698: Chapter 699 A Thousand Years of Heart Refinement, Seven Days to Break Through the Realm

"What exactly happened inside? Why did that terrifying aura suddenly vanish?"

Jian Chenzi's face was full of shock. He tried to probe Purple Miasma Mountain with his Divine Thought, but was still blocked by an invisible barrier.

"Could it be that the one inside has been suppressed?"

Someone put forward a bold guess, but it was quickly denied by others.

"Impossible! The aura just now was unimaginably powerful. If they were suppressed, how could it be so clean and swift, without leaving even a trace of aftermath?"

"What about those juniors? Are they still alive?"

This question hung over the hearts of all the Immortal Kings like a massive boulder.

"Should we send someone in to search?"

Finally, an Immortal King could no longer suppress the curiosity and greed in his heart and made this suggestion.

After all, deep within Purple Miasma Mountain, not only was a terrifying Vicious Beast suppressed, but it might also contain earth-shattering secrets from the ancient era.

If they could take this Opportunity to go in and find out, they might just obtain a monumental Opportunity.

"Absolutely not!"

However, as soon as his words fell, he was immediately sternly stopped by another older Immortal King.

"Didn't you see? The anomaly in Purple Miasma Mountain subsided in an instant. This shows that what happened inside is far beyond what we can imagine. That power might even have already surpassed our understanding."

He paused, gazing deeply at the now calm Purple Miasma Mountain, his tone carrying a hint of deep wariness.

"Those juniors, since they have survived until now, must have something extraordinary about them. If they are dead, us going in would be futile. If they are not dead..."

A meaningful smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"Then they will come out sooner or later. When that time comes, wouldn't it be better for us to make a move and seize the initiative?"

"Well said!"

The other Immortal Kings heard this and nodded in agreement.

"We will just wait here. No matter what happened inside, as soon as they come out, we will be the first to know."

Thus, the group of Immortal Kings reached a consensus.

They no longer acted rashly, but instead each found a hidden spot, completely concealing their aura, like dormant beasts, quietly guarding outside Purple Miasma Mountain.

Their gazes remained fixed on the mountain range that was once regarded as a Forbidden Ground, waiting for the people inside, or something they had never seen before, to break out of the mountain.

Inside the Dream Illusion Grotto-Heaven, time seemed to have lost its meaning.

There was no sunrise or moonset here, only endless flowing galaxies and bizarre fragments of dreams.

For the outside world, only seven days had passed.

But for the five of them, including Xiao Ruobai, who were inside, it felt as if they had experienced a Reincarnation spanning a thousand years.

During these seven days, they were not just sitting in boring meditation, but were swept into a "World of Heart Images" transformed from the Origin of the Nightmare Ancient Beast.

They experienced countless lives in their dreams.

Sometimes they were listless beggars in the mortal world, tasting the coldness of the world; sometimes they were emperors commanding armies, experiencing the Peak and loneliness of power; sometimes they were even the Nightmare Ancient Beast itself, roaring in endless darkness, despairing, and being swallowed by fear.

Every death was a shattering and reshaping of their Dao Heart.

Every Reincarnation was a tempering and sublimation of their Divine Soul.

Those Bottlenecks, Heart Demons, and obsessions that had once troubled them quietly melted away like snow under the scorching sun under the washing of this thousand-year dream.

When they finally saw through the last layer of the "real" illusion and broke free from that endless cycle of Heart Images—

"Hoo..."

Five long, heavy breaths, as if they had settled through the ages, sounded almost simultaneously in different corners of the Grotto-Heaven.

The moment they opened their eyes, the originally flowing galaxy illusions seemed to pause for an instant.

These were no longer the eyes from seven days ago, which, although firm, still carried a hint of greenness and confusion.

At this moment, their gazes were as deep as ancient wells and as calm as the abyss.

Without the need for words, the moment their gazes met, they understood what a long and difficult journey the other had experienced.

It was a tacit understanding of having survived a disaster together and honed their paths together.

"A thousand-year dream..." Xiao Ruobai said softly, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness from not having spoken for a long time, yet it was exceptionally steady.

He gently clenched his fist, feeling the Immortal power within his body, which had surged countless times over and was condensed to the point of absolute purity, as well as the unprecedented clarity and solidity in his Divine Soul.

A wisp of Sword Intent naturally flowed from Fang Hanyu's fingertips; it was no longer dazzling, but condensed into substance, carrying a biting coldness that could sever illusions.

His Sword Heart was now as clear as a mirror and indestructible.

The honesty on Wang Xiaopang's face remained, but deep in his eyes flickered the brilliance of great wisdom hidden behind a foolish appearance.

Ling Xi and Mo Yu's auras were rounded and compliant, as if they had achieved a subtle harmony with this world.

That was the wisdom and power that had settled deep within their Souls after the thousand-year dream.

"So, it was just a dream."

"But now that the dream has awakened, the Dao is even clearer."

The other four also nodded, their faces wearing a complex expression of having survived a calamity, yet also seeming reborn.

They knew what a terrifying baptism they had just experienced.

Just as the five of them completely awakened and their minds returned to their bodies—

"Hum—"

The entire Dream Illusion Grotto-Heaven seemed to come alive.

When Gu Changge originally refined this place using the Origin of the Nightmare Ancient Beast, Earth Sha Qi, and the legacy of the Heart-Moon Fox, he had deliberately left behind a massive amount of pure energy.

At this moment, this dormant power seemed to sense the awakening of its Revered Masters and was instantly activated!

"Boom!"

Five beams of light, intertwined with red, cyan, yellow, white, and black colors, shot up from the depths of the Grotto-Heaven earth, precisely enveloping the five of them.

That was not ordinary Spiritual Qi, but Origin power that had been sorted and purified by Gu Changge's Dao Laws!

"This is the gift left by Revered Master!"

The energy, pure to the extreme, did not need to be refined, but surged madly into their limbs and bones, washing over every inch of their Meridians and soaking into every cell.

Their Immortal Lord Early Stage cultivation, which had been tempered thousands of times in the illusion and had long reached the limit of their current Realm, began to skyrocket with unstoppable momentum under the push of this torrent!

A Bottleneck? Under the dual impact of the thousand-year Heart Image training and such a massive amount of high-quality energy, it was as thin as paper.

"Break!"

Xiao Ruobai let out a low shout, and the War God Phantom around his body appeared with a bang, roaring at the sky, his aura instantly breaking through the shackles and stepping into a whole new level! Immortal Lord Late Stage!

"Clang!"

Fang Hanyu pointed his fingers like a sword, and a sword light, condensed to the extreme, shot into the sky, tearing through the dream space; his aura was incomparably sharp, also steadily establishing itself at the Immortal Lord Late Stage!

Ling Xi, Little Fatty, and Mo Yu's auras surged one after another, also steadily stepping into the Immortal Lord Late Stage Realm!

The Breakthrough did not stop; the massive energy continued to pour in, pushing their cultivation steadily toward the Peak of the Immortal Lord Late Stage.

I don't know how long it had been, but the torrent of energy in the Grotto-Heaven gradually subsided.

The five of them sat cross-legged, surrounded by Immortal light, with Dao Rhyme naturally arising.

Their auras were more than ten times stronger than seven days ago.

It was a qualitative change, not just a surge in the total amount of Immortal power, but a comprehensive leap in Divine Soul strength, Dao Heart stability, and comprehension of Laws.

At this moment, if they were to face the likes of Zhen Yue or Jian Chenzi from before, relying solely on their individual strength and battle awareness honed through tempering, they would be enough to confront them head-on and win!

Xiao Ruobai slowly opened his eyes, feeling the surging power within his body, and an unspeakable sense of gratitude welled up in his heart.

"Revered Master's kindness cannot be repaid."

"Only by reaching the pinnacle of the Dao can I live up to today's cultivation!"

Fang Hanyu stood with his hand on his sword, his eyes as sharp as a divine weapon about to be unsheathed:

"It's time to go out. Presumably, those friends outside must have been waiting impatiently, right?"

"Just in time to test the Talismans I comprehended in the dream."

Wang Xiaopang rubbed his hands and chuckled, but his eyes flashed with brilliant light.

Ling Xi and Mo Yu also stood up at the same time, their auras restrained but ready.

A thousand years of refining the heart, seven days to break through the Realm.

They were now reborn.

It was time to go and meet the strict net and scorching gazes outside Purple Miasma Mountain.