Chen Xun's eyes flickered with lightning as he took out a jade slip.
Infusing it with mana, he softly said, "Third Sister, imprint your aura into it."
Little Crane formed a complex and mysterious hand seal, her fingers moving in an intricate dance. Her black hair fluttered as a wisp of transparent aura shot towards the jade slip.
At that moment, her true form emitted a grand humming sound, rooting itself in the void, while the ship's body of the Boundary-breaking Ship began to coalesce over the sea.
Black Bull's eyes narrowed as he started waving the formation flags, isolating this area from the world, ensuring that Third Sister's extraordinary nature remained hidden from outsiders.
Moreover, they took her true form with them, separating her manifested form to prevent the strong ones from the Dao Academy from discovering anything.
Above the sea and in mid-air, more and more Five Elements Arrays appeared, with even giant formation disks emerging.
Black Bull was severing Little Crane's connection to the Crane Spirit Yin Yang Tree, a tree they had cultivated. He had been preparing to cut the formation for years.
As long as the Boundary-breaking Ship existed, her true form would remain unharmed.
Due to her manifested form, Third Sister often roamed outside. If she ever encountered an uncontrollable situation, severing the connection to her true form was a means of survival, preventing others from coveting her.
Little Crane's heterochromatic eyes revealed a trace of pain, gritting her teeth to endure. She cooperated, knowing only the power of the Five Elements could forcibly sever the connection.
The ocean waves grew more turbulent, the wind howled, and the humming of the void became increasingly grand.
However, severing the connection didn't truly break the bond with her true form; she could awaken it at any time. This severance was like putting her true form into a deep sleep, preventing outsiders from probing it.
Over the years, Second Brother had prepared extensively, and she was mentally ready, fully aware of her uniqueness.
She knew her eldest brother's cautious nature well; he would never let his people fall into danger without reason, not even a slight risk.
Little Crane was bathed in dense black and white celestial light, the towering tree swayed wildly, each leaf exuding indescribable profundity.
Chen Xun's eyes gradually transformed as he gazed deeply at the void tree above the sea, his Five Elements spiritual roots resonating intensely, causing his robe to flutter without wind.
At this moment, the jade slip in his hand slowly revealed a message: No Spirit Root.
Chen Xun frowned upon seeing this; the situation had indeed occurred. Third Sister had no spirit root; her cultivation was entirely nurtured by her true form.
She had only managed to cultivate to the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, slower than both himself and Black Bull, relying solely on time, with no heavenly treasures or earthly resources aiding her.
Her initial manifestation cultivation was from absorbing the boundary's essence and the residual essence of the grand world's sealed boundary. If his assumptions were correct...
Her cultivation could either be slowly nurtured by his and Old Bull's World Soul or strengthened by absorbing essence.
Without them, Third Sister's true form would either slowly perish or she would devour countless small boundary essences from the Void Land to strengthen herself, standing against all cultivators and devouring the essence of the grand world!
This situation was more toxic than a malignant tumor, only a longevity cultivator could suppress it, a testament to the wonders of fate.
Half an hour later.
Little Crane's body appeared weaker, but her face showed a stubborn resolve: "Eldest Brother, I will condense a False Spirit Root myself."
Chen Xun furrowed his brow slightly, nodding gently. Her identity had to become reasonable; this was a necessary path, and the pain was temporary.
As she spoke, the Five Elements qi of her true form surged, branches and leaves rushing towards her.
She slowly closed her eyes, her entire body flickering in and out of sight in mid-air.
Black Bull's formation flags were now placed on the Boundary-breaking Ship, his eyes filled with unprecedented seriousness. The Boundary-breaking Ship was Third Sister's true root.
But the most peculiar thing was that such a grand and vast true form emitted no vitality.
It was like a rootless duckweed, seemingly not belonging to this world, only perceivable through the power of the Five Elements.
Moreover, the yin-yang force within it was frustrating, sometimes eluding their connection even with the power of the Five Elements.
If not for nurturing the Boundary-breaking Ship with the primordial spirit, his formation techniques wouldn't be enough to sever their connection, far from sufficient.
At this moment, black and white leaves flowed into Little Crane, and deep within her, a False Spirit Root was forming.
But this spirit root was utterly useless to her, a grand illusion.
However, this False Spirit Root seemed uncontrollable; her Five Elements true form could only allow her to develop Five Elements spiritual roots, unlike her eldest brother's Five Elements spiritual roots.
As her body underwent changes, Chen Xun's Five Elements eyes suddenly opened wide.
These eyes were like a pair of cold, merciless giant eyes spread across the sky, overlooking the Crane Spirit Yin Yang Tree on the sea.
Unbeknownst to Little Chi, its entire body had tensed, digging several pits into the ground, clamping its mouth shut, not daring to make a sound.
Such a world-shaking phenomenon, it couldn't imagine the terrifying discussions it would stir if seen by outsiders.
"Brother Xun... has he ever gone all out..."
Little Chi's heart trembled like the ocean waves, wondering what kind of power it was...
It once thought Brother Xun had gone all out on the Boundary Battlefield.
But thinking back, even the billions of Filthy Longevity seemed to have done him no harm; his goal was merely to pave the way.
Now, it truly wished to see Brother Xun seriously duel someone, wondering if the grand world prodigies who were stuck at the limit of their lifespan could reveal his true strength.
Brother Xun, Brother Bull, Sister Crane...
Little Chi watched the astonishing scene, sighing deeply. Fortunately, it was no longer weak, with its bloodline's legacy... heh heh.
Thinking of this, it couldn't help but laugh, no longer feeling the gloom of dragging them down, though it still habitually hid a few hundred tricks.
If it could survive until the day of the ultimate battle, it would surely amaze Brother Xun and the others. The Flaming Red Ancient Lion clan had never been weak...
With this thought, Little Chi's gaze grew sharp, the cowardice and slyness vanishing in an instant, quietly watching them work, no longer fainting.
Time passed by bit by bit.
The next morning, as dawn broke, the pale sky over the desolate mountain of Trash Island gradually brightened.
Little Crane sat cross-legged on the ground, officially entering seclusion, surrounded by sealed formations, even the seawater couldn't intrude.
Chen Xun and the others had left, leaving Little Crane alone there.
Little Chi returned to the garbage recycling plant, and Black Bull had gone back to the formation research area outside the ancient forest.
Chen Xun sat alone on another part of the coast, fishing.
But his gaze occasionally drifted to Little Crane sitting within the formation, a slight smile on his lips.
Over the past five hundred years, he had refined the Five Element Pill and the Flying Crossing Pill, though cultivation still required gradual progress, having just broken through to the mid-stage of Void Refinement not long ago.
Yet with abundant cultivation resources, cultivation seemed only a matter of time, without much difficulty.
At the mid-stage of Void Refinement, he felt his control over vitality had strengthened considerably.
The enhancement and invocation of his spell power were incomparable to the early stage of Void Refinement.
Especially in pill refining, the grand world's methods were entirely different from before, emphasizing the infusion of the world's qi into pill refining, with spiritual herbs being only a part, not the entirety.
This process was quite wondrous, making pill refining a form of cultivation that involved comprehending the world.
But after forming pills, he would still use the power of the Five Elements to decompose a few pills, returning them to the world.
It was his way of expressing gratitude for the gifts of heaven and earth, acting with a clear conscience.
