A golden pillar of light shot straight into the heavens, scattering the clouds in the sky. It was as if a Celestial God had descended! At the same time, Shen Haoran’s aura began to skyrocket!

"Tier Seven Spirit General, Tier Eight Spirit General, Tier Nine Spirit General! Is he going to break through to the next tier directly?" Elder Yan frowned, watching Shen Haoran’s power surge uncontrollably.

Cultivation had to be taken one step at a time. Only with a solid foundation could one go further in the future. Shen Haoran’s advancement was already freakishly fast, and now it seemed he was about to jump an entire major tier. This was not a good thing for his future cultivation path.

However, Elder Yan’s worries were apparently unnecessary. Shen Haoran, whose aura had been skyrocketing, abruptly forced it to a halt. His power then slowly receded, being compressed from the Spirit General Peak all the way back down to a Tier Seven Spirit General.

Seeing this, the corner of Elder Yan’s mouth twitched. He was rendered speechless by Shen Haoran. ’This kid... he’s suppressing it too brutally. It looks like it’s going to rebound in a moment!’

And just as he expected, a moment later, Shen Haoran’s power surged again, only to be suppressed once more. After a few rounds of this, his strength finally stabilized at the Tier Nine Spirit General realm.

WHOOSH...

As his power stabilized, the rampaging Spiritual Power storm around him began to slowly dissipate. The golden pillar of light that pierced the sky also dimmed, eventually receding back into Shen Haoran’s body.

Once everything returned to calm, Shen Haoran let out a long breath and looked down at his body, his face filled with pure ecstasy.

The Level Eight Source Pill didn’t just boost one’s strength; its more attractive quality was its ability to temper the body! At this moment, the wounds that had covered Shen Haoran’s body were long gone. His skin now had a lustrous white glow, like that of a newborn baby. His Chaos Divine Body was already incredibly tough, and now, with the Body Tempering from the Level Eight Source Pill, it had become terrifyingly strong. With his current physical fortitude, he could probably take a full-powered blow from a Martial Artist of the same tier and emerge completely unscathed!

He clenched his fists, and a vast, majestic power welled up continuously. Shen Haoran felt that even without using his Qilin Arm, he could now shatter mountains and crush stones. Moreover, the Spirit Crystal in his Dantian now shone like a brilliant star, emitting a dazzling light. A ceaseless stream of Spiritual Power flowed from the Spirit Crystal and circulated through his body, making him feel utterly refreshed.

’Tier Nine Spirit General!’ Shen Haoran was overjoyed. ’This truly was a blessing in disguise!’ Still, he felt a pang of regret. ’Using a whole Level Eight Source Pill just to go from a Tier Six to a Tier Nine Spirit General is such a waste! In my opinion, if I had used it with some other Elixirs for Refinement, I could have at least broken through to the Spirit Marquis Tier!’

’But I can’t dwell on that now. If not for this Level Eight Source Pill, I might have lost my life. What point would there be in talking about breakthroughs then?’

ROAR!

Just as Shen Haoran was celebrating, a heaven-shaking roar startled him. He turned his head and saw a shocking sight.

Not far away, Changmao’s eyes were shut tight. Behind it, a massive black beast threw its head back and roared at the sky. A terrifying pressure emanated from the beast’s body, making Shen Haoran’s very Heart Spirit tremble. It looked like a king descending upon the world, with all of creation bowing at its feet.

"Is... is that the true form of the Taotie Divine Beast?" Shen Haoran murmured, staring at the phantom of the black beast, which was filled with a tyrannical, kingly aura.

The black beast vanished in a flash, returning to Changmao’s body. At that moment, Changmao’s tightly shut eyes slowly opened. Its originally black fur now glittered with a brilliant golden light, as if it were cast from solid gold.

The Level Eight Source Pill had benefited Changmao immensely as well. Its strength had also skyrocketed, reaching the level of a Tier Six Spirit Beast—equivalent to a Martial Artist’s Spiritual Aspect!

SWOOSH!

With a flash of golden light, Changmao zipped onto Shen Haoran’s back, unable to contain its excitement. This time, both of them had truly received a blessing in disguise!

"Don’t you two get happy too soon!" Just as the pair were celebrating, Elder Yan’s heavy voice rang out.

"Hmm? Elder Yan, what do you mean?" Hearing this, Shen Haoran suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately asked.

"Something’s happened to the Five Elements Sect!" Elder Yan said directly, not beating around the bush.

"Something’s happened to the Five Elements Sect? What do you mean?" Shen Haoran asked, confused.

And so, Elder Yan told Shen Haoran what he had seen a few days ago.

"What? You’re saying that black monster is still alive, and it followed Sect Master Chen Yu to the Secret Realm’s exit!" Shen Haoran exclaimed in shock.

"That’s right. That black monster seems to have used Demonization on all the Primordial Beasts in this Secret Realm, forming an army of Primordial Beasts and heading straight for the Five Elements Sect!" Elder Yan told him everything he knew. Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed, and he lowered his head in thought.

"Damn it, the Five Elements Sect might really be in trouble! We have to go!" Suddenly, Shen Haoran seemed to realize something. His expression changed drastically, and with no time to celebrate his newfound strength, he unfurled his Vermilion Bird Wings. He shot towards the exit of the Sect Secret Realm. Seeing this, Elder Yan and Changmao quickly followed, transforming into two streaks of light that merged into Shen Haoran’s body.

His heart burning with anxiety, Shen Haoran pushed his speed to the absolute limit. With the Nine Heavens Shocking Cloud Step combined with his Vermilion Bird Wings, all that could be seen in the sky was a black streak of light that vanished in the blink of an eye.

Half a day later, Shen Haoran’s figure appeared at the exit of the Sect Secret Realm. His frown deepened as he looked at the distorted spatial gate before him.

Before him, the pitch-black spatial gate had shattered. It resembled the gaping maw of a giant beast. A powerful suction force erupted from the dark black hole, pulling the chaotic Five Elements Energy from the surroundings into it like a torrent.

’Am I too late?’ Looking at the spatial gate, which was constantly leaking the Power of Space, Shen Haoran steeled himself and plunged right in. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The moment he stepped into the shattered spatial gate, the chaotic Power of Space assaulted him, trying to tear him to shreds. In response, the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian instantly surged forth, enveloping his body.

"Hurry! We can’t stay here long. If you get devoured by the Power of Space, you’ll be lost in the Void Space forever!" Elder Yan warned in a low voice.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran didn’t dare to delay for even a second. ’The Power of Space is not something I can handle right now. It’s best to get out of here first!’ He immediately followed the chaotic torrent of Energy and shot toward the other side.

’Hmph. If you dare to harm a single disciple of the Five Elements Sect, I will utterly erase you from this world!’ A vicious aura flared up within Shen Haoran, and his speed increased even further...