After an unknown period, he finally stepped onto the fourth level, seemingly defying fate.
Not long after descending to the fourth level, he entered a cave dwelling. Fearing pursuit from those behind him who might try to seize his treasures, Mo Qi began to break off pieces of the frozen Nine Heavens Jade Dew and consume them as he walked.
His entire body trembled from the cold, but his heart was filled with exhilaration!
Moments later, he felt refreshed, his blood boiling, and immense spiritual energy surged within him.
The sensation was akin to swimming through clouds and mist.
Mo Qi couldn't stop himself, continuously stuffing the ice blocks into his mouth.
Occasionally, he glanced back and saw Liang Sanjin and his group pursuing him. However, Wan Feng and Hong Jianxin seemed to be absent, either having retreated or perished on the path from the third to the fourth level.
Fewer people meant better for him, exactly as he wished.
At that moment, a cheer erupted from behind. Above Liang Sanjin and the others, a radiant glow appeared, within which floated an object resembling jade, crystal clear and shaped like a tile.
"It's a fragment of the Heavenly Dao!" Liang Sanjin roared.
Greed flickered in his eyes.
The others also stared intently at the fragment, their eyes gleaming.
"They say absorbing the spiritual energy within grants supreme divine power, enhances cultivation, and allows one to comprehend all things under heaven, perceiving distant matters and predicting events millennia in advance," Lian Xun said, entranced.
Ju Ren added, "This is likely the best resource we've encountered in years."
Linghu Xiaoxian also felt a stir of desire, but then a thought struck her: there was only one such item, and so many people present. Would they have to shatter it?
Tan Zai Huan leaped into the air, preparing to retrieve the fragment. "I'll get it, and we can share. The boss gets a larger portion, and the rest of us will divide it equally."
Tan Zai Huan's figure flickered as he reached the spot beneath the fragment. Seeing the crystal-clear piece so close, he couldn't help but reveal a joyful expression. He reached out to grasp it.
At that very instant, a flash of white light streaked past.
Blood gushed forth.
A searing pain shot through him as Tan Zai Huan's arm, the one reaching for the fragment, was severed at the shoulder and fell to the ground.
Tan Zai Huan let out a heart-wrenching scream and tumbled back to the ground.
Simultaneously, Liang Sanjin soared upwards, snatched the fragment, and gracefully landed back on the ground.
"How can this fragment of the Heavenly Dao be divided? Only in its entirety can its full potential be realized," Liang Sanjin said calmly, surveying the surroundings.
His implication was clear: he intended to hoard it and share it with no one.
Ju Ren and the others were stunned into silence, exchanging glances, their anger suppressed by fear.
Tan Zai Huan pressed several points on his body to staunch the bleeding, but he still writhed on the ground in agony.
Zhang Sheng and his companions quickly rushed forward to help him to the side.
Linghu Xiaoxian, indignant, declared, "We all saw it at the same time. Why should you possess it alone? If possession goes to the one who grabs it, then we will take it from you."
As she spoke, her gaze swept across everyone present.
However, they either lowered their heads, avoiding her eyes, or quickly shifted their gaze upon contact.
Linghu Xiaoxian couldn't help but scorn them internally. With their pathetic state, if their small group joined forces, could they not defeat him?
"Hahaha..." Liang Sanjin laughed boisterously, "Come on, if you dare, try to take it!"
As he reveled in his triumph, Linghu Xiaoxian suddenly unleashed her Golden Cudgel, striking at him.
Golden light whistled, sweeping towards Liang Sanjin.
"A mere trifle!"
Liang Sanjin sneered, casually tossing the Xuan Yue Mirror. It flashed with pure white cold light, and upon contact, immediately dispersed the golden radiance. The Xuan Yue Mirror spun, emitting white light, and roared forward.
The Golden Cudgel hovered in mid-air, buffeted and swaying precariously.
Linghu Xiaoxian struggled to maintain her hold, chanting incantations and channeling her spiritual energy. The Golden Cudgel continued to glow and pushed back.
However, the gap in strength between her and Liang Sanjin was too vast. The golden light, upon touching the cold radiance, rapidly contracted, showing no pause, as if it would strike Linghu Xiaoxian in the next moment.
Linghu Xiaoxian found herself in a passive position. She looked towards the people around her, knowing that if even one person intervened, she might be able to alter her predicament.
Yet, all around her were indifferent faces, as if they saw nothing.
Meanwhile, Tan Zai Huan was staggering away. Severely wounded, he could not press onward. The pressure ahead would only increase, and the further he went, the smaller his chances of survival upon returning.
He still wished to return alive to see Lü Sanniang, and thus, he abandoned the contest for the fragment.
Though his heart felt a chill, he could only warm it himself.
At this moment, Linghu Xiaoxian forgot the person she should have sought help from the most.
Of course, he would never disappoint her!
Even though she hadn't asked for his help.
Mo Qi, from a considerable distance, where other attacks could not reach, flicked two streams of qi.
Liang Sanjin, lost in his arrogance, paid no heed to the possibility of a sneak attack.
With two hissing sounds, he was struck in the wrist and then in the abdomen.
Liang Sanjin toppled to the ground. The Xuan Yue Mirror, its spiritual energy support lost, fell to the ground, and the white light was scattered.
The fragment in his hand slipped from his grasp, flying upwards. It soared over everyone's heads. Following its trajectory, they saw the fragment drift and float, eventually landing in Mo Qi's hand.
Mo Qi, using the Bu Zhou Mind Power Art stealthily, had transported it to himself.
Furious and enraged, Liang Sanjin tried to pursue the fragment, but his injuries were severe. He had barely gotten to his feet before he collapsed again. Defiantly, he looked at Ju Ren and the others, "Quick, chase him!"
These individuals, without waiting for his command, had already taken off in hot pursuit.
Linghu Xiaoxian also followed.
Liang Sanjin, however, sat cross-legged, circulating his energy to heal.
Mo Qi activated the Golden Light Shrinking Ground Technique, moving at extreme speed.
He soon reached the edge of the fourth level.
He looked down into the dark, deep abyss, where starlight twinkled like a galaxy.
Glancing to his side, he saw a large boulder. A sudden inspiration struck him, and he hid behind it.
He popped another ice block into his mouth, then took the fragment in his hand, turning it over and examining it. It was entirely white and crystal clear.
With a mere touch, he felt a continuous flow of spiritual energy entering his body.
Mo Qi tried to break it, and indeed, it snapped easily. He gently broke off a piece.
Placing it in his palm, a ceaseless stream of spiritual energy flowed into him.
Concurrently, myriad illusions flashed through his mind, arriving in waves.
They seemed to be people and events around him;
Or perhaps things he had experienced;
Or even things he was yet to experience;
Or perhaps matters concerning all living beings under heaven.
But they were all fleeting glimpses, indistinct.
Suddenly, an intense yearning arose within him, a desire to see it all clearly.
It was like an infant, newly arrived in this world, clinging to something and refusing to let go.
He immediately broke off another large piece. This time, a torrent of spiritual energy surged into him like a raging river.
Within moments, his soul sea churned and roared, surging ceaselessly.
His life’s vital gate also resonated, showing signs of breakthrough.
Mo Qi immediately sat down cross-legged, guiding the spiritual energy in a full circulation.
At the same time, a world within his mind rose and fell, cycling repeatedly, as if mirroring the ebb and flow of days and nights from antiquity to the present, or the movements and transformations of stars and seas.
The fleeting glimpses reappeared. In that moment, he saw the future turmoil of the Three Realms, and many events he would experience, causing him to break out in a cold sweat!
He wondered if he could defy fate!
Otherwise, it would be too terrifying!
At this point, he could not afford to ponder too much. The internal tide had completed its cycle and was beginning to impact his vital gate. He had to cast aside all distractions and focus all his attention on mobilizing his body and mind, cooperating with the flow of spiritual energy.
After a short while, it felt as if a dam had broken, releasing a feeling of exhilarating release. All his meridians were unblocked, and his cultivation had advanced to the late stage of Tribulation Crossing.
He continued to stuff ice blocks into his mouth, hoping to reach the Human Immortal realm in one go!
After consuming a large ice block, he picked up another fragment to absorb, and the spiritual energy surged once more.
This time, his entire body began to spin.
Another sequence of fleeting glimpses!
It was as if the sights of the entire world poured into his mind, which felt as though it would expand.
Suddenly, he felt a sense of disheartened disappointment. This fragment of the Heavenly Dao seemed to be of little use; it was merely a series of images in his mind, seen and then gone, offering no personal advancement.
Just then, another set of rules entered his mind, seemingly pertaining to the control of these fleeting glimpses—how to pause at a specific point in time and space, and how to intervene!
His heart leaped. This was remote killing!
In other words, even if an enemy was thousands of miles away, he could see them through some divine ability, and even kill them!
This was too terrifying!
His shock almost ruined everything!
A flurry of distracting thoughts arose, causing the various laws and visions in his mind to become a jumbled mess, like a paste.
His entire brain felt as though it would explode.
He could not let his previous efforts go to waste!
With this thought, he placed the remaining small piece of the fragment in his palm. Besides spiritual energy, another chaotic array of scenes surged towards him. He absorbed the spiritual energy and discarded the visions one by one, focusing on capturing the laws.
This time, he finally captured something useful!
By merging these rules with the previous visions in his mind, a rudimentary form of a divine ability gradually took shape.
Only then did he regret it deeply. From the moment the fragment touched his palm, it had been continuously releasing the operational laws of heaven and earth, as well as all phenomena from above and below, past and future.
If, at a particular moment, he had contemplated and linked the laws with a specific vision, he could have obtained a unique, peerless divine ability.
It was just that, in the beginning, he had not understood at all, causing those laws to be lost in vain.
He had only managed to capture a segment of rules and visions at the last moment, obtaining a divine ability, but whether this divine ability could truly be mastered remained to be seen.