Unrivaled Martial Emperor

Chapter 640 - Breaking Through Together

As soon as Chen Fan’s group passed through the gateway, they felt as if the world around them vanished, leaving only a void of primal chaos.

Moments later, they experienced violent spatial distortions, seemingly wanting to tear them apart.

But just as suddenly as it had started, the sensation disappeared.

Boom!

The distorted space disappeared, and all they saw was a white expanse for a moment.

They had entered the Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold’s microcosm.

Before them now stretched a desolate, barren expanse, with colossal mountains stretching endlessly.

While many microcosms were lush grotto heavens and sanctuaries for cultivation, they were not immune to change.

As these realms were discovered and occupied, their environments often suffered damage. The thick and rich primeval qi of heaven and earth inside would be exhausted, and the microcosms would fall into destruction.

This destruction didn’t mean the microcosm was entirely ruined, but rather that it had become lifeless and uninhabitable.

When sects first discovered a microcosm, they would establish base camps and make every effort to manage and preserve it, delaying its decline.

For example, some almighty martial artists would capture spirit veins and bury them underground inside the microcosm to constantly generate spiritual qi, thereby postponing its deterioration.

However, this was merely a stopgap measure.

A microcosm typically wouldn’t completely deteriorate for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years.

The Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold’s microcosm deteriorated so quickly because it was once a dragon’s nest. When the Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold discovered it, the environment inside was already damaged.

After the Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold entered the microcosm and began to manage it, their efforts proved futile. They could only slow the microcosm's decline, not stop it entirely.

Chen Fan could feel how thin the primeval qi was within the microcosm. It was vastly inferior to the outside world, showing how long it had been neglected.

The surface of the land was dry and cracked. Large amounts of vegetation were dead. Even the spirit vein had dried up. The microcosm had deteriorated to the point where it held little promise for recovery.

In the distance, they could vaguely see the remains of some buildings, seemingly revealing the vicissitudes of history.

From the remains, the remnants of old buildings hinted at a once-thriving era. These ruins suggested that the Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold had once been a major, prosperous sect.

“Roar!” Loud beastly roars came from far away.

Those were the demonic beasts once reared by the Sky Dragon Divine Stronghold. If the primeval qi had been abundant here, these demonic beasts could have grown into the Heavenly Star, or even the Manifestation, realm beasts.

Unfortunately, the depletion of primeval qi stunted their growth.

Even so, the intensity of their roars suggested that they were far from being weak, perhaps even more ferocious than those in the outside world.

“Roar, roar!” The angry roars grew closer, and a massive, fire-red strange bird surged through the air like a streak of fiery light, rushing toward them.

Now that the microcosm was open and outsiders were barging in, the demonic beasts, starved of primeval qi for ages, were naturally drawn to Chen Fan and his group. They saw them as the perfect source of nourishment.

One of these beasts, a massive fire-red bird, approached Chen Fan’s group. They couldn’t identify the beast. Flames blazed across it, and its sharp-toothed mouth gaped wide as it lunged at Chen Fan.

Compared to Xiao Zhen and Qiu Yuexin, the tremendous vitality of Chen Fan attracted these demonic beasts the most.

Boom, tch!

Chen Fan acted immediately, delivering a powerful slap that made the strange bird’s head explode. It came crashing down, shaking the ground violently and kicking off a hundred-feet-tall cloud of dust.

This was a fourth-level Divine Nascent realm demonic beast, but its power was trivial compared to Chen Fan’s.

“Gagaga...”

It quickly became clear that more of these birds were present—many more.

They swooped in like blazing meteors, distorting the space with their fierce approach.

These strange birds’ cultivation levels varied. Some of them were not even in the Divine Nascent realm, while some were in the fourth or fifth-level Divine Nascent realm. They were like a cloud of flames, swooping at them.

Swish!

Suddenly, Chen Fan unleashed a terrifying streak of sword qi, cutting through the air and piercing the sky. Countless strange birds fell in moments.

“Come on, let’s rush over.”

Chen Fan’s attack was incomparably powerful, but there were just too many of those strange birds. He had killed dozens; still, many still remained and were swooping toward them without fear of death.

As soon as Chen Fan’s words fell, the remaining strange birds rushed over, drowning the trio within.

Surrounded by those strange birds, Chen Fan remained remarkably at ease.

None of the birds could withstand his blows; he easily killed them with punches and kicks. Chen Fan collected their demon cores, which resembled pieces of raging flames.

Although Xiao Zhen and Qiu Yuexin were in the second-level Divine Nascent realm, they, however, seemed a little miserable under this kind of attack.

They frequently found themselves in life-threatening situations. Without Chen Fan’s intervention, they might have lost limbs by now.

It didn’t take long for the trio to kill the whole group of strange birds.

In the following half a month, the trio went on a crazy killing spree.

The microcosm had already deteriorated, but the demonic beasts within had thrived. They had formed numerous tribes, claimed territories, and established their dominance as kings.

As Chen Fan and his group advanced, they couldn’t avoid these beasts. They killed as they went along, feeling like advancing even a step further would be difficult.

There were simply too many demonic beasts in here.

However, their relentless battles provided intense training, resulting in significant growth.

They had almost no time to rest at all. However, as geniuses, they reaped immense rewards from such high-intensity honing.

After killing a group of demonic beasts, Qiu Yuexin’s eyes flickered. She said excitedly, “I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakthrough!”

“Me too,” Xiao Zhen added, radiating nefarious qi.

This was accumulated from the crazy killing spree over the past half month. His true primeval was stirring restlessly, seemingly showing signs of going berserk at any time.

The two had improved tremendously during the past half month of training and had reached the point of breakthrough.

“In that case, let’s advance to the next level here. The stronger we are now, the more advantageous it is for us,” Chen Fan said.

Xiao Zhen and Qiu Yuexin benefitted immensely, and so did Chen Fan. He was also close to reaching the next level.

Thus, the three of them sat down here and began their attempt at a breakthrough.

Five days later:

The auras of the trio suddenly boiled over intensely, stirring the air within a five-kilometer radius. Bursts of terrifying auras rushed out of them like a flood.

Half a day later, everything returned to a state of calm.

The three opened their eyes, which were shining brightly.

All three of them had successfully advanced into the third-level Divine Nascent realm.