<h4>Chapter 611 - Astral River Realm</h4>


    Dan Cheng was visibly shocked by Liu Wuxie’s words. He couldn’t believe that Liu Wuxie was just in the Heavenly Phase Realm.


    "There''s only one way. You have to nourish your primordial spirit until it’s fully saturated to ascend to the Astral River Realm," Dan Cheng advised Liu Wuxie after some contemtion.


    "I share the same thoughts." Liu Wuxie nodded in agreement. He had brought out Dan Cheng''s primordial soul with two objectives: to get his opinion regarding the cultivation bottleneck and to use thetter''s primordial spirit to feed his own.


    Without another word, the chains within the Sky Devouring Diving Cauldron suddenly tightened, causing Dan Cheng''s primordial spirit to let out an agonized scream.


    "Liu Wuxie, what are you doing?!" Dan Cheng screamed, his face twisted with pain as his primordial spirit was reduced to the size of an egg.


    "Didn''t you say I need to feed my primordial spirit until it’s fully saturated? In that case, I have no choice but to sacrifice you," Liu Wuxie said coldly, his tone devoid of pity. For some time, he had been slowly siphoning thews from Dan Cheng, and now the moment hade to finally put them to use.


    "Y-you''re a demon! You''re a demon!" Dan Cheng screamed, his voice breaking as the chains constricting him tightened. His cries faded into silence as Liu Wuxie relentlessly devoured thews within his body, leaving him with barely a breath of life remaining.


    Liu Wuxie boldly decided to use Dan Cheng''s primordial spirit to advance into the Astral River Realm, but the gamble was extremely high risk. If his own primordial spirit repelled the energy from Dan Cheng''s primordial spirit, it could very well cause his primordial spirit to be severely unstable, jeopardizing all his years of cultivation. However, Liu Wuxie couldn''t afford to wait any longer and decided to take the gamble.


    Dan Cheng''s primordial spirit was already on the brink of death and posed no real threat. Had Dan Cheng been in his prime, Liu Wuxie would never have taken the risk.


    As thews of the Nascent Transformation Realm flooded in, Liu Wuxie''s primordial spirit experienced a surge of growth. Gradually, its limbs began to take shape.


    Days turned into months, and Liu Wuxie had remained in the cultivation chamber for over a year.


    The Ten Grand Ceremony was fast approaching, and Elder Tian Xing had been anxious, afraid that Liu Wuxie would miss it. After all, the sect master had high hopes for him.


    Finally, as Dan Cheng''s primordial spirit dissipatedpletely, Liu Wuxie''s own primordial spirit brimmed with energy, leaving him just one step away from breaking into the Astral River Realm. Only a thin barrier kept him from breaking through.


    Delving into the interspatial ring with his divine sense, Liu Wuxie realized that he had practically exhausted all the resources. The only thing remaining were spirit stones and materials meant for forging artifacts left. As for the manuals, none of them could assist in pushing him past this critical threshold.


    "What now?" Liu Wuxie muttered, furrowing his brows in frustration. He hade too far to give up now, and such a setback would be devastating to both his mind and body.


    The best thing would be to ascend to the first level of the Astral River Realm in one go. As long as he managed to break into the Astral River Realm, the path forward would be much smoother. He needed to cross this threshold as he could continue to make subsequent breakthroughs as long as he had enough resources.


    "Golden Spirit Fruit...I suppose I have to rely on you now!"


    The Golden Spirit Fruits had just matured, and he was nning to refine them into pills to help Fan Zhen, Jian Xing''er, and the others reach the higher levels of the Heavenly Phase Realm. But they would have to wait now.


    He was fortunate to have several Golden Spirit Fruits, which would soon mature as long as he continued watering them with spiritual liquid daily.


    Liu Wuxie plucked a Golden Spirit Fruit and brought it to his lips. The aroma was so enticing that he could barely resist taking a bite. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed the fruit whole.


    A surge of violent power roared within Liu Wuxie''s body, almost tearing him apart. Its overwhelming force wasparable to a strike from a cultivator in the Nascent Transformation Realm.


    He managed to endure the surging power only because of his formidable physique. Despite that, a deep ache emanated from his internal organs, and he had to rely on the Suppression Steles to protect them.


    So far, Liu Wuxie had only obtained the Earth and Wood Suppression Steles; he still needed materials for the other three. If he could gather all five Suppression Steles, his strength would transform.


    Each of Liu Wuxie''s pores absorbed the energy from the Golden Spirit Fruit. This was no ordinary fruit. It could be traced back to ancient times and carried ancientws.


    After the energy from the Golden Spirit Fruit merged into the deste world, it began to exude an aura of antiquity. The trees had a sudden surge of growth, a visible testament to the fruit''s remarkable effects.


    The mysterious tree, in particr, had grown so much that it pierced the sky. No other tree couldpare to it, and the towering tree was the first nt in the deste world. Liu Wuxie still hadn’t figured out the name of this mysterious tree. It was so ancient that even he was unaware of its origin.


    The mysterious tree devoured vast amounts of spiritual energy daily, channeling it back to nurture the other nts and help their growth. It was like a monarch, the regal protector of this world.


    For the most part, the mysterious tree remained dormant; its only reaction being to alert him of potential dangers. Though it stayed silent, Liu Wuxie didn''t dare to underestimate it—its ability to warn of danger alone was an extraordinary feat. Another possibility was also the fact that he still hadn’t figured out the tree’s true ability.


    Liu Wuxie was initially just one step away from the Astral River Realm, but with the help of the Golden Spirit Fruit, he managed to tear the barrier and shatter the bottleneck.


    His soul sea began to expand, and multiple doors started to appear in its depths. The doors were yet to open, but powerful soul energy was already gushing out.


    Each realm was a drastic transformation. After reaching the Astral River Realm, Liu Wuxie''s horizons were broadened, and a new world unfurled.


    Boundless astral energy gushed out like a fierce beast and surged through Liu Wuxie''s limbs. His acupoints began to open one after another as they devoured the astral energy that surged through. They were akin to dried river beds receiving fresh rain.


    The deste world began to brighten as thews of the Astral River Realm took residence. Eachw was as thick as a person''s arm.


    Thews of an ordinary cultivator in this realm were only as wide as chopsticks, but Liu Wuxie''sws were hundreds of timesrger. This meant hisbat power was hundreds of times stronger than that of ordinary cultivators, allowing him to easily crush his opponents with thews.


    A dragon''s cry reverberated throughout the cultivation chamber, sending terrifying shockwaves outward. The sheer impact left countless cracks in the surrounding walls.


    The Meridians Cleansing Pill had transformed his meridians and bones to be as resilient as those in the lower levels of the Nascent Transformation Realm. When Liu Wuxie explored the depths of his soul sea, he found the greatest transformation in his primordial spirit.


    With his breakthrough into the Astral River Realm, Liu Wixie’s primordial spirit had finally taken shape. At the center of the soul sea, a miniature version of himself could be seen, its features roughly formed with a faint outline visible.


    It had limbs, but details such as fingers and nails had yet to take shape. These would eventually form as Liu Wuxie''s cultivation progressed and underwent nascent transformation, which would also be when Liu Wuxie reached the Nascent Transformation Realm.


    For most people who reached the Astral River Realm, their primordial spirit was a shapeless mass without limbs or features.


    However, Liu Wuxie was different—he had taken a path no one else had. For now, consolidating his cultivation was paramount, and he was in no hurry to leave his seclusion.


    Months passed swiftly, and only seven days remained till the start of the Ten Grand Ceremony. This meant Liu Wuxie had roughly spent a year and a half in the cultivation chamber.


    After spending a few months consolidating his cultivation, Liu Wuxie spent the remaining time reforging the Heretic de. The sect had provided him with ample materials to reforge the Heretic de into a monarch artifact, which would beparable to an origin artifact.


    A monarch artifact corresponded with the Astral River Realm, while an origin artifact wasparable to the Nascent Transformation Realm. As for a heavenly artifact, it could only be forged by experts in the True Profound Realm.


    Heavenly artifacts were rare in the Southern Province, and only the ten major sects possessed them. After all, gathering the materials to forge a heavenly artifact could easily take thousands of years.


    Liu Wuxie called forth the Heretic de, allowing it to hover in front of him. The heavenly artifact fragment he had previously obtained was devoured by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, causing the Heretic de to miss a chance to advance.


    However, Liu Wuxie still had the mysterious de tip he had acquired in Serene Sea City. Merging this de tip into the Heretic de would amplify its edge thousands of times.


    Liu Wuxie needed to refine the mysterious de tip slowly. He removed hundreds of precious materials from the interspatial ring—materials that alone could forge several monarch artifacts. He even retrieved the origin artifact he found in Dan Cheng''s interspatial ring.


    As he took a deep breath, he felt a powerful surge of energy and soul energy coursing through his body, a result of his recent breakthrough into the Astral River Realm.


    With a wave of his hand, he summoned the Earthen Gold Core. This rare materialpletely dissolved in just three breaths.


    With every passing moment, the pile of materials on the ground steadily diminished, and Liu Wuxie waspletely focused on forging the Heretic de.


    Thunderclouds began to gather above the cultivation chamber, a sign that always appeared when he reforged the Heretic de. Even the heavens disapproved of such a heaven-defying weapon.


    Ignoring the thunderclouds, Liu Wuxie sped up his refining process. Over the next few days , he meticulously refined and tempered the materials to perfection, then tackled the most intricate part—melding the materials into the Heretic de.


    He began to form intricate hand signs, causing the de to expand and contract as if it were breathing. Suddenly, the golden dragon that remained dormant in the Heretic de awakened, stirred by the scent of the rare materials.


    "Go!" Liu Wuxiemanded, as the liquified Earthen Gold Core burrowed into the Heretic de, turning it entirely golden. The de began to release boundless de intent that enveloped the entire cultivation chamber.


    However, Liu Wuxie didn''t stop there and kept feeding more materials to the Heretic de. Even more shocking was how Liu Wuxie melted down Dan Cheng''s origin artifact.


    The Heretic de''s artifact spirit let out a joyful cry as it devoured all the energy, channeling it back to the de. The aura released by the Heretic de also increased after consuming many materials. It had now reached the level of a pinnacle xiantian treasure and was only one step away from bing a monarch artifact.


    With the final surge of materials, the Heretic de finally crossed that threshold. A faint aura of a monarch erupted from the de and swept through the cultivation chamber.


    With the Heretic de’s transformation into a monarch artifact, the remaining steps became much easier for Liu Wuxie. He continued to engrave spiritual runes into the de, which hovered in the air. Most materials had fused into the depletely, leaving only the mysterious de tip.


    However, the aura released by the mysterious de tip was too powerful, causing the Heretic de to tremble in fear—an unexpected sight.


    "It depends on you whether the Heretic de can be the sharpest weapon in the world," Liu Wuxie said with steady confidence as he drew an immortal rune.


    With his newfound strength in the Astral River Realm, he could now wield more advanced techniques. He nned to train in a new, deadly technique that would serve his trump card against those in the Nascent Transformation Realm, and it would only be reserved for the most crucial moments.