113: The Sword of Original Will

"I wonder when my comprehension of the Chaos Origin Law will truly reach 100% Perfection..." Lin Yuan sighed softly. Deep within his profound eyes, the weariness accumulated from long hours of high-intensity deduction flickered and vanished.

His gaze, like the most precise probe, repeatedly scanned and compared the various key data points listed deep within his Sea of Consciousness. Countless paths for improvement and potential schemes surged like a torrent:

"A Breakthrough in Realm—this is undoubtedly the fastest and most direct path! But has my current Foundation potential really been excavated to the absolute limit? If I force a Breakthrough, will it instead block off a wider world in the future?" This thought weighed heavily on his heart.

"The evolution of the chaos heavenly extreme sword is too slow! It's like being held back by invisible shackles! At this rate, when will it become a true trump card?" A sense of restlessness welled up within him.

"The next evolution of the Primordial Dao Body and the Great Void Body, these two supreme Physiques, does not require bitter cultivation, but rather Heaven-Defying Opportunities that are impossible to seek! They are like flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water—visible but untouchable..."

"Comprehension of the Origin Law is even more of a slow, grinding process that cannot be rushed; it requires massive amounts of time and opportunities to settle and achieve Epiphany..." This was like a long, endless road with no end in sight.

"As for equipment..." As soon as this thought arose, he felt a sense of emptiness.

The more he thought, the heavier that invisible pressure became, as if one invisible mountain after another was pressing down on him. Lin Yuan couldn't help but use his knuckles to fiercely rub his throbbing temples. A huge sense of powerlessness, originating from the depths of his Soul, drowned him instantly like a cold tide. Every path to improvement contained a heaven-reaching Opportunity, yet each was also filled with thorns and obstacles sufficient to shatter one's body and bones. The difficulty of choice was harder than ascending to the blue sky!

"It seems..." Lin Yuan took a sharp breath, "I can only seek out Teacher Li Xuan and ask about the path ahead!"

At the Xuantian Peak Summit, the gale winds were biting, and the vast sea of clouds, like boiling silver paste, rolled and roared.

Li Xuan sat upright on the cloud platform, gently lifting a cup of spiritual tea suffused with rich dao rhyme to his lips, taking a sip with extreme elegance. The tea fragrance, containing the essence of heaven and earth, instantly dissolved between his lips and teeth, as if nourishing the Dao. He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze landing on Lin Yuan with calm, unruffled waves, his voice indifferent yet carrying unquestionable majesty: "Lin Yuan, do you know what the path of the Dharma Domain Realm actually cultivates?"

Lin Yuan's heart suddenly tightened, as if gripped by an invisible force. Not daring to be the slightest bit negligent, he immediately bowed, performing the most solemn Disciple's salute: "Reporting to Teacher, this Disciple is shallow and only knows that the Dharma Domain Realm requires one to completely transform one's Dharma Idol and forge the 'War Spirit' true body. As for the supreme mysteries contained within, this Disciple is dull-witted and implores Teacher to provide guidance!"

"Oh?" Li Xuan replied noncommittally, gently setting down the jade-white teacup in his hand. The next moment, his slender finger tapped lightly and casually into the void in front of him—

"Hum—!" In an instant, the space rippled violently as if a stone had been thrown into a lake! A cyan divine light, condensed to the extreme, shot out from his fingertip, instantly condensing, expanding, and shaping itself in the void!

In just a single breath, a three-zhang tall War Spirit phantom, sculpted entirely as if from flawless divine jade, stood toweringly! This phantom was not illusory; upon its body, countless strands of Origin Law power, condensed to the point of being substantial, coiled, flowed, and roared like living creatures!

What was even more terrifying was that just by this phantom manifesting here, the entire Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of the Xuantian Peak Summit seemed to have received a supreme summons, or as if it had encountered a giant abyss-like mouth, surging and gathering towards it crazily and uncontrollably! The speed and concentration of the gathering Spiritual Qi were so great that they forcibly tore and compressed countless visible Spiritual Qi vortexes around the War Spirit phantom, emitting sharp whistling sounds! The space itself could not withstand this pressure, emitting faint, groaning sounds of distortion as it struggled under the burden!

"The Dharma Domain Realm is the cultivation of this 'War Spirit' path." Li Xuan's voice remained calm, but every word seemed to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, transforming into an invisible hammer that struck fiercely against Lin Yuan's Dao Heart, shaking his Divine Soul! "The Dharma Idol transforms into a War Spirit, creating its own 'Law Domain' of absolute control! Within this Domain, the War Spirit is the supreme Dominator, and its words become Law! Its affinity for and control over the Laws of heaven and earth increase by at least five times! This is a qualitative change!"

Lin Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks! He could feel with absolute clarity that from that War Spirit, which was merely a phantom, a suffocating sense of absolute oppression—originating from the levels of life and the status of Laws—was being emitted continuously!

Under this pressure, the Spiritual Power within his body, which had previously been surging endlessly like a vast river, instantly became as if trapped in ten-thousand-year black ice, sluggish, viscous, and almost completely frozen! An instinctual chill shot straight from his spine to the top of his head! And this was just a phantom! If a true War Spirit body were to descend, I fear that just the natural aura fluctuations it emitted would be enough to crush an ordinary Myriad Laws Realm Cultivator like an ant into the most primitive dust!

"So... is this why many brilliant Prodigies, when they feel their comprehension of the Laws becoming incredibly difficult and stagnant during the Late Stage of the Myriad Laws Realm, choose without hesitation to break through directly to the Dharma Domain Realm?" Lin Yuan's heart was violently shaken, as if he had pushed open a door to a new world of cognition, and his eyes erupted with an unprecedented, almost greedy light of thirst for knowledge, "Using the War Spirit body's terrifying affinity for the Laws to, in turn, nourish and accelerate one's own comprehension of the Laws?"

"Correct. This is a shortcut, and also the choice of the vast majority of people." Li Xuan nodded slightly, though a trace of indescribable, profound divine light flashed in his eyes. His tone suddenly shifted, like a sharp sword unsheathed, pointing straight to the core: "Then, Lin Yuan, tell your teacher: what exactly determines the strength of a War Spirit's Foundation?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan immediately focused his mind and calmed his breath, falling into deep thought. A moment later, he answered cautiously and carefully, choosing his words: "This Disciple believes that the primary Foundation lies in whether the Dharma Idol itself has a profound background and whether its Foundation has been consolidated to the absolute limit. Secondly, it lies in the depth of the Cultivator's own comprehension of the core Laws at the moment of breaking through to the Dharma Domain Realm and undergoing the Dharma Idol transformation. These two should be the cornerstones of a War Spirit's strength."

"Only half right!" Li Xuan shook his head slowly, his gaze suddenly becoming like the judgment divine thunder from the Nine Heavens, sharp enough to pierce through all delusions! Following his words, the War Spirit phantom in the void, which had originally been standing still, suddenly blurred and twisted. Immediately after, a shocking scene occurred—the phantom split into three, differentiating into three War Spirit shadows with completely different forms, auras, and power, as different as clouds and mud!

The first War Spirit: its form was blurry and unclear, as if it would dissipate at any moment, like a candle in the wind. The Law power coiling around its body was thin and dim, and the Law patterns constituting its body were intermittent and incomplete, like clumsy graffiti. The aura it emitted was weak and unstable.

The second War Spirit: condensed like a diamond boulder, its whole body emitted a cold, metallic luster, and its aura was violent and ferocious, like a dormant ancient Vicious Beast! Upon its body, the mysterious patterns representing the Origin Law were already integrated, flowing endlessly, emitting a heart-palpitating, majestic pressure! Its mere existence made one feel as if they were facing a volcano that could erupt at any moment!

The third War Spirit: merely standing quietly in the void! The space around it could no longer withstand the terrifying pressure brought by its very existence, twisting, collapsing, and tearing violently! It was as if the rules of this heaven and earth had to bow down and tremble in front of this War Spirit! The Law patterns covering its entire body were no longer simple lines, but were interwoven into an incredibly complex web of destruction containing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth! Every slight pulsation of this Law web emitted destructive fluctuations that could make even the Soul Origin freeze and tremble! That was a level of power that transcended imagination!

"These three War Spirits all have Dharma Idol Foundations at the same level." Li Xuan's low voice seemed to carry a rhythm that pierced through the long river of time and space, clearly entering Lin Yuan's ears, "Their only difference lies in the degree of control over the core Origin Law at the time of Breakthrough—the first, only 30% control; the second, 80%; the third... infinitely close to 100%! Now, tell me, what exactly is the difference between them?"

"Boom—!" Before Li Xuan's voice had even finished, the Qi Sea within Lin Yuan's body surged violently! His "Immortal Dharma Idol," which he was proud of and had used to sweep across his peers, manifested on its own, completely out of his control! However, as soon as this Immortal Dharma Idol appeared and faced that third War Spirit phantom—

"Woo—!" A trembling sound like a dying wail emitted from the core of the Immortal Dharma Idol! The golden body of the Dharma Idol, which had originally been radiant with golden light and indestructible, was now like a candle in a storm, swaying, twisting, and flickering violently! The golden light dissipated in large patches, and the entire structure of the Dharma Idol showed terrifying signs of imminent collapse! Merely a wisp of aura inadvertently emitted by the third War Spirit phantom was enough to bring his strongest trump card to the verge of disintegration!

Lin Yuan's face turned as pale as paper in an instant, and a chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head! Terrified, he forcibly circulated his magic power, just barely managing to stabilize the Immortal Dharma Idol that was on the verge of collapse, his back already soaked with cold sweat! A monstrous wave churned in his heart—this was still just a phantom! If a true War Spirit body, formed by one with Origin control close to Perfection, were to descend... what kind of heaven-destroying and earth-shattering scene would that be? I fear that even those powerful beings at the Peak of the Feather Transformation Realm, who dominate one side and stand high above, would have to flee at the mere sight of it and avoid its edge!

"Do you understand?" Li Xuan's gaze was like a tangible sharp sword, piercing through the Void Realm, firmly locking onto Lin Yuan's Divine Soul Origin, as if he intended to see through him completely from the inside out. "The upper limit of a War Spirit is completely locked the moment the Dharma Idol successfully transforms into a War Spirit; it can never be changed! This is... setting the Foundation of the Universe! If you force a Breakthrough out of impatience when your mastery of the Origin Law has not even reached fifty percent..."

Li Xuan's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a cruelty that severed the future. "Then, your future path... will be like binding your own hands and feet, as narrow as a sliver of sky! There will be no hope of reaching the Peak!"

"The Dharma Idol Foundation is the 'Divine Bone' that supports the War Spirit; the depth of Law comprehension is the 'flesh and blood' that constructs the War Spirit's might. These are, of course, incredibly important..."

Li Xuan's voice resonated like a great bell, rising once more. He pressed his fingers together like a sword, and a brilliant golden light that seemed capable of piercing Chaos and creating the world suddenly ignited at his fingertip, pointing from afar at Lin Yuan's chest. "But! The true core of a War Spirit, its immortality, its fundamental ability to wield power that can destroy heaven and earth... lies here! It lies in your will! In your Dao Heart!"

The moment his voice fell, a strange change occurred! The three War Spirit phantoms standing proudly in the Void Realm suddenly began to tremble violently and uncontrollably, as if water droplets had been dropped into a pot of boiling oil, emitting a harsh, ear-piercing buzzing that made teeth ache and threatened to shatter the Divine Soul!

The first War Spirit (30% mastery): Suddenly let out a shrill, desperate, and unwilling shriek! Its already blurred body was sliced as if by billions of invisible blades, like a sandcastle hit by a tsunami, and it began to disintegrate and collapse inch by inch from every limb and bone! It turned into a sky full of dim, spiritless specks of light, rapidly dissipating between heaven and earth, leaving not a trace behind!

"This is one who has the Foundation and potential, but whose will is as weak as paper, and whose Dao Heart is covered in dust! Even if they luckily achieve a Breakthrough to the Dharma Domain Realm, they are merely an empty shell with form but no substance, unable to accomplish anything great in their lifetime—how is that any different from an ant?!" Li Xuan's shout was like the judgment of the Heavenly Dao!

The second War Spirit (80% mastery): A blinding, crimson light like tangible blood suddenly erupted from its body! It roared and struggled frantically on the verge of its form collapsing! A near-maniacal, unyielding steel will soared into the sky! It forcibly withstood the trend of collapse, compelling its crumbling body to reorganize and condense! Although its form remained intact in the end, the violent aura it emitted was as if most of its Foundation had been drained away; it was withered, and its light was much dimmer!

"This is the path of nourishing battle through battle, of a hundred deaths without regret! The will is like tempered steel, indestructible! Even if the Foundation is damaged and the road ahead is rough, one can rely on this iron-blooded will to forcibly fight across Realms and slaughter powerful enemies!" Li Xuan's voice carried a hint of admiration, but also a touch of gravity.

The third War Spirit (nearly 100% mastery): Facing this sudden upheaval, it remained motionless! Standing like a deep abyss and a towering mountain, calm as an ancient sacred mountain! A terrifying will, indescribable and seemingly capable of suppressing the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, making the entire Universe submit, spread out silently like a sleeping Dragon awakening! Everything went silent! The vast sea of clouds that had been churning and roaring instantly solidified, like a painting frozen in the amber of time! The howling, biting gale that could tear through metal and iron also met an absolute Dominator, falling silent and ceasing completely! In the entire space, only that War Spirit phantom remained, radiating an absolute will that was immovable like a mountain, awe-inspiring to heaven and earth, and in control of everything!

"This is... a Rock-Solid Dao Heart! The will aligns with the Dao; wherever the mind goes, the Myriad Laws follow! It does not move unless it must, but once it moves... heaven and earth are turned upside down!" Li Xuan's voice was filled with supreme majesty.

"Now, do you understand?" Li Xuan's voice suddenly turned into the thunder of the Nine Heavens, exploding directly in the deepest part of Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness! Every syllable contained the power to shatter stars! "Why is it that with the same Dharma Idol Foundation and the same degree of Law mastery, some, after achieving a Breakthrough to the Dharma Domain Realm, have War Spirits that can defy the Feather Transformation Realm, viewing higher Realms as nothing? While others... are trapped for life in the initial stage of the Dharma Domain Realm, unable to grow their War Spirit even a fraction, like prisoners bound by chains?!"

The questioning was like a heavy hammer, striking Lin Yuan's Soul. "There is only one answer! Will! Only the strongest, firmest, and purest will can wield that grand power capable of destroying heaven and earth! Only it can support the War Spirit as it marches toward the true Peak! Now, your master will let you witness with your own eyes... what the ultimate edge of will can achieve!"

"Clang——!!!!!" A sword chime, clear to the extreme, as if it could sever the long river of time and split open the Grandmist Chaos, tore through the solidified silence of the Xuantian Peak Summit without warning! This sword chime did not come from the outside world, but originated from the Origin of the Dao!

The instant that sword chime resonated, the fourth War Spirit stepped out from the deepest part of the void Chaos without warning!

It possessed none of the morphological characteristics of the first three; its entire body was forged directly from the purest, most primordial, and most condensed power of the Origin Law! It was crystal clear, flawless, and immaculate, with the rhythm of the simple Dao flowing around it! Its mere existence there made it seem like the center of the Laws of the entire Universe! Those three War Spirit phantoms, which had previously radiated terrifying pressure, now acted as if they had met a supreme monarch, involuntarily and reverently lowering their proud heads!

"This is... the flawless Foundation of the Origin Law at Perfection!" Li Xuan's voice, at this moment, rarely carried a sense of supreme solemnity bordering on pilgrimage. "The moment the Dharma Idol uses such a Foundation to transform and sublimate, forging the true body of the War Spirit... heaven and earth interact, and the Dao resonates! An infinite sea of Origin Law will descend from the mysterious Void Realm! It will pour down the purest, most violent torrent of Origin, subjecting it to the final and most cruel baptism and tempering!"

Immediately following this, a mysterious and unfathomable fissure, seemingly connecting to the Origin of the Universe, opened silently in the center of the brows of that flawless War Spirit made of Origin Law—a sword!

A sword, purely condensed from the most primordial, most resilient, and most supreme will, transparent as ancient black ice and clear as the glaze of the Nine Heavens... slowly emerged from that fissure!

The moment this sword appeared—space was like fragile glass; in the direction the sword's edge pointed, bottomless black fissures filled with an aura of destruction silently cracked open! Light was completely swallowed and twisted, forming a circle of absolute darkness, a Domain of death around the sword's body! All the myriad Laws existing between heaven and earth seemed to feel an absolute suppression from a higher standing, emitting silent wails and trembling! The entire Xuantian Peak Summit, no, the entire spatial plane, began to groan under the unbearable burden caused by the appearance of this sword!

"The Origin Will Wisdom Sword!" A scorching divine light erupted in Li Xuan's eyes, unprecedented; his voice was like the first divine sound of creation, grand, majestic, and shaking the Universe! "This is the supreme will! Only by comprehending the Origin Law to the true Realm of Great Perfection, and then using supreme perseverance and a Rock-Solid Dao Heart to let the War Spirit's true body—formed from one's own will—withstand the most violent and extreme tempering and the baptism of ten thousand calamities from that 'Sea of Origin Law' without being destroyed or perishing... can one nurture and condense this ultimate edge within the core Origin of the War Spirit, capable of severing falsehood and destroying the Myriad Laws!"

The Origin Will Wisdom Sword suspended at the brow of the War Spirit... trembled slightly! Hum! An invisible, analytical power that transcended all Laws instantly enveloped the first three War Spirits!

The intermittent Law patterns on the first War Spirit... the seamless Origin Law veins of the second War Spirit... the terrifying Law structure of the third War Spirit that wove into a net of destruction, causing space to collapse... under the tremble of this Wisdom Sword, it was as if an invisible, formless, yet omnipotent hand of the Universe had, in the most brutal and direct way, forcibly peeled open, extracted, and analyzed every Law mystery and power core that composed them, down to the most microscopic level, clearly and unmistakably! They were exposed in every detail beneath the edge of that ruthless Wisdom Sword! All their defenses, all their mysteries, became a transparent joke at this moment!

Then, the Wisdom Sword, representing the ultimate edge of will... moved. There was no earth-shattering energy explosion, no world-destroying light and shadow effects. Its movement was light and casual to the extreme, as if it were just casually... swinging once... toward those three War Spirit phantoms that stood before it as helpless as infants.

"Sshh——————!!!" A tearing sound, extremely faint yet incomparably clear, resonated in the depths of the Soul Origin! It was like a red-hot blade slicing through the most fragile tissue paper! Like a divine axe of creation hacking through the void Chaos!

Those three incomparably powerful War Spirit phantoms—enough to make Cultivators of the Myriad Laws Realm despair, and even make experts of the Feather Transformation Realm take notice—the first with 30% mastery and a weak will... the second with 80% mastery and an iron will... the third with nearly 100% mastery and a pressure that caused space to collapse... along with all the Law patterns, energy structures, and will imprints they were so proud of and which constituted their existence... did not even stir a ripple of resistance, could not even emit a symbolic wail... where that seemingly unremarkable beam of the Wisdom Sword swept past... silently! Completely annihilated! Turned into the most primitive... Void, not even counting as dust! As if they had never existed in this heaven and earth!

"This kind of War Spirit..." Li Xuan's voice was like one coming from the end of the primordial Universe, enunciating every word clearly, each syllable seemingly containing the weight of billions of stars, crashing heavily down upon the solidified heaven and earth, branded into the deepest part of Lin Yuan's Divine Soul. "The might it possesses has long since transcended the simple category of 'fighting across Realms'..."

"Wherever its Wisdom Sword points, it can discern the Origin of all Myriad Laws of the heavens, and see through the flaws of all Divine Abilities!"

"And even more, it can break the Myriad Laws with a single sword! Shatter the Universe with a single force!"