The powerful pressure of the ninth Heavenstage of Foundation Forging erupted, causing the heavens to shake.

Seeing Long Chen advance properly, the Seventh Boss finally sighed with relief, a weight falling from his shoulders. This method of Long Chen’s had been too dangerous.

However, as Long Chen’s aura continued to rise, the pressure grew stronger until the Seventh Boss began to frown.

“Nine is the limit, the peak. But his aura…” The Seventh Boss looked at Long Chen suspiciously.

According to reason, once a person reached the ninth Heavenstage of Foundation Forging, their aura should become extremely steady and stable. It wouldn’t be as turbulent as Long Chen’s.

For normal people, in the first Heavenstage, they would condense nine original runes and form a foundation.

In the second Heavenstage, they would condense eight runes into a slightly smaller foundation and solidly establish it on the first foundation. The third Heavenstage condensed seven runes, the fourth Heavenstage six runes… Then the ninth Heavenstage would condense one supreme rune into the peak.

This final rune would link up with the foundation of the nine original runes at the bottom to form an extremely stable structure. That was called the immortal platform.

Foundation Forging was the process of creating this immortal platform. The final rune sealed the whole platform, so once it was condensed, the immortal platform would be complete, and a person’s aura would naturally stabilize.

But Long Chen had clearly reached the ninth Heavenstage, yet his aura was fluctuating fiercely. It didn’t show any sign of that stabilization.

Suddenly, the sky shook as Long Chen finished his breakthrough. He looked at his own hands with disbelief.

“This power…”

Long Chen felt like he had completely transformed. His body was brimming with power. Even without using any spiritual yuan, he felt like he could destroy mountains with just a punch.

Long Chen beat his own chest with his fists, causing thunderous sounds to shake the air. This feeling told Long Chen that he wasn’t dreaming.

He had advanced from the fifth Heavenstage all the way to the ninth Heavenstage. And through the divine pool, his physical body had been strengthened as well. His body had reached an unprecedented strength, and despite the increase in his cultivation base, he didn’t feel the slightest bit like his cultivation base was out of his control. In other words, with his current physical body, he was more than capable of using the power of his powerful cultivation base.

The 108,000 immortal platforms were full of energy, but Long Chen found that the FengFu, Alioth, Life Fate, and Enlightenment Palace Stars had all changed slightly. And yet, he was unable to clearly say what the difference was.

The only major difference was that four whirlpools had appeared in his four qi seas, causing their energy to form an infinite cycle with his 108,000 immortal platforms.

Other people’s immortal platforms gradually shrank to the top, making them wider at the bottom than the top. But Long Chen’s immortal platforms were cylindrical. Each of them contained immense power. Each one of them was like a volcano that Long Chen could cause to erupt with a thought.

Long Chen was beating his own chest when suddenly a fist landed on his body, causing his organs to flip inside him. He shot out like a shooting star.

He blew apart a stone pavilion in the distance and continued tumbling back before stabilizing himself.

“Not bad, not bad, this fist was able to break your bones before, but now you don’t even cough up blood.” The Seventh Boss stood in the air, nodding in praise. This punch had come from him.

Long Chen’s physical body had become so strong that even he was shocked. He had used the same power in this punch as when he had first shattered every bone in Long Chen’s body. Even though Long Chen hadn’t been on guard at all, he only suffered a completely insignificant injury.

Long Chen was also shocked at the Seventh Boss’s power. Although his aura clearly showed that his cultivation base was only at the Soul Transformation, his actual power was terrifying.

Those ancient races’ Soul Transformation experts weren’t even close to the same level when compared with the Seventh Boss. They weren’t even fit to carry his shoes.

Long Chen looked at the Heaven Earth Divine Pool and suddenly saw that it was empty. His heart shook, and he was just about to speak when the Seventh Boss grabbed him. The two of them vanished.

When they reappeared, they were at the peak of a mountain. Terrifying wind blades ruthlessly cut at Long Chen’s body.

Even with his new power, Long Chen felt pain from these wind blades. Tiny cuts appeared all over his body. But he was able to endure it.

At the peak of the mountain, inside of a wooden room, there was an elder sitting lotus-style. His white hair fell naturally, and his sword-like eyebrows pointed toward the sky. His eyes were electric, and although he was simply sitting there, Long Chen felt like a god was staring at him. His heart pounded. This was a terrifying existence.

Behind the elder were six large men with broadswords on their backs. All of them had bare arms and bulging muscles. It was like they were about to explode.

These men looked to be in their forties or fifties. They were all square-jawed, direct men. The Seventh Boss now lined up amongst them.

Long Chen suddenly realized that this Seventh Boss was called so because he was the seventh in terms of seniority here.

None of them spoke. They simply stared at Long Chen, their gazes like blades. It was like they wanted to see through him.

In front of the staring of this many terrifying experts, Long Chen’s scalp turned numb. The pressure was great.

But Long Chen couldn’t act like a coward. He stared back at them stubbornly. Staring one against eight put him at a disadvantage, but he was still able to do it. He supposed that it counted as holding his own, one against eight.

“Little bastard, eat my fist!”

Suddenly, the large man standing on the very left sent out a punch at Long Chen.

Long Chen was shocked. The power behind this fist made his hair stand on end. He definitely couldn’t take it. He tried to dodge. As this fist didn’t contain any locking power, he could move.

But even once he was a dozen meters away, for some reason, the fist was still in front of him. It was like his dodging was nothing more than a misperception. The fist was actually impossible to dodge.

BOOM!

Long Chen flew back, pain wracking his body. He felt like his body was about to collapse. He was shocked and infuriated. These fellows were truly uncivilized.

“This fist is your punishment for not returning home even after arriving in the Central Plains for so long. You didn’t treat the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect as your home,” said that person furiously. He then once more smashed out a fist.

Long Chen was just about to defend, but while that punch looked slow, it somehow struck him before he could do anything, smashing into his chest. He once more vomited blood and flew back.

“This fist is to punish you for running into a crisis and not asking your family for help. You don’t view us as your family.” That man’s whole face darkened, showing how angry he was.

These two punches didn’t cause Long Chen to feel any resentment. Instead, he sniffed emotionally. He hadn’t thought that the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect which he had yet to properly greet would treat him like this.

“This third fist…”

“Wait, if you hit me again, you’ll regret it!” Long Chen suddenly took out a foot-tall wine jug.

“Hmph, you think an insignificant jug of wine can threaten me? Wait, could it be that this wine comes from the Wine God Palace…?”

The Wine God Palace’s wine was famous within the Central Plains. But the Wine God Palace didn’t sell it, and if you wanted to drink it, you had to receive the approval of the Wine God Palace.

Experts longing for fine wine viewed it as extraordinarily precious. When they drank it, they would savor every drop.

The Heaven Splitting Battle Sect had no relationship with the Wine God Palace, while their people were all explosive and violent, making it so there was no way they would lower themselves to beg for wine. That was why they had long since heard of the Wine God Palace’s wine but had yet to try any.

Gulp.

An audible gulp rang out in the air. Long Chen was truly evil. He used spiritual yuan to protect the jug from the wind blades, but he intentionally allowed a single wind blade to cut through the top, unleashing a burst of fragrance. All these peak experts had sharp senses, and they were also people who loved wine. They involuntarily swallowed their saliva.

“Hmph, you want to buy me with a single jug of wine? You’re looking down on me! It would take… it would take at least two jugs!” That person stuck out two fingers.

After saying that, this person was sent flying by a kick. It was done by the old man. The person he kicked was the boss of the seven people, and he also had an even more domineering name: Head Boss.

After kicking him to the side, the old man looked at Long Chen. “Child, you must remember that our Heaven Splitting Battle Sect is very simple. Since we’ve permitted you to use Split the Heavens, we view you as family. But you don’t view us as family back, which is hurtful. You’re still young, so I can forgive this mistake once. But just once. I won’t allow it a second time.”

The old man’s eyes shone with a warning light. Long Chen realized many things from that look. Ashamed, he said, “Junior knows his wrongs.”

Long Chen rarely admitted his mistakes, but this time was different. After admitting it, he felt more at peace and emotional.

He now fully understood what kind of people the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect’s men were. They were truly odd people, but this kind of emotion was very sincere.

Long Chen had struggled in the Xuantian Dao Sect for a long time before fully trusting Li Tianxuan. But in the Heaven Splitting Battle Sect, he instantly felt absolute trust. That was what made him the most emotional.

“That person you killed in the Eastern Wasteland was nothing more than a traitor with an impure heart. He was a disgrace to our Heaven Splitting Battle Sect. However, he was nothing more than an accident. Our inner sect disciples are all pure-hearted children. They will be your brothers in the future, while we are your elders. No matter what kind of trouble you cause outside, as long as you stand on the side of reason, then even if the heavens collapse, I will hold them up for you. But if you encounter danger and don’t ask for help from your family, that’s innately a lack of trust. If such a thing happens again, I will no longer acknowledge you as a disciple,” warned the old man gravely.

“Old man, that’s about enough. Long Chen has already admitted his wrongs, so why keep nagging him? Child, come. This wine jug is too heavy, so let Head Boss carry it for you. I wouldn’t want your hand to get tired.” The Head Boss had finished scolding Long Chen and now reached out for Long Chen’s wine jug.

But he had only started reaching out when the old man sent him flying with a slap. He furiously cursed, “You damn shameless bastard!”