'I still haven't found it. Can it be that I'm not fated to have it? That shouldn't be right.'
Standing on the ninety-ninth step of the A-grade aptitude zone, Fang Yang paused to catch his breath and think back, wondering what he might have missed.
He had already achieved his most basic goal: reaching the A-grade aptitude zone to open an A-grade Void Acupoint!
But if he could climb even higher, that would naturally be for the best.
Of course, if he couldn't obtain that Tier Three opportunity, Fang Yang wouldn't be too anxious or regretful.
He had long ago mentally prepared himself for the fact that the path of cultivation would not be smooth sailing.
Just as Fang Yang was lost in thought, Dragon Roar Peak suddenly began to tremble.
BOOM!
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
In an instant, dark clouds gathered above Dragon Roar Peak, filled with flashing lightning and roaring thunder. Space itself fractured and shattered like a cracking mirror, a horrifying sight to behold!
At this moment, everyone turned their eyes toward the peak, toward the very front of the wood-attribute staircase.
At the forefront of the wood-attribute staircase, silver serpents of lightning slithered through the air. A biting wind whipped Sen Wei's black hair into a frenzy, her robes flapping wildly.
This violent thunderous energy was enough to easily tear a person to shreds, but Sen Wei faced it head-on. She merely lifted her chin slightly, like a peerless celestial maiden under the moonlight—proud and aloof.
But even more shocking than her kingdom-toppling beauty was her sheer audacity.
"A Cyan Lotus Dharma Aspect! No, wait, that's a phenomenon?!"
"No way. Is achieving a top-tier Sacred Body not enough to satisfy Sen Wei's appetite? Does she want to leap straight to an immortal body?"
"During Enlightenment, forging a Sacred Body requires the Void Acupoint to spontaneously generate a Dharma Aspect, while forging an immortal body requires it to spontaneously generate a phenomenon. But Sen Wei is forcing it too much."
"If she fails, all her previous efforts will be wasted, and she could be crippled!"
"..."
Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment at Sen Wei's choice.
Even someone as stoic as Fang Yang couldn't help but show a change in expression at Sen Wei's grand undertaking.
The path of cultivation requires wealth, companionship, techniques, and location.
With Sen Wei's ridiculously privileged background, she would hardly lack any of them. Whoever married her would be taking a shortcut that saved them three lifetimes of struggle!
In the Forbidden Land of the Changkong Race, the various clan ancestors in seclusion all opened their eyes and gazed toward Dragon Roar Peak.
Then, their gazes shifted to the palace in the deepest part of the Forbidden Land.
That was where the Sen Clan Ancestor, the one and only Tier Eight Cultivator of the Changkong Race, resided!
Back on Dragon Roar Peak, another change occurred.
A terrifyingly magnificent illusion gradually materialized in the sky above Dragon Roar Peak. It was frightening, dreadful, and majestic!
An immense Dao-image of a Cyan Lotus spread outwards. It spanned the ends of heaven and earth, boundless in its grandeur. It reached up to Chaos and suppressed the Nine Netherworld below, its height immeasurable, stretching for countless miles.
The sheer scale of this phenomenon was astounding, leaving people stunned and shaken to their core.
This was a top-tier phenomenon—the Cyan Lotus Suppressing the Nine Netherworld!
"Sigh... It was too forced, after all." Suddenly, an ancient sigh drifted out from the palace in the deepest part of the Forbidden Land.
The next moment, the ephemeral illusion shattered, turning into countless streams of pure essence that either dissipated into the air or returned to Dragon Roar Peak.
Sen Wei suffered a backlash. Her face was as pale as paper, with only the Cyan Lotus Dharma Aspect remaining by her side.
But...
When a whale falls, ten thousand things are born.
Fang Yang's expression was one of bewilderment.
Because just now, in the blink of an eye, a stream of Fire Eagle Essence had come from nowhere and flown into his body, fitting him almost perfectly.
And this essence was the key to forging a Spirit Body!
Recalling Sen Wei's grand undertaking and the sudden fortune he had just received, a flash of insight struck Fang Yang. He quickly checked his fortune slip:
[The Enlightenment Ceremony marks the start of the path to Changsheng. On Dragon Roar Peak, mysteries are endless, and fate presents a choice at a crossroads.]
[Mid-Upper Fortune: Ascend the Fire Attribute staircase to obtain a Tier Three opportunity. An eagle strikes the vast sky, Fierce Flames burn the heavens. Auspicious.]
[Mid-Mid Fortune: Ascend the water-attribute staircase. To do nothing is to do no wrong. No strife, no action. Nothing gained, nothing lost. Neutral.]
[Low-Low Fortune: Ascend the wood-attribute staircase. Obtain a Tier Seven opportunity, but it hides a great danger. A nine-in-ten chance of death. Inauspicious!]
In an instant, he connected all the dots.
'...So, this Tier Three opportunity came about because of Sen Wei? Did I just pick up some scraps of her fortune?'
'No. If I hadn't made it to the forefront of the Fire Attribute staircase, this opportunity probably wouldn't have been mine. This is the... result of my own effort.'
Despite telling himself this, Fang Yang's feelings remained complicated.
After a moment, he suppressed these extraneous feelings and began to focus on the changes within himself.
After receiving the Fire Eagle Essence, he felt that the world was completely different.
The unbearable burning sensation and the extremely heavy pressure had actually diminished by more than half.
The concrete result was that when he resumed his climb, he actually caught up to the first batch of geniuses of his generation. He even surpassed Zhang Ye, becoming one of the very few talents just behind Sen Wei.
On the path of the Fire Attribute staircase, he was the one who had gone the farthest.
In other words, he had transformed from an average student into a top student in a single leap!
"This is insane." Fang Xuan was numb with shock. He could no longer even see his cousin Fang Yang's back.
'Another prodigy has emerged,' Zhang Ye mused, his eyes narrowed. 'It seems there's no end to them, like carp crossing a river…'
Even Sen Wei paid a bit of attention, sparing a glance for Fang Yang.
Immediately after, a light flashed in Sen Wei's phoenix-like eyes.
But Fang Yang, faced with all these gazes, remained indifferent. He ignored them completely, focusing solely on opening his body's Void Acupoint.
The Void Acupoint is the foundation of cultivation in this world.
Some call it the Purple Mansion, others call it the Flowery Pool, but most people call it the Primordial Sea Acupoint.
The better the aptitude of the opened Void Acupoint, the greater one's future achievements will be.
Among them, if one opens a Void Acupoint with ten-tenths, or perfect, aptitude, there is a certain chance it can evolve into a Spirit Body, a Sacred Body, or even an immortal body!
'Ten, nine... three, two, one.'
Fang Yang counted down, sensing what was to come.
RUMBLE!
The next moment, Fang Yang felt a sensation in his abdomen, between his two kidneys, as if a stick of dynamite had gone off.
An acupoint had opened!
This was the Void Acupoint, and at that very moment, the surrounding Primordial Qi began to rapidly fill it.
Twenty-three percent, fifty-four percent, seventy-nine percent, ninety-five percent, one hundred percent!
According to the aptitude divisions of Perfect, A, B, C, and D, Fang Yang had opened a ten-tenths, or Perfect, Void Acupoint!
Under the infusion of Primordial Qi, his Void Acupoint had already filled up to become a True Essence Sea, brimming with the bronze color of Tier One True Essence.
Not only that, but the Fire Eagle Essence inside Fang Yang's body suddenly shrieked at the Void Acupoint True Essence Sea and lunged forth.
In an instant, a Fire Eagle Illusion suddenly appeared behind Fang Yang, poised to soar with its wings spread, looking fierce and terrifying.
The feathers of this Fire Eagle Illusion were sharp and menacing, radiating a fiery light. Its entire body was a brilliant crimson, as if forged from Fierce Flame. It was about ten feet tall and looked as if it would incinerate the very sky.
"A Fire Eagle Illusion! That's a B-grade Spirit Body—the Fire Eagle Spirit Body!"
"Whose family's young man is this? Although he can't compare to Sen Wei, he can certainly be considered top-notch!"
"He's a descendant of the Fang Clan, named Fang Yang. He lost both his parents when he was young."
"How incredible. To think that the Fang Clan, which has been in decline for so long, has finally produced a genius."
"Heh, that's right. Ever since Ancestor Fang Nian passed away over three hundred years ago, the Fang Clan has been on the decline..."
At this moment, the clan elders hovering on the clouds couldn't help but click their tongues in wonder, their expressions varied.
Some offered praise from the bottom of their hearts, while others began to feel a sense of dread.
Where there are people, there will be politics. Even within the same family, there are factions and differing loyalties.
This was especially true for the Changkong Race, whose power was simply immense, far too immense!
And as the Fang Clan declined, other clans rose to prominence in its place.
The Zhang Clan, for instance, where Zhang Ye hailed from, had grown strong by carving up the interests of the Fang Clan!
"Ah Yang actually has the Fire Eagle Spirit Body?!" Further back, the Fang Clan elder's mouth hung slightly open.
The shock Fang Yang had given him today was truly immense.
One had to understand that the Fire Eagle Spirit Body was a B-grade Spirit Body. Even if Fang Yang just followed a standard path of progression, he could easily become a Tier Four powerhouse within thirty years, capable of holding his own!