Chapter 1261 : Primordial Qi Grasping Hand

A young man swallowed hard, his grip tightening on the spirit talisman and immortal sword in his hands, fear flashing in his eyes. Just as he was about to retreat in terror, a gentle voice descended from the heavens above.

"All to your positions, no need for panic."

Hearing this voice, the young man inexplicably felt a wondrous power soothing his soul, causing the fear in his heart to vanish without a trace.

He lifted his head, gazing toward the boundless firmament above.

Dozens of supremely majestic figures stood upon the 9 Heavens Above (Time & Distance)—transcendent immortals and deities who dwelled beyond the mortal realm. Their mere presence, serene and unmoving, exuded an aura of sublime detachment from the earthly dust.

At the forefront stood a figure robed in snow-white garments, motionless as a frozen waterfall. With unhurried grace, he extended a single hand.

"Hmm..."

In an instant, heaven and earth quaked as the void trembled violently.

The boundless sky darkened in an instant, as darkness enveloped the earth. Across tens of millions of miles of ocean, neither sun nor moon shone through.

All living beings could only gaze up at the 9 Heavens Above, as a colossal hand that blotted out the heavens and obscured the sun descended with overwhelming force, sealing away the boundless firmament.

Boom

With a deafening roar, the colossal hand swept across thousands upon thousands of miles of mountains and rivers. Wherever it passed, all things crumbled into nothingness, and even the myriad laws of existence shattered completely.

When all finally fell silent, a full section of the endless beast tide had been erased. Be they Great Elders of the Nascent Soul or Colossal Terrors of the Spirit, all were equal before this single palm strike—reduced to scattered ashes of heavenly tribulation.

The young man could not help but look utterly horrified, stunned for a long moment as he struggled to regain his composure.

After a long while, he swallowed dryly and spoke in a trembling voice, "Indeed... with Their presence, we have nothing to fear."

The young man murmured under his breath, regaining a sliver of confidence as he gazed upon the boundless tide of beasts—it no longer seemed quite so terrifying.

"Is this the Daoist of the Returning Abyss?"

At the horizon's edge, beyond the boundless tide of beasts, several dozen Yao Immortals stood shoulder to shoulder.

For the first time, Patriarch Suwei revealed a grave expression, offering a rather lofty evaluation: "With this Primordial Chaos Grasping Hand alone, the Daoist of the Returning Abyss could reign unchallenged among Ascendant Immortals and would be qualified to spar with us half-step Earth Immortals."

"Yes."

Ao Ming also nodded, his expression turning quite solemn as he said, "This young prodigy of the Returning Abyss has merely reached the Late Immortal Ascension stage, yet already possesses such extraordinary bearing. Should he be allowed to mature, he might very well open all 9 Celestial Heavens."

"By then, I fear he may become a grave threat to both you and me."

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Suwei also fell silent.

Even as a patriarch of the demon race, he had to admit that Eldrin's (Person Name) innate talent was formidable.

Within the Sea of Divine Mist, there were hundreds—nay, thousands—of immortals who had forged foundations of the Great Dao, yet fewer than 10 Earth Immortals had succeeded in opening the 9-Layered Heavens.

Those who could achieve this level were all destined to break through to the Half-Step Celestial Immortal realm, provided they did not meet an untimely demise.

Like the master of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace, or the Divine Lord of Ye Ruins, both were prodigies who cultivated 3 Dao Fruits and opened up 9 heavenly realms. Their unparalleled talents had shone through countless millennia.

Even Heavenly Immortals marveled at this, believing that 1 who had opened the 9-Layered Heavens like the master of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace possessed a sliver of possibility to cultivate 3 Primordial Dao Fruits.

And the 3 innate Dao Fruits—these signified the potential of a supreme Celestial Immortal.

Generally speaking, those capable of breaking through to the Celestial Immortal realm had all been extraordinary talents during their Earth Immortal days, with most having cultivated 2 types of Innate Dao Fruits.

However, even Celestial Immortals rarely cultivate 3 types of Innate Dao Fruits.

This path was exceedingly arduous, yet once traversed, 1 would rank among the pinnacle of Celestial Immortals, with innate talent and combat prowess far surpassing peers of the same realm.

To think that the being who opened the 9 Heavens possessed such unparalleled genius—truly worthy of being called the foundation of the Great Luo.

At present, Eldrin had not even cultivated the Heaven-Dao Fruit, still far from matching the masters of the Western Abyss Dragon Palace and Lord Yexu. Yet, he faintly possessed such a bearing.

At this thought, Patriarch Suwei remarked, "Achieving the third level of the Heavenly Dao Fruit is no simple feat, let alone aspiring to open all 9 layers of heaven."

Moreover, it required 4 Grade 8 Heavenly Spiritual Roots (Spiritual Root), and gathering them was an endeavor of countless difficulties.

"Yet this man truly possesses extraordinary talent. Only by eliminating him early can we truly rid ourselves of this lingering threat."

"Excellent!" Aoming nodded, then spoke, "The formation laid by the Guixu Daoist is indeed quite extraordinary. First, it uses the beast tide to wear down the power of the grand formation, and then we shall strike to break the formation and claim his life."

Meanwhile, far beyond the distant void, 2 figures concealed themselves between heaven and earth. The 1 leading them was none other than the Setting Sun Patriarch, while the other was the Oblique Sun Daoist.

At this moment, as the great battle loomed, Elder Setting Sun couldn't help but remark, "If Elder Suwei joins forces with 1000 Dragon Lake to breach the Returning Abyss Sea, the Black Dragon World-Suppressing Cauldron (Magic Treasure) will likely fall into the hands of the demon race."

"Not so fast."

The Setting Sun Patriarch shook his head, his expression tranquil as he gazed at the Starry Sky Grand Formation of the Eldrin Sea.

After a long while, he finally spoke with grave solemnity: "The formation laid by this Eldrin is truly extraordinary. I fear the few half-step Earth Immortals dispatched from the Suwei Sea and the 1000 Dragon Lake alone won't be enough to break through it."

"Let us return and continue preparing our forces. It is not too late to strike when both the Guixu Sea and the Suwei Sea have exhausted each other."

As the words faded, the Setting Sun Ancestor did not look back, flying without the slightest hesitation toward the Sea of the Setting Sun.

Meanwhile, Eldrin high in the heavens slowly withdrew his hand.

Even though he had annihilated hundreds of millions of demonic creatures in a single strike, under the influence of the heavenly tribulation's baleful aura, the endless hordes of monstrous beasts continued to charge forward in a relentless tide of death.

This strike was solely to steady the troops' morale. Without depleting his spiritual energy further, Eldrin (Person Name) allowed the endless tide of demonic beasts to surge forth unimpeded.

Above the Eldritch Abyss Sea at this moment, countless cultivators finally snapped back to their senses.

Meanwhile, within the Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation, across tens of thousands of formation-eye spirit islands, the arrays on each island began activating in succession.

Each and every island, propelled by millions of cultivators, radiated dazzling streams of immortal light.

Close behind, 20-8 immortal islands burst into dazzling radiance.

In an instant, countless pillars of light shot into the heavens, intertwining across the boundless firmament before coalescing into a translucent astral barrier that enveloped the vast expanse of the Returning Abyss Sea.

Great Cycle of the Heavenly Stars Formation, take form!

Eldrin murmured softly, a trace of confidence coloring his expression as he gazed upon the fully formed Cosmic Star Formation.

This Great Formation of the Cycle of the Heavens and Myriad Stars was profoundly miraculous, having been forged by converging the power of over 10 1000 spirit islands of the fifth rank and above.

It converged the power of the Abyssal Sea, channeled the boundless might of the stars, and was further amplified by the combined strength of hundreds of millions of cultivators and 20-8 Immortals presiding over the formation. The sheer magnitude of power thus assembled was truly staggering.

It could be said that whoever sought to oppose the Great Zhou Heavenly Stars Formation was simultaneously contending against the combined might of the entire Abyssal Sea and the power of the 9 Heavens Stars.

The horde of beasts before them seemed nearly endless, yet breaching the Cosmic Star Formation remained an almost impossible feat.

And so it was. As the Cycle of Stars Grand Formation unfurled, an endless barrier of celestial energy descended like an inverted crystal bowl, enveloping the entire Sea of the Returning Abyss.

Chapter 1: The Youth from Azure Cloud Sect The morning mist coiled around the mountain peaks like celestial ribbons as dawn broke over the Azure Cloud Sect. A young man in indigo robes sat cross-legged atop a jade meditation platform, his breathing rhythmic and deep. This was Luo Feng, an outer sect disciple who had been stuck at the third layer of Qi Condensation for 3 years. "Another day, another failure," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. His gaze fell upon the worn copy of "Basic Cultivation Manual" beside him. The pages were frayed at the edges, evidence of countless hours of study. Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the sect's main square. Senior Brother Wang, adorned in silver-trimmed robes, approached with a haughty smirk. "Well, if it isn't our resident turtle-paced cultivator," he sneered. "Still struggling to break through to the fourth layer?" Luo Feng clenched his fists but remained silent. He knew better than to provoke the arrogant inner sect disciple. Just then, a shimmering talisman descended from the sky, landing precisely between them. "All disciples report to the Grand Hall immediately!" boomed a voice from the talisman before it dissolved into golden dust. The Grand Hall was already filled with over a 100 disciples when Luo Feng arrived. Elder Ming, his white beard flowing like a waterfall, stood at the podium. "The 100 Sect Competition approaches," he announced. "Only those at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation or above may participate." Murmurs swept through the crowd. Luo Feng's heart sank - he needed to breakthrough 2 levels within a month. As the crowd dispersed, Elder Ming's voice called out to him specifically. "Luo Feng, remain." The elder's eyes twinkled with ancient wisdom. "I sense something unusual about you, child. Take this." He pressed a warm jade slip into Luo Feng's palm. "The Crimson Phoenix Scripture (Cultivation Method) might suit your unique constitution." That night, under the silver glow of twin moons, Luo Feng studied the jade slip. Characters of fire danced before his eyes, forming intricate cultivation patterns. As he circulated his qi according to the new method, heat surged through his meridians. The air around him shimmered with spiritual energy. After what felt like both an instant and an eternity, a crack echoed from within his dantian. Spiritual energy rushed into his body like a broken dam. He had broken through to the fourth layer! But strangely, the energy continued to flood his meridians. When dawn came, Luo Feng opened his eyes to find himself at the peak of the fourth layer. "Impossible," he whispered, feeling the vibrant energy coursing through him. The Crimson Phoenix Scripture hovered before him, its jade surface now covered in previously invisible characters that glowed like embers. A new chapter of his cultivation journey had begun.