38: Five levels of baptism

Lin Yuan's gaze penetrated the Void Realm, locking onto the core area of the valley!

There, seven lakes were arranged in a perfect circle like seven Law divine diamonds embedded in the earth, respectively shining with the seven types of Origin divine radiance: red (fire), gold (metal), blue (water), green (wood), brown (earth), cyan (wind), and purple (thunder)! The surfaces of the lakes were not calm; instead, Law runes as solid as substance constantly rose, shattered, and reorganized. Every transformation triggered spatial ripples, emitting destructive fluctuations that made even Myriad Laws Realm experts feel heart palpitations!

The voice of Guardian Elder Guardian Elder resounded through the entire Refining Spirit Valley like a great bell, carrying unquestionable authority:

"Seven Star Soul Origin Pool, the rules are announced!"

"Endure for one breath to receive Level One Soul Origin Baptism!"

"Endure for ten breaths to receive Level Two!"

"Thirty breaths for Level Three!"

"Sixty breaths for Level Four!"

"One hundred and twenty breaths for Level Five Soul Origin Baptism!"

"However! Those whose Divine Soul Foundation is less than ten thousand stars—"

Guardian Elder's voice suddenly became bone-chillingly cold, like a cold wind from the Nine Nether:

"Will die upon entering the pool! Their Divine Souls will be completely extinguished!"

"Hiss—!!!"

The entire Refining Spirit Valley was instantly drowned in the sound of people gasping! Hundreds of thousands of Cultivators felt their scalps tingle!

"Ten thousand stars of Mental Energy... just to be qualified to endure... one breath?!"

"This... this can only be touched by the peerless Prodigies at the Peak of the Spirit Refining Realm, right?!"

"Nether Saint Sun Wuming! Three years ago, he endured for thirty-one breaths in the Red Fire Pool, obtaining a Level Three baptism and shaking all directions! He was hailed as a Mental Energy genius rarely seen in a thousand years in this region!"

"I wonder if today... anyone can reach the Level Three threshold..."

The discussions were filled with awe and despair.

However, a figure ignored this terrifying warning, turning into a streak of light and shooting straight toward the death core where the seven-colored divine lights intertwined!

By the shore of the Red Fire Pool, over a dozen Peak Spirit Refining Realm experts with auras as deep as the abyss and as heavy as a prison were cautiously watching. Seeing Lin Yuan, who was only at the First Layer of the Gathering Origin Realm, dare to descend, a youth dressed in a crimson Dharma robe with a flame mark on his brow scoffed, his voice filled with undisguised contempt:

"Heh! Another fool who doesn't know death, coming to add fuel to the fire lake! Kid, do you know that what's being smelted in this Red Fire Pool is the Origin Solar Flame that incinerates all things? A single spark is enough to burn the Divine Soul of an ant like you into nothingness!"

Lin Yuan turned a deaf ear, sitting cross-legged by the lakeshore. At his brow, the phantom of a chaos green lotus condensed from Chaos Mental Energy slowly emerged, its petals flowing with a faint light like that of the primordial Chaos, mysterious and unfathomable.

"Mental Energy Manifestation? A bit interesting." A hint of surprise flashed in the red-robed youth's eyes, which then turned into deeper ridicule. "Unfortunately, before this Origin Solar Flame, your meager level of cultivation isn't even qualified to be firewood!"

Lin Yuan's mind was focused as the chaos green lotus left his brow, slowly floating toward the boiling red lake surface filled with a destructive aura. Just as the petals were about to touch the Soul liquid that was as thick as lava—

"Rumble—!!!"

The entire Red Fire Pool seemed to be completely enraged! Violent fire-type Origin Laws soared into the sky, instantly transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang Flame Dragon with ferocious scales that could incinerate all things! The Flame Dragon opened its heaven-swallowing maw and, with a terrifying prestige that could burn the eight desolations, swallowed the tiny lotus in one bite!

"Ah!" A chorus of horrified screams rang out by the lakeshore!

"One breath!" Someone subconsciously roared the count.

Deep within the fire lake, a mental link was established!

Lin Yuan's Sea of Consciousness felt as if it had been thrown into the core of a sun! An indescribable, extreme burning pain capable of incinerating the Soul Origin violently flooded in through the mental link! This was not a pain of the Physical Body, but a direct burning of the Mental Imprint that constituted the "self"! It was as if his entire consciousness was wailing and melting in the divine fire!

"Two breaths! Three breaths!"

On the surface of the chaos green lotus, the flowing Chaos light fluctuated violently under the scorching of the violent Solar Flame, and charred cracks began to appear on the edges of the petals! Lin Yuan's forehead was instantly covered in bean-sized beads of sweat, and his body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

"Five breaths! Six breaths!"

Just as the lotus was on the verge of collapse, Lin Yuan's thoughts were like lightning! At the core of the lotus, a crimson divine rune representing the Fire Law (8%) that had long been imprinted suddenly lit up!

Buzz!

The divine rune flowed, as if opening a small Order Domain within the violent flame storm! A miracle occurred—the Origin Solar Flames that were originally raging and wanting to completely incinerate the lotus, the moment they touched this Law of the same Origin, their violent momentum suddenly weakened, and a portion of the pure fire-type Law power even began to actively merge into the lotus!

"Ten breaths! Level Two baptism achieved!" The counting voice had changed its tone, carrying an unbelievable tremble!

The red-robed youth by the lakeshore almost had his eyes pop out: "Impossible! He... he can actually tame the Origin Solar Flame?!"

"Thirty breaths! Level Three baptism!"

At this moment, the entire Red Fire Pool area was already crowded with people! Thousands of Cultivators held their breath, staring intently at the chaos green lotus bobbing inside the ten-thousand-zhang Flame Dragon at the center of the lake! It was like a small boat in a raging storm; the petals constantly cycled through Reincarnation between being charred and being repaired by the crimson divine rune, yet they never went out!

"Sixty breaths! Level Four baptism!"

Lin Yuan's plain robe was already soaked with sweat, clinging to his body, but his gaze was like a divine weapon that had undergone quenching, becoming increasingly sharp and clear! In this refinement of extreme pain, his understanding of the Fire Origin was soaring at a terrifying speed! The original 8% comprehension level broke through the 9% and 10% barriers like a rocket!

"One hundred and twenty breaths reached! Level Five Soul Origin Baptism—achieved!!!"

The announcement rang out like a thunderclap, carrying the excitement of a cracking voice!

"Rumble—!!!"

The Red Fire Pool boiled completely! Countless purest and most original crimson light spots, containing the secrets of the fire-type Law, rose from the bottom of the lake like billions of stars! They converged and condensed in the air, finally transforming into a crimson Divine Dawn light pillar that connected heaven and earth, striking accurately into Lin Yuan's brow with supreme majesty!

"Level Five! It's a Level Five baptism!"

"My God! How many years has it been since this last appeared?!"

"The last one to achieve this was the Taixu Saint who swept through his generation three hundred years ago, right?!"

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Divine Dawn irrigation!

Vast and pure Fire Soul Origin power flooded into the Sea of Consciousness like a warm torrent! The scorched chaos green lotus greedily absorbed this power, and the burn marks on the petals peeled off and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye! The originally greyish-green petals were stained with a layer of never-extinguishing crimson divine radiance, and deep within the lotus heart, a more complex and mysterious Fire Origin Divine Rune was completely formed!

[Mental Energy Breakthrough! +5,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 17,000 stars!]

[Fire Law Comprehension: 12%!]

Lin Yuan rose to his feet, his entire body still seemingly surrounded by the crimson Divine Dawn that had not yet dissipated. He ignored the countless shocked gazes by the lakeshore that almost pierced through him, and with steady steps, he walked straight toward the Golden Lake that flowed with an endless sense of sharpness!

"He... he's going to continue?!"

"Crazy! After just undergoing the extreme burning of the Red Fire Pool, his Mental Energy must have suffered heavy damage!"

"Is he looking for death?!"

The doubts and exclamations were left behind by Lin Yuan. The chaos green lotus left his body again, plunging without hesitation into that death Domain composed of billions of golden lights!

"Clang—!"

Billions of golden sharp edges, enough to cut Divine Souls and tear through Laws, instantly erupted, completely submerging the lotus like a world-ending storm! However, this time, at the core of the lotus, a brilliant divine rune representing the Metal Law Origin suddenly lit up!

"One hundred and twenty breaths! Level Five Metal Soul Origin Baptism—achieved!!!"

[Mental Energy Soaring! +8,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 25,000 stars!]

[Metal Law Comprehension: 12%!]

Next was the Blue Water Lake! Ten thousand hectares of heavy water, where extreme softness gave birth to hardness, crushing Divine Souls!

"One hundred and twenty breaths! Level Five Water Baptism—achieved!!!"

[Mental Energy Exploding! +10,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 35,000 stars!]

[Water Law Comprehension: 12%!]

Then came the Green Wood Lake! Endless vitality turned into Soul-eroding poison, decaying the spirit!

"One hundred and twenty breaths! Level Five Wood Baptism—achieved!!!"

[Mental Energy Surging! +13,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 48,000 stars!]

[Wood Law Comprehension: 12%!]

Next was the Brown Earth Lake! The heaviness that carried all things turned into billions of catties of divine mountains that crushed the spirit!

"One hundred and twenty breaths! Level Five Earth Baptism—achieved!!!"

[Mental Energy Skyrocketing! +17,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 65,000 stars!]

[Earth Law Comprehension: 12%!]

When Lin Yuan's figure, carrying a body of thick earth-yellow Divine Dawn that had not yet dissipated, slowly rose from the fifth Soul Origin Pool—the Brown Earth Lake... the entire Refining Spirit Valley fell into a dead silence!

Hundreds of thousands of Cultivators were as if their throats had been collectively gripped! The air froze, and one could hear a pin drop! Five major Soul Origin Pools! All endured for one hundred and twenty breaths! All obtained the highest Level Five Soul Origin Baptism! This was no longer beyond cognition; it had completely shattered everyone's common sense!

"Mon... monster..."

"Gathering Origin Realm... successfully braving five Level Five pools... this... this is simply an unprecedented myth!"

"Is he... is he really human?!"

In the distance, the faces of the Saints and Saintesses of several major Holy Lands had turned from gloomy to pale, their eyes filled with unbelievable horror and a trace of hard-to-detect fear. Ziyang Saint Zhao Wuji clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood dripping without him realizing it. His gaze at Lin Yuan was no longer just killing intent, but also carried an extreme wariness and madness toward an unknown monster: "This boy... must die! At all costs!!"

At this moment, Lin Yuan, feeling the sixty-five thousand stars of Mental Energy in his Sea of Consciousness that was as vast as a galaxy and as tough as divine iron, as well as the sense of Perfection from the five major Laws all transforming to 12%, calmly cast his gaze toward the last two lakes.

Cyan Wind Lake—the water rippled, seemingly calm, but countless mysterious air currents were generated out of thin air on the lake surface, each containing the Law of extreme speed that could tear Divine Souls!

Purple Thunder Lake—thunder snakes danced wildly, and electric lights exploded! Every leaping purple thunderbolt was in accord with the power of life and death of the Heavenly Dao, emitting a destructive aura that made all living beings submit!

"Wind Law, I already have an 8% Foundation... Law of Thunder, my comprehension has even reached 35%..." A curve of expectation and absolute confidence that could eclipse heaven and earth finally hooked on the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth. "These last two pools... are simply a supreme feast bestowed upon me by the Heavenly Dao!"

Under the focus of hundreds of thousands of dull, awestruck, and fearful gazes, Lin Yuan stepped into the Cyan Wind Lake!

"Buzz—!"

The calm lake surface instantly rioted! Billions of invisible and formless Extreme Speed Astral Wind Blades, enough to cut a Divine Soul into the finest particles, were suddenly generated, strangling toward the chaos green lotus from all directions!

Lin Yuan was not surprised but delighted!

"Good timing!" He shouted in his heart, and the green lotus at his brow shone brightly! On the petals, the mysterious cyan divine rune representing the Wind Law (8%) suddenly lit up, producing a strong resonance with the violent extreme speed Laws in the lake!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!

The wind blades, enough to tear the Divine Souls of ordinary Myriad Laws Realm experts, the moment they touched the lotus, were like streams flowing into the sea; their violent momentum was easily smoothed, guided, and even... absorbed by that Wind Divine Rune of the same Origin!

"Thirty breaths! Level Three baptism achieved directly!" The onlookers were already numb, leaving only mechanical exclamations.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes, his mind completely merging into this kingdom of wind. The extreme speed Profound Truths of the wind contained in the lake, far beyond his understanding, flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide! His original 8% comprehension level soared like a sailboat pushed by a hurricane!

"Sixty breaths! Level Four baptism!"

When the limit of one hundred and twenty breaths was easily crossed again—

Boom!

At the core of the Cyan Wind Lake, a Chaos Astral Wind Tornado that connected heaven and earth rose from the ground! In the center of the tornado, at the core of Lin Yuan's chaos green lotus, the originally somewhat scattered Wind Divine Rune had already condensed into a Cyan Origin Sigil emitting the Profound Truth of eternal extreme speed!

[Mental Energy Transformation! +20,000 stars!]

[Current Mental Energy: 85,000 stars!]

[Wind Law Comprehension: 12%!]

Before the sky-connecting wind pillar had completely dissipated, Lin Yuan's figure, like a teleportation, carrying a body of cyan flowing wind that had not yet dissipated, stepped into the final, and most violent and terrifying one—the Purple Thunder Lake!

"Crackle—!!!"

This step was as if he had stepped into the core of the Nine Heavens Thunder Prison!

The sky over the entire Refining Spirit Valley suddenly darkened! It was not that dark clouds obscured the sun, but that all the free thunder power and all the leaping destructive lightning seemed to have received a supreme summons and madly converged toward Lin Yuan's location—the center of the Purple Thunder Lake!

Billions of purple, white, and even golden World-Destroying Divine Thunder interwove into a deathly electric net that covered the entire thunder lake, completely swallowing Lin Yuan! That destructive fluctuation caused the expressions of several Myriad Laws Realm Elders watching from a distance to change drastically!

However, from the center of the thunderbolt storm that was enough to make even those in the half-step Primordial Spirit Realm experience Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, a clear and supreme majesty-filled long laugh rang out:

"Hahaha! Good timing! This is what I call exciting!!!"

Buzz—!!!

Within Lin Yuan's body, the Law of Thunder Origin, which was as high as 35%, operated at full power without reservation! The chaos green lotus instantly transformed into a Chaos Thunder Lotus! Deep within the lotus heart, a Purple Thunder Divine Rune woven from the purest powers of destruction and creation erupted with a light that swallowed the heavens and devoured the earth!

A terrifying scene occurred that plunged the entire Refining Spirit Valley into eternal dead silence:

Those billions of violent thunderbolts, capable of splitting stars and annihilating all Laws, the moment they touched Lin Yuan's body, were unexpectedly like young swallows returning to their nest or all rivers flowing into the sea, being incomparably docilely... madly absorbed and devoured by him! He was actually using this Destructive Thunder Pool as nourishment to temper his body!