Although Perfect Heaven-Man is still categorized within the Heaven-Man Realm, the gap between it and the ordinary Heaven-Man Realm is enormous, almost to the point that it can be considered the current era's upper limit. Anyone who steps into the Perfect Heaven-Man Realm is enough to rank among the top ten on the Heaven-Man List.
From this perspective, one can understand the rarity and power of the Heaven-Penetrating Pill. It can directly break through the bottleneck of the Heaven-Man Realm and reach the absolute limit.
Ning Qi sat beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, his entire body entering an extremely relaxed state. His consciousness seemed to have detached from his physical body, roaming freely in the heavens—or rather, observing himself from a "god's-eye view."
This state was one he occasionally entered in recent days, but today it felt exceptionally intense.
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him—he knew the breakthrough opportunity had arrived.
Ning Qi's breakthroughs had always been smooth and natural.
In an instant, astonishing changes began inside his body.
Under his gaze, his physical body started to glow—a light of vitality, vast and immeasurable life force surging, gathering, and condensing within. Ning Qi's physical foundation was terrifyingly solid; much of his overwhelming strength came from the excavation of his own body.
At this moment, the life force filled the Seeking Dao Courtyard, and the already flourishing Enlightenment Tea Tree gently swayed, as if joyfully trembling. The Zhenwu peach trees bloomed even more brilliantly.
Above his chest, an invisible flower was condensing.
"Essence Flower!" Ning Qi suddenly understood in his heart. He did not interfere with this process; it was all a natural result of his body reaching its limit.
Once the Essence Flower formed, the life force within the courtyard grew even denser. Even the outward flow of energy was terrifying—far stronger than the Essence Flower once condensed by the Blade Demon, incomparable in scale.
Next came the Qi Flower.
The Origin Core trembled, radiating golden light. Previously, this golden glow had been faint, but with recent cultivation on the Qi Flower, the golden light now completely enveloped the Origin Core, making it appear like a true golden core.
An invisible flower was also condensing atop the Origin Core.
"Qi Flower!"
As the Qi Flower fully formed, Ning Qi felt his already formidable Qi Force as if being led by a great general, with his cohesion rising by leaps and bounds.
Finally came the Divine Flower.
The moment this thought arose, Ning Qi felt his consciousness suddenly plunge, returning to his physical body. He realized that the wonderful state he had just experienced was his consciousness relying on divine intent.
Divine intent was the most mysterious—it could replace the eyes and ears to perceive everything. This was also the key for Heaven-Man Realm experts to communicate with the power of heaven and earth.
Among all Heaven-Man Realm experts worldwide, very few specialized solely in the Divine Flower, which shows its difficulty.
Fortunately, it was not difficult for Ning Qi.
He had established the Zhenwu Sword Stele and Myriad Dao Tower, and was already extremely familiar with this path, far surpassing its requirements; thus, it was effortlessly achieved.
Above his head, divine intent converged, and the invisible flower slowly bloomed.
"Divine Flower!"
Ning Qi opened his eyes, glowing with joy.
At this moment, three flowers converged.
His dantian, chest, and head each radiated light in response to one another.
With a thought, the three flowers brilliantly gathered at the crown of his head, the sense of resonance instantly magnifying infinitely. Mysteries flooded his mind, moving Ning Qi with an inexplicable emotion.
"The convergence of the three flowers is a summary of cultivation. In a way, this Perfect Three Flowers is the 'fruit of the Dao' for all prior martial path cultivation!"
Ning Qi suddenly realized.
This "fruit of the Dao" was both a reward for all a martial artist's past efforts and a manifestation of strength. The more profound the martial artist's accumulation, the stronger this "fruit" naturally became.
Without a doubt, Ning Qi's "fruit of the Dao" far surpassed that of ordinary people.
In the back mountain, the Blade Demon, who had been cultivating in seclusion, opened his eyes in astonishment. He sensed the fluctuation of the Perfect Three Flowers, and that fluctuation felt somewhat familiar, but he did not dare to confirm it immediately.
"This... seems to be the aura of Heavenly Sword Dao Companion?"
His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"But... how is it possible? How could Heavenly Sword Dao Companion only now step into the Perfect Heaven-Man Realm? Perhaps it's another member of the Zhenwu Sect who has reached Perfect Three Flowers?"
He found it incredible.
After all, the power Ning Qi had displayed before made him feel far behind. Others might not know, but he was clear—the battle that day showed the opponent still had plenty of reserve strength.
Then he reconsidered.
"It seems... Heavenly Sword Dao Companion has never revealed the Three Flowers before."
His emotions stirred violently. This exceeded his understanding. If Heavenly Sword True Immortal had only now reached the Perfect Heaven-Man Realm, it was unimaginable how powerful he must be now. But recalling the demonic blade intent Heavenly Sword True Immortal had displayed before him that day, he relaxed.
Such a prodigy being so unexpectedly strong seemed normal.
He smiled bitterly and closed his eyes, but deep down he was full of anticipation.
The more extraordinary Heavenly Sword True Immortal was, the more likely he could walk the path of Martial Sage. Then, he might have the chance to witness the peak of martial path glory alongside him.
Inside the Seeking Dao Courtyard, Ning Qi slowly rose. A smile curved his lips, and his mood was buoyant.
Now he felt better than ever before.
The convergence of the three flowers meant his essence, Qi, and spirit had been locked at a peak state, unlikely to fall easily. For a martial artist, even with only one day of lifespan left, they could still maintain the peak state.
Although this breakthrough did not extend his lifespan, the growth in strength was obvious, equivalent to consolidating all his power into one, capable of unleashing even more astonishing might.
"Even without using the Innate Divine Sword Qi, I can easily suppress the Martial Sage power wielded by the Grand Elder of the Demonic Sect through the Yu King Bead! In other words, my normal strength alone can fight a Martial Sage, and if I use the Innate Divine Sword Qi, I might suppress or even kill a Martial Sage!"
Ning Qi's sense of security soared.
He knew the Martial Sage realm had many ranks, but Martial Sages from the Southern Alliance or the Demonic Sect who forced their way in using external power were likely the lowest tier of Martial Sages.
With this, even if the undiscovered Demonic Sect Sect Leader had reached the Martial Sage Realm, Ning Qi was not afraid.
From now on, he could finally focus all his energy on exploring the Martial Sage Realm.
Whether it was the vision deep within the White Ape's bloodline or the Martial Sage power inside the Yu King Bead, Ning Qi now had the conditions to explore both.
With this thought, he looked forward to it.
...
Inside the Seeking Dao Courtyard, the White Ape sat cross-legged beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree. He was increasingly divine and mysterious, his fur like silver snow. During Ning Qi's exploration of the All-Seeing Golden Eyes, the White Ape's bloodline had also been further developed, boosting his strength rapidly.
In terms of martial path realm, this had already allowed him to successfully step into the White Mist Realm.
His overall combat power was even more exaggerated—extremely close to the Heaven-Man Realm, completely invincible at the Qi Origin Realm level.
"Tiansheng, concentrate and calm your Qi." Ning Qi softly commanded, his voice like enlightening nectar.
The White Ape was experienced.
With the three flowers faintly appearing above Ning Qi's head, he instantly entered a resonant state. Ning Qi immediately felt the change in his divine intent after the Three Flowers formed—much stronger than before.
A faint buzzing sound rang out.
Ning Qi felt his consciousness descend upon a vast, boundless land. He was not surprised; the silver giant ape roaring at the moon in the distance, as tall as a mountain, was already very familiar.
However, this time, he could clearly sense that his perception of this strange world was more vivid and concrete.
"Is it because the Divine Flower has been perfected?" he silently wondered.
In the distance, the giant ape roared furiously, swallowing the moonlight and the power of heaven and earth.
Then, as usual, it became restless, trampling mountains and cutting rivers as if trying to overturn heaven and earth.
Ning Qi silently observed, his consciousness focusing more deeply.
Suddenly, the giant ape turned, its eyes emitting dazzling golden light, sweeping across everything like it wanted to see through all ghosts and demons. Ning Qi held his breath, his heart involuntarily pounding. Every previous time it had reached this point, his consciousness could not endure it and the vision collapsed.
But now, with the Divine Flower perfected, it was still within his endurance.
Ning Qi also turned around, only to find nothing behind him.
The silver giant ape's golden eyes shone brilliantly, beams piercing the earth and shattering the void. It was not just looking at Ning Qi but patrolling back and forth across heaven and earth, seemingly searching for something. Its roars grew more restless, even tinged with fear.
But Ning Qi saw only the giant ape.
"What exactly is the giant ape afraid of? Could there be an unknown existence lurking in the shadows?"
Speculation rose in Ning Qi's heart. Like the giant ape, he patrolled everywhere, trying to find the source of its fear, but to no avail.
Suddenly, a soul-shaking, earth-shattering scream focused Ning Qi's gaze.
He felt a chill in his heart.
The giant ape, once as massive as a mountain, began to visibly wither at an eye-catching speed, like a fully inflated balloon suddenly losing air.
This was not a normal change in size.
It was an abnormal transformation.
The piercing screams echoed continuously. Ning Qi saw the giant ape struggling fiercely, or perhaps trying to break free from something.
An even more horrifying change followed.
Large patches of silver fur fell off its body, revealing muscles rapidly shriveling. Its fierce fangs lost their luster at an incredible speed, loosening and falling out. The once brilliant golden eyes grew dull and murky, filled with pain and torment...
The giant ape struggled continuously, but its strength was fading too fast.
In just a short moment, the once mountain-river-crushing powerhouse was tripped up by a tree. The giant ape staggered and kicked the tree, only to be shaken down to the ground. Now it was unimaginably old and unbelievably weak.
Ning Qi's heart turned cold seeing this stark contrast.
The giant ape let out low, sorrowful roars, ultimately unable to escape its fate. It sat on the ground, gazing up at the sky as if questioning why this had happened.
But there was no answer.
The giant ape sat there, its wails faint and barely audible, gradually stiffening.
A gust of wind passed.
Some dust was carried away, and the White Ape's fur, flesh, and bones were completely gone without a trace.
This scene made Ning Qi feel even stranger. Then, a shock to his spirit—he finally saw the culprit.
Threads of heaven and earth's power fused into the void, pushing Ning Qi's shock to the limit.
"The power of heaven and earth—there's a problem!"
The moment this thought arose, the vision began to blur like ripples, not forced out as before, but naturally withdrawing. This meant the vision recorded deep within Yuan Tiansheng's bloodline ended here.
"This is a warning to the bloodline inheritors! There is definitely a problem with the power of heaven and earth!"
Ning Qi stood beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, his turbulent emotions unable to calm for a long time.
The previous visions replayed repeatedly in his mind.
He pondered the hidden information within.
"The giant ape was swallowing the power of heaven and earth, then suddenly encountered a catastrophe. Does this mean that in the beginning, the power of heaven and earth was normal, but later changed due to some external interference?"
"The Heavenly Beast extinction was precisely because of this!"
Heavenly Beasts were heaven and earth's favored children, naturally able to control the power of heaven and earth. If the power changed, they would be the first to suffer.
"Not only Heavenly Beasts, but also Innate Sword Bones like Xiao Shi—'Heavenly Beasts' among humans—may have disappeared for this reason. As for Xiao Shi's current Innate Sword Bones, they are versions born after adapting to these changes, so Xiao Shi cannot control the power of heaven and earth, nor can he even awaken the Innate Divine Sword Qi."
"Thinking back, those strange beasts with Heavenly Beast bloodlines might be manifestations of Heavenly Beasts adapting to the changes in heaven and earth. Perhaps some Heavenly Beasts intentionally 'devolved' their descendants to preserve them."
The more Ning Qi thought, the more convinced he was this was the truth.
And the source of it all was some unknown change in heaven and earth.
"No wonder since I stepped into the Heaven-Man Realm, I have sensed a terrifying presence within the power of heaven and earth. The Blade Demon also said he felt this when attempting to step into the Martial Sage Realm."
"For those unaware of the truth, this would seem like a heavenly restriction, a kind of mental calamity, a trial that once overcome would open a new martial world."
"But now it seems, if one truly refines the power of heaven and earth into the body, they might instantly die and vanish from the Dao."
Thinking this, Ning Qi was silent.
He originally thought that after Perfect Heaven-Man, he could begin exploring the Martial Sage Realm. With his comprehension and current information, spending some years would surely break through the Martial Sage Realm.
But now, everything had to be put on hold.
"The root problem lies with the power of heaven and earth. If I can't figure out the core of this issue, recklessly refining it into my body would bring endless trouble! Even if a Martial Sage technique was before me now, I absolutely wouldn't dare to practice it."
Ning Qi's scalp tingled just thinking about the White Ape's miserable end.
He was determined to pursue longevity and did not want to die so mysteriously.
A gentle breeze blew, and Ning Qi exhaled softly, feeling the difficulty for the first time. He waved his hand, gently sending the unconscious White Ape indoors, then sat cross-legged beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, trying to clear his mind.
He needed to think carefully about how to uncover the source of this issue.
If this problem wasn't solved, promotion was hopeless, and he would be trapped in this realm forever—a fate he absolutely refused.