The Spirit Arts Realm represents a threshold.
Crossing this threshold means shedding one's mortal limits, becoming impervious to ordinary ailments, extending one's lifespan to 150 years, and drawing closer to the spiritual essence of heaven and earth.
The grand path of cultivation begins here. The magnificent journey of Dao unfolds from Spirit Arts, progressing through Spirit Taming, Spirit Mansion, and Divine Altar, revealing ever-expanding horizons.
Heaven's Barrier is the fierce obstacle barring the gates to this realm. Yet now, amidst the feast, Ji Xia shattered that barrier.
The spiritual essence within his Snow Mountain boiled, drawing in surging streams of external spiritual energy into his body. Ji Xia closed his eyes, operating the Golden Crow Primordial Scripture at full capacity. On the Great Sun Spirit-Subduing Furnace, four blazing suns burned furiously. Two golden three-legged crows shimmered with intense light, spewing spiritual flames from their beaks.
The overwhelming spiritual energy entering Ji Xia's body was instantly refined, transforming into golden spiritual essence. This golden essence, however, did not settle in Ji Xia's Snow Mountain but instead flowed outward, enveloping his pale golden Snow Mountain. The boiling golden spiritual essence within the mountain slowly flowed out, covering its entire expanse.
Ji Xia could clearly feel his Snow Mountain melting—being reshaped!
Waves of intense spiritual energy rippled outward, shocking Shiyang and Ji Qianqing, who sat below him.
Shiyang, in particular, seemed to perceive something profound. A flicker of complex emotion crossed his deep eyes—disbelief mingled with rising hope.
Even many officials of the Great Wilderness, who were not particularly attuned to spiritual energy, noticed this extraordinary phenomenon. The strength of the spiritual fluctuations compelled them to halt their feasting and look toward Ji Xia at the head of the table.
Ji Xia's body now radiated a faint golden light. His expression was serene, his eyes shut tight, and his body motionless, yet spiritual energy from all directions streamed toward him.
The spiritual energy within Ji Xia grew more abundant as the Snow Mountain gradually melted and reformed.
Within him, a brand-new spiritual wheel slowly emerged.
The golden spiritual energy that had wrapped around the Snow Mountain was absorbed by the wheel, causing it to begin rotating. At this moment, the Great Sun Spirit-Subduing Furnace soared into the air and expanded. Its mouth opened wide, swallowing the spiritual wheel whole!
Golden Crow flames and Great Sun flames blazed from all directions, heating the furnace. Within it, the spiritual wheel underwent subtle but profound changes. This was none other than the Golden Crow Tempering Spirit technique recorded in the Golden Crow Primordial Scripture!
Unlike the initial tempering of his spirit, Ji Xia now felt no pain at all. On the contrary, as his spiritual wheel was continuously tempered by the flames, he sensed his power surging. This growth was fundamentally different from the mere accumulation of spiritual energy prior to the Ninth Heaven. It was an intrinsic transformation from within!
At the same time, a stream of golden light suddenly flowed through Ji Xia's blood. The long-closed eyes of the Jupiter Star Sovereign's divine form suddenly opened wide!
The divine form's eyes were deep and mysterious, emanating a faint golden glow that was incomprehensibly divine. Within these golden eyes, a void emerged, revealing a massive golden star appearing from the darkness.
The colossal golden sphere radiated brilliant light, shedding beams of golden illumination that detached from its surface and then mysteriously vanished.
The Great Wilderness's dark night seemed to shift subtly. Clouds began to form and gather in the sky, growing denser and more substantial.
Shiyang glanced outside the palace and suddenly noticed a faint glimmer of light breaking through the previously pitch-black sky.
From the gathering clouds emerged streaks of golden light, casting down onto the earth. A celestial phenomenon had been born!
On a night where the sun had set, golden clouds appeared from the heavens, and countless golden beams of light descended, illuminating the ground. The world, previously enshrouded in darkness, suddenly became as bright as day!
Inside the palace, the gathered officials were astounded and rushed outside to witness the spectacle. They beheld thick, golden clouds stretching across the heavens, their radiant expanse seemingly endless.
This dazzling phenomenon covered the entire Great Wilderness, enveloping Jiuquan, Zhouqing, the barren deserts, the Xunkong Domain, and even the boundless wilderness.
Within the golden clouds, countless beams of light descended to the mortal realm, illuminating it transparently.
Countless living beings emerged from their homes to look up at the sky. Beasts raised their heads in awe. Powerful cultivators wore expressions of astonishment, while great and fearsome powers across the lands were thrown into upheaval.
Even ancient beings of immense strength unleashed their vast spiritual consciousness, scanning across billions of miles.
Mortals bathed in the golden light remained unharmed, yet a stream of golden radiance flowed through their blood, awakening a long-dormant, primordial aura.
Within the Hall of Grand Harmony, joy spread among the officials. Yet Shiyang's eyes were filled with deep fear, as if he recalled a pair of colossal hands manipulating humanity's fate. These hands seemed to loom over the Great Wilderness, capable of annihilating it with a mere flick.
He turned his gaze to Ji Xia, whose golden radiance was growing ever more intense. Amidst his fear, a faint glimmer of hope emerged in his heart.
At that moment, Ji Xia's Great Sun Spirit-Subduing Furnace opened wide once more. A dark golden spiritual wheel flew out from within.
The spiritual wheel was extraordinary, with the Great Sun Spirit-Subduing Furnace at its center. Two Golden Crows circled freely, while the Jupiter Star Sovereign's divine form sat solemnly beside the furnace, exuding an unparalleled aura.
With a thought, Ji Xia released the boundless spiritual energy within the wheel, filling every inch of his body. The sheer magnitude of this energy was terrifying, far surpassing the peak of his Ninth Heaven strength by several times.
And this was merely the beginning, as he had yet to inscribe spiritual marks on the wheel. With his numerous powerful arts, all he needed was to continue fortifying the wheel and engraving spiritual marks to grow endlessly stronger.
Retracting the spiritual energy back into his body, Ji Xia stood, gazing at the dispersing golden clouds in the sky. A thought struck him.
He distinctly felt a slight tremor in the Jupiter Star Sovereign's divine form within him.
"Could this boundless expanse of golden clouds have been caused by my breakthrough into the Spirit Arts Realm?" Ji Xia wondered.
Frowning, he mused, "When Ji Qianqing and Po Xian broke into the Spirit Arts Realm, golden clouds appeared, but they were nothing compared to this.
"While I've always known I was strong, I never imagined my breakthrough would result in such a terrifying phenomenon."
After a moment's thought, he concluded, "Regardless of whether these clouds spanning countless miles were caused by my breakthrough, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is that my strength has undeniably grown tremendously.
"In this savage and brutal wilderness, this power will allow me to survive better. And my people of the Great Wilderness will march forward, heads held high!"
Meanwhile, in a mysterious location, a powerful being who had awakened during the previous disturbance of the Jupiter Star peered through the void, gazing upon the endless wilderness. His gaze lingered on the colossal golden star.
Softly, he spoke, "First, my avatar was annihilated. Now, the rules of the Great Dao have been obscured, and the Jupiter Star has been invoked to shroud the wilderness in golden light."
"What are these ancient entities plotting?"