He might be entering the Martial Extremity Realm for the first time, but Shang Xia didn’t lack knowledge. He had records of experts when they tried to break through previously!

According to the experiences left behind by some seniors, the inner qi in their bodies would start to separate when they refined the Powder of Purification.

When the process was complete, a cultivator’s dantian would appear. It would signify that they had successfully entered the Martial Extremity Realm!

Of course, when their inner qi separated, it didn’t mean that it experienced a fundamental transformation.

Shang Xia realized that the problem lay with the pure qi pouring into his body. The separation couldn’t be completed due to their never ending invasion into his body.

As the separation couldn’t be completed, the formation of his dantian couldn’t be accomplished! Stepping into the Martial Extremity Realm would be an impossible task!

The amount of inner qi Shang Xia could contain in his body was limited. As his dantian wasn’t forming, the two different types of qi started to clash against each other. If that kept up, Shang Xia would explode from the excess qi! 

If only Shang Xia had a secret art suitable for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm, he could forcefully suppress his inner qi. Learning and using any random secret art at that time might not be in his best interest in the long run, but it was enough to save his life!

Alas… Shang Xia was promised a set of secret art from the institution, but he failed to make his choice in the short amount of time he had before leaving for the battlefield between two worlds! Now, he was really in deep shit…

What am I supposed to do?!

Looking down desperately, he suddenly thought of the blood red tablet. “Oh right, a flash of inspiration!” 

Perhaps that was the key to everything!

Looking at the long path before him, he realized that he might have to venture even deeper into the Crossroad of Purification in order to obtain his flash of inspiration!

With the bubbling lava and endless frost beside him, a soft chuckle left Shang Xia’s lips as he took another step into the Crossroad of Purification… 

…

As the eruption of the Origin Tide only covered a tiny area, the female cultivator wasn’t affected in the slightest after retreating into the forest. 

Looking at the lake, she tried to peer through the curtain of rampaging heaven and earth qi. Other than a screen of chaotic qi, she failed to see anything else.

“Did he really die?!” Muttering to herself, she eventually sighed, “Well, he deserved it… However, the little bird…” 

Seemingly able to hear her thoughts, a high-pitched cry came from the skies above.

Raising her head slightly, she saw a flash of silver light as the Lightning Bird flew towards a tree beside her.

“Are you also here to see if that brat died?” She said as she took several steps towards the tree. 

A cautious chirp was all she received as a reply.

Ignoring its warning, she continued to move forward. “Is that Mutated Rain Swallow really your lover? Are Lightning Birds and Mutated Rain Swallows from the same race?” 

Flapping its wings, the Lightning Bird warned her not to get any closer.

Too bad for the creature, she had already entered her attack range. Leaping up towards it, the knives in her hands started to dance. “Get down here!” 

…

Shang Xia looked at his feet in confusion. Even though he was standing on a strip of water, his feet were completely dry! It might not be difficult for cultivators to walk on water, but the current Shang Xia was nowhere near capable enough to do it!

Moreover, he felt as though he was walking on solid ground.

He soon thought of the reason behind it. The chaotic qi in the Crossroad of Purification formed a mystical equilibrium with the qi in his body, allowing him to stroll casually on top of the river.

The chaotic qi running amok in his body suddenly calmed down, allowing Shang Xia to avoid certain death.

Was that the flash of inspiration he needed?!

Shang Xia seemed to have captured a key point in his journey of cultivation.

Even after he opened his dantian, it seemed as though finding a balance was the key to everything! 

What comes after balance?

Shang Xia reached out to grab a droplet of water as he pondered over his question.

Looking at the clear droplet in his hand, he felt that it perfectly contained both the essence of yin and yang.

The chaos around him seemed to fade. The appearance of the water droplet didn’t just signify balance between the two sides. What would happen when extreme yang fused with extreme yin? The heat and frost on either side perfectly integrated with each other and it gave birth to harmony! 

That was the flash of inspiration he needed! 

As the doubts in his mind disappeared, he swallowed the droplet of water. The two differing types of qi in his body started to come together. Unlike last time when they clashed with each other violently, it started to show signs of fusion.

Without any type of interference from Shang Xia, the inner qi in his body started to move again. 

A loud blast rang through his body and a separate space was formed. His dantian appeared, and he finally entered the Martial Extremity Realm! At that moment,  he truly stepped into the Second Order of the Primary Realm!

The energy in his body surged towards his dantian, forming a thin layer of mist. As soon as it formed, it started to churn. Very quickly, it started to separate. A portion of it started to rise while the other part started to fall. His dantian expanded slightly, and before he knew it, the mist was gone. 

Raising an eyebrow curiously, he felt that the size of his dantian was larger than what those who entered the Martial Extremity Realm in the past described.

Whatever the case, he wasn’t too concerned about it. After all, his foundations were extremely solid when he entered the Martial Realm. The energy contained in his body was dense and pure, and that was probably behind the reason behind his larger dantian.

A sudden pang of emptiness struck Shang Xia. He wanted nothing more than to devour an endless amount of energy in order to fill his newly created dantian.

Taking a deep breath, a whirlpool formed under his feet. Throughout the entire process, he didn’t need to control the energy entering his body as it traveled straight into his dantian.

Boom!

Another loud blast came from inside it. 

With his face turning pale, Shang Xia felt his entire body trembling. Taking in too much energy at once caused his dantian to become unsteady. Trying to stop the intake of energy, Shang Xia realized that he messed up once again. His dantian was like an endless black hole that sucked up energy endlessly. However, it wasn’t strong enough to bear the load!

Regret filled Shang Xia’s heart again when he thought about how he didn’t find a secret art to practice.

His intestines were turning green in anguish. Everything could have been avoided if he wasn’t so picky!

Did other cultivators suffer from the same fate?! Shang Xia refused to believe that he was the only case.

However, the most important thing was to deal with the danger he was currently facing. The moment his dantian failed to contain the amount of energy rushing into his body, it would crumble! His hopes of cultivation would end there!

Thinking of solutions, Shang Xia seemed to chance upon a brilliant idea. Fusing the two different types of energy in his body, he was several steps ahead of cultivators his level. That was also the reason behind his predicament.

Ordinarily, transforming the qi in his dantian would take quite some time! He would have to slowly strengthen his dantian to contain more and more energy. 

He barely formed his dantian and he was trying to absorb pure yin and yang qi from the Crossroad of Purification! It was no wonder he was about to lose control.

Without a secret art to divert the power, he could only hope to strengthen his dantian enough to contain the energy within.

In order to accelerate the process, he would have to use the heaven and earth qi he already absorbed to temper it even further.

He would have to separate the qi once again, but the question was whether he had the time to do it! 

Separating after fusion, returning to its origin…

When the thought flashed through his mind, Shang Xia knew that he had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation.