As Li Qiankun turned, Han Yi flashed backward, retreating explosively.
Li Qiankun lunged forward, but his speed was limited to the Golden Core cultivation realm, far inferior to Han Yi's. When the distance between them had stretched beyond a hundred meters, Li Qiankun halted.
Then, he reverted to his usual expressionless, detached state.
Han Yi's heart raced. His earlier approach had been extremely risky. He had chosen to approach when Li Qiankun's aura was at its weakest, and he had only moved closer, not attacked.
He hadn't expected that this simple action would provoke such a sudden reaction from Li Qiankun. If Li Qiankun's cultivation realm had suddenly surged to the Dao Ancestor Realm, Han Yi wouldn't have even been able to escape.
Han Yi stood still, pondering for a moment. He could easily leave now, escape the Ferocious Realm, and return safely to the Age Candle.
But after a moment's consideration, he decided to stay. After all, Li Qiankun had once shown him kindness, sending him back to the Nine Realms instead of leaving him adrift in the Void.
Given his True Immortal Realm speed at the time, a genuine journey from the Primordial Boundary Wall back to the Great Luo Immortal Realm might have taken over a thousand years.
Moreover, the Void was perilous; he might have encountered danger halfway through the journey.
Therefore, he considered himself indebted to Li Qiankun.
A memory surfaced in Han Yi's mind from when he returned to the Penglai Immortal Realm. Before leaving, Li Qiankun had said that their karmic bond hadn't faded but deepened, and that they would meet again.
The "later" he spoke of must have included this moment.
Just as Han Yi stood bewildered, a ferocious beast suddenly charged out of the mountain forest ahead. It was a massive bear-like creature, clearly aware of Li Qiankun and Han Yi's presence.
Han Yi glanced at the beast and recognized it as merely a Transformation God-level creature, so he refrained from intervening.
The beast roared furiously and lunged at Li Qiankun, who was closest.
At that moment, Li Qiankun's aura transformed, reaching the Demigod cultivation level.
As the beast closed in, Immortal Light radiated from his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the massive bear froze mid-air.
Then, the entire beast began to tremble violently, as if an unimaginable force was extracting something from its core.
After the extraction, the beast withered, its flesh and bones collapsing into a lifeless heap. A gust of mountain wind swept through, scattering the remains into ashes that drifted away in the wind.
"Hiss."
Han Yi gasped as he witnessed the scene.
"What a terrifying Immortal Art," he thought.
It was clear to Han Yi that this Immortal Art extracted not only the ferocious beast's vitality but also its fate, luck, and other ethereal, intangible aspects.
All of these were absorbed by Li Qiankun.
Han Yi couldn't be certain, but he sensed that after absorbing the beast's life force, Li Qiankun's aura had subtly strengthened. This slight improvement manifested when his aura reached its lowest point, now slightly stronger than before.
The difference was negligible; Han Yi might not have noticed it if not for his keen perception and constant vigilance.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
If Li Qiankun absorbs more ferocious beasts, could his aura gradually strengthen? Could it eventually stabilize, leading to a recovery of his rationality?
Han Yi didn't know if this was the right approach, but he had nothing left to lose. He'd treat this like a desperate last-ditch effort.
He vanished and returned several breaths later, accompanied by seven or eight ferocious beasts, ranging from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Demigod Stage.
These beasts were from the nearby mountains and forests, now controlled by the Divine Sealing Art.
He had endured the Void Extremity Divine Tribulation. Although his internal divine power was depleted, his Divine Aperture World still stored ample Divine Power Crystals. Even without consciously refining them, many had fused and replenished his body, partially restoring his divine power.
The Divine Sealing Art, a Divine Art of the Knowing Destiny realm, was no longer difficult for him to wield after ascending to the Void Extremity Realm. Combined with facing only low-tier Ferocious Beasts, this allowed him to act with such ease.
In truth, there was another reason for using divine power here.
Han Yi had discovered that the Ferocious Realm, a fragment of the Primordial Great World, while not outright hostile to Immortal Path power, was far from receptive. However, this ancient Primordial land did not reject divine power, making it twice as effective against the Ferocious Beasts.
Sensing the pattern of Li Qiankun's aura fluctuations, Han Yi hurled a Divine Sealing Art-imprisoned Ferocious Beast toward Li Qiankun and instantly released the divine power seal.
Instinctively, Li Qiankun unleashed an Immortal Art, striking the freed beast as it prepared to flee. Instantly, the earlier scene repeated itself.
After a few breaths, Li Qiankun's aura underwent a complete cycle of fluctuation. Han Yi's eyes lit up. This time, he sensed more meticulously and discovered that after absorbing the Transformation God-level Ferocious Beast, Li Qiankun's aura had indeed improved slightly.
"There's hope!"
The change proved that Han Yi's method was likely correct. If he persisted in feeding Li Qiankun Ferocious Beasts, he would likely awaken after reaching a critical point.
Han Yi continued to seize opportunities to feed the captured Ferocious Beasts to Li Qiankun, causing his aura to continue fluctuating.
Han Yi left again. After several minutes, he returned with another batch of sealed Ferocious Beasts. The strongest among them remained at the Semi-Immortal Grade. With his current strength, using the Divine Sealing Art alone against True Immortal-grade beasts was still somewhat challenging.
While feeding Li Qiankun, Han Yi also refined the divine power within his Divine Aperture World, gradually restoring his Ancient God cultivation.
Three months later.
He had fully recovered to the Supreme Truth Realm, and the Ferocious Beasts he captured were all True Immortal-grade.
After this prolonged feeding, Li Qiankun's aura, at its lowest point, finally broke through the Nascent Soul stage and reached the Transformation God stage. This gave Han Yi renewed hope.
Nine months later.
Li Qiankun's lowest aura had reached the Demigod stage.
Three years later.
Han Yi had finally fully recovered to the Void Extremity Realm of the Ancient God. He could now capture and consume Ferocious Beasts of even higher Cultivation Realms, equivalent to the Profound Immortal Realm.
Moreover, during these three years, his Immortal Dao cultivation had recovered to about half of its original level.
This rapid recovery confirmed Han Yi's conjecture: the Ferocious Realm exerted an extreme suppression on the Immortal Path. In the Great Luo Immortal Realm, his Immortal Dao cultivation should have recovered before his Ancient God cultivation, but here, the opposite was true.
Nine years later.
Having pinpointed the weakest point of Li Qiankun's fluctuating aura, Han Yi relentlessly fed him Profound Immortal-Class Ferocious Beasts, nearly depleting all such beasts within a million-mile radius. Finally, Li Qiankun broke through to the True Immortal Realm.
As his weakest aura stabilized at the True Immortal Realm, its fluctuations ceased entirely, settling into a steady state.
His previously lifeless eyes began to emit a violet glow, which pulsed and flowed before finally fading away.
Han Yi, who had positioned himself at a distance, observed this change and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by this, Li Qiankun must have regained his consciousness.
Indeed.
With the violet glow subdued and his aura completely stabilized, Li Qiankun glanced at Han Yi. Rising slowly into the air, he surveyed his surroundings before exhaling softly. "I've finally recovered."
"Han Yi, I never imagined our fates would converge in the Ferocious Realm. Even I didn't foresee this."
Han Yi clasped his hands respectfully. "It is my honor to repay the Dao Ancestor's kindness."
Li Qiankun nodded and asked, "Are you leaving the Ferocious Realm?"
Seeing Han Yi nod, Li Qiankun said, "Very well. I'll send you away first. However, I have matters to attend to here and won't be accompanying you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qiankun waved his hand. Han Yi felt space distort, and in an instant, he found himself at the edge of the Ferocious Realm's void, with Li Qiankun nowhere to be seen.
"The power of the Dao Ancestor is truly terrifying," Han Yi murmured, gazing at the Ferocious Realm, his heart stirred by conflicting emotions.
Part of his unease stemmed from Li Qiankun himself. This living legend's feud with the Kunlun Immortal Realm was known throughout the Primordial Great World. Even as an Immortal Sovereign, he had dared to defy a Heavenly Venerable and escaped—a feat that defied comprehension.
His ascension to the Dao Ancestor realm without any of the expected phenomena had further shaken the multiverse.
Suddenly, Han Yi realized something.
Li Qiankun's absorption of the Ferocious Realm's vitality, luck, and destiny wasn't solely through that Immortal Art. His connection to the realm and its ferocious beasts must have enabled this heaven-defying effect.
Could he have undergone his Dao Ancestor Phenomenon within the Ferocious Realm itself? Han Yi speculated.
On the other hand, there was the matter of the Land of Divine Revelation. His successful crossing of the Void Extremity Ancient God Tribulation meant that this sacred site was now completely abandoned. No residual Divine Marks of the Ancient Gods remained, and it would forever lose its efficacy for future Divine Tribulations.
In other words, if he wanted to cross a tribulation equivalent to the Immortal Monarch Tribulation—a tribulation of Ancient God Creation—he would have to go elsewhere.
Han Yi felt a twinge of regret.
Apart from this Land of Divine Revelation, the Divine Tomb had already been proven unusable. That left only one remaining location, and that place was the Kunlun Immortal Realm—the last place Han Yi wanted to go.
His thoughts swirled, but he wasn't overly concerned. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. By then, his strength would likely have reached its peak, possibly even rivaling that of an Immortal Monarch. Venturing into the Kunlun Immortal Realm wouldn't be impossible.
Suppressing these thoughts, he turned and vanished into the Void, retracing his steps.
This journey in the Ferocious Realm, including the Tribulation Crossing and assisting the Qiankun Dao Ancestor in feeding the Ferocious Beasts, had taken nearly twenty years.
For someone at his current level, twenty years was merely a span of time, not an eternity. Had he still been at a lower tier, it would have felt like an age.
As Han Yi departed the Ferocious Realm,
Li Qiankun, within the realm, didn't hesitate for a moment before fleeing to a specific location. Though he hadn't fully recovered to the Dao Ancestor Realm, each step he took still spanned vast distances, with Dao Principles bowing beneath his feet.
In just three breaths, Li Qiankun arrived at a mysterious realm. Within this realm, an enormous ferocious beast lurked in a valley. The beast was so vast that its entirety couldn't be seen; only glimpses of its massive wings and golden-scaled tail were visible.
As Li Qiankun appeared, the colossal beast opened its eyes—pupils larger than mountains—and glanced at him with a flicker of contempt before closing its eyelids again, ignoring him completely.
Had any other Dao Ancestor or Heavenly Venerable witnessed this scene, they would have been astonished.
For this beast was none other than the Ferocious, one of the native spirits of the Primordial era, a being that had survived from ancient times, and one of the most formidable warriors in the Nine Realms.
The Ferocious's dismissive attitude toward Li Qiankun revealed a complex relationship between them—one neither hostile nor particularly friendly.
As if oblivious to the contempt in the Ferocious's gaze, Li Qiankun cupped his hands in a respectful salute. Then, he strode directly toward the deepest recesses of this mysterious realm, toward a half-collapsed palace.
The Ferocious suddenly opened its eyes again, its gaze fixed on the ruined palace. A flicker of reverence, tinged with nostalgia, flashed in its eyes.
From a higher vantage point, it became clear that the Ferocious had been guarding this half-collapsed palace all along.
Meanwhile, Han Yi had escaped the Ferocious Realm and was flying through the void. He took a winding path, first southeast, then southwest, finally crossing the Netherworld and Penglai before returning to the Great Luo Immortal Realm and the Sui Zhu Immortal Court.
Before he could fully recover, the Immortal Court issued another divine decree, ordering all immortals to proceed to the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool to exterminate the gathering Evil Immortals.
This wasn't the first such decree. When Han Yi had arrived previously, it was already the third. Now, twenty years later, it was the fifth—almost one every ten years.
Instead of immediately accepting the decree and taking the mission, Han Yi spent three years cultivating, raising his Immortal Dao cultivation to its peak.
His Ancient God had already reached the Void Extremity Realm while in the Ferocious Realm.
As for his Monster Dao cultivation, thanks to the Wild Desolate Heartstone, he didn't need to cultivate it himself. Though its recovery was slow, its importance wasn't great, so Han Yi didn't pay it much attention.
Three years later, he emerged from the Immortal Pavilion. Apart from his Monster Dao, which still needed refinement, his cultivation had reached its peak.
Now, if he wielded the Yueguang Divine Spear, it would be far easier. Perhaps after a single strike, he wouldn't be injured at all, leaving him with enough energy to fight numerous Golden Immortals or make a swift escape.
With this thought, Han Yi vanished in a flash, reappearing at the Void Mirror.
His cultivation had advanced, and his Ancient God had broken through to the Void Extremity Realm. He sought another Immortal Monarch to practice on; ordinary Golden Immortals no longer held any interest for him.
The Void Tower was the ideal training ground.
With a thought, Han Yi stepped from the Void Space within the Void Mirror into the Void Tower, ready to begin his trials.
Three months later.
Han Yi emerged from the Void Tower, having climbed to the 2,941st floor, securing third place on the Golden Immortal Ranking.
Within the Void Tower, only those who reached the 2,951st floor would face Immortal Monarchs, indicating the ability to defeat or even slay them.
In this generation of the Age Candle Immortal Court, no Immortal Monarch was as ferocious.
While Han Yi himself remained unsatisfied with merely ranking third on the Golden Immortal Ranking as an ordinary Golden Immortal, the news sent shockwaves through the Immortal Court, stirring a minor storm among the other Golden Immortals.
The announcement of his ranking quickly swept through the entire Immortal Court like a hurricane, spreading even beyond the Great Luo.
All Immortals eagerly anticipated whether, upon reaching the Peak Golden Immortal Realm, he would possess the capability to challenge an Immortal Monarch, or even slay one.
Among the five realms beyond the True Immortal, the gap between Golden Immortals and Immortal Monarchs was the widest. While cross-realm conflicts and even killings were possible in other realms, a Golden Immortal slaying an Immortal Monarch was exceedingly rare. This vast disparity in power placed them on entirely different tiers, as far apart as heaven and earth.
Years ago, the tale of a mysterious Golden Immortal-class Sword Immortal slaying the Eastern Sovereign Red Fox Demon Monarch in Brilliant Flame Immortal City had swept across the Great Luo. Yet, in the end, it was dismissed as mere rumor, with no such enigmatic Golden Immortal ever being found.
This vividly illustrated the sheer impossibility of a Golden Immortal slaying an Immortal Monarch.