halo contained boundless vitality, like a dragon vein lying dormant, with the faint roar of True Dragon emanating from within.
It has already reached the perfect state of the Fifth Change of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
Since entering Kunlun three years ago, his cultivation journey has been remarkably rapid.
From the completion of the Sea of Bitterness to the gathering of the Five Deities of the Dao Palace, the foundation of the Dao was completed by borrowing the legacy of the Sun Sacred Clan:
Then, it connects to the Four Extremes directions, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to refine the Four Extremes;
Now, he stands at the upper reaches of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, only four steps away from the peak.
The Dragon Transformation Secret Realm can only be truly understood by those who experience it firsthand.
Each time Li Qingshan attempted to break through a barrier, he had to sit for several days at the Thundercliff.
Completely empty your mind until your soul leaves your body and breaks free from the constraints of your physical form.
At that moment, his divine sense coalesced into a three-foot-tall golden primordial spirit, which rode a great dragon of the spine into the sky and roamed the Kunlun Void.
Looking down from the vast sky, the Kunlun Mountains and their myriad valleys resemble a giant dragon coiled up, with the sea of clouds like surging waves; all things are but fleeting clouds.
Countless laws of heaven and earth flowed before my eyes in the form of light and shadow:
Thunder is swift, fire is intense, water is resilient, and earth is substantial.
Even the trajectory of the stars and the rhythm of the earth's veins can be absorbed into one's heart and transformed into nourishment for one's own Dao foundation.
"Unfortunately, without the nourishment of Dragon Marrow, it will ultimately be too slow."
Li Qingshan looked inward and muttered to himself.
The spine resembles a coiled, crimson-gold dragon, with the first five vertebrae already fully Dragon Transformation.
The scale patterns are clearly visible, and each scale gleams with a faint, luminous sheen.
However, the last four sections remain dull, like a precious jade covered in dust, requiring a massive amount of vital energy to cleanse it before it can be fully awakened.
Although the Kunlun vein is abundant, the Dragon Marrow is hidden in the most core "forbidden area," where the great formation is billions of times more dangerous than the outer area.
With his current level of cultivation, venturing into this would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.
However, he was not anxious.
The nine tribulations over the past three years had already tempered his Dao heart to be as steady as black iron.
Each time a breakthrough to the Dragon Transformation First Change, the power of the Heavenly Tribulation increases exponentially.
The lightning tribulation triggered Humanoid Lightning in the form of the young Great Emperor. This was just ordinary lightning tribulation power feeding back into his physical body, making his divine body even stronger. Now, even without circulating his divine power, the strength of his physical body alone would not be able to harm him even with a full-force attack from a cultivator of the same level.
"Brother Qingshan!"
A crisp shout came from the woods, breaking the tranquility of the lakeside.
Over the years, Xiaobai has changed his way of addressing him, no longer calling him "master," but following Li Qingshan's instructions, calling him "Brother Qingshan."
Xiaobai strode out from among the ancient trees, no longer the snake that used to glide along with its tail.
She wore a moon-white undergarment made by Li Qingshan from thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk, and her snow-white skin shone with a lustrous glow;
The lower half of the body features a skirt made of the same material, which conceals the legs that have already undergone deformity.
They are no different from ordinary children.
The jade horn on her head grew to three inches long, but she concealed it using the illusion technique taught to her by Li Qingshan.
Only her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders, making her delicate face appear even more lively.
She held a ripe, purple-veined treasure fruit in her arms, its skin glowing with a faint rosy light, clearly having just been found deep in the ancient forest.
"Look, I found this!"
Xiaobai Bai handed the precious fruit to Li Qingshan, her eyes curving into crescents, her tone full of self-satisfaction.
Over the past three years, she has consumed a considerable amount of Kunlun precious medicines with Li Qingshan:
With the Scarlet Marrow Fruit and Nine-Leaf Lingzhi, his cultivation level soared to the peak of the Divine Bridge Realm, just one step away from the peak of the Sea of Bitterness Realm.
Only by overcoming the mental test of " Calamity of Lostness " and undergoing another physical transformation that is fraught with near-death experiences can one truly overcome this challenge.
Then one can completely perfect the Sea of Bitterness and step into the Dao Palace Secret Realm.
The cultivation methods she had been searching for over the years turned out to be suitable for her.
The Heaven-Devouring Profound Yin Art.
His spirituality grew stronger.
Li Qingshan accepted the precious fruit and channeled a wisp of Yi Wood divine power into his fingertips.
As divine power flowed, the glow on the surface of the precious fruit grew even more intense, emitting an even more alluring fragrance.
Xiaobai's eyes lit up immediately, and he swallowed hard, but didn't reach out to take it right away.
After three years of getting along, she already knew that Li Qingshan would always help her "refine" the chaotic spiritual energy in the spiritual fruit first.
"Eat slowly, the freshly picked treasure fruit is too potent."
Li Qingshan smiled and handed the precious fruit back to her. Watching her take small bites, his heart became more and more at peace.
For the past three years, aside from cultivation, he has spent most of his time exploring the depths of Kunlun.
His divine sense, far surpassing that of his peers, and his alignment with the Great Dao, always enabled him to foresee and avoid countless dangers.
I once avoided the slumbering ancient beasts in " Blood Creek Valley ":
A " Star Core Stone " containing the essence of stars was found in a " Fallen Star Crater ";
Among the treasures he acquired, the Saint- level Purple Furnace had already been repeatedly refined by him using the Sun True Fire and the Fire of the Earth.
A few days ago, he used the " Nine-Leaf Soul-Restoring Grass," a specialty of Kunlun, in combination with " Dragon Blood Lingzhi."
He refined three " Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill," whose medicinal effects were comparable to low-grade precious pills, enough to sustain the lives of cultivators at the Immortal Platform Realm.
He also studied the eighteen Zhou Zhoutian Star Formation Flags repeatedly, and his understanding of formations far surpassed what he had before.
He can simultaneously activate five array flags using his divine sense.
The " Five-Star Entrapment and Killing Array " was set up, with the power of stars concentrated within it, enough to trap a high-level cultivator at the Immortal Platform First Realm:
If all eighteen array flags are activated at full power, even a cultivator at the Immortal Platform Second Heaven can be fought against.
The Purple-Gold Dao Bell above the Bitter Sea, nourished by three years of divine power and stellar power, has become increasingly complex in its Dao patterns.
The bell sometimes reveals a hazy scene of the beginning of chaos, and sometimes it presents a magnificent image of the rising and falling of the Milky Way.
A faint, precious light even emanated from the mouth of the bell, already showing the rudiments of Mighty Figure soldier.
Occasionally, a light tap on the bell can resonate with the soul, Dragon Transformation Realm beasts to retreat in fear upon hearing its sound.
" Xiaobai, we should go."
Li Qingshan suddenly spoke, his gaze fixed on the outskirts of Kunlun.
His divine sense quietly pierced through layers of clouds and mist, reaching the edge of the Kunlun Grand Array.
Xiaobai paused in his munching on the fruit, looked up, and his eyes were full of confusion:
"Let's go? Where are we going?"
"Return to the mortal world, return to Jiangcheng."
Li Qingshan said softly, his tone tinged with nostalgia.
Cultivation knows no time; a single retreat lasts a hundred days, a single enlightenment lasts half a year, and when you open your eyes again...
Three years have quietly passed.
Judging by the timeline, Ye Fan on Earth should have graduated from university a year ago, and there are less than two years left before the arrival of the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin.
What worried him even more were Jiangcheng's parents, even though he had used his divine power to heal their health in his early years.
All their old ailments were eradicated, allowing them to live far longer than the average person.
But after three years of no news, the two elders must have been filled with worry and anxiety.
"The mortal world? Is that what Brother Qingshan was talking about, a place with lots of houses and lots of people?"
Xiaobai tilted its head and asked curiously.
She had lived in Kunlun since birth and had never stepped out of this secret realm, and she longed for the "mortal world" that Li Qingshan spoke of.
"Yes, there are many people there, lots of delicious food, and many things you've never seen before."
Li Qingshan smiled and nodded, reaching out to ruffle her silver hair. "But once we're out, you have to listen to me. You can't reveal your cultivation level casually, and you can't let anyone see your jade horn, understand?"
A faint silver light emanated from his palm, and a wisp of divine thought transformed into a stream of light, surging into Xiaobai's sea of consciousness.
That was a " Aura-Concealing and Form-Illusion Art " that he had tailored specifically for Xiaobai.
It could not only conceal her cultivation aura, but also completely cover the jade horn on her head.
She looked no different from an ordinary four or five-year-old girl.
Xiaobai closed his eyes and carefully comprehended the illusion technique in his sea of consciousness.
A moment later, a faint silver light emanated from her body, and the jade horns that had been hidden on her head completely disappeared.
Even the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him became no different from those of an ordinary person.
"So, does this make me the same as the 'mortal' that Brother Qingshan mentioned?"
Xiaobai turned around, her skirt swaying, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Yes, that way no one will find out."
Li Qingshan nodded, a warm feeling appearing in his eyes. The following day, Li Qingshan began to tidy up in an orderly manner.
Xiaobai helped from the side, holding the jade box in her small hands and giving her a few of her favorite spiritual fruits.
For example, her favorite Scarlet Marrow Fruit and purple-veined treasure fruit were carefully placed into a jade box.
He also secretly hid a palm-sized piece of Kunlun chalcedony.
That was her favorite "snack," imbued with a gentle spiritual energy that could slowly nourish the body when held in the mouth.
With everything prepared, the two finally embarked on their journey to leave Kunlun.
The outer formation of Kunlun remains dangerous. Even the path Li Qingshan took when he entered three years ago has been completely changed due to the shifting celestial bodies.
The array patterns moved with the trajectory of the stars, sometimes manifesting as the " Nine Palaces Earth-Locking Array," dividing the earth into nine sections, each containing different deadly dangers;
Sometimes it manifests the " Seven Stars Soul-Locking Array," shrouded in mist and with starlight like needles. Once you step into it, your soul will be locked by the starlight and you will be forever trapped in the illusion.
Li Qingshan sense to its fullest extent, covering an area of ten miles in radius.
The accumulation of three years of research on the Zhoutian Star Array, coupled with the close connection between the Innate Dao Embryo and the laws of heaven and earth.
This gave him a perception of array patterns far exceeding that of ordinary people, allowing him to perceive every node of the array.
The direction of each array pattern's flow and the brewing of each killing intent were clearly imprinted in his mind, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
The " Nine Palaces Earth-Locking Array " here is more active than it was three years ago.
The star orbit shifted three degrees, and the Gate of Life "moved" from the Gate of Opening to the Gate of Rest.
He analyzed softly, his fingertips brushing against a piece of jade he carried with him.
A nine-palace array instantly appeared on the jade piece, and as he deduced, a faint light shone at the "Rest Gate" position on the array.
Whenever his divine sense detected a deadly threat, he would immediately stop in his tracks.
Using jade tablets as a medium and combining them with the Kunlun constellations, the method for breaking the formation was re-deduced.
He stopped abruptly before a misty valley, his brow furrowing slightly.
Starlight flickers within the mist, seemingly beautiful, but in reality, it conceals deadly danger; it is a variant of the " Seven Stars Soul-Locking Array ".
The starlight within the formation can directly attack the soul; even Immortal Platform First Realm realm will lose their composure if caught in its attack.
"Only by using formations to break formations can we draw out a way out."
Li Qingshan gave a low shout, took out a Zhoutian Star Formation Flags from the Bitter Sea, and infused it with a wisp of divine power.
The battle flag trembled slightly, and the Big Dipper pattern on its surface lit up.
He threw the battle flag into the mist, and the flag transformed into a silver rainbow, exploding within the mist.
The starlight instantly became chaotic, and the previously closed gate of life revealed a crack about a foot wide amidst the disordered starlight.
"Run!"
He picked up Xiaobai and, like an arrow released from a bow, shot through the gap in the gate of life.
The mist behind them instantly closed, returning to normal as if no one had ever passed by.
Such dangers were numerous in the following two months:
They were trapped in the " Nine Netherworlds Netherfire Array " for three days.
The formation drew upon the Netherworld Fire from beneath Kunlun Mountain, the flames turning jet black.
It can burn a cultivator's physical body and soul, and even burn rocks into a glassy state.
Li Qingshan activated the supernatural power of the Kidney Water Secret Realm, drawing upon the five elements of divine water between heaven and earth.
He gathered strength around himself, barely managing to block the flames. Finally, he used the sonic vibrations of the Purple-Gold Dao Bell to shatter the array's core, allowing him to escape.
I once stumbled into a "spatial maze," where space constantly distorted; one moment it was a snow-capped mountain.
The next moment it turned into a vast, yellow sand desert.
Occasionally, fragments of Li Qingshan's past life memories would surface, attempting to disturb his mind.
Relying on his Innate Dao Embryo and his close connection with heaven and earth, he spent three days finding the location of the array's core amidst the spatial turbulence.
They also encountered a "thunder spirit" that arose from the formation, which was formed by the condensation of star power and thunder power within the formation.
Shaped like a young dragon, it moves as fast as lightning, spews out thunderballs, and its power is comparable to the full-force attack of Early Dragon Transformation transformation.
On the morning of the seventh day, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone upon the two of them.
Li Qingshan finally led Xiaobai out of the last level of the " Two Aspects Severing the Mortal World Array ".
When their feet touched the ordinary mountain range outside the Kunlun Grand Formation, both of them breathed a long sigh of relief.
Behind us, Kunlun was shrouded in a thick layer of clouds and mist, obscuring the once faint outline of the sacred mountain.
It is slowly fading away; that primordial world, full of both opportunities and dangers, is once again hidden away, as if no one had ever set foot there.