As they spoke, the Jianmu tree inside Hugh No-Return's divine treasury had already broken through the Seven Stars Treasury and the Heaven-Man Treasury in succession. The overwhelming pressure was so great that Hugh's skin began to show signs of shattering, like a porcelain vessel covered in cracks!
His blood was compressed into an extremely fine mist, enveloping his whole body in a shroud of blood vapor.
Meanwhile, his body became extremely gaunt—his height unchanged, but so thin he was just skin and bones. From within came the sounds of snapping, crisp like arrows fired from a taut crossbow.
"It sounds like his meridians are snapping..."
Jing Yan's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Selena and whispered, "If his meridians snap, his bones won't be able to hold out. When Jianmu breaks through the Life-and-Death Treasury, he won't be able to endure it..."
Selena frowned and sighed, "The experiment has failed. Even someone as physically strong as Brother Hugh can't withstand this kind of pressure. Maybe Cult Master Quinn could—I've noticed his body has become even stronger lately, no weaker than Hugh's. Plus, he's a master of Creation-Dao; maybe he could handle such overwhelming force..."
Jing Yan whispered, "Dear, Brother Hugh is about to die, and you still have time to think about this? That Warfist Celestial Teacher has been staring at you, and even Old Ox doesn't look friendly."
Selena remained full of confidence—at least, confidence in Quinn. She said, "Cult Master is a master of Creation-Dao; he won't let Brother Hugh die. In this world, the only one who can keep up with my thinking is him."
At that moment, Jianmu's roots finally broke through to Youdu, connecting to the Life-and-Death Treasury!
At the same time, Quinn finally made his move.
He moved in a blur, his figure leaving a string of afterimages as he circled Hugh No-Return. His arms danced, ten fingers flickering, sending a continuous stream of Creation runes from his fingertips—like leaping musical notes—pouring into Hugh's body.
Those Creation runes didn't just enter Hugh's flesh to repair his physical injuries—they also burrowed into his divine treasuries and his Primordial Spirit.
The Creation runes mended the cracks in Hugh's divine treasuries and Primordial Spirit, sustaining his Spirit Embryo and soul.
Jing Yan stared, dumbfounded, at the scene. Selena smiled at her, "The Cult Master and I only became friends after fighting each other. He knows me deeply, and I him. If we joined forces, we could even take on gods and demons."
A faint sourness and jealousy rose in Jing Yan's heart, but she suddenly realized, "My husband and Cult Master Quinn are both men—why am I jealous of Quinn?"
The crushing force on Hugh's body grew ever stronger, yet under Quinn's Creation-Dao protection, he actually managed to withstand it.
"Once the Jianmu Divine Bridge connects all the divine treasuries, they can be unified as one."
Selena's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Once they're unified, Brother Hugh's cultivation and power will soar—his Primordial Spirit, body, and treasuries will all progress at an astonishing rate! The Innate Jianmu Divine Bridge is a success!"
Quinn stopped, all his afterimages whooshing back into his body as he watched Hugh No-Return intently.
Old Farmer and Old Ox also stared nervously at the motionless Hugh. Old Farmer clenched his fists, while Old Ox reared up, putting his hooves to his mouth and gnawing anxiously at them.
Dragon Qilin pawed anxiously at the ground, quickly digging out a deep pit.
Hugh No-Return stood there unmoving for a long time. Suddenly, the blood mist swirling around him surged and poured back into his body.
The area around him instantly cleared.
His aura began to soar rapidly, his yuanqi growing wilder and his Primordial Spirit becoming ever more stable. The air around him twisted into a vortex, swirling faster and faster, expanding outward in a frenzy!
Jingyan lost her footing, her dress billowing as she was pulled toward Hugh No-Return.
Her cultivation was weaker than the others.
Victor Bloom quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Hugh No-Return’s aura kept growing stronger. The World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge fused all his Divine Treasuries into one unified treasury. As the World-Bridge Tree reached its limit, it forcibly squeezed out an entirely new treasury—the Divine Bridge Treasury!
Like every other martialist in War-Ox Realm, Hugh No-Return had never possessed a Divine Bridge Treasury—until now, when the crown of the World-Bridge Tree formed it for him!
This was the main reason his cultivation base skyrocketed so abruptly!
Old Farmer was finally moved.
He had been trapped in War-Ox Realm for twenty thousand years, all to solve the problem of his people lacking the Divine Bridge Treasury—and thus being unable to ascend to the Heaven Palace.
His solution was to have the War-Ox people cultivate martial Dao, enter Dao through martial arts, and let their Primordial Spirits ascend to the Heaven Palace.
Yet in twenty thousand years, no one had ever truly achieved this. Even those who managed to enter Dao through martial arts could not ascend like Old Farmer.
Those who entered Dao through martial arts always lost their power partway through ascension; their Primordial Spirits fell into Youdu, their bodies and Dao perished.
Hugh No-Return was the only young martialist in recent years to enter Dao in this way. Quinn Shepherd’s sudden appearance enabled him to do it—making Hugh the most promising candidate to replicate Old Farmer’s path.
Yet even so, the odds of Hugh No-Return actually ascending to the Heaven Palace remained vanishingly small.
The Woodcutter Sage was right: Warfist Celestial Teacher was the greatest martial artist of all time, unmatched by anyone. Hugh No-Return might have hope, but the gap was enormous.
In fact, Old Farmer hadn’t thought much of Victor Bloom, whom Quinn Shepherd praised so highly. Just now, he’d even considered killing Victor with one punch and then Quinn with the next. But now, Victor and Quinn had joined forces, and with a dazzling series of maneuvers, they’d made a Divine Bridge Treasury appear out of thin air for Hugh No-Return!
Hugh No-Return finally possessed a seventh Divine Treasury!
Not only that, Hugh No-Return's seven Divine Treasuries were fused into one, creating an unprecedented treasury!
This achievement might even surpass Old Farmer!
His eyes suddenly grew moist, old tears blurred his vision. In the Kaihuang Era, there was also a group of young people, just as active and full of strange ideas as Quinn and Victor are now, wanting to change the era and bring a better life to the people, wanting to advance Dao and divine arts.
Those people died, fled, hid away, some lost themselves in debauchery, some became stone statues battered by wind and rain.
But recalling those years, Old Farmer's heart burned with hot blood!
"Brother Hugh, you just broke through to the Divine Bridge Realm—it's best to steady yourself a bit more."
Quinn saw Hugh's Primordial Spirit step onto the World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge, intending to cross the bridge and charge into the Heaven Palace. He immediately said, "Your realm is unstable right now. If you ascend to the Heaven Palace immediately, your understanding of the Divine Bridge Realm will be insufficient. Even if you succeed, there will be flaws."
Hugh's aura was still rising, his cultivation growing deeper and more terrifying.
Now his cultivation had already surpassed most Divine Bridge Realm experts, but in Quinn's view, he could become even stronger!
Old Farmer said in a low voice, "Quinn is right. No-Return, don't rush. You need to comprehend the Divine Bridge Realm for a few years, then ascend—it will be much better. If you force your way into the Heaven Palace now, your future achievements will be capped at the High Heaven Hall, and you'll never reach the Emperor's Throne."
Hugh's Primordial Spirit halted, gazing at the South Heaven Gate of the Heaven Palace, his heart surging with emotion.
In the end, his martial Primordial Spirit stepped down from the World-Bridge Tree, standing beneath it.
"Thank you, Brother Victor, and Brother Quinn, for remaking me!" He bowed to them.
Quinn and Victor hurriedly returned the bow. Selena smiled, "Brother Hugh, High Heaven Academy has just been founded and we're short on staff. Are you interested in becoming our sacrificial wine (dean) and teaching students?"
Hugh No-Return readily agreed: "Sure!"
Quinn said softly, "Heaven and earth Dao has changed."
Everyone stood quietly, sensing the subtle changes in heaven and earth Dao. A single treasury now reaches the Heaven Palace—an achievement never seen before, a tremendous reform, more important than Primordial Spirit Guidance or the Eighteenth Sword Form. Only when Quinn resurrected Lady Umbral did Dao change so much.
This time, the change in Dao was silent, with no dramatic omens or phenomena, unnoticed by the masses. Yet anyone who has entered Dao could sense it from anywhere in the universe.
Old Farmer was stunned, then snorted, "Your Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge can only help someone with Hugh No-Return's foundation. No one else could cultivate it. Besides Hugh, no one can succeed. The World-Bridge Tree is troublesome, requires high-level numerology, and a Creation-Dao master like Quinn to help. It can't be popularized."
Victor frowned. What Old Farmer said was precisely the flaw of the Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge. Even though Hugh mastered it, Victor and Quinn's roles were even greater.
Without Victor and Quinn's help, he could never have succeeded.
Victor and Quinn are both the same type—they'd never stick around to help others cultivate the World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge. They prefer to create the art and leave it for others.
So it needs a bit of modification.
Quinn's eyes sparkled with wisdom. He said quickly, "The Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge uses Dao-heart demon-seed. I think we can modify it so practitioners start planting the World-Bridge Tree from the Spirit Embryo Realm. The tree would grow as the practitioner advances, breaking through each treasury layer by layer. That way, the danger is much less."
Victor's eyes lit up and he clapped. "So we need to revise the scripture. But I'm not that skilled at modifying arts—Cult Master, I need your help."
I'm definitely the best in the world at modifying arts.
Quinn said without humility, "When you planted the World-Bridge Tree sapling for Hugh, I already understood most of the Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge. There are some details I don't get. Victor, explain in detail and I'll see how to modify it."
Victor described the Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge in full, skipping the numerology model—Quinn was already a numerology expert.
The two huddled together, walking back and forth, discussing heatedly, leaving the others aside.
Old Farmer couldn't understand a word, nor could Hugh or Old Ox. They could only stare at each other.
Selena was helpless, thinking, "Once those two start researching, there's no one else in their hearts."
This time, Quinn led the discussion. His thinking was quick and only Victor could keep up. Victor was more meticulous, making up for Quinn's shortcomings.
They soon finalized the revised Innate World-Bridge Tree Divine Bridge, each calculating several times to fix flaws.
Victor glanced at the confused Hugh and felt moved. He whispered, "Cult Master, I thought Brother Hugh was a Tyrant Body because of his strength, but he's not."
Quinn smiled, "I saw long ago he wasn't a Tyrant Body. He's simple-minded and focused, only cultivating martial Dao—not as clever as us."
The two nodded in tacit understanding.
Victor's eyes flashed. "Now, Quinn, can you admit defeat to me? Who's the female, who's the male—we should have an answer by now?"
Quinn chuckled, squinting his eyes. "I'm no match for the wisdom of so many people. I admit defeat."
Victor raised his eyebrows. "So many people?"
Quinn said leisurely, "If you hadn't invited Woodcutter Teacher, Starhound, Lin Xuan and the others, and created this art yourself, I'd admit I'm the female Tyrant Body and you're the male. But you borrowed their wisdom to match me, so you're still a bit behind. Even so, Victor, you're already remarkable—not inferior to me!"
Victor snorted.