TL: Etude 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Blackwind Mountain, Wind King Small Domain.

In the recently discovered ruins of the Nine Nether Sect’s branch, a large group of True Ancestors busily excavated the site.

However, the ruins were vast, with countless structures and treasure grounds. Numerous formations and restrictions were extraordinarily complex; without damaging them, they would have to be slowly unraveled, a process that would take a very long time.

Ye Tian, General Skyreaver, and General Bloodfiend stood together outside the restriction protecting the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool, silently studying it.

“This restriction is extremely intricate and draws energy directly from the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool. If we try to force it open, we don’t have the strength to manage it. Even if all the True Ancestors combined their power, it might only damage the pool, which would be unacceptable. So, we can only gradually decipher it, but at the very least, it would take a million years to break through completely!” General Bloodfiend murmured.

Unfortunately, among Blackwind Mountain’s True Ancestors, there were few skilled in formations and restrictions, possibly even fewer than within the Purple Mist Sect.

Thus, Blackwind Mountain lacked any means to break through the restriction quickly.

At this, Ye Tian spoke up: “I know a True Ancestor who specializes in breaking restrictions. She could do it quickly. This True Ancestor is the one who first discovered the Purple Mist Sect’s excavation of ancient ruins. I could bring her here, and we wouldn’t have to wait a million years!”

“Oh, there’s someone with such talent?” General Skyreaver and General Bloodfiend were delighted.

Although Ouyang Jiu’er wasn’t affiliated with Blackwind Mountain, if they obtained permission from the Dao Ancestor, she could enter the Wind King Small Domain.

General Skyreaver quickly contacted the Wind King and received the approval needed.

So, Ye Tian brought Ouyang Jiu’er into the Wind King Small Domain.

“This is Ouyang Jiu’er,” Ye Tian introduced her to General Skyreaver and General Bloodfiend.

Entering the Wind King Small Domain, Ouyang Jiu’er showed neither tension nor fear, but rather curiosity, glancing around in interest.

After a brief conversation, General Skyreaver and General Bloodfiend guided her into the ruins of the Nine Nether branch, arriving at the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool.

It was Ouyang Jiu’er’s first time seeing the pool, and though intrigued, she quickly set to work at Ye Tian’s urging.

With her Half-Step Domain Ancestor insight, she swiftly grasped the restriction’s full structure. However, due to her cultivation level, she couldn’t break it instantly and would need some time.

Naturally, she didn’t plan to unleash her full power—otherwise, it would raise suspicions.

“Three hundred years,” Ouyang Jiu’er said. “I’m confident I can break the restriction in that time.”

“Three hundred years? That fast!” General Skyreaver and General Bloodfiend were astonished.

In their estimations, if Ouyang Jiu’er managed to break the restriction within ten thousand years, it would already be remarkable, yet she claimed she only needed three hundred years.

In truth, if not for the need to avoid suspicion, Ouyang Jiu’er could have broken it in a single year.

So, Ouyang Jiu’er began breaking the restriction, while Ye Tian, General Skyreaver, General Bloodfiend, and the many other True Ancestors waited nearby.

For them, a mere three hundred years was not long, and they felt uneasy leaving Ouyang Jiu’er alone in the ruins, given that she wasn’t one of Blackwind Mountain’s True Ancestors, necessitating constant supervision.

If she were willing to join Blackwind Mountain, there would be no issue.

Unfortunately, Ouyang Jiu’er declined Blackwind Mountain’s invitation.

General Skyreaver and General Bloodfiend couldn’t understand why, but Ye Tian knew all too well.

A reincarnated Half-Step Domain Ancestor wouldn’t gain anything by joining Blackwind Mountain. Although he didn’t know why Ouyang Jiu’er had reincarnated, with her abilities, returning to the Half-Step Domain Ancestor Realm would be no challenge.

Moreover, even Ye Tian wasn’t fully aware of her combat prowess, as she had never displayed it.

He certainly didn’t believe she was merely a top-tier True Ancestor.

If he were that naive, he’d be an utter fool!

In the blink of an eye, three hundred years passed.

On this day, Ouyang Jiu’er finally broke the restriction. The barrier crumbled like melting ice, disintegrating rapidly and vanishing without a trace.

“Go in!”

The group of True Ancestors surged forward toward the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool.

“There’s still plenty of energy within the pool, enough for over ten thousand True Ancestors to cultivate within it, but it might only last a few million years before the energy is depleted,” General Bloodfiend observed after inspecting the pool.

“Only a few million years? Doesn’t that make its value rather limited?” Ye Tian frowned.

“Energy can be replenished!” Ouyang Jiu’er shot Ye Tian a glance and said.

“Exactly!” General Bloodfiend nodded in agreement. “Miss Jiu’er is right. The Nine Nether Forbidden Pool’s energy can be replenished. Otherwise, when the Nine Nether Sect created it, wouldn’t it have been a waste of effort? However, to restore the pool’s energy, we’ll need large quantities of rare materials—and one main component: a forbidden treasure! Any treasure containing forbidden power can serve as a material to infuse into the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool.”

“Do we currently have any forbidden treasures in Blackwind Mountain?” Ye Tian asked.

“Of course we do!” General Bloodfiend replied. “Blackwind Mountain still has a fair amount of forbidden treasures, but we’ll certainly need the Ten Kings’ approval to use them.

“Additionally, we’ll need to impose restrictions on access to the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool for cultivation, with required payments in either treasures or contribution points. Otherwise, even Blackwind Mountain’s wealth won’t be enough to sustain it!”

“That’s a given!” Ye Tian agreed.

Naturally, True Ancestors who participated in the recent battle would be granted some cultivation time in the pool. As for those who didn’t, they would need to pay significant amounts of treasures and points if they wanted to use the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool for cultivation.

For Generals like Ye Tian, they, too, had to pay a price, though their reward in cultivation time would certainly be substantial.

Especially for Ye Tian, as he had provided the crucial information without which Blackwind Mountain wouldn’t have obtained the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool.

Moreover, Ye Tian displayed the power of an Invincible True Ancestor, now ranking just below General Bloodfiend in status.

After some discussion, Ye Tian and Ouyang Jiu’er were granted 1.5 million years of cultivation time. Generals Bloodfiend and General Skyreaver received 1 million years each.

Other Generals were allotted a few hundred thousand years, while the Peak Lords received around a hundred thousand years or less.

Thus, the first group of True Ancestors entered the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool and began their long-term cultivation.

A million years of cultivation seemed extensive, but within an accelerated time environment, at 10,000x speed, it was equivalent to just 150 years.

Inside the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool, Ye Tian and Ouyang Jiu’er, positioned close to each other, started cultivating together.

Boom! An endless surge of forbidden energy from the Nine Nether Pool flowed into Ye Tian’s body, giving him an experience reminiscent of divine essence.

At a hundredfold time acceleration, Ye Tian activated the Nine Limits True Technique, continuously tempering both his True Ancestral Force and physical body.

Unfortunately, though this energy contained forbidden darkness, it was too gentle and couldn’t compare to the energy within the Forbidden Black Lotus. Its effects on Ye Tian’s forbidden physique were minimal.

This energy primarily boosted cultivation, rapidly advancing the True Ancestors’ realms and breaking through bottlenecks that otherwise required ages to overcome.

Thus, the True Ancestors’ strength advanced rapidly.

In a flash, over ten thousand years passed.

After one and a half million years of cultivation in the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool, Ye Tian’s allotted time was finally up, and he exited the pool.

“My progress is incredible!” Ye Tian murmured to himself.

He was different from the other Generals. Most of them had already reached the peak stage of the Grand Dao Realm. While they hadn’t yet attained the absolute pinnacle of that realm, they were close, so their cultivation improvements were limited.

However, the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool’s body-tempering effects were excellent, allowing many chaos body-tempering techniques to reach perfected states.

Although the Generals could still gain some enhancement in the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool, their progress was slower than Ye Tian’s.

When Ye Tian entered the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool, he was only at the late peak of the Grand Dao Realm.

Now, he had broken through the bottleneck in one fell swoop, reaching the peak of the Grand Dao Realm, not far from the perfected extreme limit.

Additionally, Ye Tian’s body-tempering progress had been significant. Although his forbidden physique didn’t advance much, his physical strength had grown considerably.

He cultivated the Nine Limits True Technique, which included the Nine Limits True Body Technique. Now, he had reached the eighth limit of body tempering, with the ninth and final limit not far off.

Due to the unity of Ye Tian’s spirit, energy, and soul, his soul had also advanced at an astonishing speed under the nourishment of True Ancestral Force and physical strength, keeping pace with his other attributes.

One could say that these years of cultivation in the Nine Nether Forbidden Pool had propelled his power to a new level.

In terms of comparison, he was now an absolute top-tier Invincible True Ancestor, standing on par with General Bloodfiend and, in some respects, even surpassing him.