Xue Yi stuck out her tongue, revealing a cute side, then her expression turned icy, like a peerless queen. Boundless sacred flames erupted from her Sacred Path, falling onto the Sacred Spirit, causing crackling explosions, as if oil was being poured onto a raging fire. The Sacred Spirit melted at a visible rate, absorbed by Xue Yi's Sacred Path.
Soon.
After refining this Sacred Spirit, Xue Yi's Sacred Path immediately became sturdier. Moreover, she clearly felt a new connection between herself and the Sacred River beneath her feet, as if she could borrow a portion of its power if she wished.
However, the power she could currently mobilize and borrow was minuscule compared to the entire Sacred River, a mere drop in the ocean.
"Let's keep moving. The experts from the three great sacred lands have already become saints hundreds or even thousands of years ago. They likely entered the Sacred River before us and must be ahead," Ling Fan said.
The two continued forward, encountering an endless stream of Sacred Spirits along the way that blocked their progress. Xue Yi subdued and refined them one by one.
The Sacred Spirits in this initial section were only below the third tier of Saint realm power, posing no threat to Xue Yi.
But the further they went, the stronger the Sacred Spirits appearing in the Sacred River became, even reaching powerful beings comparable to the fourth tier of Saint realm. Xue Yi's handling of them immediately became very difficult.
One fourth-tier Saint realm Sacred Spirit was manageable, and Xue Yi could barely defeat and refine two. However, after a certain point, not only did the strength of the Sacred Spirits increase significantly, but their numbers also surged. Often, three or even four fourth-tier Sacred Spirits would appear together, instantly increasing Xue Yi's pressure.
"Boom! Boom boom!"
Powerful forces erupted.
A total of five fourth-tier Sacred Spirits. One was engulfed in terrifying sacred flames, unleashing vast seas of fire and myriad fire dragons with every movement.
Another Sacred Spirit seemed to be composed entirely of incredibly powerful sword qi, each strand capable of cleaving Sacred Paths and splitting the void.
The third Sacred Spirit was as dark as a curtain, as if wielding the boundless dark Sacred Path, its terrifying dark power threatening to bury everything.
The fourth was like a collection of countless rotten flesh and pus, exuding an unparalleled sense of chaos, as if it were the most evil, violent, disordered, and dark thing in existence. Xue Yi merely glanced at it, and the sacred power within her body became somewhat uncontrollable, teetering on the verge of rebellion.
And the last Sacred Spirit was wreathed in terrifying demonic light, its gaping maw opening to devour the two of them.
Facing five powerful Sacred Spirits, even with Xue Yi's strength far exceeding that of her peers in the Saint realm, she was beginning to falter. The Hundred Flowers Crown appeared above her head, and the Spiritual Phoenix Sacred Fire transformed into a fiery red battle armor. With every movement, she stirred up massive waves in the Sacred River, but she was still being pushed back by the five Sacred Spirits.
Ling Fan also had to intervene.
He unleashed a punch, gathering the power of myriad laws, directly shattering the Sacred Spirit burning with terrifying sacred flames. Flames scattered everywhere, but moments later, the Flame Sacred Spirit reformed, revealing a ferocious appearance, and charged again.
"Hmph!"
Ling Fan let out a cold snort. The Samsara Divine Cauldron flew out from within his body, and the Yellow Springs Road spread directly to the feet of the Flame Sacred Spirit. At this, the Flame Sacred Spirit immediately froze, sensing a terrifying suppressive force. Yellow Springs Sacred Water gurgled out, and its body began to slowly sink.
The Sacred Spirit roared repeatedly, its form expanding, and the terrifying flames incinerated the heavens and earth, forcefully halting its descent and leaving it stuck in the middle.
Ling Fan frowned slightly.
The Samsara Divine Cauldron had only recovered its first great formation. As expected, it was still unable to directly suppress beings above the fourth tier of Saint realm, only capable of limiting and weakening them.
However, this was enough.
Myriad Law patterns appeared on Ling Fan's palm, and he unleashed a punch. Endless myriad law talismans transformed into a fist resembling a meteorite, smashing the Flame Sacred Spirit into pieces once more. This time, Ling Fan did not give it a chance to reform. A vortex appeared within the Samsara Divine Cauldron, directly absorbing all the flames into its embrace, and then began to refine them fiercely.
Boom boom boom!
Powerful flame sacred power transmitted from the Samsara Divine Cauldron into Ling Fan's body. The Golden Core within Ling Fan's body immediately surged in aura, and a fiery golden dragon pattern was rapidly etched onto the Golden Core.
"Good! This Sacred River is the origin of all martial arts in the Martial Continent, truly the best treasure land for cultivating my Myriad Laws Golden Core!"
Ling Fan laughed heartily, and with another punch, he actually conjured a fiery golden dragon that coiled around the demonic Sacred Spirit.
Ling Fan's destruction of the Flame Sacred Spirit and his entanglement of the demonic Sacred Spirit immediately reduced Xue Yi's pressure, allowing her to gain the upper hand and suppress the other three Sacred Spirits.
Although the Sacred Spirits were formidable, under the weakening and restriction of the Yellow Springs Road, they were defeated one by one by Ling Fan and Xue Yi.
The power of the three Sacred Spirits was absorbed by Xue Yi's Sacred Path.
The two Sacred Spirits were absorbed by Ling Fan's Golden Core.
Boom!
Ling Fan's Golden Core finally broke through to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
As for Xue Yi, she had absorbed dozens of Sacred Spirits along the way, with varying strengths. Combined, this was a considerable amount of power, allowing her to take a half-step into the fourth tier of the Sacred Path, and also to mobilize more power from the Sacred River.
"No wonder the saints from the three great sacred lands couldn't spare the time to attack our Undying Sacred City. This Sacred River is simply an inexhaustible treasure trove! Cultivating by killing Sacred Spirits in this Sacred River is hundreds or even thousands of times more efficient than usual."
After killing their way forward for some distance and subduing several powerful Sacred Spirits.
A soft popping sound echoed within Xue Yi's body, and an invisible threshold was broken. She immediately stepped into the fourth tier of the Sacred Path.
Ling Fan's cultivation, however, began to stagnate.
The cultivation conditions for his Myriad Laws Golden Core were too harsh. Even this method of improving by killing Sacred Spirits was still too slow for him.
He looked down.
He wondered if there were any Sacred Path Origin Stones beneath the surging Sacred River currents.
Boom!
Suddenly, a fierce breaking wind sound struck. A massive silver spear pierced through layers of space, enveloped in various sacred powers, extremely dangerous, and thrust towards Ling Fan and Xue Yi.
Xue Yi's expression changed slightly, and her Sacred Path shifted instantly beneath her feet, evading the attack.
The spear missed its target and plunged into the Sacred River, creating a sky-piercing water column.
Ahead, a powerful figure appeared, appearing as both god and demon. This figure was exceptionally tall, four or five heads taller than ordinary people, with golden eyes burning with terrifying sacred flames. His shoulders were broad, as if capable of supporting the sky. In his hand, he held a long spear flowing with sacred power, his aura domineering and sharp.
That spear just now.
It was he who had thrown it.
"You are the Undying Empress, aren't you? You've actually entered the fourth tier of the Sacred Path. Your speed is not slow at all! If we had known, we should have dispatched saints from the beginning to capture and kill you, seizing the Hundred Flowers Ancient Saint inheritance from you. That way, even if the Sacred River revived, it would all be under our control, and anomalies like you would not appear."