While fleeing for his life, he refined his innate essence. Before long, his cultivation level increased from the late stage of the seventh rank to the perfect stage of the seventh rank.
This was not the end, but only the beginning. The innate essence forged from a top-grade innate spiritual treasure was so immense that it allowed Wang Xuan's cultivation to break through several minor realms once again!
"Boom!"
Thunder rumbled across the sky, a celestial phenomenon caused by Wang Xuan's breakthrough to the early stage of the eighth rank, achieving the Great Luo Golden Immortal status!
Chapter 286 Great Advancement in Strength
It is only because we are currently in the midst of the Investiture of the Gods, and the secrets of heaven are in turmoil, that the tribulation of lightning has not yet descended. Otherwise, Wang Xuan would be undergoing the tribulation of lightning by now.
Reaching the early stage of the eighth rank is not the end; Wang Xuan still has a large amount of innate essence within him that he hasn't refined. Once he has completely refined all that innate essence, his cultivation will directly break through to the late stage of the eighth rank!
Moreover, he is a late-stage eighth-order innate god-demon with an incredibly powerful physical body, whose combat strength is comparable to that of a peerless expert at the perfect eighth-order level!
Of course, it will take another month or two to refine the remaining innate essence. With Wang Xuan's current cultivation level, refining so much innate essence in one go is already the limit.
His cultivation level broke through from the late stage of the seventh rank to the early stage of the eighth rank. Although it was only a breakthrough of two realms, Wang Xuan's speed of flying and escaping increased significantly, temporarily leaving Daoist Ran Deng far behind.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in the South China Sea. He simply plunged into the sea and used the water to hide himself.
After chasing for a while, Daoist Ran Deng finally lost track of Wang Xuan and could no longer see any trace of him. He could only curse angrily and disappear in a flash.
Wang Xuan hid in a corner of the South China Sea seabed, not daring to show himself, worried that Daoist Ran Deng was bluffing him and had not actually left.
He simply chose to cultivate diligently at the bottom of the South China Sea, refining the innate essence within his body.
Two months later, he naturally refined all his innate essence, and his cultivation broke through to the late stage of the eighth rank, surpassing even the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect!
"With my cultivation at the late eighth rank, and possessing the Treasure-Dropping Coin and the Eternal Cauldron, as long as the saints of this world don't attack me, I can do whatever I want!"
Wang Xuan felt the powerful force within him and was very happy. He flew towards the battlefield of the Investiture of the Gods once again.
In the past month or two, Xiqi has repelled the Shang Dynasty's attack and, using the excuse of having been a favorite concubine and harming loyal officials, is now raising an army to overthrow the Shang Dynasty's tyranny.
Ultimately, this was all because the Marquis of Xibo wanted to rebel, to kill King Zhou, and to take the throne himself.
Below, battle raged as the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect and the immortals of the Jie Sect clashed. Wang Xuan didn't bother to observe closely; he simply unleashed his Treasure-Falling Coins and swiped them around, instantly acquiring three innate spiritual treasures in his hand.
"You scoundrel! You escaped last time, and now you dare to come back and steal our treasure?" Daoist Ran Deng roared, abandoning the Jie Sect experts he was fighting and heading to hunt down Wang Xuan.
However, Wang Xuan completely devoured the innate essence obtained from refining the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, and his cultivation level has broken through to the late stage of the eighth rank, the same realm as Daoist Ran Deng. In terms of understanding the Great Dao, he is much stronger than Daoist Ran Deng. How could Daoist Ran Deng catch up with him?
Not long after, Wang Xuan escaped successfully again, looking at his spoils.
He just used the Treasure-Dropping Coin to acquire three innate spiritual treasures, one of which was a blood-red sword called the Blood-Transforming Divine Sword, which was ranked as a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure.
The other treasure is the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Pillar, which is also a renowned mid-grade innate spiritual treasure.
As for the last treasure, it turned out to be the top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Golden Dragon Scissors!
It seems that in the previous great battle, Zhao Gongming borrowed the Golden Dragon Scissors and fought against the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect again!
"Unbeknownst to me, I have weakened the Chan Sect's strength considerably."
First, the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Pillar and the Blood Transformation Divine Blade, both treasures of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, were directly seized by Wang Xuan.
Moreover, according to the original plot, Zhao Gongming was eventually killed by the Chan Sect masters, and the twenty-four Dinghai Pearls and the Golden Dragon Scissors fell into the hands of the Chan Sect, but now they have all benefited Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan obtained three innate spiritual treasures this time, and he knew that he must have been targeted by the Primordial Celestial Venerable. If he dared to show his face again, his fate would definitely not be good.
So he had no intention of going out again and retreated to his small island in the East China Sea to cultivate in seclusion.
He melted down the three newly acquired innate spiritual treasures into innate essence and put them into the Eternal Cauldron.
The Eternal Cauldron was originally a mid-grade innate spiritual treasure. Now, it has been forged with two mid-grade innate spiritual treasures and one high-grade innate spiritual treasure, adhering to its innate origin and integrating them into the Eternal Cauldron. As a result, the quality of the Eternal Cauldron has been rapidly improved.
Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
Wang Xuan had thought that the Eternal Cauldron could be upgraded to the level of a Primordial Treasure in one go, but it was still one level short.
To create a supreme innate treasure, the amount of innate essence required is enormous. Wang Xuan estimates that he would need to forge at least two more high-grade innate spiritual treasures to be sufficient!
"With my cultivation at the late stage of the eighth rank, and with the help of the top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Eternal Cauldron, I fear no one as long as a saint does not appear."
Right now, the great war of the gods is raging, the aura of calamity fills the heavens and earth, and the secrets of heaven are in chaos. As long as Wang Xuan doesn't actively go into the battlefield, the Primordial Heavenly Lord won't be able to find his whereabouts.
After the Investiture of the Gods, the Grandmaster Hongjun directly issued an order: since the six saints had all arrived beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, no saints would emerge except during the immeasurable eon.
When that time comes, Wang Xuan can play without worry.
Wang Xuan had a beautiful plan: he was studying the laws of the Heavenly Dao in the Investiture of the Gods world while teaching his own disciples.
Another year passed peacefully, and Wang Xuan's cultivation level remained at the late stage of the eighth rank. Although he had not broken through, his understanding of the laws had become much more profound. Clearly, he had gained a lot from this year of comprehension.
As for Su Daji, she broke through the barrier of the fourth-order perfect realm and reached the early stage of the fifth order, which can be called a terrestrial immortal.
But the peaceful period was short-lived. Wang Xuan wanted to survive, but ultimately failed to do so.
The battle of the gods has reached its most intense moment, with several sages personally appearing and engaging in fierce combat!
The Tongtian Sect Leader has unleashed the Zhuxian Sword Formation, intending to divide the earth, wind, water, and fire, recreate chaos, and recreate the primordial state!
Amidst the devastating sword light, Wang Xuan's island was unfortunately caught in the crossfire, cleaved in two by a single sword strike, and rapidly shattered into chaos.
Fortunately, Wang Xuan had a sudden inspiration and grabbed Su Daji to escape at the last second, thus saving his life!
"Is this the combat power of a ninth-tier Primordial Golden Immortal? It's truly heaven-defyingly powerful!"
Wang Xuan's eyes burned with desire. He enlarged the Eternal Cauldron and jumped into it with Su Daji.
The Eternal Cauldron has reached the level of a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, and it combines offense and defense, with extremely powerful defensive capabilities.
They were all inside the cauldron, and the aftershocks of the sage's attack were not enough to threaten their lives!
Chapter 287 Innate Treasure
"It's rare to see Primordial Golden Immortals fighting. Perhaps I can glean some of the mysteries of Primordial Golden Immortals from this!" Wang Xuan stared intently into the distance, his Eternal Divine Eye activated to its limit, taking in the entire world of Investiture of the Gods.
His true form had been stuck at the peak of the eighth rank, the half-step Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm for a long time. To break through to the next realm, it was almost impossible to simply accumulate innate essence. He also needed to comprehend the laws of the Great Dao to a certain extent.
What? You mean Pangu proved the Dao through force?
Don't assume that Pangu achieved that level simply by cultivating his body, just because he proved himself through force.
Pangu was not just a muscle-bound man. As the leader of the three thousand chaotic gods and demons, he was favored by the Great Dao and was born with a complete Great Dao of Power!
Even Pangu crawled out of the Chaos Green Lotus, and perhaps he also absorbed the Great Dao Laws within the Chaos Green Lotus.
Wang Xuan wasn't a top-tier chaotic god or demon like Pangu, who was favored by the Great Dao. He didn't have such a good fate and could only rely on himself to comprehend the mysteries of the Primordial Chaos.
At this moment in the world of Investiture of the Gods, four giant swords traversed the heavens and earth, weaving together a sword formation, which evolved into earth, wind, water, and fire, causing the entire world to begin to tremble and fall to the brink of destruction!
Tongtian Daoren stood within the Zhuxian Sword Formation, chanting softly: "Neither copper nor iron nor steel, it was once hidden beneath Mount Sumeru. It needs no reversal of Yin and Yang to refine it, yet it is tempered by water and fire. Zhuxian is sharp, Zhuxian is dead, and Xianxian is lurked everywhere with red light. The transformations of Juexian are infinitely wondrous, and even the blood of the Great Luo Immortals stains their robes."
This is the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. It is indeed the number one weapon of destruction in this world. Destroying heaven and earth is nothing to it. It was created from the beginning of the universe and cannot be broken by anyone but the Four Saints!
The Heavenly Saints of this world are far superior to the mediocre ones Wang Xuan had encountered before. Only those at the ninth-order Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm can attain sainthood in this world!
However, although the Tongtian Sect Leader was powerful, the head of the Three Pure Ones was the Moral Celestial Venerable.
The Celestial Venerable of Morality unleashed his signature move, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, comparable to three sages appearing simultaneously. With the innate treasure Taiji Diagram supporting him, he almost single-handedly resisted the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation of the Tongtian Sect Master.
Although the Zhuxian Sword Formation could not be broken, the Tongtian Sect Leader was also powerless against the Moral Celestial Venerable.
"This Moral Celestial Venerable is indeed powerful!" Wang Xuan looked at this scene with a strange gaze: "But the Moral Celestial Venerable transforms into the Three Pure Ones with one breath, and one of them is the Shangqing Daoist. I wonder what the Tongtian Sect Leader, this genuine Shangqing Daoist, thinks of this?"
At this moment, the Tongtian Sect Leader's eyes were bloodshot and his murderous aura was overwhelming, so naturally he couldn't express his inner feelings.
He had set up the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation at this moment, and if it were a one-on-one fight, he would not be afraid of anyone.
However, the enemy is clearly not just one saint. This Investiture of the Gods war is a struggle between the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect. Previously, Yuanshi Tianzun bullied the weak and killed several of Tongtian Jiaozhu's personal disciples, the Three Immortals, and sent them to the Investiture of the Gods. How could Tongtian Jiaozhu let it go?
But before Tongtian Jiaozhu could make his move, Yuanshi Tianzun struck first, joining forces with Daode Tianzun to besiege Tongtian Jiaozhu.
The Primordial Heavenly Venerable summoned the Pangu Banner, a supreme innate treasure, to stabilize the chaos and join forces with the Moral Heavenly Venerable to break the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.
The Tongtian Sect Leader's control over the Zhuxian Sword Formation had reached an extreme level. After a while, the Zhuxian Sword Formation still hadn't been broken. On the contrary, the trend of the entire world collapsing became more and more obvious.
"Fellow Daoists, do not panic, we are here to lend you a hand!" Suddenly, two Daoists rushed out and stepped into the Zhuxian Sword Formation, joining forces with the Moral Heavenly Venerable and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable to break the Zhuxian Sword Formation.
These two people are none other than the two saints of the Western Sect—Cundi and Jieyin!
At this time, the Western Religion had not yet changed its name to Buddhism. Although many people in the sect dressed bald, or had full heads like the future Buddha, Zhunti and Jieyin did not; they still dressed as Taoist priests.
When Hongjun Laozu distributed treasures at Zixiao Palace, he once said, "The Zhuxian Sword Formation cannot be broken by any but the Four Sages!"
Unexpectedly, four sages have actually gathered today, including a formidable figure like the Moral Celestial Venerable. In addition, there are two innate treasures, the Taiji Diagram and the Pangu Banner. No matter how strong the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation is, it will ultimately be unable to withstand it.
Once the sword formation was broken, Zhunti and Jieyin were overjoyed and immediately gathered up three thousand disciples of the Jie Sect.
"These disciples are destined to be associated with my Western Sect!"
In their pursuit of developing the Western Sect, Zhunti and Jieyin had long since lost all sense of shame. With these three thousand elite experts from the Jie Sect, the Western Sect's strength had greatly increased, and they could even plunder most of the Jie Sect's fortune. The Western Sect's future rise was unstoppable!
The Tongtian Sect Leader's eyes were bloodshot as he turned his head to see the Moral Celestial Venerable and the Primordial Celestial Venerable. However, he saw that their expressions were normal, and they had no intention of stopping him. How could he not guess that they had tacitly agreed?
The fact that his own brothers were willing to invite trouble and bring in outsiders to gang up on him was unacceptable to the Tongtian Sect Leader.
Even mortals know that brothers unite to defend against external aggression!
"You two are really something!" The Tongtian Sect Leader's eyes revealed a crazed look. He poured his surging magic power into the Four Swords of Zhuxian, intending to self-destruct the Four Swords of Zhuxian and drag the Moral Celestial Venerable and the others down with him!
The sages were shocked. They had not expected that the Tongtian Sect Leader would be so fierce as to want to expose the Four Swords of Zhuxian!
Saints like them are immortal as long as the Way of Heaven does not perish. No matter how reckless you are, as long as the world is not destroyed, you will not die.
If the Tongtian Sect Leader were to self-destruct the Four Swords of Zhuxian, it would undoubtedly cause severe damage to the world, something even saints like them would not be able to withstand.
However, at this critical moment, an old Taoist priest appeared.
Upon seeing this Taoist priest, a poem involuntarily surfaced in Wang Xuan's mind as he watched from afar:
Reclining on a high cloud-covered futon, I attained the true Dao.
Beyond Heaven and Earth, I shall be the Sect Master.
Pangu gave birth to Taiji, Yin and Yang, and the Four Symbols.
One Way Transmitted to Three Friends, Two Teachings, Chan and Jie