515: Breakthrough! Second level of Immortal Lord!

A year passed by like a fleeting white stallion.

The flames of war in the Outer Heaven finally subsided. When the last wisp of weird aura was purged, the group returned to the Immortal Sword Manor.

In this war, the side of the Vast Immortal Domain could be said to have had full confidence.

Six Immortal Emperors joined forces against the five great Immortal Emperors of the Eerie Clan, forming an absolute suppression in terms of combat power.

With the addition of the variable that was the Empress Cangqiong, the overall casualties were much smaller than expected, and many Sect elites managed to survive.

"Finally back."

Su Ming didn't respond; his gaze was fixed on the distance.

Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor did not stay. As he passed by Su Ming, his footsteps paused, and he turned his head to stare intently at Su Ming.

There was no joy of victory in those eyes; instead, they were filled with coldness and intense resentment.

He gave a cold snort, thunder exploded around him, and he turned into a flash of lightning, disappearing into the horizon.

"That old fellow, did he take the wrong medicine?"

Lin Tian muttered.

Su Ming withdrew his gaze. Before he could speak, he saw two figures walking side by side.

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor walked on the left with a smile on his face, looking less majestic than usual and more relieved.

Beside him, the Empress Cangqiong was still dressed in a red imperial robe, as cold and clear as the moon, though the killing intent between her brows had not yet fully dissipated.

"Young Friend Su!"

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor called out to Su Ming from a distance.

Su Ming did not dare to be arrogant and hurriedly stood up to salute.

"Greetings, Seniors."

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor walked up and pointed to the woman beside him, introducing her.

"This is the Empress Cangqiong."

"Over the past year, if it weren't for her assistance, the situation probably wouldn't have been so easy."

Su Ming looked at the Empress Cangqiong, and her gaze fell upon him once again.

This time, the previous complexity was gone, replaced by a hint of scrutiny.

"Su Ming, it's thanks to your deduction that Cangqiong also escaped a disaster!"

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor lowered his voice, his tone carrying a bit of profound meaning.

"That fellow Nine Heavens has a crooked mind. After you left the Sacred Heaven Sect, I predicted he would set his sights on Cangqiong."

"So I sought her out in advance and sent over those extra resources brought out from the Tidal Pavilion."

Su Ming's heart jolted, and he understood instantly.

No wonder the Empress Cangqiong looked at him with such strange eyes.

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor's foresight was more than just long-term.

In the Vast Immortal Domain, having one more Immortal Emperor meant one more chance of winning against the Eerie Clan, and one more trump card to balance against the Nine Heavens Immortal Emperor.

The Empress Cangqiong looked at him and finally spoke her first words.

"Very special; Saint Heaven's judgment was not wrong."

Her voice was extremely cold, like a glacier that hadn't melted for ten thousand years, yet it possessed a strange magnetism.

After speaking, her figure moved slightly, and she dissipated like mist, leaving only a faint fragrance behind.

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor watched the direction she left and patted Su Ming on the shoulder.

"Don't overthink it; that's just her personality."

"By the way, you saw that look Nine Heavens gave before he left."

Su Ming nodded; he still clearly remembered that cold sensation, like thorns on his back.

"After he stepped into the Emperor Realm, his wariness of me decreased significantly."

"Now that he has figured out your background, his mind is probably full of thoughts on how to skin you alive and pull out your bones."

Su Ming was quite candid, spreading his hands.

"Senior, rest assured, I am someone who fears death the most."

"I'll just stay within the Immortal Sword Manor."

"He surely can't rush in and kill me by force right in front of Jian Lingtian."

Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor was amused by this frank display of cowardice, and the heavy atmosphere dissipated quite a bit.

He patted Su Ming on the shoulder.

"If you get tired of staying here, come to the Sacred Heaven Sect anytime."

"That's my territory; Nine Heavens won't dare to reach out his hand openly."

After saying this, Saint Heaven Immortal Emperor's figure gradually faded and finally merged into the Void Realm.

Once these big shots had all left, Su Ming let out a long sigh of relief and rubbed his aching neck.

He couldn't intervene in the games between Immortal Emperors for now, but he had to amass enough capital for self-preservation.

"Second Heaven Immortal Lord..."

Su Ming felt his almost exhausted savings and gave a bitter smile.

Thus, he thought of a way.

He went nowhere else and headed straight for Xuanyuan Tianji, who was currently counting the war losses.

"Sister Tianji, are you busy?"

Xuanyuan Tianji looked up and, seeing it was Su Ming, was about to exchange pleasantries when she saw the flattering smile on his face.

"Lend me some resources?"

"You also know my Physique..."

Xuanyuan Tianji's eye corner twitched, and she helplessly threw out a Storage Ring.

"Take it, take it."

Su Ming caught the ring, swept his Divine Sense inside, and immediately broke into a wide grin.

It was enough.

He returned to his straw hut, isolating himself from all the external noise.

This time, he would absolutely not emerge until he reached the Second Heaven Immortal Lord Realm.

Inside the straw hut!

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the straw bed, with the Immortal Stones lent to him by Xuanyuan Tianji piled up in front of him.

These Immortal Stones were of excellent quality, flowing with a milky-white glow that made the narrow room flicker with light and shadow.

He took a deep breath and calmed his heart.

In this Immortal Domain where the strong prey on the weak, only the cultivation held in one's own hands is the trump card to deal with all variables.

Su Ming held an Immortal Stone in each hand, and a powerful suction force emanated from his palms.

Crack.

The luster on the surface of the Immortal Stones quickly dimmed, and they subsequently crumbled into powder.

Energy of extreme purity followed the Meridians in his palms and crashed arrogantly into his Dantian.

That energy carried a sense of desolation, intertwining with the Chaos power in his body, constantly washing against that indestructible barrier.

Cultivation knows no years.

The dust on the ceiling of the room grew thick, but Su Ming's figure remained motionless, like a desolate stone statue.

In the first year, the immortal power in his body accumulated to the critical point, and his Meridians throbbed with a faint pain.

In the tenth year, the Bottleneck belonging to the Second Heaven Immortal Lord began to show cracks, and every impact made his Divine Soul tremble.

In the fifteenth year, the borrowed Immortal Stones were mostly consumed, and the floor of the room was covered with a thick layer of stone powder.

Su Ming's face was pale, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

The difficulty of the Breakthrough far exceeded his expectations, as the energy he required for every small Realm increase was several times that of Cultivators of the same level.

He did not retreat, nor did he become impatient.

Finally, in the twentieth year of seclusion.

A muffled sound that only he could hear echoed from within Su Ming's body.

Deep within his originally parched Dantian, a fresh surge of immortal essence gushed out, quickly flowing to his limbs and bones.

A faint golden glow emerged on his skin, and his aura, which had been withered from overconsumption, soared frantically at this moment.

Phew—

A mouthful of stagnant Qi that had been suppressed for twenty years was slowly exhaled.

Su Ming opened his eyes, and two beams of sharp light flashed through the darkness, as if they could pierce through the Void Realm.

Second Heaven Immortal Lord—it was done.

He stood up, and a series of dense popping sounds erupted from his bones.

Feeling the power within him that had more than doubled, Su Ming clenched his fists, with thunder faintly dancing at his fingertips.

Although it was only an increase of one small Realm, he felt his strength had increased by more than fivefold...