Xu Mo returned to his palace and sat down, using his spiritual power to observe the Dao Foundation within his body.
According to the message in the drifting bottle, the Nine Heavens Tribulation was unheard of; the highest for transcending the Saint Tribulation was the Eight Heavens Tribulation, leading to an ultimate Dao Foundation.
"Nine Heavens Tribulation, what kind of Dao Foundation does it forge?" Xu Mo was immensely curious.
He continued to try probing with his spiritual power but made no progress, blocked by the inherent power of the Dao Foundation.
Seeing this, Xu Mo could only give up, deciding he would know how strong this Dao Foundation was once it was fully reshaped.
Next, he began to stabilize his cultivation. Having just entered the Saint realm, his foundation was not yet firm.
Simultaneously, Xu Mo discovered many mysteries of the Saint realm. For example, when he was in the Quasi-Saint realm, he could borrow a portion of the Great Wilderness's Dao charm to augment his combat power and cultivation. This was the difference between a Half-Saint and ordinary cultivators.
Now that he had entered the Saint realm and become a minor Saint, he could initially absorb a portion of the Great Wilderness's Dao charm, rather than merely borrowing it as he could in the Quasi-Saint realm.
The difference between absorbing and borrowing was significant. Absorption meant integrating it into one's body for personal use, while borrowing meant returning it after use.
Being baptized and empowered by Dao charm would lead to a qualitative leap in cultivation and combat power, allowing one to easily defeat a group of Heaven-Treading realm cultivators who had not undergone such a baptism. Below the Saint realm, all were but ants!
Xu Mo mused, "I am currently only in the early Saint stage, a minor Saint. To advance further to become a Great Saint, I must absorb more Dao charm for baptism and tempering."
Upon reaching the Saint realm, the ordinary absorption of spiritual energy would no longer significantly boost cultivation. Instead, a more advanced form, Dao charm, was required.
Thinking of this, Xu Mo realized that the Chaos Furnace had become obsolete. He might no longer be able to increase his cultivation through it, which filled him with regret.
However, this was something he had anticipated. The Chaos Furnace, after refining heavenly treasures, could only convert them into pure spiritual energy.
While regretting, Xu Mo's spiritual power naturally seeped into the Chaos Furnace to inspect it; this was his habit.
But this inspection brought a shock!
Dao charm!
Within the Chaos Furnace, a dense mass of Dao charm had accumulated. This Dao charm was a mixture of various colors, resplendent and incredibly pure, belonging to the category of unbranded Dao charm!
Xu Mo gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.
After confirming multiple times, he was certain that these Dao charms were indeed refined and converted by the Chaos Furnace, likely from the heavenly lightning of the Nine Heavens Tribulation during his recent tribulation.
Ultimately, the terrifying energy of the Nine Heavens Tribulation's heavenly lightning had allowed for the conversion into a more advanced form of Dao charm!
Furthermore, it was pure Dao charm, unbranded by the world's will, not belonging to any specific continent or world.
This outcome delighted Xu Mo. The Chaos Furnace was not obsolete; it simply required higher-grade heavenly treasures or rare artifacts to convert Dao charm.
The Nine Heavens Tribulation, unheard of throughout history, was clearly a more advanced and rare artifact, thus enabling the conversion to Dao charm.
However, the Nine Heavens Tribulation only occurred once. Xu Mo could not undergo the Saint tribulation again, making such an opportunity incredibly rare. To continue acquiring Dao charm, he would need to seek out high-grade heavenly treasures and rare artifacts.
Putting his thoughts aside, Xu Mo looked at the unbranded Dao charm within the Chaos Furnace. He absorbed a mere wisp, and instantly, his skin emitted a multicolored radiance. His recently advanced, unstable realm immediately stabilized, the effect astonishingly potent!
"As expected of more advanced energy, it's incomparable to spiritual energy!" Xu Mo's eyes lit up as he praised.
At this moment, he felt the flow of Dao charm within his body, circulating throughout him, healing all the hidden injuries he had sustained during the tribulation.
Following this, Xu Mo sat cross-legged and began to absorb the Dao charm from the Chaos Furnace for his cultivation.
An hour later, Xu Mo opened his eyes. The pure Dao charm had been completely absorbed, and his cultivation realm had advanced further, reaching the mid-minor Saint stage.
Xu Mo stated, "Three more masses of Dao charm energy like this, and I should be able to step into the Great Saint realm."
He estimated and suddenly felt that the Great Saint realm was not far off. As long as he was provided with enough high-grade heavenly treasures, he could reach the Great Saint realm in minutes.
Of course, this was due to his extraordinary advantage. The Dao charm converted by the Chaos Furnace was pure, without any brand, allowing anyone to absorb it freely and advance their cultivation without hindrance.
However, other Saints were different. They needed to comprehend the world's Dao principles and extract the scarce Dao charm from them. Just that single mass of incredibly dense Dao charm Xu Mo had just absorbed would be enough for a Saint to draw upon for a hundred years.
Finally, they had to remove the world's brand from the Dao charm before they could absorb it into their bodies, a process that took even longer and consumed considerable energy.
Thus, Xu Mo's Chaos Furnace was practically an unparalleled cheat.
Sometimes, Xu Mo wondered what the Chaos Furnace was and why it appeared within him.
Initially, he thought it was an incredibly powerful supreme treasure, but he later dismissed this idea. The Chaos Furnace existed in a state between reality and illusion. When within him, it was a mere phantom, intangible, like an illusion.
When it manifested externally, it became a tangible object, as real as could be.
Xu Mo was too lazy to ponder further. The Chaos Furnace was like a part of his body, inseparable.
He heard the calls of his subordinates from outside. Xu Mo stood up and bade them enter.
Soon, two messengers hurried in. Upon seeing Xu Mo, they knelt and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"
Xu Mo looked at them. One was a messenger from the eastern garrison, and the other from the northern garrison. He frowned slightly and asked, "What is the urgent matter?"
The two messengers exchanged glances, with the northern messenger gesturing for the eastern messenger to speak first.
The eastern messenger nodded and, without preamble, presented a jade scroll. He reported, "Your Majesty, more Earthlings have come to invade across the Endless Sea. This time, it is their army. General Fan and General Bai attempted to negotiate, but they were ambushed by the Earthlings!"
Xu Mo had just taken the jade scroll when he heard the messenger's words, and his expression immediately changed.
Without further ado, he opened the jade scroll and read its contents carefully.
A few minutes later, Xu Mo put down the jade scroll and exhaled, "Earth, the United States, England, Japan, these countries truly cannot change their nature. They only know how to seize and plunder."
That China had not clashed with Da Gan brought him a sense of relief.
When he first heard the messenger's report, he had genuinely worried that China would become an enemy of Da Gan. In such a scenario, he, as a Chinese person and concurrently the Emperor of Da Gan, would be in a difficult position.