My Arts Evolve When Perfected

All he could think about now was blending their two souls, or even fusing their bodies, to see if they could achieve Harmonization.

If this didn’t work either, then he could only wait for the Dusk Holy Ruins, go inside, and search for other methods to achieve Harmonization.

’He figured a Great Secret Realm that attracted the attention of countless Harmonization Realm experts, a place that was the Land of the End for numerous legacies from the previous era, was bound to hold a method for achieving Harmonization.’

At this thought, he felt a great sense of relief. He didn’t force Snow to fuse with him, allowing her to retain that sliver of independent thought. Besides, she was as innocent as a child; though her voice was sometimes cold and distant, she still always wanted to sleep and bathe with him.

After resting for a while, the two began another round of fusion, further deepening the bond between their souls. Afterward, he felt a subtle rise in his Realm, yet it seemed to stop short of any real progress. Jiang Qiu then turned his attention to the web and was shocked by what he found. ’The Eight-direction Reversing Ship has already reached the Desolate Realm?!’

This fusion session had lasted a little long; several days had passed before he came to. He hadn’t expected the Eight-direction Reversing Ship to have already traversed the void and made contact with the Thunder Clan.

The Eight-direction Reversing Ship was now docked in an open clearing, and the Thunder Clan had announced that Zuo Xuan would assist them in launching an unprecedentedly large-scale war against the Thunder Restricted Area. They had even put out a general call for heroes to join them.

In other words, the Thunder Clan had now secured Zuo Xuan’s aid. The plan was to temporarily suppress the Law of the Thunder Restricted Area by simply having Zuo Xuan, in his capacity as a Venerable, make a show of force against it.

This would cause the world-destroying thunder within the Thunder Restricted Area to temporarily die down. That would be the moment for the Thunder Clan to lead their grand army in a charge. To ensure this assault was foolproof, they were also offering bounties to recruit a large number of masters. Anyone at the Fusion Realm or above could join the extermination army for bountiful rewards.

The rewards were indeed bountiful. Cities, women, and unique Cultivation Resources from the Thunder Great Realm were all on the table for negotiation. Even some high-level Secret Techniques would be given out as rewards. The only conditions were that one had to be at the Fusion Realm or higher, slay enemy troops, and make a significant contribution.

It would be even better if any Harmonization Realm experts took part. Unfortunately, within the Thunder Great Realm, no clan other than the Thunder Clan itself could produce anyone at that level. Thus, the main force would be the Thunder Clan’s dozen-or-so Harmonization Realm experts, along with Zuo Xuan, leading an army of over a million to the Restricted Area to subjugate the Bloodthirsty White Tiger.

The sheer scale of this force was frightening. The population of a single Great Realm was measured in the hundreds of billions, at a minimum. In the Desolate Realm alone, there were countless races. Even the Soul Race, which focused on quality over quantity in its offspring, numbered in the billions. There were thousands, even tens of thousands, of such races, with innumerable ones having populations in the tens of billions. How much more so for a famous Great Realm like Thunder?

To select over a million troops from a population of hundreds of billions meant that every single one of them was a one-in-a-hundred-thousand talent. With the minimum requirement being the Dao Entry Realm, this was tantamount to deploying the entire core strength of the Thunder Great Realm near the Restricted Area.

The scale was even grander than the expedition into the Secret Realm from the Netherworld Dynasty’s Capital City back in the Yin Yang Great Realm. This was the true foundation of a Great Realm. Perhaps many unaffiliated Harmonization Realm experts wouldn’t even be considered impressive here. Without the backing of a major clan, they would simply fade into obscurity.

Upon learning of the Thunder Clan’s bounty, Jiang Qiu was filled with emotion, but also with a nagging doubt. ’Can Zuo Xuan really break through the protection of the Restricted Area’s Law?’

He had some understanding of the Primordial world cluster, but it wasn’t very deep. Most of it was just superficial information he’d picked up from the web. The more in-depth knowledge came from what Celestial Star had told him previously, but even that lacked specific details.

As for the Nine Venerable Great Realm, he knew that its strongest figures were nine Harmonization Realm experts known as the Nine Venerables. Zuo Xuan was one of them. His power was immense; even across the entire Primordial world cluster, he belonged to a group with exceptional prestige and status. Celestial Star, one of the supreme figures of the Desolate Realm, admitted to being a tier below him.

But Jiang Qiu had never seen Zuo Xuan in action. He had, however, peeked at the outskirts of the Restricted Area before. The world-destroying thunder there could annihilate any power that didn’t conform to its Law. He suspected that even a Harmonization Realm expert would struggle to emerge unscathed. A single lightning strike would be enough to inflict grievous wounds.

At that level of intensity, anyone in the Fusion Realm would be nothing but cannon fodder. A single sweep of lightning could wipe out a vast number of Cultivators. Even with Zuo Xuan’s great reputation, Jiang Qiu remained skeptical.

’Perhaps I’m still underestimating the intimidating power of the Nine Venerables?’

’Or maybe I’m underestimating Zuo Xuan?’

At this thought, Jiang Qiu subconsciously clenched his fists. He couldn’t help but worry about the plan he was formulating. ’If I really use the opportunity of Zuo Xuan and the Thunder Clan’s army attacking the Restricted Area to force my way onto the Eight-direction Reversing Ship, can I make it out alive?’

It seemed Zuo Xuan was on a level far beyond that of an ordinary Harmonization Realm expert. He stood at the very apex of the Primordial world cluster. Barring a few old monsters who hadn’t shown themselves in ages, he was qualified to contend for the title of the strongest in the current era. After all, he was one of the Nine Venerables of the Nine Venerable Great Realm.

A powerhouse like that was not someone he, a relative newcomer, could hope to compare with.

Although he had made a bit of a name for himself in the Desolate Realm, what did that amount to? There were countless Great Realms as vast as the Desolate Realm. And as for more powerful worlds, aside from the Yin Yang Great Realm, he hadn’t visited any of the other top-tier ones. In this context, comparing himself to Venerable Zuo Xuan—who roamed the Primordial worlds and pioneered new frontiers—was like an ant gazing at the bright moon.

The more places one visited, the more one realized that in the Primordial world cluster, the Fusion Realm itself had no fixed value. Only those at the Fusion Realm with powerful backing were considered truly significant. In other words, Fusion Realm experts weren’t as rare as one might think. After all, in the Celestial Star Arena in the Desolate Realm, they could be forced to perform as slaves.

To put it bluntly, a "wild" Fusion Realm expert was just a slightly more expensive consumable. Jiang Qiu considered himself to be in that category. Although the Human Race was somewhat known, it was ultimately just a native race that appeared quite weak. And since he came from the remote Blue Star Small Realm, he was about as "wild" as they came.

Therefore, compared to those Fusion Realm experts with the backing of powerful clans, his understanding of the world was a whole tier lower.

So now he hesitated. ’With my own strength, can I really rescue some of the people from the Eight-direction Reversing Ship?’

’In theory, I’ve encountered Harmonization Realm experts three times. The first was Chen Dragon. Although his power had already faded, as a reincarnated Demon Emperor, his plans were vast. To this day, I still don’t know what his endgame is, and I haven’t seen a trace of him since.

’The second time was in the Dragon Spirit Secret Realm of the Yin Yang Great Realm. Eight Harmonization Realm experts had gathered there, their every move capable of shattering the heavens and the earth. But they seemed to be constrained by the Secret Realm’s restrictions and the True Dragon’s might, and I, having just fused with Snow, instantly killed them.

’The third was Senior Celestial Star, the master of the Celestial Star Arena and one of the strongest Harmonization Realm experts in the Desolate Realm. Though he was relatively amicable, he wields an unfathomable power and has never made a move in my presence.’

Thinking of these Harmonization Realm experts, Jiang Qiu’s gaze grew more profound. He felt no pride in having once killed beings of that Realm. Instead, he became even more aware that for the strong, crushing the weak was as simple as having a single thought.

The True Dragon’s residual might could instantly kill Harmonization Realm experts, including the one known as the Red Demon Venerable. So why wouldn’t it be just as easy for a Harmonization Realm expert to kill a mere Fusion Realm expert like him in the span of a single thought?