After practicing for another night, Lin Xishan's spirit power reached level 55.
It must be said that after reaching the Spirit King stage, the speed of cultivation was slower than before. Lin Xishan pondered for a moment and took out a yellowish-brown peony flower.
Under his Fiery Golden Eyes, he could see that this Immortal Herb was of the earth attribute, with an energy level consistent with the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower.
Lin Xishan did not know the proper way to consume it, but since a flower like this could only be prepared in a few ways, he would gain something even if he did not become a Spirit Emperor.
Furthermore, this Immortal Herb was meant to serve as a stepping stone.
Condensing and compressing it into a pure liquid, Lin Xishan opened his mouth and swallowed the yellow peony.
A surge of scorching energy coursed through Lin Xishan's body, and he immediately ran toward the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
He took out the short blade gifted by Lion Douluo from his Wishful Hundred Treasure Purse. As the cold light flashed, the large white Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass fell, landing among the other herbs. In an instant, a chill permeated the area, and a thin layer of white frost coated the surrounding herbs.
Reaching out to grasp the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, the frigid aura passed through Lin Xishan's palm and clashed with his Cassius Spirit, which had just been stimulated by the earth-attribute Immortal Herb. Subsequently, the earth elemental power condensed, protecting Lin Xishan's palm.
Lin Xishan quickly ran toward the fire-red Ice-Fire Apricot. It could not be cut with metal; it had to be harvested with jade to preserve its efficacy. However, Lin Xishan did not have any jade, so he used another unconventional method.
The entire clod of earth supporting the Ice-Fire Apricot flew up, hovering in front of Lin Xishan.
Lin Xishan threw the two Immortal Herbs onto the ground one after another. Strangely, despite being extremely cold and hot before, when they gathered in front of Lin Xishan, both the cold and hot auras vanished simultaneously.
A faint red light enveloped the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, while a faint white mist covered the Ice-Fire Apricot.
Lin Xishan knew that this was the best time to absorb them. With a splash, he jumped into the center of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and swallowed both Immortal Herbs.
At this moment, Lin Xishan's spirit power reached the peak of level 59.
The Ice and Fire Dragon Spirits had been watching Lin Xishan. Seeing him enter a state of meditation, they flew up together and entered his body from both the front and back.
According to their expectations, Lin Xishan was at his most vulnerable at this moment, with all his focus directed toward resisting the impact of the three herbs, leaving him no time to defend his mind.
They could seize this opportunity to possess his body, borrowing Lin Xishan's power to reclaim another lifetime as humans.
However, when they drilled into Lin Xishan's body, they were dumbfounded.
The madman before them had not protected his meridians at all, and violent energy was currently coursing through his body!
"I've finally waited for you." Lin Xishan's spiritual consciousness curled into an evil, charming smile, and then, with a wave of his hand, he unleashed Ten Thousand Mountains Absolute Shadow!
With his special defense reinforced, Lin Xishan's body became an inescapable cage.
The Ice and Fire Dragon Spirits charged left and right, but they could find no way out. They immediately shouted in anger, "You madman, if you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
"Let's talk. Do you want to sacrifice yourselves to me, where I will preserve a sliver of your remnant souls in the spirit ring so you can try to possess my body after I die, or should the three of us die together today?" Lin Xishan said casually.
"What is the point of sacrificing to you now? We will still die if we sacrifice to you!" The Ice Dragon Spirit calmed down temporarily and questioned Lin Xishan.
"I said, either trust me or we all die," Lin Xishan said calmly once more.
"We've really been screwed over by you! Damn you!" The Fire Dragon Spirit was so angry that smoke seemed to come out of its seven orifices, but it still compromised.
They did not want to die. As beings who had already experienced the taste of death once, they cared even more about their own existence. Originally, "guiding" Lin Xishan was meant to be a scheme to covet the divinity within him and reclaim another lifetime.
They had not expected that Lin Xishan never trusted them from the beginning to the end and had played them instead.
Intense energy condensed around Lin Xishan's body, and the phantom of the Cassius Spirit began to glow slowly.
Its white body bore rock-like textures, surrounded by dual energies of sand and shadow. The halos on its arms and its claws grew larger and sharper. The helmet-like spikes on its head expanded, the blue oval crystal on its forehead turned into a rhombus, and its left hand, which bore a halo, condensed a mass of liquid earth energy.
Spirit evolution, the true God of Earth Cassius appeared.
At the same time, Lin Xishan's spirit power level was pushed to the bottleneck of level 60 by the violent energy.
Triggering the sacrifice rules of Douluo Continent, a red and blue mixed-color spirit ring landed on his sixth spirit ring slot.
And his cultivation, with this spirit ring settled, reached level 65.
It could basically be said that he had just become a Spirit Emperor and was already about to reach the level of a Spirit Saint.
Three days later, Lin Xishan looked at Dugu Yan and asked skeptically, "Are you sure this is the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
"Yes, what's wrong?" Dugu Yan asked with confusion. "Is it much worse than Spirit Hall Academy?"
"The size is about the same, but this is a mountain!" Lin Xishan asked, pretending not to know.
"This entire mountain belongs to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Oh, and the forest behind it and the lake at the foot of the mountain on the left are also within the academy's management area. We are about to enter the academy's grounds," Dugu Yan said.
The scenery here was truly beautiful, especially at this moment as the sun was setting and the evening glow filled the sky. Against the backdrop of the red sunset in the west, both the lake at the foot of the mountain and the thousand-meter-high mountain covered in various plants gave one the feeling of a paradise on earth.
"You certainly know how to enjoy life," Lin Xishan shrugged and then said.
"Alright, you can leave me here. Thank you!" Dugu Yan waved her hand and said.
"Alright, then until we meet again." Lin Xishan also waved at Dugu Yan, then walked toward the direction of Heaven Dou City.
Although he had saved his own life by using enhancement and Universe Reversal right before he was about to take fatal damage, his meridians had still suffered some damage. The Heaven Dou Auction House was his next stop.
He needed to find some medicine that wasn't so potent.
At this moment, Lin Xishan's body contained the auras of three Immortal Herbs: the Earth Emperor (that peony), the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and the Ice-Fire Apricot. Most Immortal Herbs would have no effect on him now.
The two places were indeed very close; with Lin Xishan's speed, he soon arrived at the foot of the city.
From afar, one could already see the banner-adorned city walls. As one of the largest and most prosperous cities on the continent, the walls of Heaven Dou City were a hundred meters high and built entirely of the hardest granite. The patrolling and guarding soldiers on and off the walls were all fully armored and holding spears; the murderous aura exuding from them showed their ferocity.
The towering city gate was ten meters high and ten meters wide, enough for six horses to ride abreast. There were two smaller side gates, also five meters high and wide. Passing pedestrians could only enter through the side gates, while the main central gate remained tightly shut.
Lin Xishan walked slowly into the city. Just as he entered, he heard a burst of noise...