Clearly, this spiritual spring was a small spiritual vein, gathering extremely abundant heaven and earth spiritual energy.
"Hmm?"
Zhou Yan's gaze sharpened as he saw a palm-sized white fruit.
"This..."
He froze.
The fruit was snow-white all over, its surface radiating a misty spiritual light, like a piece of ice sculpture.
"Could this be the legendary Spiritual Milk Fruit?"
Zhou Yan's eyes burned, his breathing becoming heavy.
The Spiritual Milk Fruit was a treasure for cultivators in the Qi Refining realm.
As the name suggested, the Spiritual Milk Fruit was a rare and precious fruit formed by the condensation of spiritual spring water over countless years.
Without hesitation, he leaped up, ready to pluck the Spiritual Milk Fruit.
"Screech—"
Just then, a mournful phoenix cry suddenly resounded from deep within the mountain range, shaking the entire forest.
Immediately after, an overwhelming pressure permeated the area, blanketing everything and making the entire forest seem to descend into an apocalypse, utterly barren.
"Not good!"
Zhou Yan's pupils contracted, his pores exploded, and he felt his hair stand on end.
"This is... Nirvana Rebirth?!"
A word suddenly flashed through his mind.
Nirvana Rebirth signified a transformation of life.
In an instant, the heavens and earth cracked, and clouds and winds changed.
In the void, lightning intertwined, and electric serpents danced wildly.
A blazing pillar of light traversed the sky, descending and striking the bottom of the spiritual spring.
Following that, a deafening roar echoed from deep within the forest.
Hearing the roar, Zhou Yan's face changed drastically. He quickly rushed out of the cave, using his movement technique, and dashed towards the depths of the mountain forest.
"Bang!"
He had barely gone far when he slammed into an earthen wall, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"There's actually a formation here?"
Zhou Yan looked up and saw that the once lush trees had all withered.
The towering ancient trees seemed to have lost their nutrients, rapidly shriveling.
"This is bad! This formation is too powerful, it can't block this spiritual energy!"
Zhou Yan scanned with his divine sense, his face turning pale.
Not far in front of him, a vast lake appeared.
Within the lake, spiritual liquid surged, radiating a magnificent glow, like a brilliant Milky Way hanging in the sky.
In the spiritual liquid, floated crystal-clear water droplets the size of infant's fists, like precious gems, emitting a captivating spiritual charm.
"It's actually a Xuan-grade high-tier Spiritual Marrow Liquid!"
Zhou Yan was stunned.
He never would have imagined that such concentrated Spiritual Marrow Liquid would be nurtured at the center of this formation.
"Haha... I'm so lucky to have stumbled upon a divine-grade spiritual spring!"
Zhou Yan was overjoyed.
Spiritual Marrow Liquid was a top-grade spiritual item, worth a fortune.
A single drop of Spiritual Marrow Liquid could fetch an exorbitant price.
And now, before him was a lake, with spiritual liquid surging like tides, dense and endless.
"Gulp!"
Zhou Yan swallowed his saliva and reached out to grab the droplets of Spiritual Marrow Liquid in the center of the lake.
However, the moment he touched a wisp of Spiritual Marrow Liquid, his entire body trembled. A sharp pain spread throughout him, causing him to groan involuntarily.
"Hiss..."
Zhou Yan's face turned ashen, cold sweat pouring down his face.
He discovered that the drop of Spiritual Marrow Liquid carried a strange energy that penetrated his skin, seeped into his blood vessels, and eroded his body.
"Ah... my body hurts so much..."
He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his expression ferocious.
But soon, he calmed down again, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing.
The power of the Spiritual Marrow Liquid was not strong.
Moreover, his physical body was extremely tough and could withstand it.
Time slowly passed.
His complexion changed from rosy to ashen, his lips turning purple.
Traces of dark, clotted blood continuously flowed from the corners of his mouth.
"This poison is so potent!"
His heart pounded violently, as if it were about to burst.
However, he endured, constantly regulating his breathing, striving to squeeze the toxins from his body and expel them.
Gradually, the bone-chilling coldness receded, replaced by a scorching hot current that filled his entire body.
"Boom!"
The next moment, Zhou Yan's cultivation surged dramatically.
It was as if something within his body had been shattered.
A thick layer of grime was sprayed out from Zhou Yan's pores.
"Pfft!"
Zhou Yan spat out a large mouthful of black blood, his body wracked with pain.
However, he grinned, "Heh heh, I've finally made it through. The feeling of Nirvana Rebirth is indeed comfortable."
He wiped the blood from his lips and looked up to see that the spiritual spring had completely dried up, turning into a stagnant pool.
Near the spiritual spring, three colossal figures were locked in a fierce battle, their fight intense and earth-shattering.
"What kind of demonic beasts are those?"
Zhou Yan's eyes widened, staring at the scene before him in disbelief.
Among the three ferocious beasts, there was a giant python.
It was over a thousand meters long, with a body spanning more than a hundred meters, covered in scarlet gold scales, each as sharp as a blade. Its tail had three pairs of dragon horns, and a lotus flower grew on its head, emitting an overwhelming aura of malevolence.
Next to it, a giant tiger carried a blood-red crescent moon on its back. Its gray fur was like a blood-red armor, majestic and imposing.
Its claws were as sharp as steel blades, flashing with a captivating gleam.
A giant eagle, entirely golden, unfurled its wings, casting a shadow that blotted out the sky. Like a burning meteor, it swooped down, pouncing towards the python.
The last demonic beast was a black giant bear, dark all over, seemingly fused with the rocks. Its pair of blood-red eyes were filled with brutality, and a fierce and savage aura swept in all directions.
And at this moment, after absorbing the Spiritual Marrow Liquid, Zhou Yan's cultivation, which had been stagnant for a long time, finally broke through to the demigod realm, becoming a god in one step. The spiritual energy in the entire world seemed to have found an outlet, surging towards him madly.
This spiritual energy rampaged within his body.
"Bang!"
In his dantian, his true essence surged, instantly crushing the spiritual energy.
Immediately, he began to refine this spiritual energy.
Streams of powerful true essence poured into his limbs and bones, washing over his body.
This true essence was more than ten times more potent than before?
This was the power of a god!
Zhou Yan opened his eyes. Within his sockets, stars seemed to twinkle, emitting dazzling divine light, like two miniature suns, incredibly brilliant.
He stood in place, his figure tall and imposing, his aura formidable.
Just standing there exuded an indescribable and terrifying sense of pressure.
One move, and he could crush the three behemoths before him!
"Roar! Roar! Roar..."
The three behemoths roared, their eyes filled with terror.
"Hmm?"
But at that moment, they saw Zhou Yan.
The three pairs of eyes lit up simultaneously, filled with greed and hunger, staring intently at Zhou Yan, as if they wished they could devour him in one bite.
"Swish!"
Zhou Yan's gaze was ice-cold. Without a word, he directly struck out with his palm.