I can increase my power through breathing.

Chapter 106 Apprenticeship
Zhou Qing stood at the foot of the mountain.

In the sky, nine blazing suns, each radiating intense light, seemed capable of shining through the ages, eternal and indestructible.

He could sense that these nine blazing suns contained boundless power and mystery, a power that only a saint could control.

"Zhou Qing, the Third Elder is waiting for you at the top of the mountain." The steward of the registration hall said, "Without the permission of the Elder, outsiders cannot climb the mountain. I can only escort you this far."

"understand!"

Zhou Qing nodded and headed towards the mountaintop.

The journey was smooth and smooth.

Soon, Zhou Qing arrived at the mountaintop.

At the mountaintop, clouds and mist swirled, as if one had stepped into another world.

In the center, an ancient palace stands, exuding a faint aura of majesty and holiness. Every brick and tile of the palace is made of extremely precious materials.

Standing before the palace, Zhou Qing felt an ancient and powerful aura wash over him, as if he had traveled through endless years and witnessed the glory and vicissitudes of the Taixu Holy Land.

The palace gates were tightly shut, and intricate patterns were carved on them. Each pattern contained an incredibly profound power, inspiring awe.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and slowly stepped forward, pushing open the palace gates and entering the main hall.

Inside the main hall, a middle-aged man with a full head of silver hair and a resolute face sat upright on the throne, his eyes slightly closed, as if resonating with heaven and earth, exuding an indescribable aura of power.

Just as Zhou Qing stepped into the main hall, the silver-haired middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the void and staring directly at Zhou Qing.

"The poison of life!"

The silver-haired middle-aged man murmured.

Then, he pointed a finger, and a dazzling light burst forth from his fingertip, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, carrying boundless power and divinity as it flew into Zhou Qing's body.

hum~~~
Instantly, Zhou Qing felt two powerful forces erupt within his body, intertwining and seemingly about to tear his body apart.

The Martial Saint Mark within him erupted, ensuring his body was not destroyed.

Soon, the two forces annihilated each other.

Zhou Qing could feel that his life was returning to normal.

The poison that threatened life was thus neutralized.

"Thank you, senior!"

Zhou Qing immediately expressed his gratitude.

"You still call me senior!"

The silver-haired middle-aged man smiled and said.

"Disciple Zhou Qing greets Master."

Zhou Qing tactfully bowed down.

"No need for formalities. With your talent, you are qualified to become my disciple." The Third Elder nodded, then waved his hand and said, "This is a gift for you."

As soon as he finished speaking, San Tai pointed his palm upwards, and then a ball of pure light appeared in the void. Zhou Qing looked at this ball of light, which contained an incomparably profound aura.

This profound aura seemed to be the very essence of the universe.

"Master, what is this?"

Zhou Qing couldn't help but ask.

“This is the Dao’s essence!” The Third Elder smiled slightly, gazing intently at the ball of light, and continued, “The Dao’s essence is the workings of all things in heaven and earth. If you can comprehend even a trace of it, you can grasp the true meaning of the Dao and thus step into the Dao Realm.”

"By refining the Dao essence, one can step into the Dao Law Realm."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing was deeply shocked.

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, there hasn't been a martial arts supreme being at the Dao Realm level for tens of thousands of years.

But the Land of Saints actually possesses such a treasure.

Outside of the Holy Land, even a Supreme Being of the Dao Realm would be considered a powerful figure.

"Thank you for the reward, Master!" Zhou Qing immediately expressed his gratitude.

“Now that you are my disciple, these are what you deserve,” said the Third Master. “However, if you want to refine the Dao essence, you must wait until your cultivation reaches the ninth level of the Celestial Realm. Otherwise, if you try to refine it rashly, you will be assimilated by the Dao essence.”

"understand!"

Zhou Qing nodded.

He respectfully accepted the ball of light, and felt a gentle power surge into his body, as if countless profound truths of heaven and earth were echoing in his ears, making his soul tremble.

At this moment, he seemed to touch the pulse of heaven and earth and feel the endless mysteries, but he did not actively refine it, but simply let this Daoist essence exist in his body.

Since his master said that one needs to reach the ninth level of the Celestial Realm to refine it, he cannot refine it with his current cultivation level.

"Now that you have become my disciple, you should also get to know your senior brothers and sisters." The Third Master said, "I don't have many disciples; including you, there are only six."

Your five senior brothers and sisters, the most powerful of whom have reached the semi-saint realm, are your eldest and second senior brothers, who have been semi-saints for hundreds of years.

"Half Saint!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing was startled.

Although a semi-saint is not a true saint, he still carries the title of "saint," and his strength is unimaginable.

"The other three joined a little later. Your third senior sister and fourth senior brother have both reached the Dao Law Realm, and they are at least at the seventh level of the Dao Law Realm."

"The last one, the Fifth Senior Sister, has only been a disciple for ten years. Her talent is second only to your eldest senior brother. She is only in her early twenties and has already reached the fourth level of the Dao Realm."

The Third Master said.

"He reached the fourth level of the Daoist Realm in his early twenties."

Zhou Qing clicked his tongue in amazement.

Such talent is truly astonishing.

In the realm of mountains and seas, this is simply unimaginable.

In their early twenties, very few people can reach the Innate Realm; they are geniuses among geniuses, let alone reaching the Dao Realm.

“You don’t need to worry.” Third Master said, “You were able to reach the first level of the Celestial Realm at the age of seventeen in such a barren place as the Mountain and Sea Realm. Now that you have entered the Holy Land, the cultivation resources are far superior to those in the Mountain and Sea Realm. It is not difficult for you to catch up with your fifth senior sister.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Third Master pointed out with one finger.

Then, five vortexes appeared in the void above the main hall.

Within each vortex, a figure appeared.

Among them, the first two figures to step out exuded a holy aura, which, although not as intense as that of the Third Elder, was still a holy aura.

Zhou Qing knew that these were his eldest and second senior brothers, both of whom were half-saints.

Then, from the other three vortexes, a figure emerged—one man and two women, making a total of five figures.

"Disciple pays homage to Master."

Five figures bowed respectfully to the Third Elder.

"No need for formalities. I've called you here today because I've taken on a new disciple, your junior disciple. Let's all get to know each other so we can look out for each other in the future."

The Third Master is on the right track.

"The newly accepted disciple."

"Little junior brother!"

The five figures turned around, their gazes all falling on Zhou Qing in the main hall.

They knew how difficult it was to become a disciple of the Three Elders, and that in addition to talent, fate also played a role.

The Taixu Holy Land has nine saints, and the disciples of the other eight saints number at least a dozen, and in some cases even dozens. The disciples who have achieved the rank of half-saint all have more than ten disciples.

However, the Third Elder, in terms of the time it took to break through to the Saint Realm, ranked third, but had the fewest disciples among all the Saints.

(End of this chapter)