Chapter 157

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“Fifteen years ago, the Tianjian Sect’s mountain once again gathered Heavenly Earth Vital Energy; for the following two years, Primordial Qi within a hundred li of the Tianjian Sect was scarce…”

“Four years ago, the Tianjian Sect once again gathered Heavenly Earth Vital Energy, and all living beings nearby felt as if they were under the pressure of Mount Tai…”

…

Numerous pieces of information coalesced in Lin Yuan’s mind.

The Tianjian Sect possessed a large Heavenly Grade Energy Vortex, with abundant Primordial Qi inside the sect, enough for Ninth Realm cultivators’ daily consumption.

Despite this, there had still been five occurrences when Primordial Qi within a hundred or several hundred li converged towards the Tianjian Sect.

What did this indicate?

It indicated that the Primordial Qi emitted by the energy vortex was no longer sufficient for the cultivation of a certain entity.

“Tenth Realm…”

Lin Yuan set down the jade stone and had a speculation in his heart.

Only the legendary Tenth Realm could cause such a wide-ranging change in Heavenly Earth Vital Energy.

Of course, this is not to say that Tianjian Zi had already broken through to the Tenth Realm; if that were the case, Xiahou Yuan wouldn’t have survived past twenty-five years.

A Tenth Realm powerhouse, even if Xiahou Yuan managed to escape with his Primordial Spirit, would hardly be able to flee.

If Tianjian Zi had become a Tenth Realm powerhouse, he would have surely come to the Great Abyss in person at the very first opportunity to completely resolve the significant worry that Xiahou Yuan posed.

It is only from the changes in Heavenly Earth Vital Energy that one can deduce that Tianjian Zi was already attempting to break through to the Tenth Realm.

And he was about to succeed, for the range of the last Heavenly Earth Vital Energy’s coverage had reached nearly a thousand li.

“The cultivation speed is quite fast…”

Lin Yuan stroked his chin; in Xiahou Yuan’s memories, twenty-five years ago, Tianjian Zi was indeed at the peak of the Ninth Realm, but he was quite far from the Tenth Realm.

“However, it’s still not as fast as me.”

Lin Yuan was unconcerned.

In the previous three worlds he had traversed, as well as in the vast Main World, regarding pure cultivation speed, Lin Yuan had never seen anyone stronger than him.

Perhaps some higher bloodline, peak bloodline special life forms have a starting point far beyond Lin Yuan, but their subsequent cultivation speed is definitely not as fast as Lin Yuan’s.

“I will break through to the Fifth Rank first.”

Lin Yuan felt no pressure whatsoever.

If it were the original Xiahou Yuan, the first thing he would do after escaping would probably be to head to the outside of Tianjian Sect’s mountain gate to seek vengeance on Tianjian Zi and to confront ‘Bai Qing’er’ about her betrayal.

However…

Lin Yuan wasn’t that foolish.

With his current power and methods.

Even if he truly encountered a Tenth Realm powerhouse.

He could still exchange a few moves or even have an equal battle.

But there was no need for that.

Lin Yuan most disliked evenly matched battles.

With his Against-Heaven’s Understanding, just a few decades of cultivation would be enough to completely surpass the opponent by one or even several Great Realms, sweeping through all with overwhelming force.

Why rush at this moment?

“The Vitality Spring beneath this Underground Palace; where exactly is it…”

Lin Yuan, sitting in the main seat, suddenly spoke.

“Reporting to Your Eminence, subordinates are incompetent and have not found the true core of the energy vortex to this day…” Moyang Demon Lord spoke with a tone of shame.

The true core of the energy vortex, also known as the Vitality Spring, is the source of the vortex’s energy.

However, the Vitality Spring is concealed underground, surrounded by a vast abundance of Heavenly Earth Vital Energy, making it difficult to pinpoint its precise location.

After Moyang Demon Lord discovered this energy vortex, he searched for it for decades without success; he then simply stopped searching, built the Underground Palace, and sealed the energy emitted by the vortex.

After all, the Vitality Spring was beneath the ground and couldn’t escape; he could search slowly in the future.

“Never mind.”

“Today, I will find it for you.”

Lin Yuan stood up and walked towards the depths of the Underground Palace.

Moyang Demon Lord and the other eight Demon Lords immediately followed quickly.

“Your Eminence, wait for me.”

Nuan Shu immediately stuck close behind Lin Yuan.

They walked for an indeterminate amount of time.

“Can Your Eminence really find it…” Moyang Demon Lord and the other Demon Lords looked at each other with some doubt.

Even for a Tenth Realm powerhouse, it was very difficult to directly locate the position of the Vitality Spring.

This had nothing to do with power; around the Vitality Spring, the Heavenly Earth Vital Energy was dense and invisibly suppressed the cultivator’s Divine Sense.

Even a Tenth Realm powerhouse, without the use of Divine Sense, would be like a blind person searching for the Vitality Spring underground, no better than a Ninth Realm cultivator.

Just then.

Lin Yuan in front suddenly stopped.

“Your Eminence…..”

Moyang Demon Lord was about to speak.

But saw Lin Yuan raise his hand and gently press towards the front right.

Boom!

A large section of soil collapsed.

A dark space was revealed.

All could see a milky white spring gushing continuously.

The spring was several meters across; it was bottomless, and the surging Heavenly Earth Vital Energy was pressurized within the spring water. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that all the water was composed of the highly concentrated Heavenly Earth Vital Energy.

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Moreover, around the spring, several peculiar flowers and herbs were blooming.

“A Vitality Spring?”

Moyang Demon Lord’s eyes widened as he instinctively swallowed his saliva.

Whether one is a cultivator of the righteous path or the Demonic Tao, they can cultivate by absorbing Heavenly Earth Vital Energy.

However, for practitioners of the Demonic Tao, this method is too inefficient. Why bother when directly killing and plundering can achieve faster results?

Yet the Vitality Spring before him was filled with a substantial amount of Heavenly Earth Vital Energy, making it a great supplement even for a Ninth Realm demon lord.

“This appears to be a mid-sized Heavenly Grade Energy Vortex, not bad at all. With this Vitality Spring, breaking through to the Fifth Rank shouldn’t be a problem,”

a smile of joy emerged on Lin Yuan’s face.

The Vitality Spring of the Tianjian Sect was at least large-sized, a level higher than the Vitality Spring before Lin Yuan.

However, Tianjian Zi, aiming for the Tenth Realm, would not dare to fully absorb the sect’s Vitality Spring, as the future disciples of the Tianjian Sect relied on it for cultivation.

Therefore, over the past twenty-plus years, Tianjian Zi’s attempts at breaking through to the Tenth Realm involved absorbing the Primordial Qi within a hundred miles or more.

This method was slow to show results, but there was no other choice.

However, Lin Yuan was different; he had no reservations about using this Vitality Spring.

“Moreover, the dozen or so Spiritual Medicines surrounding the Vitality Spring are treasures, comparable to four-star or five-star Cosmic Rare Treasures…”

Lin Yuan’s gaze grew fervent.

“I will make my breakthrough here.”

Lin Yuan made up his mind instantly; it would be a waste not to take advantage of such an excellent location for a breakthrough.

…

As Lin Yuan secluded himself for a breakthrough to the Fifth Rank,

the Five Domains Mainland was increasingly affected by the emergence of Demon Venerable Xiahou Yuan.

“Xiahou Yuan has emerged, and the world is likely to be in turmoil next,”

“Indeed, if I were Xiahou Yuan, after being suppressed for decades, I would definitely seek fierce revenge upon my release,”

“Ah… I wonder when the conflicts of this world will cease.”

“Cease? As long as there are people, it will never stop. Twenty-five years ago, the righteous powers started a great war against the demonic forces under the banner of suppressing Xiahou Yuan to bring peace to the world.”

“But what after that? Xiahou Yuan was indeed suppressed, but there was no peace. Those demon lords became like unshackled madmen…”

…

The forces and cultivators of the Five Domains quickly exchanged information.

Especially the powers that had participated in the suppression of Xiahou Yuan, they suddenly became panicked, fearing that Xiahou Yuan might target them first after his escape as a way to collect some interest for past events.

“This won’t do, I must go to the Tianjian Sect to discuss what we should do next,”

“Right, if it weren’t for Tianjian Zi, we wouldn’t have offended Xiahou Yuan so grievously,”

“Let’s go and demand an explanation from Tianjian Zi.”

Cultivators from many different powers, including Ninth Realm powerhouses, all headed towards the Tianjian Sect.

…

Meanwhile,

Tianjian Sect.

Mists swirling,

resembling an Immortal Realm.

Suddenly,

rumbling sounds,

a terrifying aura spread, under which,

even the lofty Ninth Realm practitioners felt uneasy.

“Sect Leader.”

“The Sect Leader has emerged.”

The elders of the Tianjian Sect, seeing this, became excited and bowed towards the highest peak’s palace.

Half a month later,

the terrifying aura that enveloped the entire palace gradually dissipated, and a man with white hair slowly walked out.

“Tianjian Zi.”

“Greetings, Sect Leader.”

“Sect Leader, you have finally emerged.”

The numerous disciples of Tianjian Sect breathed a sigh of relief. During this time, strong cultivators from the Five Domains came every day, seeking an audience with Tianjian Zi, asking how to deal with Xiahou Yuan.

If it had just been one or two people, it wouldn’t have mattered.

The Tianjian Sect, as the foremost power of the Five Domains, with Tianjian Zi as the world’s strongest, could surely hold its ground.

But it wasn’t just one or two people.

It was hundreds, two hundred, several hundred, thousands.

And they were all leaders of major forces, or even Ninth Realm powerhouses.

Under such circumstances, the Tianjian Sect felt overwhelmed.

Especially since Tianjian Zi, a core figure of the sect, was still in seclusion and could not make an appearance.

One could only imagine how much pressure the Tianjian Sect had been under during this time.

But now…

it was all over.