Spiritual power collided, sending rays of light scattering in every direction. Zhang Yuanyuan and Zhang Peiren were locked in combat. Each of their strikes was like the collision of great rivers, stirring up a sky full of spiritual radiance. Even the stray ripples of energy were enough to pierce through rocks and vegetation, and it was not long before the surrounding area was left in a state of utter devastation.
Clearly, however, Zhang Yuanyuan held the upper hand. Her spiritual power was nearing the point where "a hundred rivers return to the sea," a sign that her dantian was on the verge of transforming into a spirit sea. Beyond the 9th Layer of Qi Condensation, the accumulation of spiritual power within the dantian is known as a spirit sea. In ancient times, this stage was categorized separately as the Spirit Sea Realm. In the contemporary Cultivation World, however, it has been integrated into the Qi Condensation stage, divided into the 10th through 12th layers.
Zhang Peiren, by contrast, possessed spiritual power that flowed like a rushing river, yet it had not reached the threshold of "a hundred rivers returning to the sea" like Zhang Yuanyuan’s. The higher the level of cultivation, the wider the gap becomes, separating masters from novices like clouds from mud. If not for the heavy, earth-aspected spiritual power Zhang Peiren wielded, he surely would have been cut down by Zhang Yuanyuan’s spirit tool sword long ago.
Chapter 45