502: Immortal runes, the sublimation of the Dao heart

"Let me see what a so-called True Immortal really is."

Shen Yuanmo closed both eyes, and his Divine Sense, like an invisible sharp cone, pierced through layers of barriers and stabbed straight into the core of that ancient stone tablet.

There was no physical sensation of touch, but it felt as if he were passing through a layer of cold, viscous membrane.

Buzz—!

In an instant, a torrent of will, far more vast, more ancient, and more overbearing than when the True Immortal phantom descended before, rushed into his Sea of Consciousness.

This will carried no emotion; there was no anger, no killing intent.

There was only an indifference that stood above all things, viewing all living beings as ants and dust.

Any existence that attempted to peer into it would be instinctively crushed and assimilated by this will, their Divine Soul melting away as they completely became a part of the rules.

The Divine Thought of an ordinary Mahayana Saint Lord, in the face of this will...

...would probably not even last a single breath before being completely overwhelmed and reduced to an idiot.

But Shen Yuanmo's Sea of Consciousness had already been tempered by the eighth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refining Art, making it as tough as a world cast from divine gold.

"Playing tricks."

With a thought from Shen Yuanmo, the chaos dao embryo at the center of his Dantian Sea of Qi didn't even lift an eyelid.

The Yuan Character General Outline, which resided upon the chaos dao embryo, lit up on its own at this moment, blooming with thousands of dao rhyme divine glows.

The Chaos airflow transformed into billions of Chains of Order, falling like an inescapable net.

In just an instant, it firmly locked down that surging and overbearing foreign will, imprisoning it in place.

Then, the Chains of Order tightened, crushing it inch by inch into particles in an irresistible manner.

That high and mighty Immortal Will was completely suppressed without being able to put up even a shred of decent resistance.

Subsequently, Shen Yuanmo activated Insight into Origin and Perfect Deduction at the same time.

Shen Yuanmo's consciousness then completely sank into a world composed of countless broken runes.

Every rune contained ultimate principles that transcended the Mahayana realm.

The structural ingenuity and the profundity of its dao rhyme far surpassed any Great Dao Laws he had seen in his entire life.

They were fragments of immortal dao rules, marks left behind by that so-called True Immortal.

They were supposed to form a complete and flawless true immortal decree.

However, due to the erosion of time and his previous punch, they had long since shattered, and ninety-nine percent of their divine charm had been lost.

Even so, these fragments remained supreme treasures that the world's Cultivators dreamed of, enough to trigger bloody wars between Holy Lands.

Shen Yuanmo's Divine Thought split into billions of parts, traveling at high speed through the rune world as Perfect Deduction and Insight into Origin were pushed to their limits.

The structure of every rune and the flow of every shred of dao rhyme were rapidly analyzed, restored, and reconstructed in his heart.

This process's consumption of the Divine Soul was terrifying.

Even with his Divine Sense strength being comparable to the Mahayana Late Stage, he felt waves of needle-like stinging pain.

The Divine Soul power within his Sea of Consciousness was being drained at a rate visible to the naked eye.

But he did not stop.

This was an unprecedented experience.

If it could be said that his previous Fusion of ten thousand paths was adding bricks and tiles to the palace of his own Dao and laying the foundation...

...then analyzing the immortal dao runes at this moment was like looking up at a divine palace that had already been built.

Although he could only see some broken walls and ruined pillars, it was enough for him to glimpse the architectural structures and design concepts of a higher level.

"So... this is how immortal dao rules work."

"Using the power of higher-dimensional immortal dao rules to govern and drive the Dao..."

Just as Shen Yuanmo was immersed in this unprecedented realization, his deduction suddenly ground to a halt.

"No, there's a trap in here."

At the connection nodes of certain rune fragments, deep within those seemingly flawless patterns of Dao rules, Shen Yuanmo discovered some extremely obscure backdoors.

These backdoors were completely useless under normal circumstances.

But once someone cultivated according to this method and integrated these immortal dao rules into their own Dao...

...then these backdoors would take root and sprout deep within their dao foundation like seeds.

These backdoors would not affect cultivation nor expose any traces.

Until one day in the future, the True Immortal who left the decree...

...might only need a single thought to easily steal or even control this person's Dao Fruit.

This method was sinister and hidden, making one's skin crawl.

"What a 'predecessor,' what a True Immortal!" Shen Yuanmo sneered in his heart.

He could now be certain that the existence who left this decree was by no means some benevolent Senior of high standing who cared for the world.

He was more like a high and mighty fisherman scattering seemingly delicious bait into a pond, waiting for later generations to take the hook.

"Unfortunately, you met me."

At this moment, Perfect Deduction was pushed to the limit by Shen Yuanmo.

He did not directly absorb these rune fragments but instead completely smashed and decomposed them.

He stripped away all the backdoors and traps within them, retaining only the purest and most original principles of the immortal dao rules.

Then, using his own Chaos Great Dao as a furnace, he integrated these fragments of principles into it bit by bit.

This was a process of discarding the dross and keeping the essence, taking its spirit and forgetting its form.

Shen Yuanmo's Chaos Great Dao already had accommodating ten thousand paths and returning to the Origin as its core.

At this moment, the integration of these Immortal Dao rule fragments was like the finishing touch that brings it to life and transcends into holiness for a peerless masterpiece.

His Dao began to make a crazy leap toward an unspeakable, more complete, and more transcendent level.

This process continued for an unknown amount of time.

When Shen Yuanmo opened his eyes once again...

...the stone tablet in front of him gave a "crack" and shattered inch by inch.

Ultimately, it turned into a handful of soulless ash, scattering before his eyes and returning to nothingness.

The last shred of Immortal Dao divine charm contained within it had also been squeezed dry by him, turning into nourishment for his own Dao.

His cultivation was still at the Mahayana Middle Stage, and his aura was even more restrained and peaceful than before, as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea.

But Shen Yuanmo's gaze had become entirely different from before.

If the previous Shen Yuanmo was a divine sword with its sharpness fully revealed, enough to cut through everything...

...then the current him was more like a bottomless starry sky.

Seemingly calm, yet encompassing all things and harboring the possibility of creating and destroying everything.

He stood up, and the dust inside the Immortal Cave moved on its own without any wind.

They formed profound trajectories around him, as if evolving some kind of heavenly principles.

"The path of a True Immortal is not the end."

"They are merely Cultivators who have walked a bit further."

Shen Yuanmo spoke softly to himself; his voice wasn't loud, yet it seemed to contain the power of words carrying the weight of Law, causing the space of the entire Immortal Cave to tremble slightly.

His Dao Heart was as clear as a mirror, without even a single shred of blind awe toward the existence of the Immortal realm.

Immortals, too, can be killed!

With a wave of his hand, the light sphere containing the Zixiao Holy Land treasury appeared in his palm.

His Divine Thought probed into it.

Spirit Stones, Spirit Medicines, divine gold and immortal iron piled up like mountains, a dazzling array of Dao Artifacts and Medicinal Pills, as well as that Zixiao Lightning Induction True Art.

The massive amount of resources was rapidly categorized and analyzed in his eyes.

"The foundation is decent, but unfortunately, it was all used in the wrong places."

Shen Yuanmo shook his head.

He looked at that eighth-tier High Grade Thunderlight War Hammer and the Purple Light Pill Furnace.

Then he looked at the great evolution immortal slaying sword in his hand and the chaos myriad dao armor on his body.

"It is time for you to take another step forward as well."

His gaze finally fixed upon that innate thunder soul emitting an aura of destruction, and he revealed a playful smile.