755: Chapter 756 A Ghost

A lightning scar deep enough to see the bone on Xiao Ruobai's chest had not yet healed, and pale golden War God Blood-Qi flowed slowly along the wound.

Yet his posture remained upright, and the golden light in his eyes was even brighter than before; it was a sign that his War God Body was becoming more solid after extreme tempering.

Fang Hanyu's scabbard was charred black by lightning fire, and his Chaos Sword Qi at his fingertips was mixed with a few wisps of fine, pitch-black lightning silk.

Although the aura around him appeared unstable, it had gained a few hints of silent, sharp annihilation; clearly, he had initially refined the Dao Laws of the Thunder Marsh.

Mo Yu's kirin dharma body had long since dissipated, the scales on his shoulders were cracked, and his flesh was turned outward, yet he still grinned and laughed wildly.

Every breath carried a violent thunderous majesty, lightning light flickered within the blood-qi around him, and his Indestructible War Blood became increasingly mellow.

Ling Xi's robes were torn in several places by the lightning force, and her face was slightly pale, but her eyes were bright. The devouring vortex around her was still faintly operating, and a drop of blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth was instantly swallowed by her, turning into her own energy.

Wang Xiaopang was the most disheveled; his hair stood on end like needles, his face was as black as charcoal, and small lightning arcs flickered across his body from time to time. He ignored the pain, muttering to himself:

"Worth it, totally worth it! It wasn't in vain that I risked my life to collect these Nihility Lightning Runes; it's enough for me to draw ten top-tier Lightning Tribulation Talismans!"

Dong Li was smoking all over, his hair curled and charred. The stabbing pain in his Sea of Consciousness made his eyes red, but he gritted his teeth hard as the phantom light around him flickered.

Although the Body Tempering Pill protected his Physical Body, his Divine Soul was still damaged by the lightning impact. Only the point of Illusion Origin at his brow became increasingly condensed under the tempering of the lightning.

The moment the six stepped into the eye of the storm, the extremely violent pitch-black lightning outside suddenly ceased, as if isolated by an invisible force. In the center, only one object floated.

It was not a stone tablet, not a palace, nor any form of physical Legacy; it was a mass of light that constantly flickered in and out of existence, changing shape.

At times it was like the beginning of Chaos, at times like the collapse of a galaxy; sometimes it evolved into earth, water, fire, and wind, and sometimes it returned to absolute silence.

It seemed to encompass the initial forms and ultimate annihilation of all Great Daos in the world, yet it remained transcendent.

Just by gazing at it, Xiao Ruobai felt the War God Blood-Qi in his body boiling and resonating, as if it had found its source.

Fang Hanyu's Chaos Sword Qi hummed of its own accord. Ling Xi's devouring power vibrated slightly.

Wang Xiaopang's eyes widened, the talisman brush in his hand trembling involuntarily. Mo Yu's Qilin Bloodline let out a low roar, and Dong Li's phantom light flickered unsteadily.

"This is..." Xiao Ruobai took a deep breath, suppressing the throbbing in his heart.

"great dao source trace." Fang Hanyu slowly uttered those four words, his eyes showing supreme solemnity and a hint of heat for the first time.

"Or rather, it is the most core, most fundamental manifestation of a strand of Dao Source in this Dao Source Secret Realm."

Ling Xi's voice carried a wave of disbelief.

No one expected that the top-tier Opportunity given by this Secret Realm was not those eighty-one fixed ancient Legacies.

But this trace of the Great Dao's Origin hidden within the dead zone, which one only had the qualification to see by fighting their way in with their own Dao!

It had no fixed form and no preset Cultivation Technique. What it could give depended entirely on the Dao and Comprehension Ability of the person who saw it.

An unprecedented brilliance erupted in Xiao Ruobai's eyes:

"Those eighty-one Legacies are merely the products of the Laws dissipated by this strand of Dao Source over the ages, naturally evolved in combination with the environment of the Secret Realm!"

"And we..." Fang Hanyu tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

"Have found the source," Xiao Ruobai said decisively.

Without needing words, the six of them sat cross-legged around this mass of great dao source trace with extreme tacit understanding.

Xiao Ruobai closed his eyes, his mind sinking into that light of birth and death.

What he saw was the unyielding, heaven-defying, and world-battling majestic will within the light's cycles—the Origin of combat, the primal impulse for life to leap to a higher level.

What Fang Hanyu saw was the cycle of all things differentiating from this light and ultimately returning to it; the beginning and end of Chaos. Sword Intent could create the heavens, and it could also bury them.

What Ling Xi saw was the eternal rhythm of this light growing by devouring the void and weakening by releasing all things; the ultimate balance of devouring and breathing. Creation was also another form of devouring.

What Wang Xiaopang saw were the naturally generated Dao patterns within the light that were beyond words yet seemed to contain all the codes of rules; the source of talismans, the manifestation of rules.

What Mo Yu saw was the purest and most violent brilliance of life bursting forth at every moment of birth and death, like a heartbeat, flowing blood, or a primal roar.

He felt his Qilin Bloodline resonating with it—not being tamed, but being ignited and awakened, launching an unyielding charge toward the Peak of that life force.

What Dong Li saw was the mysterious state of this light between existence and non-existence, changing in ten thousand ways yet never changing its source; the reality of illusion, the unchanging in all changes.

Their Dao Foundation, their understanding of their own paths, and their unique Dao Rhyme were becoming heavy, profound, and natural at a terrifying speed.

In the deepest part of this Secret Realm, at the core of the most dangerous dead zone, six dao seeds with truly infinite possibilities were quietly sprouting.

What they obtained was not a fixed Legacy, but a master key to open their own treasury of the Dao and point toward a supreme Realm, as well as a fundamental understanding of the Dao that far exceeded their current Realm.

The value of this Opportunity could not be measured by any grade of Legacy.

After an unknown amount of time, Dong Li was the first to open his eyes. The phantom light in his pupils was no longer purely illusory, but carried a sense of reality that could reflect and even slightly distort the Laws of reality.

The moment he opened his eyes, the aura around him could no longer be suppressed and surged violently!

"Buzz—!"

A mysterious, ethereal, yet incredibly resilient aura rose from within him, as if breaking free from invisible shackles!

The barrier to the Immortal Lord Realm, in the face of this new power blending the truth of illusion and reality with fundamental understanding, dissolved and was pierced through instantly like mist under the sun!

Immortal King Realm, and just one step away from the Immortal King Middle Stage!

He stood up and subconsciously rubbed his arms and legs. Remembering how he had been struck by lightning in the Thunder Marsh, grimacing and screaming, he couldn't help but shudder and mutter low:

"Finally got through it. This ghostly place... even if you give me more opportunities next time, I won't come easily..."

Xiao Ruobai and the other four still sat in meditation with their eyes closed, their expressions peaceful and Dao Rhyme flowing around them. Clearly, they were still immersed in the comprehension of the great dao source trace and had not yet awakened.

Dong Li did not dare to disturb them. He stood up quietly and, by the faint light within the Thunder Eye, carefully walked around to observe.

The void here was not entirely empty. The faint light dissipated by the great dao source trace outlined shimmering ancient Dao patterns on the ground.

Stepping on them, he could clearly feel a majestic force of Origin surging into his body through the soles of his feet, nourishing his illusion dao Foundation.

He stopped and started along the way, his gaze constantly sizing up this core area of the Secret Realm, marveling inwardly:

"Is this where the Origin of the Great Dao lies? As expected, it's different from those Legacies outside; even the air smells of the Dao."

As he walked, at the edge of the Thunder Eye, he suddenly felt his foot kick something. It was soft and heavy, unlike the hardness of the Dao patterns.

Dong Li's professional habit kicked in. Curious, he bent down and reached out; what he grabbed was not illusory, but heavy, hard, and carried a strange, charred, brittle texture!

"Huh?" Dong Li subconsciously pulled back.

A pitch-black, human-shaped thing covered in cobweb-like cracks was dragged out by him onto the ground of the Thunder Eye.

The thing was silent, like a piece of wood burned through, emitting a faint residual warmth.

Dong Li froze, looking down at the charred wrist he was holding, then up at the strange human-shaped body.

Time seemed to stand still for a second.

"Ah—!!! A ghost!!!"

Dong Li's scream suddenly exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. As if he had touched the most terrifying thing in the world, he used all his strength to fling his hand, throwing the body several yards away.

He himself scrambled backward, his face pale, pointing at the charred corpse incoherently:

"What is that?! Why is this thing soaking in the Thunder Eye?! Bad luck! Such bad luck!"

Three chapters today.