After leaving the council hall, Su Qinghe did not have Wan'er continue following him. Right now, he needed to resolve his own problems.
As the scion of the premier family in the God Realm in his past life, even after falling from his pedestal, he still had ways to rise again from the very same spot.
With his deep grievances unavenged and his father Su Wuxie's fate unknown, how could Su Qinghe possibly sink into despair here?
Su Qinghe walked toward the Yun Family's cultivation chamber. He had to figure out a way to restore his Dantian as quickly as possible, for only then would he be qualified to survive in this world where the strong reigned supreme.
"Well, well, if it isn't Brother Su! What's this? Your cultivation is completely ruined, yet you're still heading to the cultivation chamber? It looks like you're unwilling to accept your fate," a young figure appeared right in front of Su Qinghe.
From the original owner's memories, Su Qinghe recognized this youth as Yun Peng, an attendant of Yun Nantian. In the past, Yun Peng had been utterly respectful in front of Su Qinghe, but now his true colors were showing.
"A good dog doesn't block the path. Go back and tell Yun Nantian that I know what's on his mind. If he wants the title of the number one genius in Yangzhou City, three days from now, at the martial arena, we settle this with a battle."
Su Qinghe's icy voice rang out, leaving Yun Peng utterly astonished.
What! He actually dared to challenge the young master? With a shattered Dantian and completely ruined cultivation, wasn't this pure suicide?
Yet this also achieved his exact purpose. Today, Yun Peng had come to mock Su Qinghe precisely because Yun Nantian had instructed him to do so.
After all, Su Qinghe was the adopted son of the family head; even if he had been reduced to a cripple, he wasn't someone just anyone could bully. Now that Su Qinghe had actually taken the initiative to issue a challenge, Yun Nantian had a legitimate pretext.
What kind of person was Su Qinghe? To call him the number one youth of the God Realm in his past life was no exaggeration. He saw through such petty tricks at a glance, and thus immediately responded in the most domineering manner possible.
"Fine, fine, fine! Su Qinghe, I will relay your words to the young master. Don't regret this in three days!" Leaving behind those words, Yun Peng hurriedly scurried away.
"Whoosh!" Before long, news of Su Qinghe challenging Yun Nantian spread throughout the entire Yun Family.
"Hasn't Young Master Su's cultivation been completely destroyed? Why does he still dare to challenge Young Master Yun?"
"In my opinion, Young Master Su hasn't just lost his cultivation, his brain is broken too."
"Hmph, Su Qinghe is simply courting death!"
The entire Yun Family was buzzing with discussion. When Yun Tian learned of the matter, he was likewise consumed with worry, unable to sit or stand in peace.
Yet since Su Qinghe had initiated the challenge himself, even as the head of the family, he had no right to interfere. The Yun Family had a rule: younger disciples were permitted to engage in friendly competition among themselves, provided it did not destroy anyone's Dantian, harm anyone's foundational roots, or result in loss of life.
After leaving behind those words, Su Qinghe entered the cultivation room and began searching for a method to restore his cultivation.
"Father said this divine crystal could help me reshape my physical body; perhaps I can attempt to fuse with the divine crystal to repair my Dantian," Su Qinghe deliberated silently, circulating the Su Family's supreme technique, the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture.
The Great Heavenly Creation Scripture was the premier technique of the Su Family, capable of seizing creations and pilfering yin and yang.
It could forge all things in the world and derive ten thousand dharmas, consisting of a total of nine layers. Each layer represented a separate heaven, and throughout the entire Su Family, only Su Wuxie had ever cultivated it to the eighth layer.
As for the mysterious ninth layer, no one had ever set foot in it to this day, which showed that even though this technique defied the heavens, cultivating it was incomparably difficult.
Immediately afterward, Su Qinghe took out the divine crystal, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture.
Suddenly, contrary to Su Qinghe's expectation of fusing with it, the divine crystal transformed into a streak of white light that pierced straight into the center of his brows.
In the next instant, Su Qinghe's eyes closed tightly as his soul was dragged into a realm of pure nothingness.
In the outside world, Su Qinghe remained motionless like a statue, yet within this space, he could clearly feel a pressure far exceeding anything the Divine Martial Continent could bear.
"Hiss! What on earth is this divine crystal that Father obtained? It actually carries such terrifying pressure!" Su Qinghe could not help but let out a gasp of astonishment.
Within the ethereal space, Su Qinghe's consciousness remained exceptionally clear, and he forced his sea of consciousness to peer into this realm.
He saw that within the boundless white space, bolts of lightning suddenly surged and actually penetrated his body. As the spatial realm closed, Su Qinghe regained consciousness in the outside world.
In the very moment Su Qinghe was stunned, his Dantian began to expand continuously, finally stopping only when it had grown to the size of a lake.
And that was not the end of it.
Inside his Dantian, Su Qinghe saw that the mysterious milky-white streak of light from the ethereal space had also flooded into his limbs and bones, widening his meridians before finally concealing itself within his Dantian.
"Ah!"
"So painful!"
Struck by the rampaging bolts of lightning within his body, Su Qinghe's eyes turned crimson as his entire body trembled violently.
"First Layer of Qi Condensation!"
"Second Layer of Qi Condensation!"
"Third Layer of Qi Condensation..."
"..."
"Eighth Layer of Qi Condensation!"
"Peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Condensation!" Yet the torrential power showed no signs of stopping, continuing to batter against Su Qinghe's cultivation barrier.
"First Layer of Pill Opening!"
"Second Layer of Pill Opening!"
"Mid-Second Layer of Pill Opening!"
It slowly came to a halt only upon reaching the Peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening.
A massive vortex of energy condensed around Su Qinghe's body, and his cultivation realm had directly reached the Peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening! His Dantian had been reopened, and it was now even more powerful than before!
Moreover, upon sensing the operation of the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture, he found it had reached the second layer. In his past life, even as a Tianxuan Realm powerhouse, Su Qinghe had only cultivated the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture to the fifth layer.
"It seems that in this lifetime, when my cultivation path steps into the Tianxuan Realm, it will undoubtedly far surpass my past life."
"This divine crystal is definitely not an earthly artifact; not only can it repair the Dantian, but it can also widen the meridians and propel one straight into the Pill Opening Realm in a single step!"
Of course, this was also inseparable from Su Qinghe's innate talent. To be able to become the number one member of the younger generation in the God Realm in his past life—how could he be ordinary?
The cultivation environment of the God Realm, whether measured by the density of spiritual energy or the might of its techniques, was simply incomparable to the Southern Domain of this Lower Realm.
Practitioners draw qi into the body and condense qi into a sea, which is known as the Qi Condensation Realm. The qi then courses through the limbs and bones to open the Dantian, known as the Pill Opening Realm. Qi Condensation, Pill Opening, Life Palace, Spirit Movement, and Sea Crossing—these constitute the five foundational realms of cultivation.
Each realm is further divided into four minor stages: early, mid, late, and peak.
Ascending straight to the peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening in a single bound—such a speed was unheard of and unseen, not only in the Southern Domain, but even in the God Realm of his past life.
Feeling the changes in his body at this moment, Su Qinghe thought to himself in secret:
"Hmph, since you have allowed me, Su Qinghe, to obtain this supreme opportunity, my revenge and the search for my father are one step closer."
Because they both practiced the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture, coupled with their shared bloodline, despite the passing of a hundred years, Su Qinghe harbored an instinctive intuition that Su Wuxie was definitely not dead. He firmly believed that there would eventually come a day when he would be reunited with his father.
"Now that I am at the peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening and the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture has reached the second layer, I can also use some of my martial arts techniques."
In his past life, Su Qinghe had cultivated the Great Heavenly Creation Scripture to the fifth layer, and within it, he was thoroughly versed in palm techniques, fist techniques, movement techniques, swordsmanship, and saber arts.
"It's just a pity that my cultivation is still too low; I can't even unleash Earth-grade martial skills yet. No matter, I'll take it step by step.
In this lifetime, I, Su Qinghe, shall unquestionably ascend above the clouds!"