At this moment.
Within the now-closed ruins.
Everything had returned to peace.
In the vast and dilapidated palace, Ling Fan sat cross-legged, as if he had turned into a statue.
The essence within the Samsara Divine Cauldron had been completely depleted, and the five-colored soil around him had also lost all its power, turning into greyish-white, dried soil particles.
Just then.
Two bolts of lightning seemed to split the dim great hall.
Ling Fan opened his eyes, his spirit like lightning, crackling the air.
As he stood up, an unprecedented surge of power emanated from him.
Ling Fan clenched his fist casually, feeling an inexhaustible supply of strength coursing through his body, as if a single punch could collapse this palace.
The Five Elements Meridian Opening Technique.
Finally, it had reached perfection!
And with the fusion effect of the five-colored soil, the sixty meridians of various attributes had ultimately converged into twelve Five Elements meridians.
Though the number had decreased.
The quality had undergone a qualitative leap.
With an immensely profound accumulation, Ling Fan had easily broken through to the Qi Refining Realm as soon as he fused the Five Elements meridians.
Early Stage Qi Refining Realm.
Peak of Early Stage Qi Refining Realm.
He only stopped at the Mid Stage Qi Refining Realm.
Previously, when he had only opened four elemental meridians, he could already contend with those in the early stage of the Profound Gang Realm based on his cultivation.
Now, not only had he successfully opened the last earth attribute meridian, but the Five Elements had also converged, and he had even reached the Mid Stage Qi Refining Realm in one go.
With this, Ling Fan himself was unsure of the extent of his strength.
He estimated that unless a Heaven Origin Realm martial grandmaster appeared, he could crush everything with his overwhelmingly profound cultivation!
Ling Fan retracted his aura, his Five Elements meridians hidden, and he once again transformed back into that ordinary-looking young man in plain clothes.
He looked at Liu Ke, who was standing nearby like a piece of wood.
After a moment's thought, he walked over.
"Forget it, since I promised Ranran to save your life, I will bestow upon you a fortune."
Ling Fan flicked his finger, and a green light cluster the size of a fist entered Liu Ke's forehead.
This was a small portion of his spiritual power left after refining the spiritual body of Xing He Zi.
Despite its small size, it was equivalent to the total spiritual power of a martial grandmaster!
As the surging spiritual power entered his body, Liu Ke's body trembled violently as if electrocuted, and then a pained expression finally appeared on his face, no longer resembling a living corpse.
Ling Fan waited patiently.
There should still be a trace of spiritual power left in Liu Ke's body, but whether he could seize this opportunity to awaken depended on the resilience of his own will.
...
At this moment.
Outside the ruins.
After several days of fermentation.
The number of onlookers from Xing Sha City had grown even larger, like a surging tide.
Liang Hutu stood before the ruins with his arms crossed, like an iron tower.
A terrifying aura, emanating from a Quasi-Heaven Origin Realm expert, radiated from him, deterring the crowd.
Beside him, Ji Hong appeared harmless, like a dormant beast, casually sitting on the ground, cultivating with his eyes closed.
Liu Xiran kept looking back at the Xing Sha Lake ruins with worry, praying that her elder brother and Ling Fan would be alright.
Just then.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura descended. An old man, around sixty years old, wearing the purple elder robes of Misty Cloud Mountain, appeared.
Elder Zhang Yan of Misty Cloud Mountain, along with Luo Qi, quickly bowed their heads and saluted, "Greetings, Enforcement Elder!"
Boom!
The crowd erupted.
They hadn't expected the matter to escalate so much. Misty Cloud Mountain was one of the three super-powers in Tian Chu Province, and the Enforcement Elder was a transcendent existence, second only to the Mountain Master of Misty Cloud Mountain, holding supreme authority.
Now, even the Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain had been alerted!
It seemed that Misty Cloud Mountain was determined to obtain that Blood Spirit Fruit this time.
The elder from Misty Cloud Mountain first cupped his hands towards Elder Han.
Elder Han also solemnly cupped his hands in return to the Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain.
Speaking of which, the two were not only of similar age but also at the same level of strength and held comparable statuses, thus they could naturally treat each other as equals.
"Crack."
Two cold beams of light seemed to shoot from the eyes of the Misty Cloud Mountain elder.
Vigorous and spirited, they shot towards Liang Hutu.
Liang Hutu also opened his eyes abruptly, and their gazes met in mid-air, actually colliding with palpable sparks.
However, Liang Hutu suffered a slight disadvantage. A line of blood tears quietly flowed from his single eye.
After all, he had achieved the Quasi-Heaven Origin Realm by reaching the peak of both vital essence and true qi, and he was still somewhat lacking in spiritual intent.
As for this Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain, although he was also a Quasi-Heaven Origin Realm expert, he had clearly reached the peak in both spiritual intent and true qi.
If not for his old age and declining physical strength, causing a decrease in vital essence intensity, this elder of Misty Cloud Mountain would likely have entered the Heaven Origin Realm long ago and become a martial grandmaster.
The clash of their spiritual powers had naturally put Liang Hutu at a disadvantage.
Ji Hong, standing nearby, seemed to sense a threat, his fur bristling, his body tensing up vigilantly.
Liang Hutu also appeared to be facing a formidable enemy.
Having only recently achieved the Quasi-Heaven Origin Realm, he was indeed a little uncertain facing such an established Quasi-Heaven Origin Realm expert.
Moreover, there was the unfathomably profound Elder Han from the Governor's Mansion, whose attitude was unclear!
Besides them, there were no less than five peak Profound Gang Realm experts present, and even more in the late stage of the Profound Gang Realm.
However, after a brief probing, the Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain clearly had no intention of making a further move.
He sneered and withdrew his gaze.
"Killing you is meaningless. We are here only for the Blood Spirit Fruit in your master's possession. As long as you hand over the Blood Spirit Fruit, Misty Cloud Mountain will no longer pursue your past transgressions!"
"Bah, you shameless old dog!"
Although Liang Hutu had been at a disadvantage earlier, he was not willing to lose in words and immediately cursed loudly.
"This Marshal is too lazy to say anything more to you ungrateful pigs and dogs. You are all shameless and without dignity. It would have been better for my master to save a dog than you! Even a dog knows to wag its tail."
Zhang Yan, the elder from Misty Cloud Mountain, was furious, his face turning incredibly red!
"Bold! How dare you be so arrogant when the esteemed Enforcement Elder of our Misty Cloud Mountain has arrived!"
The Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain, Luo Su, waved his hand, "Verbal sparring is meaningless. Wait, it's likely that more than just our Misty Cloud Mountain will have people arriving."
As soon as he finished speaking.
A long cry echoed from afar, full of vigor and power.
As the cry faded, an expert appeared in the field like a phantom.
He was around forty years old, in the prime of his life, with a noble appearance, as if draped in a faint starlight.
"Elder Liao!"
The elder from Seven Star Cave and Fan Hanlin's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly stepped forward to salute.
"I didn't expect it to be you from Seven Star Cave!"
Luo Su, the Enforcement Elder of Misty Cloud Mountain, cupped his hands and said.
Liao Wu, the newly appointed Enforcement Elder of Seven Star Cave, smiled humbly and returned the salute.
He said with a smile, "My Cave Master knows about this Blood Spirit Fruit. Since your Governor's Mansion and Misty Cloud Mountain are both determined to obtain it, there's not much desire for contention. Fortunately, he sent me here just to observe."
Although he said this, the Enforcement Elder Luo Su of Misty Cloud Mountain and Elder Han from the Governor's Mansion dared not be careless.
Who knew what this fellow was planning.
Being able to ascend to the high position of Enforcement Elder in Seven Star Cave, and being so young, trusted by the Cave Master of Seven Star Cave, how could this person's strength be inferior?
Not long after Liao Wu arrived.
Another expert descended.
Ding Chunxiu, the patriarch of the Ding family in Tian Chu Province.
All the onlookers from Xing Sha City were already numb with shock.
What was happening today!
So many true experts had arrived in succession.
In the past, it was difficult to even see one late-stage Profound Gang Realm expert.
But now, late-stage Profound Gang Realm experts were relegated to the sidelines.
Even peak Profound Gang Realm experts had no say.