Although Zhu Kun was displeased with Jiang Yun, he couldn't help but offer some advice insincerely.
"I understand, thank you for the reminder, Uncle!" Jiang Yun smiled and nodded at Zhu Kun.
Raising his hand to look at the soul essence floating in mid-air, Jiang Yun noted that the quantity here was significantly more than the last time when he attacked four sub-halls.
However, after briefly glancing at the soul essence, Jiang Yun turned to Zhu Kun and asked, "Uncle, what's the situation with Zi Yan now? Has she not come out yet?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Kun's gaze softened, and with a hint of excitement on his face, he said, "Zi Yan hasn't come out yet, but I can feel the vigorous life force emanating from there. Jiang Yun, she will probably give you a big surprise when she does!"
Jiang Yun smiled knowingly at this. In the original work, Zi Yan had broken through to the level of a Four-Star Battle Saint after refining the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit without the guidance of the old Dragon Emperor.
This time, with even better conditions and the inheritance of the previous Supreme Dragon Phoenix, Zi Yan might indeed exceed everyone's expectations.
"That's good to know. In that case, I'll go deal with it for now!" Jiang Yun smiled and nodded at Zhu Kun, preparing to leave with Little Medical Fairy. Just before leaving, Jiang Yun seemed to have thought of something and took out a long list of medicinal herbs, handing it to Zhu Kun, saying, "This harvest is substantial; the half-saints on the island are in for a treat!"
Zhu Kun quickly skimmed through the list filled with numerous medicinal herbs. Considering Jiang Yun and Little Medical Fairy had already obtained the Bodhi Heart, he chuckled, "It seems you really had a fruitful venture. On behalf of those young ones, I thank you."
Seeing this, Jiang Yun merely smiled lightly and silently led the Little Medical Fairy out of the hall.
On a mist-covered mountain peak within Dragon Island.
Jiang Yun sat cross-legged on a large rock, and in front of him, a ball of light about several meters in size floated gently. Soft and pure radiance continuously spread from it, illuminating the grass around, making it appear even more lush and green.
Gazing at this soul essence and feeling the vast soul power it contained, both Jiang Yun and Little Medical Fairy couldn't help but express their amazement.
"Poof!"
Jiang Yun opened his mouth, and a cluster of pristine white flames slowly emerged, floating beneath the soul essence, transforming into a blazing fire that enveloped it entirely.
Jiang Yun skillfully refined the soul essence, allowing faint wisps of black gas to escape and dissipate into nothingness.
After a moment, gazing at the crystal-like soul essence floating before him, Jiang Yun used his soul power as a knife to cut off a portion and handed it to Little Medical Fairy with a smile, "This is for you. Having experienced a hundred lifetimes, your soul realm is already on the threshold of the Heavenly Realm. This will be enough to push you to the pinnacle, without feeling like it's forced growth due to your experiences."
Little Medical Fairy looked at the soul essence floating in front of her and shook her head with a smile, "You should absorb it. Maybe you can break through to the Emperor Realm soul."
"Bang—"
"Ouch—"
Just moments ago, Little Medical Fairy was gazing softly at Jiang Yun, but now she clutched her forehead in pain, looking at Jiang Yun with a face full of grievances, "What did you do that for?"
"Silly girl, have those hundred lifetimes made you stupid? Even if this soul essence doubled, it wouldn't be enough for me to reach the Emperor Realm soul. Just listen to me and absorb it!" Jiang Yun chuckled, slowly explaining.
"Hmph—"
Upon hearing this, Little Medical Fairy's face turned bright red with embarrassment. She snorted coldly, took the soul essence, and flew towards the distant peak.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun shook his head with a smile, then cut off another portion of soul essence. After putting away the remaining half, he formed a hand seal, releasing soul power from between his eyebrows. It transformed into an identical humanoid figure, sitting cross-legged before the soul essence, absorbing it through the nose and mouth as well as other pores.
As more soul essence was absorbed, a crystal-like layer began to form on the surface of Jiang Yun's soul.
"Splash, splash!"
The soul essence fluctuated slowly, producing clear sounds reminiscent of water splashes. Pure soul power continuously flowed into Jiang Yun's soul.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
As Jiang Yun absorbed more soul essence, invisible ripples spread from him, silencing the area within a thousand feet.
Jiang Yun's disturbance did not go unnoticed. Upon sensing the anomaly, many from Dragon Island cast their gaze over. Once they recognized Jiang Yun, they retracted their looks.
"A complete Heavenly Realm soul is something even rare in Dragon Island," Zhu Ming remarked, his gaze piercing through layers of space to see Jiang Yun meditating, amazed.
Zhu Kun, noticing the look, waved his hand with a pleased smile.
Time passed quietly in this stillness.
Half a month later, on the mountain peak, Jiang Yun sat cross-legged. Before him was a figure encased in a purple crystal-like layer, resembling Jiang Yun himself.
The large soul essence had vanished.
"Whoosh—"
At this moment, Jiang Yun exhaled slowly. The moment his soul clone merged back into him, intense light surged from his body, and an immense, invisible force swept out like a storm.
The sky darkened with gathering clouds and lightning flashing.
"Rumble!"
Above, thick clouds formed, and lightning struck like silver snakes leaping out, with thunder resounding through the space. Simultaneously, a vast, invisible force spread from the mountain peak.
"It seems he has successfully broken through!" Noticing the change, Zhu Kun smiled and said to Zhu Ming beside him.
Zhu Ming nodded. With the treasure of the soul essence aiding him, Jiang Yun's breakthrough was inevitable. And Jiang Yun undoubtedly possessed unparalleled talent.
Jiang Yun, having broken through to the pinnacle of the Heavenly Realm, did not wake but fell into deep sleep again.
However, his body began to undergo drastic changes.
Noticing this, both Zhu Kun and Zhu Ming were momentarily stunned. Zhu Kun reacted first, laughing lightly, "He's actually breaking through to Battle Saint."
"With the Bodhi Heart, Jiang Yun's breakthrough to Battle Saint is a certainty. But is this how one absorbs the Bodhi Heart?" Zhu Ming questioned, puzzled by the deathly aura around Jiang Yun.
Zhu Kun carefully examined Jiang Yun, feeling the terrifying power slumbering deep within, and said solemnly, "Jiang Yun must have his ideas. He isn't reckless. Let's watch and see."
Inside Jiang Yun, black and white energies representing life and death coiled and moved like dragons. In his cyclone, a black-and-white fish eye slowly floated.
Having comprehended the laws of life and death under the Bodhi Tree, Jiang Yun sought to create his technique and break through to the Battle Saint realm with the way of life and death.
In the Great Thousand World, the Immortal Lord was a master of life and death, his immortal body ranking twelfth among the supreme body rankings.
Jiang Yun didn't know if he could reach such heights, but he understood that to surpass the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor and achieve excellence, he had to find his path and pursue it unerringly before reaching the Heavenly Sovereign stage.
Three years passed in a flash!
In these three years, the turmoil caused by the appearance of the Bodhi Tree in Central Plains had subsided.
The chaos following the Soul Hall and Pill Tower war also settled with time, restoring previous peace.
Unbeknownst to the outside world, the Soul Hall had suffered severe losses.
After the main forces of the Soul Clan dealt with the Yan Clan, they turned to handle Hun Miesheng and his followers, making the Soul Hall unusually quiet.
Even when the resurrected Yao Chen announced intentions to trouble the Soul Hall, there was no response.
During these three years, Yao Chen's disciple, Xiao Yan, had become prominent in Central Plains.
Not only had he repelled many geniuses from different races at the Bodhi Tree battlefield, but he had also outshone local talents in Central Plains.
Moreover, not only was his cultivation outstanding, but his alchemy skills also reflected his master's teachings, giving him an air of a second Jiang Yun.
One matter relieved the Soul Clan: the closure of the Yan Realm passage had gone unnoticed. To ensure the delay in spreading this news, they even sent assassins to eliminate those returning from the Bodhi Tree, including Huo Jun.
Other races hadn't approached the Yan Clan during this time, causing frustration for the Soul Clan, who had assumed their enemies would attack.
The Soul Clan, after absorbing the Yan Clan, was ready to move against their next target.
"After three years, is he finally showing signs of breakthrough?"
On Dragon Island, Zhu Kun gazed at the serene figure sitting cross-legged.
At that moment, layers of thick clouds gathered in the blue sky, with howling winds making a sound.
"Uncle Zhu Kun, what's happening?" The Little Medical Fairy, now donned in a simple elegant dress, asked Zhu Kun, seeing the unusual scene.
Having cultivated ahead of Jiang Yun, Little Medical Fairy had advanced to the peak of Three-Star Battle Saint, reaching the pinnacle of the Heavenly Realm.
"That is a Heavenly-level phenomenon, occurring only when a Heavenly-level technique appears. Jiang Yun created a Heavenly-level technique, and it's not inferior to our clan's Breaking Army Dragon Hand," Zhu Kun explained, marveling at the distant scene.
Breaking Army Dragon Hand was an advanced Heavenly-level technique, its power unmatched when unleashed.
Generally, Heavenly techniques and skills were created by initial, mid, or advanced Battle Saints. Rarely, talented individuals crafted low-level Heavenly skills at the Battle Venerable stage.
Jiang Yun, a peak semi-saint, creating an advanced Heavenly-level technique was something Zhu Kun had never seen.
"A Heavenly-level skill?!" Little Medical Fairy smiled softly, having no doubt in Jiang Yun's talent, feeling genuinely happy for him.
"Boom—"
Under numerous gazes, a black-and-white pillar of light shot into the sky, filled with deathly qi and moments of vitality, embodying life and death's profound mysteries.
"Buzz—"
With a hum, the dark clouds stopped swirling and began to disperse, much to the astonishment of onlookers.
As the last cloud dissipated, the sky cleared, warm sunlight pouring down on the figure standing in mid-air.
"A peak Two-Star Battle Saint, not bad!" Jiang Yun whispered, feeling the unprecedented speed of energy coursing within.
"Jiang Yun—"
At this moment, a clear and gentle voice sounded. Jiang Yun looked up to see the Little Medical Fairy's beautiful face, holding a hint of excitement.
Jiang Yun smiled, reached out, and naturally took her jade-like hand, with the Little Medical Fairy skillfully linking her arm with his.
"Stop stalling, come over here!" (End of chapter)