C415 Seventh Level!!

Time slipped away like a gentle river.

Before I knew it, half a month had flown by since the Embers Sea trial began.

The ocean floor revealed no remarkable treasures, nor did any noteworthy conflicts arise—it was the epitome of tranquility.

Liu Ying, guiding the Starmoon Sect's trial-takers with the aid of the Fallen Star Eyes, failed to uncover anything that would satisfy either her or the Sect.

The unique stones and crystals they gathered were nothing out of the ordinary, mere duplicates of what the Starmoon Sect's treasury already possessed.

Despite the wondrous abilities of the Fallen Star Eyes, Liu Ying could not detect any extraordinary items within the Embers Sea, leading her to believe that the other trial-takers were unlikely to fare any better.

"Half a month has passed. Where could Yu Yuan be..."

She shimmered with radiant cosmic energy, resembling a sprite in the ocean depths, her form effortlessly graceful as she drifted with the currents.

Nestled among the seabed's seaweed, the Fallen Star Eyes twinkled at her chest.

The Starmoon Sect's trial-takers dispersed in their ongoing search.

Liu Ying's enthusiasm for the Embers Sea trial had waned, and she found herself growing bored.

In these moments, her thoughts invariably turned to Yu Yuan.

Upon their departure, Yu Yuan had promised to rejoin them soon.

Yet, as half a month vanished without a word from him, she couldn't help but wonder if Tang Cen had encountered Yu Yuan and done him harm beneath the waves.

Adhering to the regulations of the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep, she refrained from exploiting the full potential of the Fallen Star Eyes to scan for Yu Yuan's movements.

Without his proactive approach, Yu Yuan's whereabouts remained a mystery to her.

"That guy is always so enigmatic. Could he have stumbled upon something in the ancient lands?" Liu Ying mused. "Though our acquaintance is brief, his actions at the Forgotten Ruins were consistently astonishing and meaningful. He didn't join us at the new extraterrestrial starshard site led by the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep. He must have chosen the old region for a reason..."

The more she dwelled on it, the more earnest she became. Liu Ying had meticulously scouted the surrounding area with her Fallen Star Eyes, yet found nothing of particular interest to warrant a significant effort. The trial in the Embers Sea had lost its appeal to her.

Specks of starlight scattered from the cosmic energy barrier she was within. She projected her voice to the trial-takers from the various sects. "Feel free to explore this region and search for yourselves. The cultivators from the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep are monitoring this area constantly. Stay within these bounds, and you'll be safe. It's been half a month without word from Yu Yuan, who descended with us. I'm going to check on him and see what's going on."

After issuing her instructions, Liu Ying tapped into the might of her Fallen Star Eyes. Her body, submerged in the ocean depths, was bathed in a cascade of radiant starlight, making her appear to be draped in a veil of celestial fabric. She surged towards the location where she had parted ways with Yu Yuan, moving much faster than before.

A dark blue Starshard, emitting a soft glow, lay still on the ocean floor. Yan Lu, Wu Pei, Hu Tianyang, Shi Si, and three other trial-takers from the Devil Palace gazed at the massive extraterrestrial rock before them, resembling a small mountain.

"There's no sign of abnormal energy movements inside," remarked one of the trial-takers. This individual from the Empire of Dawn, in the early stages of Subtlety, was crowned with an orange orb. The orb's radiance shielded him from the seawater, allowing him to move and breathe as if on land, without the need to process the ocean's oxygen through the eight extra-channels.

His name was Fei Yi, a scion of a prominent family from the Empire of Dawn, handpicked for training in the Devil Palace. Unlike Wu Pei and Yan Lu, he had embarked on his trial from the Devil Palace in the Land of Quiescence, not from Aetherius. Slightly older and more advanced in his cultivation, he was considered a senior brother to Yan Lu, Wu Pei, and the others.

Moreover, he was already acquainted with Wu Pei.

"There's nothing worth looking at here."

Fei Yi averted his gaze from the dark blue boulder and spoke with a mild tone, "Junior brothers and sisters, you must understand that every Starshard from the extraterrestrial is thoroughly scrutinized. The valuable ones, those harboring rare treasures, are claimed by the cultivators stationed beyond our world."

"The Starshards that descend into the Embers Sea, if they hold any value, are detected by the likes of Lord Hei Xun and Lord Dusk Raven through their theurgy. If they find them appealing, they'll undergo a second round of separation, becoming part of the collections of the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep. The third round involves our three upper sects, along with the Devil Palace and Shadow's Keep, in the search."

"After all these stages, it's highly improbable that any miraculous items would remain undiscovered. In the history of the Embers Sea trials, perhaps only once or twice in ten trials has anyone found something truly unique."

"The so-called trial is merely about recognizing various extraterrestrial rare stones, crystals, and plant life on the seabed. These are commonplace in the true realms beyond ours and hold no significant value or rarity in the Embers Sea."

With that, Fei Yi led the way, moving on to another location.

Yet, just as they had swum about ten meters away, the large dark blue rock they had left behind emitted a slightly brighter glow. But they failed to notice it.

"Boom!"

The orange orb atop Fei Yi's head burst unexpectedly.

Fragments of orange crystal scattered, narrowly missing Shi Si and Hu Tianyang, who were nearby.

The members of the Devil Palace turned their attention sharply towards him.

Fei Yi, visibly taken aback and clearly surprised, quickly employed his dark arts, enveloping himself in spiritual energy once more. He then spoke in a hushed voice, "This Spirit Sensing Pearl isn't of a high grade. Its purpose is to detect strong energy fluctuations, like the intense vitality of living beings or powerful souls."

"But..." Fei Yi hesitated, then continued, "It's highly unusual for it to shatter! Whatever caused this Spirit Sensing Pearl to burst must be an incredibly fearsome entity! It's impossible; there's just no way! All Starshards from the extraterrestrial have been meticulously probed piece by piece by the cultivators using their remnant souls. There's no chance that any living being could have entered the Everlands!"

In the Otherworld, Yu Yuan was wholly immersed in his cultivation, oblivious to the happenings beyond his secluded practice. Above him, nine miniature suns hung in the void, ceaselessly drawing in sunfire. This energy was meticulously refined and channeled into the little world within the Golden Sanctum, with the goal of expanding his elixir field.

The potent flame energy harbored within the sunfire seamlessly integrated with the spiritual energy of the Otherworld. As it flowed into the lower elixir field, the transformation it wrought upon the little world of the Golden Sanctum was nothing short of astounding.

The Golden Sanctum's little world underwent relentless expansion, its boundaries pushed further and further. A simple pond morphed into a vast lake, signifying the exponential growth of this inner realm.

Without realizing it, Yu Yuan had completed the sixth level of refinement, aided by the sunfire, the abundant spiritual energy of the Otherworld, and his own exceptional talent for cultivation. Without pause, he embarked on the seventh level of refinement, a feat that promised the future potential to solidify his dominant soul into a primordial spirit and step into the ultimate threshold of power.

To achieve the Seventh Refined Golden Sanctum was a mark of rare genius, not just on the Aetherius Continent but also on the Land of Quiescence. Such individuals were coveted by the Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, and the upper sects, who would vie fiercely for the chance to claim them. Once identified, these prodigies were swiftly inducted into the sects and cultivated as core disciples.

Yu Yuan, now undertaking the seventh refinement of the Golden Sanctum, was already a living marvel. Prior to his journey into the Embers Sea and arrival in the Otherworld, he was at the fifth level, his talents on par with Yan Lu, Su Yan, and Lin Zhuyun—merely one of Aetherius's notable figures.

To Hei Xun, known as the Dusk Raven, Yu Yuan had been just another face in the crowd. After all, the Land of Quiescence was teeming with cultivators capable of the fifth level of the Golden Sanctum, hardly warranting special attention.

But the seventh level was an entirely different realm of achievement. Yu Yuan, fully aware of the rarity of his cultivation gifts, rejoiced in his fortune and redoubled his efforts with renewed zeal.

He was eager to discover whether his limit truly ended at the seventh level.

Could there be a possibility of advancing further even after achieving the seventh level?

Suddenly, a minor tremor jolted him awake from his intense meditation.

Having meditated for an extended period, he glanced around, bewildered, "What's going on? This Otherworld is a self-contained little world; why would there be any shaking?"

It seemed as though the gaze of a Shura from the Dark Realm and this place were both separate, independent little worlds.

Such a little world was unlikely to experience earthquakes or instability.

Yu Yuan surveyed his surroundings and then noticed that the towering stone columns were indeed swaying once more.

He definitely felt a distinct trembling beneath him.

At that moment, with the sun and moon suspended high, an extraordinary spectacle unfolded in the leaden sky above.

Gigantic fish bones, unimaginable in size and resembling the ribs of an umbrella, began to emerge faintly at the farthest reaches of the dome behind the gray curtain of the sky.

"This Otherworld isn't a small world carved out by a cultivator, but... the belly of a fish!"

Yu Yuan was startled, his realization dawning on him instantaneously.

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