Qin Li remained composed.
He was cultivating the “Jade Pond Return Elixir Scripture.”
Ahead lay the Nine Revolutions Jade Algae Pond, with its steaming green medicinal clouds.
He was in the process of refining a thousand Innate Golden Pills, a crucial juncture. Success would mean the mastery of the Supreme Art.
Qin Li felt a thread connecting the thousand pills, working in unison to draw in the medicinal liquid and condense the pills. Success was within reach.
Unfortunately.
Things did not go smoothly.
One of the golden pills had a quality issue.
This triggered a chain reaction, contaminating the other pills.
In just a few breaths, the entire pond of medicinal liquid turned black, emitting a foul stench.
“Failure, just when I was so close,” Chu Qingyin lamented silently, but she remained calm, gazing affectionately at Qin Li, waiting for his success.
Three more ponds were refined.
All ended in failure, wasting a vast amount of ancient herbs.
Qin Li felt the pressure, took a deep breath, and reflected on the lessons learned.
“It’s alright!” The Alchemy Immortal smiled gently: “Failure is the mother of success. Pay more attention to the temperature; it’s crucial in alchemy.”
Qin Li adjusted his mindset.
He cleaned the jade pond and continued refining.
He accumulated the primordial liquid, added the herbs, and refined their medicinal properties, blending them into one.
Secretly, he activated the Supreme Art, refining repeatedly. After nine cycles, the highly concentrated elixir liquid emitted a fragrant aroma, coalescing into a green mist, a sign of its potency.
Then, he crushed a top-grade Innate Golden Pill, using it as a seed, and dropped it into the pond. Using the Supreme Art, he connected them, causing them to rotate, forming small whirlpools that devoured the medicinal energy, growing stronger.
This time.
Qin Li succeeded in one go.
After many lessons, there were no more obstacles.
After all, he was already a renowned alchemist, with a quick learning ability.
“Harvest!”
Qin Li made a hand seal.
A thousand golden pills surfaced from the pond.
Instantly, dense pill clouds formed, with myriad white rainbows.
Accompanied by the roars of dragons and tigers, these were the phenomena of pill formation.
“How is it?”
Everyone flew over.
Ye Qingyu and the other women helped collect the pills.
Chu Qingyin and the others looked at Qin Li with anticipation.
Qin Li remained silent, simply extending his hand, where nine Supreme Runes shone brightly.
“Wonderful!”
“You’ve mastered the Nine Supreme Arts.”
“Tell us, what special sensations do you feel?”
Qin Li looked at his palm, feeling somewhat strange: “Nothing particularly special, just a bit…”
Suddenly!
A sharp pain struck.
The nine Supreme Runes became uncontrollable.
“It hurts!” Qin Li gritted his teeth, sweating profusely.
This was not physical pain but stemmed from his soul, as if the Supreme Runes were nine seeds taking root in his life soul.
“What is this transformation?” Everyone was at a loss, but they saw the nine runes on Qin Li’s palm slowly merging into one.
A new rune was born, interwoven with immortal marks, appearing natural yet resembling a scar, as it was a wound of the Dao, flowing with the essence of the Dao.
It also resembled a gate, leading to an unknown place.
“Perhaps we should call it the Supreme Immortal Rune!”
The Alchemy and Artifact Immortals’ eyes gleamed.
“Hubby!”
Chu Qingyin cried out in alarm.
For Qin Li’s body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
This change startled everyone, and they quickly helped Qin Li up to check his condition.
At this moment!
Qin Li was in a daze.
His consciousness entered a hazy place.
“Wasn’t I refining pills? How did I end up here?”
“This place looks familiar!”
Qin Li was puzzled.
He scanned the surroundings.
Chaos and emptiness, primordial and obscure, as if before the creation of the world.
“Qin Li…” A familiar voice called, ancient and vast, as if traversing the river of time, shaking his soul.
Qin Li was startled, remembering this place.
He had been here once before, witnessing the birth of the heavens, which led to his ascension to the seventh level of the Saint Realm.
Now he had returned.
“Qin Li…”
The World Tree called again.
“Stop calling, I’m coming!”
Qin Li followed the voice through the chaotic mist.
Soon, he arrived at the sea of memory flowers, containing all of Qin Li’s memories.
Passing through, he saw a towering immortal tree, the embodiment of the three thousand Great Daos, the origin of all things.
On the tree, nine scars lit up one by one, like nine immortal lamps.
“You are not happy.”
The World Tree spoke, amiable.
Like an old friend, offering comfort.
“So many have died, and we suffered a great defeat. Naturally, I’m not happy.”
Qin Li sighed, shedding his calm expression, revealing a face full of worry, thinking of the departed friends and family, which only deepened his sorrow.
The World Tree said: “I see you are more angered by the betrayal of the Spirit Platform Sect Leader!”
“Of course!”
Qin Li clenched his teeth.
“If she hadn’t deceived me.”
“We would have succeeded in defying the heavens, and our friends could have been revived.”
“How hateful! It’s my fault for misjudging her character. Even though the Twilight Yama came twice, I foolishly believed the Spirit Platform Sect Leader would not willingly fall.”
Beneath the sorrow was a deep sense of self-blame.
The World Tree advised:
“In truth, they are also pitiable.”
“Forced into doing what they despise, surely they are not happy either.”
“I know you are angry, but in defying the heavens, you must not act on impulse. You need to unite all forces that can be united.”
Qin Li shrugged: “But I can’t persuade them!”
“So you must strive harder.”
“Take this, a small gift.”
The World Tree became more obscure, but the nine scars grew clearer.
Like a celestial sun, dazzling to the extreme, interwoven with infinite immortal marks, containing great secrets—this was the contingency of the Great Dao, infused into Qin Li’s life soul.
“Hey!”
“Don’t go!”
“Stay and chat with me!”
Qin Li was startled, wanting to stop it.
But the scene before him changed, returning to reality.
He lay on a jade bed, with the women by his side, caring for him.
Outside.
A group of strong individuals waited.
Hearing movement, they entered.
“Saint Emperor, how do you feel? Any discomfort?”
Qin Li sat up, took a deep breath, and found new knowledge in his mind—this would be the key to defying the heavens, the key to victory.
“I’m fine!”
“Never felt better.”
The heavens’ strong ones looked eagerly at Qin Li, asking:
“Then did you obtain the contingency of the Great Dao? What is it?”
Qin Li opened his hand, revealing a Supreme Immortal Rune, flowing with the essence of the Dao, like a scar, and said with a smile:
“This is the contingency of the Great Dao, also the Tenth Supreme Art!”
“The Only Flaw!”
Hearing this.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
They wanted to glimpse the secrets of the Supreme Immortal Rune.
But they could see nothing, so they asked:
“What exactly does the Only Flaw do?”
“Movement!”
Qin Li uttered two words.
Everyone looked at each other, puzzled:
“Is this the contingency of the Great Dao? It seems a bit weak!”
Qin Li said nothing, simply vanished on the spot.
“Brother Qin!”
“Where did he go?”
“Even I couldn’t detect him.”
The three emperors of the heavens were astonished, scanning millions of miles, but found no trace of Qin Li.
“Stop looking!”
Qin Li suddenly reappeared.
“I just went to the Nine Suns.”
As he spoke, he opened his hand, revealing a piece of Sun God Gold, shimmering with golden light.
It still carried intense heat, mixed with the aura of the Nine Suns, as if freshly dug from the sun.
“Instant teleportation!”
“This ability is too exaggerated!”
“In a single breath, traveling between the sun and the continent.”
Qin Li smiled: “I have mastered the flaws of the world, as if possessing a portal to anywhere.”
“Within the universe, I can travel anywhere, not just within the heavens, but also the Fallen Domain, the Unknown Lands, or even the Ruins’ Nest.”
Upon hearing this.
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
The more they thought about it, the more they realized the terror of the Tenth Supreme Art.
Lonely Demon asked: “Besides instant teleportation, does the Only Flaw have any other abilities?”
Qin Li did not answer.
Instead, he said: “Thank you all for your help.”
“But time is pressing, I must leave now to settle some scores.”
With that.
Qin Li vanished on the spot.
Everyone looked at each other, then dispersed.
At this moment.
In the Fallen Domain.
A celestial mountain roamed.
Majestic and mysterious, unmoving.
The mountain was of a chaotic hue, with disordered laws.
Thus, though the peak stood in the sky, no one could see or touch it.
This was the Unknown Land, Mount Wugong, a relic of the First Epoch’s Body Refining Civilization, surviving two destructions, still intact.
On the mountain.
Chaos qi steamed.
Creating a place of unparalleled treasure.
Many body refiners tempered their bodies and honed their martial skills here.
This was the last bastion of the Body Refining Civilization, guarded by the Lord of Mount Wugong, always peaceful, beyond the mundane world.
However!
Today, something changed.
Qin Li willed himself to Mount Wugong.
He did not hide, releasing his aura without restraint, stirring the chaos qi.
