Chapter 1787

The third stage

Zhuowen walked out step by step and landed on the square from the edge of the pool. The moment he landed on the square, everyone in the square instinctively retreated. Their eyes bulged as they stared at Zhuowen in disbelief.

After a moment of silence, a frenzy of discussion broke out. Zhuowen's actions had truly exceeded everyone's expectations. No one had expected him to last seventy-seven breaths in the pool.

However, at the very end, Zhuo Wen entered the center of the celestial pond like a moth darting into a flame. Originally, everyone thought that Zhuo Wen would definitely die this time. Who would have thought that Zhuo Wen would step out of the celestial pond with an unparalleled might? Moreover, the moment he stepped out of the celestial pond, the entire celestial pond actually collapsed.

"What exactly did he do in the center of the pool?"

That was the question in everyone's mind.

Swoosh!

Dou Hua stared solemnly at the collapsing pool. Then, he waved his sleeve and surging Celestial Energy surged out. It formed a bowl-shaped cover and completely enveloped the collapsing pool.

At the same time, Old Gu arrived beside Dou Hua. He formed a seal with his right hand and moved his fingers back and forth. Terrifying sealing power covered the surface of the pool.

After being repaired by Dou Hua and Old Gu, the Celestial Pool, which was originally in a state of collapse, was now completely stabilized. However, the pressure above the Celestial Pool had become very little, or rather, almost non-existent.

Dou Hua's expression was very ugly. He stared straight at Zhuowen and said, "What exactly did you do in there?"

Zhuowen's gaze was calm. He said, "Divine Master, I only cultivated in there for three days. When I came out, the pool had become like this. I don't know the exact reason."

Dou Hua narrowed his eyes. Just as he was about to continue asking, Shi Ji arrived before Zhuowen.

"Brother Dou, this pool has existed for far too long. It wasn't very stable in the first place. Now that too much Celestial Qi has been absorbed, it's expected that it would collapse. You can't blame Zhuowen for this," Shi Ji said indifferently.

Dou Hua's expression froze as he looked deeply at Shi Ji. After a moment of silence, he sighed softly, "Perhaps!"

As he spoke, Dou Hua waved his sleeve and stored the temporarily stabilized Celestial Pool into his Spirit Ring.

Fortunately, although the Celestial Pond was in a state of collapse, the Immortal Qi inside was not too damaged. When he returned, he could use his great divine ability to completely stop the collapse of the Celestial Pond, but the price would be higher.

"Sir Divine Master, if this celestial pond collapsed because of me, Zhuowen, then feel free to punish me. I, Zhuowen, will not object." Zhuowen cupped his fists and said sincerely.

Seeing Zhuowen's sincere attitude, Dou Hua's expression softened. He waved his hand and said, "Perhaps what Brother Shi said is true. This Celestial Pond has existed for too long. It is only a matter of time before it collapses."

As he spoke, Dou Hua looked at Shi Ji and said, "Brother Shi, let's go back. The third test will be carried out in a while!"

Shi Ji nodded and didn't say anything before flashing back onto the meditation cushion. On the other hand, Dou Hua's gaze was bitter because Shi Ji's style of doing things really gave him a headache, yet he just happened to not dare rashly touch Shi Ji.

At this moment, over 65 Heavenly Immortal Realm experts on the meditation cushions were staring at Zhuowen with surprise. Obviously, they'd never expected that this kid would actually be able to cause such a great commotion within the Celestial Pond.

Moreover, these Heavenly Immortal Realm experts were discerning people. They acutely noticed that at the instant Zhuowen walked out from the Celestial Pond, the Celestial Pond that was originally filled with a terrifying pressure had instantly vanished completely like a receding tide.

They knew that the disappearance of this pressure was surely related to Zhuowen, but how did this kid accomplish it?

Within the entrance of the Central Divine Palace, Yuan Hongwen's brows were slightly knit together. For the first time, his gaze revealed a strange expression, and all of this was because of Zhuowen.

Zhuowen's numerous performances had caused his speculations to fail, and this caused a trace of surprise to arise in Yuan Hongwen's heart.

"This kid is rather interesting!" Yuan Hongwen spoke with deep meaning.

The pupils of Hao Bo, who stood by Yuan Hongwen's side, constricted slightly. He was very clear that anyone who could make Yuan Hongwen say such words was basically treated as an opponent by Yuan Hongwen.

Since Yuan Hongwen became famous, there were truly too few cultivators who could make him say such words. Even if there were, they were basically experts of the older generation, and there were basically no people of the same generation. Even Ji Chenyan wasn't treated as an opponent by Yuan Hongwen.

But now, Zhuo Wen, who didn't look very old, actually made Yuan Hongwen say such words. It was obvious that Yuan Hongwen really saw Zhuo Wen as an opponent.

"Next up is the third stage, the Heaven Stage!"

Dou Hua swept to the top of the Central Divine Palace and immediately rolled up his sleeves. Suddenly, the surface of the ancient boulder, which originally fell in the middle of the square, burst into a blazing light, and an invisible wave of air swept out in all directions.

Zhuo Wen sensed a boundless sense of vicissitudes and antiquity within the wave of air. Clearly, this ordinary-looking boulder had existed for far, far too long.

"I've said it before. This ancient boulder is a meteorite that fell from outer space. It possesses supreme power and contains a wondrous power. If someone can comprehend this wondrous power from within the boulder, it will greatly benefit their future cultivation," Dou Hua said calmly.

"You have to comprehend this ancient boulder for ten breaths. If you can make the holes on the surface of the boulder reveal white light, you will be considered to have passed. Of course, the more white light there is, the deeper your comprehension, and naturally, the better your result."

Speaking of this, Dou Hua said to Yang Yi, "Yang Yi, you will be in charge of this round!"

Yang Yi clasped his fist and immediately commanded the Green Qilin to descend on the ancient boulder. He pointed at a person at random and said, "You go first!"

The person's eyes were solemn. His cultivation was probably at the peak of the Heaven-defying Saint Realm. He slowly came before the ancient boulder and Yang Yi continued, "Open your mind and put your hand on it."

The person nodded and took a deep breath. Immediately, his right hand was placed on the ancient boulder. Ten breaths passed in the blink of an eye, but the ancient boulder did not have any reaction. It was lifeless.

The person opened his eyes and could not help but take a few steps back. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with disappointment.

He did not comprehend anything from the boulder at all. This caused a trace of doubt and unwillingness to accept this result.

However, Yang Yi did not care whether the person was willing to accept this result or not. He said indifferently, "Failed. Next!"

Next, Yang Yi pointed at seven or eight people in a row. Unfortunately, these people, like the first person, did not comprehend anything from the ancient boulder and were directly eliminated.

Such a high elimination rate immediately caused the atmosphere in the square to become much more solemn. Everyone began to worry.

Fortunately, the elimination stopped at the ninth person. This person looked like a young man in his mid-twenties, and his cultivation was around the Half Immortal Realm.

When the person walked in front of the ancient boulder and placed his right hand on it for nine breaths, the ancient boulder finally reacted. The holes on its surface lit up with a faint white light.

Moreover, this white light only appeared within one-tenth of the ancient boulder. If one did not observe carefully, it would be difficult to notice.

Yang Yi glanced at the person and said indifferently, "Passed!"

The person opened his eyes, and his eyes were filled with surprise. After clasping his fist at Yang Yi, he slowly stepped back.

With this person's success as a precedent, the solemn atmosphere in the square was immediately broken. Many people were filled with confidence.

Surprise appeared in Zhuowen's eyes. When the white light appeared on the ancient boulder, the power of Dao Will that had always existed in his Sea of Consciousness was like a wild horse that had escaped its reins. It was abnormally excited, as if it wanted to leave his body.

This discovery caused Zhuowen's eyes to narrow. He stared at the ancient boulder and revealed a contemplative expression.

He was very clear that since the power of Dao Will had such a great reaction, there was most likely a power similar to Dao Will within the ancient boulder. Or it could be said that there was a way to improve Dao Will.

When he thought of this, Zhuowen's eyes suddenly became much more fervent.

Following that, most of the people that Yang Yi pointed out were able to light up the ancient boulder with a white glow, successfully passing the test. However, most of these people who passed only managed to light up the hole on the surface of the ancient boulder between the ninth and tenth breaths.

Moreover, after lighting up the surface of the ancient boulder, these cultivators revealed excited expressions. It was obvious that they had obtained quite a lot of benefits from the ancient boulder.

Suddenly, He Yu who was not far away was pointed out by Yang Yi, and it attracted the attention of the surrounding people. After all, He Yu was the representative of the Wang Ren Clan's group, and he was also a late-stage Earth Immortal. An existence like this would probably be able to quickly light up the ancient boulder and obtain even more benefits from it.

Enjoying the gazes of the crowd, He Yu revealed a proud expression. He casually glanced at Zhuowen, but he discovered that Zhuowen was only in deep thought and did not pay attention to him at all. This caused He Yu's face to instantly darken.

With a cold snort, He Yu slowly flew to the top of the ancient boulder. Then, he placed his right hand on the surface of the ancient boulder.

On the dozen praying mats, He Wushang revealed a look of anticipation. The ancient boulder was famous during the ancient times. It was said that there was a chance to touch upon Dao Will within it. If He Yu's luck was good, he might be able to comprehend Dao Will.

When he thought of Dao Will, He Wushang and the dozen Heavenly Immortal Ancestors on the praying mats revealed envious expressions.

Dao Insight was illusory and indistinct, and even all of them had yet to comprehend it. Moreover, they'd never heard of or seen it in the entire central plains, and they only knew that Dao Insight possessed an extremely obvious effect towards the improvement of one's strength.