Chapter 26: Insufficient Cultivation Resources? Plunder the Resources of the Eastern Wasteland Imperial Clans!

"I suspect that the one who created the Chaos Tower is likely the previous Chaos Heavenly Emperor!" Xiao Xuan exhaled slowly, a bold conjecture rising in his heart. The Chaos Tower contained the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Scripture, which must be inextricably linked to the Heavenly Emperor.

However, Xiao Xuan had no time to dwell on this; for him, the immediate priority was to cultivate the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Scripture with all his might. He focused his attention on the scripture, preparing to start from the first level. Had it not been for the mysterious space within the Chaos Tower where time stood still, even a prodigy with Xiao Xuan’s innate talent would have struggled to reach the third level of the scripture in such a short time. Now, with the aid of this mysterious space, everything was within reach. In this realm, time felt frozen—an ideal place for cultivation. Xiao Xuan could spend thousands or even tens of thousands of years here, while only a fleeting moment passed in the outside world.

"Chaos Heavenly Emperor Scripture, First Level: Four Fiends War Body Stage!"

A sharp light flickered in Xiao Xuan’s eyes as the cultivation method for the first level became clear in his mind. This stage, the Four Fiends War Body, required one to harness the powers of Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain. By absorbing these four forces and condensing them into the phantoms of four fierce beasts, one would eventually achieve the unification of the four symbols, evolving the physical body into the Four Fiends War Body.

This was merely the foundation of the scripture, accessible to anyone with Saint-level cultivation. As Xiao Xuan was already at the Great Emperor realm, starting from the Saint level was effortless. As he channeled his internal power, gathering the forces of Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain to condense the War Body was not difficult. The only uncertainty was how long it would take to succeed.

As time passed, Xiao Xuan devoted himself entirely to his practice. Cultivation knows no time; as he continuously absorbed and refined the exceptionally rare heavenly treasures, the speed at which he mastered the scripture rapidly increased. Even so, it took him a thousand years within this space to successfully condense the four beast phantoms. Had a millennium passed in the real world, his clansmen would surely have lost patience. Fortunately, a thousand years in the Chaos Tower amounted to no more than a breath or two in reality.

"It seems I underestimated the difficulty of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Scripture!" Xiao Xuan took a slow breath. Although he had reached the Four Fiends War Body stage, his face showed no joy, only gravity.

The introductory stage alone had cost him a millennium and consumed the vast majority of the cultivation resources he had accumulated over the past hundred thousand years. Without those precious treasures, his progress would have been dozens of times slower. This meant that, left to his own devices, he might have spent at least a thousand years just on the entry-level requirements.

"I hope the remaining resources are enough to support my cultivation to the second level." Xiao Xuan sighed, looking at the dwindling pile of resources with concern. The sheer volume of materials required for this scripture was astronomical.

Soon, another millennium slipped away. The moment the four holy beast phantoms fused perfectly with his body, it marked the perfection of his Four Symbols Holy Body. Xiao Xuan rose from the void, every movement radiating infinite dominance and imperial majesty. With his gestures, the four holy beast phantoms unleashed an incomparably tyrannical aura!

Xiao Xuan waved his hand, and the four phantoms converged into a brilliant, chaotic radiance that shot into the void.

Rumble!

The instant the chaos erupted, the heavens trembled, and a massive rift was torn into the void. Witnessing the astonishing power of the Four Symbols Holy Body, even Xiao Xuan was shocked.

"Hiss! This is merely the power of the first level, yet it is enough to easily slay a Quasi-Emperor! If I were to reach the second level, wouldn't the power be even more terrifying?"

Xiao Xuan was filled with excitement and could not wait to begin the second level. However, his resources were nearly exhausted. Over the past hundred thousand years, he had slain countless aliens and demons in the Heavenly Abyss, acquiring vast amounts of loot. It was no exaggeration to say that his stash could have raised an ordinary creature to the Great Emperor realm. Yet, it had only sufficed to perfect the first level of this scripture.

Looking at the meager remains, Xiao Xuan felt helpless. This was far from enough to continue his cultivation.

"It seems that after reaching the second level, I must seek out more resources!" Xiao Xuan sighed, planning where to acquire them. He could not return to the alien lands for now; having just returned from the Heavenly Abyss and received the Immortal Medicine from the alien immortals, he owed them a debt of gratitude. He could not provoke them in the near future.

As for humanity, aside from those Imperial Clans that had offended him, most human cultivators held no grudge against him. To pillage resources within human territory would be suicidal and would only provide the Supreme Divine Palace with a pretext to strike.

The only viable options were the demons dwelling beneath the Heavenly Abyss and the Imperial Clans of the Eastern Wilderness. Although Xiao Xuan had kept the demons suppressed in the Abyss for a hundred thousand years, they were not weak. They possessed power comparable to the aliens, including Demon Emperors and Demon Gods as formidable as the human Red Dust Immortals. If Xiao Xuan were to rashly enter their territory, he would alert those powerful Demon Gods. Previously, he had only operated at the edge of the Abyss, where the Demon Gods could do nothing to him, but stepping into their domain would be walking into a trap.

Xiao Xuan was in urgent need of resources, but he was no fool. Thus, only the Imperial Clans of the Eastern Wilderness remained.

"Since I have returned to Tianxuan, it is time to collect some interest from the Eastern Wilderness Imperial Clans—a penalty for their broken promises over the last hundred thousand years." A cold smirk played on Xiao Xuan's lips.

The Eastern Wilderness clans had kicked the Xiao family while they were down; now was the time to settle that debt. He would make them realize that the Xiao family was not to be trifled with.

Those who insult the Xiao family must die!