As for his physical body outside, Li Xiang wasn’t worried in the slightest. With the protection of the Giant Whale Saint Armor, he was sealed up tight; the Great White-Bone Snake and the magma couldn’t harm him.

Within this mysterious world, eight volcanoes suddenly erupted, transforming into the Eight-Headed Serpent of Orochi. Each head, as vast as a mountain range, lunged at him from all directions.

Li Xiang used every trick he knew, battling the serpent heads formed from the volcanoes.

However, this mysterious world cut him off from the outside. He could no longer draw upon the power of the Earth Veins, rendering his most proficient Earth Superpower useless.

Moreover, the poisonous black mist spewed by the eight serpent heads was eroding his Divine Soul, making him feel dizzy and disoriented.

’I was careless.’ Li Xiang had no weapon, relying solely on his Martial Arts and immense Spiritual Power. He was suddenly injured, struck by one of the serpent heads and sent tumbling through the air several times before he barely managed to regain his footing.

While defending himself, he mulled over whether he should just break through and level up on the spot. Otherwise, he was in for a world of hurt and might even die here.

He had been holding himself back at the Peak of the Eighth Tier for a long time, suppressing the urge to break through on several occasions. His Spiritual Power had accumulated to the point where, frankly, it was on the verge of erupting. He could advance whenever he chose.

But the only reason he had restrained himself for so long was that something still felt missing; it wasn’t a perfect breakthrough. Advancing now would inevitably leave him with regrets.

Just as he was about to go through with the breakthrough, he was once again sent flying by a mountain-sized serpent head.

The black mist, laced with poisonous fumes, surged toward him again. This time it was even more vicious, seeming to want to bore into his seven orifices.

At that moment, an illusion of the Bronze Divine Tree emerged from the crown of his head. It expanded explosively into a colossal tree. Nine Small Tripods on its branches glowed brilliantly, casting down waves of pure light. Wherever the light passed, the black mist and poisonous fumes dissolved completely.

Li Xiang scrapped his plan to level up mid-battle. He rallied his spirits and continued the fight.

With the Bronze Divine Tree protecting its master, he was now in an invincible position. Li Xiang decided to use this opportunity to hone his combat abilities.

His mind was clear, no longer fearing the black mist and fumes. The longer he fought, the smoother his movements became. His Martial Arts improved significantly, and he gradually gained the upper hand.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the Great White-Bone Snake manipulated the superheated magma in the lava lake, continuously assaulting and tearing at Li Xiang’s physical body, but to no avail.

A Black Light Barrier enveloped the entire lava lake, making it impossible to see or hear what was happening inside from the outside.

The heavily injured Aoi Monshou, her form ethereal, protected Chiba Yuki and her two daughters as they rushed over to help. Seeing that Li Xiang had yet to emerge and that the Black Light obscured everything, the mother and her daughters were frantic with worry.

"Mama, Godfather will be okay, right?" Asatsuyu asked, biting her lip with great concern.

Yukigiri also looked anxious, clutching her mother’s sleeve with a small, furrowed brow.

Chiba Yuki gazed at the Black Light before her. ’Li Xiang must be in grave danger.’ Steeling herself, she bit her finger until it bled and used her own blood to draw a Mandala Pattern on Aoi Monshou’s forehead. "With my blood as the catalyst, burn your remnant soul—"

The scriptures on Aoi Monshou’s neck suddenly flared as bright as molten gold. Her Wooden Fish exploded into countless motes of green light, carrying the Shikigami’s final Spiritual Power as it crashed into the Black Light Barrier.

Aoi Monshou’s graceful body completely detonated.

Chiba Yuki also spat out mouthfuls of blood.

At the same time, a crack was blasted open in the Black Light Barrier.

Li Xiang was just starting to enjoy the fight when he was suddenly pulled back to reality.

His Divine Soul and physical body reunited, naturally causing his power to surge. Orochi had already been on the defensive, putting up a desperate last stand. Now, after being hit by the blast from Aoi Monshou’s sacrifice, it could no longer hold on. Within three exchanges, Li Xiang killed the Great White-Bone Snake with a single strike of his rod.

After another three exchanges, a large crack split open the dark red Nether Crystal. Li Xiang smoothly pulled out the White Jade Golden Hook Rod, reclaiming his Divine Weapon.

To Li Xiang’s surprise, as he pulled the rod out, a strange suction force suddenly emanated from the golden hook of the White Jade Golden Hook Rod. It pulled back the eight scattered remnants of resentful souls and sealed them within the rod’s shaft.

’Holy crap,’ Li Xiang was stunned. ’This golden hook... is it the kind the Death God uses to reap souls? It can be used like this?’

He had never noticed this before. After all, the White Jade Golden Hook Rod was a Saint Tier Item. He was only a Tier Eight Extraordinary, barely qualifying as a Middle Stage Transcendent and not even High Tier, making him even more distant from the Saint Tier. He couldn’t unleash the full power of a Saint Tier Item.

With a thought, Li Xiang manipulated his Earth Superpower, gathering a giant hand of magma to seize the Crystal Core where Orochi’s remnant soul had resided. He activated his "Crystal Vein Armor" ability, starting the Refinement of the Crystal Core to fuse it with the White Jade Golden Hook Rod.

During the Refinement of the Crystal Core, Li Xiang discovered that it contained several centuries’ worth of pure Earth Vein essence. This was an absolute treasure trove for him. Li Xiang activated his Earth Superpower to absorb it all. He could finally no longer suppress his Realm and broke through decisively, ascending to become a Ninth Tier Extraordinary.

At the same time, his Great Lifebound Rune, the "Earth Pivot World Record," automatically upgraded to its third form: the "Eight Desolates Sealing Mountain Map."

Previously, Li Xiang had used Achievement Points to brute-force its upgrade to the second form. This time, by absorbing the centuries of Earth Vein essence accumulated in Orochi’s Crystal Core, not only did he step into the Ninth Tier in one fell swoop, but his Great Lifebound Superpower Rune, the "Earth Pivot World Record," also advanced to its third form. This was truly a joyous occasion.

The Tier of the Crystal Core was simply too high, and the material was exceedingly precious. Even though Li Xiang was incredibly skilled with his "Crystal Vein Armor" and his "Earth Pivot World Record" had upgraded to its third form, the fusion process still took a great deal of effort. It was nearly an hour before he was finally finished.