Advancement

It was then that the Mysterious Bead sprang into action. Only at this moment did Ouyang Li realize that he was still anchored to the artifact, just as he was anchored when he first crossed into this world.

The bead seemed to be hidden deep within his soul!

As it sprang into action, Ouyang Li felt he was becoming weaker. The treasure was actually powered up through his soul force. It wasn't the only medium, though.

Ouyang Li's Jing energy reserves were sucked up dry, and it instantly transformed into Qi. Then, his lower dantian was dried up by the bead too.

Even surrounding spiritual energy was affected. All these energies were used to support the Mysterious Bead. It used them to power up the boy's Shen. It ignited his potential and will.

Then, it started counterattacking! It simultaneously aggravated the Heavenly Lord's wounds and began refining his Nascent Soul essence.

"What did you do!?" The man screamed hysterically. The way Ouyang Li saw it, such behavior was truly unbecoming of the Heavenly Lord title. "I've clearly cut you off! What is this… thing? Not even the son of the Heavenly Emperor had such protection back in the day!"

Soon, the old monster forcefully regained his calm. After all, he was suddenly put on the defense.

The fight was intensive. This Nascent Soul was crazily resisting the bead, and there were moments when it almost succeeded in restraining it. The monster was constantly cursing and threatening too.

Then, at some point, he started negotiating. He shamelessly apologized and promised to take over another body. He dared to swear the Heavenly Tao Oath, whatever that is.

"As long as I am set free, I would leave you and the two other disciples alone! I would never even try to seek revenge!"

All these promises lasted for quite some time. Then, the lord outright begged for his mercy!

It was only at this moment that Ouyang Li relaxed for a bit.

"As expected, this bead isn't to be underestimated. After all, it crossed the boundary between the two universes, bending countless fundamental laws of nature. Who knew how much energy did it require? No wonder it was able to take care of a remnant of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator."

Still, it was quite a surreal experience. Listening to the Heavenly Lord's pleas for mercy was disturbing, to say the least. After all, it was truly an ancient being. The world lacked more powerful cultivators at this age. It has been like that ever since the fall of the Heavenly Court!

So, it was a big deal to defeat one. In fact, it was hard to think of anything more difficult than that!

Still, it wasn't because of his own strength that he managed to do that. It was all the work of his treasure. Although he didn't have much control over it, the bead still saved him in the most critical moment.

Soon, Ouyang Li started withdrawing from his Sea of Consciousness. At the same time, the invading Nascent Soul was almost completely dispelled.

"Don't do this!" The man screamed one last time. "Don't you dare let my spirit disperse! I know many heavenly secrets..."

However, it was too late. The Nascent Soul was already heavily injured. The attack of the Mysterious Bead, as well as the backlash from failed possession, finally finished him off.

The whole process might have been excruciatingly long or incredibly short. Ouyang Li couldn't determine it in his current form.

After some time, he was drawn back into his battered body.

Taking over once again, Ouyang Li felt a little dizzy. He had to remind himself that it wasn't exactly his vessel either. Fortunately, the previous owner of the body was completely dead. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived this battle.

However, Ouyang Li felt that there were still many things that he should investigate. For example, where did his predecessor come from? Did he have any relatives? Did he really die because of a heart demon or... was there someone behind his death? Also, what was he obsessed about? After all, all this karma might still cause him harm in the future.

It was quite disturbing as these traumas were constantly trying to come back and bother him during his sleep. Although he was now protected by the bead, and his spiritual growth was quick, who knew if ignoring them wouldn't cause him to transform into a demon someday?

"Whatever, I'll cross this bridge when it comes to it."

He murmured. "Anyways, I'm already indebted to the previous body owner. Never mind the fact that the body has some traumas. I'll get through them. At least... I got to live!"

Right now, his attention switched to something else. It was his Mysterious Bead.

It has just finished refining the rest of the Nascent Soul remnant's essence. Although it was small and corrupted, it was still a huge deal for him!

Furthermore, after being purified by the Mysterious Bead, it was further separated into the three most basic substances: Jing, Qi, and Shen. As a result, it became pure once again!

"Amazing!" Ouyang Li sighed.

He was clearly impressed.

After all, without the bead, even a wisp of a Golden Core super-condensed spiritual essence would kill him, not to mention part of the Nascent Soul!

"Ka-boom! Boom!" Strange noises resounded in his body and mind.

These were the sounds of some barriers breaking within his body. His inner balance was broken, and his body was now in a terrible condition.

However, weaves upon weaves of pure energy were slowly spreading through his limbs. This energy was mending him and transforming from the inside out.

The energy boost made him feel invigorated, and he realized that he had broken through! Not once, but twice! His meridians bulged, and the energy he gathered during the Qi Refinement Realm filled his innards, condensing in his lower dantian.

However, Ouyang Li soon felt that something was very wrong! It was because he still hasn't reached the Immortal Foundation Realm!

Suddenly, he felt scorching-hot and ice-cold all at once. The pure energies separated into Yin and Yang. Then, they started wreaking havoc within his body. Sweat covered his forehead, and if it wasn't for the bead's attempt to balance the forces, he would surely be dead now!

Ouyang Li quickly circulated the sect's Inner Transformation Method, his main Cultivation Method, but something still didn't feel quite right!

He could quickly and easily condense his Qi into liquid, forming spiritual essence. From what he knew, that was the basic requirement of establishing the Immortal Foundation! However, the problem was there was too much Shen and Qi in his body and too little Jing. To simplify, his blood and vitality was nearly drained.

He realized that he now resembled a skeleton, and his own body can't support the transition! Moreover, his Qi continued to overflow, and there was some strange fundamental law trying to nullify his previous breakthrough.

"That's right! I've actually already broken through! But how is it possible? I was already at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, and I've broken through two more times consecutively. All of these happened still without reaching the Immortal Foundation Realm!"

He sweated even more, quickly trying to investigate the situation he found himself in.

"Without properly condensing my energy… Well, I suppose the breakthrough happened because my Three Treasures became too abundant too suddenly. It's all thanks to the Nascent Soul essence. And my Shen has also reached a new height! It's only thanks to the bead that I'm still hanging on. I'm afraid that if stop now…"

He hesitated. That's right! If Ouyang Li stopped now, he would probably be stuck at the half-a-step Immortal Foundation for the rest of his life. Still, he was too imbalanced, and he couldn't change the situation. And yet, he was so close to building Immortal Foundation!

"What a strange situation. What a weird fundamental law! Although I'm almost there, something is still blocking me from taking this one step to become close the Heavenly Tao. Do I need even more accumulation to cross the required threshold?"

Before he had time to decide whether to let loose of his Shen and forgone Foundation Building, he felt as if the whole world suddenly abandoned him.

It felt as if he was targeted by someone!

Strange malice appeared in the air, and the wind suddenly blew in response to the rapid movement of Yin and Yang energies in the air.

Some unspeakably powerful presence appeared high in the skies. It resembled an eye and it made him feel as if he was being denounced. It swept around and started to search for something.

For some reason, Ouyang Li had a feeling that it was looking for him!