Black Sand Grotto Heaven.
In a majestic grand hall, Fu Beichen stood before it, listening to his subordinate’s report. After a long silence, the atmosphere within the hall became somewhat oppressive.
"Wu Shun, what do you think?" Fu Beichen turned his gaze to an old man and asked.
"Although it sounds incredible, it’s the only possibility. Zhang Fan is indeed a monstrous talent, his strength cannot be measured by common sense. However, with the four great elders guarding the Great Luo Sea, and other factions also having peak Nascent Soul realm powerhouses stationed, Zhang Fan is sure to die once he leaves the Great Luo Realm," Wu Shun said.
Fu Beichen shook his head and said, "It's not enough."
"Take my Sect Master Token and go see the Supreme Elder. Ask him to immediately rush to the Great Luo Sea. Once Zhang Fan appears, he must be captured and must not fall into the hands of others."
"The Supreme Elder?" Elder Wu Shun's wrinkled face showed a hint of surprise. That was a half-step Nascent Divinity realm existence.
He thought the four great elders were enough to deal with Zhang Fan. After all, those four elders were different from them, the law enforcement elders. Each of them was a Nine Tribulations realm powerhouse, and the eldest elder was at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.
"At the same time, in my name, send invitations to the Flying Immortal Manor and the Sun Shadow Grotto Heaven. Let's pay a visit to the Six Princes' Estate. Bai Mengtian and Qiu Qianzong, those two old fellows, should not be able to sit still anymore."
Wu Shun vaguely sensed something was wrong, "Sect Master, are you going to demand a person?"
"Hmph, those three are nothing more than ants, how could they be worthy of me personally coming to demand them? However, I do want to see how tough the backbone of the Six Princes' Estate truly is."
Wu Shun understood. Demanding a person was a pretense; the real intention was to stir up trouble.
...
On the Panlong Mountain Range, within the main hall of the Six Princes' Estate.
The Estate Master, Ling Xiu, sat on the throne in the grand hall. Below him, a group of cultivators sat in two rows. Although everyone could feel the undercurrents surging outside, the atmosphere within the hall was quite relaxed.
"It seems that this trip to the Great Luo Realm, our Six Princes' Estate is the biggest winner," Ling Xiu said with a smile on his face. "I'll propose a toast, congratulating all my brothers on your great progress in cultivation and returning with bountiful gains."
Everyone raised their cups in unison and drank them dry.
Lin Haotian's gaze swept across the hall. Now, even Xiao Yi, the weakest among the Six Princes in cultivation, had reached the Nine Tribulations realm. Mo Yan had even displayed the strength of a half-step Nascent Divinity. The other cultivators had also greatly improved. Compared to factions like the Flying Immortal Manor, it was a scene of prosperity.
Lin Haotian stood up and cupped his hands towards Ling Xiu, "Estate Master, the outside world is already in turmoil. The cultivators from the Flying Immortal Manor, Black Sand Grotto Heaven, Sun Shadow Grotto Heaven, and the Tengshe tribe have suffered heavy losses in the Great Luo Realm. They hate my master to the bone and bear a mortal intent towards the three of us. The Six Princes' Estate is powerful and fears no one, but with the combined forces of the four factions, there is still a great threat. How will the Estate Master deal with this?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into a brief silence, and the atmosphere became subtly tense.
"Hahaha."
With Ling Xiu's hearty laughter, the subtle atmosphere in the hall was broken. He asked, "What four factions are joining forces?"
"The patriarch of the Tengshe tribe is only at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. If such a force dares to cause trouble at our Six Princes' Estate, we'll send the second brother to the Southern Barbarian lands to wipe out his entire clan, what's stopping us?"
"As for the other three factions, our Six Princes' Estate's city-protecting formation is not so easily broken."
Hearing Ling Xiu's affirmative reply, Lin Haotian breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the three factions joined forces, as long as they could hold on until his master returned, all crises would be easily resolved.
...
In the Great Luo Realm, in the Great Luo Hall.
Zhang Fan, immersed in his cultivation, was unaware that the outside world was already in a state of upheaval. Having refined a large number of demon beast Nascent Souls, his aura had reached the peak of the early Nine Tribulations realm, just one step away from breaking through that barrier.
However, all his Nascent Souls, spiritual herbs, elixirs, and even spirit crystals had been depleted. The white immortal infant within his body was like a bottomless pit, greedily devouring everything, yet showing no signs of growth.
Such a massive amount of resources would be enough to allow an ordinary early Nine Tribulations realm cultivator to break through to the late Nine Tribulations realm in a short period.
"What a freak. So much resources poured in and it's like a stone sinking into the sea. Let me lend you a hand."
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit waved its sleeve lightly, and the spiritual energy within a radius of ten thousand miles surged like a tide, then quickly gathered towards the Great Luo Hall.
"After all, it's still a bit short," Zhang Fan said with some helplessness. At this moment, he was extremely poor, with not a single spirit crystal left on him.
Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly felt a surge of boundless spiritual energy pouring down from the dome of the Great Luo Hall, continuously flowing into his body.
"This is good!" Zhang Fan roared, circulating his cultivation technique with all his might, madly absorbing the spiritual energy. His stagnant cultivation began to rise again, impacting the shackles that bound him.
This scene only lasted for a few breaths. When Zhang Fan stood up again, his entire being radiated an aura several times stronger than before.
"This is only the middle stage of the Nine Tribulations realm. I wonder how many resources it will take to break through to the peak of the Nine Tribulations realm?" Feeling the vast magic power within his body, Zhang Fan did not show joy, but instead shook his head and smiled bitterly.
He looked up at the Great Luo Artifact Spirit and cupped his fists, "Thank you for your assistance."
"I have followed my master for hundreds of thousands of years and have never seen a freak like you. I can't imagine what level of strength you will reach when you break through to the Nascent Divinity realm."
Feeling the powerful aura radiating from Zhang Fan at this moment, the Great Luo Artifact Spirit's eyes were filled with astonishment.
His realm was only the middle stage of the Nine Tribulations realm, but the depth of his magic power was even stronger than that of a peak Nascent Soul realm cultivator.
"He's a monster!"
Liu Mu had just survived his ninth Nascent Soul tribulation. He was secretly pleased that he had finally caught up to Zhang Fan in terms of realm. He never expected that Zhang Fan, who had only broken through to the early Nine Tribulations realm, would break through again in less than a month, causing him, who was originally excited, to feel a sense of frustration.
Zhang Fan himself also wanted to know what his strength would be like after breaking through to the Nascent Divinity realm.
However, he was only in the middle stage of the Nine Tribulations realm now, and there was still a considerable distance to the Nascent Divinity realm. It was too early to discuss this topic. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "From now on, will there still be a Great Luo Realm in this Wu Shan Star Domain?"
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit nodded, its eyes flashing with excitement. "The purpose of the Great Luo Realm's existence was to find a successor for my master. Now that one has been found, after the young master finishes receiving the inheritance, I will take her to roam the starry sky, hoping she grows up soon and reclaims the star domains lost by my master."
"You've broken through to the Nine Tribulations realm? Not bad." Feeling the surging magic power within Liu Mu, Zhang Fan nodded.
Liu Mu, who had cultivated the ultimate golden Nascent Soul, possessed the qualification to contend with peak Nascent Soul cultivators as soon as he entered the Nine Tribulations realm. Coupled with the Grand Dao Secret Treasure he had obtained earlier, even if he could only exert a portion of its power, he could fight against a half-step Nascent Divinity.
"It's been more than half a month since the Great Luo Realm closed. Are you planning to go out now?" the Great Luo Artifact Spirit asked.
"It's been more than half a month?"
Zhang Fan was immersed in his cultivation and was at a critical juncture of his breakthrough, so he did not pay attention to the passage of time.
"In this past half month, the outside world must have descended into chaos." Zhang Fan was not worried about Lin Haotian and the others' safety. Ling Xiu, after knowing his current strength, would surely protect Lin Haotian and the other two.
"It's time to go out." This trip had been very fruitful. After staying in the Great Luo Realm for three years, Liu Mu was also looking forward to the outside world.
The Great Luo Artifact Spirit nodded and tore open a spatial rift with its hand, connecting to the Great Luo Sea.
Zhang Fan and Liu Mu bid farewell to the Great Luo Artifact Spirit and rushed into the spatial rift together, disappearing into the Great Luo Hall.
...