The fiery-red sun rose from the horizon, its scorching rays tearing apart the night sky and shining upon every corner of the land.

On a certain mountain peak, Zhou Yuan was seated within a giant wooden vat. The vat was filled with viscous golden liquid, which was currently boiling like oil. Despite this, Zhou Yuan remained calm and composed; only the occasional tremble of his flesh betrayed the pain he was enduring.

Over the past eight days of travelling, he had tirelessly borrowed the golden water to temper his body each night.

Though the pain was tremendous, Zhou Yuan had gradually grown numb to it, and he could now clearly feel the enormous transformation that was occurring in his body.

The golden water was extremely beneficial to external cultivation.

Warm sunlight sprinkled from the sky, landing on Zhou Yuan’s body.

His tightly shut eyes slowly cracked open. Every fibre in his body overflowed with rich vital energy as an explosive power secretly condensed within him.

His body had finally reached the tipping point.

Huu.

Zhou Yuan took in a deep breath before he suddenly clapped his hands together. All the pores in his body seemed to open. Strands of golden Qi were rapidly extracted from the water before his body frantically sucked them in.

The golden Qi madly surged about in his body as it slowly fused into his flesh and blood.

*Drip*

Everything else fell silent, allowing Zhou Yuan to hear the blood flowing in his body. The noise ultimately converged into one as something unique slowly began to form.

It was a drop of golden blood.

It circulated through his body, completing an entire round before coming to a stop in his heart.

Zhou Yuan looked inward with his Spirit sense. Countless tiny veins reached out from the golden drop of blood and branched into his flesh and blood. The veins gushed with a surging power, saturating his body.

Rumble!

Zhou Yuan’s body trembled faintly as raw power exploded. The wooden vat immediately burst apart, spilling out now-clear water.

He stretched out his arms and lowered his head, a curve slowly rising from the corners of his mouth.

He could clearly feel that the power in his body had grown several times greater!

The formation of the golden drop of blood meant that the little Mythic Saint Body had truly reached the third level golden blood stage.

The tough training he had endured over this period had finally borne fruit.

Zhou Yuan’s eyes were filled with excitement as he mumbled to himself, “It’s said that at the apex of external cultivation, one’s body will reach the Saint level. When that happens, the blood that flows within the body will turn golden, and every drop could transform into a small world of its own, bestowing unlimited power onto the cultivator.” 

It was a level beyond his imagination. Just this single drop of golden blood alone had already taken him tremendous effort and luck. Who could imagine how difficult it would be to turn all the blood in his body golden?

If Zhou Yuan were to fight Fan Yao again, he was more than confident in matching the latter through pure physical might alone, and if Genesis Qi were added into the mix, Fan Yao would not be able to last more than a dozen rounds even with his Great Blood Demon skill activated.

The golden blood stage. In the current generation of Cangxuan Sect disciples, it was likely that even Shang Chunqiu of Hongya Peak had yet to reach this realm.

Of course, it must be noted that Zhou Yuan was practicing the little Mythic Saint Body while Shang Chunqiu, as the Chosen of Hongya Peak, practiced the true Mythic Saint Body. Hence, even if Shang Chunqiu was still at the silver bone stage, the power of his body would not be inferior to that of Zhou Yuan’s golden blood stage.

“If there’s a chance, I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on the true Mythic Saint Body…,” Zhou Yuan could not help but sigh. Although the little Mythic Saint Body was an amazing technique, it was ultimately only a mid-grade Heaven Genesis technique, whereas the Mythic Saint Body was a genuine high-grade Heaven Genesis technique.

Swish!

While he was sighing, the sound of rushing wind was heard nearby. A pretty figure had flown onto the mountain peak, revealing itself to be Gu Hongyi.

She landed and cast a seemingly interested glance at the currently bare torsoed Zhou Yuan, teasing, “You’ve got a pretty nice body.”

Zhou Yuan’s body was currently very lean and slender. Although he had no attention-grabbing, bulging muscles, anyone could sense the power contained within his body.

Zhou Yuan retrieved a set of clothes from his spatial bag and quickly put them on before rolling his eyes at Gu Hongyi. “What is it?”

Gu Hongyi’s expression turned a little more serious. “We made contact with a messenger sent by the Chosens, and we have been notified about their current location. From our current position on the map, we should be able to reach the deeper regions in half a day and meet up with the Chosens.”

A look of joy flitted across Zhou Yuan’s eyes as he smiled and said, “Good, let everyone know that we will begin preparations to leave immediately.”

Although there was already a six-color Divine Establishing Treasure in his Qi Dwelling, Zhou Yuan would not be satisfied with just this much. Only by reaching the deeper regions of the Mythic Utopia would he be able to find more opportunities to once more rank up his Divine Establishing Treasure.

After all, his goal was to achieve a seven-color Divine Establishing Treasure at the very minimum!

……

With the messenger leading the way, Zhou Yuan and the others finally reached their destination after travelling non-stop for half a day.

A majestic but gloomy mountain range greeted them. Mountains rose into the clouds like countless towering giants, giving off a feeling of immeasurableness.

Amidst the endless mountain range, violent thunderstorms and torrential rain would descend from time to time.

At times, Genesis Qi would even take on the form of destructive gales. Once caught in it, even someone with the strength of a chief disciple would be torn to shreds.

Compared to this place, the mountain forest around the six-color treasure location was akin to a little mud nest.

“Chief disciple Zhou Yuan, we will be stopping at a checkpoint outside the mountain range. The Great Mythic Mountain Range is a dangerous location even in the deeper regions, and we need to wait for the Chosens to come out and bring us through.”

The Chosens’ messenger said to Zhou Yuan and the rest, “There are currently many factions gathered at this waiting point, with all kinds of characters amongst them. Everyone should be a little more careful.” 

Zhou Yuan and the rest nodded in acknowledgement.

The messenger began to speed up once more. After half an incense stick of time, a town appeared in front of them.

It was mostly made from wood and had clearly been constructed recently.

However, there were countless figures inside. It was obvious that many factions had gathered here.

When Zhou Yuan and the rest landed in the town, they suddenly sensed a commotion, and countless figures began to flock towards a certain direction.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Yuan asked.

A nearby disciple immediately stopped someone to enquire about the matter.

The one who had been stopped was clearly a little annoyed, but when he saw the Cangxuan Sect badge on Zhou Yuan and the rest, a strange look appeared on his face. He said, “So it’s the Cangxuan Sect...do you guys really not know?

“There’s a chief disciple called Zhou Yuan from your sect who has killed two chief disciples from the Sacred Palace, which is a really impressive feat.

“In response, eight chief disciples of the Sacred Palace have surrounded five chief disciples from your Cangxuan Sect…and the chief disciple of the Hongya Peak has even had an arm taken from him.

“Heh heh, the Sacred Palace is trying to force the Cangxuan Sect into handing over chief disciple Zhou Yuan. If they refuse, I wonder how many chief disciples from the Cangxuan Sect will be able to escape alive today?

“You guys should hurry up and run after angering the Sacred Palace. Why are you still wasting time here asking me questions?” A mocking look emerged in the person’s eyes.

The Cangxuan Sect disciple angrily shouted, “You!”

Zhou Yuan patted his shoulder, indicating for him to fall back. He then smiled at the individual and said, “Could I trouble you to lead us there?”

The person shot a glance at Zhou Yuan and sneered, “Who the hell are you?”

Zhou Yuan smiled faintly. “I’m the chief disciple who has killed two of the Sacred Palace's chief disciples, Zhou Yuan…and I’m beginning to feel that you talk too much.”

Although he was smiling, his eyes were filled with cold indifference.

The look of ridicule on the person’s face slowly turned rigid.