Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

"Hahaha! I, this old man, finally made it to the top!!!"

A hoarse roar, filled with ecstasy and liberation, suddenly exploded from the top of the clouds, carrying the pent-up frustration of the past few days and the triumphant feeling of conquering one's limits.

Piercing through the thin air, it rolled towards the layers of clouds below, towards the distant foot of the mountain, and even towards the Dongying military camp further away!

The one who uttered that shout was Gu Yang.

At this moment, he was nowhere to be seen with any of his usual dashing demeanor.

His long hair, tousled by sweat, dust, and the strong wind, hung loosely over his shoulders, obscuring most of his face.

The once exquisite and well-fitting clothes had long since been reduced to tattered rags hanging on her body after countless rolls, impacts, and the explosion of the golden ball.

Barely covering the vital parts, the exposed skin was covered with purplish-blue, red, and pale golden marks from being burned by the golden evil energy.

He was covered in dirt, grime, and blood, looking exactly like a survivor who had just crawled out of the most devastating battlefield ruins or the bottom of a beggar's heap.

He stood on a flat stone platform a few dozen feet in circumference on the mountaintop, his body trembling uncontrollably from extreme exhaustion and the sudden loss of pressure.

His legs were like reeds in a storm, and he almost collapsed several times, but he held on with his indomitable will.

He raised his head, facing the seemingly within-reach, crystal-clear blue sky, and with his last ounce of strength, let out a long roar that proclaimed victory.

God knows what he went through these past two days!

That old tortoise was practically using him as a sitting duck! That damned "Sealing Spirit Golden Fiend Ball" was like it had eyes—no, it was being firmly locked onto by a treacherous tortoise eye!

Just as he had gotten used to the terrifying pressure of the first step, which felt like it would crush him into mincemeat, he gritted his teeth and prepared to charge towards the next step.

That golden, eerie orb of light always hurtles in from the most cunning and unexpected angle—

Sometimes it's a blind spot behind him, sometimes it's a blind spot above his head, but more often than not, it's right in front of his face, which he considers to be quite handsome!

I don't know how many times I've been blown up by that thing!

Each time was accompanied by a severe loss of spiritual energy and a stinging pain in the meridians.

After two days, the spiritual energy in his body was almost completely consumed by the strange sealing effect, and his cultivation level plummeted, temporarily falling back to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

The flow of spiritual energy was as sluggish as a dried-up riverbed.

However, every cloud has a silver lining. He also clearly felt that his spiritual power was being constantly suppressed, his physical body was enduring extreme pressure, and the golden sphere was repeatedly "pounding" him.

My muscles, bones, skin, and membranes are undergoing a transformative change!

It became exceptionally tough and dense, brimming with explosive power.

He had a strong premonition that once the damned spiritual energy seal on his body was completely removed, his strength would not only recover rapidly, but he would also experience an amazing qualitative leap!

Following closely behind Gu Yang, Hu Qing also made a nearly exhausting leap, staggering as he stepped onto the mountaintop platform from the last floating stone step.

His condition was slightly better than Gu Yang's; his clothes were still intact and hadn't turned into strips of cloth, but they were equally filthy from sweat, mud, and residual traces of various forms of energy.

His face was flushed red, a sign of overexertion and the rush of blood and qi to its limit. His chest heaved violently, and each breath was accompanied by a burning pain, as if his lungs were about to explode.

The two barely managed to stand on the mountaintop platform when, almost simultaneously, a terrifying gravity, like a mountain of immense weight, pressed down on them.

Like the receding tide, it vanished without a trace in a flash.

The sudden disappearance of pressure does not bring pure relief, but rather an extreme, tearing sense of contrast.

Every muscle, every bone, and every joint in the body, which had been under extreme tension and resistance for a long time, suddenly relaxed, bringing an overwhelming wave of soreness, numbness, and loss of control.

The two stood frozen in place like two ice sculptures that had just thawed, not daring to move an inch.

Even just trying to bend your fingers slightly will cause your knuckles to make a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, as if they would fall apart completely if you exerted too much force.

At that very moment, the golden sunrise leaped above the distant horizon.

Warm and vibrant light shone unhindered atop the sea of ​​clouds, gilding the two disheveled yet indomitable figures with a brilliant golden edge.

The light dispelled the chill of the high altitude and seemed to inject new vitality.

Two days... no, it felt infinitely longer than two days!

In those short forty-eight hours, every breath was accompanied by pain, and every step felt like crossing the line between life and death, as if from another world!

Gu Yang excitedly tried to peek out through the churning sea of ​​clouds below, searching for the old tortoise at the foot of the mountain, hoping to prove his success to that hateful yet respectable "King of Torture".

However, all that could be seen was a vast, boundless sea of ​​white clouds, slowly surging in the morning light and reflecting a dazzling golden glow.

There was absolutely no view below, let alone the tiny shadow of the turtle.

The world seemed to consist only of this solitary peak and the ever-brightening sun overhead.

Before the two could even process their near-death experience and successful ascent to the summit, a strange change had already occurred within their bodies!

The "spirit-sealing" effect, which had been like heavy shackles binding their spiritual power, finally began to fade slowly and steadily after the pressure completely disappeared and the peaceful spiritual energy from the outside world began to naturally seep into their bodies.

Just as the frozen river gradually melts under the warm spring sun, a long-lost, pure and vibrant spiritual energy emerges.

It began to regenerate from the depths of its dried-up meridians, greedily absorbing external spiritual energy from its pores, and slowly merging into the almost stagnant spiritual energy cycle.

Power is returning!

Along with the revival of spiritual energy comes the opportunity for enlightenment and breakthrough that has long been reached after being squeezed to the limit and repeatedly tempered!

Hu Qing and Gu Yang felt something almost simultaneously. They exchanged a glance and saw in each other's eyes an irrepressible yearning for a higher realm and a sense of enlightenment.

Without saying a word, the two endured the excruciating pain and discomfort in their bodies, slowly and extremely carefully sat down cross-legged, and closed their eyes atop this sea of ​​clouds, bathed in the rising sun.

A gentle breeze from the mountaintop swept by, carrying away the last trace of heat and dust from their bodies.

Their breathing gradually synchronized, becoming long and deep.

All the jumbled thoughts, the pain, struggle, anger, resentment, and joy of the past few days...

With everything settled, his mind and spirit completely immersed in that profound and mysterious realm of inner vision, feeling the torrent of power within his body that was slowly unsealing and was about to surge like a volcanic eruption.

The final barrier to dust control is now clearly visible.

The assault has officially begun!