Chapter 187: Rank 8

Chen Xiao’s mind was constantly protected by the power of the Supreme God, so he never got lost in the darkness. He was well aware that Chen Jianzhou was currently in the Glory Temple, under the protection of Floating Cloud, safe and sound—there was no way he could be here.
“This place must be another world. I can no longer contact Floating Cloud or anyone else; even the power of faith in the Glory Temple is beyond my reach… Hm?”
Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s face lit up. The fragments of the mysterious creature that had disguised itself as Chen Jianzhou and which he had shattered earlier turned into forces similar to blessings, flowing into his body. In an instant, his strength soared, especially his physical power. By absorbing these forces, he reached the peak of Rank 6, while his mental power also made a slight breakthrough, reaching mid-Rank 7.
“So that’s how it is.” Chen Xiao’s face was filled with joy. He finally understood how the Nether Realm space enhanced strength. By destroying those illusory forms, one could obtain powers beyond physical form to replenish oneself. These powers were extremely peculiar, seemingly designed specifically to boost the strength of those with supernatural abilities.
In just a moment, those strange powers were completely absorbed, and Chen Xiao’s strength stabilized.
“It’s good, but using this method to improve strength makes me feel uneasy. Turning into the likeness of a loved one? There must be some treasure here that can reflect the mind, capable of sensing what’s on my thoughts?”
As Chen Xiao pondered, another glow appeared before him, and a graceful, otherworldly beauty appeared.
“Shui Miao, what do you think we should do?” Chen Xiao asked with a bitter smile. He had connected to the Supreme God’s space and reached out to Shui Miao. Ever since the incident with Cassius, Shui Miao had never completely disappeared, always maintaining a subtle connection with Chen Xiao.
Shui Miao pouted and imitated Chen Xiao’s tone, “Decide for yourself. Turning into my likeness? I find it displeasing.”
Yet, at that moment, something strange arose in Shui Miao’s heart. From the moment Chen Jianzhou appeared, she had paid attention to this place. In this Nether Realm space, there clearly was some unknown entity that reflected the mind, conveying the things those with supernatural abilities desired most.
Now, apart from his parents, the most important person to Chen Xiao was Chen Jianzhou. So, without a doubt, the first to appear was Chen Jianzhou.
But Shui Miao never expected that the second to appear would be her own shadow, which proved that her status in Chen Xiao’s heart was only second to Chen Jianzhou.
“Sigh…” Shui Miao let out a soft sigh. Her belief in the supremacy of the mind was shaken for a moment, before she disappeared again.
Chen Xiao, unaware of the intricacies, looked at Shui Miao before her. Before she could speak, he struck, destroying her. Once again, her remnants turned into streams of energy, flowing into his body.
“This can’t go on. Once or twice is okay, but if they keep turning into my relatives and friends and getting destroyed by me, my mind will collapse over time.”

Chen Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly. Even though he knew they were fake and not his relatives or friends, after all, they were their forms. Destroying one or two of them wasn’t a big deal, but when it happened repeatedly, numbness set in. How would he face them once he returned to the outside world?

Suddenly, an idea struck Chen Xiao. His eyes turned crystal blue, and two beams of blue light shot out from them. With the power of the Supreme God concentrated in his eyes, he was able to see through the darkness in an instant.

Deep within the darkness, there was nothing but emptiness—a bare expanse of land covering about a hundred meters in radius. In another corner of this dark space, a crowd of dense black shadows gathered together, seemingly whispering and discussing something.

Suddenly, one of the black shadows stood up, its body beginning to change.

“So that’s how it is. It seems these black shadows are the source of that unknown energy that greatly boosts strength.”

Now that he had seen clearly what lay in this darkness, Chen Xiao wasn’t willing to wait passively. Before the shadow could finish transforming, he rushed forward in a flash and shattered it. Instantly, the shadow turned into energy and flowed out of Chen Xiao’s body.

“Hehe, not bad. Truly a great source of energy.”

Since he could now see through the darkness, Chen Xiao no longer hesitated. He waved his hands repeatedly, unleashing terrifying forces that destroyed all the surrounding black shadows.

Although these shadows were good at changing and disguising themselves, their offensive power was pitifully weak. Against Chen Xiao, they didn’t even have the strength to escape and were simply destroyed one after another.

The energy derived from these shadows was extremely rich, instantly gathering within Chen Xiao’s body and rapidly enhancing his mental power and physical strength. In an instant, both his mental power and physical strength reached the peak of Level 7.

As his mental power reached the peak of Level 7, the power of the Supreme God within him also released a strength equivalent to that level.

Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up. With a swift strike, he killed another shadow and absorbed its energy.

Boom!

In an instant, Chen Xiao felt as if a barrier within his body had been shattered, revealing a brand-new realm, a brand-new threshold, slowly opening up before him.

Level 8.

In just a short while, by killing these shadows and absorbing their energy, Chen Xiao reached Level 8. He felt a deeper understanding of the various forces within his body and gained greater control over them. It seemed that relying solely on the rich energy within him, he could fly in the air without needing any external aid.

The power of Level 8—both physical and mental strength—merged into one, indistinguishable from each other.

As soon as Chen Xiao reached Level 8, the shadows around him that hadn’t been killed yet began to slowly dissipate, disappearing without a trace. The darkness in thisNetherworld space also vanished entirely, replaced by light.

It seemed all of this was governed by some rule: once the supernatural beings in this space achieved advancement, all the power in the space would disappear.

A huge portal appeared before Chen Xiao, just like the gate at the entrance before. Chen Xiao hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at the empty space, which seemed to be only about a hundred square meters and already completely devoid of anything. Shaking his head, he pushed open the gate and stepped out. “Huh? You came out so quickly?” The Great Immortal had returned somehow and stared at Chen Xiao in disbelief. “Others who enter have to stay inside for at least three days, yet you came out in just a few breaths?” “A few breaths?” Chen Xiao blinked. “I felt like I was inside for a long time. Were it really just a few breaths?” Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s mind stirred—the law of time! That’s right, only the law of time could have such power to alter the flow of time within a space. But this wasn’t something a cultivator at the fifth level of Domain Mastery, who had only grasped the basics of the law of time, could accomplish. At the fifth level, one could understand the law of time, but only to apply it within one’s own domain. Spreading this law to an entire space was utterly impossible. However, Chen Xiao seemed to understand now why Long Fei carried such a gloomy aura—constantly killing his own loved ones in this space; it was already remarkable he hadn’t gone mad. Suddenly, the Great Immortal’s expression froze slightly, followed by a wry smile. “Being able to come out in such a short time shows your extraordinary talent—you’ve overcome your psychological barriers so quickly. But now you have new troubles. What do you plan to do?” the Great Immortal asked Chen Xiao. “Troubles?” Chen Xiao curled his lips and sneered. “It seems my troubles haven’t stopped since I joined the Soul of China. What troubles?” “This time, the trouble is serious. Three ninth-level ancient martial artists from the Long family have come, demanding to take you back to the Long family for judgment.” Ninth-level experts were the strongest forces in the secular world, and their strength far surpassed that of peers with supernatural abilities. Though three ninth-level ancient martial artists combined might not reach the level of an Eighth Extreme Wolf Emperor, who could slay beings at the Origin Realm and break through the domains of Domain Masters, they were still enough to frighten many supernatural beings. Hearing the Great Immortal’s words, Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Disabling one of the Long family’s peerless geniuses isn’t much. What if I also killed those three ninth-level experts? What kind of scene would that create?” Chen Xiao murmured to himself. Suddenly, the Great Immortal sighed and said, “Forget it. This is a test for you. If you can truly destroy the Long and Chen families or subjugate them, then you’ll truly have the qualifications. Chen Xiao, I only hope you won’t disappoint me.” Hearing the Great Immortal’s words, Chen Xiao’s heart stirred. In an instant, he thought of that terrifying existence that restricted those above the Origin Realm from entering the secular world and even had the power to kill gods. Suddenly, Chen Xiao remembered a sentence the Great Immortal had once said: When you understand the true meaning of the existence of the Soul of China. What exactly was the purpose of the Soul of China?

Chen Xiao forced himself to suppress his curiosity and didn’t ask too many questions; he simply nodded slightly.
“Don’t worry, Senior Great Immortal. I won’t disappoint you.” Chen Xiao nodded. Long ago, he had realized that people like the Great Immortal were doing their utmost to cultivate him. At first, it seemed they wanted him to embrace the Soul of China, but now it seemed the Great Immortal’s goals went far beyond that.
Chen Xiao had now reached the eighth rank and become a legendary super-powered warrior. With his body merged with another, he possessed the strength to confront other powerful beings in the same realm. Yet the more he did this, the more he felt that the Great Immortal was unfathomable—like an ancient pool of clear water, impossible to see through.
Looking at the Great Immortal’s smiling, carefree face, Chen Xiao understood that this was merely his appearance.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Xiao and the Great Immortal stepped onto the teleportation array to meet those three ninth-rank warriors from the Dragon family.
“Good thing. Right after Floating Cloud left, I put a ring on him that could mask the fluctuations of his power. Otherwise, things would have been troublesome now.”
When Chen Xiao and Floating Cloud left the Heavenly Dragon Secret Treasury, to prevent Floating Cloud from being attacked by the Divine Beast’s Eye, they gave him a ring of the Virtual Divine Artifact level. As long as he didn’t use his power, not even gods could see through the ring’s disguise. This was also why Floating Cloud hadn’t encountered any obstacles when traveling to Atlantis in the secular world.
“It seems that realm warriors, with some special methods to hide their aura, can still move around in the secular world—just not use their powers…”
Chen Xiao understood how precious such a method to conceal one’s spiritual energy fluctuations was. Without obtaining the Green Spirit Ring from the Great Immortal, it would have been impossible for him, relying only on the few Virtual Gods in the Main God Space. Moreover, the amount of Virtual God laws required to forge such a ring was only slightly less than those used by the Glorious Temple. If it weren’t for the several divine disciples in the Main God Space who could continuously draw on Virtual God laws, even forging one ring would have left them severely depleted.