Chapter 1848: Chapter 91: The Secret of the Divine Ancient World
Endless pain entangled Zhang Xiaoman’s body and mind, making every second feel like a year. Even with his current strength, he found it hard to resist.
At the same time, under this intense agony, both his spiritual power and constitution were increasing rapidly. He could feel that this enhancement was so swift—the transformation brought by the Nine Extremes Flower was indeed astonishing.
Zhang Xiaoman closed his eyes, desperately resisting the pain brought by the surge in strength. The physical pain was bearable, but the mental torment was nearly unbearable.
This was different from the effects of a spiritual attack; the source of the pain was his own growth, so even the Spirit Star Ring couldn’t exempt him from it.
Fortunately, he had the System Store, which sold a type of spirit grass called Fresh Flower. It cost ten points per purchase, and it could heal mental wounds, making it quite suitable for the current situation.
By relying on the help of the Fresh Flower, Zhang Xiaoman could barely regain some sanity. Whenever he was about to give in, he would purchase a Fresh Flower from the store. Although this consumed a large amount of points, it helped him endure this painful period.
After purchasing who knows how many Fresh Flowers from the store, Zhang Xiaoman, in a daze, finally felt the pain lessen. By then, he had no idea how much time had passed, only instinctively refining the residual energy of the Nine Extremes Flower.
Finally, when he recovered his senses and opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by an exceptionally dense spiritual power. This spiritual power was attracted by his formidable strength, revolving around him like gravity. Ordinary cultivators, if they were in this environment, would likely see their cultivation speed multiply several times over.
This is a distinctive trait of those at the Extraordinary Level, a phenomenon triggered when one’s internal spiritual power reaches a certain threshold.
Zhang Xiaoman slowly opened his eyes, and in them was a deep and boundless starry sky. As the spiritual power surged around him, several God Domain Particles encircled him, radiating a vast and majestic aura.
"Not bad, in just four years, you’ve broken through to the Golden Immortal Realm, reaching the peak of Celestial Immortal Luo—your strength rivals that of the Eight Tribulations Loose Immortal. You’re even stronger than Tianyuan and Tian Feng back in the day. I must admit, you’re the most gifted cultivator I’ve ever seen. Even the Primordial Heavenly Emperor in those days didn’t have talent like yours."
With Zhang Xiaoman’s breakthrough, the Green Little Dragon eagerly revealed itself, its voice echoing in the former’s mind.
"Peak of Celestial Immortal Luo? Eighth-Level Free Immortal?"
Upon hearing Ni Yang’s words, Zhang Xiaoman immediately compared it to the Divine Ancient World’s power system, and was slightly surprised.
"My strength has already reached the Lower Transcendent Peak? Isn’t that the same as Blue White Clothes back then?"
He was inwardly startled and hurriedly manipulated his spiritual power to throw a punch into the air ahead.
In an instant, the spiritual power spread out like a smoky sea, instantly obliterating a distant asteroid belt made of shattered planets. The space emitted a strained sound, and numerous cracks appeared on it.
"Whoa! Am I really this strong now!?"
Zhang Xiaoman himself hadn’t expected that this breakthrough would elevate his strength directly to the Lower Transcendent Peak, known in this world as the Peak Lower God.
Moreover, because he had already communicated with all the dark spirit particles, he could now even perform some skills that only those at the Middle-level Transcendent could, like the God Domain "Immortal" of the twenty-second sequence.
For the vast majority at the Extraordinary Level, this was an impassable chasm throughout history, with countless individuals falling before it. Crossing it was thousands of times more difficult than the leap from the Control Level to the Extraordinary Level.
Only by comprehending the Immortal Factor could one achieve limitless lifespan; unless all the dark spiritual power in the universe was drained, one would never face death.
Even now, Zhang Xiaoman could hardly believe he had become a Peak Lower God, and by some definitions, he could even be considered a Pseudo Middle-level Transcendent, nearly enough to stand proudly over this world.
"By the way, Ni Yang, how long did you say this retreat lasted?"
"About four years, why?"
Zhang Xiaoman pondered slightly.
"Four years. Counting the year or more I spent earlier consuming Immortal Ganoderma and increasing my spiritual power limit, it means this time refining the Nine Extremes Flower took two years in total..."
His emotions were complex; this retreat had taken four years once again, and as he advanced in his cultivation, he truly felt the accelerated passage of time. He wondered how things were with the organization over these four years, whether they developed well, and if they encountered any danger.
Zhang Xiaoman shook his head; the Star Alliance should be fine. If something were wrong, he would have already received an emergency report.
Luckily, although time slipped by so quickly in retreat, he had now achieved the status of an Undying Pseudo Middle-level God, meaning that even if he never returned to the Original Realm, his lifespan would remain unaffected.
Throughout the Second Universe, few have reached the Middle-level Transcendent, and in the Dark Spirit Star Domain, only the Great Elder of the Star Spirit Council was recorded to have done so—and this Great Elder had long been killed by the Demon Lord through some special means.
Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaoman couldn’t help but pause.
"Wait, if the Great Elder was at the Middle-level Transcendent, then he must have mastered Immortal and Undying; how did the Demon Lord manage to kill him?"
