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A few moments afterwards, Liu Mei’s calm voice sounded through the air, a hint of a smile suffusing her lips as she stared at the blonde-haired beauty in front of her and asked her

”How does it feel, Xingyi? Becoming a peak rank 9 Dao King really feels different, doesn’t it?” After taking a moment to fully sense all the changes that were taking place inside her body, Xingyi couldn’t help but fall silent for a while, before eventually nodding her head and answering in a somewhat bewildered tone

”Is this what it feels like to become a peak-stage Dao King?! No wonder peak rank 9 Dao Kings are revered so much for their strength!”

As she said this, Xingyi lowered her head and tried to suppress as much as she could, the overwhelming aura that her body was now involuntarily giving out. It was just as she had just said; becoming a peak-stage Dao King was indeed vastly different compared to normal late-stage Dao Kings!

This difference wasn’t one that could be described with just a few words either!

It was only now, after reaching this stage herself, that Xingyi finally realized why peak-stage Dao Kings could roam the ‘City of Immortals’ unafraid of practically anyone and anything else in this place.

It wasn’t something as simple as merely another advancement in one’s cultivation base, but more importantly, it was due to the cumulative evolution of the strength and comprehension of the Dao that these Dao Kings experienced the moment they reached this peak!

After all, a peak rank 9 Dao King could only be considered to have truly reached the peak, only when the comprehension of their own Dao reached the peak of the Dao King realm alongside their cultivation base!

Otherwise, if one’s cultivation had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage but their comprehension of their Dao was still lacking behind it, or in some extremely rare cases where one’s comprehension of the Dao had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage but their own cultivation base had yet to catch up, those people still couldn’t be considered true peak-stage Dao Kings just yet! One needed to have attained both to claim this title!

As for Xingyi, although her cultivation had just advanced to the peak of the Dao King realm, normally, she would have needed more time for her comprehension of her ‘Dao of Shadows’ to catch up to her cultivation, before she could be considered a true peak-stage Dao King as well!

However, it just so happened, that Xingyi was the type of person whose own comprehension of her Dao outpaced her actual cultivation base!

Due to her increased affinity towards the ‘Dao of Shadows’ that she possessed thanks to her ‘Vanishing Shadows unique physique’, Xingyi’s comprehension of her Dao had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage a while ago, and was in fact, slowly edging closer towards the Dao Emperor realm by the day.

Although she was still very far away from becoming a bona fide Dao Emperor, even if she did nothing else and merely focused on consolidating her cultivation base for the following couple of years, it was only a matter of time before she eventually broke through to the Dao Emperor realm as well!

These were the benefits of being born with an extremely rare unique physique! Most cultivators had virtually no hope of catching up to someone like that… at least not without their fair share of fortuitous opportunities as well!

And now that both her qi cultivation and comprehension of her ‘Dao of Shadows’ had reached the true peak of the Dao King stage, Xingyi could finally experience the qualitative evolution that all peak-stage Dao Kings got to enjoy for themselves!

Moments later, her luscious golden hair flowed with the wind as the stunning young woman sat on the ground and closed her eyes, focusing her senses on the myriad of shadows that were present everywhere around her. Whether it was her own shadow, Liu Mei’s own, or even Shun Long’s and the others’ shadows, and even the shadows created from the countless grains of sand themselves, it seemed as if every single shadow in her vicinity was now being affected by Xingyi’s mere presence and was madly scrambling to get closer towards her, as if the shadows themselves were trying to embrace the beautiful young woman and protect her, hiding her beneath their dark veil.

Staring at this peculiar scene in front of them, Liu Mei and the others remained quiet for a few moments as they observed everything in silence, before Jiang Chen eventually nodded his head and commented in a calm tone

”Back when I was a kid, when my father used to teach me the basics of cultivation, he constantly emphasized the importance of the Dao King realm and building a strong foundation before ever trying to become a Dao Emperor! He always pointed out, that only those cultivators who had reached the absolute peak of rank 9 in the Dao King realm were qualified to roam through the central continent with a certain degree of safety, without actually risking their lives at every twist and turn they faced!”

Jiang Chen’s voice then trailed off momentarily, as his deep black eyes stared intently at the hundreds of shadows that had already wrapped themselves around Xingyi’s body and were slowly turning darker and darker with every passing moment, as if the shadows themselves were gradually turning even deeper and more pronounced as time passed, before the devilishly handsome young man narrowed his eyes and continued speaking

”…And the reason behind this all, is due to this powerful aura that all peak-stage Dao Kings naturally exude when they finally reach the peak… the aura of a pseudo-Dao Emperor!”

Turning his head to look at the taciturn Liu Mei just a few meters away from him, Jiang Chen’s expression didn’t change, but his voice turned slightly more serious as he continued

”Half a year ago, during your breakthrough to the peak of rank 9, I couldn’t understand why your aura was so deadly that I couldn’t get a good feel for it even from a distance away, but now I finally do!”

In the next moment however, just as Jiang Chen’s voice trailed off and disappeared into the distance, Liu Mei who was curious to hear the rest of his explanation suddenly frowned while her gaze abruptly turned cold and unfeeling, before the ground beneath her feet suddenly started to violently shake!

At the same time, Shun Long who was just about to sit down and continue his secluded cultivation widened his eyes, before an incredulous expression quickly found its way to his face shortly afterwards, as a single thought coursed through his mind

”There is actually someone brave enough to attack my ‘Five-elements protective formation’?”

A few moments afterwards, Liu Mei’s calm voice sounded through the air, a hint of a smile suffusing her lips as she stared at the blonde-haired beauty in front of her and asked her

”How does it feel, Xingyi? Becoming a peak rank 9 Dao King really feels different, doesn’t it?” After taking a moment to fully sense all the changes that were taking place inside her body, Xingyi couldn’t help but fall silent for a while, before eventually nodding her head and answering in a somewhat bewildered tone

”Is this what it feels like to become a peak-stage Dao King?! No wonder peak rank 9 Dao Kings are revered so much for their strength!”

As she said this, Xingyi lowered her head and tried to suppress as much as she could, the overwhelming aura that her body was now involuntarily giving out. It was just as she had just said; becoming a peak-stage Dao King was indeed vastly different compared to normal late-stage Dao Kings!

This difference wasn’t one that could be described with just a few words either!

It was only now, after reaching this stage herself, that Xingyi finally realized why peak-stage Dao Kings could roam the ‘City of Immortals’ unafraid of practically anyone and anything else in this place.

It wasn’t something as simple as merely another advancement in one’s cultivation base, but more importantly, it was due to the cumulative evolution of the strength and comprehension of the Dao that these Dao Kings experienced the moment they reached this peak!

After all, a peak rank 9 Dao King could only be considered to have truly reached the peak, only when the comprehension of their own Dao reached the peak of the Dao King realm alongside their cultivation base!

Otherwise, if one’s cultivation had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage but their comprehension of their Dao was still lacking behind it, or in some extremely rare cases where one’s comprehension of the Dao had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage but their own cultivation base had yet to catch up, those people still couldn’t be considered true peak-stage Dao Kings just yet! One needed to have attained both to claim this title!

As for Xingyi, although her cultivation had just advanced to the peak of the Dao King realm, normally, she would have needed more time for her comprehension of her ‘Dao of Shadows’ to catch up to her cultivation, before she could be considered a true peak-stage Dao King as well!

However, it just so happened, that Xingyi was the type of person whose own comprehension of her Dao outpaced her actual cultivation base!

Due to her increased affinity towards the ‘Dao of Shadows’ that she possessed thanks to her ‘Vanishing Shadows unique physique’, Xingyi’s comprehension of her Dao had already reached the peak of the Dao King stage a while ago, and was in fact, slowly edging closer towards the Dao Emperor realm by the day.

Although she was still very far away from becoming a bona fide Dao Emperor, even if she did nothing else and merely focused on consolidating her cultivation base for the following couple of years, it was only a matter of time before she eventually broke through to the Dao Emperor realm as well!

These were the benefits of being born with an extremely rare unique physique! Most cultivators had virtually no hope of catching up to someone like that… at least not without their fair share of fortuitous opportunities as well!

And now that both her qi cultivation and comprehension of her ‘Dao of Shadows’ had reached the true peak of the Dao King stage, Xingyi could finally experience the qualitative evolution that all peak-stage Dao Kings got to enjoy for themselves!

Moments later, her luscious golden hair flowed with the wind as the stunning young woman sat on the ground and closed her eyes, focusing her senses on the myriad of shadows that were present everywhere around her. Whether it was her own shadow, Liu Mei’s own, or even Shun Long’s and the others’ shadows, and even the shadows created from the countless grains of sand themselves, it seemed as if every single shadow in her vicinity was now being affected by Xingyi’s mere presence and was madly scrambling to get closer towards her, as if the shadows themselves were trying to embrace the beautiful young woman and protect her, hiding her beneath their dark veil.

Staring at this peculiar scene in front of them, Liu Mei and the others remained quiet for a few moments as they observed everything in silence, before Jiang Chen eventually nodded his head and commented in a calm tone

”Back when I was a kid, when my father used to teach me the basics of cultivation, he constantly emphasized the importance of the Dao King realm and building a strong foundation before ever trying to become a Dao Emperor! He always pointed out, that only those cultivators who had reached the absolute peak of rank 9 in the Dao King realm were qualified to roam through the central continent with a certain degree of safety, without actually risking their lives at every twist and turn they faced!”

Jiang Chen’s voice then trailed off momentarily, as his deep black eyes stared intently at the hundreds of shadows that had already wrapped themselves around Xingyi’s body and were slowly turning darker and darker with every passing moment, as if the shadows themselves were gradually turning even deeper and more pronounced as time passed, before the devilishly handsome young man narrowed his eyes and continued speaking

”…And the reason behind this all, is due to this powerful aura that all peak-stage Dao Kings naturally exude when they finally reach the peak… the aura of a pseudo-Dao Emperor!”

Turning his head to look at the taciturn Liu Mei just a few meters away from him, Jiang Chen’s expression didn’t change, but his voice turned slightly more serious as he continued

”Half a year ago, during your breakthrough to the peak of rank 9, I couldn’t understand why your aura was so deadly that I couldn’t get a good feel for it even from a distance away, but now I finally do!”

In the next moment however, just as Jiang Chen’s voice trailed off and disappeared into the distance, Liu Mei who was curious to hear the rest of his explanation suddenly frowned while her gaze abruptly turned cold and unfeeling, before the ground beneath her feet suddenly started to violently shake!

At the same time, Shun Long who was just about to sit down and continue his secluded cultivation widened his eyes, before an incredulous expression quickly found its way to his face shortly afterwards, as a single thought coursed through his mind

”There is actually someone brave enough to attack my ‘Five-elements protective formation’?”