“The abundant spiritual energy and cultivation resources on Earth attracted powerful beings, leading to an inevitable war between the invaders and Earth’s Cultivators.”
“The earth-shattering battles tore the land apart, caused islands to disappear, seawater to flood in, and the landmass to shrink…”
Giant Turtle’s words took Leo back to that century-old war over five thousand years ago.
It was not hard to imagine how shocking and brutal that war must have been.
Giant Turtle continued, “The battle lasted for three hundred years. In the end, with the combined efforts of all the Cultivators on Earth, the invaders were defeated and driven away.”
“The three-hundred-year war not only drastically reduced Earth’s landmass but also led to the depletion of Spiritual Power. In other words, Earth’s environment was no longer suitable for Cultivators to survive.”
“Finally, the Cultivators decided to combine their abilities to open a Planar Conduit to a new world.”
“After the Cultivators left Earth, only ordinary humans remained.”
“So that’s how it is,” Leo nodded.
Giant Turtle’s explanation cleared up Leo’s long-standing doubts.
It seemed that the fragmented images Violet saw in the tower were real scenes.
“Senior, this Enchanted Realm should be the passage to another Plane of Existence opened by those former Earth Cultivators, right?” Leo voiced his guess.
“Correct. After the Cultivators left through this Planar Conduit, they sealed it to prevent any unforeseen events that might lead to the extinction of life on Earth. A fragment of my soul has been guarding it ever since.”
Giant Turtle sighed deeply, “Although the Planar Conduit is sealed, the spatial forces are unstable. Every few hundred years, a crack opens in the conduit, which is why you were able to enter here.”
At this point, many things became clear to Leo. He thought for a moment and then asked, “Senior, where did those powerful invaders come from?”
“You are too weak now. Knowing too much about the multiverse won’t benefit your state of mind. If one day you become strong enough, you will naturally understand higher-dimensional matters,” Giant Turtle said slowly, his deep gaze fixed on Leo.
Giant Turtle’s words filled Leo with anticipation.
He wondered what would happen if he broke through to Spirit God.
“Young man, meeting me is your fortune. I will grant you an opportunity. Perhaps one day, Earth will need your protection.”
Leo was overjoyed and quickly said, “Thank you, Senior!”
Giant Turtle opened his massive mouth, and a blue liquid three times the size of Leo flew out and hovered before him.
“This is a drop of my essence blood. It contains several magical abilities. Absorb and refine it well.”
Leo looked at the essence blood in front of him with delight.
With Giant Turtle’s essence blood, Leo estimated that it wouldn’t take long for him to break through to Spirit King or even Spirit Saint.
Could this be what people often say: great fortune follows great calamity?
Giant Turtle’s body began to turn ethereal. He continued, “Young man, besides this essence blood, there is another gift for you at the end of the ice lake.”
“Another gift?” Leo couldn’t help but swallow his saliva in excitement. This year seemed particularly fortunate.
Giant Turtle’s enormous body became almost transparent, and his voice turned ethereal, “If you can refine some of my essence blood, you might obtain that gift. Of course, there’s also a risk of perishing during the refinement process. Opportunity and risk always go hand in hand…”
As Giant Turtle’s massive body disappeared, so did his voice.
Leo quickly clasped his hands together in gratitude, “Thank you, Senior!”
Giant Turtle did not respond because the fragment of his soul left here had completely dissipated.
Leo refocused on the light blue essence blood before him.
Without much hesitation, Leo stepped into the light blue essence blood.
The moment he entered the essence blood, a terrifying pressure enveloped every cell of his body.
It felt like being inside a pressure cooker.
This pressure was actually a form of energy. If he could refine and absorb it, it would greatly enhance his cultivation breakthrough.
Leo sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and mobilized his Spiritual Power to operate the Nine Heavens Star Chart, attempting to guide the essence blood energy into his body.
Soon, a trace of light blue essence blood entered Leo’s body through his forehead.
Leo’s body took on a light blue hue, and cracks appeared on his skin’s surface.
As the cracks spread, Leo’s outer skin and muscles began to shatter and quickly turned to nothingness.
The pain was worse than being cut by a thousand knives. For a moment, Leo almost fainted from the agony.
Leo had no way out now. From the moment he entered the essence blood, there were only two paths before him: life or death.
Failing to refine meant death.
Successfully refining meant life.
Only by breaking down first could he ascend to a more powerful realm.
Leo used the Nine Heavens Star Chart to push his Spiritual Power to its limits, frantically absorbing and digesting the essence blood energy entering his body.
As he absorbed the essence blood energy, his previously shattered skin and flesh began to regenerate on his body surface.
This process repeated until every inch of his skin and flesh was transformed.
While Leo was cultivating within the essence blood, with Giant Turtle’s soul fragment dissipated, a massive barrier above the ice lake developed web-like cracks.
The cracks spread rapidly and under the erosion of the ice lake’s intense cold air, the barrier shattered.
Without the barrier’s protection, the terrifying cold air began to spread freely in all directions.
Soon, the extreme cold air reached beyond the canyon and spread across the grassland.
The green grass quickly frosted over; clear streams froze in an instant.
The Silvergold Demonhorn Beast resting on the grassland saw this and reluctantly ran towards the forest bordering the grassland.
As the cold air continued to spread, temperatures in the entire Enchanted Realm began to drop.
In a forest somewhere, Donovan, Harrison, Holden Coleman, Meigetsu, and Violet gathered together.
They had failed to catch up with Werewolf and were attacked by powerful beasts. They had no choice but to give up the chase and find a relatively safe place to regroup.