Xu Nian swallowed the Golden Crow Fruit in one gulp, and immediately he felt a fierce, blazing fire ignite in his abdomen, the pain nearly causing him to faint completely.
But fortunately, the Yetian God Emperor intervened, otherwise Xu Nian's entire body would have been incinerated.
A surge of powerful Dark Power gushed out from Xu Nian's Dantian, instantly shielding his internal organs, thus preventing his body from being burnt.
Yet despite this, the raging flames were still terrifyingly intense.
"Quick, strive to absorb the power of the Golden Crow Fruit, release the excess flames, and focus on absorbing the Golden Crow Power within the fruit," the voice of Emperor Ye Tian echoed in Xu Nian's mind.
"Release it, how do I release it?" Xu Nian asked, puzzled.
"Idiot, of course you exhale it!" Emperor Ye Tian couldn't help but berate him.
Xu Nian's mouth twitched slightly. Exhale it, what would that make him, a fire-breathing dragon?
Still, Xu Nian did as he was told, because at that moment his belly had swollen as if he were ten months pregnant, and it would completely explode if he did not release it.
Xu Nian spat out a jet of flame from his mouth, which struck a Silver Moon Level Exotic Beast, instantly incinerating the beast into ashes.
"How interesting!" Xu Nian abruptly turned his gaze towards other Exotic Beasts.
The beasts seemed to sense the danger too and quickly turned tail to flee.
Upon seeing this, Xu Nian let out a sly chuckle, chasing after these beasts while spitting fire from his mouth.
Soon, four or five Silver Moon Level Exotic Beasts were reduced to ashes, and Xu Nian's score soared straight up, surpassing Dugu Jingcheng to take first place, while Lin Han was squeezed out to fourth.
The audience outside the arena watched, dumbfounded.
Damn, so the Golden Crow Fruit can be used ?
But the crowd couldn't understand why the flames could burn even Silver Moon Level Exotic Beasts to death, yet why was Xu Nian fine after consuming the fruit?
After a relentless pursuit covering several miles, Xu Nian had finally killed all those beasts, and the fire inside his body had been almost completely released. The remaining Golden Crow Power began to follow his meridians towards the Mud Ball Palace at his brow.
"Quick, sit cross-legged, focus your mind meticulously, and use this Golden Crow Power to open the Mud Ball Palace and awaken your Spiritual Sense," the voice of Emperor Ye Tian rang out once more.
Xu Nian promptly sat down cross-legged, beginning to control the Golden Crow Power to strike at the Mud Ball Palace.
To awaken the Spiritual Sense, one had to open the Mud Ball Palace, and for a Cultivator, this structure was typically sealed, only accessible when reaching the Saint Realm and with the power of a Saint to open it.
Of course, the present Golden Crow Power could achieve this step as well, which was why the Golden Crow Fruit could awaken the Spiritual Sense.
Xu Nian directed the Golden Crow Power toward the Heavenly Palace the size of a thumb that was floating in his brow.
By opening the doors of this Heavenly Palace, he could release the Spiritual Sense.
The impact of the Golden Crow Power against the Mud Ball Palace created a muffled sound as profound as a tolling bell.
Xu Nian's body suddenly trembled violently, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Forcibly opening the Mud Ball Palace came at a price, and many a Saint had injured their own Spiritual Sense while doing so, meeting with a fate where both body and Tao perished.
Of course, if one successfully opened their Spiritual Sense, the rewards were immensely great.
Xu Nian once again directed the Golden Crow Power towards the Mud Ball Palace at the center of his brows, emitting a muffled sound.
The Mud Ball Palace stood unyielding, indestructible.
"Why is it ? Others seem to open their Mud Ball Palace so easily. Why have I tried twice with no success?" Xu Nian couldn't help but ask.
"Kid, your Mud Ball Palace is a bit special. Your Spiritual Sense is naturally several times stronger than that of an ordinary person, so the fortitude of your Mud Ball Palace is also greater than others'. I had you swallow the Golden Crow Fruit in one go for this reason. If you had waited to pick it before consuming it, the Golden Crow Power inside wouldn't have been able to help you open the gates of this Mud Ball Palace. However, now your Mud Ball Palace has loosened a bit. Try one last time, and you should be able to open it," explained Emperor Ye Tian.
Xu Nian nodded, finally understanding the situation.
He calmed himself and focused all his effort on controlling the last of the Golden Crow Power, slamming it towards the Mud Ball Palace.
The outside audience also revealed their anxious expressions, aware of what Xu Nian was attempting. However, they hadn't expected Xu Nian's Mud Ball Palace to be so difficult to breach.
Another terrifying impact, and Xu Nian spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale as death.
Everyone held their breath, tense as they watched Xu Nian.
However, just then, a sound like that of a grand bell or a thunderous drum emanated from the center of Xu Nian's brows, as if the music of immortals from ancient times were resounding, far-reaching and profound.
Within this celestial music, terrifying roars of dragons could be heard, deep and frightening, as if an ancient and terrifying dragon was hidden within Xu Nian's body.
Although Xu Nian's countenance was somewhat pale, his expression was one of overwhelming elation.
At this moment, he had successfully opened the gate of the Mud Ball Palace, releasing his Spiritual Sense.
A wave of invisible power spread out, with him at the center, covering a radius of twenty meters.
Within this twenty-meter radius, every detail was vividly clear in his mind. Even if he closed his eyes, he could still discern precisely how many legs a bug on the ground had, and how many hairs were on those legs.
This felt as if he'd opened a new world altogether, enhancing his perception of everything around him to an extraordinary degree.
"Is this Spiritual Sense? It can cover a radius of twenty meters. Now, if someone tries to ambush me, they'll likely be discovered before they get close, and during confrontations, I can foresee their actions and respond in time. I can even sense the flow of Spiritual Energy and Gang Qi within their bodies, spotting weaknesses to defeat them with one move," Xu Nian said with a delighted smile.
"Tsk, look at that small accomplishment making you so happy. You should know that in my heyday, my Divine Sense covered the entire Divine Domain," Emperor Ye Tian said scornfully.
"The entire Divine Domain?" Xu Nian's face showed a look of surprise.
He didn't know how vast the Divine Domain was, but it was definitely larger than the Tianhen Empire where he resided. Even to traverse the empire on foot, he would need over a decade, and he simply couldn't fathom what Emperor Ye Tian might have been like at his peak.
"God Emperor, do you have any secret techniques for cultivating Spiritual Sense that you could teach me?" Xu Nian asked with a grin.
"Hmph, what's the rush, kid? We'll talk about it when you get out. Aren't you supposed to learn Artifact Refining? I'll teach you together when the time comes," Emperor Ye Tian replied with a snort.
Xu Nian hastily nodded, his face showing ecstatic joy.
However, he didn't rush to shatter the Golden Crow Token and leave. Instead, he picked up the Crystal Cores from the Exotic Beasts he had just killed, planning to feed them to Little Xu Yu when he got out.
None in the audience knew of Xu Nian's thoughts. Had they known, they surely would have cursed in exasperation.
Damn, feeding Demon Beast with Crystal Cores of the Silver Moon Level – they had seen extravagance, but never to such a degree.