Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 448 - 432: Forcibly Enhancing Cultivation Level (1/3)

Chapter 448: Chapter 432: Forcibly Enhancing Cultivation Level (1/3)

(Rolling on the ground, begging for monthly tickets and subscriptions)

Zhou Heng felt conflicted, but considering the vastness of the lake, Kong Aokun probably wouldn’t pollute it too much. For the sake of strengthening his power, he endured!

In fact, the bodies of Martial Artists who reached the Half-Step Immortal level were without blemish or dust; Immortals were even more so, pure and flawless like jade. How could they possibly contaminate the water? It was nothing more than a psychological discomfort.

Without much hesitation, Zhou Heng stepped into the water. Instantly, an intense coldness surged, spreading throughout his body.

He sat down unbothered, opening every pore in his body to absorb the rich and pure Spiritual Energy from the lake.

If it were any other Heavenly Venerate, even omnipotent figures like the Great Eternal Emperor or the Poisonous Vast Heavenly Venerate upon seeing this lake, would only be able to sigh in vain. They would have to use their Spiritual Power to resist such cold. How could they absorb the Spiritual Energy in that state?

Such fortune was something only Zhou Heng could enjoy.

He immersed himself at the bottom of the lake, allowing his whole body to absorb the Spiritual Energy. Every pore, every meridian, every acupoint was fully utilized, absorbing the lake’s Spiritual Energy at the greatest capacity and speed.

Kong Aokun was an Immortal, a status that might not be very impressive in the Immortal Realm, but in the Mortal Realm, it was akin to a treasure. Perhaps even his breath contained essence of Spiritual Energy! He didn’t know how long he had been there, thus naturally nurturing the lake into a Treasure Pond!

It wasn’t on par with a Spirit Core, but it far surpassed an Upper Grade Spirit Stone!

Zhou Heng circulated the Falling Snow True Scripture, desperately reaping the benefits. He didn’t know when Kong Aokun would come out—that was like a timed bomb. Who knew if he would emerge with a bloodshot fury, slaughtering everything in sight!

His visit here was indeed a great risk!

Although his physique at the moment was so robust that it could astonish a Heavenly Venerate, it was nothing in the eyes of an Immortal. If Kong Aokun went mad and sought to kill him, Zhou Heng might not be able to escape, even with the Swift Cloud Radiant Step!

After all, the Swift Cloud Radiant Step was taught to him by Kong Aokun himself, and he was far from surpassing his teacher.

Absorb, Refine, Ascend! Absorb, Refine, Ascend!

Zhou Heng repeatedly engaged in this process. After half a day, he suddenly felt the lake water stir, a towering malevolence rising, infecting the unwary, turning them into demons of slaughter!

Kong Aokun had emerged!

Zhou Heng quickly opened his eyes. At such a time, he dared not be careless and hastened to the surface, glancing around to see Kong Aokun running wildly around the lake, just as he had the first time, his steps skimming over the water’s surface, his body exuding a world-ending aura of malevolence.

"Eh?" A flash of demonic energy appeared in Kong Aokun’s eyes as he reached out towards Zhou Heng.

With the Swift Cloud Radiant Step underfoot, Zhou Heng’s figure moved rapidly, dodging and weaving, avoiding Kong Aokun’s casual grab.

"Oh? Swift Cloud Radiant Step?" A look of puzzlement crossed Kong Aokun’s face. After pausing briefly, he reached out his hand again. This time, Zhou Heng had no chance of evading and was pulled over by Kong Aokun’s Void Control.

"Seems familiar!" Kong Aokun said, tilting his head, a reflective look on his face but a fierce glint flickering in his eyes.

Fearing that contemplation might trigger madness, Zhou Heng quickly said, "Junior Zhou Heng, I’ve been here before!"

Kong Aokun looked Zhou Heng up and down, and a realization dawned on him. "I remember now! Hmm—" He frowned, puzzled, and pulled Zhou Heng closer.

He patted Zhou Heng, saying, "You’re clearly a member of the Kong Family. How come you have the Essence Blood of the Gold Devouring Clan? That’s reckless. Are you trying to betray the clan?"

He started with a hint of suspicion but gradually his expression turned ominous, filled with a murderous intent.

Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine. Could he possibly defend himself if this Master decided to kill?

Kong Aokun blinked, suddenly showing a confused look, then absentmindedly tossed Zhou Heng aside; he seemed stupefied, lost in thought. After a while, he suddenly moved again, looking at Zhou Heng, "Who are you? I think I’ve seen you before!"

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but feel both amused and frustrated at the Immortal’s erratic behavior.

"Senior, how does one step from the Divinity Transformation Realm to becoming an Immortal?" He didn’t dare neglect to express his purpose for coming, as he had no idea of the difference between an Immortal and a mortal, let alone how to take that crucial step.

"Becoming Immortal?" Kong Aokun was slightly taken aback, "The Deities grow, from void to substance, undergo the Three Tribulations, and naturally become Immortal! Eh, you’re a descendant of the Kong Family, how could you forget this? Hmph, such laziness, you don’t deserve to be of the Kong Family!"

His expression grew stern, fixing Zhou Heng with an intense gaze, as if he was about to seize the ignoble family member before him and give him a sound beating.

"Your strength has risen quite quickly, but you dare venture out without even entering the Moonlight Realm? You’re bringing shame to the Kong Family!" It seemed as if Kong Aokun had seen Zhou Heng a long time ago. With a swift grab, he threw Zhou Heng back into the lake, "Cultivate properly!"

With that, he pressed down with his palm, creating a pillar of light that seemed to touch the heavens, piercing directly into Zhou Heng’s forehead.

"Ah—" Zhou Heng let out a wail, feeling as if his body was about to split into millions of pieces, the pain was extraordinarily intense. However, thanks to Kong Aokun’s intervention, the pores all over his body had at least opened up a hundredfold, and the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy had increased by more than a hundredfold!

This was Kong Aokun’s way of helping him, but his method was excessively brutal. Zhou Heng was certain that it was intentional, a punishment meant to discipline him for his "laziness" as a member of the Kong Family.

But Zhou Heng had endured all manner of hardships before, so this level of pain only made him cry out in surprise. Once he recovered, he immediately sat down cross-legged, his body already pressed deep into the lake by Kong Aokun.

Zhou Heng cursed inwardly. If it weren’t for the fact that he possessed the essence blood of the Gold Devouring Clan, which had advanced his constitution to the Divinity Transformation Realm, falling into the lake would have certainly frozen him to death!

This is insane!

Yet, Kong Aokun was a madman. How could the life or death of others possibly concern him? In Kong Aokun’s view, only those who survived were worthy of being called members of the Kong Family. The ones who died were better off dead, sparing the family further shame.

However, for Zhou Heng, this was exactly what he desired. With his pores opened wide, he began to voraciously absorb the spiritual energy around him, continuously boosting his accumulation of spiritual power.

"Hmm?" Sensing the frenzied flow of spiritual energy in the lake but noticing that Zhou Heng’s increase in spiritual power was painfully slow, Kong Aokun couldn’t help but show a hint of surprise. He, of course, understood this was due to the immense size of Zhou Heng’s Dantian Space, which made even such a terrifying rate of spiritual energy absorption yield such sluggish progress.

"Barely worth nurturing!" Kong Aokun murmured, ultimately revealing a smile, seemingly pleased that the family could produce such an exceptional member.

One day, two days, three days... Without Kong Aokun’s help, it would have taken Zhou Heng over a year to completely absorb the spiritual energy from the lake, but now it took merely three short days!

Peak Second Layer Heaven of the Divine Infant Realm!

He was no longer able to absorb even a fraction of spiritual energy!

Zhou Heng immediately began to challenge the Third Layer Heaven of the Divine Infant Realm. Inside his Dantian, the golden figure holding a sword unfolded the Sky-soaring Nine Forms, commanding with force the division of heaven and earth, expanding his domain.

Under the influence of the Sword Intent of the Sky-soaring Nine Forms, advancing in minor realms was as easy as turning over his hand. In only half an hour, Zhou Heng had broken through to the Third Layer Heaven of the Divine Infant Realm, with nature’s spiritual energy cleansing and quickly stabilizing his realm.

Kong Aokun pulled him from the bottom of the lake, nodded, and said, "Not bad at all!"

To receive such praise from an Immortal, Zhou Heng had every right to feel proud.

"Senior, what is your realm? The Sunshine Realm, Sublimation Realm, Creation Realm?" Zhou Heng inquired.

"Sublimation Third Layer Heaven!" Kong Aokun declared proudly, his tone imbued with intense confidence, as though he could bear the weight of the collapsing sky on his shoulders!

This strong sense of confidence infected Zhou Heng. Although Kong Aokun was not the absolute strongest in the Creation Realm, he had an unyielding spirit—that was what Zhou Heng admired. Yet, it was precisely this that made Zhou Heng even more puzzled. Why would such a genius be suppressed here?

Clearly, the Kong Family should have a certain status in the Immortal Realm. From Kong Aokun’s previous behavior, it was obvious he was extremely loyal to his family. So why had no one come to rescue him from his imprisonment in the Lower Realm?

Unable to help himself, he asked, "Senior, how did you come to be imprisoned here?"

Kong Aokun was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes suddenly filled with ferocity, turning blood-red as countless blood-red demonic auras spilled out from his body, sweeping into the sky, and in an instant filled the entire world.

He had asked the wrong question—this guy was going to go on a rampage again!

Zhou Heng hastily performed the Swift Cloud Radiant Step, his figure dodged in a sudden shift, racing towards the Sky Curtain.

This fellow was imprisoned here probably because he frequently fell into fits of madness! Strange, even the Big Shots of the Immortal Realm couldn’t cure this affliction?

With his current speed being so incredible, Zhou Heng reached the Sky Curtain in just a few leaps. With a stroke of his sword, he leaped out of an opening he created, and boom—behind him, Kong Aokun crazily assaulted with his power, in waves striking the Sky Curtain, causing it to shake continuously as if it might shatter any moment.

Such is the strength of an expert from the Sublimation Realm, just one step away from being the strongest existence in the entire Immortal Realm!

If Kong Aokun were indeed able to take this step, then this Sky Curtain certainly couldn’t imprison him anymore. Once he emerged into the world, not just Xuanqian Star, but the entire Mortal Realm would be thrown into utter chaos!

Zhou Heng pondered for a moment, feeling that this was unlikely. Although Kong Aokun’s realm was far higher than Gu Yan’s, the pressure he exerted was not excessively greater, perhaps not even as much as Gu Yan exerted!

Why was that?

Either Kong Aogu had suffered a severe injury, causing his cultivation level to plummet, or his cultivation was being forcefully suppressed by someone!

No matter which it was, since he couldn’t even recover his original strength, how could he talk about making a breakthrough?

Zhou Heng sighed for a moment. He could sense Kong Aokun’s pride, yet paradoxically, he occasionally fell into fits of rage that affected others, forcing him into isolation. It was indeed a lamentable situation!

He returned to the Zhao Family and immediately received notification that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had finally located the Old Swindler!(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)