Chapter 278: Primordial Spirit as the Key

Jiuyou stood quietly beneath the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree, his mind sinking into a web of calculations as he repeatedly reviewed every detail of his recent confrontation with Wang Xunzhen. The surrounding spiritual energy flowed slowly, but within this secret realm, even that current felt sluggish, masking imperceptible dangers at every turn.

A voice suddenly spoke from the empty air beside him, breaking his train of thought.

"Boy, what is your next move?"

Jiuyou's brow shifted. He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze pushing past the towering Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree and out toward the edge of the secret realm. That single glance seemed to pierce through thousands of miles, seeing past the boundaries of this small world to catch the hazy outline of the void beyond. He considered the question for a moment in silence, then turned to the faint, flickering shadow suspended in midair.

"Ancestral Master, now that you control half the authority over the Tian Yuan Secret Realm, can you sense where Wang went?"

Xuan Zhenzi's spectral form drifted out from the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree and hovered in place, seeming to draw on the tree's power to sweep his senses across the entire secret realm. After a moment of silence, a soft sigh echoed through the air.

"That old bastard is extremely cautious. He has layered concealments over his aura, and despite probing several times, I couldn't catch a single trace of him. I suspect he found an isolated pocket of space to focus on refining the origin essence he seized. After our previous exchange, he knows what we are capable of and won't risk another direct clash. Next, he will definitely hunt down the remaining cultivators and pick them off one by one. Once he slaughters them all and devours their Primordial Spirits, his final targets will be you and me."

Jiuyou gave a slight nod, sharing Xuan Zhenzi's assessment. Wang Xunzhen planned every step with treacherous care; he would not rush.

"There is something else we must guard against." Xuan Zhenzi's voice grew heavier. "Wang Xunzhen planted a hidden trap in the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree long ago—an incredibly obscure and thorny restriction buried right in the canopy I now oversee. It is most likely a spell handed down from the Upper Realm. With that restriction holding me back, I cannot truly be said to hold authority over the tree. He can seize control back from me at any moment. Had I not relied on my Spirit Treasure to sense the world's natural energies and caught a faint anomaly, this ambush would have gone completely unnoticed. From start to finish, he never intended to genuinely surrender even a fraction of his authority. Dealing with this man means walking a knife's edge with every step."

A chill gathered in Jiuyou's eyes. His expression remained unchanged, but his gaze turned into a freezing pool—placid on the surface, roiling with hidden undercurrents beneath.

"Ancestral Master, can you handle this restriction?"

A low chuckle echoed through the air as the spectral shadow wavered. "Hahaha, rest assured. The restriction is strong, but with a Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure backing me, breaking it won't be difficult. The problem is that the moment it shatters, Wang Xunzhen will sense the energy fluctuations. It would only beat the grass and startle the snake. In my opinion, it's best to hold our ground and leave it alone for now."

Jiuyou nodded, smoothly changing the subject. "Five other Deity Transformation Cultivators entered the secret realm alongside me, but Wang Xunzhen interfered, stirring up spatial turbulence that forcefully scattered everyone. Their fates are still unknown. Can you use your authority over the Tian Yuan Secret Realm to track them down?"

Xuan Zhenzi's spectral form dimmed slightly, a heavy edge creeping into his voice. "When I first seized control of the sacred tree, I swept my senses across the entire realm. Aside from us, there are only three Deity Transformation auras left. Two have completely dissipated; they must have already fallen prey to Wang Xunzhen. They were unlucky enough to be isolated early on and silently eliminated. Two easy victories in a row made him underestimate the Deity Transformation Cultivators of the Lower Realm. He assumed our methods were nothing special, which is exactly why he was arrogant enough to confront you so openly."

Jiuyou's expression remained perfectly calm. He didn't bother asking who the two dead cultivators were, only muttered to himself as he weighed the situation. "Three left. Excluding Yuan Huang, only two remain. I don't know the depths of their strength. Ancestral Master, if I find those two and we join forces, do we actually stand a chance against Wang Xunzhen?"

Jiuyou knew full well that even with Xuan Zhenzi's help, he still lacked the confidence to face Wang Xunzhen in a head-on fight. Their enemy was continually holding back, having yet to reveal his true strength. Once he fully refined that wisp of shared origin essence and unleashed his Upper Realm secret arts, Jiuyou and Xuan Zhenzi would be hard-pressed to stop him. Their only chance at a direct confrontation was to track down the remaining two Deity Transformation Cultivators and pool their strength.

As long as Wang Xunzhen lived, all of their lives were bound together—one suffers, all suffer. That was true for Xuan Zhenzi, it was true for the other two cultivators, and it was true for Jiuyou himself.

"Hard to say. Boy, if you want to meet up with them, I can tear open a spatial rift right now. They probably wouldn't dare step into an unknown rift themselves, but sending you to them is simple enough," Xuan Zhenzi said.

As he finished speaking, fine ripples spread through the empty air around Jiuyou. The spatial barrier trembled, the power of space gathering, ready to tear open at any second.

Jiuyou raised a hand, suppressing the gathering energy. His gaze returned to the towering Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree, his expression grave.

"There is no rush. Wang Xunzhen carefully laid a trap for the six of us Deity Transformation Cultivators. His only goal is to smash through the barrier of heaven and earth and return to the Upper Realm. What do you think he went through all this trouble to take from us?"

"Primordial Spirits," Xuan Zhenzi answered crisply, without a second of hesitation.

The Deity Transformation Realm was defined by the fusion of a cultivator's Nascent Soul and their mortal soul, forging a Primordial Spirit unique to this stage. It was a fundamental evolution from the four realms that came before it.

"In other words, the Primordial Spirit of a Deity Transformation Cultivator is the key to unlocking the barrier to the Upper Realm." Xuan Zhenzi's spectral form trembled slightly, his tone heavy with thought.

"It is a distinct possibility," Jiuyou said, his gaze turning fierce. The matter of ascension concerned his own Dao; he would not permit the slightest carelessness.

Xuan Zhenzi drew a sharp breath, his tone growing grim. "If the barrier of heaven and earth is so incredibly difficult to break that it requires the Primordial Spirits of six Deity Transformation Cultivators just to form the foundation... Even assuming six is the bare minimum, he won't stop there. To guarantee his success, once the time is right, this man will absolutely unleash a boundless slaughter upon the outside world, sacrificing countless lives to force the passage open."

Jiuyou nodded slowly. All the lingering doubts in his mind suddenly connected, the picture becoming perfectly clear. Breeding countless Blood Demons outside the secret realm had all been part of this plot. Once he breached the barrier, he would unleash a great massacre upon the Mortal Realm, harvesting an ocean of blood vitality. Jiuyou didn't find this ruthlessness surprising. Slaughter was the norm on the path of cultivation; he had waded through the blood of the masses for the sake of his own breakthroughs more than a few times.

One lingering doubt still weighed on him: that faint, bizarre fragrance drifting through the secret realm. It hovered right on the edge of his perception, its source completely untraceable. But the situation was dire and time was running out. They absolutely could not afford to sit idly by while Wang Xunzhen refined the origin essence and steadily grew stronger.

His decision made, Jiuyou stopped hesitating and spoke in a heavy voice. "Ancestral Master, tear open the spatial rift."

"To where?"

"To the closest aura."

"Alright."

Between their brief words, the empty air in front of Jiuyou abruptly tore open. A pitch-black, fathomless spatial rift slowly took shape. Spatial turbulence churned wildly within the gap, fine motes of spiritual light flickering in the darkness as it connected to a distant corner of the secret realm.

Jiuyou did not waver. He calmly took a step forward, walking directly into the rift until he completely vanished from sight.