449: The spiritual roots of time and space are initially formed, and the heavenly calamity comes.

Xiao Zhuo's eyes flickered, but there was no trace of panic.

If that Formation Diagram was truly so crucial, even if its location was exposed, the Ninth Prince would never dare to act rashly or alert the enemy.

With a thought, he separated a wisp of Divine Thought, which instantly enveloped the glowing positioning rune like an invisible hand.

This rune was originally formed by the Divine Thought of an Immortal realm expert; with his current Cultivation, he couldn't completely destroy it, but obscuring its perception was not difficult.

To truly erase it would require a great deal of time and mental energy—he didn't have that leisure.

Blocking it was enough.

However, this place was indeed no longer suitable to stay.

In a flash of thought, Xiao Zhuo pushed open the door, stepping out of the quiet room for the first time in nearly a year.

He didn't check out; his figure flickered, and he instantly teleported outside the inn, silently landing in a bustling street alley.

Then, his aura converged, his steps natural, like a drop of water merging into the sea, blending into the passing crowd and disappearing in an instant.

Inside the study of Prince Yus Mansion.

Feng Changge was discussing in a low voice with a burly old man and a handsome young man when his pupils suddenly contracted before he finished speaking.

The jade slip on the table lost all its radiance; the golden light spot that had just been clearly flickering was now completely extinguished, silent.

He suddenly stood up, ignoring explanations, and shouted sharply outwards:

"Someone! Go quickly to Wanshun Street—surround the Auspicious Inn and set up Restrictions! Not even a fly is allowed to escape!"

A solemn affirmation and receding footsteps came from outside the door.

Feng Changge slowly sat back in his chair, his face so gloomy it seemed water would drip from it.

"Ninth Brother, what happened?" The handsome young man—the Fourteenth Imperial Prince, Feng Changning—sensed something was wrong and quickly asked.

"He found out... and he blocked the mark," Feng Changge's voice was low, suppressing a towering rage.

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the study instantly froze.

How crucial the Formation Diagram was to them was self-evident.

The euphoria of just having discovered its whereabouts had not yet cooled before the clue was lost again, and hope collapsed with a crash.

They knew full well that Feng Changge's order just now was likely futile.

Since the opponent could detect and block an Immortal's mark, how could he foolishly wait in place?

The Prince's Mansion guards' trip was destined to be in vain.

"Changge, I will go myself!"

A glint flashed in the burly old man's eyes; before his words finished, his figure vanished from the spot like a wisp of smoke.

Seeing the old man leave, Feng Changge hesitated for a moment, then said to Feng Changning: "Changning, go find Mister Mo and tell him I agree to his terms!"

Dozens of miles away.

Xiao Zhuo was sitting in an elegant seat on the second floor of a restaurant, leisurely picking up a slice of crystal-clear lotus root and putting it into his mouth.

His Divine Sense, however, spread out like an invisible net, quietly extending and remotely locking onto the direction of the inn he had previously stayed in.

He was observing, calmly assessing the opponent's reaction.

There were differences in the Formation systems between the Nirvana Realm and the Immortal-Demon Realm; he could determine that the positioning rune in the jade slip had tracking and positioning effects, but he couldn't guarantee that it didn't hide other profound mysteries.

He needed to judge how much he had exposed based on the opponent's actions.

If only his previous location had been leaked, the problem wouldn't be big.

All residual Qi in the inn had long been erased by him; even if the opponent obtained his portrait, as long as he slightly altered his appearance and aura, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Soon, he "saw" a large number of guards dressed in Fengdu royal guard uniforms surge forward, surrounding the inn tightly, with layers of Restriction light rising.

At the same time, an extremely powerful aura descended into the inn, directly entering the room he had once occupied.

Sure enough, that rune transmitted precise coordinates.

But according to his observation, after the opponent broke in, the first thing he did was to ask the innkeeper for his portrait—this meant that the rune could only transmit location, not images, nor could it record his true aura.

Xiao Zhuo immediately relaxed.

His Spiritual Root construction was initially completed, and he was planning to decompose his existing Spiritual Roots, extract their runes, and reshape his Spiritual Roots according to the perfect model he had deduced.

As for how to incorporate the new Spiritual Root into his body and activate it... this was no longer difficult for him.

After a year of deduction with the panel, in this realm, no one understood Spiritual Roots better than him, except for the Saint whose whereabouts were unknown.

A moment later, he paid the bill and left the restaurant, finding a secluded small courtyard beneath the inner city wall of the Imperial City and directly renting it for a year by throwing out a hundred Spirit Stones.

This place was north of Prince Yus Mansion and south of it, precisely at opposite ends of the Imperial City.

He had concealed his tracks all the way, even thoroughly changing his appearance and aura, confident that there was no risk of exposure.

At this time, he had only six hundred Attribute Points left.

"Tonight, I will construct the Spiritual Root and achieve a Breakthrough in one fell swoop."

Six hundred Attribute Points, even with double consumption, would be enough for him to Cultivate the first stage of the Free and Natural Heavenly Art to ninety percent.

By then, he could directly enter the Quasi-Immortal realm!

If a True Immortal did not appear, who in the vast Great Feng Immortal Dynasty could stop him?

By then, even if he openly went to Prince Yus Mansion to apprehend someone, it would not be impossible.

Of course, this was just a thought.

Unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish to create extra complications.

Even if the Imperial Dynasty was invincible, there was still the Immortal Dynasty above it.

At this critical moment of the Great Feng Emperor's ascension to Immortality, who knew if a True Immortal would descend.

If the Ninth Prince truly held the Heaven-Opening Inheritance related to a Saint, acting secretly would have a greater chance of success and could minimize the risk.

With his mind made up, Xiao Zhuo sat cross-legged on the couch.

With a slight thought, more than thirty Spiritual Roots, suffused with various colors of light, floated before him.

His Divine Thought condensed into countless dust-like filaments, probing into the light clusters, precisely peeling off one profound rune after another.

The Spiritual Root light clusters from which runes were peeled off either instantly dimmed or directly disintegrated, with the remaining runes transforming into specks of flowing light and dissipating into the world.

Xiao Zhuo paid no attention, only firmly enveloping the seventy-two target runes he had peeled off with his Divine Thought.

He took a deep breath, his ten fingers moving like butterflies among flowers, forming seals so quickly that only afterimages remained.

Dozens of hand seals were instantly struck out, merging into the runes in mid-air.

Buzz—!

The runes seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, rapidly spinning and converging, and in just a few breaths, they actually formed an octagonal sphere with circulating light and flickering runes.

The sphere was permeated with Dao Rhyme, emitting an indescribably profound fluctuation.

"The first step, the Spiritual Foundation is complete!" Xiao Zhuo's gaze was sharp, not daring to relax in the slightest.

Spiritual Root construction was by no means easy; it required perfectly integrating his comprehended "Dao Principle of Freedom," with every structural layer not allowing for even a hair's breadth of error.

He once again formed a seal, drawing in a dozen more runes, and like a skilled craftsman, began to construct the second layer of structure outside the octagonal Spiritual Foundation... followed by the third, fourth... the process became increasingly slow and arduous, and his Divine Thought poured out like a flood through an open dam.

By the time the last layer of structure was completed, three hours had passed.

Xiao Zhuo's face was pale, and he felt waves of debilitating stinging pain from the depths of his Divine Soul; his Divine Thought was almost exhausted.

He still madly circulated the Free and Natural Heavenly Art, squeezing out every last bit of potential.

"Just one... last step!"

His eyes shone brightly, and he decisively struck out the final hand seal, like dotting the eyes on a painted Dragon, completely integrating it into the already formed Spiritual Root!

Boom!!!

The moment the Spiritual Root was completely formed, the heavens and earth suddenly reacted!

Above Fengdu, boundless thunderclouds appeared out of thin air, frantically converging, and majestic Heavenly Might enveloped the entire city, creating a suffocating pressure.

"It actually triggered a Heavenly Tribulation?" Xiao Zhuo felt something and suddenly looked up.

Previously, his Breakthroughs to Nascent Soul and Body Integration had no Heavenly Tribulation, making him almost think this realm had no tribulations.

It seemed that this was not the case; rather, the Spiritual Root he had forged this time was too Heaven-Defying!

It was already contending with the Heavenly Dao for creation!

He gazed at the Spiritual Root light cluster before him, which was operating on its own and emitting Space-Time fluctuations, and a proud curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Even if Heavenly Tribulation descends, so what!?"

"What I, Xiao Zhuo, wish to do, even the Heavenly Dao cannot stop!"

He opened his mouth and inhaled; the Spiritual Root light cluster transformed into a stream of light, merging into his Dantian, and instantly sinking into the depths of his Qi Sea along his Meridians.

Buzz—!

The moment the Fusion was completed, a sense of ultimate sublimation surged forth!

In just one breath, the Immortal Spiritual Qi from the surrounding heavens and earth rushed back like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, instantly forming a huge energy vortex in his bedroom!

Xiao Zhuo did not hesitate, silently chanting in his heart:

"Panel, add Attribute Points!"

At this moment, outside Fengdu, the terrifying anomaly in the sky had completely startled everyone.

Countless powerful Divine Senses unscrupulously swept across the entire city, constantly searching for the source of this sudden Heavenly Tribulation.

In Prince Yus Mansion, Feng Changge, who had learned that the search was fruitless, stood on the steps of the main hall, looking up at the rolling thunderclouds in the sky, his mood utterly foul.