Chapter 256: Finally a Dou Zun, with a Chance to Become an Emperor!
Just outside the secret room, while the two women conversed, Xiao Ze's progress was also in full swing. The blood source crystals, which were ten thousand years old and had been cut into pieces, had already been drained of their energy, turning into a pile of fine sand.
Xiao Ze's energy had also reached its peak, and the empty space within him was undergoing drastic changes. A giant tree nearly twenty thousand meters tall appeared before his eyes.
Compared to the tree that previously had only branches, it had now undergone a great transformation. The Origin Fire Emperor had extended golden branches forming fiery leaves. The Origin Tree now resembled a real giant tree and not just a manifestation of Xiao Ze's energy.
The soul dwelling in the Origin Tree perceived the changes in the empty space more clearly. Xiao Ze didn't immediately experience the power of Dou Zun but calmly felt the special reward from Xun Er in the Dou Zong stage. If the empty space before was just a space, it now took a step toward becoming a real world, moving from illusion to reality!
Moreover, this special reward expanded the size of the empty space to that of an empire. The empty space no longer grew solely with the Origin Tree. Although the empty space was vast like an empire, the roots of the Origin Tree could still extend throughout the empty space. This meant the Origin Tree could extract even more energy from the empty space.
After careful perception, Xiao Ze thought this reward was even more valuable than the Origin Fire Emperor. It wasn't just a simple enhancement of the Origin Tree towards a more real giant tree, nor just an expansion of the empty space to the size of an empire. The soul of Xiao Ze observed the entire empty space and had a revelation, as if he saw the birth of a small plane.
With a spark of inspiration in his mind, Xiao Ze's heart beat strongly. If it was truly as he thought, this reward was not just an opportunity to become a saint but also to become an emperor!
According to the ancient emperor Tuo She, to become a Dou Di, source energy is needed, but this is not renewable; once used, it's gone. Since the ancient era, when Dou Di were common, none had appeared for millennia because the source energy no longer existed. To obtain source energy, one must seek it in the inheritance of the ancient emperors' residences or in emperor-grade pills. There is no other way, but now Xiao Ze had a new route before him.
If Xiao Ze's empty space was really about to become a plane, then, according to Tuo She, the birth of a plane generates source energy! This meant Xiao Ze had a new way to obtain source energy. The reward in the Dou Zong stage of Xun Er was not an opportunity to be a saint but to be an emperor.
Xiao Ze took several deep breaths to calm his excitement, then perceived again and confirmed his conjecture was correct. Perhaps the rewards in the Dou Zun and Dou Sheng stages of Xun Er were to further perfect the empty space, turning it into a real plane. When Xun Er becomes a saint, it will be the day he obtains source energy. By then, he will have reached the peak of nine-star Dou Sheng and can use that source energy to enter the realm of Dou Di.
A Dou Di is a terrifying existence that dominates the Dou Qi continent. The last three rewards were designed to give Xiao Ze the key to becoming a Dou Di, which made sense. "That means I don't need to worry so much about the ancient emperor's residence. After all, it's a residence left by a Dou Di; even the mighty Zhu Kun fell there. If there's a safer and more reliable way to become a Dou Di, I don't need to take that risk."
With the opportunity to become an emperor before him, Xiao Ze felt very excited. "But that's long-term. First, let's see the power of having become a Dou Zun." Xiao Ze slowly opened his eyes and saw the room was filled with fine sand. He moved his hand in the empty space before him. Immediately, a black crack a foot long appeared. With a gesture, all the sand in the room was absorbed by the black crack, and in an instant, the room was clean again.
"My control over the power of space is now not inferior to that of those veteran Dou Zun. I can handle the power of space with a simple movement; no wonder there's such a big difference between Dou Zun and the lower levels."
"With my current strength, I could defeat my previous self in less than ten rounds." Now, Xiao Ze's Origin Tree was nearly twenty thousand meters tall, equivalent to a one-star Dou Zun. Before, with a solid foundation, he could rise two or three stars when advancing to a great realm. But reaching the Dou Zun level, that was no longer easy. That Xiao Ze could reach the peak of a one-star Dou Zun directly already showed the enormity of his previous accumulation.
Xiao Ze perceived, "I'm still a bit short of being a two-star Dou Zun. When I gather the materials for the heavenly pill (tian Ling), a pill with two-colored lightning should allow me to break directly to two-star Dou Zun." Xiao Ze tested his abilities, and all had improved significantly. Especially the Sea of Illusions Domain, which improved with his strength, showed a significant increase after advancing to the great realm. If before, at the peak of Dou Zong, he could briefly interfere with a Dou Zun, now he could injure or even cause serious damage to a low-level Dou Zun.
After testing, Xiao Ze noticed something strange: his Dou Qi hadn't depleted at all. Feeling something unusual, he immediately checked his Dou Qi and came to a surprising conclusion. His Dou Qi hadn't run out; compared to his vast Dou Qi, the previous consumption was insignificant, like a drop in the ocean!
Before, his Dou Qi was vast, but using powerful techniques made him feel the consumption. "The change in the empty space, besides the future source energy to become Dou Di, the most incredible thing now is the immense amount of Dou Qi. The Origin Tree can extract energy from an empty space the size of an empire...this is endless, simply endless!"
Xiao Ze murmured, then made some quick hand seals, preparing the most consuming technique, the emperor technique of Xun Er's Gu clan. "Mountain Seal, Ocean Seal, Earth Seal, the three seals in one!" Xiao Ze formed the seals at high speed. The three seals merged into a dark blue crystal seal in his hand, emanating terrifying power.
"Even using the Emperor Seal Technique with three combined seals, my Dou Qi consumption is insignificant compared to my total Dou Qi amount. I underestimated the transformation of the empty space. The increase in my Dou Qi is simple but incredibly powerful." Xiao Ze, with the Empyrean in one hand, opened a crack in the empty space with the other, revealing a black hole. Then he threw the Emperor Seal Technique inside, avoiding destroying the Elder's Tower.
(End of the chapter)
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