Cultivating with Top Enlightenment

Ning Qi felt a great increase in his sense of security.

Of course, he was aware that there were various levels even among Martial Saints, but Martial Saints like those from the Southern Border and the Demon Sect, who forcibly step into the realm by external means, are probably at the lowest tier of Martial Saints.

This way.

Even if the yet-to-be-found Sect Leader of the Demon Sect stepped into the Martial Saint Realm, he was not afraid.

Next.

He could finally focus all his efforts on exploring the Martial Saint Realm.

Both the images deep in the White Ape bloodline and the Martial Saint power inside the Yu King Pearl provided Ning Qi with the conditions to explore.

At this thought.

He was a bit expectant.

...

Within the Seeking Tao Institute.

The White Ape sat beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, appearing more and more divine, its fur like snow or silver. During Ning Qi's exploration of the Golden Pupil of Illusion-breaking, the White Ape's bloodline was further developed, rapidly enhancing its power.

This development reflected upon the Martial Path realm, allowing it to successfully step into the White Mist Realm.

Its comprehensive combat power was even more exaggerated, extremely close to the Celestial Human Realm, and could be said to be invincible in the Gang Essence Realm.

"Tiansheng, concentrate your spirit and calm your mind." Ning Qi spoke gently, his voice was like a wake-up call.

The White Ape followed effortlessly.

Three Flowers appeared faintly above Ning Qi's head, and he instantly entered a resonance state. He immediately sensed that after the Three Flowers Perfection, his divine intent had changed, becoming much stronger than before.

"Buzz!"

An indistinct buzzing sound.

Ning Qi felt his consciousness as if it had descended upon a vast earth, with no surprise. He looked at the distant, mountain-sized Silver Giant Ape howling at the moon, already very familiar.

But this time, he clearly felt that his perception of this peculiar world was clearer, and everything seemed more concrete.

"Is it because of the Divine Flower Perfection?" he thought silently.

In the distance.

The Giant Ape roared, swallowing the moonlight and the power of heaven and earth.

Then, as usual, it began to become restless, breaking mountains and cutting off rivers, seemingly wanting to topple the heavens and earth.

Ning Qi watched silently, his consciousness becoming more focused.

Suddenly.

The Giant Ape turned around, its eyes emitting a blinding golden light sweeping over, as if to see through all phantoms. Ning Qi held his breath, his heart involuntarily pounding, having been stuck there every time before, his consciousness unable to bear it, and then the scene collapsing.

But now.

The Divine Flower had already perfected, and until now, it was still within his bearable range.

Ning Qi also turned around.

Only to find, behind him, there was nothing.

The Silver Giant Ape's eyes were bursting with golden light, the dazzling beams piercing through the earth, shattering the void; it was not just looking at Ning Qi but patrolling between heaven and earth, seemingly searching for something, its roar becoming more restless, even carrying a hint of fear.

But what Ning Qi saw was only the Giant Ape.

"What is the Giant Ape afraid of? Could it be that there is an unknown presence secretly watching?"

Ning Qi's mind was filled with all sorts of speculations. He, like the Giant Ape, surveyed around, trying to find the source of the Giant Ape's fear, but still, he found nothing.

Suddenly.

A heaven-shaking wail focused Ning Qi's gaze.

His heart trembled with fear.

He saw that the originally mountain-like Giant Ape began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a fully inflated balloon suddenly leaking air.

This was not the enlarging and shrinking of the body.

But an abnormal change.

The piercing wails resonated continuously. Ning Qi could see the Giant Ape desperately struggling or breaking free from something.

The more horrifying transformation followed.

Large patches of silver hair on the Giant Ape's body surface shed off, the exposed muscles rapidly shriveled, and its fierce tusks lost their luster at an incredible speed, gradually loosened, and then fell off. The once brilliant golden eyes became dull and murky, filled with pain and agony...

The Giant Ape struggled continuously, but its power dwindled too fast.

In mere moments.

The once powerful entity that viewed mountains and rivers as nothing was tripped up by a large tree, the Giant Ape staggered, a kick on the tree resulted in a backlash that knocked it to the ground, now seeming unbelievably old and weak.

Ning Qi witnessed this contrasting scene, feeling a chill in his heart.

The Giant Ape let out a low, sorrowful howl, eventually unable to escape its fate as it sat on the ground, gazing up at the sky, seemingly questioning why.

But there was no response.

The Giant Ape sat still, its mournful cry barely audible, gradually growing rigid.

A breeze passed by.

A few specks of dust were carried away by the wind, leaving nothing of the White Ape's fur, flesh, or bones.

Such a scene made Ning Qi feel even more eerie, and then, with a shake of his spirit, he finally saw the culprit.

Strands of the power of heaven and earth melted into the void, pushing Ning Qi's shock to its limit.

"There's something wrong with the power of Heaven and Earth!"

As soon as this thought emerged, the scene began to blur like ripples, not being forcibly pushed out like before. This time, it was a natural retreat, meaning a recorded scene in Yuan Tiancheng's bloodline ended here.

"This is a warning to the inheritors of the bloodline! There's definitely something wrong with the power of Heaven and Earth!"

Ning Qi stood beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, his stirred emotions unable to calm down for a long time.

The previous scene replayed continuously in his mind.

He contemplated the information hidden within.

"The Giant Ape was absorbing the power of heaven and earth and then suddenly met its misfortune, so does it mean that the power of Heaven and Earth had no problem initially, but later changed due to some external interference?"

"The extinction of the Heavenly Beasts is due to this reason!"

The Heavenly Beasts are the darlings of heaven and earth, innately capable of controlling the power of Heaven and Earth, and if there's anything awry with this power, they would suffer first.

"It's not just the Heavenly Beasts, but also those like Shi with innate Sword Bones. The 'Heavenly Beasts' among the human race may have also disappeared due to this reason. As for Shi's current innate Sword Bones, it's actually a version born to adapt to the changes in the heaven and earth, so Shi can't control the power of Heaven and Earth, and can't even awaken the Innate Divine Sword Qi."

"Re-thinking, those Exotic Beasts with Heavenly Beast bloodlines may be manifestations of Heavenly Beasts adapting to the changes in heaven and earth. Perhaps some Heavenly Beasts deliberately 'devolved' their descendants for preservation."

The more Ning Qi thought, the more he felt the truth might be just like this.

And the source of it all.

Is the unknown change in the heaven and earth.

"No wonder since I stepped into the Celestial Human Realm, I've always sensed a great fear from the power of Heaven and Earth, and before, the Blade Demon also said he had this feeling when he attempted to step into the Martial Saint Realm."

"If one not knowing the truth might only think it's the shackles of heaven and earth, a Heart Demon Tribulation, believing that overcoming it would reveal a new Martial Path."

"But looking at it now, if one really integrated the power of Heaven and Earth into oneself, immediate death and disappearance might not be out of the question."

Thinking of this.

Ning Qi felt a bit silent.

Originally, he thought after achieving Celestial Being Perfection, he could start exploring the Martial Saint Realm. With his enlightenment, and with the information he now possessed, spending some years he certainly could break through the Martial Saint Realm.

But now, everything has to be put on hold.

"The root lies in the problem with the power of Heaven and Earth; if not understood, rashly integrating it into the body will lead to endless troubles! Even if a Martial Saint Technique is presented to me now, I would definitely not dare to practice it."

Thinking of the tragic end of the Silver Giant Ape made Ning Qi's scalp tingle.

For the first time, he felt a bit at his wit's end as he stood below the Enlightenment Tea Tree, his stirred emotions long unable to calm down.

He waved his hand, using gentle strength to send the fainted White Ape into the tree, feeling its soft fur once again.

He needed to carefully think about how he could understand the root cause of this issue.

Unable to solve this problem meant no hope for advancement, and he could only maintain the status quo, making his whole body tremble.