Outside, in the middle of the Three Heavens Jade Refinement Pond, Zhi Xuan's scorched body suddenly radiated a soft emerald green light. The light was no longer a passive reflection of Xiao Die's Life Essence; it was an active, pulsating source of light, as if a new Sun had just been born.

  The Life Essence channeled by the Thousand Feathered Moth, now in its Verdant Titan form, no longer dissipated. Instead, the essence was brutally absorbed and processed into energy that replenished every destroyed meridian of Zhi Xuan. His torn and blackened skin began to heal with visible speed, his muscle tissues regenerated, becoming denser, more flexible, and radiating a deep jade luster.

  The phenomenon in the pool immediately drew everyone's attention. Wang Mao, who had been slumped, rose with wide eyes. Han Jue, for the first time, showed pure surprise on his cold face.

  "He... he is not dead!" Fei Sheng whispered, his voice filled with genuine shock. "He... he succeeded in forging the Five Organs!"

  "Not only that." Feng Yi whispered, staring with tension and pure amazement. "He... This is the Aura of Consciousness Transformation!"

  Zhu Qinglan, standing at the edge of the pool, felt the Thick Karmic Bond in her Sea of Consciousness tremble wildly, but this time, the tremor was not from pain, but from savage, demanding joy. She saw Zhi Xuan, whose body now radiated boundless life aura, yet that aura was mixed with a cruelty of Heavenly Thunder more concentrated than before.

  Above the jade plaza, Xiao Die, the Thousand Feathered Moth that had swollen to the size of a Pavilion, radiated astonishing rainbow dust. The dust, which was its life essence, now flowed rapidly towards Zhi Xuan. Although it gave all its essence, it did not look weak; on the contrary, its Verdant Titan aura felt stable, even slightly increased. This phenomenon indicated that Zhi Xuan not only received a blessing, but he also provided a return to his Heavenly Insect.

  "Him! He has only just arrived at the Thousand Heavens Sect for the first time, but has already gained a Heavenly Blessing like this!"

  "This is the peak Consciousness Realm Transformation Aura, he has grown the Tree of Life!"

  "How is that possible?! He even plummeted to Blood Transformation when his Organs were destroyed. And now, he leaps to the Consciousness Realm Transformation Realm?!"

  The roars from the new disciples and seniors boomed. They could not understand the insane logic behind the realm leap. The journey from the brink of Organ destruction to reaching the peak of Consciousness Realm Transformation was a journey of decades for normal geniuses, not mere breaths.

  In the air, Yan Shen, the True Taoist in dark blue robes, smiled faintly. His smile was calm, but his eyes radiated a light that processed the unspeakable miracle. "I thought I saw destruction," Yan Shen murmured. "It turns out, it is rebirth. Peak Consciousness Realm Transformation, with a Perfect Divine Organ foundation that forced him to transcend mortal limits. Zhi Xuan... he is a Phenomenon who has carved the Path of Heaven and Hell."

  He waved his hand, and the Great Formation he had set around the plaza subsided. His gaze then shifted to Xiao Die. "Thousand Feathered Moth, Verdant Titan realm. A precious Heavenly Insect. A worthy compensation for the sacrifice of Life Essence. That boy knows how to treat his karma."

  WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP!

  Spiritual waves surged around the Three Heavens Jade Refinement Pond; this was the Phenomenon when the Tree of Life is born from within a Cultivator. Radiating pure Vitality that sustains life, it is a Tree that continuously radiates precious Vitality to prolong a cultivator's lifespan.

  The whirlpool that had been fiercely turbulent around Zhi Xuan, now turned into a calm and stable vortex, but with a much higher speed of jade essence absorption. Each newly forged organ—the Devil Wood Heart, the Devil Water Kidney, the Rotting Earth Spleen, the Cleaving Metal Lungs, and the Desire Fire Heart—resonated with a perfect cycle, drawing energy from the pool with brutal grace.

  Zhi Xuan, now sitting upright in the middle of the pool, opened his eyes. His sapphire eyes, which had been dim, now shone with a sharp, cold light. Around his pupils, there was a thin, blood-red circle faintly pulsing, a reflection of the Devil Blood mixed with his Heavenly foundation. He did not look arrogant; he looked like a newly forged sword, cold, absolute, and ready to cut the Heavens.

  In the air, the spiritual wave just released by his Tree of Life clashed with Yan Shen's calm aura and Han Jue's Golden Dragon aura. Zhi Xuan had stepped onto the peak of Consciousness Realm Transformation, a realm that allowed him to disregard the difference of other Organ Transformation realms.

  He took a deep breath. The air around him, filled with pure jade essence, flowed into his Cleaving Metal Lungs. The air was purified, but immediately returned with a sharp Devil Metal weight. He exhaled, and a sharp shockwave swept across the water surface, interrupting the cultivation flow of several nearby disciples.

  Zhi Xuan raised his hand, and on his palm, the Pavilion-sized Thousand Feathered Moth, Xiao Die, slowly shrunk. The Moth returned to its original size, a small, obedient moth, and anchored itself on Zhi Xuan's left shoulder. Xiao Die let out a satisfied sigh, soft rainbow dust radiating from it, calming the newly born aura of ruthlessness in Zhi Xuan's body.

  "Congratulations, Xiao Die," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice returning to a low and flat tone. He stroked the head of the heavenly moth with a gentle, grateful touch. The moth had saved his life and given him an invaluable blessing.

  He rose from the pool. The pure jade water slid from his skin, which now radiated a strange bronze and jade sheen. The Five Divine Organs inside his body retained the pool's essence, not letting it go to waste. Every step he took out of the water felt weighty, as if he carried a newborn Law.

  At the edge of the pool, Zhu Qinglan stared at him. Her eyes, as beautiful as the deep blue ocean, were now filled with complex emotions—a deep relief, followed by restrained anger. She had witnessed the destruction, and she had felt the panic that nearly tore her Karma.

  "Zhi Xuan!" Zhu Qinglan hissed, she stepped forward, her sky-blue silk robe fluttering gently. Her voice, though soft, contained an undeniable Will. "What were you doing?! Why did you seek such a brutal and arrogant death?!"

  Zhi Xuan ignored Wang Mao and the surprised gazes of all the other geniuses. He walked past Fei Sheng and Feng Yi, giving a brief nod in acknowledgment of their concern. He stopped directly before Zhu Qinglan, his face calm and cold, his peak Consciousness Realm Transformation aura clashing with Zhu Qinglan's Five Element aura. Zhi Xuan, who was not wearing his robe and was only bare-chested, showed his perfect and scarred body.

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  His hair flowed down his back, his muscles looked tidier. His gaze seemed to show that the karma he bore, which he could not avoid, was bound more strongly to Zhu Qinglan. Zhi Xuan stepped back one pace to reduce the height difference.

  "Holy Fairy Zhu," Zhi Xuan replied, his voice low and flat, though he still trembled whenever near Zhu Qinglan. He looked into Zhu Qinglan's eyes with his sharp sapphire gaze. Then, he bowed low and cupped his hands. "I am honored by your concern, but this is not the right time to speak."

  The bow was brief, but its weight was immense. It was a rare sign of respect, an acknowledgment of Zhu Qinglan's care. However, his response—calm, cold, and slightly formal—was a shield he used to sheath emotional intimacy. Zhu Qinglan clenched her jaw, disappointment flashing in her sea-like eyes.

  How could the man she agreed to be her karmic thread. The man who once knelt and was bound before her, stared at her with the sharpness of a Mortal, how could that man who promised to be her Dao Protector, and placed such a thick Karmic Thread. When that man promised to carve an Eternal Vengeance and threatened not to release her to grow back then.

  Now, Zhu Qinglan could see the same man. The man of decades ago, who had now risen from his bow and stared at her with those sharp sapphire eyes. Shaking her heart, and making her one step closer to the karmic thread woven by agreement and desperation.

  In his eyes, Zhu Qinglan could see the reflection of the thunder and fire that had just devoured the man's soul, but she also saw a new, cold depth, as if those sapphire eyes now housed a brutal cosmic cycle. The distance between them, which had been like an insurmountable realm chasm, now felt like only a few steps from the Karmic Promise.

  In the air, Yan Shen nodded slowly, his faint smile widening. He had seen what he needed to see: Zhi Xuan, the Devil he observed, had succeeded in forcing his own path, unifying himself, rising from death with the Five Divine Organs to carve a Dao that transcended mortal logic. This was a phenomenon worthy of observation.

  Zhi Xuan, whose aura felt cold and sharp as a newly honed Devil Metal blade, ignored the firmness in Zhu Qinglan's command. He turned towards Yan Shen, his shining eyes meeting the True Taoist's gaze. A gesture of calm respect, an acknowledgment that Yan Shen was a force to be recognized. And an acknowledgment that he met Yan Shen's expectations.

  "You!" Zhu Qinglan hissed, almost exploding in anger and insult, but she immediately held back and also took a step back. However, she did not give up immediately. "Meet me, at the Jade Immortal Garden tonight."

  In the middle of the jade plaza, Zhu Qinglan's command was like a piece of ice embroidery thrown into a fire. The Jade Immortal Garden—a place where only true geniuses and important Sect figures were allowed to meet. It was an invitation, as well as a demand.

  Zhi Xuan did not answer immediately. He just stood tall, letting his newborn Peak Consciousness Realm Transformation aura clash with Zhu Qinglan's Five Element aura. The contrast between his skin radiating a bronze-jade sheen and Zhu Qinglan's sky-blue silk was stark, highlighting their distance and karmic closeness.

  He turned to the side, looking at his robe hanging on the jade stone rack. Xiao Die, anchored on his shoulder, emitted soft rainbow dust, as if calming its master's internal storm. Then, Zhi Xuan stared back at Zhu Qinglan and looked around briefly.

  His eyes widened slightly, as he was now the center of attention there. Especially, with Zhu Qinglan standing close to him. He immediately became the target of sharp gazes from all the senior disciples, even some new disciples who seemed unhappy with Zhu Qinglan's proximity before him.

  "Holy Fairy Zhu," Zhi Xuan replied, his body tensing because he was the unwelcome center of attention here. He looked back at Zhu Qinglan. "I have something more important, I need to stabilize this new realm I've traversed."

  His voice was flat, but there was an odd pause, as if other words were caught in his throat. He did indeed want to stabilize his Devil Tree of Life immediately, but there was a more pressing, more embarrassing problem, which he now fully realized after the madness of the Heavenly Calamity subsided.

  He glanced down. His body, which had just been regenerated by Xiao Die's life essence and forged by the Five Divine Organs, was now indeed perfect and radiated an admirable bronze-jade aura. Full of battle scars, but upright and strong. However, he was still bare-chested.

  Not only that. He just realized that the pool water, although pure, only reached his waist. While immersed in his brutal cultivation, he completely ignored the fact that he was being watched by dozens of disciples, some of whom were women like Feng Yi, Jiang Yue, and—most severely—Holy Fairy Zhu Qinglan.

  Zhi Xuan, the Bearer of the Ancient Devil Banner who had just forced the Laws of Heaven to submit, suddenly felt unexpected heat spread across his face, hotter than the Fire Thunder he had just fought. It was not due to anger or arrogance, but a very mortal embarrassment.

  He glanced quickly at the watching crowd. Wang Mao looked shocked and jealous, but his eyes were fixated on Zhi Xuan's scarred body. Feng Yi covered her mouth, her gaze divided between admiration for the new realm and faint embarrassment. The most deadly, Zhu Qinglan. Holy Fairy Zhu stared at him with eyes as beautiful as a pale gray ocean, her face now radiating a subtle blush beneath her face cover.

  Zhi Xuan immediately averted his gaze, as if that look was the sixth Heavenly Thunder. He had just realized that the Consciousness Realm Transformation aura he radiated could not cover the fact that he was standing before one of the most respected geniuses in the Lower Realm—and before dozens of Thousand Heavens Sect cultivators—bare-chested and only wearing pants.

  "Holy Fairy Zhu," Zhi Xuan repeated, his voice, which had been cold, now sounded slightly hoarse with panic, trying to cover the embarrassing moment with rigid formality. "As I said, I must immediately... get dressed."

  He moved quickly. His Consciousness Realm Transformation speed allowed him to shoot. In a thousandth of a breath, he spun and reached the jade stone rack where his robe hung. He no longer cared about his suppressing aura; he only cared about covering his body from Zhu Qinglan's view. However, as his hand reached for his black robe, he felt a cold, sharp touch behind him. It was the inescapable Will of Law, a pressure that even he could not ignore in his new realm.

  "You dare," Zhu Qinglan hissed, her voice soft but containing a deadly weight of Law, drawing everyone's attention. She had stepped closer, her pure aura clashing with Zhi Xuan's new aura. "You truly dare. You truly dare."

  Without saying anything more, Zhi Xuan, who was already grasping his robe, felt himself floating in the air, or more accurately, thrown. Of course, a gigantic hand that was the manifestation of the Law of Nature, the Earth controlled by a Five Element cultivator like Zhu Qinglan.

  The hand. Slapped his back which sent him flying into the air. No, not flying into the air, but bouncing far away. The slap, driven by the weight of the Five Element Earth Law and the pure anger of a woman who had just suffered a Dao backlash, was a miracle that transcended logic. It was not just a punch, it was the Sixth Heavenly Severance, a total severance from Zhi Xuan's Dao.

  "AAAKKHH! Damn it!"

  Zhi Xuan's roar was muffled, mixed with the sound of destruction of several Small Formations installed on the roof of a nearby pavilion. His body, which had just been forged by the Five Divine Organs and supported by the towering Devil Tree of Life, should have been able to withstand an impact like a collapsing mountain. However, the slap, motivated by Zhu Qinglan's anger, carried a weight of karma and shame that neither the Law of Heaven nor the Devil could resist.

  He flew like a thrown top, his newly grabbed black robe flapping in the air, like a banner surrendering to the storm. His flight trajectory was very dishonorable: he shot straight over the heads of Fei Sheng and Feng Yi, then crossed the jade plaza at an embarrassing speed, heading towards the area of the Main Peak enveloped by silent bamboo forests.

  Han Jue, watching with the calmness of the Golden Dragon, merely whispered, "A realm leap followed by a rapid geographical leap. A turbulent Dao."

  Wang Mao, still pale, involuntarily burst into laughter. It was the relieved laughter of a rival who saw an arrogant genius fall from a shameful height. "He... he was slapped by Holy Fairy Zhu! Even Consciousness Realm Transformation cannot withstand a woman's anger!"

  In the middle of the Refinement Pond, Zhu Qinglan stood tall. The manifestation of her gigantic jade hand had vanished, but her pure aura subtly trembled. Her eyes, as beautiful as a calm ocean, radiated a burning fire. Behind her face cover, the red blush on her cheeks became clearer. She was not angry because Zhi Xuan leaped a realm; she was angry because the man, after promising to be her Dao Protector, after causing her a Dao backlash, now refused to speak with her.

  "A disgusting phenomenon," Zhu Qinglan hissed, her soft voice now filled with a deadly cold essence. She turned away, her blue robe fluttering, walking away from the Refinement Pond without looking back, leaving all the stunned disciples in a long silence.