Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Inside a training room on the seventh floor of the White Bone Foundation Tower.

Spending ten years in the training room on the seventh floor is equivalent to spending thirty years in the outside world.

With a single thought, the world before Zhou Qingfeng's eyes underwent a dramatic transformation.

The once empty training room has been transformed into a vibrant landscape painting.

Towering mountains rise abruptly from the ground, majestic and imposing; rivers and lakes meander and flow, shimmering in the sunlight; dense forests are lush and green, filled with the sounds of birds and insects; birds and beasts roam freely among them, living in harmony.

In this world shaped by his thoughts, Zhou Qingfeng was like a supreme creator god, with the birth and death of all things and the changing of scenery all under his control.

At the summit, with a thought, a pool of warm spring water instantly appeared. Beside the spring stood a simple wooden house, and next to the house was a peach tree in full bloom, its petals fluttering and its fragrance filling the air.

The dense, turbid air in this space was slowly circulating according to Zhou Qingfeng's will, and countless streams of the Three Calamities Qi were drawn out from the boiling turbid air and gathered around Zhou Qingfeng.

Zhou Qingfeng sat upright under the peach tree and slowly exhaled.

He casually took out the Plague Pill, Blood Pill, and Five Organs Pill and swallowed them.

He silently began his days of sleepless, extremely tiring cultivation.

On November 13, 1082, Emperor Gengshi's magical power increased by 2190 coins.

On December 14th, during the reign of Emperor Gengshi, another full month had passed, and his magical power surged again by 2190 coins.

With seven times the amount of turbid air, three times the speed, and the ability to consume calamity-level pills at will.

My mana is growing steadily and rapidly every month.

Thirteen months and seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

All worldly affairs did not bother Zhou Qingfeng's cultivation, as if Zhou Qingfeng had been abandoned by the world.

He secluded himself in seclusion, cultivating in solitude, like a heartless cultivation machine, devoid of emotions, freedom, sleep, food, water, or any other thoughts beyond cultivation.

He completely forgot himself, numbly and intently repeating the same thing.

Cultivation is never an easy or pleasant thing; it is not addictive, let alone enjoyable.

Because cultivation itself is a tedious and boring thing, it requires perseverance and the torment of loneliness and solitude. If you don't even have this much willpower to persevere, then it proves that you are not suitable for the path of cultivation.

Even if one survives this ordeal, the series of negative effects brought about by prolonged solitary cultivation can drastically change a cultivator's temperament, causing them to lose themselves, become cold-blooded and ruthless, have little passion, and become taciturn.

If there are still relatives alive, that's fine; they can reawaken themselves and return to normal.

If all one's relatives pass away after a period of seclusion, then one can only cleanse one's soul with the mundane realities of life, rebuild emotional ties with the people of this evil world, rediscover oneself, and return to normalcy.

Otherwise, one's mind will inevitably become distorted, gradually spiraling out of control and heading towards depravity.

Therefore, cultivators who consume turbid energy cannot transcend the mortal world. Even if they possess the power to destroy the heavens and the earth and recreate the universe, they will still be trapped in the evil world and suffer its torments.

The date was December 20, 1084, during the reign of Emperor Gengshi.

His magical power finally accumulated to over 40,000 magical coins, reaching the level required to ascend to the Devouring Fiend Realm.

Zhou Qingfeng suddenly came to his senses and stopped cultivating.

"It's time to leapfrog into the next realm, but... we'll have to wait a little longer."

Zhou Qingfeng felt that something was wrong with his current state, very wrong. His once burning desire for power had become numb and empty, his thinking was rigid, and he was extremely tired. His brain was like a rusty precision instrument, turning slowly and deliberately.

In addition, Zhou Qingfeng also felt hunger, thirst, and weakness deep within his body.

He needs to conserve his energy, get a good night's sleep, and have a good meal to restore himself to his peak condition before he can complete the extremely dangerous and painful leap to the next level.

So Zhou Qingfeng took out the flesh-and-blood ginseng, tore it apart and ate it. After eating and drinking his fill, he soaked in a hot spring, returned to the cabin, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. He slept for seven days and seven nights without even having a dream.

After waking up, Zhou Qingfeng immediately took out the materials he had prepared for ascending the steps.

To ascend to the Fiend Realm, two strict conditions must be met.

Firstly, the power of 40,000 coins.

Secondly, the Four Evils Fate Pattern.

Other required auxiliary materials are Disaster-level Purification Pill, Disaster-level Soul Dividing Pill, and Disaster-level Four Fiends Sealing Life Diagram.

If either the conditions or the materials are missing, then the ascent will fail.

These four inauspicious fates refer to the fates of Qingyang, Tuoluo, Huoxing, and Lingxing.

People with the "Qingyang" destiny are impatient, reckless, prone to conflict, have criminal tendencies, and often repay kindness with enmity due to poor interpersonal skills.

People with the Rahu astrological configuration are complex, inconsistent in their words and actions, adept at deception, and often lead a nomadic lifestyle. This is frequently associated with unstable emotions or financial situations, leading to strained interpersonal relationships.

People with a Mars astrological configuration are strong-willed, impulsive, aggressive, and competitive. They are impatient, short-tempered, and may even have violent tendencies. They also tend to suffer from illnesses, especially those related to fire.

People with the Lingxing destiny are cunning, jealous, and vengeful. They appear calm on the outside but are full of hostility inside. They are also good at plotting insidious schemes and are often accompanied by legal disputes or illnesses.

One in ten thousand people is born with any one of these four inauspicious fates.

Life is full of misfortune and hardship, and we are always in adversity. But there is always a way out. If a person is determined and exceptionally intelligent, makes the right choices in the face of misfortune and hardship, and learns to grow in adversity, then he can still achieve great success in the future.

For cultivators to collect the life essence of a malevolent spirit, it's not as simple as just extracting a soul and killing someone.

Destiny refers to a structured description of a person's life characteristics, destiny trajectory, and potential possibilities, derived from analyzing the distribution of cosmic energy at the time of their birth through a specific astrological system.

This is something you're born with, something predetermined.

If a cultivator wants to collect a malevolent destiny, he must perform a series of complicated rituals while the person is still alive in order to extract the malevolent destiny from the human body. However, once the malevolent destiny is extracted, the person will die, die completely, and disappear entirely from the world of evil, unable to even become a ghost.

The Four Fiends Fate Pattern is extremely rare; an ordinary cultivator could not obtain a set of Four Fiends Fate Patterns even if they spent their entire life trying.

However, for Zhou Qingfeng, obtaining the Four Killings Fate was very simple; it was just a matter of paying a fee.

In this world, there is nothing that money cannot accomplish. If there is, it means that there is not enough money.

So there's no need to ask your mother or master for anything; just take out your money and buy a set.

Zhou Qingfeng spread out the Four Fiends Sealing Destiny Chart, then took out four jars with talismans affixed to them from his storage bag and placed them on the four array eyes according to their positions. He then sat in the center of the array chart.

The jar is a disaster-level sealing artifact called the Innate Life-Sealing Jar, and the talisman is called the Innate Life-Sealing Talisman. It is a double seal with the same effect, which is to preserve the destiny for a long time and prevent the Four Evils Destiny from disappearing.

"Hiss... Get ready to ascend the steps!" Zhou Qingfeng took a deep breath, mentally prepared himself, and cast a divination stick.

[This is a very unlucky omen; to leap into a higher realm at this time is ominous.]

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng decisively gave up climbing the steps and instead adjusted his state, sitting quietly in meditation. He did not cultivate, but only meditated on his past experiences to temper his heart in seeking the Dao.

Over the next few days, Zhou Qingfeng cast a divination every day, and every single one of them turned out to be ominous.

This means that the process of leaping over the steps is extremely dangerous and could very likely result in death.

He didn't understand what went wrong.

Zhou Qingfeng waited day after day for the opportunity to leapfrog his cultivation level, but the opportunity never came. It seemed that leaping to the next level was a dead end, and no matter what he did, it would be extremely unlucky.

He seemed to realize that something was wrong with him.

After a long silence, and reflecting on my own actions, I realized I was afraid.

I'm afraid of dying on the way up the steps.

I'm afraid that everything I have now will vanish like a bubble.

He already possessed too much: wealth, status, prestige, family, and power. The more he possessed, the more afraid he became of death, and he had lost the determination he had when he was a refugee, fighting to the death and forging ahead without hesitation.

This is extremely fatal for a cultivator who practices by consuming turbid qi, because such cultivators are inherently living towards death and must have the courage and determination to "not seek ten thousand years, but seize the day."

If you cannot overcome your mental barriers, then you can only stop here.

Forcing one to ascend the steps would likely only result in death and the demise of one's spirit.

To verify his judgment, Zhou Qingfeng cast the divination sixteen times in a row, and every single one of them was inauspicious.

Zhou Qingfeng sat cross-legged on the array diagram, silently bowing his head, his fists clenching tighter and tighter until his eyes turned bloodshot, his breathing becoming increasingly heavy, as he recalled the despair and pain he experienced during the two-hundred-mile escape from famine.

Past scenes flashed through my mind like a slideshow.

Every day, every day, every day, he lived in fear. People around him kept dying. Whenever demons or monsters appeared, hundreds or thousands of people would be torn apart and devoured. Mortals were like ants, dying in large numbers.

The screams, chaos, death, and despair on the escape route are still vivid in my mind.

The pain pushed him to the brink of screaming and breaking down time and time again.

He has never been afraid of death throughout his journey to this day. He has never lacked courage and determination to get what he wants. On the contrary, now that he has everything and has settled down, he is afraid of dying.

"Hehe, hehehe, ahaha, haha, hahaha..." Zhou Qingfeng grabbed his face with both hands, his eyes wide with rage. He was laughing at himself for being afraid of death, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. His laughter gradually became more and more manic.

"Afraid of death? Do you even have the right to be afraid of death?"

“Once you embark on the path of cultivating the turbid food, you can only move forward; you have no choice.”

"Does the danger ahead mean you should be afraid to move forward? Everything you have now is only because you can bring long-term benefits to the first company. When you lose your value and become useless, you will be abandoned."

"Everything you have now will vanish like a bubble, and you will die without a burial place."

"The first family doesn't need good-for-nothings. For your own sake, you must gradually gain the power and strength to control your own destiny. Otherwise, you might as well die sooner!"

Zhou Qingfeng's tone was frantic, almost roaring.

He smashed through the mental barrier that stood in his way.

Regain the courage and determination to move forward.

A flawless heart seeking the truth is forged anew at this moment.

With this desire to seek the truth in mind, he cast lots again.

A mysterious scarlet divination stick slowly emerged from the depths of consciousness, and a divination slip flew out shakily.

[Auspicious sign: This is a time for advancement and progress; good fortune awaits.]

Zhou Qingfeng took a deep breath, decisively took out the Soul-Splitting Pill and the Heart-Purifying Pill and threw them into his mouth. He formed a hand seal and released his magic power to activate the Four Fiends Sealing Fate Array. The talismans sealing the Four Fiends Fate were immediately shaken off by the magic power, and the Four Fiends Fate instantly flew out of the Innate Fate Sealing Jar, about to dissipate into nothingness in an instant.

However, under the control of the Four Fiends' Fate Chart, the Four Fiends' Fate Charts were suspended in mid-air and began to gather and circulate according to Zhou Qingfeng's will, using his magic power to refine the Four Fiends' Fate Charts and transform them into Fate Palaces.

If previously the three calamities were combined to form a boat, then one could sail on the sea of ​​suffering.

So now we'll use the Four Evil Fates to condense a Fate Palace, and then use a massive amount of magical power to shape the Fate Palace.

Finally, he severed his own life soul and sent it to take over his life palace.

Next, the life palace must be integrated into the two souls and seven spirits, and the fierce energy inherent in the life palace will be used to cleanse the soul and body, allowing the body and soul to undergo a great leap in life level.

After being refined, it will be immune to the three calamities, and will feed on the four evils, transforming into the most ferocious creature in the world.

Furthermore, one can roam the world with one's physical body. If the physical body dies, the soul can still survive independently. At most, one will lose the supernatural powers of the physical body, but the ability to cast spells will not be affected in any way, because the life palace is the container of magical power.

Even if the soul is completely destroyed, the life spirit hidden in the life palace can still survive.

Furthermore, they can possess another's body and live a second life.

To kill a cultivator at the Devouring Fiend Realm, one must shatter their Life Palace; otherwise, they cannot be completely killed.

This is why cultivators in the Devouring Fiend Realm are considered to have the highest combat power among low-level cultivators. Even if a cultivator in the Devouring Calamity Realm is strong enough to destroy a world, they are like ants in front of a cultivator in the Devouring Fiend Realm.

After Zhou Qingfeng spent 40,000 coins of magic power to knead the four evil fates into a ball shape, he immediately formed a hand seal and cast a spell to cut out the life soul from the three souls and seven spirits.

With the aid of the Disaster-level Soul-Splitting Pill, the life soul was slowly separated from the depths of the soul, and the process was relatively smooth.

However, the pain of having one's soul separated is still very torturous.

"Ah~~~" Zhou Qingfeng let out a shrill scream. The pain of his soul being torn apart was almost maddening, as if someone was taking a knife and digging out his bones bit by bit while he was still alive.

However, under these circumstances, Zhou Qingfeng still needed to remain conscious and send his life soul into his life palace.

He quickly raised his hands to form a hand seal, controlling the Life Palace to fly into his mouth. With his mind at will, the Life Palace began to merge with his soul, filling the missing position of the Life Soul. However, something even more terrifying happened.

The Life Palace carries the energy of the Four Evils, which not only rapidly cleanses the three souls and seven spirits, but also cleanses every part of the flesh and blood of the body. Under the cleansing of the Four Evils, the body quickly cracks and heals.

His mind was being violently impacted and polluted by the malevolent energy. Countless whispers rang in his ears, roaring with anger, deceiving with words, and hurling jealousy and insults, trying to hinder and confuse his path to the top.

In addition, negative emotions such as anger, depression, and anxiety cannot be suppressed in one's mind.

Despite the multiple disturbances and pain, Zhou Qingfeng still had to maintain his rationality to manipulate the frequency of his life palace washing over his body and soul, lest his body and soul be unable to withstand the evil energy and be swept away by the evil energy, resulting in his body exploding and dying.

At this moment, the Disaster-Level Purifying Pill played a crucial role, pulling Zhou Qingfeng's consciousness back to a third-person perspective, isolating him from all pain and troubles, and ensuring that his mind remained pure.

Zhou Qingfeng, like an observer, meticulously and carefully completed the process of climbing the steps.

After forty-nine days, Zhou Qingfeng finally succeeded in leaping through the ranks.

Zhou Qingfeng suddenly opened his eyes, leaped up, and his physical body soared through the sky. He opened his arms, looked up at the sky and laughed loudly: "The four evil stars of Ziwei sit in my life palace, I am untouched by the three calamities and all evil influences are eliminated. After forty-nine days of tempering, I have finally succeeded in leaping over realms and ascending to new heights; Hahahaha~~~ I have succeeded!"

P.S.: It wasn't easy! Old Zhou has finally reached the Devouring Fiend Realm. Please give me a reward, free gifts, follow me, keep up with the updates, and give me a good review.