Primordial Era: Cultivation level equals the sum of the Jie Sect's total; the Three Pure Ones a

Upon hearing this, Xuandu turned to look at him.

A faint glimmer of light flashed deep within those eyes, which were as calm as an ancient well.

"You're quite perceptive."

"Indeed, that harvest is related to you."

"You could even say that I wouldn't have gotten that reward if it weren't for you."

Shen Ni was taken aback, his blood-gold eyes filled with confusion.

"Because of the disciple?"

Xuan Du looked at him, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.

"Do you still remember that, within the core of that secret realm, besides Xuanji's remnant soul, there was also a chaotic spiritual vein?"

Shen Ni nodded, his blood-gold eyes flashing.

"This disciple remembers."

"That spiritual vein is the original power that existed before the creation of heaven and earth. If it weren't for the lingering resentment of that enemy attached to it, Xuanji wouldn't have been able to guard the Yuanyuan Society for billions of years."

"But wasn't that spiritual vein sealed by Master?"

Xuan Du gently shook his head.

"The spiritual veins have indeed been sealed."

"But during the process of sealing the spiritual veins, I did something else."

He paused, his voice turning somber.

"I extracted that lingering resentment from the spiritual veins."

Shen Ni shuddered, and a sudden burst of light shone from the depths of his blood-gold eyes.

"What?!"

"That's a Primordial Chaos Taiji level existence! Even if only a wisp of its remnant spirit remains, it's something that even a peak Ninth Heaven cultivator couldn't easily touch!"

"Master, you extracted his lingering remnant spirit? Then he..."

Xuan Du looked at him, his voice calm as still water.

"He is the remnant soul within that dark red light."

"Now, he has become my disciple."

Shen Ni was completely stunned.

He gazed at Xuan Du, at that young yet composed face, at those eyes as calm as an ancient well.

Having acquired a fortune, he had met countless cultivators.

But no one has ever dared to take a remnant of Hunyuan Taiji as a disciple.

"Master, you..."

"You really accepted him as your apprentice?"

Xuan Du nodded.

"His name is Blood Abyss, and he was a survivor from the era of the Chaos Gods."

"Back then, he shattered Xuanji's Dao foundation and was also seriously injured. His remnant soul escaped into the spiritual vein node and was trapped for hundreds of millions of yuan."

"The cause and effect have been severed, the spiritual veins have been sealed, and he has nowhere to go."

"Becoming my disciple is his only way to survive."

Shen Ni remained silent, the light in the depths of his blood-gold eyes flickering uncertainly.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke, his voice filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"I truly cannot understand Master's actions."

"The lingering regrets of a Hunyuan Tai Chi practitioner are a hot potato and a source of trouble in the hands of others."

"Once in the hands of the master, he became a disciple."

Xuan Du smiled slightly.

When the time is right, things will naturally fall into place.

"Although he was once the Primordial Taiji, now he is only a wisp of remnant spirit, entangled with that spiritual vein node for billions of yuan, and his foundation has long been exhausted."

"If he doesn't become an apprentice, he'll only be waiting to die."

"After becoming an apprentice, he actually had a glimmer of hope."

"He knows how to calculate this."

Shen Ni nodded and asked no further questions.

He stood in the cave, his blood-gold eyes scanning the surroundings to confirm that the three layers of restrictions had closed again, isolating all external influences.

"Since Master is going into seclusion to receive feedback from the Blood Abyss, this disciple will guard outside the cave."

"With disciples present, no one dares to disturb us."

Xuandu looked at him and nodded slightly.

"Alright, you stay outside and keep watch. If anything changes, we'll deal with it accordingly."

Shen Ni bowed, turned around, and strode out of the cave.

The stone gate slowly closed behind him, and the three layers of restrictions began to circulate again, enveloping the entire cave.

The cave returned to silence.

The dozens of chaotic-colored crystals emitted a soft glow, illuminating the entire cave with a cool and peaceful radiance.

The three layers of restrictions flowed continuously, completely isolating all external scents, sounds, and fluctuations.

Xuandu stood before the stone platform, hands behind his back, his blue robes fluttering slightly.

He gazed at the closed stone door, sensing Shen Ni's aura as he stood firmly atop the stone pillar.

The blood-gold aura of ferocity spread out like a tide, covering an area of ​​tens of thousands of miles. Even a chaotic beast would be forced to retreat by the pressure of that aura.

Xuan Du withdrew his gaze and no longer hesitated.

He sat cross-legged on the stone platform, his blue robe hanging down and his black hair flowing over his shoulders.

With eyes slightly closed, his mind sank into the depths of his dantian.

From the moment he accepted Xue Yuan as his disciple, the system condensed its feedback power into the light screen, waiting for him to refine it with a single thought.

But he could never free his hands.

Now I can finally calm down and accept that gift.

Although Xue Yuan only had a wisp of remnant spirit left, at his peak he was a late-stage Hunyuan Taiji being.

That was the height at which the three thousand chaotic demon gods were at their peak before Pangu created the world.

Even if only a fraction of the original essence remained within the lingering remnant, it would still be enough to leave any cultivator at the ninth level of the Primordial Chaos Realm speechless.

Xuan Du took a deep breath, his mind stirred, and he began refining.

A grayish-white light surged out from the light screen, slowly flowing along the meridians around his body and disappearing into the depths of his dantian.

In that instant, he was jolted.

An ancient and powerful force surged within him like a tide.

That power was unlike any law he had accumulated over billions of years of cultivation; it carried a wild and primal quality unique to the depths of chaos.

That is the origin of the Blood Abyss.

It is the essence of the cultivation of that late-stage Hunyuan Taiji being, a being who has accumulated billions of yuan in cultivation.

Even if only a remnant remains, the profound essence contained within its origin is enough to suffocate any cultivator at the peak of the Ninth Heaven.

Xuan Du closed his eyes and immersed his mind in that power.

The grayish-white light surged, washed, and settled within his meridians, tempering his flesh, bones, and soul inch by inch.

He sensed that change, and instead of resisting it, he guided it.

The Chaos Pearl hung above his head, and forty-nine chaotic restrictions lit up simultaneously, transforming into a chaotic light curtain that firmly contained that power within his body, preventing even the slightest leakage.

Inside the cave, the dozens of crystals shimmered slightly, as if sensing the powerful aura surging around the figure in green.

Time flowed quietly within the cave.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe a day, maybe three days.

The grayish-white light flowed endlessly around him, and each flow caused a subtle change in his aura.

The change is ongoing, accumulating, and escalating.

Xuan Du's cultivation level is rising at an irreversible rate.

The bottleneck at the peak of the ninth level of the Primordial Great Luo Realm began to loosen in the face of that power.

A crack slowly appeared on the solid bottleneck.

Then the second, and the third.

The cracks grew denser and deeper, like a barrier about to crumble.

Xuan Du sensed the changes in the bottleneck, but his mind remained as firm as iron, unmoved.

He simply kept guiding the grayish-white light to wash, impact, and penetrate.

The cracks in the bottleneck finally reached their limit.

"Click."

A very faint cracking sound rang out from the depths of his dantian.

The voice was so soft that if someone were standing next to him, they wouldn't hear it at all.

But in his perception, it was like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart, like the beginning of chaos.

The bottleneck broke.

The threshold of the peak of the ninth level of the Hunyuan Daluo realm collapsed before him.

The shackles that had bound him for countless eons shattered completely at this moment.

Xuan Du's aura suddenly surged.

Half-step Hunyuan Taiji.

He crossed that threshold.

But the climb did not stop.

The grayish-white light continued to pour in, continued to wash over, and continued to temper his foundation.

The aura of Xuandu continued to rise.