Su Tai made his move.

Divine rays burst forth, like the boundless mystic light surging at the descent of the Celestial Gods, vast and unstoppable, awe-inspiring in their might.

Storm after storm of calamity was upended, suppressed, as if crushed in the iron grip of a divine hand, forcibly kneaded into a single mass.

The whole bubble world trembled, quaking endlessly; majestic and tempestuous, as though countless oceans amassed over eons were at this instant overturned by sheer force.

Boom!

A colossal stele of dark gold emerged out of thin air.

Naturally formed, flawless and seamless!

No sooner had it appeared than the chaos within this heavenly prison fell instantly silent.

"Is that the Prison Suppression Seal?"

Xu Yang's eyes widened, shock washing over him, mingled with disbelief!

In his understanding, the Prison Suppression Seal should be a spiritual seal!

But never did he imagine—it was a monument of stone!

Su Tai conjured seals with both hands; countless rays of spiritual light and rainbow rain poured forth to merge with the Prison Suppression Seal, at once causing it to radiate the grand images of mountains and rivers, vast and boundless.

In the blink of an eye, a vast world unfolded.

This spectacle was magnificent beyond compare—radiant, resplendent, and grandiloquent!

It was as though an entire era of civilization was sealed within that stone stele!

"This stele is flawless, naturally formed—within it is stored an entire world-creating spirit!"

Gu Jun floated out gracefully, awe overwhelming his every feature.

"World-creating spirit?" Xu Yang heard such a description for the very first time.

Gu Jun swallowed, then slowly explained, "You may simply understand 'world-creating spirit' as a spark of primal light left at the dawn of creation; with such a spark, after tens of millions of years, a true world may emerge!"

"Just like the Great Qian Heaven and Earth, not merely a secret realm!"

"..." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Xu Yang stood dumbfounded, staring at that grand, turbulent monolith, his mind a blank void.

A supreme treasure such as this—whence did it come?

It can give birth to worlds!

Though he could not compare so simply, even the Asura Blood Saber, a True Monarch's Supreme Treasure, was but garbage before this stone stele.

Not even a hundred blades could match it!

"The heritage of the Daqian imperial family is simply unimaginable."

Gu Jun could not help but exclaim with wonder.

No exaggeration—just this stele alone, he could merely glimpse a scrap of its surface; as for the true mysteries of the world-creating spirit, he could exhaust his life and never grasp an inkling.

Xu Yang nodded deeply in agreement.

Rumble!!

As the Prison Suppression Seal erupted, the dark golden divine radiance swept with it a boundless world, mountains and rivers, all descending at once.

In the blink of an eye, the disaster, compressed into one, was obliterated—within that luminous veil, it melted away inch by inch, as if utterly expunged into nonexistence, not even a speck left behind.

The surging divine light swept forth like a breaking bamboo, ceaselessly spreading downward and outward!

In the span of a breath, it surged toward them, face to face.

Xu Yang braced himself for dire straits, every muscle taut!

Gu Jun did likewise.

Yet he remained calm and declared, "Do not panic—this tide will not harm us."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the wave 'swished' past the two of them, sweeping over ever deeper layers of secret realms.

Beneath the tide, those realms healed and stabilized at a pace visible to the naked eye!

Beholding this world-shattering vision, Xu Yang quivered in his whole being, a dazed look surfacing in his eyes.

"World-creating spirit, mountains and rivers—everything within Heaven and Earth has merged into these secret realms, mending them perfectly!"

"Though it is only spirit, it is the very root of Heaven and Earth's workings; and these secret realms, forged from the profound mysteries of Heaven and Earth—what a perfect complement!"

Boom!

In Xu Yang's mind, an earth-shattering crash exploded, as if lost in endless darkness, only for a tremendous detonation to pierce through; after which brilliant, iridescent spiritual light tore apart the blackness, surging forth, blotting out sun and sky!

Within, ineffable mysteries of Heaven and Earth erupted like a tidal cataclysm, unfurling before Xu Yang's very eyes.

He lunged forward, half-dazed, half-enraptured.

"Hm?"

Gu Jun suddenly turned around, staring at Xu Yang in astonishment.

The next moment, as his gaze swept away with the receding waves and all the changes they brought, he stood dazed as wood: "Enlightenment?"

"Even this can trigger enlightenment?"

Though he, too, felt stirred in watching all this, that was all.

But Xu Yang's present state—it was clear he'd caught hold of some mystery and entered directly into a most abstruse enlightenment!

How many times does this make?

In any case, Gu Jun remembered it was far from the first time!

"This boy's perception grows ever more monstrous."

To gain enlightenment under the surge of world-creating spirit from the Prison Suppression Seal… the harvest surely beggars belief!

Even Gu Jun was filled with envy!

A full three hours passed.

The Spirit Tribulation Celestial Prison had long since stabilized completely.

Above, the calamity storms had vanished utterly; within the immense bubble, layer after layer of thick spiritual mist now reigned, like a labyrinthine array—just one look was enough to feel lost without directions.

And below, shrouded in the mist, awe-inspiring secret realms arranged themselves row on row—as neat as regimented troops at first glance, yet through finer inspection, disorderly and chaotic within.

Buzz!

Xu Yang's eyes snapped open from his trance; it was only then he realized he had once again entered the state of enlightenment.

"Boy, how much did you gain?"

Gu Jun asked with jealousy in his tone.

This was truly envy-inducing.

Yet envy alone would avail nothing!

Xu Yang scratched his head and said, "It seems… quite a lot. The Celestial Radiance Heavenly Firmament actually broke through to Ten Thousand Seals in one leap!"

"And that wisp of world-creating spirit brought me fresh insight—my Chaotic Void Celestial Saber and Heaven Locking Three Seals both improved significantly!"

Even though he'd prepared himself, he was still shocked after sorting it out.

Just in these three hours, the progress nearly equaled years of arduous cultivation!

Gu Jun, inwardly, could only sigh, 'Goodness gracious!'

All his strongest divine powers and secret techniques had advanced greatly—anyone would be green with envy.

A good while passed.

Xu Yang finished digesting the gains of this enlightenment, finally raising his eyes to scan the surroundings—finding all stable, he quickly asked, "Teacher, how long did I lose track?"

"Not long, just three hours. Su Tai and the others have already left," Gu Jun replied.

Xu Yang felt a great weight lift from his heart, his gaze sweeping toward the ranks of secret realms in the depths.

The forces of sealing and imprisonment were present in each of those secret realms.

For the mighty beings trapped therein, those secret realms were veritable prisons!

"Let's start from the outermost one."

Xu Yang swiftly locked onto a target—the very outermost secret realm!

At once, Gu Jun returned to the Cyan Jade Yin Yang Pendant, while Xu Yang darted headlong toward the secret realm.

After a dozen heartbeats.

Xu Yang's face became grave, all vigilance as he strode straight into the secret realm before him.

Buzz!

Whoosh!

Rumble!

The instant he set foot within, deafening thunderclaps crashed like a tempest into his ears.

Xu Yang opened his eyes to see—in the vast expanse of Heaven and Earth, black thunderclouds covered the sky; countless black thunderbolts, thick as giant pythons, ceaselessly bombarded a figure shrouded in dense demonic energy.

A terrifying demon lord.

"Damn you, Can Sutian! If this lord gets out, I'll slaughter every last one of your Can Family!"

"The men will be slaves, the women whores!"

"Aaaaargh~~~"

"Can Clan, you motherless curs, I'll kill you all!!!"

The black figure was struck down again and again, only to rise each time, flesh torn asunder and mangled beyond bearing.

Black arcs of lightning crawled across his body, writhing through his flesh like grotesque black maggots—enough to make a man retch!

His wounds would heal at speed, only to be ripped open once more.

Again and again the cycle repeated—pain beyond mortal endurance!

Expletives reverberated undiminished throughout the world, so loud even the thunder could not drown them out!

"Well said!"

Xu Yang grinned at the black shadow, baring his teeth in a smile.