Chapter 172: Surging undercurrents. Yao Jun swiped his interspatial ring, taking out the remaining crystals he had gotten from the Final Fire clan people. At the same time, he also took out most of his Spirit Stones, placing them all in a circle around him. He felt somewhat pained at using up his Spirit Stones already, but he could only let out a sigh and consider it an investment for the future. With the Spirit Stones and crystals in place, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearing his mind completely. Not only was he intending on carving the third channel, he also wanted to take the chance to increase his cultivation. Reaching the 4th Houtian Sky was somewhat unlikely, but there was no problem with reaching the late stage of the 3rd Mortal Earth. Yao Jun raised his right arm, the black gate appearing in front of him, floating above the Spirit Stones as it radiated a strong pressure. Yao Jun took several deep breaths, each breath extracting more and more Qi from the Spirit Stones and crystals. All the Qi gathered in front of Yao Jun, splitting into two separate orbs, one that flew towards the back of his neck, and one that gathered in front of his chest. Yao Jun also drew upon some of the pressure that the black gate was radiating, the laws mixing together with the Qi that was gathering in front of him. He did not know if mixing the laws of his God Gate with the Qi would bring about any benefit, but he did not see any harm in trying. Yao Jun's deep and steady breathing continued, more and more Qi gathering around him, the Spirit Stones around him starting to turn dull and crack. Once he had drained half the Spirit Stones and all the crystals, he felt that he had gathered enough Qi. The orb of Qi in front of his chest shot forward, sinking into his body and flooding his veins and flesh. His body quickly became saturated, unable to contain any more Qi, but he did not stop, forcing himself to absorb more Qi. While part of his mind focused on increasing his cultivation through force, the other part of his mind connected to the second orb of Qi, turning it into a sharp spiral that stabbed into his neck. His mind shook somewhat because of the pain, hot blood starting to pour down his back, but he simply grit his teeth and endured. The nine channels of Crumbling The Nine Heaven's did not have any requirements for where they could be placed, but there were certain places where they could be placed that would let them draw out more power. One of those places was the spine, it was also the place where Yao Jun decided to carve his third channel. The drill of Qi dug into his neck, piercing into his spine, digging all the way into the marrow. Once it reached the marrow, it started to slowly spread through his spine, digging deeper into it as a horrendous pain started to spread through Yao Jun's body. The spine was one of the most important parts of the body, so how could it not be painful to have something dig its way through the spine? Despite the pain, Yao Jun did not forget to keep a close eye on the Qi that was forcing its way through the rest of his body, breaking down any barrier that tried to block it. After an unknown amount of time, the Qi that had pierced into Yao Jun's spine managed to fill up his entire spine, slowly spreading out to the rest of the bones that were connected to the spine. The pain was mind-rending, but Yao Jun endured it with bloody eyes, the blood vessels in his eyes already having exploded from the pressure, his entire body trembling as his neck bled. He had to endure the pain and resist the urge to faint, only like that could he ensure that he got stronger, making it that much easier for him to return home. He felt the Qi within his body grow weaker and weaker as it broke through the barriers that were his cultivation, so he drew out the Qi remaining within the last of the Spirit Stones, continuing the assault on his own body. As he continued to assault his own body, two small tendrils of Qi slowly extended from his body, reaching towards the black gate that was floating in front of him. One of the tendrils was the Qi that was working on raising his cultivation, while the other tendril was the one that was carving the third channel, both needed to connect with the God Gate if they were to complete their tasks. Time slowly passed while Yao Jun was hiding within the shadows, days turning to weeks, his strength slowly rising. – While Yao Jun was focusing on increasing his cultivation, there was also movement on a distant planet that looked like a blue pearl. Yao Jun would surely be able to recognize this planet, as he had seen it before when he first started to train in the Crumbling The Nine Heavens technique, it was his home. Two pieces of news quickly spread over the entire planet, shocking everyone. The first piece of news was that the Peng clan had formed an alliance with the Yao clan, ending their many years of hidden battles. And the second piece of news was that the Peng clan had formed an alliance with the Guo clan, wiping out the Yun clan in a cooperative effort. It did not take too much thought from others to realize that there were a few undercurrents surging. The Wei and Zhuang clans lowered their activity, focusing on increasing their defense, while the Demon race continued to quietly hide within the Cloud Wilderness, their actions unknown to anyone but their own spies. But even with all these undercurrents surging, there was someone that did not pay them any mind, continuing her solitary journey towards Golden Moon Town. It had already been over three months since Yao Jun was forced into a spatial rift, so Guo Luo had already managed to cover most of the remaining distance, even able to spot Golden Moon Town in the distance. Had Yao Jun been here to see here, his jaw would most certainly drop to the floor, his mind panicking as he would curse his own carelessness. Guo Luo was using illusions to cover up her own appearance, but there was one part that she was unable to completely hide, and that was her stomach, which was showing clear signs of pregnancy, bulging slightly. Guo Luo looked at the distant Golden Moon Town, a sweet smile appearing on her face. “I have almost reached them, Jun'er, soon I will be able to meet your parents.”