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**
Time flowed like a river, the seasons shifting one after another.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Deep within a chain of mountains stood a small, active volcano.
At the mouth of the volcano, smoke and mist billowed year-round, constantly rising like the chimneys of a brick kiln.
The surrounding temperature was notably higher than in other areas.
Within a radius of several kilometers around the volcano, the heat was like summer all year long, perpetually sweltering.
Vegetation was scarce here. Looking around, it was nothing but barren land, like a desert.
Only a few heat-resistant plants grew sparsely and stubbornly.
From a high altitude, looking down into the volcano's mouth, one could see through the swirling gray smoke: thick, dark-red magma bubbling violently, occasionally swelling and bursting into blisters.
At the edge of the crater, atop a protruding flat rock, stood four figures.
All of their gazes were silently fixed on one particular spot along the inner wall of the volcanic crater. Through the drifting gray-black mist, one could see a tightly shut stone door embedded into the rocky cliff below.
Of the four figures, two stood at the front — a white-robed woman and a green-dressed maiden.
Judging by their appearance, they were none other than Xian'er and Qing Lin.
Behind them stood two figures shrouded in black robes: Ah Da and Du Jiao.
One had a slightly thin and ethereal frame, seeming almost weightless. The other was burly and massive, as steady as an iron tower.
The mountaintop wind swept across, and the white dress and snow-like hair of Xian'er danced in the breeze. She looked like a celestial maiden descending from the heavens — untouched by the mortal world, her aura more serene and ethereal than ever.
Her presence was peaceful, even faintly illusory. At a glance, it seemed she possessed no strength at all. But upon closer look, it was as though one was facing a majestic mountain, an awe-inspiring figure that invoked the urge to look up in reverence.
In these two years, Xian'er had advanced from a Two-Star Dou Zong to the peak of Eight-Star Dou Zong, just half a step away from reaching Nine-Stars.
And beside her, Qing Lin, dressed in a green gown, had undergone quite a transformation over the past two years.
The saying "a girl changes eighteen times before reaching womanhood" was no mere exaggeration.
Back then, Qing Lin's face still held traces of baby fat, but now she had grown into a graceful young woman.
She had a tall, graceful figure with long, straight legs. Standing beside Xian'er, she even appeared to be about half a head taller.
As of now, Qing Lin had also reached One-Star Dou Zong.
Standing behind her was Du Jiao, who had reached Eight-Star Dou Zong.
As for Ah Da — if someone with sharp soul perception were present, they would faintly sense that he too exuded the aura of a Dou Zong.
Four Dou Zong!
Two high-level, Eight-Star Dou Zong.
Two low-level Dou Zong.
Such a force was terrifying enough to overturn the entire Black-Corner Region.
Even if placed in Central Plains, this lineup could be considered a first-rate major power.
Clatter...
At that moment, a sound echoed from below.
All four of them instinctively turned their gazes slightly toward the source.
Amidst the thick smoke and bubbling magma, two colossal creatures emerged from the molten depths, playfully splashing and frolicking with each other.
They were none other than the long-absent giant king cobra Big Eye — now at the level of Five-Star Dou Huang.
And the other, no need to guess, was the Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent Xiao Hong — now a Seven-Star Dou Wang.
As beasts subdued in the early days, Big Eye and Xiao Hong had somewhat fallen behind Wei Yang and the others in strength, hence their low presence.
But in truth, Five-Star Dou Huang and Seven-Star Dou Wang were by no means weak in the Black-Corner Region. Big Eye could easily rank in the top ten of the so-called Black Ranking.
At the very least, with its possession of the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame sub-flame, it could effortlessly crush someone like the Blood Sect's Sect Master, Fan Lao.
It was only because they followed Wei Yang's group that their presence seemed so low-key.
Because truthfully, there was no opportunity for the two snakes to shine anymore. At this point, they were basically just being raised as pets.
And so, after deep reflection, Big Eye had devoted himself wholeheartedly in recent years to the noble art of... snake breeding.
Unfortunately, despite countless attempts at "planting seeds," there was no success whatsoever. Not even a sprout, let alone flowers or fruit.
It seemed that producing a hybrid offspring between a king cobra and a Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent... was not going to be easy.
"Big Sister Xian'er, Young Master has been in seclusion for nearly half a month now — why is there still no movement?" Qing Lin furrowed her brows and asked worriedly.
In her mind, breaking through to Dou Zong might look difficult, but in reality? It really wasn't.
Didn't it just take a pair of hands?
Back then, Xian'er had only spent a few days in seclusion before successfully advancing.
And Qing Lin herself had experienced the same thing — just over a month ago, when she felt the breakthrough coming, she had simply sat down and naturally advanced without any obstruction.
So, in Qing Lin's heart, breaking through to Dou Zong was about as easy as eating and drinking.
Now that her Young Master had been in seclusion for nearly fifteen days and there still wasn't the slightest sign of movement — it made her uneasy.
Of course, it never even crossed her mind that her Young Master might fail to break through — because that was simply impossible. She didn't even consider it.
Xian'er also frowned, unable to conceal the worry in her eyes. As for Qing Lin's question, she didn't really know how to answer it.
Since the beginning of her cultivation journey, Xian'er's path had been extremely smooth — she had no concept of what a bottleneck even was.
In her subconscious, she had always believed that Wei Yang was capable of anything, and thus never even considered the possibility that he could be stuck at something as "insignificant" as the Dou Zong bottleneck.
It was at this moment that Ah Da, who had been silent behind them, finally spoke.
After hesitating briefly, he softly explained, "Ladies… Dou Zong is actually a significant threshold. While not as difficult as Dou Zun, it's still far more challenging than Dou Huang. The Master is likely gathering strength now, quietly waiting for the moment of opportunity to appear."
"You mean… Brother Yang has hit a bottleneck?" Xian'er turned and asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes," Ah Da nodded. "Aside from a few… rather exceptional individuals, Dou Zong represents a major bottleneck that almost all peak Dou Huang must face. You could even call it a chasm. Out of ten people, not even one may cross it successfully."
"A bottleneck, huh…" Xian'er and Qing Lin both fell silent.
They recalled how calm and casual Wei Yang had looked before going into seclusion — not at all like someone uncertain about a breakthrough.
"What if he used the Zong Breaking Pill?" Qing Lin suddenly asked.
"Ah… unless there's no other choice, I believe the Master absolutely wouldn't resort to using that pill," Ah Da replied with a bitter smile.
As a soul-bound servant, Ah Da understood all too well that while Wei Yang appeared calm on the outside, deep down he carried his own pride and persistence.
For someone like Wei Yang, who aspired to reach the pinnacle, if he had to rely on something like the Zong Breaking Pill just to become a Dou Zong — that would be intolerable to him.
Because that would imply… his potential had already run dry!
And the truth wasn't far from that.
At the very least, before reaching the Dou Zun level, Wei Yang had set a rule for himself: no using pills to break through major bottlenecks.
Call it pretentious, call it stubborn — that was just the principle he lived by.
Although he had a good relationship with Xiao Yan — seeing him as a friend, a fellow native, and a partner on the road to the peak —
Wei Yang still had pride of his own.
Even if he didn't want to admit it, deep down… he was a little envious of Xiao Yan.
But Wei Yang would never believe he was inferior to him.
If he couldn't even break through to Dou Zong without relying on a Zong Breaking Pill, then what about Dou Zun?
What about Ban Sheng?
Dou Sheng?
The Dou Di?
And beyond that… the Three-Grade Heavenly Supreme of the Great Thousand World, and even the Great Rulers that stood at the very top?
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