On the third day.
At the location of Dragon Lake where Mu Jinyu was, a sudden fierce wind arose, creating a massive vortex. The essence of Dragon Source in the lake surged towards him!
This astonishing change forced Wen Rou, Jian Ruyan, and Zhuo Yue to stop cultivating and open their eyes, looking towards the center of the lake with uncertainty.
"Is he really that strong? I'm just a step away from reaching the Seventh Layer of the Fanxu Realm, but he's about to reach the Ninth Layer of the Fanxu Realm?"
Zhuo Yue murmured softly, his expression extremely complex.
Some time ago when he met Mu Jinyu, he was already at the Peak Sixth Layer of the Fanxu Realm, about to step into the later stages of the Fanxu Realm. After entering the Secret Realm, Mu Jinyu took only a few days to advance from the Early Seventh Layer to the Early Eighth Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
Even that was understandable since Mu Jinyu was cultivating in a top-grade Heaven Cave Blessed land with astonishing effects. Breaking through a minor realm in a few days, he could comprehend that.
If it were him, he could do it too.
However, when they really cultivated together in this Heaven Cave Blessed land, he had cultivated for three days, and now, finally, he was just a step away from the Seventh Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
And Mu Jinyu?
He had already advanced from the Early Eighth Layer to the Ninth Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
This is simply...
Unbelievable!
Sometimes, comparing oneself to others can really infuriate one.
His aptitude wasn't bad, otherwise, he wouldn't have made a great name in Huaxia and ranked third on the Divine Rankings. But compared to Mu Jinyu, it was really worlds apart.
Wen Rou didn't feel much about this, but Jian Ruyan was deeply moved.
It was once said in Xiang Mantang that Mu Jinyu never really cultivated seriously, basically just working sporadically, yet he could always keep pace with others. If Mu Jinyu were willing to cultivate earnestly, he would have reached Absolute Peak long ago.
Jian Ruyan used to dismiss this as exaggeration from Xiang Mantang, but accompanying Mu Jinyu in cultivation over this period, she witnessed him, in less than a year, soar from the Sixth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm all the way to the Ninth Layer of the Fanxu Realm, about to step into the final major realm of this world, the Unity Realm Stage! Finally, she realized how conservative Xiang Mantang's sentiments were.
Of course, Jian Ruyan also understood that such an exaggerated pace in cultivation was also due to Mu Jinyu entering the Dragon Marrow Immortal Spring, absorbing a sufficient amount of Dragon Qi to activate his Dragon Clan's Bloodline, the cultivation of "Green Emperor's Wood Emperor Art," and also the mystical little tree hidden in his Sea of Consciousness.
Because of these reasons, he had no bottlenecks in cultivation and didn't need to spend a lot of time stabilizing his realm after breaking through, for fear of an unstable foundation.
But even if those factors were removed, Jian Ruyan believed that within three to five years, Mu Jinyu could still have reached his current level.
And three to five years, how old would Mu Jinyu be?
He would be around twenty-three years old.
Compared to Ji Changxin and Gu Rulong, who once contended with him in the Hidden Dragon Conference, they were already in their forties when at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
Their aptitude was simply not on the same level as Mu Jinyu's.
As time slowly passed, half an hour later, the Spiritual Energy tidal wave disappeared, and the Dragon Lake calmed down again.
Mu Jinyu, sitting in the center of the lake, slowly opened his eyes, which were as gentle as jade, appearing peaceful and natural, as if merging with the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
"Ah, I'm really envious..."
Zhuo Yue stepped forward, expressing his sentiment.
Mu Jinyu smiled, said nothing, and had no way to comfort Zhuo Yue.
Zhuo Yue's mindset was also good. Having been in the Kunlun Ruins for so many years amidst a generation of Heaven's Pride, his mentality was already trained to be very resilient.
After discussing the breakthrough experiences with Mu Jinyu, he returned to a deep level of cultivation. This time, he swore not to stop until he stepped into the later stages of the Fanxu Realm.
Mu Jinyu then looked at Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan. Because of their mutual soul seizing, it had always been difficult for them to cultivate. They had only just advanced from the Fourth to the Fifth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm.
Even though they were cultivating in Dragon Lake, which was stronger than the Heavenly Sword Pool, they still couldn't break through the Sixth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm.
So their cultivation wasn't too anxious; they weren't in a constant state of furious cultivation all day.
After conversing with Wen Rou for a while, Mu Jinyu prepared to continue cultivating, intending to rush to the Peak Fanxu Realm in one go, then consume the Hedao Fruit to break through to the Merging Paths Realm.
Suddenly, his expression shifted, sensing something.
"Have they sent someone again? Then let's see if you die or if I survive alone."
Mu Jinyu muttered softly, then took the Bi Fang Cauldron and Little Phoenix and left that place.
Because the Little Phoenix's attribute clashed with Dragon Lake, it couldn't absorb the essence of the Dragon Source inside, only a little spiritual energy. But because it once broke into the Unity Realm Stage, Mu Jinyu took advantage of the aftermath of a Heavenly Tribulation to turn it into an egg, and it was reborn through Nirvana. Now that its memory had returned, it cultivated here, its cultivation speed also being astonishing. It had now advanced from the First layer of the Fanxu Realm to the Peak Third Layer.
Mu Jinyu dragged it away. Initially, it was a bit reluctant, but when Mu Jinyu promised to split the spoils of war equally, it followed him away happily.
...
At the entrance of the Forbidden Zone.
The pseudo-Merged Path Realm expert sent by the Divine Formation Sect had already tracked down this place.
Although Mu Jinyu had returned here to erase the traces of the battle, the traces of the Divine Formation Sect's formation map being destroyed were not easily erased. Ultimately, the expert from the Divine Formation Sect managed to discover them.
After discovery, he didn't notify the people from the Boundless Sect and the Wu Family; he intended to deal with Mu Jinyu himself and seize his Heaven-reaching spiritual treasure and various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
Although he knew Mu Jinyu had killed the pseudo-Merged Path Realm's Wu Qiyuan, he was still confident that he could handle Mu Jinyu alone.
After all, Wu Qiyuan didn't have a damaged Heaven-reaching spiritual treasure at the time, but he had one.
Plus, with the top-grade array plate from the Divine Formation Sect, he could unleash the offensive power of the second or third layer of the Unity Realm Stage.
If with such confidence he still couldn't destroy a mere Seventh Layer Fanxu Realm kid, he'd accept his fate.
While he was breaking the restrictions at the entrance of the Forbidden Zone, silently, Mu Jinyu stood before him.
"Who?!"
Feeling something, he suddenly looked up at the front.
He saw Mu Jinyu, who had been on his mind all along, standing within the Forbidden Zone, looking at him with eyes as cold as if staring at a dead man.
"It's you?!"
The elder from the Divine Formation Sect named Jiang Song naturally recognized Mu Jinyu at first glance. His eyes turned cold, and a twisted, sinister smile spread across his face.
"I haven't even come to your door yet, and you come to court death on your own."
The successor of the Divine Formation Sect who had died at Mu Jinyu's hands was his nephew, a talent unparalleled, who, without accidents, was certain to step into the Merging Paths Realm and lead the Divine Formation Sect, bringing glory to their lineage and shaking the Kunlun Ruins.
In the end, his nephew died tragically in Mu Jinyu's hands during the battle for the Hedao Fruit in the Secret Realm; how could he not resent Mu Jinyu to the core?!