Chapter 239: Visiting the Door, Challenging the Hundred Veins (8k) (Part 1)

Chapter 239: Visiting the Door, Challenging the Hundred Veins (8k) (Part 1)





"To pioneer..."

Ji Jingqiu walked along the narrow path, heading deeper into the wilderness, whispering to himself.

The younger generation of the Federation, on their journey to the ancient path of Jiuzhong, aimed not only to seize opportunities for self-improvement but also to expand their authority.

The Federation's primary gateway portals were all located in the Oasis.

Unlike the floating earth of Sun Yue, the Oasis lacked a dominant force like the Nine Palaces. Instead, it was a place of diverse influences.

The authority the Federation sought to expand was related to higher-tiered realms, and the success of the younger generation on the ancient path was a factor.

Although Ji Jingqiu had topped the ancient path, he carried the name of the Nine Palaces, and he wasn't sure if the Oasis would recognize it. Surely they wouldn't expect him to go there and turn around, would they?

Ji Jingqiu came to a stop at the place where he had first met Ah Cheng. The old, dilapidated residential area had been demolished, leaving only a deformed tree that, despite being in the lower layers, continued to grow upward.

Just as trees needed to find their roots to flourish, people needed to find their own roots to grow.

According to Mu Yi's teachings, in the final stages of martial arts, there was no such thing as a "rootless weed."

"After visiting these elders, it's time to break through the Shackles Realm..."

Ji Jingqiu exhaled, his spirits lifted.

For him, who had unlocked the divine treasury within his physical body, the Shackles Realm was destined to be different from other warriors.

...

After a year of absence, Ji Jingqiu returned to the Federation with numerous tasks. He had a long list of elders to visit.

The Yang Master, the Big Senior Brother, the Zhuang Elder, the Mu Patriarch... and even the Four Directions Divine Lord!

Even Qingyang Grandmaster, who had already been summoned, was contacted by Ji Jingqiu through a video call.

Ji Jingqiu had wanted to inquire about the details of Qingyang Grandmaster's summoning, but the latter avoided the topic, saying he would soon find out.

Where should he go to find out?

Ji Jingqiu pondered for a while and searched online but found no official announcements.

Instead, the internet was filled with anxious discussions, and various martial arts forums were unusually quiet, lacking their usual activity. It seemed everyone was worried about something.

Ji Jingqiu browsed through previous posts and discovered that rumors had been circulating for months. The strongest warriors of the Federation were about to embark on an expedition.

For the past half month, some well-known warriors had gradually disappeared from the public eye, and this had been confirmed.

Ji Jingqiu scrolled through the forums but found no substantial information, so he closed the forum. After all, he had a pile of tasks awaiting his attention.

In addition to visiting elders, he also received numerous invitations and emails from various parties.

Most of the invitations were from different factions, attempting to woo and establish friendly relations with him.

Although Ji Jingqiu was dedicated to martial arts, he couldn't simply reject these factions trying to befriend him without any conflict. So, he forwarded all the invitations to the Big Senior Brother, asking him to politely decline on the pretext of his own bottleneck.

As for the emails, they were mostly greetings and inquiries from elders with whom he had some connection, including Yue Yourong, Yin Wushuang, and others.

There was even an email from the Ji family.

Ji Jingqiu selected some emails and replied.

Ji Anquan had previously told him that although the ancient path was dangerous, the survival rate of Federation warriors on this journey was over 81%, exceeding the Federation's expectations.

It was a satisfactory outcome.

At least, none of the few people Ji Jingqiu knew had encountered any issues.

After all, Yue Yourong and the others were all talented individuals.

On the ancient path, even a Seal King could roam freely, and with caution, they wouldn't face any life-threatening situations.

In the middle and later stages, when the Sun Yue Alliance illuminated the ancient path, the dangers they faced primarily stemmed from exploring the planes themselves.

...

Ji Jingqiu spent a full five days handling all the tasks.

He visited and greeted all the elders he needed to see.

During this time, he also studied materials related to the Shackles Realm, including various breakthrough experiences of warriors within the Dragon Tiger Arena.

He even watched cultivation videos related to tempering the body and breaking free from shackles!

The Shackles Realm was renowned as a crucial step in life's evolution and the pinnacle of physical prowess before transcending the Divine Human Boundary.

Only by tempering the body to its extreme could one qualify to pursue the unification of the physical body.

The essence of this realm was "burning" and "sublimation."

By burning the origin, tearing apart the shackles that bound the body, and pursuing the extreme of physical prowess, one could sublimate the essence of their life and then roam freely in the world!

Ancient wisdom held that all beings were born into the world with "shackles."

Only by breaking free from the shackles that bound their limbs, bones, and organs could one roam freely in the world and attain great freedom.

To tear apart these shackles, one must first sense the existence of the shackles through divine perception and then burn the origin, breaking free during self-sublimation.

However, due to the burning of the origin, warriors in this realm not only fail to increase their lifespan but also experience a significant decline.

Without sufficient "energy" supplementation, some even die halfway.

The probability of death due to cultivation accidents in this realm tops the list, surpassing the combined total of other realms!

Additionally, the Shackles Realm is the pinnacle of physical prowess. When the body reaches a certain level of strength, it can even derive divine abilities on its own.

Of course, the probability of deriving divine abilities is extremely low. Ordinary warriors usually plant divine ability seeds within themselves, nurturing them with divine substances, and then blooming divine ability flowers, resulting in a significant leap in combat power.

Ji Jingqiu didn't delve into this aspect and chose to skip it.

He possessed the Lotus Pond and the Mind Lotus, and as early as the True Seed Realm, he had laid the foundation for cultivating divine abilities.

As expected, in the Shackles Realm, he would strive to manifest the divine anomaly of the Formless Dao Body and specifically sublimate it into a divine ability.

For example, the Bodhimanda World.

When the time comes to combine the Bodhimanda World with the Buddha Palm, the power will be absolutely greater than the sum of its parts. With a single palm, it will be like unleashing the power of countless worlds!

This day.

Ji Jingqiu returned to the sixth heaven of the Great Universe.

He sat in meditation deep within the arena, with White Deer Senior and Elder Brother Yang Yao nearby, preparing to witness Ji Jingqiu's attempt to break through the Shackles Realm.

Especially for Yang Yao, without realizing it, his junior had already surpassed him.

However, Yang Yao didn't feel any urgency; he remained calm and composed. At this stage, his cultivation primarily focused on mental cultivation, and he had long prepared for the possibility of transcending the limitations of the mortal realm.

As for the Shackles Realm, Yang Yao planned to at least reach the Mental Realm and then strategize to break free from the shackles of life.

This step couldn't be rushed.

If the mental realm lagged, the physical body's ascension would also be hindered.

Not everyone was like Ji Jingqiu, with mental cultivation leading the way while the physical body lagged behind. 99.9% of people had their mental cultivation leading the way, with the physical body dragging behind.

Watching Ji Jingqiu attempt to break free from the shackles, Yang Yao rubbed his chin. To be honest, he didn't fully understand the theory of the Divine Embryo that Ji Jingqiu had discussed with White Deer Senior.

However, this didn't hinder his position as the senior brother!

In this lifetime, the most correct thing he had done was to personally welcome Ji Jingqiu into the martial arts hall at the entrance.

Thinking of this, Yang Yao's back straightened with pride.

It wasn't self-praise; Elder Brother Hong Hu had said it himself—Yang Yao was the first contributor to the Dragon Tiger Arena in recent years!

...

Ji Jingqiu carefully contemplated the Divine Embryo within his body.

It was the Divine Embryo that had been conceived after opening the Physical Body Divine Palace, not the Mental Sacred Embryo.

In theory, a Shackles Realm warrior should at least break free from the shackles binding their limbs before continuing forward, leading to the Mind Phase Realm.

In other words, they should break free from the four shackles binding their limbs.

Additionally, those with deep foundational roots and exceptional talents who were in the early stages could also break free from the shackles binding their five viscera, six entrails, and spine.

Including the four shackles on the limbs, there were a total of six shackles, which was the limit of the Shackles Realm.

The last two shackles were extremely difficult and exceptionally dangerous to break free from.

Failing to break free from the shackles on the limbs might result in permanent limb loss, while the shackles on the five viscera and spine could be fatal with the slightest mishap.

Countless warriors still attempted to break free from the last two shackles, one after another.

Because with each attempt to break free from the physical body's shackles, their life essence would undergo a leap.

The difference between the first and last shackles represented a gap of at least two levels in the physical body!

Ji Jingqiu's path in the Shackles Realm was slightly different from ordinary warriors, as he had opened the Physical Body Divine Palace and conceived the Divine Embryo.

In a sense, he was a pioneer on this path in the Federation.

At this moment, a Divine Embryo floated within Ji Jingqiu's body, its radiance almost overflowing, illuminating his body's rivers, mountains, flesh, and meridians.

Under the illumination of the Heart Moon in his glabella, the seven shackles had nowhere to hide, each encircling the Divine Embryo.

They were located at the glabella, limbs, five viscera and six entrails, and the spine.

There was one more than "in theory," located at the glabella.

Sensing these seven shackles, Ji Jingqiu recalled the information and contemplated how to break free from the first shackle, breaking through to the Divine Roaming Realm.

The most conventional and traditional method to break free from the shackles was to burn one's life origin.

However, this method couldn't be universally applied to all shackles.

There were numerous cases of Shackles Realm warriors who, in their pursuit of the limits, would actively seek the boundaries of life and death, using extreme tempering methods to force the eruption of their potential.

For example, drawing down thunder to temper the body, using their life force to resist the heavenly thunder's shackles!

"And then there's the heavenly tribulation..."

Ji Jingqiu recalled certain scenes, muttering to himself.

He had watched numerous videos of warriors pushing their limits, voluntarily drawing heavenly thunder to temper their bodies].

Some couldn't withstand it, their bodies turning to ash, while others would rise from the ashes, breaking free from the shackles at the boundaries of life and death.

The strongest batch of warriors had already cultivated the Immaculate Golden Body, swallowing the thunder light and using their five viscera and six entrails to suppress it, forging an indestructible golden body!

The gap between them was immense, not only determined by the number of shackles they could break free from, but also by the foundation laid in the Divine Roaming Realm.

Because each ascension was based on the current quality of the physical body, which was then enhanced.

Breaking free from a single shackle and undergoing a transformation would yield vastly different results, even if the transformation multiplier was the same, due to the varying quality of the physical body before the transformation.

It could be said a thousand times, but in essence, it was the strong becoming stronger.

Ji Jingqiu prepared to first use the method of burning his life origin.

His life origin was far superior to those at the same level, which was why he had broken free from two shackles and could engage in close combat with Yi Tianpeng.

At this moment, by his side, there was the "Dragon Tiger Great Medicine" from the Dragon Tiger Arena.

These were to be used when breaking through to supplement his life origin if it became insufficient.

Following the Dragon Tiger Arena's treasured methods, he began to ignite his life origin.

To ignite the life origin, one must use a spark of divinity as the flame.

Once this path was embarked upon, there was no turning back.

It would continue until he broke through to the Mind Phase, completing the unification of the physical body.

In Ji Jingqiu's self-awareness, a strand of divinity transformed into divine fire, igniting a vast and boundless prairie.

Amidst the rising flames, he seemed to stand quietly, gazing at the horizon, witnessing this great fire devouring everything in its path.

Wherever his gaze fell, there was the origin of life.

...

In the eyes of outsiders, strange phenomena seemed to appear around Ji Jingqiu, as if invisible shackles tightly wrapped around his body, giving off an incredibly heavy sense of oppression, as if they were the heaviest fetters in the world.

These shackles weren't physical, but they gave off an incredibly heavy sense of oppression, as if they were the heaviest fetters in the world.

It was even more astonishing that they could hear the faint sound of the chains moving, an intangible manifestation representing the suppression of the principles of heaven and earth.

"It's beginning..."

Not far away, the onlooking White Deer Daoist whispered, his brows furrowed. He probably knew how terrifying the current Jingqiu was, and he had no doubt that Jingqiu could easily break free from the shackles.

But at this moment, Jingqiu was treading a brand new path!

Under his influence, the people around him also began to feel tense.

It was said that the heavenly shackles involved the true self, and once the attempt to break free failed, the damage to the physical body was secondary. The most crucial part was the harm done to the true self! Among the crowd, only Yang Yao remained calm.

To be honest, he wasn't sure what level his junior brother had reached...

But it was nothing serious.

How could the mere Shackles Realm possibly stop his junior brother?

"Senior White Deer, will those medicinal pills be enough?" Zhang Xingyi asked worriedly.

Hong Hu, who had previously protected Jingqiu and escorted him back to the East 3 Huang Star, shook his head, indicating that there was no need to worry. He replied on behalf of everyone:

"Some genius warriors can break free from the first shackle solely by relying on their own origin. Jingqiu's physique is extraordinary, and he is truly exceptional. Those medicinal pills are just a precaution against accidents."

Everyone finally relaxed.

Hong Hu's eyes gleamed as he stared at Jingqiu and said in a low voice, "I wonder how long it will take for Junior Jingqiu to break free from the first shackle."

The White Deer Daoist shook his head and said, "Time doesn't represent anything. It's better to be stable. Since the shackles involve the true self, it's better to take it slow and not rush."

Just then...

The sound of the chains breaking suddenly echoed.

Even the White Deer Daoist was momentarily stunned.

How long had it been...?

Hong Hu exclaimed in surprise, "Jingqiu's foundation in the Divine Roaming Realm is truly profound!"

The White Deer Daoist slightly nodded, and this breakthrough was smoother than he had imagined.

And just at that moment...

A new shackle appeared around Jingqiu's body, capturing everyone's attention.

"This is..." Hong Hu's pupils contracted.

The White Deer Daoist also fell silent.

...

Under the illumination of the Heart Moon.

Jingqiu "saw" the divine embryo within his body, and the shackle wrapped around his right arm broke apart amidst the flames of life's origin! At this moment, the divine embryo burst forth with dazzling radiance, causing his entire body to resonate, especially his right arm, where countless patterns intertwined within his flesh and blood.

Jingqiu felt as if he had parted the mist and was seeing the world anew.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end