Top enlightenment at 100 years old

With a wave of his hand.

The Thunder Morning Star Sand, which he had not yet used, instantly landed in his palm.

Crackle—

Suddenly, arcs of lightning exploded around Ji Haoyuan.

Immediately, streaks of starlight descended.

With a single inhalation, Ji Haoyuan drew all the starlight and lightning into his mouth.

Boom! Boom!

For a moment, it seemed there was endless thunder rampaging within Ji Haoyuan's body.

Amidst this thunder, there were also shadowy images of stars as heavy as mountains.

Crack, crack—

Sounds of bones being compressed echoed from Ji Haoyuan's body.

It seemed as if he was enduring the pounding of a heavy object.

Every moment.

His flesh, bones, and organs were undergoing the most severe trial imaginable.

It was clearly visible.

His skin cracked open, flesh dissolved, bones shattered...

But soon, the cracked skin, dissolved flesh, and shattered bones healed at an unbelievable speed.

This process repeated over and over.

Three whole years passed.

Boom!

A tremendous tremor suddenly shook Ji Haoyuan's cave abode.

At this moment, starry illusions shimmered within each of the acupoints throughout Ji Haoyuan's body.

Inside each star, lightning was hidden.

Some red, some green, some yellow...

In the end, these bolts of lightning collided and compressed, slowly extending into a fourth color.

It was entirely silver and white.

Clearly, it was the Geng Metal Heavenly Thunder!

In an instant, text flashed before Ji Haoyuan's eyes.

[You have grasped the Geng Metal Heavenly Thunder and attempt to merge it with your previous Three Talents Divine Thunder. You gain profound insights.]

[Congratulations, you've successfully merged them, comprehending a new Divine Thunder, the Four Symbols Divine Thunder!]

Boom!

In Ji Haoyuan's palm, lightning in red, yellow, green, and white twisted, compressed, and collided relentlessly.

Eventually, behind it, appeared four enormous shadowy beasts.

They exuded an intensely destructive aura.

Crackle—

Finally, the thunder dissipated into a sky full of lightning, which Ji Haoyuan inhaled, absorbing it into every acupoint in his body.

This caused Ji Haoyuan's aura to rise continuously.

The entire cave abode seemed unable to withstand the force emanating from him, shaking violently and echoing with thunderous sounds under the strain.

Luckily.

Ji Haoyuan promptly suppressed all the anomalies around him.

Everything gradually calmed down.

He raised his hands and looked at his palms, unable to hide the joy on his face.

This is the power after my Body Refinement breakthrough to the peak of the third stage?

It truly did not disappoint!

Several months later.

Having consolidated his cultivation and realm, Ji Haoyuan finally stepped out of his cave abode.

"Elder Nanhua..."

Upon stepping outside, a beautiful female cultivator in a pink dress appeared before him, bowing respectfully.

Her name was Miao Zixi.

She was once personally appointed by Ji Haoyuan to manage affairs at Celestial Terrace Peak.

Now that he was at Jade Spring Peak, she was brought along to manage affairs there as well.

After all, both the previous Celestial Terrace Peak and the current Jade Spring Peak required dedicated management.

It was impossible to have a Peak Master like him handle these matters personally.

That was out of the question.

At that moment.

Miao Zixi handed several jade tablets to Ji Haoyuan.

"Elder Nanhua, these are records of the resources produced at Jade Spring Peak over the years and the amount that needs to be submitted to the sect.

I've documented everything in detail, hoping you could review them personally."

Ji Haoyuan took the jade tablets from Miao Zixi and glanced over them.

He nodded and then handed the tablets back to Miao Zixi.

"No issues, you've done an excellent job.

By the way, besides these, have there been any significant events I should know about during the years I was secluded?

Provide me with detailed information."

"Yes, Elder."

Miao Zixi responded respectfully, then briefed Ji Haoyuan on the crucial events of recent years.

The most important undoubtedly being the war between the human and demon races.

According to Miao Zixi, the war between the two races was slowly approaching its end.

The decade-long war is expected to conclude soon.

After all, reaching this point, both the human and demon sides have incurred significant losses.

Take their Demonstration Sect as an example.

In this war alone, over sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators have fallen.

The number of Qi Refining Stage disciples from both inner and outer sects approaches one thousand.

Even six Golden Core stage elders perished.

As with Demonstration Sect, other Nascent Soul sects likely experienced similar situations.

Perhaps their numbers were even higher.

Fortunately.

No one Ji Haoyuan was acquainted with had fallen.

Including Senior Sister Master Binghuo and the Heaven-Piercing Valley situation remained relatively stable.

This was primarily due to his performance at East Mountain Pass.

Alone, he slew six powerful demons in a single battle.

Including a late-stage third-tier great demon.

Such achievements instilled fear in many great demons.

Even stopping the great demons from the Heaven-Piercing Valley from making a fatal assault.

Of course.

With Zhou Kun and Shi Siyao there.

And with the War Fortress present, even if the great demons wished to launch an all-out attack, capturing Heaven-Piercing Valley would be difficult.

Aside from this, Ji Haoyuan needed to pay attention to the conflict between the Demonstration Sect and the True Words Sect.

After he was pursued by True Monarch Bihai, another Golden Core elder of the Demonstration Sect was also pursued by a Nascent Soul True Monarch from the other side.

However, this time, the Golden Core elder wasn't as fortunate.

Pursued by the opponent's Nascent Soul True Monarch, he ultimately perished.

This outright enraged the Demonstration Sect.

Leading them to deploy three Nascent Soul True Monarchs to engage the True Words Sect's Nascent Soul True Monarchs in battle over the Inner Sea.

This confrontation resulted in several Spirit Islands being silenced.

Seas flooded.

Countless Sea Beasts and Sea Demons were needlessly caught in the crossfire of the Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Had it not been for the detection of a fourth-tier Demon King and several fourth-tier Sea Demons lurking nearby.

Fearing that both parties might be exploited by the other.

The battle involving six Nascent Soul True Monarchs might not have concluded.

And this is what made Ji Haoyuan truly realize.

That the conflict between the two sects has seemingly become irreconcilable.

A war is now inevitable.