On the earthen-colored Path of Enlightenment, a figure emerged.

Li Sheng shook his head gently, waiting for the dizziness to fade before surveying his surroundings. The lush grass, blue sky, and yellow path looked just as they had when he first arrived. At the end of his line of sight, a towering green mountain reached into the sky, an ancient and majestic aura coming toward him. Despite having seen it once before, a sense of awe surged within him.

At that moment, a voice filled with urgency echoed in his mind.

【The Path of Enlightenment has been opened."

【Enlightenment Duration: Five hours (varies with distance)."

"Time has increased? And this time the location is the same as when I left, saving me quite a bit of time..." Li Sheng thought to himself, feeling a flicker of joy as he sensed the pressure coming from all directions. "The last time I came here, I had just entered the sixth tier, but now I've reached the fourth tier in the Spirit-Accumulating Realm, and my domain is perfect. I wonder how far I can go this time..."

After last time's four-hour enlightenment, he had gained some understanding of the rules of this place. The further he walked down the yellow path, the better the effects of enlightenment would be. Li Sheng took a deep breath and stepped forward.

One hundred fifty feet.

Two hundred feet.

Three hundred feet.

.......

A figure slowly advanced on the yellow path, moving at a deliberate pace, each step exuding a sense of steadiness and determination, like a devout monk on a pilgrimage. Time passed, and Li Sheng eventually came to a halt. He was now drenched in sweat, veins bulging at his neck, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.

"I've reached my limit..." Li Sheng exhaled a breath of stale air and sat down, feeling the overwhelming pressure dissipate rapidly like a receding tide. "One thousand five hundred feet... Adding the distance from last time, that's a total of sixteen hundred feet."

After a brief rest, he dried his clothes with spiritual energy and began his training, recalling the contents of the Martial Domain Secret Classic regarding the transformation of powers. To integrate spirit into the martial domain, one must perceive changes within it and find the domain's veins; each spiritual form represented a vein. After identifying all the veins, one could weave and compress them with spiritual will until a divine power seed was formed.

Note: This process is deeply related to comprehension; those with exceptional comprehension might succeed in three to five days. Ordinary martial artists should avoid impatience and instead focus on diligent cultivation.

"Three to five days? That's too long!" Li Sheng smirked. His talent and comprehension had reached an unprecedented level, claiming to rival those at the forefront of the Talent Rankings. With the assistance of the Path of Enlightenment, he believed he could succeed in just half a day.

With his thoughts drifting, Li Sheng focused his mind and closed his eyes. A golden martial domain suddenly manifested, enveloping a ten-foot radius around him as his spiritual will spread outwards.

The calm golden martial domain began to tremble, filled with incessant roars. Various phenomena soon emerged. First, a tortoise and serpent clashed, followed by a fearsome white tiger leaping into the air, as if to tear down the thunder from the sky. Tortoises, serpents, thunder tigers, golden apes, dragon elephants, phoenixes, and ethereal heart swords—twelve spiritual forms flickered in and out of existence, casting the golden martial domain like an ancient scroll, overwhelming him with a sense of the desolate and tragic.

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As Li Sheng immersed himself in his cultivation, an unusual aura pressed toward the Qingling Sect...

.......

In the training ground, a ball of white light materialized.

"Chirp chirp chirp!!!"

Bai Yexue looked over at the sound, puzzled and unable to understand the frantic chirping.

"Chirp chirp?!"

"......"

The white light darted forward, sticking closely to Bai Yexue's smooth forehead, a surge of urgent intent flooding her mind.

"Monsters are attacking? Disaster-level?"

Bai Yexue's expression turned serious.

"Did you not notify Brother Li?"

"Chirp!"

"Can't get into the Black Tower... I'll go call him!" Bai Yexue sprinted towards the Black Tower.

Inside the Black Tower, Bai Yexue stood before the vortex of the Ten Extremes Dojo, just about to enter when a tremendous force bounced her back. An oppressive voice echoed in her mind.

—The Path of Enlightenment is in a closed state and will reopen in one day.

"One day?"

Bai Yexue furrowed her brows, recalling the restriction of entering every ten days.

"This is troublesome... From Tuan Tuan's tone, this monster seems quite formidable. If only Senior Sister were here..."

Bai Yexue sighed and headed toward the mountain gate.

.......

Outside the grand formation, thousands of monsters gathered from all directions, a torrent of black demonic energy swirling restlessly. Just past noon, the sky above grew dim and lifeless. Looking up, the blazing sun had disappeared without a trace.

"Old Chen, what's going on... Another monster attack?"

"Why can't these damned monsters take a break?!"

"May the heavens protect us!"

"May Master Li protect us!"

"......"

The relatives of many disciples in Qingling Village were stunned by this unusual sight, chattering nervously. Old Chen's face turned pale as he watched the changes in the sky, his heart sinking.

"It's alright... Trust in Master Li."

As the village chief, he tried to calm everyone's fears. Although he spoke confidently, his heart was filled with bitterness. He had heard of disasters that could affect the sky; only disaster-level monsters possessed such power. At the time, he hadn't taken it seriously, treating it as just a story, but now, experiencing it firsthand, he grasped how terrifying this suffocating aura was.

"Disaster-level... equivalent to a Grandmaster. The Qingling Sect might..." Just then, Bai Yexue, dressed in white, arrived gracefully. Pausing in Qingling Village, she turned and looked back, her cool demeanor and captivating aura silencing the crowd.

"Old Chen, lead the villagers of Qingling to the sect for refuge; this place is no longer safe."

"I'll lead the villagers to the sect right away! Elder, be careful!"

"Yes, Miss Bai, take care."

The concerned gazes of the crowd warmed Bai Yexue's heart as she nodded in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

"This aura... Elder Bai has already reached the fourth tier. That Monster Li... er, Master Li must be even stronger. There might still be hope!"

Old Chen felt a surge of relief in his heart, urging everyone to hasten toward the sect.

When they were about a hundred feet from the grand formation's edge, Bai Yexue paused. Outside the formation, demonic energy surged, cloaking everything in darkness, making it impossible to see what was happening. If Tuan Tuan hadn't warned her earlier, she wouldn't have realized how many monsters were approaching.

To her right, a ball of white light flashed, sticking close to Bai Yexue's forehead.

"Chirp chirp!"

"Can you hold that disaster-level monster?"

Bai Yexue's cherry lips parted slightly, a look of surprise crossing her face.

The third-tier protective formation could eliminate five-tier warriors and encircle four-tier warriors. With the assistance of the formation spirit, its power would increase significantly, causing considerable damage even to four-tier warriors. However, against a disaster-level monster, which was equivalent to a Grandmaster, it was severely lacking; they were not on the same level.

"Chirp..."

Tuan Tuan responded hesitantly, lacking confidence.

"Just do your best to hold it off. Brother has been in the Path of Enlightenment for over three hours; he can't be far from coming out. Just hold on for one or two more hours!"

Bai Yexue said softly, her tone solemn.

"Chirp!"