Chapter 1957: King of Shadows . . .
"Master...," Huang Xiaolong greeted.
A smile appeared on the King of Grandmist's face, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment. "You're back."
In fact, he had known that Huang Xiaolong had returned the moment they had stepped into the Grandmist Galaxy.
When they arrived before the King of Grandmist, Huang Xiaolong introduced everyone to his master. Huang Peng, Su Yan, Shi Xiaofei, Fang Xuanxuan, Peng Xiao, and the others got to their knees to greet the old man.
However, the King of Grandmist waved his hand and pulled everyone to their feet.
He turned to look at Huang Peng and Su Yan before laughing, "You're Xiaolong's parents. I'm his master. We belong to the same generation, so there is no need for you to greet me!"
Huang Peng and Su Yan felt their bodies shaking when they heard what he said.
The King of Grandmist was the master of the Grandmist Emperor! Even if Heavenly Emperor Di Jun were to see the King of Grandmist, he would need to pay his respects as a junior! They felt that Heavenly Gods like them couldn't accept the King of Grandmist's favor!
Huang Peng and Su Yan turned to stare at Huang Xiaolong. However, he nodded his head and laughed. "Let's do as master says."
Before long, the King of Grandmist brought everyone to the main palace, and laughter echoed through the air as they made their way there. When they saw how easygoing the King of Grandmist was, Shi Xiaofei and the other ladies heaved a sigh of relief.
"Master, how's the little cow doing?" Huang Xiaolong asked.
"She's still in the Grandmist Pool. Her soul has suffered from serious injuries, so she wasn't able to return to her peak state in a short amount of time. But looking at her current speed of her recovery, she'll be able to return to her peak state soon."
Huang Xiaolong nodded his head.
Huang Xiaolong started to inquire about Li Lu and Yao Chi. Ever since they had swallowed the Grandmist Fruit, they had been refining it non-stop. Even though the King of Granmist had laid down a formation to accelerate the time around the two ladies, it would take several hundred years before they would be able to completely refine the fruit.
When they arrived in the main palace, the King of Grandmist made arrangements for their lodgings before arranging people to bring them around.
The King of Grandmist brought Huang Xiaolong towards one of the courtyards in the palace.
"Master, I heard that Di Jun and Di Jing have managed to invite an expert. They might be making preparations to deal with you." Huang Xiaolong paused for a moment before continuing, "Do you know the old monster's origins?"
The King of Grandmist nodded his head. "I knew about that long ago. Actually, the old monster might be related to you."
"Me?" Huang Xiaolong was shocked.
"The old monster is called the King of Shadows. In the past, he challenged your master, the King of Hell, for the position. When he lost, he disappeared from the world. I never expected Di Jun to be able to invite him out of seclusion." The King of Grandmist sighed. "I can't estimate his strength right now. He hasn't made a move for the past ten million years. In the past, he wasn't my opponent. If nothing unexpected has happened, he shouldn't be my match."
Huang Xiaolong finally relaxed after hearing the King of Grandmist's assurance.
After thinking about it, Huang Xiaolong pulled an item out, and a blinding light filled the courtyard.
When the King of Grandmist saw the item in Huang Xiaolong's hand, his jaws dropped. "This... Three Lives Flower?!"
Even though the King of Grandmist had seen his fair share of treasures and priceless spiritual herbs, his heart shook when he saw the Three Lives Flower in Huang Xiaolong's hand. When the Buddhist Ancestor from the Buddha World had obtained one of those in the past, he had never heard of a second one appearing in the world.
Huang Xiaolong nodded his head. "I managed to grab this in the Nine Yin Corpse Tribe. I had always been reluctant to refine it. Master, you should refine this Three Lives Flower."
The King of Grandmist stared at the flower in shock. However, he shook his head eventually. "The Three Lives Flower is a treasure of nature. Even if I refine one of them now, I'll only be able to increase my strength by a little. I won't be able to fully utilize the Three Lives Flower. In fact, it will be extremely useful for you. You have to hold on to it. When you arrive at the peak of the late-Tenth Order Emperor Realm and decide to break into the Sovereign Realm, refine it. You will definitely be able to break through."
Huang Xiaolong was shocked. "The Three Lives Flower can increase my chances of breaking into the Sovereign Realm?"
"That's right. In the past, the Buddhist Ancestor managed to break into the Sovereign Realm after refining the Three Lives Flower. The rumor about the Three Lives Flower doubling the chances of breakthrough started to spread because of him. Even though we can't prove that we can be sure that the chances of breakthrough can be increased." The King of Grandmist continued, "As for by how much the chances can be increased, it will probably depend on the individual."
Huang Xiaolong celebrated in his heart. He rejoiced that he hadn't refined the Three Lives Flower in order to increase his strength when he was still in the Emperor Realm. Otherwise, he would really have wasted a heavenly treasure. It would be too late for regrets if that happened.
"Master, I've heard from the Dragon Bear Race's ancestor, Cang Mutian, that there is a high-level Sovereign Realm expert present in the great universe. Is it really so difficult to break through to a high-level Sovereign? What level are you at right now?" Huang Xiaolong was extremely curious, and he really wanted to know the answer.
The King of Grandmist sighed. "It's true. There is only a single person in the high-level Sovereign Realm. When you become a Sovereign, you will realize how hard it is to break through. Low-level Sovereigns will only be able to breakthrough once several billion years. As for mid-level Sovereigns, it will be difficult to enter the next order even after billions of years of accumulation...."
"I'm still pretty far away from the high-level Sovereign Realm. Right now, I'm at the peak of the early-Fifth Order Sovereign Realm. Shi Ming is at the peak of the early-Fourth Order, and Cang Mutian should be at the mid-Fourth Order Sovereign Realm. There is a chance he is already at the peak of the Fourth Order."
Huang Xiaolong widened his eyes in shock. Several billion years to break through?!
That was too...
The King of Grandmist continued, "When you arrive in the Sovereign Realm, you will realize that no spiritual pills or spiritual herbs will be able to help you. Other than godly treasures like the Three Lives Flower, nothing else will work. When you enter the First Order Sovereign Realm, you won't be able to enter the Second Order even if I gave you two strands of purple grandmist aura..."
Huang Xiaolong's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"The only change when you arrive in the Sovereign Realm is the energy you can feel. You will be able to feel the origin energy between heaven and earth. When you become a Sovereign, the chaos energy in your body will slowly transform into origin energy." The King of Grandmist continued, "You will know when you get there."
"What about the Three Lives Flower and grandmist aura? Do they contain origin energy?" Huang Xiaolong's heart shook as he asked.
The King of Grandmist nodded. "That's right. Spiritual existences like these have been classified as origin treasures by Sovereign Realm cultivators. However, they are also split into different levels. Grandmist aura is a level one origin treasure while purple grandmist aura and the Three Lives Flower are level two origin treasures."
Huang Xiaolong's heart shook. Purple grandmist aura was only classified as a level two origin treasure! What about those at the third and fourth level?!
The King of Grandmist didn't miss the changes on Huang Xiaolong's face. He chuckled. "Even I haven't seen origin treasures ranked at level three and above. Stop thinking too much about it."
"Master, what about saint treasures?! I've heard the little cow say something about the existence of saint treasures!" Huang Xiaolong asked again.
"That's just a myth. No one has ever seen a saint treasure." The King of Grandmist shook his head.
"Who's the expert at the high-level Sovereign Realm?" Huang Xiaolong tried his luck once again. "Chang Mutian didn't tell me."
"When you enter the Sovereign Realm, you will naturally learn about it." The King of Grandmist spoke after a moment of silence.