three months later.
The courtyard where Xia Yan lived in the Seventh Heaven was at the night of the Seventh Heaven in the Hall of Stars, and the sky was full of stars as far as the eye could see. Wisps of coolness belonging to the night spread throughout the entire seventh heaven.
In an almost completely enclosed house in this courtyard, a hazy figure sat cross-legged on a futon, motionless. All around, there was silence, without any slightest sound.
Suddenly, a stream of air appeared slightly in the breath of the vague figure. After the air flow surged out, it suddenly spun violently, forming a wave of air in this small space, spreading out towards the surroundings. Suddenly, the figure's eyes opened, and the two rays of light were exceptionally bright in the darkness. This confused figure was none other than Xia Yan who had been in seclusion for three consecutive months.
"It's been three months!"
"My soul strength and the upper limit of spiritual power in my body have all increased a lot. I have comprehended four kinds of low-level supernatural powers, and comprehended one kind of mid-term supernatural powers."
"Compared to three months ago, my strength has improved a lot. But... this is far from enough!"
"continue… "
six months later—
In the secret room, Xia Yan opened his eyes again. The progress in these three months is similar to that in the previous three months. Great Chaos Technique, whether it is auxiliary ability, offensive ability, or defensive ability, has reached the power of the fourth-level supernatural power and secret method.
"Well... But I'm still very far away from the mid-term realm of the ninth-level Spirit Emperor!"
fifteen months later—
"call!"
Xia Yan's figure jumped up from the ground suddenly, and there was a rush and clear sound from his whole body, and a majestic breath rolled out. The entire secret room was shaken violently. Afterwards, Xia Yan's body flickered, he left the secret room, and appeared in the courtyard.
The morning sun had just risen, and the lush vegetation in the yard floated slightly. Drops of crystal dew reflected colorful brilliance on the patches of green vegetation.
"suck… "
Xia Yan took a deep breath, the luster on his face gradually rounded.
"This time, I have been in seclusion for fifteen months. There is not much time left before the start of the secret realm assessment." The spiritual power in Xia Yan's body quickly flowed through thousands of meridians a hundred times, and then quietly fell silent down.
"In the past fifteen months, my soul strength, spiritual strength, and the power of the Great Chaos Art have all improved a lot. However, compared with the previous progress, the progress in the past year is very small. The distance I'm still a long way from the ninth-level spirit emperor realm in the mid-term. If I continue to practice normally at the current speed, it will take at least a few decades before I can step into the ninth-level mid-level spirit emperor realm."
Xia Yan couldn't help but sigh. Xia Yan's Great Chaos Art is now comparable to the sixth-level supernatural power.
Even he needs such a long time. You know, the speed at which he absorbs the Qiyuan Pill far exceeds that of ordinary ninth-level Linghuang cultivators. Xia Yan can absorb the spiritual power of three Qiyuan pills in one day. Even for a cultivator at Guo Sanqi's level, it would take about three days to absorb a Qiyuan Pill. It can be seen from this that Xia Yan's strength is improving much faster than ordinary practitioners.
As for soul strength.
Ordinary cultivators can purchase Qingyou soul power to increase their soul strength. However, the absorption of Qingyou's soul power is not so easy, far inferior to Xia Yan's soul spring. Xia Yan's soul is in the second space of Lingluo Ring, and can continuously absorb and refine the soul spring water. But that Qingyou soul power cannot be refined in this way.
To sum up, Xia Yan's cultivation speed is several times faster than that of practitioners like Suo Qi and Guo Sanqi. Even so, it will take decades for Xia Yan to step into the mid-term realm of the ninth-level Linghuang. From the mid-level ninth-level spirit emperor realm to the late ninth-level spirit emperor realm, it will take longer time.
…
"Whoosh..."
After one or two breaths, Xia Yan's white figure arrived in a courtyard not far from the courtyard where he lived. This courtyard is the residence of Suoqi cultivators.
"Ha... it's Xia Yan you!"
Suo Qi sensed a wave of spiritual power appearing in his courtyard, and quickly walked out of the room. When he saw Xia Yan, a warm smile appeared on his face.
"Brother Suoqi!" Xia Yan also laughed.
"What? After fifteen months of retreat, the progress is not small, right?!" Suo Qi said in a natural tone with his eyes flickering.
"There has been some progress, but it doesn't seem to be much. I am not sure about participating in the secret realm assessment this time." Xia Yan shook his head and said, he is indeed not sure, he has never seen those strong men in the Nine Heavens, I don't know how strong the opponent's strength is. But thinking with his toes, he could guess that those people must be much stronger than Bahu.
Thousands of people are competing for the 20 places, Xia Yan is really not sure.
"Confidence and will are very important!" Suo Qi's voice condensed slightly, "Xia Yan, your greatest strength is actually not your cultivation talent, but your confidence and will. I can feel Xia Yan, your will, It is almost unshakable, and has its own opinions. You can quickly and completely rely on your own judgment to decide some difficult things. It is difficult for you to be influenced by external forces. This is exactly what the vast majority of practitioners impossible."
"It's not something you can do if you want to. A person's will and belief are firm, not that kind of deliberate performance, but a natural expression." Suo Qi looked at Xia Yan and said slowly.
"Brother Suoqi, you are too high on me." Xia Yan smiled, then changed the subject and asked, "Suoqi cultivator, has the specific date of the assessment been fixed yet?!"
"Well, within seven days, if you don't come out again, I'll just go and pull you out." Suoqi nodded.
Even if Suo Qi forgets the time in seclusion, he will go to pull Xia Yan out.
"So fast!" Xia Yan's eyes flashed. Seven days later, the assessment will officially start. Whether or not he can get a place will be subject to future assessments.
"Yes!" Suo Qi said, "Xia Yan, in the past few days, you should stop practicing and adjust your mentality to the best. The mentality is also very important. If the strength of the two is equal, then you will win the competition Yes, it must be the cultivator who is more determined."
Hearing this, Xia Yan nodded in agreement.
…
Nine Heavens Examination Institute.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
Rays of brilliance enveloped the entire sky.
Tens of thousands of practitioners gathered in Jiuchongtian's examination institute today. A strong breath came and went one after another. Xia Yan, Suo Qi and others, as well as practitioners from Yunu Cave, Qingzhu Cave, Qingyuan Cave, etc., flew together to the Nine Heavens Examination Institute and stopped in a relatively open place.
His eyes swept over, and Xia Yan's consciousness naturally spread out. Xia Yan's mind was shaken by the tyrannical aura that was detected, but there was no change in expression on Xia Yan's face.
"The more intense the competition, the more interesting it is!" Xia Yan thought to himself.
"Cultivator of Suoqi, cultivator of Xia Yan, cultivator of Wang Su, cultivator of Huang Fengying, cultivator of Miluoyu!"
As soon as Xia Yan and the others arrived, several figures flew towards the crowd, and at the same time their voices were transmitted.
Looking around, Xia Yan saw the people in charge of the caves of the fifth and sixth heavens, the Immortal Wind Cave, flying over. Only the cultivators of the fifth and sixth heavens, that is to say, a very small number of powerful cultivators, as well as some people in charge of the cave, have the ability to sign up for the secret realm assessment. Ordinary cultivators simply can't afford 10 million Star Dou Hall contribution points, so they can't sign up at all.
"Hehe, cultivator of Lanhe, cultivator of Lu Tao..."
Everyone on both sides greeted each other with a smile.
And the practitioners of all levels in the caves such as the Black Wind Cave also gathered in one place, chatting with each other, and glanced at each other from time to time, waiting for the official start of the secret realm assessment.
"There are more than 30,000 people!"
Xia Yan searched with consciousness, and soon roughly determined the number of people who participated in the secret realm assessment. More than 30,000 people have already arrived, and those who have not yet arrived, I am afraid that the number will exceed 40,000.
One must know that these 40,000 people are all elites among the elites, and they are not comparable to the general elite disciples of the Star Dou Palace.
"My goal is to be one of the 20 places to enter the first-level secret realm!" Xia Yan's thoughts were extremely firm. As for how many people compete for the place to enter the secret realm, that has nothing to do with me, as long as I win one place. The target is one of the twenty places in the first-level secret realm.
At this moment, a tyrannical pressure suddenly appeared in the distant sky. This feeling is much stronger than the many tyrannical auras that Xia Yan detected in the examination courtyard. Immediately, Xia Yan saw that many figures appeared continuously on the sky.
"So strong!" Xia Yan couldn't help but muttered in his heart.
"Xia Yan, have you seen those cultivators who just arrived? Those cultivators all passed the secret realm assessment last time. There are more than ten people who successfully competed for the first-level secret realm assessment in the last secret realm assessment. The quota is up." Suo Qi stared at the figures appearing in the sky, and said quickly to Xia Yan, his breath was a little stagnant.
"What?!"
"In the last secret realm assessment, they won the first-level secret realm quota?!" Xia Yan was taken aback, and couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly, looking at Suo Qi and said.
"Yes!" Suoqi nodded, "In Jiuchongtian, there is a group of cultivators whose status is so high that even the cultivators of Thirty-six Caves are far inferior to them. This group of people is also divided into two groups .”
Suo Qi narrowed his eyes, and the figures who had just appeared had already reached the sky above the examination institute, looking down at the many practitioners below.
"Of these two groups, one group has won the quota for the secret realm assessment before, and the other group is a few direct disciples!" Suo Qi's voice quickly reached Xia Yan's ears.