The warm feeling immediately spread through the whole body. Chen Chuan felt total clarity. His mind became clear, and his body turned weightless and floaty.

It was as if he had been carrying something heavy, but after drinking this thing, that weight had lessened.

It was a profound feeling, as if his body and mind had been cleansed and purified. He enjoyed it a lot.

That wasn’t all. His vision also changed. It felt like prior to this, he was looking at the world through a thin layer of fog and couldn’t see everything clearly, but now, the fog had been blown away, and he could see better.

But this feeling disappeared soon. Chen Chuan had gone through a transformation because of the pure essence, but it was just a tiny one.

Chen Bitong had said that if a martial artist was strong, they would need a lot of pure essence.

So, this bit Chen Chuan had swallowed wasn’t enough. He needed more.

He continued focusing on the other world.

With his newly acquired experience, Chen Chuan knew that pure essence appeared in a flash, and he had to use his mind to capture it.

The strength of his mind determined the chances of his success.

It had been easy for him to capture pure essence earlier because it had only been a wisp. If multiple of them appeared, he might have to pick and choose.

Still, as long as the gap existed, more pure essence would appear, so Chen Chuan didn’t need to put too much pressure on himself. If he did, he would just end up burdening his mind.

After concentrating for a long time, he felt two wisps appear. One of them was stronger than the other, and Chen Chuan immediately understood something new. Not all of pure essence was like the one he drank earlier. They differed from each other.

One wisp was so much weaker than the other one that it might not exist, so Chen Chuan ignored it and grabbed the stronger wisp with his mind. Then, he tilted his head again and drank it.

Perhaps it was due to him drinking another wisp or perhaps this wisp was simply that much stronger than the first one he drank, but the effects were stronger than before.

If Chen Chuan compared himself to a deep pool, then the pure essence was like light shining into him and causing the water to shimmer. For now, the rays had only managed to penetrate the surface. They didn’t go far, so he needed to drink more of it. Only then would he be able to get this light to illuminate his entire being.

***

On Greenpeak Hill, Chu An was doing his best to search for pure essence, but even after concentrating for a long time, he didn’t get anything.

Just as he began doubting himself, he sensed something floating by, and he used the technique the old man taught him to capture it.

But the light was elusive, like smoke. It had no form nor real substance. Because of this, it nearly slipped from his mind.

Fortunately, he had a way to handle it with the mental technique he learned. When he activated it, he was able to bind the light together. Then, he sucked it in, and immediately, he felt as if he had inhaled a refreshing breeze. He shuddered.

When he opened his eyes, they shone with excitement. “Master, I think I captured some pure essence.”

“Did you?” The old man nodded. “Pure essence was known as Jade Nectar and Drifting Soul in the old era. It can bring harmony to and purify your body and mind.

“There’s no need for me to tell you the benefits to the mind. If you’re able to get a lot of it over a long period of time, it can even increase your physical potential and lay the groundwork for you to reach the next limit. I can’t fully describe how amazing it is, so you’ll need to experience it yourself.”

Chu An’s expression changed. The old man had praised pure essence to high heavens, but he found it lacking. There were benefits, yes, but they weren’t as amazing as the old man made it sound.

Perhaps it was because he had only just learned the technique and hadn’t mastered its essence yet. Besides, he didn’t get a lot of pure essence. Maybe he would be able to experience the benefits only after he got more of it?

So, he sat up properly, focused and emptied his mind, and continued searching.

But his luck seemed to have been used up. Even after a long time passed, he didn’t get anything.

When the old man saw no reaction, he was quite surprised. “What’s wrong? You can’t sense anything?”

Chu An nodded.

“That shouldn’t be.”

Chu An hesitated for a moment before saying, “Maybe it slipped me by, and I failed to capture it.”

The old man nodded. This was highly likely.

It was possible that his disciple’s mind wasn’t strong enough, which led to a lot of pure essence slipping past him.

Chu An was only able to sense the pure essence because of the Fu-Mu Entity’s propagation, which led to the opening of the Gate to Heaven. His true strength and foundation were lacking.

If he had perfected his mind and gained spirit sense, he wouldn’t have needed any technique to aid him. He would just need to pay attention to the pure essence, and he would be able to capture it.

In truth, taking pure essence after obtaining spirit sense would be more effective. Martial artists at that stage could use it better, because without a strong mind, it was impossible to fully absorb the energy in the pure essence.

But pure essence was relatively rare. Aside from the government distributing it or getting it from certain channels in the merged space, it could not be acquired.

That was why this wasn’t the time to debate whether it was right for Chu An to absorb pure essence. The important part was that pure essence was going to appear, so they had to get it somehow.

After some thinking, he decided to let it be. Fortunately, no one was fighting for pure essence with them right now. If they detected any, it would be theirs. Besides, there might not be a lot of pure essence coming out right now because the gap had only been opened.

He checked his watch. It was 6:17 p.m.. Judging by the situation, the Gate to Heaven would remain open until the next day, so they still had time.

***

Several airships weaved past the skyscrapers at the eastern bank of Central City toward Ferris Wheel.

Clouds of insects were chased away, but they continued flying about in dense swarms, and the buzzing of their wings nearly drowned out the sound of the propellers.

More than a hundred response units followed the armored lead cars in front of them down the road. If anyone looked from the sky, they would see that they had surrounded the peninsula.

This was what happened when the Resolution Department, the World Ring Defense System, and the Department of Administrative Affairs sent out most of their mobile forces. Among them were several martial artists at the brink of becoming Third Limit martial artists.

Xu Chan brought the command group to the roof of a skyscraper they had borrowed. After reaching the edge of the roof, he looked ahead.

The large Ferris wheel entered his sight, along with the company building. Its roof was made of upturned eaves done in the style of the island nations during the old era. It was entirely white and had golden divine beasts decorating the walls.

Since the company building was right in front of the Ferris wheel, it looked like it was propping it up.

The sun had set at this point, but due to the Gate to Heaven, it looked like it was daytime. Red light covered the ocean and blended it together with the clouds, while a breeze caused the people’s clothes and hair to flutter backward.

Xu Chan took a moment to observe the company. He could see plenty of sturdy forts around the building. If not for the fact that some of the security guards had been taken out when they were mobilized to secure another propagated offspring so there were less people stationed in the area, this would have been a tough battle.

***

Ferris Wheel had noticed the ruckus outside.

When Guanshang Jing saw the large force surrounding the company, he knew what had happened. He sent an emergency signal to the rest of the company while ordering what was left of the company’s security guards into the forts.

At the same time, he told the board of directors about their situation, along with his own judgment, before asking for his next orders.

The directors who had stayed in the company were having a meeting.

Their expressions were grim, because they had finally received news about the naval battle.

The results left them in disbelief.

The company’s naval fleet had lost and was almost entirely wiped out.

A director clenched his fists and stared at his assistant, who was covered in cold sweat from despair. He practically hissed his next question, “Are you sure?”

The assistant hurriedly straightened his back and answered loudly, “Absolutely. An airship that fled the battle brought us the news. Some people also saw a damaged Far Mountain-Class warship getting chased by Azure Dragon’s airship, so it has to be true.”

The meeting hall fell completely silent.

Ten years of painstaking effort to prepare for the battle, and it was gone in an instant.

“We haven’t lost! We’ve sent a security guard team to get another propagated offspring. If they succeed, we can still get the Union to acknowledge us!” another director shouted loudly.

“No one else is to know about this. Before we get that propagated offspring, do not let word about this get out!” a third director hissed.

Their naval fleet’s defeat led to them being unable to open a marine route. Perhaps even the Linacrox Union would give up on them now.

The chairperson appeared to be quite calm. He glanced at the other directors and said, “Don’t be so pessimistic, everyone. Without us, the Linacrox Union will not get any benefits from the island nations. That’s why, even after we’ve lost, they won’t give up on us.

“They have no one aside from us. Unless they want one of their borders completely exposed to the Great Shun Republic, they have to cooperate with us. That’s why, as long as we can get—”

A piercing alarm sounded in the company. Everyone’s expressions changed when they heard it.

Mr. Yingwei immediately contacted Guanshang Jing and asked sternly, “What happened, Mr. Guanshang?”

Soon, he looked up, tapped his Realm Pass, brought down the screen above the meeting table, and showed the situation outside the company to everyone.

The directors’ eyes flew wide open with confusion, bewilderment, anger, and fear as they watched airships flying over while the company was surrounded by armed forces.

How could they not know what was going on at this point?

“The security force we sent out to secure the propagated offspring has been wiped out. It’s time to make a decision, everyone,” Mr. Yingwei declared gravely.