Chapter 787 - 708: Reaching the Peak 107
In this way, the understanding of the Heart Realm that Tan Shuangshuang imparted to Lu Tianyi is almost indistinguishable from his own understanding, which is why Lu Tianyi advanced so quickly.
Of course, the fact that Tan Feiyu and Fei Hu did not have such significant advancements is not because their feelings for Tan Shuangshuang were not as deep as Lu Tianyi’s, but because the nature of their relationships was different. Tan Feiyu and Fei Hu’s feelings for Tan Shuangshuang were familial, a kind of bond where they could go through life and death together in an intimate manner.
It is precisely because this intimacy was so close that it did not inspire the kind of reverence Lu Tianyi had, akin to facing a god. Naturally, they could not treat Tan Shuangshuang as a deity to worship and believe in, nor could they accept her insights blindly, as if brainwashed, to the extent that Lu Tianyi could.
The last to advance was Bai Sheng. Bai Sheng’s talent was second only to Tan Shuangshuang among everyone. His advancements were greater than Tan Feiyu and Fei Hu’s, reaching Martial Sect Perfection, just a step away from Half-step Martial Venerable, and further away from Martial Venerable.
After Tan Feiyu, Lu Tianyi, Bai Sheng, and Fei Hu all broke through, it was Tan Shuangshuang’s turn. This time, Tan Shuangshuang had the ambition to break through to the Martial Venerable Level. She had heard before that above the Martial Venerable is Crossing Tribulation.
Crossing Tribulation is a stage just below God. Although there isn’t much information about Crossing Tribulation, it is said that after Crossing Tribulation comes Gods, who at the time of becoming a God can directly cross world barriers and ascend to the Upper Realm.
But becoming a God is not so easily done. Tan Shuangshuang had never heard of anyone becoming a God all these years. Even in major countries like Fengyu, she hadn’t heard of anyone ascending to become a God.
Tan Shuangshuang’s insights were her own, which is why she gained the greatest benefits and dared to believe she could break through to the Martial Venerable Level. With such thoughts, Tan Shuangshuang began her retreat for cultivation.
At first, Tan Shuangshuang’s breakthrough was smooth—Fifth Rank of Martial Venerable, Sixth Rank of Martial Venerable, Seventh Rank of Martial Venerable, step by step, without any obstacles. But after reaching Martial Venerable Perfection, she distinctly felt a solid barrier that suddenly blocked her smooth progression through the ranks.
Tan Shuangshuang was not anxious. Instead, she calmed her mind and adjusted her state to its best, then fully attempted to break through this barrier. Unfortunately, despite all her efforts, the barrier remained unyielding, impervious to any of Tan Shuangshuang’s attempts.
Tan Shuangshuang repeatedly challenged this barrier, but it was all in vain. Every impact was a failure, and each failure was followed by continued efforts. Tan Shuangshuang even forgot the passage of time, persistently trying to break through the barrier preventing her from surpassing Martial Venerable.
No matter how hard Tan Shuangshuang tried, the barrier remained unmoved. Only when she started feeling a faint pain in her meridians and Spirit Mansion did she reluctantly give up the idea of continuing to break through. It seemed she wasn’t going to be able to take advantage of this opportunity to break through to Martial Venerable.
Although somewhat disappointed, Tan Shuangshuang did not mind much. She believed that even if she couldn’t break through this time, it wouldn’t take long for her to reach the Martial Venerable Level and move on to higher levels, so there was no need to be in a hurry.
The most important thing at present was that everyone needed to continue cultivation because this time, everyone’s cultivation level increased through the growth of Heart Realm. The spiritual power gained within them was not refined through hard cultivation; it was forcibly infused by the heavens due to the breakthrough, making it not pure.
Therefore, everyone’s foundation was unstable and needed immediate cultivation to stabilize their cultivation levels and consolidate the somewhat superficial levels quickly, to avoid regressing their hard-earned ranks due to unstable foundations.
Originally, everyone planned to take a good tour in Huazhi Country, but who knew they would break through their cultivation levels so quickly, requiring continued cultivation? So, regrettably, they left, carrying storage bags full to the brim, departing from Huazhi Country.
This time, everyone’s goal was very clear, which was to head to Sea China. Sea China’s name is quite literal because this country is established in the sea and stands as a major nation similar to Phoenix Feather Country. Most importantly, Sea China is a country entirely established by transformed magical beasts from the sea.
The relationship between humans and magical beasts has always been quite good. Human cultivators never hunt magical beasts that have awakened spiritual wisdom unless the beast has committed a crime. Magical beasts also do not actively harm humans unless they have deep personal vendettas against them.
Due to the Demon Clan issues, magical beasts sometimes even ally with humans to fight side by side and have forged comradeship with many humans, bringing humans and magical beasts closer together. Therefore, it’s normal for magical beasts to reside in human countries and for humans to reside in magical beast countries.
Sea China is just such a state where humans and magical beasts live together. Although the rulers of Sea China are magical beasts, there is no shortage of human officials in the upper echelons. Of course, there are also transformed magical beasts serving as officials in human countries.
Just like on the Demon Clan battlefield in Baiyue Country before, the special official sent to interrogate the Half-Demon was actually a transformed magical beast. It is said that its original form was a serpentine magical beast.
Besides the fact that the rulers of Sea China are transformed magical beasts from the sea and the country lies beneath the deep sea, there’s another unique aspect compared to mainland nations: Sea China is under immense pressure.
This pressure comes from the ocean; the deeper the sea, the greater the pressure. All inhabitants of Sea China live under such pressure.
It is said that the deep-sea pressure can even instantly crush a person into sludge. But for cultivators, such pressure offers an excellent training ground, drawing many humans and magical beasts to reside in Sea China to cultivate under such pressure.
The living arrangements in Sea China are divided into ten levels, with pressure increasing as one descends. Newcomers reside on the topmost level where the pressure is the lightest, and as their cultivation strengthens, they gradually move to lower levels. The strongest in Sea China reside on the lowest, tenth level.
The reason Tan Shuangshuang and her companions initially planned to go to Phoenix Feather Country instead of Sea China was partly because Phoenix Feather Country was closer to Baiyue Country, and partly because they hadn’t expected their cultivation speed to increase so rapidly.
Now, to stabilize their foundation, they could only forgo Phoenix Feather Country and head to Sea China for cultivation first. Once their cultivation levels were stable, they could consider other matters.
Sea China’s entrance is naturally by the seaside. Due to being the entrance to Sea China, the area sees a large number of human and transformed magical beast visitors, bustling year-round. Sea China conveniently built a massive city here for people to live in, with the city’s edge right by the coast.
This city is immensely magnificent because the entire city, which can accommodate millions, is astonishingly built with countless massive stones, each no less than a hundred square meters!