Cultivation System: Stronger with Age Chapter 284 - 141: With a Single Breath, He Can Annihilate a Hundred from the Ninth Layer, What Layer Is He Exactly?_2

"Even if he had hundreds of Profound Truth Jades on him, he wouldn’t have time to absorb True Qi. After all, his Realm was a limiting factor; a Sixth Layer Cultivator’s absorption rate was nowhere near that of a Ninth Layer Cultivator!"

Third Princess Xiaoo Ying’Er furrowed her brows. For a moment, the Third Princess of Great Xia, her delicate face full of doubt, began to question the accuracy of her Blood Bath Divine Skill.

However, a glint of hope soon flickered in her eyes. "Over two hundred steps! Mr. Mu has walked over two hundred steps! Doesn’t this mean there’s a slight chance he might finish all three hundred steps and touch that Celestial Demon Bone?"

Guan Nanfeng froze upon hearing this, frowning in contemplation. Remembering that he had once indirectly objected to Mu Shiba becoming a Tributor at the Princess’s Mansion, the steward’s face grew somewhat unsightly.

With this thought, Guan Nanfeng’s eyes flickered.

「In the near distance,」

Among nearly a thousand powerful cultivators, General Wang Linghui, who had previously advanced the farthest, said, his expression shifting, "This distance... it must be around two hundred and thirty steps! He actually walked this far!? Based on my recent experience within the Demon Qi Group, I fear that even if I were to advance to the Ninth Layer, I still wouldn’t be able to reach such a distance! What on earth is this Mu Shiba’s Cultivation? Is he at the late stage or Perfection of the Ninth Layer?"

"It may not necessarily be his Realm, but rather extraordinary Talent?" Little Yu King couldn’t help but interject, "Mr. Mu Shiba’s strength should be at the Sixth Layer! Or perhaps he possesses some Treasure or a unique Talent?"

"Impossible!" General Yu Jiansheng stated decisively. "No Treasure in this world can withstand the annihilation brought by Celestial Demon Qi—not even Exorcism Armor! This Mu Shiba must be hiding his true strength. Changge, don’t make wild guesses!"

Han Li, longsword on his back, mused aloud, "If Mu Shiba is a Ninth Layer Cultivator, then which powerhouse from the Great Xia Summer List is he disguised as? Most Ninth Layer powerhouses in our Great Xia Dynasty already possess a Celestial Demon Bone, and since a Cultivator can only merge with one, most of the Summer List’s Ninth Layer powerhouses wouldn’t be here. Of the remaining dozen or so Ninth Layer powerhouses..."

Han Li paused, and the crowd immediately began to speculate.

"Sect Leader Huang Qiexie of the Fire Cloud Sect in the Southern Border reached the Ninth Layer twelve years ago and hasn’t merged with a Celestial Demon Bone. But when Sect Leader Huang activates his True Qi, his entire body emits flame-like True Qi. Mu Shiba shouldn’t be Sect Leader Huang!"

"Could it be Sect Master Zhou Qianchong of the Earth Armor Sect in the Southern Border? But Sect Master Zhou has long, jade-green hair and is famously proud of it. He wouldn’t disguise himself as someone else, let alone dye his hair black!"

"Or could it be Elder Dugu Jiu, the Independent Cultivator from the Eastern Six Prefectures? It’s rumored his Abnormal Technique comes from a Demon Sect in the Rakshasa Kingdom, and he excels in various Poison Techniques, Disguise Techniques, and Puppetry... Given Mu Shiba’s proficiency in refining Spirit Puppets, perhaps he is Elder Dugu Jiu!"

"If he is indeed the elusive Elder Dugu Jiu, we must certainly try to connect with him this time!" Han Li couldn’t help but exclaim.

Eighth Layer Powerhouse Yang Luochen shook his head. "Even if he isn’t Elder Dugu Jiu, what does it matter? Any Cultivator who obtains a Celestial Demon Bone is worth befriending! Every Celestial Demon Bone represents a Secret Realm that can expand over time, which is equivalent to a Little World!"

General Wang Linghui agreed, "Exactly! Especially since this Celestial Demon Bone before us is likely a Third Layer Celestial Demon Bone. That means it’s not just a Little World issue—the Ba Mountain Secret Realm could eventually grow to a size comparable to one-fifth of Great Xia’s entire territory!"

In the crowd, Little Yu King quietly shook his head upon hearing this.

Amid the crowd’s discussion, Third Princess Xiaoo Ying’Er, standing not far from the Demon Qi Group, watched the sphere of light intently. Her fair hands were clenched, and her expression grew increasingly tense. She knew very well that the Celestial Demon Bone before them was definitely not Third Layer. The closer to the center, the denser the Demon Qi became. Mu Shiba seemed to have walked over two hundred and eighty steps; he was just over ten steps away!

But these final ten-odd steps were harder than all the previous two hundred combined, requiring more than ten times the effort—perhaps even dozens of times more!

To walk three hundred steps... even failing to complete the very last one could result in failure, leading to immediate annihilation of body and soul!

「At the very center of the Demon Qi Group,」

Lin Xuankong moved with extreme difficulty, each step a monumental effort. He was now only ten steps away!

Here, the pressure from the Demon Qi increased dramatically. It took him four or five breaths to take a single step, and with every breath, the Demon Qi annihilated nearly ten thousand points of his True Qi!

Lin Xuankong glanced at the rapidly changing numbers on his Life Plate, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.