Although very few people in the cultivation world ever had the chance to witness a cultivator's attempt at breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage, a number of related rumors — whether true or false — had still managed to spread over time.
"The physical body achieving Sandalwood Transformation — I never expected the legends to be true. Presumably, once the transformation is complete, Fellow Daoist Hanli will have successfully broken through his bottleneck." The old woman muttered upon witnessing the strange phenomenon before her, her face filled with an expression of extreme envy.
"That's hard to say! Brother Hanli's current state seems rather unstable. It appears that only his physical body has met the requirements for breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage, but the metamorphosis of his Nascent Soul within his body seems to be going poorly — otherwise, the spiritual sense marker we condensed using our cold flames wouldn't be flickering so erratically." The old monk furrowed his brow and pointed out the issue with characteristic precision.
"That's only to be expected. Although Fellow Daoist Shi temporarily bolstered the Nascent Soul using the power of the cold flames, it isn't his own refined power after all. Controlling it is like a child trying to wield a war hammer — naturally, it would be exceedingly strenuous. To have gotten this far is already no small feat." Han Li exhaled a long breath and spoke as well.
"Then why don't we intervene and help the Grand Elder stabilize the Nascent Soul within his body?" The middle-aged man in green robes had a flash of anxiety cross his face before he couldn't help but ask.
"That definitely won't work! Breaking through the Deity Transformation bottleneck is never that simple. Perhaps this instability is exactly what Senior Brother Hanli was hoping for — using this very force to shatter the bottleneck in one fell swoop. If we rashly intervene, we might only end up making things worse. We're better off watching and waiting." Bai Mengxin said coolly.
Upon hearing this, Han Li smiled faintly and offered no objection.
The others exchanged glances and fell silent.
In truth, even if they wanted to intervene, they probably lacked the means to do so.
After two days and nights of continuously manipulating the Extreme Chill Flames, everyone's minds and bodies were thoroughly exhausted, with their spiritual sense and magical power nearly depleted.
All they could do now was watch as Sovereign Hanli attempted to break through the final hurdle on his own.
But no one noticed that within the depths of Han Li's pupils, a blue light continued to flicker ceaselessly, capturing with crystal clarity every fluctuation of magical power and every transformation of the Nascent Soul within Sovereign Hanli's body, silently committing them to memory.
Given time to carefully study and cross-reference these observations later, the benefits to his own future cultivation would be immense. Just this alone made Han Li feel that the risk of staying behind had been entirely worthwhile. After all, the opportunity to observe a cultivator's breakthrough to the Deity Transformation stage was exceedingly rare — encountering one could be considered a stroke of remarkable fortune.
The others could also use their spiritual sense to forcibly observe certain aspects of the process, but their gains were far less than Han Li's under the Clear Bright Spirit Eye ability — both the clarity and completeness of their observations were significantly diminished, their effectiveness greatly inferior by comparison.
Time trickled onward. After an unknown duration, Sovereign Hanli — seated within the milky-white luminous lotus — suddenly shuddered, and the eerie fragrance emanating from his body intensified several-fold. At the same time, the lotus mark between his brows abruptly enlarged, projecting sheets of lotus petal shadows that blossomed into full, resplendent bloom.
Han Li and the others, who had been sitting quietly, were startled and focused their attention immediately.
They saw that Sovereign Hanli's eyes had already opened, his twin pupils radiating a glow like molten gold. Without moving his hands or lifting his feet, his body rose slowly from the luminous lotus, as though weightless.
Sovereign Hanli glanced around, a trace of delight surfacing on his face. After a brief moment of hesitation, he raised one hand, his fingers trembling slightly several times as he formed a series of mystical seals.
Almost simultaneously, Han Li felt the residual spiritual power within his own body lurch, then surge into a frenzied boil, giving him the terrifying sensation that it was about to pour violently out of his body.
Han Li was alarmed and immediately circulated his cultivation technique several times in rapid succession, barely managing to suppress the spiritual power that had run amok. The old woman and the middle-aged man in green robes also changed drastically in expression, similarly scrambling in a flurry of panic.
It seemed he was not the only one experiencing this bizarre phenomenon.
Before Han Li could even comprehend what had just happened, a sudden humming sound echoed from several nearby formations simultaneously, and the surrounding barriers trembled violently. Streaks of spiritual light shot forth from them, streaming into the formations like fine threads.
These wisps of spiritual light merged into Sovereign Hanli's body the instant they made contact, vanishing without a trace.
In a mere instant, the barriers began to collapse and disintegrate. The streaming spiritual light shifted to a milky white, becoming extraordinarily dense.
"Heaven and Earth spiritual energy has been drawn in!" someone murmured in a low voice, their tone a mixture of joy, awe, envy, and even a hint of jealousy.
Upon hearing these words, Han Li's heart clenched.
At this moment, Sovereign Hanli's body was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much glacial power flooded into it, the only effects were that the golden light in his eyes grew ever more brilliant and the radiance between his brows became increasingly dazzling — there were no other abnormalities.
This phenomenon persisted for the time it took to drink a cup of tea before a series of cracking, explosive sounds erupted from within Sovereign Hanli's body. His seated form suddenly surged several inches taller.
Simultaneously, the luminous lotus between his brows expanded dramatically, obscuring more than half his head, before abruptly contracting until it was no larger than a thumbnail — a translucent, crystalline jewel embedded between his brows.
The torrents of spiritual light streaming from all directions halted, then gradually dissipated and vanished.
The spiritual power within the bodies of Han Li and the others also ceased its unrest simultaneously, returning to normal.
Sovereign Hanli formed a seal with both hands, his expression solemn, and slowly closed his eyes. The six-colored lotus between his brows also withdrew its radiance, settling into tranquility.
"Could it be that he's already succeeded in breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage?" Upon seeing this, the thought arose unbidden in everyone's hearts.
On the faces of the middle-aged man in green robes and Bai Mengxin, a faint expression of joy could be seen.