The First Sage of Military Strategists

Han Qing immediately took four pills from them. Meng Qingxi's words were vague, but he made a big concession, meaning that he could decide for himself to take the pills he wanted. However, Han Qing was not greedy and only took the four pills that he was entitled to.

Meng Qingxi nodded slightly. After spending a short time together, he felt that Han Qing was a trustworthy person with the demeanor of an ancient Confucian gentleman.

"Now that the pills have been refined, I'll be leaving if there's nothing else," Han Qing said, bowing.

“If you need my help with anything else, young master, you may send someone to inquire at any time,” Meng Qingxi added.

"it is good."

...

After returning from the inner city hall, Han Qing summoned Zhou Xiaoru and the other person to his presence via telepathy, and presented each of them with a Heavenly Profound Pill.

Before he could even reveal the origin of the elixir, the well-informed Qi Guanzi had already recognized it.

"The elixir glows with purple light, a sign of auspiciousness; this is the Heavenly Profound Elixir!"

"Indeed, this Heavenly Profound Pill can purify one's spiritual energy and strengthen one's soul, greatly increasing the success rate of opening the next Heavenly Gate. You should take it as soon as possible. Although this great battle is over, the enemies we need to face are still very powerful, and you must all become stronger," Han Qing instructed.

"Thank you very much, young master." Zhou Xiaoru was extremely grateful to Han Qing, who was truly generous to those around him.

Qi Guanzi frowned: "Young master, have you encountered some serious trouble?"

"It's not a big problem. Another powerful expert from the Pan Yuan World has arrived in Chu. I killed two of their powerful experts before, which created a grudge. Now these experts will probably come to seek revenge on me," Han Qing said softly.

"I see. We will certainly do our best to help you, young master." Qi Guanzi nodded.

The two left immediately, and Han Qing then had a thought, and a faint light appeared as he directly entered the space inside the Boundless Stele.

Inside the ancient city, thanks to Elder Ming's all-out efforts in restoration, it has been completely restored to its previous state.

Han Qing landed in one of the courtyards and swallowed the Heavenly Profound Pill.

The pill entered the mouth and immediately dissolved into a cool liquid, which flowed down the throat and into the abdomen.

Han Qing closed his eyes, and quickly entered a state of ethereal selflessness, his mind clear and pure, without a single distracting thought.

His comprehension also increased dramatically. The difficult questions that had troubled him for a long time were solved one by one. The martial arts and spells he had learned before seemed to be thoroughly understood, and there were even faint signs of integration.

Every strand of his spiritual power began to transform, becoming purer and stronger, and his soul also became more solid.

Han Qing suddenly stood up and began practicing his boxing techniques right there in the courtyard.

His movements were slow and gentle, without any earth-shattering power, yet they contained a certain wonderful rhythm.

Han Qing immersed himself in the experience, calmly comprehending the techniques. This time, he wanted to take the opportunity to integrate all the martial arts he had mastered into one.

Time passed slowly, and about three hours later, Han Qing slowly finished his practice, exhaled a cloud of turbid air, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

At this moment, he created a new fist technique that combined martial arts and magic, similar to the King Chuang's Fist, but more suitable for himself and even more terrifying in power.

The King of Rebellion Fist possesses a frenzied spirit of unstoppable advance and the annihilation of gods and demons, while Han Qing's fist technique contains a resistance against an unjust fate. Therefore, he ultimately named this move "Heaven-Shattering."

"It's time to push open the seventh heavenly gate!"

Han Qing raised her eyes, whispering to herself.

The effects of the Heavenly Profound Pill were still present. It was rumored that this pill could greatly increase the success rate of opening the Heavenly Gate, so Han Qing did not want to waste this opportunity. In addition, he had already accumulated a lot and was confident enough to open the seventh Heavenly Gate.

"go!"

With this in mind, Han Qing no longer hesitated, suddenly soared into the air, and vanished into the world in a flash.

He didn't bring anyone with him, because there were no boundary markers to cover and protect him, and he wasn't worried about encountering any danger.

He flew at top speed and stopped in a desolate place in the desert. He then immediately chanted an incantation, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

Rumble!
With a series of thunderclaps, crimson clouds gathered, and the Heavenly Gate appeared.

Han Qing flew up and passed through six heavenly gates in succession, finally arriving at the seventh heavenly gate.

There are no ancient books that record what trials are involved in the Seventh Heavenly Gate, because throughout history, very few people have successfully passed through it.

Therefore, daring to challenge this heavenly gate requires immense courage.

Han Qing had no shortage of courage. His gaze was firm, and he only wanted to see what kind of test this Heavenly Gate would offer.

With a thought flashing through his mind, a surge of magical power suddenly enveloped him, and Han Qing then fell into layers of illusions.

In the first illusion, the Great Emperor Taizu of the Shun Dynasty is resurrected, and the two sides engage in a great battle.

In the instant the illusion collapsed, Han Qing returned to reality. After a brief moment of clarity, he suddenly realized that his soul had become somewhat weaker.

His mind raced, and he immediately realized that the danger of this Heavenly Gate trial lay in the fact that any harm suffered in the illusion would be vividly reflected in reality.

This is different from the previous dissipation of the illusion. Even if his body collapses and his soul is annihilated, as long as his mind remains calm, he can always wake up without being injured.

But at this Heavenly Gate, he not only had to keep his mind clear, but also had to try to avoid getting injured. Otherwise, as injuries accumulated and he walked through layer after layer of illusions, his combat power would decrease and he would eventually die.

Therefore, Han Qing had to treat each cycle of illusion with even greater caution.

At this moment, the effects of the Heavenly Profound Pill became apparent. With the power of the pill, his mind became incredibly clear and serene, allowing him to remain alert throughout the illusion and break free of it at an even faster pace.

As time passed and illusions shifted one after another, Han Qing became immersed in them. Faced with all sorts of crises and temptations, his mind remained as firm as steel and as solid as a rock, and he never lost his way.

However, his soul was inevitably injured in the process.

At a certain moment, the 99th layer of illusion collapsed, and Han Qing suddenly opened his eyes, returning to the real world.

"What a terrifying cycle of illusions."

His voice was hoarse, and he felt weaker than ever before. Each illusion was a killing calamity, and with ninety-nine killing calamities, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven to get through.

Even he was injured multiple times during this calamity, and finally managed to get through the final illusory realm of the calamity by the last breath.

He felt himself in an unprecedented state of weakness, and without the help of the Heavenly Profound Pill, he might die in the illusion.

At this moment, Han Qing came to his senses and reflected on what had just happened, feeling a wave of fear wash over him.

"It seems my preparation wasn't enough. I underestimated the illusion before the Seventh Heaven Gate," Han Qing murmured.

Fortunately, he made it through.

"The Heavenly Profound Spirit Pill truly lives up to its reputation," Han Qing thought with admiration.

At this moment, as the effects of the medicine gradually wore off, he could feel that the strength of his soul had decreased, and that ethereal and clear state had disappeared without a trace. The difference in this instant was still extremely obvious.

As they pondered, the seventh heavenly gate opened in front of them.

In an instant, a gentle breeze blew in, quickly enveloping Han Qing's body, making him feel as if he were in a warm spring, his soul being nourished. A new round of transformation began. Han Qing closed his eyes, calmly feeling the rapidly growing power within him.

At a certain moment, a purple light shone from Han Qing's soul, a phenomenon that only occurs when the strength of the soul is further enhanced and reaches the Rainbow Transformation Realm.

Immediately afterwards, this purple aura rapidly spread throughout the soul, and the transformation, from beginning to end, took only three to five breaths.

In the blink of an eye, Han Qing's soul was filled with purple light, displaying auspiciousness.

He suddenly had a strange feeling that he was soaring into the air, being pulled upwards at high speed by a mysterious force. His perspective kept rising, as if he were God, observing the earth from above. Everything was changing rapidly and becoming smaller and smaller.

At one point, he stopped flying upwards. His gaze pierced through the distant space and saw a tall, luminous gate in the far distance. He didn't know where the gate led, but a dazzling path of light stretched out in front of it, rushing toward him at breakneck speed.

Han Qing felt an impulse, as if drawn by a mysterious force, to fly towards the gate of light. However, the path of light abruptly ended after extending only a short distance, and then vanished into the world.

The pulling force dissipated, and Han Qing suddenly lost his balance, plummeting downwards at an extremely fast speed before returning to his body in an instant.

His gaze swept across the scene, which was still in front of the seventh heavenly gate. The transformation of the soul had also ended, and the soul, which had previously emitted a golden glow, was now beginning to emit a purple radiance, mysterious and profound.

Han Qing could feel that his soul had become stronger and more solid.

He flipped his palm over, and Buddhist scriptures appeared in his palm.

He extended his finger and gently touched it, infusing strands of Dharma power into the Buddhist scriptures.

Before long, a deep and powerful male voice suddenly emanated from the Buddhist scriptures.

"This humble monk greets his master!"

"This humble monk greets his master!"

"This humble monk greets his master!"

...

Han Qing glanced at the Buddhist chanting scripture in his hand. The monk kept repeating the same words, which made him seem not very intelligent.

However, this is still a huge step forward, because the magical artifact has come to life.

This is the first great ability of a cultivator at the Rainbow Transformation Realm: imbuing all things with spirit, capable of transforming all inanimate objects into living beings.

For example, this Buddhist sound bone scripture, although it had spirituality before, was not strong enough to give birth to a spirit. However, Han Qing's power of Dharma thought directly accelerated this process, allowing the magic weapon to give birth to a spirit and achieve a breakthrough from nothing to something.

If he wanted to make the spirit of the artifact even more intelligent, he could continue to infuse it with the power of magic. In this way, the spirit of the artifact would become smarter and smarter, and the magic weapon would become more and more powerful.

Throughout history, many magical artifacts that have survived to this day were crafted by cultivators at the Rainbow Transformation Realm. Only experts at this level can create magical artifacts imbued with a spirit, and such artifacts are often the most powerful.

Besides this, the Rainbow Transformation Realm also possesses an even more powerful ability: an immortal soul.

Of the 100,000 thoughts of Dharma, as long as even one thought of Dharma remains intact, one can instantly return to peak condition.

In other words, cultivators at this level can use all sorts of powerful spells without restraint, without worrying about damage, and their combat power will naturally see an astonishing increase.
Moreover, their ability to survive will be greatly enhanced. Unless they destroy all magical thoughts with astonishing explosive power, the cultivator will immediately be fully revived.

In the world, there are very few powers that can instantly kill a cultivator at the Rainbow Transformation Realm.

From this perspective, the moment one enters the Rainbow Transformation Realm, the Refiner of Spirits is already invincible and immortal.

Han Qing carefully experienced the changes in himself, and a great joy welled up in his heart.

However, he quickly suppressed this joy, and his mind slowly returned to a state of calm.

He flew forward, only to find that he could not cross the seventh heavenly gate to enter the world of the eighth heavenly gate. It was as if there was a thick, solid, invisible barrier blocking him, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get through.

Han Qing gave up after trying it once, remembering some rumors circulating outside.

In the late ancient period, the Heavenly Pillar gradually collapsed, and by the early medieval period, it had completely collapsed. This resulted in a deficiency in the Heavenly Dao of this world, with the Rainbow Transformation Realm being the pinnacle. Consequently, the boundary gate was also sealed off.

Legend has it that those who cultivate their spirit at the Rainbow Transformation Realm can pass through the boundary gate and arrive at the Pan Yuan World, which is the legendary Immortal Realm.

He guessed that the radiant gate he had just seen, which he had been guided by a mysterious force, was the Gate of Boundaries.

The mysterious power should be the power of the Heavenly Dao, but the path to the boundary gate is broken, which also means that the Heavenly Pillar has collapsed.

Many thoughts flashed through Han Qing's mind, but he was too lazy to delve into them. He suddenly took flight and landed high in the sky. The crimson clouds that had been pressing down on his head dissipated, and the overwhelming pressure also disappeared without a trace.

...

A moment.

Han Qing returned to Guiqiu City and landed in his own courtyard.

Zhou Xiaoru was sitting by the lotus pond, scattering bait. A large number of spirit fish in the pond were now churning rapidly, some bright silver, some golden, with various colors of light rising and intertwining, creating auspicious signs.

Seeing Han Qing descend from the sky, Zhou Xiaoru turned around and glanced at him, vaguely sensing that something about Han Qing was different.

Although he had never been able to see through Han Qing's true strength, at this moment, he felt that the pressure emanating from Han Qing was stronger than ever before.

"Could it be that you've broken through, young master?" he asked doubtfully, but his words were full of uncertainty.

Han Qing nodded slightly: "That's right. With the help of the Heavenly Profound Pill, I stepped into the Rainbow Transformation Realm in one fell swoop."

"Rainbow Transformation Realm!"

Zhou Xiaoru, who was usually calm and composed, couldn't help but shout out when he heard Han Qing's words.

Throughout history, those who have reached the Rainbow Transformation Realm are extremely rare, standing at the pinnacle of power in this world. Yet Han Qing has reached this level before the age of thirty, making him unprecedented and likely to remain so.

Even more astonishingly, Han Qing progressed from the third realm of incense offerings to the first realm of rainbow transformation in less than half a year.

It's incredible that such a profound accumulation of knowledge could be achieved in such a short time.

Han Qing was aware that his breakthrough speed was extremely unusual, but it was normal because he had the Seven Killings Tablet in his hand. He could steal the cultivation results of others' entire lives through killing, so his speed was naturally unbelievably fast.

"Congratulations, young master. From this day forward, the world has gained another expert at the Rainbow Transformation Realm. I think no one would have expected it to be you." Qi Guanzi's voice came from behind. Although his expression did not change much, a strong sense of joy had already emerged in his heart.

He was close to Su Jin, and he was overjoyed that Han Qing had become stronger.

"Mr. Qi, you're too kind. As I said, just call me Han Qing, there's no need to call me Young Master." Han Qing cupped his hands in greeting.

Qi Guanzi shook his head: "Propriety cannot be disregarded. In my heart, you are already the Palace Master of Lishan Academy. As the Palace Master, how can I call you by your name directly? Let me call you Young Master instead."

Han Qing didn't say much. The three chatted in the courtyard for a while longer before he returned to the space inside the Boundless Monument to continue his seclusion and improve his strength.

Having just broken through to the Rainbow Transformation Realm, he needs time to adapt to the changes in his soul.

Once his strength is consolidated, he will immediately set off for the Shennong Kingdom in the South China Sea to reunite with Yan Qiuling.

The war is over, and there's no need for him to stay any longer. (End of Chapter)