"That is hard to believe, but judging by what we've seen, it was indeed the Fire Lake Ghost who saved us," Chu Youyuan said.
At that moment, Chu Feng felt a surge of gratitude. Though the situation ahead was far from optimistic, he had at least avoided disaster. The Fire Lake Ghost may have seemed like an ignorant brat, but he was not as simple as he appeared. At the very least, he had recognized that Chu Feng was in mortal danger. At the very least, he had reached out and torn open a spatial rift, allowing Chu Feng and Chu Youyuan to escape the Nine Moon Divine Domain before it was engulfed by peril.
"Chu Feng, Heaven never seals off all paths — and you are a man of great fortune. I believe you will encounter a spatial rift. Once you do, we simply seize the opportunity."
"As for the spatial rift, leave that to me. You, on the other hand — don't waste your time. Even here, you can advance your cultivation," Chu Youyuan said.
"I can break through here? Will the Divine Punishment be able to reach me?" Chu Feng looked up into the void, and a hint of longing stirred within him.
He had cultivated for so long, yet he had never once broken through while soaring above the skies. In truth, he rather wanted to experience what that felt like.
"Supposedly, it can reach you. And you were interrupted by the formation the Fire Lake Ghost used earlier — you probably haven't broken through to the limit of your current realm yet, have you?" Chu Youyuan asked.
"No, I haven't reached that limit yet," Chu Feng admitted.
"Then what are you hesitating for?" Chu Youyuan said with a smile.
"Understood. I'll continue right away." Chu Feng returned the smile, and then he began his breakthrough.
Not long after Chu Feng started, a sky full of thunder appeared above his head. Perhaps because they were in the vast expanse of the starry sky, the bolts of thunder seemed remarkably close. It was the first time Chu Feng had ever seen Divine Thunder at such proximity.
More importantly, even though Chu Feng was being carried along at tremendous speed by the force within the spatial tunnel, the Divine Thunder remained directly above him — it moved along with him.
Rumble—
Before long, the Divine Thunder came crashing down. Because of how close it was, it reached Chu Feng in the blink of an eye. It had truly entered the spatial tunnel, and it began launching assault after assault at him.
This time, the Divine Thunder was especially powerful. This was no longer as simple as breaking through to the True Immortal realm. If he succeeded this time, Chu Feng's cultivation would step into the Heavenly Immortal realm — an entirely new realm that would grant him power no True Immortal could ever possess.
And so, even though the Divine Thunder brought Chu Feng excruciating pain — so severe that he clenched his teeth and his entire face contorted — his heart was filled with wild joy.
Finally, the thunder dissipated. Chu Feng had withstood the punishment of the Divine Thunder, and his aura successfully transformed from that of a True Immortal into that of a Heavenly Immortal.
Although the gap between a ninth-grade True Immortal and a first-grade Heavenly Immortal was only a single step, Chu Feng could feel that his power now was truly beyond what any True Immortal could rival. Even Egg's heaven-defying combat strength, which made her virtually unbeatable among True Immortals, would not be enough — if Chu Feng were to fight Egg now, he was absolutely confident he could defeat her.
This was not blind confidence. It was the certainty that the power of the Heavenly Immortal realm gave him.
Yet even after stepping into the Heavenly Immortal realm, Chu Feng did not stop cultivating. He actually closed his eyes and attempted another breakthrough. And soon, he summoned the sky full of Divine Thunder once more.
Seeing this, Chu Youyuan's face was alight with joy. He had known all along that with Chu Feng's comprehension, the spring eye of the Fire Lake would bring him tremendous gains — otherwise, the anomalies would never have been triggered. Chu Feng's cultivation could not possibly stop at the ninth grade of the True Immortal realm. And the first grade of the Heavenly Immortal realm would not be his endpoint, either.
Now, Chu Youyuan was burning with eagerness to find out just how far Chu Feng's cultivation would go.
…………
Above the void, thunder churned.
Unfortunately, the Chu Heavenly Clan members at the Nine Moon Divine Domain in the Upper Realm of the Great Thousand World could not see any of it. Above and below, all remained quiet and still.
But their hearts could not be calmed, no matter what.
"Why has everything gone silent? Why hasn't Chu Feng come out? Father — why hasn't Chu Feng come out?"
After waiting for a long time with no sign of Chu Feng, Chu Lingxi had grown anxious and restless all over again.