Translator: AnubisTL
Though the deal with the Violet Extreme Spirit-Devouring Beast never materialized, Li Qing kept it in mind.
When he eventually advanced to the Divine Transformation stage, he would undoubtedly need to find a way to complete his five elements spirit root. With a method to do so now within reach, he naturally wouldn't let it slip away.
Li Qing didn't pry into the origins of the Violet Extreme Spirit-Devouring Beast; he figured he'd have plenty of time to uncover the truth later.
For now, his most pressing concern was breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage.
There were no shortcuts to refining the bottleneck of the Divine Transformation stage. Trapped in this lower realm, where the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth was already scarce, Li Qing had no choice but to endure through sheer persistence and time.
Time flowed onward, day after day, until eight years had passed in the blink of an eye.
During these eight years of relentless effort, Li Qing poured all his focus into refining the Divine Transformation bottleneck. The once-impenetrable barrier had visibly thinned, becoming much more permeable.
"I can finally see a glimmer of hope for the breakthrough. It truly wasn't easy," Li Qing sighed deeply, relief and satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. He felt that all his years of arduous labor had not been in vain.
The barrier that had blocked his path to the Divine Transformation stage could now be shaken. It was no longer the utterly impenetrable wall he had first encountered.
Although the bottleneck could now be shaken, attempting to break through to the Divine Transformation stage would still be somewhat risky, with a low chance of success.
In reality, Li Qing's progress was already remarkably swift. He cultivated the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art and was empowered by three types of heavenly spirit fire, which allowed him to refine the bottleneck at a far faster pace than other cultivators.
His decades of arduous training were roughly equivalent to one or two centuries of effort for others.
Typically, Nascent Soul cultivators at the peak of their realm would be nearing the twilight of their lives by the time they reached this point.
Any further delay would risk their vital energy waning and their lifespan expiring.
At such moments, they often rushed to attempt the Divine Transformation breakthrough, as their remaining lifespan would no longer support the prolonged effort required to refine the bottleneck.
Such a hasty attempt would be extremely precarious. Even if they managed to break through the bottleneck, they would struggle to complete the subsequent path to the late-stage Divine Transformation.
The final challenge, the Divine Transformation Tribulation, was a gate to the underworld. In the lower realm, nearly ninety percent of cultivators who reached this stage perished under the terrifying thunder tribulation.
"Fortunately, my lifespan is still abundant. I can continue refining the bottleneck until it thins to a mere sheet of paper. Only then will attempting the breakthrough be truly safe."
Li Qing was fully aware of his advantages, so he remained unhurried and patient.
The thinner he ground the bottleneck to the Divine Transformation stage, the greater his chances of success would be.
With this in mind, Li Qing continued his secluded cultivation.
Another three years passed. In the fourth year, astonishing news arrived from the overseas cultivation world.
Someone traveling through the sea territory where Heaven's End Island once stood—the very place where the Myriad Victory Heavenly Azure Flood Dragon King and others had shattered the void to ascend—discovered a corner of a blood-stained robe floating on the surface!
At first, it seemed unremarkable. But this blood-stained fragment of cloth was no ordinary textile; it came from an extremely precious magic robe!
Moreover, the blood qi clinging to it was so powerful that even cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm felt a sense of dread upon encountering it.
When the news spread, the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild acted swiftly, acquiring the bloody robe almost immediately.
"It's the Founding Ancestor's Tranquil Radiance Dharma Robe! I'd recognize it anywhere—the one he always wore, the very robe he wore on the day of his ascension!" A direct descendant of the guild immediately identified the robe's origin.
"The blood qi clinging to it should also be the Founding Ancestor's..."
"How could this happen? Did the Founding Ancestors fail their ascension? Why is only a fragment of a blood robe left behind?"
These questions fueled their imaginations, filling them with dread. They didn't dare to speculate further.
"Impossible! Our Founding Ancestor possessed unparalleled cultivation and dao cultivation that no one in the world could match. How could he possibly fail his ascension?"
"Could something have gone wrong during the journey?"
That day, the entire Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild was shaken, as if an inexplicable shadow had fallen upon them.
Because the guild's retrieval of the blood-stained robe had been so conspicuous, the matter quickly spread to the outside world.
Soon, the entire cultivation world was abuzz with speculation that the guild's ancestor had likely failed his ascension.
"After all, ascension is a perilous journey. Isn't it normal for accidents to occur along the way?"
"Since the dawn of time, only the most extraordinary beings have succeeded in ascending to the upper realm—beings with transcendent power and dao cultivation."
"But even so, among the four of them, Wan Shengtian had the highest cultivation, and he was only at the mid-stage of Divine Transformation."
"Without reaching late-stage Divine Transformation, even with the help of an ascension platform, ascension is impossible? Then who in this world can possibly succeed?!"
In the Human Realm, where the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth was so scarce, even breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage was an extremely difficult, almost impossible feat.
To cultivate to the late-stage of Divine Transformation in such an environment was even more hopeless.
This was not only due to the lack of resources, but also because their lifespans could not support them reaching that stage.
Without resorting to extreme methods like self-sealing to extend their lifespan, a normal Divine Transformation cultivator could only live for about two to three thousand years. By the Nascent Soul realm, they would have exhausted all the life-extending spirit herbs, rendering them ineffective.
Reaching the late-stage of Divine Transformation had become nearly impossible.
(End of the Chapter)
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