After successfully advancing to Dou Practitioner, Yun Tianming did not boast but quietly stayed in the cave mansion, continuing to cultivate for the First Stage period to consolidate his own realm.
"1 Star Dou Practitioner. Finally, the physique is barely up to standard."
Yun Tianming clenched his fist, his eyes gleaming with sharpness.
According to the system's prompt, the soul of the Late Stage of the Mortal Realm requires the physique of a Dou Practitioner to bear. Now that he has reached it, it is time to enhance his Soul Power!
Yun Tianming placed his palm on his forehead.
"Enhance!"
Mysterious power from the system surged into his brain. Yun Tianming felt his soul trembling, a indescribable and magical experience. It was as if he was suspended in the clouds, light and ethereal, as if he couldn't feel the existence of his body, as if the heavens and earth were all under his control.
In this inexplicable soul state, he didn't know how much time had passed until a prompt from the system awakened him.
[Enhancement Successful]
[Host's Soul Realm has advanced from the Mid Mortal Realm to the Late Mortal Realm!]
His appearance had not changed, and his Dou Qi Realm remained that of a mere Dou Practitioner. However, at this moment, Yun Tianming had a transcendent state of looking down on all living beings.
This was not arrogance.
In fact, the soul reaching the Late Stage of the Mortal Realm, in a certain sense, was equivalent to gaining the "right to life" for the second time.
Take the most straightforward example: If Yun Tianming were killed in battle, his physical body annihilated, his soul could still exist independently in the world. Given the opportunity to rebuild his body, resurrection after death was not impossible!
Just like the original novel's Yao Chen or Han Feng, existing in soul form, accompanying Xiao Yan, and ultimately refining the body to be reborn!
"A commoner's wrath, blood splatters five steps. When pushed to the extreme, a one-for-one exchange is not a loss. Even for emperors and generals, life only comes once."
"But the most unequal thing on the Dou Qi Continent is the right to life!"
Yun Tianming felt quite emotional.
Of course, he did not mean to be resentful of the world because, at this moment, he had also gained the second right to life that surpassed the inequality of all beings.
Yes, it was indeed something to be delighted about!
Yun Tianming closed his eyes and released his Soul Perception. An invisible ripple spread in all directions from himself as the center.
Birds soaring in the clouds, beasts crawling on barriers, the entire scenery of the Misty Cloud Sect was captured in his eyes.
"Senior Lin, I heard that you are proficient in Swordsmanship, even the Third Elder favors you greatly. Today, in our sparring, please enlighten me."
"Junior Tang, you're being too polite. Everyone in the sect knows that you've received the true teachings from the Fifth Elder, mastering the exquisite art of concealed weapons. I hope you'll go easy on me."
On Douwu Peak, disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect, dressed in moon-white robes, greeted each other with clasped hands, displaying a friendly appearance of deep camaraderie. However, in the view of the soul, one could detect the surging murderous intent emanating from them, as if they wished to kill each other!
At the Dou Technique Pavilion, a special energy barrier was set up to block outsiders from prying with Soul Power. Yun Tianming easily penetrated it with a slight concentration of his Soul Power. Ascending to the highest sixth floor, this was a confidential restricted area accessible only to elders of the Misty Cloud Sect and core disciples holding special tokens. Yun Tianming had never entered before, so he was filled with a hint of curiosity.
At the entrance of the sixth floor, there was another blocking energy barrier. It took Yun Tianming some time to infiltrate. The room was spacious, but the shelves holding Dou Techniques and Qi Methods were sparsely populated. A twin-tailed girl lay on the ground without any grace, holding a scroll of Black Rank High-level Dou Technique, her eyebrows furrowed with a deep sense of bitterness and resentment on her pretty face.
"This Yanran junior sister looks genuinely cute in her frustration~"
Yun Tianming smiled. It made him inadvertently reminisce about the junior high school girl next door in his previous life. Her parents were always out early and came back late, leaving her bored at home. She would often sneak into his house without any ceremony, dominating his house without hesitation. She would lie there, holding English vocabulary sheets, with the same deeply troubled expression as the current Nalan Yanran. Seeing the other party with drooping eyelids, looking like she was about to fall asleep.
"Yu Tianming Senior Brother?!"
Nalan Yanran, her head aching from the obscure Black Rank High-level Dou Technique, suddenly saw a strange scene flash before her eyes. She quickly got up, staring blankly at the empty surroundings.
"Um, have I recently gone astray in my cultivation? I feel like my brain is a bit abnormal."
Nalan Yanran rubbed her eyes, wearing an incredibly bizarre expression on her face.
Just a moment ago, she seemed to have seen Yun Tianming carrying a uniquely shaped black multi-barreled weapon. The pipes were emitting blue fire as they rapidly rotated, producing a deafening "da da da da da da da da" roar. The scalp-tingling cacophony instantly cleared her drowsy brain!
After playfully teasing his junior sister, Yun Tianming, with a satisfied expression, shifted his focus. Using Soul Perception, he arrived at the majestic main hall of the sacred and solemn sect. No one was on the Sect Master's seat, indicating that Yun Yun was not present, and the Grand Elder Yun Leng was presiding over a meeting.
"As for the plan to infiltrate the military of the Jia Ma Empire, it's time to put it on the agenda!"
"Grand Elder, this matter is not trivial. Shouldn't we wait for Sect Master to return?"
"No need. Sect Master prefers seclusion and rarely interferes in the sect's management. Besides, expanding the influence of the Misty Cloud Sect and ultimately dominating the Jia Ma Empire is the grand ambition of the late Sect Master!"
Heh~ Their horizons are confined to the small Jia Ma Empire, and the old folks of the Misty Cloud Sect have such limited perspectives.
After Yun Tianming's Soul Power probed for a while, he suddenly felt bored.
The Misty Cloud Sect elders, a group of Dou King powerhouses, would never have imagined that their "confidential meeting" would be covertly observed by a mere Dou Practitioner without their awareness. At this moment, Yun Tianming suddenly sensed a powerful Soul Power rapidly tracing towards him, decisively choosing to leave.
"Oh? Elder Gu He, you're here too?"
Outside the main hall, a middle-aged man with stretched Dou Qi wings, wearing a solemn expression, hurriedly arrived as if searching for something. The Misty Cloud Sect elders showed expressions of surprise. Because Gu He, nominally an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, in reality, held the prestigious and independent position of a sixth-grade Alchemist. Typically, he wouldn't attend the Misty Cloud Sect elders' meetings, except when Yun Yun was present.
Gu He didn't respond to the elders' inquiries. With a furrowed brow, he focused all his attention on releasing Soul Power, attempting to locate the mysterious soul fluctuation that had flashed by.
"Elder Gu He, what are you doing?"
Yun Leng questioned with suspicion.
"Just now, while refining medicine at the Pill Store, I faintly sensed a mysterious soul fluctuation within the sect. I was tracking it, but unfortunately, I lost the target."
Gu He said with an awkward expression. As a sixth-grade Alchemist, renowned for Soul Perception, losing the target was akin to a humiliating face-off!
"A mysterious soul fluctuation that even Elder Gu He couldn't catch up to. Could it be that the late Sect Master is about to break through?"
Yun Du whimsically speculated. The other elders also showed hopeful expressions. It was well known that the late Sect Master had been closed in seclusion, attempting to break through to Dou Ancestor for the past ten years. Although advancing to the Dou Ancestor realm was extremely challenging, what if he succeeded?
"..."
Gu He's mouth twitched. He really wanted to say that without breakthrough pills or other worldly treasures, the chances of a Dou Emperor successfully advancing to Dou Ancestor were extremely low, especially for an old fellow like Yun Shan, who was aging and about to run out of lifespan. If he managed to break through, it would be a miracle!
Yun Leng's expression turned strange. As Yun Shan's most trusted confidant, he naturally understood the predicament the latter was facing. Without a fortuitous encounter, breaking through to Dou Ancestor in this lifetime seemed hopeless. Until not long ago, a mysterious organization had approached Yun Shan.
"Could it be that the old Sect Master agreed to those people?"
****
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