Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 140 - 140 139 The Dash to the Upper Realm【Extra for Alliance Hierarch reader 15220446102164930】

140: Chapter 139 The Dash to the Upper Realm【Extra for Alliance Hierarch reader 15220446102164930】 140: Chapter 139 The Dash to the Upper Realm【Extra for Alliance Hierarch reader 15220446102164930】 Hou Niao was still running, running with all his might.

It wasn’t necessary to get ahead of the Water Head, but he at least couldn’t let himself fall too far behind.

The Escape Technique was fully deployed, Spiritual Power was being consumed, and it was time for morning lessons, so running while practicing Breathing Control was the best choice; for a Quanzhen disciple, restoring Dantian Spiritual Power while in motion is a fundamental Skill, essential for everyone to master.

The effect was essentially running and replenishing simultaneously, which is the true essence of fighting.

Not only was he doing this, but Wang Mian and Fang Yazi were doing the same.

The Dantian operated, and the Purple Mansion Vortex appeared anew.

At this moment, chasing him was not only the Water Dragon of the White Ribbon River but also the myriad Heavenly Spiritual Machineries.

In his Cultivation journey thus far, he had reached Qi’s puzzle twice, meaning his Dantian was filled to twice its normal capacity.

Yet, he still hadn’t found the ultimate limits of the Dantian, which was a major concern torturing him to the point of agony, clueless about when such days would end.

During this run, the Dantian continued to burst as usual, still indiscernibly boundless.

Even as he passed through the small fort, in such a critical moment, he had no mood to pay much attention to this problem.

However, after he passed the small fort, he sensed something different in the depths!

This difference grew stronger, making him realize something.

It was the incense of belief and prayers; someone was silently blessing him!

Why?

There were no others except for the nearly a thousand residents of the small fort!

He suddenly recalled the special circumstances during his previous Upper Realm advancements—unnoticed before due to lack of experience, but now, retrospectively, it seemed somewhat strange.

For instance, during his time at the Ye Po ferry, he had thrown a pot and shouted….

and then the next day, he successfully advanced to Energy Induction?

Or, after a bloody battle in the Poplar Forest, he had smoothly transitioned to Essence Building shortly after his return?

Now, having given hope to the fort’s populace, he was perhaps more perceptive due to his higher Realm, already sensing as if incense and prayers were upon him?

Incense and prayers didn’t necessarily involve lighting incense or bowing heads, nor constructing temples or altars.

Having incense in the heart and sparking the fire of thought was the most pure, precious, and unaffected form of faith and prayers in this world.

He had received them!

But someone was not willing!

Not a person, but the heavens!

For some unknown reason?

Was it because they thought his virtues did not match his position?

Or was the Purple Mansion causing trouble?

In any case, as soon as a trace of faith and prayers touched him, a Heavenly Thunderbolt inevitably struck, not threatening his life, but specifically to scatter that trace of faith.

Every blessing from a small fort villager was a trace of faith; and the thunderous clouds above, gathering momentum, would also send down a threadlike bolt of positive lightning to strike; whatever came was struck, the small fort’s population was probably not enough for it to strike.

The two people following him were dumbstruck,

Fang Yazi was puzzled, “Am I seeing this right?

Is the boss being struck by lightning?”

Wang Mian was also at a loss, “It seems so.

How many bad deeds must one do to get struck by lightning during Essence Building?”

Fang Yazi confused, “Why do I feel an urge to ascend?

Is it because of aiding mankind, hence heaven rewards?”

Wang Mian was excited, “I feel the urge to ascend too!

If all of this is true, it doesn’t make sense for Elder Hou to be undisturbed?

I get it now, he’s also ascending, but in a rather unique way.

Is this paving the way for an ascension by getting struck by lightning?”

They were not merely speculating; indeed, they guessed quite accurately.

Lord Hou was in the process of a Breakthrough, except his process was unlike others—very difficult, taxing, and also very…

unique?

His problem lay in not being able to find the limits of his Dantian, much like a person paddling a small boat in the vast ocean, trying to find the ocean’s end?

Perhaps he’d find the limits of his lifespan before discovering that of the ocean.

But this time, the severe storm conditions provided an alternative direction.

Every collision between the determined vows and the Heavenly Dao Thunderbolt left residues, exhibiting a clash of supreme forces—one of utmost sincerity from humans, and one of utmost purity from the heavenly realms, neither capable of eroding the other!

Under the Heavenly Dao Thunderbolt, nothing remains unbroken, including the power of the determined vows, so those blessings from Xiaodian Fort could not bring Hou Niao any substantial power.

The power of the determined vows is eternal, so even though its outward force might be shattered, its essence becomes like iron forged in fire, tempered into steel!

There are still residues left?

Hou Niao complained about the shortcuts and shoddy work of the heavens, even in throwing down a thunderbolt?

But he had to address these residues, for if they lingered in his Dantian, who knew what effects they could cause?

Just as too many blood clots in vessels can lead to stroke and paralysis, could too many residues in the Dantian block the meridians and cause paralysis?

What can be done?

With sudden occurrences and continuous influx of determined vows, he had no time to think it through, leaving him only one option—recycling the waste.

Since his Dantian lacked boundaries and had accumulated residues of determined vows, why not use the residues to form boundaries?

He knew roughly how many people were at Xiaodian Fort, capable of producing roughly how much determined vows, and with his current abilities, he could just about manage these few hundred strands of determined vows.

Thus, a peculiar tripartite cooperation emerged within the Dantian: the determined vows were the iron, the Heavenly Dao Thunderbolt was the hammer, and he was the hand holding the hammer!

The determined vows were hammered into fluffy fragments, sticking together to form a leaky spherical shape!

It couldn’t be crafted like a fine art piece, for his abilities were limited, the hammer wasn’t quite obedient, and resources were scarce… Eventually, two nearly imperceptible, loosely connected, ragged spheres formed within the two Dantians.

They resembled the spheres of thought, yet the connections between those residues weren’t rigid.

Instead, they were a mysterious amalgamation bound together by factors like the Heavenly Dao Thunderbolt and the determined vows.

It felt fragile, full of holes, yet was incredibly stable and exceedingly solid, for between Heaven and Earth there was no third power that could exceed its level!

Was it a good thing?

Or perhaps a bad thing?

Due to the limited material, added to those breathing at Xiaodian Fort and even including dogs, couldn’t surpass a thousand, how large a spherical shape could this amount build?

Hou Niao sadly realized that he had found the boundary, and had thoroughly entered the Grain Avoidance Realm.

For now, the Daoist Path seemed bright again, Qi’s puzzle was solved, moving from eight to nine to ten, taking him back from his current twenty puzzles to seven…

Having come full circle, after several tumultuous months, he continued his cultivation, climbed a little higher, only to find that the solution to Qi’s puzzle was simply Qi!

His Dantian was brimming, forever halted at 70% of its original capacity!

Knowing this, why bother with the upheaval at all?

Hou Niao cursed the tricky heavens, continued running, continued cultivating his abilities.

Although his journey to the Upper Realm had contracted, it was still the Upper Realm, and he had to fill the gaps he himself had created.

Not miles into his run, a smile reappeared on his face, for as he continuously accumulated Spiritual Power, he suddenly discovered that the boundaries of his Dantian sphere were not fixed!

It could expand!

It might shrink with age, but it could also potentially enlarge infinitely with relentless practice!

His Dantian boundaries were capable of growth!

He burst out laughing,

…sipping a white rainbow amidst swirling gold embankments, thunder roars during the day consuming the rainy skies.

Beyond the revolving sun and moon, breathing in and out, the mountains and rivers merge into one breath.