24: Chapter 24 Accepting the Reward, Fourth Level of the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm!

After returning to the imperial palace, Xia Jin sat cross-legged directly on the Cold Jade Bed.

After taking a deep breath,

"System, extract the mission rewards," Xia Jin muttered in his heart.

[Command confirmed. Congratulations to the host for extracting the mission rewards: Demonic Heart Crossing (Entry-Level), eighty years of cultivation base.]

"System, use thirty years of cultivation base to deduce 'Demonic Heart Crossing'." Xia Jin glanced at the System panel to see the number of years required to raise Demonic Heart Crossing to Great Perfection.

[Command confirmed. Consuming thirty years of cultivation base to begin deducing 'Demonic Heart Crossing'...]

"In the first year, you obtain the Entry-Level chapter of 'Demonic Heart Crossing' and begin attempting to stir the demonic thoughts within your body. As the first wisp of demonic thought is drawn out, your consciousness begins to suffer an impact. You guard your mind and gradually become proficient in controlling this wisp of demonic thought."

"In the fifth year, your control over the demonic thoughts becomes increasingly proficient, and the operational efficiency of 'Demonic Heart Crossing' improves significantly. Furthermore, you have already begun attempting to integrate the demonic thoughts into your original martial arts Cultivation Techniques, finally succeeding. Your strength increases by thirty percent directly."

"In the twentieth year, your control over demonic thoughts has reached the Transcendent state, achieving the Major Achievement stage of 'Demonic Heart Crossing'. At this point, when performing 'Demonic Heart Crossing', your strength can once again increase by seventy percent."

"In the thirtieth year, after long periods of tempering, you have cultivated 'Demonic Heart Crossing' to an unprecedented Great Perfection Realm. The Great Perfection 'Demonic Heart Crossing' no longer has any side effects, and after performing it, the combat power you exert will be double your original power! Even in a state of burning essence blood for a desperate last stand, you can even break through the shackles, reaching three times your original combat power!"

"Double combat power under normal conditions! Even triple combat power in a desperate state!?" After Xia Jin opened his eyes, he couldn't help but gasp.

"I'll take this opportunity to test the effects of this 'Demonic Heart Crossing'!"

With a thought, his eyes began to turn blood-red, and at the center of his brow, a dark red hexagram pattern faintly emerged.

"Is this... the Demonic Heart Mark?" Xia Jin reached out to touch his forehead, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"It certainly feels extraordinary!" Xia Jin walked outside, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

However, with just this simple breath, under the enhancement of 'Demonic Heart Crossing', the Kuding tea tree outside the Jin Wang Palace actually began to shake its leaves incessantly as if a gale had blown through.

Xia Jin nodded with satisfaction, then dispersed 'Demonic Heart Crossing'. The blood color in his eyes receded like a tide, and the hexagram mark on his forehead gradually faded and disappeared.

He delayed no longer and sat back down cross-legged on the Cold Jade Bed.

"System," Xia Jin said deeply in his heart, "use all the remaining fifty years of cultivation base to deduce the 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra'."

[Command confirmed. Consuming fifty years of cultivation base to begin deducing 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra'...]

"In the first year, you use the 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra' to continuously temper your internal organs, making their toughness several times stronger than before. Furthermore, between breaths, low rumbles of thunder faintly transmit from within your body, and every heartbeat is like the beating of war drums."

"In the tenth year, you successfully break through the fifth layer of the third turn of the 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra'. The Creation True Qi accumulated in your body is like a river bursting a dam, breaking through the Bottleneck in one go. Your martial cultivation successfully breaks through from the seventh level of the Great Great Grandmaster Realm to the first level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm."

"In the twentieth year, you continue to polish your True Yuan, nourishing your Meridians and acupoints with the power of creation. You successfully break through the sixth layer of the third turn of the 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra', and your martial cultivation breaks through from the first level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm to the second level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm."

...

"In the fiftieth year, you successfully break through the eighth layer of the third turn of the 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra'. Your martial cultivation breaks through from the third level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm to the fourth level of the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm."

[Deduction complete! 'Nine Turns Creation Sutra' has been raised from the fourth layer of the third turn to the eighth layer of the third turn! The host's Realm has been synchronized!]

"Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm! So this is the Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm!!!" With a thought from Xia Jin, his body actually began to float directly off the ground.

Xia Jin looked at his body three feet off the ground and felt the liquid-like True Qi in his body, which was countless times stronger than that of the Great Great Grandmaster Realm. His eyes flashed with brilliant light.

"Even before my Realm fell, I had never touched this Realm. I didn't expect to achieve it in just one short month after obtaining the System! This way, that Qingyun Sect is no threat at all!!"

"System, open the System panel!" Xia Jin muttered in his heart.

[Host: Xia Jin]

[Realm: Xiaoyao Heavenly Realm Fourth Level]

[Mind-Cultivation Technique: Nine Turns Creation Sutra (Third Turn, Eighth Layer)]

[Talent: Spiritual Perception (Intermediate, range 3,000 meters)]

[Martial Skills: Demonic Heart Crossing (Great Perfection), Three Blades of the Avici Path (Great Perfection), Little Lis Flying Dagger (Great Perfection), Vajra Indestructible Body (Great Perfection)]

[Current Rewards: None]

"Not bad. Except for Spiritual Perception, almost all techniques have reached Great Perfection!"

After glancing over his current data, the smile on Xia Jin's face was uncontrollable. He then went to sleep contentedly.

The next day, just as he was about to have breakfast, Emperor Xia Yu's voice could be heard coming from far outside the palace.

"Big brother! Big brother!" Emperor Xia Yu of Great Xia rushed in and stared at Xia Jin with an excited expression.

"What? Is there a flower on my face!?" Xia Jin raised his eyes, gave him a helpless glance, put down his chopsticks, and pointed to the seat next to him: "Alright, it's early in the morning. Sit down and talk."

Emperor Xia Yu chuckled and sat directly next to Xia Jin.

Xia Jin picked up an empty bowl and served a bowl of warm rice porridge, handing it over.

Emperor Xia Yu quickly took it but didn't have time to drink. His gaze was still fixed on Xia Jin: "Big brother! You were too amazing this time! That fellow Commander Qin Hu told me everything. Counting from when you entered the capital, it's only been one short month, and you've completely eradicated those remnants of the Demonic Sect!"

"Moreover, according to Commander Qin Hu, big brother, you actually cut down three Great Grandmasters in a single battle! It seems big brother's strength is even greater than before!"

Xia Jin did not reply immediately. Instead, he took a hot towel handed to him by a submissive palace maid and wiped his hands and the corners of his mouth. Then, he waved his hand at the palace maids and eunuchs standing in the hall.

After everyone else had left, Xia Jin finally picked up his teacup and took a light sip.

"Those remnants of the Demonic Sect were merely a minor ailment. Eradicating them completely isn't much of an achievement."

He put down the teacup and looked at Emperor Xia Yu, a glint flashing in his eyes. "However, this operation did allow me to learn a secret from their mouths, a secret... that is very valuable."

Hearing this, a hint of confusion flashed in Emperor Xia Yu's eyes: "A secret? What secret could be so important that even big brother would value it so highly?"

"A Secret Realm left behind by the former Green Lotus Sword Immortal."