With only a handful of weaker cultivators still en route to the core region, most had already plundered sufficient resources and arrived at the core area, entering seclusion during the days preceding the opening of the Great Luo Palace.
Gradually, the Great Luo Realm returned to a semblance of peace, but beneath this tranquility, a greater storm was brewing.
Within the core region of the Great Luo Realm, countless demonic beasts lay dormant, and their kings were secretly plotting. On the day the Great Luo Palace opened, they intended to make the human cultivators who had wantonly ravaged the Great Luo Realm pay a heavy price.
With nearly a year left until the Great Luo Palace opened, Zhang Fan naturally intended to utilize this time well, using the seized resources to elevate his cultivation.
Although his current cultivation was only at the mid-stage of the Eighth Tribulation realm, the Dao rules he had cultivated were more numerous than those of an ordinary Ninth Tribulation realm cultivator.
A perfect Dao rule consisted of one million paths. Should any cultivator manage to cultivate their Dao rules to perfection during the Nascent Soul stage, they could instantly transform their Nascent Soul into a Dao form and condense a virtual god.
However, cultivators capable of achieving this were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the vast expanse of the Ten Thousand Domains Starry Sky.
Zhang Fan cultivated both the Sword Dao rules and the Thunder Dao rules concurrently. The difficulty of cultivating them to perfection during the Nascent Soul stage was greater than for ordinary cultivators, but he harbored such ambition.
This was because he knew that only a fully Dao-formed Nascent Soul, after undergoing the baptism of the Tribulation of Deification, could cultivate the most powerful Primordial Spirit.
Currently, both his Sword Dao rules and Thunder Dao rules had cultivated over nine hundred and fifty thousand paths. While seemingly close to perfection, they were in reality still far from it.
The closer one approached the perfection of a rule, the more arduous progress became.
Therefore, what he needed to do now was to elevate his cultivation. Once he transcended the Ninth Tribulation for his Nascent Soul, his Nascent Soul, having undergone the baptism of the heavenly tribulation, would become even more potent and capable of accommodating more Dao rules.
Zhang Fan waved his hand, summoning a vast quantity of spirit crystals, all acquired from the powerful cultivators of the Tengshe tribe. Alongside these floated several potent Nascent Souls before him, still emanating powerful spiritual energy fluctuations despite being sealed.
After some thought, Zhang Fan felt it was still insufficient. He then retrieved the Immortal Ganoderma lucidum he had obtained. A rich immortal spiritual energy permeated the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, making the surrounding spiritual energy seem to sweeten.
Zhang Fan sat cross-legged, focusing his mind. The cultivation technique of the Ten Absolutes Divine Record circulated within his body, and his physique radiated a divine glow. Every pore resembled a miniature black hole, incessantly devouring and absorbing spiritual energy. The spiritual energy within a thousand-mile radius poured in like a torrential river, all flowing into the Golden Light Immortal Mansion.
Those cultivating within the immortal mansion felt a domineering suction force, and all of them couldn't help but marvel. They had heard that when Zhang Fan was only at the Fourth Tribulation realm, he had used a devouring divine ability to swallow a nascent spirit clone of the Flying Immortal Mansion's master. It was likely the same divine ability he was employing now.
This ability could not only be used in combat but also to aid cultivation, making one yearn to know what kind of divine ability possessed such immense power.
Fortunately, the members of the Six Princes' Mansion and Luo Xiaoxiao’s group had acquired ample resources and did not need to rely on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for their cultivation. If that were the case, they would truly be in trouble.
As time passed and the opening of the Great Luo Palace drew nearer, cultivators began to emerge from the Golden Light Immortal Mansion. After nearly a year of cultivation, most of them had made breakthroughs in their cultivation realms. Luo Xiaoxiao, Wuchen Sword Immortal, Tianhua True Monarch, Lin Haotian, and several powerhouses from the Six Princes' Mansion successively transcended heavenly tribulations, their strength significantly boosted.
Luo Xiaoxiao, in particular, was now a Seventh Tribulation realm cultivator. Even at the early stage of the Seventh Tribulation, with her mastery of the Dark Path and her ultimate golden Nascent Soul, she could already contend with ordinary Eighth Tribulation realm cultivators.
"These three, master and disciples, are truly all abnormal," even Xiao Yi, who considered himself exceptionally talented, couldn't help but sigh when he saw Luo Xiaoxiao. After all, this was a mere child in her early teens, yet her strength could rival ancient monsters who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years.
"Born with a divine physique, naturally extraordinary," Zhang Fan said, a smile appearing on his face as he observed Luo Xiaoxiao, whose dark power had become even more concentrated after the baptism of the heavenly lightning tribulation.
Among their group, the three strongest were undoubtedly Zhang Fan, Shen Feichen, and Xiao Yi. After nearly a year and the expenditure of vast resources, none of them had achieved a major breakthrough in their cultivation, but their strength had all improved considerably.
Zhang Fan had fully refined the immortal medicine, yet he had only reached the late stage of the Eighth Tribulation realm, still a considerable distance from the Ninth Tribulation.
Initially, Zhang Fan had planned to use this period of seclusion to cultivate directly to the peak of the Eighth Tribulation realm and trigger the Ninth Heavenly Lightning Tribulation, but he had underestimated the resources required for his realm to advance.
Even after devouring a massive amount of spirit crystals and numerous Nascent Souls, coupled with an immortal herb, he had only progressed from the mid-stage to the late stage of the Eighth Tribulation realm, which troubled him greatly.
This was merely the Eighth Tribulation. After reaching the Ninth Tribulation, how many resources would each subsequent step require? To cultivate to the peak of the Ninth Tribulation, it would likely be enough to drain the foundations of a top-tier sect.
Xiao Yi had now cultivated to the peak of the Eighth Tribulation realm. However, he was not rushing to transcend the tribulation, intending to hone his skills in the Great Luo Palace before undergoing the Ninth Nascent Soul Tribulation.
"The competition within the Great Luo Palace this time will be more intense than any in history. You have already made breakthroughs since entering the Great Luo Realm, so even if you withdraw now, it would not have been in vain," Shen Feichen gathered everyone and said to Xiao Kun and the other cultivators from the Six Princes' Mansion.
Upon hearing Shen Feichen's words, no one spoke. The air became somewhat silent, as if everyone was contemplating their next move.
After a long pause, Xiao Kun glanced at Lin Haotian and the others, then let out a light laugh and said, "Since we have already entered the Great Luo Realm, we must at least witness the legendary Great Luo Palace. Even if we meet our end there due to bad luck, I would not want to live with regrets."
"Hall Master Xiao speaks wisely. Once one embarks on the path of cultivation, danger is everywhere. If we fear it, why cultivate in the first place?" the others from the Six Princes' Mansion echoed.
Once the Great Luo Palace opened, a large number of top-tier powerhouses would gather, including experts from the other five top forces, and perhaps some reclusive cultivators. Simultaneously, the Great Luo Palace itself was fraught with peril; even top-tier cultivators at the Ninth Tribulation realm faced the risk of perishing.
However, the path of cultivation precisely demanded this spirit of fearlessness in the face of danger. The Nascent Soul stage was merely the initial phase of cultivation. If one lost their courage to advance at this stage, how could they ever scale higher peaks?
Zhang Fan did not question Lin Haotian and the others. Since they had decided to enter the Great Luo Realm, they naturally intended to see all the scenery this world had to offer.
"In that case, make your preparations and head for the Great Luo Palace," Shen Feichen did not try to dissuade them. There was no right or wrong choice; as long as one followed their heart, it was the best decision.