From Five Animal Exercises to being hailed as a saint and ancestor

In the ruins of the city lord's mansion, the battle has reached a critical point.

Zhang Xinghan collapsed unconscious, his fate unknown.

With the power of all living beings no longer restraining him, Chi Xiao poured all his pressure onto Shi Mang!

Shi Mang roared and shook the heavens, his Mountain-Shaking Axe swung wildly, and his slashes, imbued with the essence of the Dao, remained as fierce and unparalleled as ever.

Each axe strike forced Chi Xiao to refrain from taking the full force of the blow.

However, Chi Xiao's movement techniques were too unpredictable, and the various attribute abilities brought about by the modification of his body were even more difficult to defend against.

Poisonous fog, spikes, fire whips... all sorts of attacks came from unexpected angles.

Shi Mang was exhausted from dealing with the situation, and he had already sustained several wounds, his coarse military uniform stained with blood.

He was like a tiger trapped in an invisible spider web.

"Hahaha! A brute is a brute! He has strength but no ability to adapt; in the end, he's nothing but a skeleton in a tomb!"

Chi Xiao laughed wildly, victory was assured.

His Yuan energy was still abundant, and the advantages brought by the modification of his body made him almost invincible.

In the distance, Shangguan Hong struggled to get up.

However, this aggravated his internal injuries, causing him to cough up blood again. He could only watch helplessly, his heart filled with anxiety.

Luo Wuyai's face was as pale as paper. He had previously withstood Zhao Xiaoman's self-destruction and then made a series of attacks, which had greatly depleted his energy.

Seeing Shi Mang struggling alone, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes.

Can't wait any longer!

He gritted his teeth and two objects appeared in his hand.

A Blood-Burning Pill the size of a longan, as red as blood.

The other one is a fruit that is pure white, exudes a refreshing and unique fragrance, and is shaped like a teardrop—"Ice Soul Tear Lotus Seed"!

This item is a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, which can greatly enhance the user's foundation, stabilize their base, and reduce the backlash from elixirs.

It can nourish the soul, and it is extremely precious, which he prepared for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm!

Looking at the lotus seed of the tear-shaped lotus, Luo Wuyai's eyes flashed with an extremely intense reluctance and heartache.

But the next moment, that reluctance and heartache were replaced by determination.

Without hesitation, he stuffed the Blood Burning Pill and the Ice Soul Tear Lotus seeds into his mouth together!

"boom!"

The violent medicinal power of the Blood Burning Pill exploded instantly.

Immediately enveloped and guided by the gentle yet powerful cooling medicinal power of the Ice Soul Tear Lotus seeds, the raging force seemed to be tamed.

The backlash was greatly weakened, and a powerful force far exceeding his usual strength surged out from within him!

His aura surged instantly, almost rivaling that of a Nascent Soul Realm expert!

"A sorrowful soul sheds no tears!"

Luo Wuyai let out a low shout, his figure floated up, and an invisible domain that enveloped the entire battlefield suddenly unfolded!

Within that realm, there were no longer concrete scenes, but an extreme sorrow and deathly stillness that permeated the depths of the soul!

It was as if all things were withering, all living beings were weeping blood, and even the rules of heaven and earth were grieving!

This domain does not directly attack the physical body, but rather targets the soul!

Chi Xiao's already mixed, impure, and conflict-ridden soul was instantly thrown into boiling oil under the erosion of this Sorrowful Soul Domain!

Countless chaotic thoughts clashed wildly, and various forcibly fused fragments of the soul seemed to be trying to break free of their restraints.

His movements became noticeably sluggish and chaotic, and his attacks lost their previous precision and ruthlessness!

"Hmm?!" Chi Xiao groaned, a flash of pain and rage in his eyes.

"Annoying flies!"

With Luo Wuyai's powerful assistance at the cost of consuming his own essence, Shi Mang's pressure was greatly reduced, and he roared and swung his axe to attack again!

The two, one focusing on physical attacks and the other on spiritual interference, managed to barely achieve a stalemate with Chi Xiao!

But Luo Wuyai knew perfectly well that this was nothing more than drinking poison to quench his thirst!

The effects of the Blood Burning Pill and the Ice Soul Tear Lotus Seed are time-limited.

Once the effects of the medicine wear off, he will fall into extreme weakness.

At that time, Shi Mang will be unable to withstand the attack alone, and his defeat will be inevitable!

Luo Wuyai's mind raced as he searched for a solution.

The Primordial Spirit Realm is about tempering the Primordial Spirit, with the aim of using a more powerful soul essence to perceive and touch the ethereal yet omnipresent rules of heaven and earth!

If one can comprehend even a trace of the power of the rules, one can leap over the dragon gate like a carp and step into the seventh realm—the Throne Dao Realm!

If you can master 50% of the rules, you will reach the threshold of the eighth realm!

Shi Mang's power had already reached the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul realm.

He even surpassed the peak of ordinary primordial spirits; what he lacked was that final push.

To elevate that ultimate power to the level of rules!

Suddenly, Luo Wuyai recalled the evaluation that Prison Master Li Hanshan had given to Shi Mang.

"This child has a pure heart and has reached the realm of 'skill approaching the Dao.' His axe is no longer an axe, but an extension of his Dao."

"What he lacks is not strength, but the flexibility of 'intention'. If one can forget the form and grasp the spirit, the rules will naturally appear."

Forget its form, capture its spirit...

Seeing Shi Mang's giant axe still stubbornly chopping at Chi Xiao's "human form," Luo Wuyai's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

Using all his strength, he sent a telepathic message directly to Shi Mang's soul, the message of which was extremely simple.

"Shi Mang! Don't treat him like a person! Treat him like a tree! A tree you need to cut down!"

These words, like a morning bell and a evening drum, instantly resounded in Shi Mang's simple and persistent heart!

"A tree?" Shi Mang's axe-wielding motion suddenly froze.

A moment of confusion appeared in those eyes, which were filled with raging fury.

Suddenly, an unprecedented light shone forth!

That's right! It's a tree! A tree he's been cutting down for fifty years!

He knew every grain of the tree and knew where to strike with the axe most efficiently and effectively to sever the root!

In his eyes, Chi Xiao's strange movements, endless abilities, and irritating roars... all the appearances faded away at this moment.

In his eyes, Chi Xiao was no longer a complex and powerful "person".

Instead, it transformed into a "strange tree" in the mountains and forests, with gnarled roots and sprawling branches, which he had to cut down with all his might!

His eyes changed, becoming incredibly focused and pure, with only one goal remaining—to cut down this tree!

"Ha..." Shi Mang let out an unconscious growl, his hands slowly tightening around the Mountain-Shaking Axe.

This time, he seemed to start much slower.

An indescribable, profound "meaning" that seemed to resonate with the entire universe began to condense on his axe blade.

Chi Xiao's mind was filled with alarm bells!

He sensed a deadly threat!

That's a lock-on that transcends the levels of power, speed, and skill!

He frantically unleashed all his abilities—poisonous mist, flames, earth spikes, mental shocks—surging towards Shi Mang like a tidal wave!

However, at this moment, Shi Mang was completely focused.

His eyes were only on that "tree," and in his world, there was only the action of swinging the axe.

Ax, fall.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no dazzling bursts of energy.

That axe strike seemed to strip away all external appearances, leaving only the most essential meaning of "rupture".

A thin, almost invisible black crack appeared silently in the air, following the trajectory of the axe blade.

Wherever the crack passed, the poisonous mist spewed out by Chixiao was silently annihilated, the flames that were burning suddenly went out, the raised earth spikes turned into dust, and even the mental shock he emitted was directly severed!

The power of rules—sever!

"No—!!!" Chixiao let out an unprecedented scream of terror.

He felt death approaching, an obliteration originating from the level of rules that even his modified demonic body and mixed divine soul could not resist!

Black, regular cracks lightly brushed across his body.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Chixiao's frantic movements came to an abrupt halt.

The terror, madness, and resentment on his face were frozen in that moment.

The next moment, his body silently split in two, starting from the central axis.

The incision was as smooth as a mirror, and not a drop of blood flowed out.

It was as if he himself was a perfectly cut object.

The various modified organs, crystals, and limbs of the demon beasts inside the two halves of the body were also neatly cut apart, losing all their vitality, and fell to the ground with two "plop" sounds.

With a single axe stroke, Chi Xiao died!

Shi Mang remained in the axe-wielding posture, the divine light in his eyes quickly fading, replaced by endless exhaustion.

His massive body swayed, then he fell backward into a deep coma.

Forcibly touching the rules, even by the slightest bit, exhausted all his mind and strength.

A deathly silence reigned above the ruins.

Only Luo Wuyai's heavy breathing and the complex expression on his face, a mixture of shock, joy, and worry, could be heard.

Meanwhile, Yao Mengkang from Backstreet was also at the final juncture of his breakthrough.

"Boom—!"

A huge vortex of vital energy formed around him.

The vital energy of heaven and earth in Baiwei City and even the wider area was frantically drawn in.

Like all rivers flowing into the sea, it surged into his dantian!

Within his dantian, the newly formed chaotic spiritual sea surged violently and continued to expand!

Even more astonishing is the Chaos Chakra located deep within the Tan Zhong Acupoint.

At this moment, it slowly rotates like a nebula millstone, and with each rotation, it spews out a large amount of incomparably pure gray chaotic energy.

It integrates into the meridians and flows into the spiritual sea, continuously improving its quality and rapidly expanding its scope!

The stone bead hidden deep within the Chaos Chakra was spinning at an unprecedented speed, emitting a hazy glow.

It was as if it had communicated with some unknown dimension, from which a large amount of chaotic energy was continuously drawn out.

It silently replenished the energy consumed during Yao Mengkang's breakthrough, further solidifying his foundation!

After an unknown amount of time, the enormous vortex of primordial energy finally dissipated slowly.

Yao Mengkang suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes, and a fleeting image of chaos opening and stars being born and dying flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He felt the vast and boundless power within his dantian, and his mind sank into it.

All he could see was a boundless, silvery-gray ocean, peacefully existing within his dantian world.

"This is..." Yao Mengkang carefully sensed the scope of his spiritual sea, his heart filled with turbulent waves.

When an ordinary cultivator first enters the Spirit Sea Realm, the size of their Spirit Sea is no more than ten feet.

Reaching a height of a hundred zhang is already a genius, while reaching a height of a thousand zhang is a prodigy.

His spiritual sea, roughly estimated, reached a terrifying expanse of 100,000 zhang!

Boundless spiritual sea!

According to Taoist scriptures, when the Taoist Ancestor broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm, he formed a Spirit Sea of ​​50,000 zhang (approximately 15,000 meters) and later reached the realm of the Boundless Spirit Sea through cultivation.

Yao Mengkang's breakthrough is "limitless".

This means that his total spiritual power is probably unmatched by anyone in the entire Spirit Sea Realm, and this is only at the beginning of the Spirit Sea Realm.

He successfully broke through and ascended to the Boundless Spirit Sea Realm, which countless cultivators dream of!

Suppressing his excitement, Yao Mengkang immediately looked at Xu Ziyi, who was being carefully looked after by Xu Zijian and Shi Hao.

She remained unconscious, her face pale, but her breathing was steady; the miraculous effects of the Star Liquid had preserved her last chance at life.

He stood up, feeling the surge of power within him, far exceeding anything he had ever felt before.

His gaze swept over his fellow disciples who were looking at him with concern.

Finally, looking towards the direction of the city lord's mansion, the terrifying fluctuations there seemed to have subsided.

"Let's go back to the inn first."

Yao Mengkang spoke in a steady voice as he carefully took Xu Ziyi from Xu Zijian's arms and lifted her up in his arms.

The girl's light weight caused him a pang of heartache.

This further strengthened my resolve to become stronger.

Everyone nodded, their expressions a mixture of relief at surviving the ordeal and a sense of dread about the future.

They were protecting Yao Mengkang and the unconscious Xu Ziyi.

Head towards the "Guests Come Like Clouds" inn.

The turmoil at Baiwei City seems to have come to a temporary end, but a bigger vortex may have just begun.