Chapter 609: Failure, Ling Qingzhu

Thunder rolled outside, but inside the inn, Xiao Ming sat quietly. His body was slightly cold, and even his breathing was barely audible. Were it not for the faint trace of life force that was still detectable, one would have mistaken him for a corpse rather than the peak powerhouse that had triggered the heavenly tribulation.

'This Divine Palace seems to be somewhat off.'

Xiao Ming observed the formed Divine Palace and sighed in his heart. Then, with a thought, a vast amount of spiritual strength surged into the Divine Palace like a tide.

However, as the spiritual strength flowed in, there was no sign of it forming a cycle or showing any signs of spontaneous creation.

Clearly, this Divine Palace had not achieved the effect of replacing the Niwan Palace!

It seemed that the presence of the Primal Chaos Light was still required to be effective.

'Let's see if the Origin Qi has any effect.' With that thought in mind, Xiao Ming directly mobilized some of the Origin Qi contained within his body.

Under Xiao Ming's mental control, wisps of glowing Origin Qi emerged from his Dantian and quickly moved towards the Niwan Palace.

When the Origin Qi came in contact with the Divine Palace, the latter burst into a series of clear, ringing sounds. Soon after, the previously lifeless Divine Palace seemed to come to life. In fact, light was flowing on its surface, while lifeforce radiated from it.

Rumble!

Spiritual strength surged within the Divine Palace, seemingly forming a basic cycle. As the Divine Palace took shape, Xiao Ming felt his own spiritual strength begin to resonate rapidly, undergoing a profound transformation. This was a true metamorphosis.

Yet, Xiao Ming was not particularly pleased.

"It seems it was still a failure!"

With the sharp change in spiritual strength within the Niwan Palace, the Origin Qi was rapidly depleting. In such a short amount of time, it was nearly exhausted.

And yet, the true formation of the Divine Palace still required more time!

Xiao Ming's body did not have so much Origin Qi stored for such consumption!

The little Origin Qi he had was saved for emergencies.

The path of a Symbol Master was a system established by the Symbol Ancestor through observing and utilizing the Zenith Power of this plane. To reach the highest stage, one must draw upon the Dimension Fetus and capture a sliver of its Zenith Power.

Origin Qi served as a form of Zenith Power in the Dou Qi Continent. It also possessed effects akin to Primal Chaos Light.

However, Xiao Ming currently did not have enough Origin Qi, so naturally, success was out of reach.

'I need to create a temporary vessel for my Spiritual Strength.'

This process was effortless, almost instinctive, for him. He reached into his Spiritual Strength, which was flourishing within the Divine Palace. With a mere thought, he directed it to an empty space that was adjacent to the Divine Palace. To him, it was a simple, elegant transfer of energy from one point to another.

As the energy settled into its new location, it began to condense and formed a point of light that glowed with a soft but resilient luminescence. This was the nascent form of a new Niwan Palace.

Although this new Niwan Palace was more luminous than the previous one due to the Spiritual Strength that had been transformed beforehand, it was still a mere point of light compared to the mighty and majestic, now lifeless, Divine Palace standing beside it.

However, failing didn't discourage him. It was just a matter of being able to maintain the supply of energy in order to revitalize the Divine Palace.

If Origin Qi wasn't enough, then he would just have to get some Primal Chaos Light.

The Zenith Sensing Art of the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace could help practitioners sense the Zenith, which was the Dimension Fetus of the Tian Xuan Continent, making it easier to capture this Primal Chaos Light.

'Looks like I need to make one last stop in the East Xuan Region before the final event begins!'

...

Time flew, and the years passed in the blink of an eye.

Two years later, in the East Xuan Region.

Great Yan Empire, Tiandu Province.

The power dynamics within the Great Yan Empire had been reshuffled in recent years. One name had begun to resonate far and wide: Lin Dong from Qingyang Town. He had carved out a reputation for himself in both the Celestial Dan Pool competition and the Symbol Master Tower competition, earning the title of the number one genius in Yan City.

The situation in Yan City was constantly changing, and with the appearance of the Old Tomb in Sky Flame Mountain outside the city, even the major factions of the Great Yan Empire were alarmed.

The Old Tomb in the Sky Flame Mountain was suspected to be the burial place of a Nirvana Stage practitioner!

Nirvana Stage practitioners were the true pinnacle figures of the Great Yan Empire. They were qualified to join the super alliance that had been formed in the East Xuan Region in recent years.

Therefore, many strong practitioners gathered outside the Old Tomb, including many from outside Tiandu Province.

Needless to say, the most outstanding individuals were those representing the Four Great Clans: Lin Langtian, Wang Yan, Qin Shi, and Ling Qingzhu.

The first three hailed from three of the Four Great Clans of the Great Yan Empire, while Ling Qingzhu had some ties to the Huangpu Clan.

Apart from these four, there was another individual who attracted a great deal of attention, and that was Lin Dong!

The pocket money that Xiao Ming gave to Qing Tan was a huge amount for Lin Dong and even the entire Lin Family, enough to support his cultivation steadily.

Since Qing Tan had given this money to Lin Dong, even though he hadn't been wandering around for the past few years because he had enough resources, his strength was even higher than in the original story. He wasn't much weaker than Lin Langtian and the others.

Of course, the look Lin Dong cast toward Lin Langtian was anything but friendly.

Since they hailed from the same Lin Clan, the atmosphere between the two was quite intriguing, attracting the attention of many.

However, no one noticed that there were three figures quietly observing everything that was unfolding. The trio's gaze wasn't on Lin Dong and Lin Langtian; rather, most of their attention was on Ling Qingzhu.

A green lotus floated in the air, with a delicate figure sitting on it.

The woman wore a light-colored silk dress, with eyebrows like jade feathers and skin as white as snow. Her waist was gorgeously small like silk. The sheer veil covering her cheeks barely hid her beauty, making her wandering gaze dim the world around her.

A woman like this, and with such a demeanor, was rarely seen in this world.

However, despite the woman's light and ethereal aura, her clear, crystal-like eyes revealed no hint of gentleness. Instead, they exuded a deep, unwelcoming coldness that could repel someone a thousand miles away.

This woman was clearly one who appeared warm on the outside but was cold on the inside!

Such a woman was even more difficult to deal with than those who only appeared cold and indifferent on the surface.

Ying Huanhuan possessed top-notch appearance herself, yet even she couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy towards the beauty and demeanor of this woman. 

"This person is the successor to the Nine Heavens Supreme Purity Palace, Ling Qingzhu? Truly a beauty that could overthrow empires. But Master, you shouldn't keep staring at others like that." Ying Huanhuan, who had grown up considerably over the years, couldn't help but purse her lips as she noticed Xiao Ming constantly gazing at the young lady.

"All right, all right, I'll stop looking at her. Is it okay if I look at you instead?" Xiao Ming withdrew his gaze upon hearing this and playfully reached out to pinch Ying Huanhuan's cheek.

In terms of demeanor, Ying Huanhuan's was actually not inferior to Ling Qingzhu's.

After all, in her previous life, she was the Ice Master, the strongest one just below the Symbol Ancestor. With Xiao Ming helping her to unleash her Reincarnation potential over the years, her strength had increased rapidly. She was now a powerhouse that already embodied the elegance of her previous life.

However, since she hadn't regained her memories, she didn't exude that icy demeanor and instead displayed a more lively, girlish charm.

Ying Huanhuan remained strangely silent as Xiao Ming pinched her cheek. After a while, she finally spoke up as they watched the four young talents enter the Old Tomb.

"Master, you're planning to leave soon, aren't you?" 

Xiao Ming paused in surprise before nodding. 

"That's correct. My arrival on the Tian Xuan Continent was by accident. It's been almost five years. Even though there has been a breakthrough in my strength, it has only progressed step by step. I haven't been able to reach the threshold of Heavenly Sovereign. The gap between a Quasi-Heavenly Sovereign and a Heavenly Sovereign is quite wide."

"At this point, my plan is about to be completed, and whether it's successful or not, it's time to depart this place and head to the Great Thousand World…"