The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

He slowly exhaled a breath.

"boom!"

The aura was like a dormant thunder suddenly awakening, tearing through the air and emitting a deep roar. It directly penetrated the wall of the quiet room, leaving two fist-sized holes with charred edges!

His breath was like thunder, capable of piercing through walls! This was a unique characteristic that could only be displayed when one's cultivation reached the perfect level of the Human Gang Realm and one's spiritual power was pure and abundant to a certain degree!

Upon introspection, within the dantian's sea of ​​qi, in the spiritual energy pool evolved from the "storm millstone," the azure spiritual energy resembled liquid jade, pure and translucent, radiating an indescribable mysterious luster. A massive vortex of spiritual energy slowly rotated within it, each rotation drawing upon the resonance of the body's qi and blood, creating invisible ripples.

The aura it exuded was condensed, profound, and domineering, enough to make any cultivator in the Gang Realm feel their scalp tingle and their mind tremble. They simply could not believe that the spiritual power of a Gang Realm cultivator could be so profound and terrifying!

After a month of arduous training, consuming countless resources, Jiang Xuan finally pushed his cultivation to the true perfection of the Human Gang Realm, reaching an unprecedented peak!
Feeling the immense power surging within him like a rushing river or a volcano gathering strength, Jiang Xuan slowly clenched his fist. A month of seclusion had not only propelled his cultivation to the peak of the Human罡 Realm, but his overall combat power had also reached a new level.

He had a clear intuition that if he were to face Huang Jianchen again now, he wouldn't even need to use the true power of the "Star Gathering Style." With just his current profound and pure spiritual energy and powerful physical body, he could easily defeat him. Recalling the battle in the arena, the "Star Gathering Style" he used back then probably didn't even fully reveal a third of its true essence.

As for the exact level of his current strength, and whether he could contend with someone at the Earthly Realm, Jiang Xuan could not make a precise judgment, but he felt no fear whatsoever.

For him, the Earthly Fiend Realm was no longer an unattainable realm that required looking up to.

With a thought, the boiling, molten aura around him instantly subsided, and the azure luster flowing beneath his skin quietly disappeared. He returned to his seemingly ordinary appearance, but the occasional glint of light in the depths of his eyes revealed his inner transformation.

He stood up and began tidying up the meditation room where he had been in seclusion. The first thing he did was remove the simple spirit-gathering array that had been running continuously for a whole month. Looking at the few high-grade spirit stones in his hand that had become dull and even developed fine cracks due to the depletion of spiritual energy, Jiang Xuan's lips twitched slightly, and he felt a pang of heartache.

This spirit-gathering array requires ten high-grade spirit stones every day, which adds up to a full three hundred stones a month! Converted at market price, that's more than six thousand gold coins! Such a huge expense is enough to bankrupt many small cultivator families, and is far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

And this is only to maintain the operation of the spirit-gathering array.

More importantly, the resources he consumes for cultivation are terrifying.

He had refined and absorbed all ten bottles of "Cloudy Purple Soul Pills," worth nearly ten thousand gold coins, within the past month.

All of this stemmed from the bottomless "storm millstone" within his body.

It granted Jiang Xuan unparalleled combat power and cultivation speed far surpassing his peers, but it also brought about an enormous consumption of resources. To wear the crown, one must bear its weight; to possess power beyond that of ordinary people, one must pay a price far exceeding that of ordinary people.

After tidying up, Jiang Xuan pushed open the door and went out.

In the courtyard, Xue Jin remained lying in the rocking chair, as if he hadn't moved at all in the past month. Hearing the door open, he lazily raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Xuan, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

He looked Jiang Xuan up and down several times before muttering to himself.

"What a monster... In all my years, I've never seen anyone like you who can go into seclusion for a month straight while still in the Human罡 Realm, and not only is he perfectly fine, but his cultivation has actually improved a lot. How does your body withstand that?"

Jiang Xuan walked to the stone table and sat down, poured himself a bowl of water, smiled when he heard this, and said.

"Senior, your way of praising people is truly unique, it goes through eighteen roundabout ways."

Xue Jin scoffed and said irritably.

"Praise you? I'm afraid you'll blow yourself up one day! Stop patting yourself on the back, you shameless brat."

Jiang Xuan took a sip of water, stopped arguing with him, and became a little more serious before speaking.

“Senior, I have no interest in the Shi Ding Zhai celebration. I already sent the invitation to Brother Chu Feng on my behalf. I have other business to discuss with you today.”

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Xue Jin raised an eyebrow.

"I need to go into seclusion again."

Jiang Xuan said directly.

"The duration of this trip is uncertain; it may be short or it may be a little longer. I hope that you can protect me during this time and keep me from being disturbed by the outside world."

Upon hearing this, Xue Jin's previously lazy expression softened. He sat up straight and looked closely at Jiang Xuan, keenly sensing that Jiang Xuan's "seclusion" this time seemed different from his previous simple cultivation. It subtly hinted at something unusual and might even involve some unknown risks.

He pondered for a moment, then nodded without asking any further questions, readily agreeing.

"Can.

"With me here, unless those old geezers personally intervene, I guarantee you'll be safe."

"Thank you, senior."

Jiang Xuan thanked him sincerely.

The reason he made this request was because today was the opening day of the third level, "Hundred Battles," of the "Azure Cloud Avenue," a secret realm that leads to the heavens! He had to enter the secret realm and pass the level today.

Within Yanxia City, there are many adversaries. He cannot guarantee that his physical body will not reveal any flaws or attract attention during his trials. Only with the great god Xue Jin protecting him can he face the unknown challenges with peace of mind.

Back in his room, Jiang Xuan sat down cross-legged again, held his breath, and focused his mind to get himself into the best possible state.

Then, he sank his mind into the depths of his consciousness and began to sense the mysterious "Gate to Heaven".

The instant his thoughts touched that ancient, massive door—

"Boom!"

His entire sea of ​​consciousness seemed to be experiencing a violent earthquake, shaking the heavens and the earth! An irresistible, enormous suction force came from inside the door, instantly engulfing his consciousness completely.

After a brief, dizzying sensation that felt like traversing endless time and space, Jiang Xuan found himself in an incredibly mysterious and boundless space.

Before him still stood the "Azure Cloud Avenue," seemingly paved with azure clouds and stretching straight to the distant sky. At the end of the avenue, the towering "Gate to Heaven," exuding an ancient and desolate aura, stood silently. A year had passed since he last passed the second trial, "Soul Refining."

Just then, a profound and immense wave swept across his body like mercury spilling across the ground. Immediately afterwards, that familiar, emotionless, and cold voice resounded once more deep within his consciousness: "Trial seeker, welcome back to the Azure Cloud Path."

"The third level is called 'Hundred Battles'."

The rules are as follows.

You have three chances to complete the challenge.

Each failed attempt requires a seven-day interval before another attempt. If all three attempts fail, the candidate permanently loses their qualification for the Azure Cloud Path, and this secret realm will be completely sealed, never to be reopened for a thousand years.

As soon as the voice fell, before Jiang Xuan could fully process this information, a dazzling beam of light suddenly descended from the void, enveloping his entire body.

The next moment, the dizzying sensation returned.

When his vision cleared, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.

This was an enormous circular arena, and beyond the arena lay an endless, churning, gray void.

Around this huge arena, there is not nothing but many strange sculptures of various shapes!

These sculptures are bizarre and lifelike.

Some were humanoid, but had wings on their backs or horns on their heads; some were completely demonic, ferocious and terrifying, with exposed fangs; some were like ghosts, ethereal and elusive, like a wisp of smoke; some were mountain spirits and water monsters, carrying the aura of primitive wilderness; and some were creatures that Jiang Xuan had never seen before, or even imagined!
For example, a skeleton entirely white with two pairs of wings and a vertical eyehole between its brows; a giant standing on a tortoise, with a serpent hanging from its ear and covered in jet-black scales; a minotaur with skin as if cast in gold, clad in heavy armor, and wielding a bolt of lightning in its hand…

These sculptures stand silently in the void at the edge of the arena, densely packed, exactly one hundred in number! They are all different in shape, yet they all exude an ancient, mysterious, and powerful aura, as if representing all the creatures of ancient times, giving people an extremely strong visual impact and spiritual shock.

"What is the origin of these sculptures?"

Jiang Xuan was extremely surprised, and at the same time, a thought arose in his mind.

"Could the powerful figures in this 'Hundred Battles' secret realm be related to these sculptures?"

Just as his thoughts were racing, that cold voice rang out again, echoing in the eerie arena space.

"Rules of the Hundred Battles Secret Realm"

"

"There will be a total of one hundred combat opportunities within the secret realm."

"In every battle, defeat is equivalent to death."

"Upon death, you will be resurrected in the center of the ring and have 15 minutes to adjust and recover."

"If you cannot complete one hundred battles, or choose to give up after any battle, you will fail this challenge."

Jiang Xuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

He originally thought that "three chances to pass the level" meant three opportunities to enter this "Hundred Battles Secret Realm," but he didn't expect that each chance to pass the level would actually include one hundred combat opportunities! And there was also such an unbelievable setting as "death resurrection"?

He quickly figured out the rules.

"One hundred battles, one death if you fail, but you can be resurrected... And the rules only say 'failure to persevere to the end will result in failure,' without emphasizing that you must win every battle? Does this mean that as long as you can survive these one hundred battles, even if you lose in the middle, as long as you don't die in the end, you've passed the level?"

The moment this thought crossed his mind, he realized that things might not be so simple.

This mysterious realm is unpredictable and each level is extremely challenging. The third level is named "Hundred Battles" and the conditions for passing it are so complicated that there must be more to it than meets the eye. It is not as easy as it seems on the surface.

Before he could fully comprehend the rules, a sudden change occurred!
In the right corner in front of him, a statue with a human head and a snake's body, four arms, and an extremely ferocious appearance, suddenly rippled with a layer of water-like waves on its surface. The stone chips covering it began to peel off in a rustling sound. The entire statue seemed to be infused with life, and its tightly closed stone eyes seemed to be about to suddenly open at any moment!

It's coming back to life!
"boom!"

The grotesque statue with a human head, a snake's body, and four arms suddenly shattered under Jiang Xuan's solemn gaze, turning into countless fragments of dust. The dust didn't scatter; instead, drawn together by an invisible force, it rapidly coalesced, eventually transforming into a creature over ten feet tall, with a snake's head, a human body, and four muscular arms!
This creature was covered in fine, dark blue scales, its scarlet forked tongue flickered, and it held a strangely shaped bone scimitar in each of its four arms. Its vertical pupils were fixed on Jiang Xuan, filled with an aura of coldness, cruelty, and violence.

Almost the instant the Serpent Spirit Clan expert fully manifested, a warning bell rang in Jiang Xuan's heart. Almost instinctively, the simple battle blade that had been with him for a long time appeared in his hand.

Meanwhile, the opponent suddenly raised one of his arms, and the bone scimitar instantly swelled up, transforming into a crimson blood blade over ten feet long, carrying a terrifying killing intent that could tear everything apart, and slashed down at Jiang Xuan's head!

At the same time, that cold voice seemed to arrive belatedly.

"The first battle will be against a powerful member of the Serpent Spirit Clan..."

However, the Serpent Spirit Clan expert didn't even wait for the sound to subside before the attack was already upon him!

The moment the blood-red blade struck, Jiang Xuan felt the entire arena space change color. An indescribable, terrifying aura completely enveloped and imprisoned him, making it impossible for him to even entertain the thought of dodging. In a daze, he seemed to see an enormous star, carrying the will to destroy everything, crushing towards him like a comet!

That trajectory, that artistic conception, that way of drawing upon the power of heaven and earth… Jiang Xuan was all too familiar with it!
"Star-Picking Style!"

Jiang Xuan was horrified and screamed inwardly! The opponent was using his trump card technique, "Star Gathering Style"! But the power of this style in the hands of the opponent was simply terrifying beyond imagination, more than ten or even a hundred times stronger than when he used it at full power!
In the next instant, endless, excruciating pain overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

He felt his body, and even his soul, being easily torn apart, ground into dust by that single strike. Suddenly, everything went black; all his senses vanished instantly, and he completely lost consciousness.

……

It's unclear how much time passed, or perhaps just a moment, but Jiang Xuan suddenly "woke up".

He found himself still standing in the center of that enormous arena, the surrounding void and those strange sculptures unchanged, as if that terrifying strike from before was just an illusion.

But when his gaze swept across the edge of the arena and he saw the statue with a human head, a snake's body, and four arms still standing intact in the same spot, his face instantly turned deathly pale.

In his mind, the horrific image of being cleaved by the crimson blood blade, his body and soul torn apart and crushed, surged forth like a tidal wave, every detail crystal clear, like the deepest nightmare, imprinted on the very core of his soul. (End of Chapter)