HSSB336: Second level of the Martial Grandmaster realm, mid Spirit Vessel stage
Within the Underground Splitting Shuttle, traversing through the depths of the sea, Yan Zhaoge formed a seal with his hands, placed at his abdomen above where his dantian was.
His entire body’s aura-qi circulated, becoming heavier and more vigorous as it unceasingly spiralled within his body.
The qi flow that resembled chaos gradually grew heavier and heavier, more and more turbid.
The weight resembled that of the great earth, able to bear all objects, nurture all objects.
The trademark of the first level of the Martial Grandmaster realm, the early Spirit Vessel stage, was one’s richness in spiritual qi, aura-qi having resumed simplicity, transforming into an existence like soil.
Soil that nurtured one’s true martial soul, therefore being known as spirit soil.
Currently drawing on all of his martial arts, Yan Zhaoge’s aura-qi was agglomerated and manifested, resembling a thousand li of fertile soil, only awaiting a seed to be planted.
If it was the Clear Qi Profound Art of Broad Creed Mountain, Yan Zhaoge could currently actually already condense a spirit seed, stepping into the mid Spirit Vessel stage.
However, the spirit seed that Yan Zhaoge wanted to condense was not one with the Clear Qi Profound Art as its foundation, but one with the Peerless Heavenly Scripture as its foundation.
Therefore, the difficulty had inevitably increased greatly, Yan Zhaoge requiring some careful analysis and adjustments, making sure that all was perfect before he made his breakthrough.
As the vessel undertook the long journey to the North Sea, other than controlling the Underground Splitting Shuttle, Yan Zhaoge also made use of the time to work on his cultivation.
Accompanying him, having been taught by Yan Zhaoge, Ah Hu could also already basically control this rare treasure.
When Ah Hu was at the helm, it was Yan Zhaoge who sat in cultivation.
After Yan Zhaoge’s cultivation session had temporarily ended, he would take over, Ah Hu temporarily resting.
While it was called resting, Ah Hu also acted like Yan Zhaoge, getting into the meditative position and cultivating earnestly.
As he exhaled, streams of black qi were emitted from his nostrils. They were not smoke, instead being existences that resembled flowing wind.
Accompanied by Ah Hu’s repeated exhalations, a tiny black storm seemed to arise amidst his body’s surroundings, gradually spiralling about his entire person.
The two took turns just like this, acting in shifts, one cultivating, the other guiding them through the East and North Seas, heading for the Extreme Northern Lands.
One day, Yan Zhaoge was at the helm, controlling the Underground Splitting Shuttle to rise to the sea’s surface.
Currently, they were located within the North Sea, floating chunks of ice on the sea’s surface, numerous icy winds gusting between the heavens and the earth. Even a Martial Grandmaster like Yan Zhaoge could feel a chill penetrating down to his very bones.
Let alone normal people or Martial Artists, even Martial Scholars, possessing a lower cultivation base, had the possibility of being literally frozen to death in this kind of environment.
And this place was still just only at the boundary of the Extreme Northern Lands.
The Extreme North, like other great danger grounds such as the Great Western Desert and the Southern Underground Palace, did not have their reputations for nothing.
Swivelling his head to look at Ah Hu, Yan Zhaoge saw numerous strong black winds surging from Ah Hu’s body amidst his circulation of aura-qi.
All the acupoints of Ah Hu’s body pulsed simultaneously, resembling doors, the winds and the waves peaceful when they were shut, terrifying gusts of black nightmarish winds emanating from within whenever they opened.
Like Yan Zhaoge, Ah Hu had currently already reached the final stage.
His spirit soil had already been incomparably refined, only requiring his spirit seed to be borne before he would have successfully stepped into the second level of the Martial Grandmaster realm, the mid Spirit Vessel stage.
However, Ah Hu too was not in a rush to take that step, instead still carefully tempering his body.
Glancing at him, Yan Zhaoge said, “Stabilise your mind a bit. Great Western Purple Qi requires your mind to be quiet as you control the temperamental winds, transforming the qi of the heavens and earth into a silent, peaceful object, yet finally able to erupt with a shocking, brutal force, a force that resembles the raging of waves.”
“Passive and active-these are the underlying essence.”
Sitting in the meditative position within the Underground Splitting Shuttle, Ah Hu’s eyes remained shut, but he still nodded slightly.
In the great tribulation of Broad Creed Mountain earlier, most remnants of Black Nightmare Mountain, be they from the Decimating Abyss or not, had participated in the attack on Broad Creed Mountain.
The final result had naturally been total destruction, the two remnants of Black Nightmare Mountain with the highest cultivation bases, its late Essence Talisman Martial Grandmasters, both dying at Broad Creed Mountain.
Following this battle, if the members of the former Sacred Ground, Black Nightmare Mountain, having been struggling painfully to survive before this, could not be said to have been completely destroyed, it would more or less also be true.
And having obtained victory in this battle, slaying or capturing the remnants of Black Nightmare Mountain who had attacked, Broad Creed Mountain had also had some gains.
One of their comparatively greater gains was having successfully obtained a peak martial legacy of Black Nightmare Mountain.
The Great Western Purple Qi, to Black Nightmare Mountain, was like the latter half of the Clear Qi Profound Art to Broad Creed Mountain and the Great Sun True Qi to the Sacred Sun Clan.
The essence of the martial art Ah Hu had previously cultivated in, the Black Nightmare Godly Wind, also moved along the path of the Great Western Purple Qi as one arrived at its essence.
Yan Zhaoge had passed the Great Western Purple Qi down to Ah Hu, intending for Ah Hu to use it as his foundation in the step of condensing his spirit seed, this being more beneficial to the Black Nightmare Godly Wind.
Having been cultivating non-stop following the great battle of Broad Creed Mountain till now, Ah Hu had currently already gained some attainments in the Great Western Purple Qi, just that some additional work still had to be done.
Carefully observing, Yan Zhaoge saw that as Ah Hu cultivated, within the black storms that emanated from his body, faint slivers of purple qi now already circulated alongside those black winds.
Looking at it, it was as though numerous slivers of purple light were caught within the black storm, traversing it unceasingly.
When Yan Zhaoge himself cultivated, his aura-qi that resembled chaos would gradually sink and descend, as though transforming into a great amount of turbid qi, forming the great earth, resembling a thousand li of fertile soil.
Yet, having sunk to the maximum possible level, Yan Zhaoge’s aura-qi would instantly become vast and ethereal, resembling streams of clear qi as it rose to form the heavens.
The transformation between the two seemed full of conflict as well as sudden and abrupt. Seen by bystanders, they would only find it hard to comprehend.
However, at this moment, all of this truly happened with Yan Zhaoge.
The clear qi rose to form the heavens, the turbid qi sinking to form the earth. As the two occurred simultaneously, coming together as one, it was as though a complete heaven and earth transformation had been achieved by the same stream of Yan Zhaoge’s aura-qi.
Clear qi agglomerated within the sky, gradually forming a dot like a seed, while below was vast, heavy spirit soil.
The two were divided and united, finally coming together as one!
Yan Zhaoge opened his eyes, abruptly inhaling.
Controlling the Underground Splitting Shuttle by the side, Ah Hu was taken aback as outside of the vessel, from the icy seas of the Extreme North, the surrounding spiritual qi of the vast heavens and the earth suddenly swiftly agglomerated with Yan Zhaoge as their centre.
“Young Master, you’ve stepped into the second level of the Martial Grandmaster realm, the mid Spirit Vessel stage!” Looking at Yan Zhaoge, while Ah Hu had always lived as Yan Zhaoge’s number one subordinate, one of his goals being to comfortably flatter Yan Zhaoge till he was satisfied, now, he was really also rendered speechless for a time.
A long time ago, because of his age and time spent cultivating being shorter, the gap between the cultivation bases of him and Yan Zhaoge had been great. Now, however, Yan Zhaoge had actually already surpassed him.
While he wanted to praise a little that the Young Master was truly the Young Master, Ah Hu could not help but be somewhat stunned, unable to regain his senses for a time.
Yan Zhaoge smiled, “By the looks of it, yours will also be soon.”
Ah Hu smacked his lips, clicking his tongue in praise.
They continued on their way, passing through the icy sea, finally returning to the mainland, following which they kept the Underground Splitting Shuttle and ascended the shore.
The Extreme Northern Lands, where signs of human activity were rare to the extreme.
That was how it originally should have been…
However, Yan Zhaoge and Ah Hu discovered the presence of others, and many at that.
Martial practitioners of the Heavenly Thunder Hall.