Xu Yuan had found a new direction.
If possible, this might allow him to tread a path no one had walked before, breaking through a barrier for him.
Reality and Illusion Combined.
Just as Yun Ming observed, the collision of reality and illusion created the possibility of higher dimensions.
Although Xu Yuan hadn't observed this step, he understood that the changes brought about by this combination would be qualitative.
For instance, at this moment, if there was a Limit Douluo who could truly achieve this step, Xu Yuan had no doubt that this person could directly break through to godhood.
In fact, being able to comprehend the combination of reality and illusion, and even apply it to one's own cultivation, was extremely difficult. So far, Xu Yuan estimated that only he could thoroughly comprehend it in this starry space anomaly and then achieve the combination with the help of his dream space.
"Perceiving the Seven Forbidden Techniques from the most primitive perspective also opens up a different realm, allowing me to break free from my own limited view."
Xu Yuan realized that he had been somewhat restricted before.
For the sake of progress efficiency, he had constrained his angle of observing the world.
Now, perceiving the changes of heaven and earth in the most orthodox way, the long spear in his hand could no longer hold back.
The Seven Forbidden Techniques were originally spear techniques!
With a thrust of the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear, the heavens and earth trembled.
"Roar!"
A passing Ba An was pinned by this spear, emitting an unwilling roar. However, it was too weak—so weak that Xu Yuan could kill it effortlessly now.
Yet, this Ba An was still a leader-class Abyss creature on par with Xu Yuan's level. Even though it wasn't a lord, its explosive power was enough to suppress a Soul Douluo, and its vitality far exceeded that of a Soul Douluo.
Even so, it could only be pierced by Xu Yuan's spear, losing its life under the pressure of the forces of heaven and earth.
"My spear hasn't made any progress for a long time!"
Xu Yuan said solemnly.
At some point, his battles had become about surpassing others with soul power and high-quality blood essence, instantly unleashing all five spirit skills of the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear to deliver a piercing blow.
This was wrong.
Once the basic abilities like soul power couldn't keep up, Xu Yuan would lose the capital to fight above his rank.
Although such a possibility wouldn't exist because even at Level 99, Xu Yuan still possessed abundant blood essence forces, combined with soul power, making him much stronger than ordinary soul masters who relied solely on soul power.
But that wasn't enough.
"On the Star Luo Continent, I fused my mental power and stellar energy into my spear techniques, but since then, I've stagnated at that point," Xu Yuan took a deep breath.
He performed the Seven Forbidden Techniques.
Constantly feeling the changes of heaven and earth.
His Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear danced, killing one Abyss creature after another.
In just a few minutes, he killed more than ten Abyss creatures, one of which was a lord-class creature, and the rest were leader-class.
"Not enough, the pressure isn't enough."
Only that lord-class Abyss creature posed a bit of a threat.
However, Xu Yuan was also clear-headed. This was the Abyss passage; even if it had mutated into a starry phenomenon, it didn't change this fundamental nature.
Above the lord-class Abyss creatures were mostly emperors, generally not encountered.
So, he could only seek areas with more lord-class Abyss creatures to fight.
Xu Yuan first abandoned the five spirit skills of the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear.
He also discarded the enhancement of blood essence forces.
First, he used stellar energy to control his spear techniques, trying to maximize the effects of stellar energy.
Then came mental power, integrating mental power into his spear techniques. With each spear thrust, countless spear shadows accompanied by mental interference appeared, highly deceptive. Moreover, each spear carried substantial mental impact.
The spear struck both the body and the soul.
As time passed, Xu Yuan quickly explored how these two powers manifested in his spear techniques.
During the competition on Star Luo Continent, he had already completed their fusion. Now, he was individually enhancing these two aspects.
Stellar energy was very pure; its explosive power wasn't necessarily more intense than blood essence forces, but it carried a primal destructive aura. Some of its characteristics couldn't be mimicked by blood essence forces, effectively increasing the upper limit of his spear techniques' explosive power.
Not to mention mental power—one spear strike attacked both the body and the mind simultaneously, posing a huge threat to any soul master.
At least in the current Douluo Continent, there were almost none who excelled in both material-based soul skills and had considerable mental prowess.
Yun Ming was one.
Besides him, perhaps Cao Dezhi, with his unique martial soul, counted as well, and that was it.
"The burst of stellar energy and mental power in the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear isn't as smooth as blood essence forces," Xu Yuan frowned.
After three months of slaughter, he had a clear sense of this.
The closer he got to his limits in certain aspects, the more he could feel the barriers at that extreme state.
Unlike blood essence forces, the operation and burst of stellar energy in the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear felt sluggish, and so did mental power.
Xu Yuan understood that this wasn't a matter of whether his Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear had corresponding attributes—it was that Jue's body lacked the corresponding metal.
"Metal with stellar attributes?" Xu Yuan pondered, stroking his chin.
Among rare metals, there were naturally many with stellar attributes, which he could consider using to make battle armor. But if used in Jue's body, Xu Yuan always felt it wasn't pure enough.
Like the previous few types of metals, if he were to add another stellar-attribute metal to Jue's body, it would have to be metal condensed purely from stellar energy.
"Condensing stellar energy into crystals is already extremely difficult. Condensing it into metal that can integrate into Jue's body will only be harder." Xu Yuan's expression turned grim.
This was hard.
At least for him right now, it was difficult to achieve.
In the future, he could try, but for now, he certainly couldn't use stellar attributes as his sixth attribute, keeping Jue's growth stuck.
"I'm almost at Level 80 now. The Tian Yuan Writing Brush martial soul is one thing—it's restricted by soul spirits and can't obtain new soul rings. But the Tian Yuan Five Elements Spear doesn't need new soul spirits, and it's also my main combat method. It can't stay stuck at five rings."
Since stellar attributes were temporarily difficult to achieve, he thought of ways to condense other attributes first.
"A new attribute..."
Xu Yuan was contemplating how to secure a sixth soul ring for Jue.
As for the seventh soul ring, it wasn't difficult because he didn't plan to condense new metal for Jue's seventh soul ring.
---
Three months had passed in the blink of an eye.
Shrek Academy seemed to have long calmed down from the panic caused by those two God-Slaying Missiles.
However, even the students of Shrek Academy still frequently recalled the terrifying scene of that day in their hearts.
That day was like doomsday.
Even with the protection of the Golden Ancient Tree, they still experienced that heart-stopping energy fluctuation.
The God-Slaying Missiles, merely their energy fluctuations, were enough to instill fear in everyone at a primal level.
Moreover, one of the two God-Slaying Missiles exploded right above Shrek. Although the Golden Ancient Tree resisted, it didn't mean the students beneath could avoid feeling the explosion's fluctuations.
On the contrary, they personally endured that terrifying explosion, reliving it once, leaving indelible shadows in their hearts.
The impact of this attack couldn't be smoothed over in just three months.
Even within Shrek Academy, which appeared to have returned to its usual order, things weren't calm, let alone the Federation, which bore responsibility for this.
Not long ago, the Federation Parliament underwent a major purge. Now, with the fall of the God-Slaying Missiles, society closely watched as the existence of the God-Slaying Missiles was brought to light, forcing the reorganized parliament to face another round of personnel changes.
It wasn't just the ordinary members; this time even the chairmen would find it hard to escape being replaced.
In this process, Shrek exerted its influence—not necessarily arranging its people but ensuring that those elected adhered to the original standards of the parliamentary system.
Over the years, the parliament had deteriorated, and this return to the starting point was abrupt.
As for the Spirit Pagoda, it currently dared not reach out anymore.
Even though Qiangu Dongfeng still wanted to exert influence, he was firmly suppressed by others within the Spirit Pagoda.
Xu Shengqun officially moved into the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, while Leng Yaozhu, along with another deputy pagoda master, impeached and proposed removing Qiangu Dongfeng from his position.
This time, the contest for the pagoda master was placed openly.
After Leng Yaozhu and another deputy pagoda master jointly proposed, Xu Shengqun, along with the remaining three Spirit Envoys, reconsidered. Not only that, but behind them, the Elder Council also passed this proposal. Even though elders from Qiangu Dongfeng's faction held the majority, many chose to abstain during this incident.
All of this was accomplished within just three months.
Three months, and the entire Federation seemed to have changed layers.
Three months, and the power structure of the Spirit Pagoda also underwent drastic changes. Qiangu Dongfeng stepped down, and the Qian family relinquished a large portion of their positions within the Spirit Pagoda. Two deputy pagoda masters and four Spirit Envoys temporarily achieved co-governance.
Sea God Pavilion.
"Although this matter isn't over yet, we've finally freed up our energy. We should try to re-establish contact with the Demon Plane," Yun Ming said.
Though he knew that as long as Ya Li stayed in Shrek City on the other side, she wouldn't fear any Demon Lord, he couldn't let the disconnection continue indefinitely.
At that time, the power of the God-Slaying Missile was too strong, impacting space, and the spatial channel definitely had to close.
Even Dragon Valley was temporarily closed after Shrek left coordinates.
Now, these two plane channels needed to be re-established.
"Elder Tree's recovery should also be put on the agenda. The Demon Plane's channel must be re-established," Long Yeyue agreed with Yun Ming's proposal.
Feng Wuyu had nothing to say.
Currently, Sea God Pavilion only has the three of them. The remaining super Douluo-level pavilion elders and the few inner court students qualified to enter Sea God Pavilion were all in the Demon Plane.
With unanimous agreement from the three, action was swiftly taken.
"I've retrieved the coordinate mark left by Yuanen Yehui. We need to activate the mark, letting Yuanen Yehui on the other side feel it, and then, with her cooperation, reopen the Demon Gate," Long Yeyue handed the mark to Yun Ming. It was a demon statue exuding demonic energy, with energy fluctuations at least ninety percent similar to Yuanen Yehui.
Yun Ming took the demon statue and immediately activated it, feeling the changes in the statue's power, quickly searching for the Demon Plane's location.
Demon Plane.
Shrek City.
Yuanen Yehui felt the bloodline fluctuation and woke up from meditation.
She quickly found Ya Li.
"Did you feel the call from Douluo Planet?" Ya Li frowned.
Has the God-Slaying Missile event ended?
According to the previous agreement, the demon statue should have been hidden by Elder Long in a secret place. Even if Shrek couldn't hold out, it shouldn't have been found so quickly by others.
Therefore, it was most likely their own people.
And very likely, Shrek had held out!
This was thrilling good news.
"Try communicating. If the other side cooperates, strive to rebuild the Demon Gate. Last time, with Alba's power integrated, the Demon Gate was rapidly constructed to accommodate super Douluo at Level 98. This time, we're not in a rush. Even if it can only pass through Soul Douluo, it's temporarily acceptable."
"Okay!" Yuanen Yehui's expression was serious, nodding.
Soon, she felt that strong fluctuation, very clearly. It seemed the person on the other side had an extremely high realm, further reducing the difficulty of her cross-plane communication with special means.
Communicating with other planes and opening gates to other planes was the innate talent of Demon Lords. Yuanen Yehui possessed the purest Purple Gold Demon bloodline, naturally having this instinctive talent.
During her time in the Demon Plane, she gradually uncovered these talents.
This was the development of her Fallen Angel martial soul's existing soul skills. Only by cultivating in the Demon Plane could she uncover these talents, which was why she stayed in the Demon Plane.
One by one, soul rings rose from beneath her feet.
Black, black, black, black, black!
Five black soul rings displayed her Soul King-level cultivation.
In fact, Yuanen Yehui was already at Level 59.
In this Demon Plane, her cultivation speed was extremely fast, advancing eight levels in two years.
The fourth black soul ring flickered.
"Fourth soul skill, Demon Gate!"
Originally, Yuanen Yehui's soul skill was Hell Gate, capable of summoning demons but unable to open a passage.
Now, through her development, this soul skill had transformed into Demon Gate. Besides the previous Hell Gate effects, she could summon a real Demon Gate under specific coordinates.
Real, meaning it actually existed and could last for a long time, unlike the previous fictional energy channel with only temporary summoning rights.
If she could further develop this soul skill to the point of opening a passage to another plane solely by herself, her ninth ring would change.
Because according to normal cultivation, her ninth ring would be the Demon Passage, an advanced version of Hell Gate. But if she developed the advanced version of Hell Gate herself, her ninth ring would naturally change, possibly awakening other primordial talents of the Purple Gold Demon.
As Yuanen Yehui activated her soul skill, a Demon Gate opened behind her.
Douluo Planet, Sea God Island.
A black dot appeared.
Yun Ming's gaze shifted, looking at this black dot, his vital energy and spirit infused into it, directly sensing Yuanen Yehui's presence.
"Open!"
He didn't hesitate, directly assisting Yuanen Yehui in opening the passage.
After a month of studying the starry phenomenon, he seemed to have a deeper understanding of spatial channels. At this moment, the initiative to open the spatial channel was unexpectedly in his hands.
Yun Ming solidified the spatial node with his vital energy and spirit, rapidly expanding it into a portal. The portal was no longer the Demon Gate but a blazing white gate with a spear pattern appearing on it, faintly resembling a peerless divine spear standing tall.
On the other side, the Demon Gate behind Yuanen Yehui formed smoothly.
"Who is this?" Yuanen Yehui was greatly shocked.
Such powerful means.
Throughout the entire process, she felt like she was just responsible for initiating and linking the nodes on both sides.
Could it be the Pavilion Master?
"Feel carefully."
A gentle voice appeared in Yuanen Yehui's mind.
It was Yun Ming's voice.
Yuanen Yehui immediately realized, not wasting time being astonished, suppressing her amazement, and quickly experiencing the process of establishing the channel.
This was Yun Ming helping her establish this channel, demonstrating for her. This process was also an excellent opportunity for her to develop her own Purple Gold Demon talents.
"What's wrong? Did something unexpected happen?"
Long Yeyue looked at Yun Ming, who was still maintaining something, frowning in inquiry.
In her perception, the establishment of the entire spatial channel should have gone smoothly.
Yun Ming shook his head.
"No surprises, just giving the little one on the other side a chance to feel more."
Long Yeyue understood.
"It should indeed."
This destruction and reconstruction of the Demon Channel hinged on Yuanen Yehui.
Although it seemed cumbersome and meaningless, it was a guarantee of Shrek's heritage, as all the super Douluo-level pavilion elders and inner court disciples were over there.
The pressure of this contingency plan all fell on Yuanen Yehui.
If Shrek hadn't withstood the God-Slaying Missiles, she would bear the hopes of everyone on that side, responsible for reopening the plane channel.
The construction of the Demon Gate took only three hours, but Yun Ming continued to maintain the process for a full three days.
After three days, the strength of the channel unknowingly reached an extremely high level.
Unfortunately, Yun Ming was ultimately just an offensive-type soul master. He wasn't skilled in constructing spatial channels and lacked Alba's talent to quickly strengthen the channel's intensity.
At this moment, this channel could accommodate life forms below the Title Douluo level at most.
"Subsequent stabilization can slowly proceed. Let's first try letting Elder Tree extend its power over."
Yun Ming looked at the nearly withered Golden Ancient Tree behind him.
The nearly withered Golden Ancient Tree extended a branch, rapidly spreading. Streams of emerald green power merged into the channel, flowing through to the other side.
Demon Plane.
"This is the power of the Golden Ancient Tree!"
Feeling the familiar power, Ya Li sighed in relief.
During this period, things hadn't been easy for them either.
Without the support of the Golden Ancient Tree's power, they were fully exposed to the Demon Plane environment.
This was a great test for them.
Fortunately, previous explorations had been plentiful. Over two years, almost all students had undergone at least three rounds of baptism, developing resistance to the Demon Plane's environmental energy, ensuring survival even after exposure.
Still, there was pressure.
Now, after three months, the familiar power returned, instantly smoothing the oppressive sensation from the Demon environment.
"All personnel, take three days to rest. Three days later, attempt to retake the cities we previously established."
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