Chapter 1968 — 1968: Completed Harmonious Heaven Refining Immortal Physique

"Where's Senior Envoy?" Jiao Xuanbing asked Jiao Zhenhai a month after they began preparing for war.

"He's in seclusion."

"Are you sure he'll even be of any help? He's only at the peak of Divine Emperor…" Jiao Binglan said, expressing her doubts. "And for the record, I still don't believe he managed to defeat the First Elder."

Jiao Zhenhai looked at his foolish daughter and said, "I didn't mention this, but it was he who killed the Second Elder. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

"What?! He killed the Second Elder, who is the strongest amongst the Three Elders?!"

The others from the Azure Dragon Clan expressed shock and bewilderment after learning of this.

"Binglan, you need to start respecting him, or you'll come to regret it later," Jiao Xuanbing said to her. "Your hate is unreasonable in the first place. He didn't do anything to offend you, and he's helped our clan tremendously. If it weren't for him, the Three Elders would've continued to stab us in the back."

"That's…" Jiao Binglan fell silent.

Suddenly, someone rushed into the room and shouted, "We've spotted the Mystic Sea Dragon Clan! They'll arrive in our territory in two weeks!"

"How many people do they have?" Jiao Zhenhai questioned.

"Around fifty thousand!"

"They only brought a fourth of their forces? These bastards are underestimating us a little too much!" Jiao Zhenhai gritted his teeth in frustration.

Yet, he didn't dare to underestimate their opponents. The Mystic Sea Dragon Clan was a royal bloodline just like them, after all.

At the same time, Yuan had just finished absorbing the Tear of the Azure Heavens.

BOOM!

The moment Yuan completed his Harmonious Heaven Refining Immortal Physique, the bottleneck that kept him at the peak of Divine Emperor shattered, and his cultivation began soaring to the next level.

<...>

In the blink of an eye, Yuan's cultivation surged to the peak of the Divine Ancestor Realm, just a single step away from Immortal Ascension.

However, entering the Immortal Ascension Realm wasn't as simple as accumulating enough spiritual energy. A cultivator needed exceptional Soul Strength and, more importantly, profound insight into the nature of cultivation itself.

This was the barrier that trapped countless experts at the Divine Ancestor level.

Of course, Yuan was no ordinary cultivator. His Soul Strength already rivaled, if not surpassed, that of Immortals, and with the vast experience and insight he'd accumulated from his past lives, he only needed to attempt entering it… No, he could enter Immortal Ascension even in his sleep.

After taking a deep breath, Yuan began his attempt to break through to Immortal Ascension, the first step on his path toward true immortality.

Moments later, a surge of Immortal Qi erupted from Yuan's body, flooding the air with boundless pressure.

To ascend to the next level, one must continually refine their Soul Strength and deepen their insights into the Dao. However, for someone like Yuan, it was merely a question of whether he chose to ascend.

Mere seconds after stepping into the first level of Immortal Ascension, another surge of Immortal Qi burst forth from Yuan's body as his cultivation soared into the second level.

From that moment on, Yuan advanced through each level as if it were mere child's play. In the blink of an eye, he reached the ninth level of Immortal Ascension—just one step away from becoming an Immortal. Yet that final step was unimaginably vast, a chasm where countless cultivators had faltered and fallen.

Of course, if Yuan wanted to take that step, he could easily do so. However, when he attempted to do so, he was met by a familiar barrier.

'So my physique still has room to grow, huh?' Yuan mused. 'Come to think of it, my Fire and Cold Immunities are only at the first stage, while my Poison and Lightning Immunities have already reached their peak.'

"Congratulations on reaching the peak of Immortal Ascension, Young Master." Feng Yuxiang cheered loudly.

"You're now only a step away from becoming a Bronze Immortal," said Lan Yingying.

"I have never seen or heard anyone going from the first level to the peak in one sitting…" Yu Ning muttered in a dazed voice.

"It's not just my cultivation that benefited from the Tear of the Azure Heavens. I also acquired new abilities."

Yuan flipped his palms and summoned a blue flame.

"That's the Heaven-Chilling Ice Phoenix's unique flames, the Heaven-Freezing Flame!" Feng Yuxiang exclaimed.

"This is just one of the few abilities I acquired. I'll show you the rest later," Yuan said with a smile.

"Anyway, how long have I been cultivating?" he then asked.

"A little over a month."

"Since nobody disturbed me, I guess the Mystic Sea Dragon Clan has yet to arrive. Alright, let's go check out the situation."

Yuan left the treasury shortly after.

The moment Yuan exited the treasury, Jiao Zhenhai sensed it and immediately stopped everything he was doing to meet with Yuan.

"Senior Envoy! Are you done with your seclusion?" Jiao Zhenhai asked him.

Yuan nodded and said, "Yes."

He released some of his cultivation.

"Ninth Level Immortal Ascension?! Did you really reach that level from the peak of Divine Emperor in just a month?!" Jiao Zhenhai cried out loud, not daring to believe his eyes.

"It's mostly thanks to the Tear of the Azure Heavens."

"W-What? Tear of the Azure Heavens…? What is he talking about, Father?" Jiao Binglan inquired with a dazed look on her face.

Jiao Zhenhai, who kept their deal a secret this entire time, finally explained the full situation to everyone there.