On the Heavenly Origin Continent today, Dao Emperor Realm Practitioners are already considered at the peak level.
Because the realm stronger than the Dao Emperor Realm, the Saint Path, has vanished without a trace. Practitioners of the Dao Emperor Realm are the top existence on the continent.
And across the entire continent, there are not many Dao Emperor Realm practitioners.
To step into the Dao Emperor Realm, the difficulty is unimaginable for most.
You see, Dao King Realm practitioners possess a lifespan of one thousand five hundred years. Yet even with more than a thousand years, only a minority of Dao Kings ultimately advance to become Dao Emperors.
Just stepping into the Dao King Realm is proof enough of exceptional martial arts talent. But even among these talented geniuses, only a few can ascend to become powerful Dao Emperor Realm practitioners.
This sufficiently demonstrates the astonishing difficulty one must face to become a Dao Emperor Realm practitioner.
Therefore, even for Jing Yan, stepping into the Dao Emperor Realm is not so easy. Fortunately, he has Divine Crystals nurtured by the laws to use.
The energy contained within Divine Crystals is the convergence of Heaven and Earth Laws, powerful enough to assist Dao Emperor Realm practitioners in breaking through to the Saint Path. From this, one can see how potent Divine Crystals are.
Jing Yan is currently only breaking through from the Dao King Realm to the Dao Emperor Realm; cultivating with Divine Crystals, the effects go without saying. Ordinary Dao King Realm practitioners, even if they obtain Divine Crystals, can only look on helplessly as they are incapable of absorbing the energy. However, Jing Yan has the Sky Vaulting First Divine Skill, allowing him to absorb the energy of Divine Crystals.
Nevertheless, the transition from the Dao King Realm to the Dao Emperor Realm is ultimately an enormous leap. Thus, the time consumed seems rather lengthy.
Since Jing Yan began attempting to break the realm shackles, nearly half a year had elapsed.
During this almost half-year, Jing Yan sat cross-legged in the same spot without ever standing up. He had not even opened his eyes.
A thick layer of Spirit Stone dust had accumulated around his body.
This dust was from the Top-grade Spirit Stones that Jing Yan had absorbed, resembling a layer of silvery-white sand.
At that moment, a vast surge of energy fluctuation swept out from within Jing Yan.
The surrounding Spirit Stone dust, which was lying on the ground, suddenly soared into the air.
But then came a bizarre scene.
The silvery dust, instead of scattering with the force of the energy, inexplicably gathered towards the center. It was as if forced into compression by some power.
A breath’s time passed.
That vast expanse of dust condensed into a silver sphere the size of a millstone.
The sphere vibrated softly within the space, then shot out like lightning. Where the sphere passed, it left a deep, dark crack behind.
In the blink of an eye, the silver sphere had vanished from sight. And that dark crack continued to extend into the distance.
Jing Yan, seated cross-legged on the ground, slowly opened his eyes, a hint of a smile appearing on his lips. A captivatingly bright divine light swirled in his eyes.
He had successfully ascended from the peak of the Dao King Realm to become a powerful practitioner of the Dao Emperor Realm.
Looking across the entire Heavenly Origin Continent, Jing Yan now stood at the pinnacle. If the martial artists of the Heavenly Origin Continent were to be viewed as a pyramid according to their level, then Jing Yan was now at the very tip of that pyramid.
Jing Yan raised his arm and gently clenched his fist, feeling the unrivaled power within it.
"Is this the power wielded by a Dao Emperor Realm practitioner?" Jing Yan couldn’t help expressing his amazement.
The power he held as a Dao Emperor Realm practitioner was beyond Jing Yan’s expectation. Back when he was at the peak of the Dao King Realm, Jing Yan was already strong, capable of defeating three Silver-armored Guards. It should be noted that if these three Silver-armored Guards joined forces, they could kill most early-stage practitioners of the Dao Emperor Realm. Yet, Jing Yan, even at the peak of the Dao King Realm, had defeated them.
This indicated how formidable Jing Yan’s combat power had been at the peak of the Dao King Realm.
But now that he had stepped into the Dao Emperor Realm, compared to before, his past self at the peak of the Dao King Realm seemed like mere trash.
Apart from the surge in his absolute power, Jing Yan felt that his Sword Intent had also made significant progress compared to before.
Although it was still far from being on par with the true use of Laws, compared to when he was in the Dao King Realm, its power had indeed increased tremendously. This made Jing Yan even more delighted, as he vaguely sensed the ability to perceive the Heaven and Earth Laws—an encouraging development.
After all, he had not yet ascended to the Saint Realm.
And the utilization of Laws was a method only the practitioners of the Saint Realm could employ.
"Not bad, kid!" Tianshui floated over to Jing Yan, looked him over, and praised him with admiration.
"Sire," Jing Yan bowed to Tianshui.
"Jing Yan, I’m almost envious of your luck. You were actually able to obtain Divine Crystals. Without these Divine Crystals aiding you, who knows how long you would have to wait to break through from the Dao King Realm to the Dao Emperor Realm," Tianshui said, shaking his head.
Hearing this, Jing Yan gave a wry smile and replied, "Sire, I indeed got lucky with the Divine Crystals. But how did we fall into the Death Abyss? We were forced in here while being chased!"
"Kid, aren’t you doing well now? Moreover, your fall into the Death Abyss might actually be a blessing in disguise. I’ve entered the Death Temple before, but I didn’t encounter those Golden Armor Guards or anything like that."
"I suppose that various guards only appear when the Death Temple is about to close. When the Death Temple is open, the guards don’t show up."
"This fall into the Death Abyss might turn out to be a stroke of good fortune for you. Once you defeat those Golden Armor Guards, you might receive even more benefits. The Golden Armor Guard also mentioned that you have obtained a part of their master’s inheritance. Presumably, their master is the one who left behind the Qiankun Ring."
"That’s an unimaginable existence!" Tianshui said excitedly.
Indeed, even without Tianshui saying so, Jing Yan could more or less draw the same conclusion. Those Golden Armor Guards, though they attacked him, did not harbor much malice, it could even be said that they had no ill-intent at all. Their preventing him from entering the Divine Hall seemed more like a test.
By passing their test, perhaps he could gain even more benefits.
"Sire, I shall go and face Old Six and Old Seven now. With my current level of cultivation, defeating them should not be a problem!" Jing Yan said with a smile to Tianshui.
Old Six and Old Seven were both very strong in combat. If compared to the Martial Arts Realm of humans, these two Golden Armor Guards would be on par with the average practitioners at the peak of the Dao Emperor Realm. Even if not quite as strong, they certainly wouldn’t be far off.
However, Jing Yan was now more than confident in his ability to defeat Old Six and Old Seven.
Having just broken through to the next realm, it was the perfect time to use Old Six and Old Seven as practice.