Perfect World: Dream of the Immortal Era

The void trembled as the third Great Grotto-Heaven was carved into existence, hovering above Wang Heng's head, so vividly real it resembled a volcanic crater from which streams of gray-brown lava continuously poured, invigorating and nourishing his body.

Only now did the Black King clearly see that each of these three craters of different colors contained a complex and profound symbol within. These symbols emerged from nothingness, possessing a nascent essence of life's inception, mysterious and unfathomable, as if they were the origin of everything.

"So powerful, your strength now rivals that of a late-stage Creation Realm being," the Black King gasped in amazement.

In its long life, it had never witnessed such a scene before — someone stepping into the Creation Realm and immediately equaling the late stages, a cultivation speed so terrifying that others could only watch from afar.

"Is it over? Three grottos signify the creation of myriad things. Quite fitting, really, aligning with the truth of the Dao. Just a bit more refinement is needed, and then you can reach consummate perfection, proceeding into the Spirit Seizing Realm," spoke the Black King.

Hardly had the words left its mouth when the void suddenly convulsed violently. Beside the three great caves, rumbling and the sound of rupturing resounded again. A new Grotto-Heaven emerged, its molten substance a cascade of blood-red lava, transforming into a majestic waterfall that caused Wang Heng's aura to ascend rapidly.

"The fourth one?"

The Black King's eyes widened, unable to believe the sight before it.

A being merely entering the Creation Realm had sky-rocketed in power within a brief span to equate the complete perfection of the Creation Realm.

Even scouring the vast ancient history of the Immortal Domain, such rapid advancement could not be found.

Moreover, as Wang Heng blazed this new path, each Dao fruit he obtained was solid and substantial, without a trace of instability, requiring no time to settle. This was the fateful opportunity countless cultivators yearned for yet could never possess in a lifetime.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous crash, the fifth Grotto-Heaven was established, exhibiting a gray hue, its essence also flowing in gray.

Its emergence elevated Wang Heng's momentum another notch, imbuing him with an invisible, immense majesty.

Compared to the first four, the time to open the fifth was notably longer. One could feel Wang Heng's great depletion, as the energy within struggled to sustain further expansion.

He was supposed to pause now, spending some time refining the five Grotto-Heavens already opened, then accumulating power for subsequent efforts.

However, Wang Heng had a premonition that some opportunities fleetingly appear and once missed, are pursued in vain thereafter.

Thus, he steeled his heart, summoned an immortal pill, and swallowed it in one swift motion.

"Boom!"

The immense power of the immortal pill erupted, dissolving within his body, surpassing the combined wonder of the previous two divine medicines, and expanding with impressive vigor.

Wang Heng even felt on the precipice of being torn apart.

Fortunately, the pill he chose had a gentle potency, slowly spreading, providing sustained strength without a sudden surge.

He dared not delay, fearing he might self-destruct in the next second. Even though the immortal pill wasn't extraordinarily potent, it was still beyond what his modest cultivation level could handle. He needed to release the energy before the pool overflowed.

"Crack!"

A massive surge of energy erupted into the void, aiding Wang Heng in opening his sixth acupoint. While opening the subsequent five acupoints wasn't as difficult as the first, each new acupoint was a historic breakthrough, demanding an enormous amount of energy, providing a much-needed outlet for the accumulated power of the immortal pill within Wang Heng.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The tremendous roar reverberated, echoing above Wang Heng's head.

Consequently, one vast acupoint after another was unlocked.

In the distance, the Black King could only gape, speechless and unable to close its mouth for a long time. This young man continually shattered its understanding.

Eventually, Wang Heng unlocked a total of ten acupoints. Ten cascading waterfalls, each with a unique hue, poured down upon him, causing his aura to surge dramatically. He stood there like a young deity, exuding divine power with every gesture and movement.

"Nine signifies supremacy, ten represents the ultimate. Theoretically, this should be the end, yet..." As a True Immortal, the Black King could discern that Wang Heng's opening of acupoints had reached its final phase. Yet, it felt incomplete because the immortal pill's power within Wang Heng was far from depleted.

At this moment, Wang Heng stopped searching the void above for a focal point. He endured the baptism of the energies from the ten spiritual waterfalls, his momentum climbing exponentially, achieving a staggering state that even beings at the peak of the Creation Realm had to admire.

Meanwhile, flickers of lightning appeared intermittently in the void, emanating an extremely dangerous aura of Heaven's Punishment that made one's hair stand on end, chilling the soul.

"To open and integrate the acupoint spiritual land externally with the vast cosmos, attracting an immense force of creation into oneself, is truly astounding. This time, you've made history, leaving an indelible mark in the ancient history of the Immortal Domain," the Black King sighed, his eyes sparkling with amazement.

It never expected that this young man, entrusted to the Boundless Immortal King by the Seven Kings for his journey to the Immortal Domain, would defy the heavens in such a manner.

Reflecting on Wang Heng's complex background and identity, the Black King mused, "If he doesn't meet an untimely end, he might break the shackles left in his bloodline by his forebears and become an Immortal King, reigning supreme.

However, the situation in the Immortal Domain is complicated, and many do not wish to see his rise, making his future journey inevitably fraught with obstacles."

As it spoke, the Black King was astonished to discover that Wang Heng's breakthrough journey was commencing once more.

The ten enormous acupoints suspended above still couldn't satisfy him; he continued to seek new directions.

"Buzz!"

A terrifying buzz resounded throughout the ancient hall as Wang Heng's physical form transformed, becoming crystalline, full, and brimming. The immense power of the immortal pill poured entirely into his body.

In this instance, Wang Heng's body resembled an overinflated balloon, teetering on the brink of obliteration.

Between life and death lies great fortune.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and the energy contained in every cell of his body exploded forth. The entire person radiated a dazzling brilliance, akin to a burning sun. The ten immense acupoints above his head roared in harmony, supplying this "human sun" with continuous vital energy.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by thunder and lightning, the human sun burst open with a resounding crash. The overwhelming force seemed to open up new realms, as if the very heavens and earth were being reshaped.

The Black King couldn't help but swallow hard, awed by the domineering breakthrough method. Without a powerful physical body, it was unthinkable.

Once everything calmed down, the light surrounding Wang Heng faded, revealing a transcendent physical form.

From a distance, he no longer appeared to have a physical form but rather resembled a vast, mysterious domain, a pure sanctuary of secrets.

An enigmatic symbol manifested, etched into his body, releasing a terrifying secret power.

"This is... a corporeal acupoint!"

The Black King exclaimed in surprise.

The opening of the corporeal acupoint differed from the prior ten acupoints. The former was external, the latter internal.

An external acupoint represented a new direction of evolution, whereas an internal acupoint was a sublime elevation from his original creation state, bearing staggering potential.

"Still gathering strength? What else does he intend to achieve? Opening another acupoint? Aside from external and corporeal, only the Primordial Spirit remains." The Black King's heart raced.

He knew Wang Heng had unparalleled talent with the Primordial Spirit, and if he could open an acupoint in this aspect, the resulting potential would be unimaginable.

In the Purple Mansion space, the black sword symbolizing the inheritance of the Harmonizing Chaos technique floated in mid-air, seemingly sensing something as it trembled involuntarily.

Meanwhile, the small figure representing Wang Heng's Primordial Spirit hungrily devoured the immense flows of energy from all directions, accepting everything without restraint.

Soon, the black glow emitted from the Primordial Spirit became so profound that it was impossible to gaze upon directly, as if capable of swallowing everything.

After compressing to the limit, some inexplicable transformation occurred.

The supreme soul seed, about to be obliterated and merged with Wang Heng's Primordial Spirit, reappeared at this moment, a phantom form emerging at the spiritual figure's brow.

This phantom seemed a bottomless pit, swallowing in an instant all the accumulated energy within the Primordial Spirit's body.

Wang Heng was somewhat startled, not having expected such a turn of events. He had assumed the supreme soul seed would be destroyed, its essence merging into his Primordial Spirit, becoming endless potential. Who would have thought it so tenacious, not yet extinguished.

He could, however, sense that the seed had completely assimilated with him, becoming an integral part of his Primordial Spirit.

In a way, one could say that Wang Heng's potential was indeed being unleashed at this moment. There were both benefits and drawbacks.

The advantage was that his potential was vast. If he succeeded in breaking through, his "Dao Fruit" would become even more extraordinary, but the downside was that the difficulty of opening up had significantly increased, making it highly probable for Wang Heng to fail at the final hurdle.

The pros and cons flashed through Wang Heng's mind, but he did not hesitate in the slightest as he continued to infuse energy into his Primordial Spirit's body.

Now, he was like an arrow on the string, unable to retreat, with no possibility of turning back.

“Boom!”

As a torrent of energy gathered, the seed-like phantom at the brow of his Primordial Spirit began to solidify, revealing the supreme soul seed once more. However, the deepest part of the soul seed had already been marked by Wang Heng's imprint.

Once the supreme soul seed was filled, the small body of the Primordial Spirit turned pitch-black and profound, reaching its limit before long.

At that moment, the Zifu region was eerily silent. Time and space seemed to halt; years froze, ceasing to flow, as a remarkable qualitative change occurred in his Primordial Spirit.

The so-called "Primordial Spirit's Grotto-Heavens" was slowly taking shape.

Black King even heard a familiar cracking sound—a sound present only when the Grotto-Heavens Pure Land was successfully opened.

But, after a long time, success still eluded him.

Only then did he realize that the earlier cracking sound was too faint as compared to before. There appeared to be cracks at the starting point, but the obstruction was too great to be broken through.

As the main participant, Wang Heng was already drenched in cold sweat. Even with all his might and hysterical efforts, he struggled to shatter the core of his Primordial Spirit, to truly open the Grotto-Heavens.

The emergence of the supreme soul seed brought unprecedented resistance, far exceeding Wang Heng’s expectations.

Now, he was caught in a dilemma, trapped at the bottleneck, suffering from extreme torment.

The best time to open the path was slipping away by the second, and Wang Heng seemed to see failure beckoning to him.

But failure was not the most terrifying aspect; the worst was that a failed attempt might lead his Primordial Spirit toward destruction, to decline and fade, resulting in death and the dispersal of his Dao.

Black King also discerned the awkwardness of his situation and felt some anxiety in his heart.

“This was too rash. Ten external Grotto-Heavens plus his physical Grotto-Heaven already constitute a remarkable Dao Fruit. If he would just pause and consolidate before striving for the Primordial Spirit’s Grotto-Heaven, success might be possible.” It shook its head and sighed.

In the critical moment, on the verge of failure, as he was about to fall into an unpredictable abyss, the black sword embryo that had been stationary in the Zifu suddenly quivered.

Then it erupted with an overwhelming black light, unrivaled sword energy slashing across. The entire sword embryo soared into the sky, fiercely striking at the core of his Primordial Spirit, launching a violent assault against the cracks.

This was like the last straw on the camel's back.

“Crack!”

"Crash!"

The sound of something breaking reverberated through the air, as a boundless, pitch-black world revealed just the tip of its iceberg. Wang Heng's primordial spirit vanished, transforming into a universe of its own—vast, profound, and endlessly infinite—as his aura surged to the peak of the Cavernous Heaven realm.

All remnants of the black sword embryo and the supreme soul seed dissipated, becoming integral parts of the primordial spirit's grotto-heaven.

Moreover, this particular grotto-heaven was exceptionally immense, surpassing the combined size of the other eleven.

The Black King wore a look of intense shock, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just moments ago, it seemed as though the formation of the primordial spirit's grotto-heaven was destined to fail, yet it ultimately saw grand success.

With this, all twelve grotto-heavens manifested into reality. Wang Heng achieved this monumental feat, securing his place in history.

The celestial domain's system now veered in an entirely new direction.

At this point, however, the external world remains unaware of this breakthrough, merely informed through the Celestial King Monument that the first position in the Creation realm has changed hands.

A towering, majestic ancient monument stands upon a chaotic stone platform, enveloped in immortal energies with galaxies suspended around it.

It pierces the cosmos, with the sun, moon, and stars revolving around it like motes of dust.

Beneath the ancient monument gather numerous cultivators from the celestial domain, all displaying expressions of astonishment as they gaze upward at the rankings' shift on the Celestial King Monument.

The once preeminent name in the Creation realm, a scion of an ancient lineage, has been surpassed. Now, the new top name reads "Wang Heng."

"Wang Heng? My heavens, isn't he the one who recently topped the Radiant Blood realm, pioneering a new direction in cultivation—the Blood Transference?"

"Achieving first-place consecutively in both the Radiant Blood and Creation realms, overpowering heirs from ancient lineages and major powers, this Wang Heng is truly extraordinary."

"It appears we've all underestimated him. He's undoubtedly an immortal prince.

I can almost see an indomitable quasi-celestial king rising."

Someone sighed with admiration. Others quickly echoed, convinced that Wang Heng is destined to become a mighty quasi-celestial king, renowned across lands.

As for becoming a Celestial King, no one mentioned it.

Throughout the celestial domain's endless ages, no immortal prince has broken past their progenitors' constraints to attain the Celestial King's path.

Generally, brilliant immortal princes eventually reach the quasi-celestial king level.

As the discussions continued, the Celestial King Monument suddenly emitted a dazzling light, so bright it forced everyone to avert their gaze.

Above the ranks of the Human Dao, and just below the Immortal Path, stand ten majestic names, radiant and resplendent. These are the titans of the Immortal Domain, the ten most dazzling beings among the Human Dao, akin to ten suns illuminating the vast, dark universe.

However, among these ten shining suns, one suddenly extinguished, only to reignite with a different name inscribed within—Wang Heng.

The beings beneath the Celestial King Stele stood frozen in disbelief. One of the top ten Immortal Domain titans, a paragon hailing from an immortal king’s lineage, had been forcibly displaced by the rising star Wang Heng, tumbling from his divine pedestal.