Chapter 596: A Great Supplement

Zhong Shan arrived at Di Xuansha's residence shortly thereafter.

He wasn't worried about any dangers on Tianlang Island, as it was his own stronghold. Moreover, Zhong Shan's cultivation level meant that any potential threats would have to come from beings of at least the Heavenly Emperor level, and such individuals wouldn't be allowed to enter the island without permission.

Two hours later, Zhong Shan stood before Di Xuansha's grand hall.

Di Xuansha looked at Zhong Shan with a frown, unsure of his intentions. His gaze fell on the small bottle in Zhong Shan's hand, and a sudden chill ran down his spine. What was this thing that made him feel an imminent danger?

"I need you to protect me while I cultivate," Zhong Shan stated directly.

"Breakthrough?" Di Xuansha asked.

"Yes," Zhong Shan nodded.

Di Xuansha agreed with a nod.

"However, we can't do it here. We need to find a deserted place, preferably outside Tianlang Island, somewhere absolutely secluded," Zhong Shan said seriously.

Di Xuansha was slightly taken aback but didn't question it. He simply nodded in agreement.

With Di Xuansha leading the way, the two flew south quickly, leaving Tianlang Island. They flew for nearly a day, covering an immense distance given Di Xuansha's speed.

They arrived at a desolate island, vast and barren, with no life and only countless jagged stone mountains.

Once they landed, Zhong Shan took out a grand hall and set up a formation to conceal it, while Di Xuansha stood guard outside the formation.

Di Xuansha was extremely curious about the small bottle Zhong Shan held and why they had to travel so far away.

Inside the grand hall, Zhong Shan sat down and looked at the small bottle before him.

The Brain-eating Beast ranked ninety-fourth on the list of divine beasts in the Grand Thousand World.

Such a powerful creature. Zhong Shan had already witnessed its might in the underworld. Even the Fire Qilin, which ranked lower and was suppressed by the rules of the Small Thousand World, was immensely powerful, unrivaled in its realm. The Brain-eating Beast, even stronger, was a fierce and formidable entity.

If it weren't for the shadow body opening the reincarnation passage, the Brain-eating Beast wouldn't have been captured so easily. Even with part of the reincarnation passage opened, it wasn't something ordinary beasts could withstand. Yet, the Brain-eating Beast's soul remained intact.

The Brain-eating Beast was incredibly strong. As long as it touched the soil, it could restore its power. This was its weakest moment, but seeing it excited Zhong Shan immensely.

What others saw as a disaster, Zhong Shan viewed as a treasure.

Through the bottle, the Brain-eating Beast glared fiercely at Zhong Shan. Though it had been captured and its power lost, the Beast was unafraid, for its soul was indestructible. At least, in this Small Thousand World, no one could harm it. Now trapped, it only needed to escape. Once free and touching the earth, it would dominate again.

Zhong Shan, naturally, was unafraid of the Brain-eating Beast.

Staring at the bottle, Zhong Shan coldly smiled and gently unscrewed the cap.

As soon as the cap was off, the Brain-eating Beast was momentarily stunned, then elated. Was this person seeking death? He was courting death!

Overjoyed, the Brain-eating Beast quickly leaped out of the bottle, aiming for the ground.

But just as it was about to reach the earth, something soft, like a tail, swatted the Beast's soul back into the air.

The Brain-eating Beast looked again and saw only a gaping maw. Instinctively, it felt a chill of terror. It didn't understand what was happening, but it was filled with fear.

"Awoo!" The sound of devouring echoed.

Above Zhong Shan's head, his root consciousness emerged, manifesting as the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail. It was this very tail that had just swallowed the Brain-eating Beast. The Beast, known for devouring the brains of countless beings, could never have imagined becoming someone else's meal.

The Brain-eating Beast, ranked ninety-fourth among the divine beasts of the Grand Thousand World, even in its spiritual form, was an extraordinarily terrifying existence. Its soul, impervious even to the reincarnation passage, contained an immense amount of energy, incredibly high-level energy.

The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail happily began digesting the Brain-eating Beast.

The tail was already immensely powerful, yet it took a full hour and a half to fully digest the Beast's soul. To put it in perspective, even ninth-grade artifacts would disintegrate almost instantly upon entering the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail's maw. The Beast's soul, however, was exceptionally hard to assimilate.

The benefits Zhong Shan reaped from this were equally immense.

Outside, Di Xuansha kept a vigilant watch. Suddenly, the sky darkened as thick clouds rolled in, and thunder roared, heralding Zhong Shan's breakthrough. Black clouds, foreboding and immense, filled the sky, crackling with violent purple lightning.

Di Xuansha gulped, finding Zhong Shan's breakthrough incredibly strange. It was almost unbelievable how Zhong Shan always seemed to break through in such a short time.

Suppressing his initial surprise, Di Xuansha reminded himself that this had become a norm for Zhong Shan. Every time he closed his eyes to cultivate, he emerged stronger. With this thought, he resigned himself to the bizarre phenomenon.

"Boom!"

The black clouds continued to expand, spreading so far that even Di Xuansha's keen sight couldn't see their edge. He silently chanted to himself, "This is normal, just ordinary."

Within the formation, Zhong Shan absorbed the energy overflowing from the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail.

Emperor Realm, Fifth Layer!

Emperor Realm, Sixth Layer!

Emperor Realm, Seventh Layer!

Emperor Realm, Eighth Layer!

Emperor Realm, Ninth Layer!

Emperor Realm, Tenth Layer!

Zhong Shan's cultivation surged, soaring from the fifth layer of the Emperor Realm to the tenth in a frenzy of advancement. Such a rapid ascent—one layer per incense stick's duration—was unheard of. Cultivation typically became progressively harder and more time-consuming the further one advanced. Apart from reincarnated ancient powerhouses, who could possibly achieve such speed?

It was terrifying and astonishing.

Five consecutive layers!

No, given this momentum, Zhong Shan could have continued to ascend. However, there was a formidable barrier between the Emperor and Heavenly Emperor realms, preventing further progress. This wasn't due to Zhong Shan's constitution but the natural separation between the two realms.

Such a distinction was essential; without it, there would be no real difference between the Emperor Realm and the Heavenly Emperor Realm. Otherwise, it would make sense to simply classify it all as the Emperor Realm with twenty layers.

Even though Zhong Shan couldn't break through to the next realm, the energy from the Brain-eating Beast still hadn't been exhausted.

The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail continued to absorb this energy, which began to bolster Zhong Shan's other cultivation techniques.

In his brow, the Hong Luan Pink Lotus began to spin rapidly, seemingly infused with a burst of energy from the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail. After another half hour, a verdant green stem mysteriously sprouted from the base of the Hong Luan Pink Lotus. A root? Zhong Shan's eyes widened in surprise, then filled with delight.

Hong Luan Heavenly Sutra, Seventh Layer: Clairvoyance!

Reaching the seventh layer, the Hong Luan Heavenly Sutra had gone from the beginning stage of clairvoyance to full clairvoyance. The difference might seem small, but the actual gap was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

Zhong Shan didn't have time to investigate the effects of the seventh layer as another surge of energy coursed through his body, causing his Heaven's Demonic Body Tempering Technique to advance rapidly.

Heaven's Demonic Body Tempering Technique, Fifth Layer!

Heaven's Demonic Body Tempering Technique, Sixth Layer!

Finally stopping at the sixth layer, the Heaven's Demonic Body Tempering Technique provided a sevenfold increase in strength.

Zhong Shan felt as if he had been struck by a wave of happiness. This was indeed a huge gain; the energy from the Brain-eating Beast had brought immense benefits.

Even with Zhong Shan's meager aptitude, the residual energy was enough to significantly enhance his strength. How much more so for the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, which had absorbed the main portion of the energy?

The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail had become a fearsome entity, now solid and tangible rather than an illusory root of consciousness. Its eight terrifyingly large tails were so vividly colored that an ordinary person would be ensnared at first glance. The space around the tails seemed to warp and ripple.

After devouring the immense energy, the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail seemed eager to stretch its body, swinging its eight massive tails.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

As the eight tails danced, the very space trembled. The force of this movement shattered the great hall Zhong Shan sat in and rippled outwards.

"Boom!"

The external formation disintegrated as the terrifying spatial vibrations radiated in all directions. The formation's collapse prompted Di Xuansha to take flight, astonished by the sight below.

A colossal creature, a hundred zhang in size, with eight massive tails, was causing an upheaval. The tremors from its movements sent waves of dirt and debris skyward.

The entire barren island shook, reduced to rubble in the span of five breaths. Within moments, the island, roughly one percent the size of Tianlang Island, crumbled into dust and sank into the sea.

For thirty thousand miles around, the ocean roiled with towering waves, as if the end of the world had arrived. The ocean boiled, and every living creature within that range was obliterated.

After stretching its eight tails in a series of fluid motions, the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail ceased its movement, transforming into a stream of light that re-entered Zhong Shan's body. It left behind a dead zone—a thirty-thousand-mile expanse of lifeless sea, where everything had been annihilated, the island reduced to dust, and only Zhong Shan and Di Xuansha remained untouched.