’No wonder my Pure Yang Qi Skill has progressed thirty percent faster these last few days,’ Xu Yunfan mused.

The notification frequency for Primordial Spirit reception on his Attribute Panel had increased from once a day three days ago to three times a day.

Starting three days ago, this glow had begun to wax and wane three times a day like the tides. The warm, gentle aura dormant deep within his flesh and blood grew more solid, as if a great serpent was swimming through his meridians.

Even now, he could clearly feel the strands of gentle warmth dormant within his flesh and blood. It was like the return of spring to the earth, when all things awaken, constantly nourishing his body.

After stepping into the Grand Martial Master Realm of the Outer Three Harmonies, each day of cultivation rapidly integrated his Strength. He could feel the training of his sinews, bones, and skin being forged into one by the Pure Yang Qi Skill.

Once it was complete, he would naturally step into the Muscle Training Realm.

Xu Yunfan felt he wasn’t far off.

For others, integrating the three forces was a relatively long process. But he had the Pure Yang Qi Skill, an Attribute Panel that increased his Skill Level, and an unyielding drive to cultivate.

At most, it would take him half a year to enter the Muscle Training stage and begin refining his flesh and blood.

He suddenly opened his eyes. A strand of purple qi, almost visible to the naked eye, shot over from the east and vanished into his nostrils in an instant.

The Battle of Jade Capital City had shaken the Six Paths and Seventy-Nine States.

A message delivered by hawk last night mentioned that the Empress of Great Zhou had used the thousand-year-old majestic city as a Sword Scabbard, felling the re-emerged Sword Demon Dugu Jiu in three strikes.

Now, that towering city was reduced to rubble. The blood of three hundred thousand citizens stained the long streets. And this earth-shattering price was paid for nothing more than a bit of gossip in the Mortal World: "The Empress’s Sword Intent has improved by another half-inch."

Behind this glory, however, lay a collapsed city, displaced citizens, and blood-soaked streets.

Although the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit had somewhat recovered, it seemed bound by invisible shackles, stuck at a delicate point where it was on the verge of dissipating. While it had not returned to a state of extinction, it was so thin it was unsustainable.

"Just like two thousand years ago, the Primordial Spirit is in a state of near-dissipation. If nothing unexpected happens, the Primordial Spirit of the entire world will dissipate once again in a few decades."

Mo Han of the Mechanical Hall spent three straight days running tests with an extremely ancient Celestial Sphere Instrument. He finally reached a conclusion, which he announced to the entire Celestial Craft Cave. He also released an extremely ancient Breathing Skill that could, with sufficient luck and talent, allow one to capture the Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit and absorb it.

Unfortunately, not a single person in the Celestial Craft Cave had yet been able to sense the so-called Primordial Spirit Qi.

On this day, Xu Yunfan finished his routine inspection of the Celestial Craft Fortress. Seeing the notification in his vision that his Celestial Craft Forging Technique had increased by a point, he happily cleaned himself up and returned to the Weapon Casting Hall.

As soon as he entered the grounds of the Weapon Casting Hall, Xu Yunfan saw Zhan Yan and Mo Han discussing something with worried expressions.

When he saw Xu Yunfan approach, Mo Han said, "Hall Master Zhan, I’ll leave the rest to you."

Zhan Yan said in a deep voice, "Leave it to me."

Mo Han gave Xu Yunfan a friendly smile and was about to say something when Zhan Yan subtly stepped between them.

Mo Han immediately shut his mouth. He snorted coldly at Zhan Yan, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.

"Yunfan, you’re back?"

Zhan Yan turned around, his expression now pleasant and smiling. "Wait for your senior brother to return. I have something to tell you both."

When Fu Jin hurried over and sat down, Zhan Yan took a letter from his robes.

"The Empress is severely injured and has entered seclusion. Jade Capital City has issued twelve consecutive Imperial Decrees, recalling the Hu Ben Profound Armor from the Six Paths and Seventy-Two States to defend the capital."

Zhan Yan’s voice held a hint of glee. "Dugu Jiu shattered the Imperial City’s Earth Vein. The Central State’s Dragon Qi is on the verge of collapsing. I’m afraid that Empress of Great Zhou is about to lose her grip on the Great Zhou Empire."

Fu Jin sneered, "The Empress failed in her attempt to revive the Primordial Spirit. Her actions have consumed a century of the nation’s fortune and are now dragging the entire Great Zhou into ruin."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but stroke the Nine-Ring Mountain-Shaking Hammer hanging at his waist. His rough fingers brushed over its sharp edges, producing a metallic clang.

Xu Yunfan remained silent. Setting aside Extraordinary Martial Arts, Great Zhou was already on its last legs.

If the Empress had truly managed to use the Primordial Spirit to live another life, with her Ninth Realm Cultivation combined with the vast Martial Power of the Great Zhou Imperial Court, she could have suppressed all the rabble and continued the golden age of the Great Zhou Empire.

Now, the course of history from his past life was vivid in his mind. Next, warlords would rise up in every state, carving out territories and declaring themselves kings. The entirety of Great Zhou would be plunged into ever greater suffering.

Zhan Yan took a sip of Cold Wine and unfurled the letter he had taken from his robes. The scorched edges of the parchment snaked like serpents, and the Cinnabar seal of the Golden Wind and Misty Rain Tower glinted blood-red in the candlelight.

"The Inspector of Yangzhou has backed Crown Prince Jing. Three thousand scholars have co-authored the ’Clearing the King’s Side Ode,’ claiming the Empress is sponsoring the Incense and Candle Sect to refine Human Pills."

He flicked the two words "Human Pill" with his finger, a mocking look on his face. "Coincidentally, seven days ago, the Daoist Child of the Qingwei Mountain Daoist Sect descended the mountain, declaring his intent to slay the fiends of the Incense and Candle Sect."

Fu Jin abruptly crushed his wine cup. Amber-colored strong liquor dripped through his fingers, his face filled with indignation.

"Those sanctimonious Taoists are the best at playing the long game. When the Empress secretly ordered the Incense and Candle Sect to carry out a bloodbath in Yizhou of Jian Nan Dao, it happened right under their noses, but they played deaf and dumb. Now they’re putting on the airs of righteous gentlemen, heh..."

After they had talked for a long time, Zhan Yan finally said slowly, "Although the Primordial Spirit hasn’t fully recovered and is still on the verge of dissipating, there are finally some traces of it in the world again. The Incense and Candle Sect’s massacre across the Sixteen States has caused widespread outrage, and I’m afraid many things of an Evil Nature will be born from it.

And those dormant Demon Fiends will probably be provoked by this taste of Primordial Spirit and emerge into the world."

Hearing this, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but ask for confirmation again, "Master, are Demon Fiends real?"

"Soon. Perhaps very soon, we’ll start hearing news of them."

Zhan Yan stood up and looked through the window lattice at the mountains, rivers, and seas passing below. The Celestial Craft Fortress’s sixteen pillar-like Profound Steel Spider Legs were continuously alternating, moving them forward.

「In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.」

The amount of Primordial Spirit stirred up from the Earth Vein had increased slightly, but it was still pitifully thin, almost nonexistent.

Many disciples in the Celestial Craft Cave were diligently practicing the Breathing Technique, visualizing the Primordial Spirit to absorb it. Unfortunately, not a single one had succeeded so far.

Not even the Sect Leader, Hong Baichuan, could figure out the method.

Seeing this, Xu Yunfan naturally kept his mouth shut. He simply sat cross-legged in silence on the Thunderfire Platform, on a suspended section of the Celestial Craft Fortress, waiting for the daily sunrise to absorb the East Coming Purple Qi and nourish the strands of energy that were gradually growing within his flesh and blood.

In one month’s time, Xu Yunfan had raised his Skill Level in the Pure Yang Qi Skill by nearly half.

At 3:45 AM, a bare-chested Xu Yunfan stood on the Thunderfire Platform, the highest point of the Celestial Craft Fortress.

The twenty-four vertebrae of his spine connected link by link like a Steel Whip. The surging Blood Qi beneath his skin steamed into a faint red mist in the morning breeze. This was a sign that his Pure Yang Qi Skill was approaching Minor Achievement. As its Skill Level advanced, his strength also grew steadily.